Los Angeles

The Los Angeles office is an integral part of Duane Morris’ global network of attorneys and professionals. We have been ranked by national publications for aspects of our litigation, bankruptcy and corporate practices. Our attorneys support clients in consumer products and services, financial services, health and life sciences, infrastructure and technology industries. We represent clients in complex litigation, including products liability, insurance coverage, class action defense, banking, business reorganization, intellectual property, employment and other commercial litigation matters. Our attorneys also advise on a broad spectrum of corporate and commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings and regulations, finance, banking regulations, corporate governance, and other complex corporate and banking matters. The experienced professionals in the office, and many more available through Duane Morris’ international network, provide superior service for our clients.

Range of Services

Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Lawyers in Duane Morris' Trial Practice Group represent clients in all types of civil litigation, from inception through trial and appeal. Our litigators have experience in an array of areas, including securities and commercial disputes, professional liability, intellectual property, products liability, real estate controversies and bankruptcy matters. Our litigators regularly work with lawyers in our Financial Services and Financial Markets practices and have substantial experience representing insurance companies and financial institutions.

While our lawyers regularly represent foreign and domestic clients in forums in the United States and before international tribunals, we also counsel clients on settling disputes without conventional litigation by using alternative dispute resolution options and advise on methods to anticipate and avoid litigation. National publications, including U.S. News and World Report, have ranked Duane Morris among the leading law firms handling a wide range of litigation.

Corporate, Securities, Mergers and Acquisitions

Duane Morris corporate law attorneys advise early-stage and mature companies on a wide variety of corporate and securities matters. Members of the Corporate Practice Group are experienced with mergers and acquisitions, including negotiated acquisitions and divestitures, hostile acquisitions and defense against takeover attempts. The firm's attorneys regularly represent international clients in both domestic and transnational transactions. They are experienced with venture capital and private equity transactions and work with the firm's entrepreneurial clients in developing and implementing creative strategies to accomplish their corporate finance and acquisition objectives. This experience has earned recognition from national publications such as U.S. News and World Report. Duane Morris also represents clients in a range of securities offerings and advises public companies on compliance with ongoing reporting obligations and other securities laws. 

Banking and Financial Services

For decades, Duane Morris' global banking practice has provided leading national and international financial institutions with comprehensive legal services, including commercial loan documentation, corporate and mergers and acquisitions, regulatory and compliance, mortgage lending, asset recovery, securities, operations, project finance, litigation, and financial technology (fintech). This extensive experience has forged strong relationships with several of the top U.S. bank holding companies, banks and financial services companies.

Commercial Finance

Members of the Commercial Finance Practice Group represent lenders and borrowers in both secured and unsecured financings across many different industries. The firm's attorneys have experience in project finance, traditional investment-grade revolving credit agreements, secured restructuring arrangements and Uniform Commercial Code issues. Duane Morris attorneys have experience that begins with the development of the structure of the transaction, as well as with the negotiation, documentation, due diligence and closing. The firm's finance practice represents lenders and borrowers in documenting and negotiating real and personal property loans and secured transactions, including revolving lines of credit, asset-based loans, securitized credits and construction financing.

Insurance Coverage and Reinsurance

Duane Morris' presence in the Los Angeles market gives the firm additional resources with a broader geographic reach in multiple disciplines, especially serving the insurance industry. Attorneys in our Insurance Practice Group have been engaged in representations of insurance industry interests for many years, having served as counsel to numerous property/casualty insurance companies, life insurance companies, reinsurance companies, HMOs and PPOs, rating bureaus, captive insurers offshore, and alternative market entities and guaranty associations. The firm has also represented underwriters of public offerings of insurance securities.

Our background in the industry contributes to our ability to address client concerns effectively. We have an in-depth understanding of actuarial, underwriting and policy coverage matters affecting the business and legal issues of our clients. We have handled matters affecting financial examinations, market conduct examinations and other regulatory issues, as well as general corporate matters. Our experience has earned recognition from national publications such as U.S. News and World Report, Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500.

White-Collar Criminal Litigation 

Duane Morris counsels both individuals and corporations facing federal and state allegations of criminal conduct. The firm's lawyers advise clients accused of Medicare/Medicaid fraud and abuse, environmental crimes, securities violations, criminal tax fraud, fraud in government procurement, RICO violations, trade espionage and a variety of business-related offenses. Duane Morris attorneys also have extensive experience leading internal investigations.

Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring

Business publication The Deal consistently ranks Duane Morris as one of the most active bankruptcy practices in the United States. Lawyers in our Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group work in tandem with each client, whether debtor, trustee, lender or other creditor, to determine appropriate strategies to help derive maximum value from a troubled entity while simultaneously remaining mindful of each client's goals. Clients draw on the firm's extensive reorganization experience as one of the most active bankruptcy practices in the United States with a national team of dozens of bankruptcy lawyers in numerous jurisdictions. 

Intellectual Property

Duane Morris' intellectual property (IP) lawyers focus on leveraging their clients' intellectual property to help them achieve success in the marketplace. Our IP lawyers provide counsel on the most efficacious methods of establishing and developing IP capital and protecting IP rights to help clients realize the most value from those assets. From patents to trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets to licensing and technology transfers to e-commerce to IP audits and IP asset due diligence, our attorneys offer clients portfolio management and strategic advice on obtaining and protecting valuable intellectual property. We also have extensive experience with the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (CUTSA) and have advised clients on the implications of the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) for clients in the state.

Product Safety: California Proposition 65

For companies that manufacture or sell products in California, Proposition 65, a law that relates to the disclosure of certain chemicals in products, raises a host of compliance issues and potentially expensive litigation claims. Complying with the law means keeping up with the new amendments and judgments regarding Proposition 65, formally known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, that surface every month. Drawing on the resources of an international firm with a national product safety and compliance bench, Duane Morris lawyers experienced with Proposition 65 claims counsel companies, identifying potential exposure, offering informed risk-management audits and tools for compliance and, if necessary, efficiently litigating claims.

Education

Educational institutions operating in the United States, from K-12 to postsecondary, are facing unprecedented challenges on many fronts related to technology, economics, demographics and increasing domestic regulation. For years, Duane Morris has served all sectors of education, along with the various businesses that support them. Our attorneys provide these organizations with deep experience and trusted guidance regarding complex issues that impact school decision-making on operations, finances and strategic planning for the future.

Employment Law

Duane Morris' lawyers represent employers of all sizes in a broad spectrum of labor and employment matters, including equal employment opportunity compliance, statutory compliance and employment termination and related litigation. The firm's attorneys provide a full range of labor relations services, representing clients in union-organizing campaigns, proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, negotiations of labor contracts and disputes over labor contract provisions. The group assists employers in protecting their proprietary information and in enforcing noncompetition and nonsolicitation agreements. Duane Morris lawyers emphasize policies to prevent employment problems through problem prevention programs and services, including seminars and workshops, customized training programs and employment practice audits. Duane Morris lawyers have significant experience in defense of class-action employment litigation, including discrimination and wage-and-hour claims.

Real Estate

Duane Morris' real estate attorneys represent a broad range of high-profile institutional and individual clients in all aspects of real estate transactions and related matters. Duane Morris' clients include investors, corporations, developers, asset management firms, insurance companies, title companies, construction companies, property owners, financial institutions, communities, public agencies, educational institutions and others. The Real Estate Practice Group handles real estate acquisitions and dispositions, financings, workouts and restructurings, development and leasing, land use, title and zoning issues.

For More Information

For more information, please contact Cyndie M. Chang or any of the lawyers referenced in the Attorney Listing.