Profiles of the 50 Best-Compensated Lawyers in L.A.

Highest-Paid Attorneys

Rand April

Jacob Bloom

John Branca 

Brad Brian

Harry "Skip" Brittenham

Bruce Broillet

Terry Christensen

Morgan Chu 

Bruce Clemens

Johnnie Cochran 

Michael Diamond 

John Donovan

Larry Feldman

Bertram Fields 

Tom Girardi

Patricia Glaser

Browne Greene

Marshall Grossman

Paul Grossman

Herbert Kafif

Barry Hirsch

Dan Jaffe

Martha Jordan

Robert Kaufman

Walter Lack

John Lavley

Robert Lewis 

Louis R. "Skip" Miller Ill

Christopher Murray

Thomas Nolan

Pierce O'Donnell

Ronald Olson 

Brian J. Panish

Kirk Pasich

Donald Passman

Michael Piuze

John B. Quinn

Bruce Ramer

Donald Re

Frank Reddick

Miles Ruthberg

Ted Sonnenschein

David Steuber

Paul Tosetti

Sorrell Trope

Paul Walker

Dennis Wasser

Ed Woodsome

Peter Ziegler

Kenneth Ziffren

Rand S. April

Skadden, Arps, State, Meagher & Flom

Specialty: Real estate law

Law School: Columbia University, 1975

Career Highlights: Represented Merrill Lynch & Co as underwriter in several initial public offerings, and Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co. Ltd. in numerous debt restructurings.

RAND April is one of those lawyers who looks at things as part of a grand design. That might be why, as he said, "if I wasn't a lawyer, I would have probably been an architect."

He has represented the owners of the ultra-stylish Standard Hotel on Sunset Boulevard and on their new Standard Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. "I take great pleasure in architecture, it's something tangible and solid and you can see the results of your efforts," he said.

April, who heads the L.A. office of Skadden Arps, has built a lucrative business on both real estate and corporate transactions.

He has worked on a number of hotel projects, including the Grand Hyatt Union Square Hotel in San Francisco and the Radisson Hotel in Manhattan Beach, and in restructurings involving numerous apartment projects including the Warner Center Apartments in Woodland Hills.

One of the higher-profile workouts he has been involved in is the restructuring of the $40 million loan on the Rodeo Collection, an 80,000-square-foot retail mall on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

His client list also includes Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, the Motion Picture Association of America, and shopping mall owner Westfield America.

Jacob A. Bloom

Bloom, Hergott, Diemer & Cook

Specialty: Entertainment law

Law School: Cornell University, 1966

Career Highlights: Negotiating contracts for Jerry Bruckheimer, Nicolas Cage and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

FOR many in Los Angeles, Jake Bloom's name is synonymous with the inner circles of Hollywood.

The firm he co-founded represents some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry, and his own glittering list includes producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Brian Grazer, directors Michael Bay and Ron Howard, and actors Jet Li, Nicolas Cage and Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others.

But his reach extends far beyond Los Angeles. He routinely helps negotiate international movie distribution rights.

Of late, Bloom has branched out from the movie and television business to represent some of the superstars of professional sports, as well as up-and-comers in the new-media field. He represented. Deion Sanders, last year in negotiating the football player's marketing and licensing agreements with Universal Studios. Bloom also serves on the board of United Internet Technologies, a licenser of smart toy technology.

One of Bloom's strengths is getting deals done, rather than haggling over inconsequential details.

"He's expeditious when it comes to contracts, which makes him someone you love to see on the other side of a deal, especially an intellectual property transaction," says Christopher Murray of O'Melveny & Myers.

Michael Bay, director of the upcoming feature "Pearl Harbor," has hailed him as "one of the biggest lawyers in Hollywood" and one of the people who convinced him to continue filming the movie when it went over budget.

In short, being seen at Spago with Bloom is enough to get Hollywood buzzing about who you are, and what kind of a deal you're cooking up.

John G. Branca

Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca & Fischer

Specialty: Music business representation

Law School: USC, 1975

Career Highlights: Negotiating contracts for Michael Jackson, Elton John and Areosmith.

