Salisian Lee LLP Year in Review

Welcome to the Salisian | Lee LLP Year in Review

As we approach the start of a new calendar year and reflect on 2018, the attorneys and staff of Salisian Lee LLP have so much to be grateful for and even more to look forward to in the year to come. We would like to take this opportunity to share with you - our valued clients, firm friends and colleagues - some of highlights from a truly exceptional year. We thank each of you for the contributions you have made to our success and look forward to working with you again next year!

Trials, Settlements and Legal Victories

This year was marked by distinguished counsel, both in the courtroom and at the negotiations table. Our litigation teams produced phenomenal results on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in matters spanning a wide range of disputes and industries. Some of our most notable victories and settlements include:

In October, after a jury trial on contract and fraud claims, one of our trial teams won a verdict for a plaintiff client in the amount of $2.525 million in compensatory damages. On November 1, we won an additional $1.75 million in punitive damages. The total verdict amount in our favor was $4.275 million, with the potential for additional reimbursement for prejudgment interest, costs, and attorneys' fees that could push the eventual judgment to well over $5 million.
Another trial team successfully completed a bench trial on behalf of plaintiffs on breach of contract claims seeking recovery of approximately $700,000. We are still awaiting the final statement of decision from the judge.
A California Court of Appeals affirmed a complete defense trial verdict in our favor against one of the five largest banks in the US. The bank ultimately paid over a half-million dollars in reimbursing our attorney fees and costs.
While serving as appellate counsel on a different matter, we successfully helped resolve, along with trial co-counsel, a negligence dispute on behalf of the plaintiff for $375,000, after the plaintiff had only won a verdict at trial for $213,300.
In the California Court of Appeals, we obtained an order on behalf of an institutional lender reversing the trial court's order granting the borrowers' motion to stay based on forum non conveniens and remanding to the trial court to reconsider the motion applying the correct legal standard.
One of our litigation teams obtained a judgment for over half of a million dollars on behalf of a commercial landlord for breach of a commercial lease.
We obtained a complete stay of a federal action on behalf of insureds pending the resolution of a parallel, underlying wrongful death action asserted against the insureds. The federal action brought by an insurer alleges insurance fraud and asserts claims for rescission, declaratory relief, and recoupment.
On the settlement front, we also obtained multiple confidential settlements on behalf of a variety of clients. Of those we can talk about, notable examples include a breach of contract and fraud case on behalf of the plaintiff for $222,500. We also obtained favorable resolution in the defense of a hotly contested action pending for 3.5 years and brought by a former business partner seeking in excess of $38.2MM in damages. The settlement should be finalized by year-end or early in the new year. Finally, we defeated a motion for summary adjudication seeking $38.2MM in damages for purported fraud asserted against a former business partner. The case ultimately settled for pennies on the dollar on the eve of trial.

Firm Highlights

Our attorneys and staff grow and participate in the Southern California legal and professional communities in a variety of ways throughout the year, while also contributing to the welfare of the greater Los Angeles community at large. Here are some of our professional and firm life highlights for the year:

We started the year with Partner Richard Lee appearing on KTLA Morning News to present new and quirky laws that went into effect January 1.
Partners Richard Lee and Neal Salisian were once again selected as Super Lawyers for the calendar year.
We hosted our 8th anniversary reception, with over 100 guests in attendance, an annual thank you to our firm friends, clients and colleagues past and present. This year, the event was again held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on the evening of May 17th.
We hired two new attorneys, Glenn Coffman and Isabelle Vidro, both recent graduates of the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.
In October, our firm kicked off our new community outreach series with a daylong day of service. The entire firm volunteered with food preparation and packaging for infirm individuals throughout Los Angeles at Project Angel Food in Hollywood.
The firm announced that Associate Han Pai would become a Salisian Lee LLP partner in January 2019.
In December, like bookends to our year, the Daily Journal published our annual summary of new and unusual laws for the coming year. The article was drafted by Partner Richard Lee and Associate Glenn Coffman.

Personal Milestones

At Salisian Lee LLP we also celebrate the personal accomplishments and milestones of our attorneys and staff throughout the year, knowing that these are the true foundations for their professional endeavors. In 2018, these included:

Associate Yujin Chun was published in the March issue of Los Angeles Lawyers.
Yujin also became the Membership Chair for the LACBA Barristers/Young Attorneys Section.
Partner Richard Lee and Associate Yujin Chun attended the International Association of Korean Lawyers Conference in Atlanta, Georgia this past September.
Associate Natalie Rastegari was married this summer in Italy.

Legal Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. No recipients of content from this newsletter, clients or otherwise, should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in the site without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from an attorney licensed in the state of California.

550 South Hope Street, Suite 750, Los Angeles, CA 90071

telephone: (213) 622-9100 | fax: (800) 622-9145 | email: info@salisianlee.com | web: www.salisianlee.com