Willkie Farr & Gallagher stocks of lawyers for Los Angeles launch

Willkie Farr & Gallagher stocks of lawyers for Los Angeles launch

The trio from Venable are lasted among dozens to join Willkie from Venable

New York-based Willkie Farr & Gallagher has continued with his hiring spree for its new Los Angeles office intending to mark its presence in California's legal market with a big bang.

The firm has so far hired over 30 lawyers including six partners from Venable for its new Los Angeles office that was launched on 2 September.

The latest round of appointments follows the firm hiring three Venable partners recently. They included Alan Epstein, Michele Mulrooney and Alex Weingarten to lead the Los Angeles launch.

With the latest round of hires, Willkie's strength in the Los Angeles office has increased to around 40 lawyers, including 10 partners, three counsel and 26 associates.

Among those joining the trio include corporate transactions partners Paul Bernstein and Thomas Baxter, private wealth partners Andrew Copans and Kathy Wunderli, litigators Eric Bakewell and Logan Elliott and tax lawyer Shane Nix.

Private wealth lawyer Ani Hovanessian has also joined the firm from Washington DC-based Venable in New York.

Bernstein and Baxter have joined Willkie after spending three and five years respectively at Venable. They specialise in handling joint ventures, M&A, capital raising, endorsement services and other corporate transactions on behalf of clients in the entertainment industry.

While Copans, Wunderli and Hovanessian advise clients on estate planning for high net worth individuals and their companies and nonprofits, Bakewell and Elliott focus on commercial litigation experience in business, probate, restructuring and entertainment matters.

Nix, on the other hand, specialises in tax planning for film, television and music talent. He served as vice-chair of Venable's entertainment tax group for seven years.

"The additions to the team bring us new relationships and also give us the critical mass necessary to cement our position in the Los Angeles market in these practice areas," Willkie chairman Matthew Feldman said.

According to Feldman. Willkie anticipates the latest crop of hires to accelerate the growth of the Los Angeles practice and the expansion of its presence in the California market.

"The opportunity to lead Willkie's expansion of its national platform in Los Angeles was one we could not pass up," Epstein said.

"We are thrilled to welcome our colleagues and look forward to working with them and all lawyers at the firm to integrate with and support further growth of Willkie's best-in-class platforms," Epstein added.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher has had a successful run so far on the West Coast after its 2018 launch in Palo Alto office the 2019 launch in San Francisco.