JOHN Branca got an early start in the music business. When he was 16, he played keyboard and wrote songs for his own band. Although he ended up at USC instead of the Universal Amphitheater, Branca is fortunate enough to have combined the two passions in his life -- law and music -- into one lucrative career.

Since joining up with firm founders Kenneth Ziffren and Skip Brittenham, Branca has represented 26 members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- more than any other music industry lawyer. He has negotiated countless recording contracts that have yielded gold records, including Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Carlos Santana's comeback "Supernatural," two of the best-selling albums of all time.

He has done work for two generations of pop stars, from Elton John to the Backstreet Boys, and represented the Rolling Stones on their "Steel Wheels" tour. Veteran rock band Aerosmith (more recently of Super Bowl halftime fame) is another satisfied client.

Branca is also the lawyer behind Ted Field and the creation of Innerscope, which many industry observers agree is the most successful independent record label in the business.

Beyond the world of music, Branca served as outside counsel for Universal Pictures on its merger with Vivendi. Currently, he has gotten involved behind the scenes in the emergence of music on the Internet, working for a number of technology companies including Lycos and MP3.com. He used his influence to help the latter dot-cam to ink deals with the major record labels.

Brad Brian

Munger, Tolles & Olson

Specialty: Commercial litigation defense, white-collar criminal defense

Law School: Harvard, 1977

Career Highlights: Successfully defended former Columbia Savings & Loan chairman Tom Spiegel in a junk-bond scandal involving multiple bank fraud charges.

ATTRACTING Fortune 500 companies has always been par for Brad Brian's legal course.

He has represented at least a dozen of them, including Litton Systems Inc., Northrop Grumman Corp., Motorola Inc., General Electric Co., Allstate Insurance Co., Fluor Daniel Inc. and Jacobs Engineering.

But it was the stunning 1994 acquittal on all 45 bank fraud-related counts he gained for Tom Spiegel, former Columbia Savings & Loan chairman, that earned him a spot on the National Law Journal's top 10 list for trial lawyers that year.

"He's what I would call in football jargon a triple threat -- he's excellent with clients in terms of understanding their needs and expectations, he's extremely bright and he's a great trial lawyer," said John Morrissey, who has served as co-counsel with Brian. "That makes him really unique among the defense bar."

Brian's first taste of business fraud cases came when he served as an assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles from 1978 to 1981.

Those three years of public service gave him the trial experience he needed to switch over to private defense work.

He successfully defended the Boeing Co. in a $500 million suit filed by CSMC of Colorado, which claimed that Boeing interfered with its contract with the Russians to market commercial satellite launches around the world.

Harry 'Skip' Brittenham

Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca & Fischer

Specialty: Entertainment law

Law School: UCLA, 1979

Career Highlights: Representing Harrison Ford, Miramax co-chairmen Bob and Harvey Weinstein and Michael J. Fox.

SKIP Brittenham is an outsized personality at one of the largest television, music and motion picture practices in the world.

"He's the seller," says co-partner John Branca.

As senior partner, Brittenham has been involved in a broad range of merger-and-acquisition advisory work and financings within the entertainment industry. Among his impressive stable of clients are such personalities as Harrison Ford, Joe Roth, Michael J. Fox and Eddie Murphy.

Last May, Brittenham went to bat for the Weinsteins in their negotiations with the Walt Disney Co., extending the brothers' lucrative contract as co-chairmen of Miramax for another seven years.

Like many of his peers, Brittenham has also begun to dabble in the Internet. He represented both DreamWorks SKG and Imagine Entertainment in the formation of Pop.com last year. Perhaps more successfully, he recently persuaded his friend, Ted Field of Innerscope Records, to join him on the board of Internet advertising analysis company Strategic Data Corp., which is expected to go live at the end of this month.

"Skip's knowledge of deals and of the important players in the industry and the world is fabulous," says Lee Cooper, a friend of over 40 years and chairman of Strategic Data. "He's been crucial to the evolution of our business and is one of the most helpful board members. In fact, our board exists mostly because of Skip and his connections."

Bruce Broillet

Greene, Broillet, Taylor. Wheeler & Panish

Specialty: Plaintiff civil product liability

Law School: University of Texas at Austin, 1974

Career Highlights: Represented Los Angeles County in a multibillion-dollar claim against the tobacco industry.

