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Culture

We enjoy our work environment and work hard to protect it.

Focus on what matters

We are intensely focused on what matters: producing excellent work product for our clients, winning our cases, and improving our skills.

We don’t focus on the things that don’t matter.

We don’t tell our lawyers what to wear to the office.  Dress however you’d like (unless you are going to court or meeting with a new client).

We don’t keep time sheets detailing our days in six-minute increments.  We don’t keep track of hours, even internally.

We don’t have arbitrary rules about how many hours a day our lawyers must be physically present in the office, or what schedule they must keep.  Our attorneys frequently work from home or time-shift their hours in the office to accommodate their preferences and personal lives (family commitments, doctor visits, workouts—or even just their preference to work from home on a given day).  As long as you get your work done—and show up for Trial Lab to develop your skillsets—we have no interest in making you sit at your desk at particular hours or keeping tabs on your whereabouts.

Respect is in; bureaucracy is out

The practice of law — and litigation in particular—often attracts forceful personalities and strong opinions.  We are no exception.  But that does not require rudeness or over-sized egos; and those are not tolerated here.

We treat one another with respect, we acknowledge each other’s accomplishments and credit one another’s contributions, and we do not scream or scheme.  And we maintain a sense of humor.

Moreover, our firm is free of the hierarchy, bureaucracy, and inertia typical of many law firms.  We encourage and expect even our most junior associates to speak up and engage in vigorous debate with partners at the firm on matters that affect them—including case selection, case strategy, and the direction of the firm.  We believe this approach leads to better decisions (and a better work environment).

And we refuse to let red tape get in the way of good ideas.  If someone comes up with a better way to do things, we implement it.  There is no need to write a lengthy proposal, run it by a committee, have it reviewed by the controlling department, and then roll it out two years later when it is already obsolete.

Click here to read about the experiences of Greg Dovel and Jeff Eichmann defecting from BigLaw.

Work by the ocean

Our office is located in downtown Santa Monica, two blocks from the beach.  We have breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and we enjoy the constant smell of the ocean air.  It never gets old, especially not at sunset:

The view from our office

Enjoy life outside the office

Los Angeles is one of the greatest cities in the world and we take full advantage of living here.  We schedule firm wide events throughout the year in locations throughout the city — bike rides, hikes, wine tastings, gourmet dinners, sporting activities (e.g., archery and hang gliding) — and our attorneys enjoy the city’s world-class music and comedy venues, art scene, local breweries, professional sports teams, and the beach.

Exploration is part of our nature, and vacations are encouraged.  Los Angeles is a great starting out point for short trips.  Our attorneys frequently visit other parts of California (Catalina, Santa Barbara, Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, Mammoth, Tahoe, John Muir Trail and the PCT) and nearby states (Park City, Alta/Snowbird, Jackson Hole, Breckenridge, Aspen, Las Vegas).  And in just the last year, our lawyers have taken longer trips to Vietnam, Japan, Morocco, Bora Bora, Costa Rica, Belize, Colombia, Italy, the Netherlands, and Thailand.  When you go away, no one is counting your vacation days.  That’s just not how we do things here.  But you are expected to come back with a good story or two.

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