FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2010
Contact: Eva V. Van Brunt, 323.326.8896, eva@evbconsulting.com
Former Am Law 100 Attorneys Bring Large Firm Experience and Skill to Businesses Throughout California
Los Angeles, CA – Salisian Lee LLP, a boutique business law firm servicing small to mid-sized companies and entrepreneurs, opens for business today, joining an elite group of business law firms operating out of downtown Los Angeles’s Citigroup Center. Salisian Lee will provide services in several primary practice areas, including General Business Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Business Formation & Development, Labor & Employment, Policyholder Insurance Recovery Litigation, and Sports Law.
Founders and co-managing partners Neal Salisian and Richard Lee were previously colleagues at the well-known global law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius, where they first envisioned joining forces to build their own partnership. Both attorneys have impressive educational and professional pedigrees, and both understand, from years of practice and participation, the ins and outs of complex litigation and business formation services.
The firm is the product of frequent discussions about the legal industry between the attorneys over the years, during which they agreed that there was, and continues to be, a growing gap in California’s legal market when it came to adequately servicing area businesses–especially those with problems too complex for a generalist, but without the desire or resources to over-commit to a large national or multi-national law firm.
“During my time with bigger firms, I observed a growing middle group of businesses whose viability concerns and long-term potential were consistently neglected by the legal community,” explained co-managing partner Neal Salisian. “They would encounter legal issues far too complicated for a neighborhood generalist, but they didn’t need a Hong Kong office or an army of associates assigned to their matters. All they really needed was an attentive, knowledgeable attorney to carefully focus on their business and legal issues at a price they could afford to pay. And to those types of businesses and their owners, we can now confidently say, ‘Welcome to Salisian Lee.’”
Mr. Salisian, who is making this move directly from nearly a half-dozen years in Morgan Lewis’s litigation practice, is looking forward to applying his knowledge and strategic insights to the unique needs of emerging businesses and entrepreneurs in California. He brings to the firm an expansive set of legal skills culled from representing large companies around the globe. With that experience as his anchor, Mr. Salisian both embraces and emphasizes the boundless growth opportunities available to Salisian Lee’s present and future clients.
The firm’s co-founder and other managing partner, Richard Lee, could not agree more.
“Salisian Lee is different from a lot of the firms popping up today because we have the background to do the work and do it well,” he explained. “We both bring to the table extensive experience with top tier clients handling complicated legal matters and facing formidable legal opponents on a regular basis. Essentially, we are still exactly the same attorneys we were at the large firms, but we can now handle matters much more efficiently, both from a caseload management standpoint and a billing perspective. For that reason alone, we know we are offering our clients an excellent deal.”
Mr. Lee co-manages all of the firm’s practice groups with a special emphasis on matters related to general business and real estate litigation. Prior to forming Salisian Lee, he spent seven years at the legal powerhouse Holland Knight and then was asked to join Morgan Lewis. Later, he practiced at Hunt Ortmann, a well-regarded and established construction litigation firm, and further developed his real estate litigation practice in Century City. With the successful representation of clients in a diverse range of industries – from commercial real estate to foreign banking, from small business to national retail chains, and from local municipalities to large, government-regulated industries – under his belt, Mr. Lee is confident that Salisian Lee is well prepared for any sort of client who walks through their doors.
The new partners may well have an auspicious sense of timing on their side. California businesses have struggled in the face of recent economic troubles, and many area businesses are facing continuity challenges that include complex legal battles. In 2009 alone, at least 19,000 California small businesses filed for bankruptcy. Those that remain standing face difficult challenges ahead, and seek legal representation that is both seasoned and reasonably priced. Certainly, this continues to be a tough combination to find in California’s legal market.
“Every single industry that operates in California – especially media, real estate, automobile, textiles, and banking – has been seriously affected by the current economy, and everyone is revamping how they do business as a result,” offered Mr. Lee. “The legal industry is no exception. Services need to be offered in a more streamlined, efficient, and cost-conscious manner, but not at the expense of talent and experience. We are extremely confident that clients will be pleased with our answer to that demand.”
With offices in downtown Los Angeles and strong roots in the area’s business and legal communities, Mr. Lee and Mr. Salisian are poised to tap into a rich network of potential referrals and contacts from which to expand their firm’s growing client base. Mr. Lee continues his outreach to Korean business leaders with whom he shares a heritage, while Mr. Salisian likewise continues his involvement with the Armenian community he hails from for ongoing business.
“We are on very strong footing because we unequivocally know who we are and what we are doing,” Mr. Lee affirmed. “We are attorneys for businesses. We don’t chase ambulances nor do we split up families. And we don’t pitch legal services that our clients don’t need. What we do is provide whatever legal counsel our clients do need – in the courtroom, in the boardroom, and in every place in-between. Quite simply, there is no need to look any further. We are a one-stop legal shop for businesses in California and beyond.”
The law firm of Salisian Lee is located at 444 South Flower Street, Suite 1840, Los Angeles, California, 90071. The firm’s launch will be celebrated by business associates, the firm’s clients, and members of the Los Angeles business and legal communities with a small reception this evening to be held at its offices.
About Salisian Lee LLP
Salisian Lee LLP is a boutique business law firm located in downtown Los Angeles’s Citigroup Center, where it is part of an elite group of business law firms at the epicenter of the region’s legal and financial dealings. The firm focuses on providing efficient and effective legal counsel to businesses and entrepreneurs from around the state, the surrounding region, and beyond our borders, who have business interests in California.
Founders and co-managing partners Richard Lee and Neal Salisian formed the firm in the spring of 2010 as a viable option for businesses seeking legal representation somewhere in between a neighborhood generalist and a huge law firm: a one stop shop for the legal concerns of small to mid-sized businesses and entrepreneurs. The partners are former colleagues, and both have extensive experience representing local, national, and international businesses in and out of the courtroom. More information about Salisian Lee LLP and its attorneys can be found on the firm’s website at www.salisianlee.com.