ANTI-smoking advocates who cringed every time they saw that giant Marlboro Man staring them down as they cruised the Sunset Strip have Bruce Broillet to thank in part for the billboard's demise.

He and Orange County attorney Mark Robinson were the lead attorneys in Los Angeles County's lawsuit against the tobacco industry -- which ultimately ended in a nationwide settlement that will bring the county an estimated $3.5 billion over 25 years for health care and education.

Not a bad payout considering the litigation, which stretched through much of the latter half of the 1990s, didn't cost local taxpayers any money.

"We weren't going to put any county dollars into the litigation, so we needed to select attorneys who had experience and financial resources to be able to focus the activities in a productive way," said Roberta Fesler, senior assistant county counsel. "(Broillet) was very persuasive and effective in communicating the points he wanted to make. He was very well prepared and the information was presented in a non-legalistic manner."

Broillet began his career defending corporations, but an affinity for the little guy resulted in his crossing the legal corridor after only, a year and a half.

His first large judgment came in 1979 when General Motors was ordered to pay $670,000 to La Mirada resident Kenneth Allen, who suffered a brain stem injury affecting his sense of balance after the door of a van became unhinged and crashed down on his head.

"It was a thrilling victory because I knew who I was opposing," said Broillet. "I believe the kind of work I do encourages corporations to follow better business practices."

Terry Christensen

Christensen, Miller Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil & Shapiro

Specialty: Mergers and acquisitions

Law School: USC, 1965

Career Highlight: Currently representing Tracinda Corp. in its multibillion-dollar case against DaimlerChrysler.

GIVEN his success in representing various clients in the business community, it stands to reason that Terry Christensen has become known as an astute businessman in his own right.

"He combines trial advocacy skills with business acumen, which is difficult to find," said Peter Sadowsky, general counsel for Fidelity National Title Co.

Christensen recently won one of the largest securities cases in the country when he defended the officers and directors of Fidelity Bankers Life Insurance Co., who had been sued by the Virginia state insurance commissioner for more than $300 million. The Virginia jury unanimously sided with Christensen's clients on all counts.

Despite a career full of big-money victories, Christensen's current case, representing Tracinda Corp. against DaimlerChrysler in an $8 billion lawsuit, is his largest yet.

"Terry's unique in that he's not just a lawyer, he's also got a keen sense of the business realities of the legal advice that he gives," said Alex Yemenidjian, chairman and CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. "We have found that his advice is always so sound that he's beyond the law. That's why we put him on the board of MGM Mirage."

In fact, Christensen serves on the boards of four public companies.

In 1988, Christensen formed the law firm now known as Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil & Shapiro, and he has served as managing partner from the start. During that time, the firm has grown from 14 to 128 attorneys. Christensen says the success of the firm is due in part to a common approach among the partners towards how they conduct their business.

"We've been a partnership for 13 years and we've never had a vote," Christensen said, meaning that all decisions have been based on consensus among the partners.

Morgan Chu

Irell & Manella

Specialty: Intellectual property and technologies litigation

Law School: Harvard, 1976

Career Highlight: Won a $1 billion patent infringement settlement for Texas Instruments Inc.

MORGAN Chu established himself as one of the nation's best intellectual property litigators by winning a $120 million jury verdict for Stac Electronics in a data-compression products patent infringement case against Microsoft.

But that was just a warm up.

Two years later, Chu won a $1 billion settlement and new licensing agreement for Texas Instruments Inc. against Samsung in another patent infringement case.

The lawyer's compensation for such gargantuan victories is, of course, great. But Chu insists that his attraction to this field of law is more than wallet-deep. In short, his practice has enabled him to have Tuesdays that are always totally different from his Mondays.

"When you're dealing with patents, you're dealing with inventions," he said. "Everyday I'm getting to learn about these new technologies from the leaders in the field."

He was drawn into the field during one of his first cases -- a successful defense in 1979 of Mattel Inc., which had been sued by a man claiming the company stole his computer-parts patent for some electronic hand-held games.

More recently, Chu won a 1997 case against West Publishing Co., which was arguing that his client, Matthew Bender & Co., could not use West's page-numbering system for publishing state and federal court decisions.

