Labor and employment are hot topics in California – and for the Valley’s largest law firms, they’re also big business. “California’s equal pay law and changes to state and local wage and hour laws (have) resulted in more businesses seeking our guidance and advice,” Chris Maile, partner at Tharpe & Howell, said. With 57 attorneys in the San Fernando Valley –up two from last year – the Sherman Oaks full-service firm was the pacesetter on the Business Journal’s list of the region’s biggest law groups. “It’s a function of the number of overlapping laws between the state, federal and local levels, and their complexities,” Maile explained, referring to labor regulations. If San Fernando Valley businesses are struggling to understand and adjust to changes in state employment rules, they have plenty of legal resources at their disposal. The majority of the largest law firms in the Valley offer counsel on employment matters and workers’ compensation among their practice areas, including three of the top five largest firms. List newcomers No. 28 JML Law and No. 42 Bohm Law Group Inc. also specialize in employment law, as does this year’s biggest mover No. 16 Goldman Magdalin and Krikes, which jumped seven spots from its position on the Business Journal’s 2017 list. JML and Goldman are both based in Woodland Hills, where Sacramento-based Bohm has its local office. More phone calls Amendments to the state’s Fair Pay Act, the latest adjustments to which went into effect on Jan. 1, along with changes to California wage and hour laws have prompted more calls from clients, Maile said. “It’s always difficult to speak for clients as to what motivates them to pick up the phone and ask for help, (but) we’ve been providing legal advice to them on how these statutes and the laws affect their operations,” Maile said. In addition to assisting businesses with updating their employment handbooks so that they’re in compliance with state legislation, the firm provides updates on business legislation through its monthly blog. “That keeps them alert to changes so that if they do recognize they have an issue, they can get help with it,” Maile said. The firm also presents at the Woodland Hills chapter of the Professionals in Human Resources Association, which serves as a way to inform businesses about new laws, he added. Adding talent About half of the firms that include employment, labor and workers’ compensation among their practice areas added at least one attorney to their office in the past year, compared to three of the 20 that focus on areas outside of employment. Goldman brought on six partners to its local office, bringing its total number of Valley-area attorneys up to 20, while firm No. 3 Tobin Lucks added one partner. Tharpe & Howell signed on a total of three new attorneys this year, including one in employment law. The firm recently named Managing Partner Stephanie Forman to its executive committee, completing the succession plan implemented two years ago upon the retirement of firm founder Todd Howell. “This represents the final piece of the puzzle in which the firm has consolidated its management and leadership functions in (Forman),” Maile said. “It is significant too that we have gone from having a male managing partner and firm leader to a female managing partner and firm leader, which I think is significant from more of a societal standpoint than it is operationally for us.” Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie, the second-largest firm in the Valley with 38 attorneys at its Glendale office, may not have increased the number of lawyers at its local firm this year but has grown substantially in terms of the services it can provide, according to Managing Partner Oliver Bajracharya. The merger between Lewis Roca Rothgerber and intellectual property firm Christie Parker & Hale that created the firm two years ago gave the resulting company access to attorneys who specialize in a variety of business matters, he said. “We’ve seen an increase of client volume as a result of that merger,” Bajracharya explained. The firm now has attorneys at its disposal that can handle large-scale mergers and transactions in addition to real estate deals, he said. Lewis Roca will likely expand the intellectual property arm of its practice this year, according to Bajracharya. Tharpe & Howell also anticipates bringing on more lawyers in the coming year, with emphasis on strengthening its employment, workers’ compensation, human resources consulting, products, transportation and logistics and trial areas. The fluidity of employment legislation at a federal level will likely make the practice area an important one for some time to come, Maile noted. “We see (employment) as an area that is going to continue to be challenging for employers,” Maile said. “They’re going to need more assistance, both defending claims against businesses and employers from their employee force as well as advice on how to avoid litigation.”
