Piper picks up a new pack of real estate attorneys.

In its third significant talent acquisition in L.A. in the last year, Piper Rudnick LLP has lured seven attorneys from Pillsbury Winthrop LLP, including real estate rainmaker Michael Meyer, who will lead the firm's new downtown office.

Meyer has represented some of the city's largest corporate tenants in recent multi-million dollar lease deals. Among them are Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., which look 342,000 square feel and received building-top signage at Century City's Constellation Place: City National Bank, which late last year committed to take 310,000 square feet at Arco Plaza: and TCW Group Inc., Bank of America Corp. and Capital Group Cos. Inc., all downtown.

"The advantage of Piper is that real estate is a core part of their overall practice," Meyer said of the decision to leave Pillsbury Winthrop alter 30 years. "If you look at their percentage of lawyers who are in real estate, it's one of the highest in the country."

Luring Meyer was the latest in a series of recruiting coups for the firm in the last 12 months. In February 2003 it bolstered its real estate practice when it brought on Pamela Westhoff, who had chaired the national leasing practice at O'Melveny & Myers LLP.

"I've always admired Pam," Meyer said. "I negotiated against her so many times. She can be as tough as nails and disagree with you without being disagreeable. When she became part of the package, my eyes were wide open."

In August, Brian Lysaght, founding partner of Santa Monica trial boutique O'Neill Lysaglat & Sun LLP, joined Piper, precipitating his former firm's dissolution.

Jeffrey Rosenfeld, Piper Rudnick's managing partner for Los Angeles, said the recent additions would nearly double the size of the firm's local real estate practice.

In his 30 years at Pillsbury, Meyer was managing partner of the L.A. office three times, ending a four-year stint last year.

Lewis Feldman, managing partner of Pillsbury's L.A. offices, said the departures would not adversely affect the local real estate practice. Feldman said he has no plans to replace the departing attorneys, the second large group to leave. In March 2002, five senior real estate attorneys in its Costa Mesa office left to launch their own real estate boutique.

Many large law firms have purged real estate as a core practice in recent years because it does not command the high billing rates of practices such as corporate mergers and acquisitions.