His current clients include Hewlett-Packard Co., Compaq Computer Corp., Affymetrix Inc., St. Jude Medical Inc., AT&T Corp., CarsDirect.com and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Bruce Clemens

Jaffe & Clemens

Specialty: Family law

Law School: UCLA, 1974

Career Highlights: Represented the wives of James Cameron and Rupert Murdoch in their divorces.

ONE of Bruce Clemens' first jobs after law school was as an associate at Loeb & Loeb, where he met Jerry Goldberg. "My introduction to family law was at the highest level because Jerry was certainly on the 'A' list of Los Angeles' most prominent divorce attorneys," Clemens recalled.

Today, Clemens himself is well ensconced on that "A" list.

Charging a $600 hourly rate, Clemens, along with partner Dan Jaffe, has handled scores of high-profile splits where the marital estates exceeded $250 million.

While jealously guarding his clients' privacy, Clemens confirmed that he and Jaffe have represented the wives of James Cameron and media mogul Rupert Murdoch in their divorces, adding that they "have also represented Academy Award actors, studio heads and CEOs of large national corporations and financial institutions."

While agreeing that there tends to be a significant up-tick in divorces when the economy swings up or down, Clemens said that pattern doesn't apply to his practice.

"We are representing extremely wealthy people, so I don't see that relationship in our practice because our clients can always afford to get divorced or, in the alternative, can never afford to get divorced," he said.

Despite the emotionally draining nature of divorce law, Clemens clearly has a passion for what he does. "I find divorce law exciting and stimulating and rewarding," he said. "I work way too many hours, and I love them all."

Johnnie L. Cochran Jr.

Cochran, Cherry Givens & Smith

Specialty: Criminal law

Law School: Loyola University School of Law, 1962

Career Highlights: Represented O.J. Simpson in murder trial in which the former football star was found not guilty of Killing his ex-wife and her friend.

"IF it doesn't fit, you must acquit." It's a simple rhyme, even trite. But it was enough to lift Johnnie Cochran into another realm of law and fame during the O.J. Simpson trial. The high-profile Simpson case broadcast live around the world made the L.A. attorney a household name and a media star.

Shortly after the marathon trial finished with Simpson walking free, Cochran became one of the most sought-after criminal defense lawyers in the country. Currently, he is helping to defend rap star Sean "Puffy" Combs on gun possession and bribery charges in Manhattan.

"He's a good lawyer because he has a great courtroom demeanor," said Cameron Stewart, managing partner with Cochran, Cherry, Givens & Smith.

Cochran, who grew up in Shreveport, La., has a long list of famous clients that he has successfully defended. One of those is Geronimo Pratt, a former Black Panther who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he maintained he did not commit. Cochran won Pratt's freedom in 1997 after the murder conviction was overturned. Pratt was awarded a $4.5 million settlement.

Cochran, however, doesn't defend only the famous. Many of his clients are ordinary people facing serious charges. Currently, Cochran is defending Compton high school basketball coach Russell Otis, who is accused of molesting a 17-year-old player.

Cochran got his start working as a deputy city attorney in Los Angeles, assigned to the criminal division. He left to found the law firm of Cochran, Atkins & Evans, where he handled both civil and criminal cases. In 1992, he won a jury award that at the time was the highest in L.A. city history. It was a police misconduct case on behalf of a 13-year-old girl molested by a Los Angeles police officer.

Michael Diamond

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy

Specialty: Securities, corporate governance and shareholder disputes

Law School: Columbia University, 1969

Career Highlights: Represented the Walt Disney Co. in its defense against a hostile takeover attempt by Reliance Insurance; represented Kidder Peabody when it was sued as part of the Orange County bankruptcy.

WHAT do the Walt Disney Co. and Orange County have in common -- besides Disneyland? They both hired Michael Diamond to represent them in high-profile cases.

The attempted hostile takeover of the Walt Disney Co. in 1984 by Reliance Insurance was settled when the entertainment giant spent about $60. million to purchase the stock that Reliance had bought.

Then 10 years later, Diamond represented Kidder Peabody, which was one of several securities firms sued by Orange County as part of the largest county bankruptcy in U.S. history.

"The county claimed that several brokerage firms, including Kidder Peabody, acted improperly by selling reverse repurchase agreements," Diamond said. After several months of litigation, the combined suits were settled for about $20 million.

Most recently, Diamond joined forces with the firm's New York office to win a federal court jury trial in a trademark infringement suit on behalf of Dermablend, a subsidiary of L'Oreal USA. The jury found that by using "Quick Fix" on its packaging, Dermablend's competitor, Physicians Formula Cosmetics Inc., infringed on the L'Oreal trademark "Quick-Fix," which it has owned since 1989.

The verdict was issued earlier this month; terms were not disclosed.

"This is a great place to practice law," Diamond said. "It just seems there are more groundbreaking cases in Los Angeles. The economy presents more groundbreaking issues that have become the subject of disputes and actual litigation."

John A. Donovan

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Specialty: Antitrust, international oil and gas, and securities litigation

Law School: Fordham University, 1967

Career Highlights: Represented Atlantic Richfield in disputes involving the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field in Alaska, and Continental Airlines in the 1983 bankruptcy that reorganized the airline.

MAJOR companies, finding themselves in legal hot water, often turn to John Donovan for relief. One likely reason is that Donovan has won several high-profile cases over the past three decades.

For example, he secured judgments worth billions of dollars for the Atlantic Richfield Co., in a case involving the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field in Alaska. He also represented the developer of Florida housing developments largely destroyed by Hurricane Andrew, and Continental Airlines in the 1983 bankruptcy that succeeded in reorganizing the airline over the protests of the carrier's unions.

"He has an ability to understand very technical cases, which is an asset when it comes to representing oil companies," said Dave Marquez, chief counsel for Phillips Alaska Inc.

Besides representing airlines and oil companies, Donovan has worked in the entertainment industry litigating antitrust, copyright, accounting, plagiarism and contract cases.

"I like the technical aspects of my business," said Donovan. "I'm lucky because I can take cases where I can add some value and I'm interested in the subject matter."

Larry Feldman

Fogel, Feldman, Ostrov, Ringler & Klevens

Specialty: Civil, personal injury, negligence and breach of contract

Law School: Loyola University, 1969

Career highlights: Successfully defended Exxon in a $1 billion lawsuit filed by the state of California; won a massive settlement against Michael Jackson on allegations that the singer had molested a teen-age boy.

HIGH-profile criminal defense attorneys Robert Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran share a common denominator aside from helping O.J. Simpson beat the rap: When they each became the subject of a civil lawsuit, they each turned to Larry Feldman for defense.

The lure? Feldman has won hundreds of cases over the past three decades.

He successfully defended the libel suit against Shapiro, filed' in 1995 by former Los Angeles Police Department officer Mark Furhman and ultimately thrown out. And Feldman has scored victories in two palimony suits filed against Cochran by the woman who gave birth to his son in the early 1970s. One of those cases remains on appeal.

In a case four years ago, Feldman's client David Rintels, a writer-producer suing a Century City law firm for legal malpractice, was awarded $4 million by a jury. He later settled for less to avoid an appeal.

"Having Larry as a lawyer is like having an older brother and protector who fights for you," said Rintels. "He's wonderful to see in court. He has a strong sense about fairness and justice. He takes it personally. And, of course, he's extremely smart and always totally prepared."

It was Feldman who scored a settlement from Michael Jackson, reported to be $20 million to $25 million, on behalf of a West Los Angeles dentist whose then-B-year-old son alleged that he had been molested by the singer.

But his, career highlight to date has been his successful defense in 1999 of Exxon in a $1 billion lawsuit filed by the state of California, which claimed that the oil giant was not paying fair royalties from its drilling operations.

"I understand the basis on which one needs to communicate to a jury," says Feldman. "You need to find the key issues that will cause the jury to see the case the way your client does."

Bertram Fields

Greenberg, Glusker, Fields, Claman, Machtinger & Kinsella.

Specialty: Entertainment law

Law School: Harvard, 1952

Career Highlight: Represented Jeffrey Katzenberg in his suit against the Walt Disney Co.

BERTRAM Fields, hailed as one of the city's top entertainment attorneys and litigators, continues to prove himself a man for all seasons. His client list includes actors Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty, directors James Cameron and Mike Nichols. He has written two novels (under a pseudonym), and more recently, has used his legal expertise in his latest nonfiction offering, "Royal Blood," an examination of the life and death of Richard III.

Over the course of his legal career, Fields has represented almost every major Hollywood studio. But he has also never been afraid to go up against the big boys.

Field sued Steven Speilberg on behalf of an obscure novelist over the basis of "Amistad." He has taken on the Walt Disney Co. on several occasions, including representing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's effort to block Disney from using the "MGM-Disney Studios" name outside the United States, and handling Jeffrey Katzenberg's suit against his former boss, Michael Eisner, and Disney for a share of the profits in the hit films that Katzenberg had green-lighted while at the studio. Disney was found liable of breaching his contract in the first phase of the trial and settled for $250 million before the case reached the damages phase.

"It was a hard-fought case. I'd say my client was thrilled with the results," said Fields, who lists the case as one of his favorites.

Another favorite Fields case involved the Beatles and their suit over the play, "Beatlemania."

"It was a rip-off of a Beatles concert," said Fields, who hung out with the Fab Four while making sure that the court issued an injunction shutting down the popular play.

Fields just finished defending Oscar de la Hoya in the prizefighter's contract dispute with Bob Arum's Top Rank Inc. In that case, Fields argued successfully that terms of de la Hoya's contract violated California's State Boxing Act, freeing his client up to pursue other managers.

Fields finds time to write on weekends and vacations, and is at work on a book about Shakespeare. His knowledge of Elizabethan intrigue is certain to have been vastly improved by his experiences inside Hollywood.

Tom Girardi

Girardi & Keese

Specialty: Plaintiff toxic litigation, product liability, patent infringement

Law School: Loyola University, 1964; New York University, 1965

Career Highlight: A $333 million settlement against Pacific Gas & Electric.

ALTHOUGH Ed Masry was portrayed by Albert Finney in the hit movie "Erin Brockovich," he did not work alone in securing a $333 million settlement in 1997 from Pacific Gas & Electric as compensation for contaminating Hinkley, Calif.'s drinking water supply with the carcinogen chromium 6.

Lacking the financial resources and trial experience against big corporations, he turned to Tom Girardi, who along with co-counsel Walter Lack, spent $12 million on expert testimony, investigating the case and other expenses.

"It took us five minutes to come to an agreement on how we were going to handle the case and how they were going to advance my law firm monies to keep the case going," recalls Masry, who had by 1993 already taken out a second mortgage on his house and sold his retirement home to take the case as far as he could by himself. "Tom's handshake is as good as gold. Before we had an agreement in writing, they gave me $1.5 million or $2 million."

Girardi is currently suing Disney for negligence following an accident last September that left a 4-year-old boy permanently brain damaged.

The boy was thrown out of a spinning "tea cup" on the Roger Rabbit ride and was crushed by the oncoming seating area.

Medical bills alone for a lifetime of 24-hour care will run into the tens of millions of dollars, he says.

But massive monetary awards are nothing new to Girardi, who has secured more than 230 of them in his career, including a 1969 jury verdict that was the state's first-ever seven-figure award.

Patricia L. Glaser

Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser Weil & Shapiro

Specialty: Business litigation

Law School: Rutgers University, 1973

Career Highlight: MGM retroactive insurance litigation, settled for $76 million after jury was impaneled,

IN a business where deals have been made on a handshake in the hallway, lawyers live and die based on their reputation. Patricia Glaser's colleagues say her integrity in the courtroom has contributed to her wealth of success.

"She's a very worthy adversary," said Robert Mangels, senior partner at Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro.

Glaser is the co-chair of her firm's litigation department, and has handled several complex cases, including a $76 million settlement that MGM won against its insurers involving the MGM Grand fire.

Glaser said that despite the perks of being a successful lawyer, she genuinely loves her profession for the intellectual stimulation it provides her.

"I feel like a baseball player," she said. "I can't believe I'm getting paid so much money to have a good time."

The MGM case, she said, was one of her favorites.

"Based on complexity and dollars, complexity first, that was a big one for me," she said.

More recently, Glaser represented Marsu, the European parent of Marsupilami, a former character in the Disney animal kingdom, claiming that Disney's decision to abandon the mouse/marsupial hybrid cost the company millions. The court judgment for the plaintiff was for $10.4 million, plus attorney fees and costs.

She also took part in a federal court receivership involving $100 million in cash and real estate.

"She has a unique ability to be aware of virtually everything that goes on in the courtroom. Nothing passes her by. I can't say that about most lawyers," said Judge Judith C. Chrlin.

Browne Greene

Greene, Broillet, Taylor, Wheeler & Panish

Specialty: Product liability, personal injury, bad-faith insurance agreements

Law School: George Washington University, 1961

Career Highlights: Currently representing victims of two airline crashes and defective Firestone tires.

AT 6-foot-3 with dark hair and a trademark bow tie, colleagues say Browne Greene bears more than a passing resemblance to Abe Lincoln.

While Lincoln reached the zenith of political power, Greene may have landed more million-dollar awards than any lawyer in California.

"I'm not Perry Mason," he said. "I don't win them all."

But his reputation for winning lots of big-money cases has garnered numerous clients whose loved ones are victims of public-safety crises that are right off the front pages of the national media: the Singapore Airlines crash in Taiwan last October; the Alaska Airlines crash off the shore of Port Hueneme a year ago, and car accidents caused by Firestone tires blowing out.

Greene also represents former "Phantom of the Opera" lead actor Michael Crawford, who is suing the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas after an EFX show he was performing in went awry, leaving him with what Greene says are permanent injuries that required a hip replacement.

One of his first big awards came in 1976, when he won a $1.2 million jury verdict for a man whose fingers on both hands were cut off in an industrial accident. That bonanza came after he initially attempted to settle the case for $250,000.

As a result of that case, Greene joined the Inner Circle of Advocates, an elite 100-member plaintiff lawyers' group whose members must each have at least one million-dollar verdict for compensatory damages alone (excluding punitive damages), and have had jury verdicts in at least 50 civil trials.

Marshall Grossman

Alschuler, Grossman, Stein & Kahan

Specialty: Business litigation

Law School: USC, 1964

Career Highlight: Won a $350 million award for Guess Jeans.

NOTHING comes between Marshall Grossman and his client Guess Inc.

The owners of Guess sold a 50 percent stake in their company to Jordache Enterprises Inc. for $5 million in 1985, but subsequent to that sale, they discovered that Jordache had been using Guess designs for Jordache jeans.

Guess turned to Grossman, who convinced a jury to return a verdict in his client's favor. Jordache was ultimately persuaded to settle, returning the 50 percent equity stake to the original owners and cash. The total settlement value was a cool $350 million.

In another case, several of the nation's largest clothing manufacturers found themselves the targets of 1999 class-action lawsuit seeking to improve working conditions in Saipan, where a lot of the clothes are made. One defendant, Tommy Hilfiger, hired Grossman for representation.

A year later, Grossman settled his client's portion of the suit for what he calls a "negligible sum" and an agreement for improved conditions, most of which Hilfiger had proposed prior to the suit.

Grossman currently represents Big Five accounting firm Andersen Worldwide, charged in a civil lawsuit with failing to conduct a proper audit of the of books of HBOC, an Atlanta software company acquired by wholesale drug distributor McKesson in 1999.

When news of the irregularities was made public that year, the market value of McKesson dropped by $14 billion, prompting the suit by McKesson stockholders and former HBOC shareholders.

Grossman's job? To show that the accounting irregularities had been concealed from Andersen by HBOC management.

"I can't ignore the fact that it's a $14 billion lawsuit," he said. "But my job is to show that my client was not responsible for this loss, and that's what we intend to do."

Paul Grossman

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker

Specialty: Defending management in employment litigation

Law School: Yale, 1964

Career Highlights: Argued four cases before the California Supreme Court.

FOR Paul Grossman, it's not how much he wins for his clients, it's about how much he keeps them from having to pay out. And since he is regularly brought on to help overturn verdicts in the tens of millions of dollars, plenty of clients conclude he's worth the price.

Grossman has won two of the state's most significant employment litigation cases before the California Supreme Court in the past year alone.

The high court last March granted a new trial in a case dating back to the early 1980s. A Los Angeles Superior Court jury in 1984 ordered Hughes Aircraft Co. to pay plaintiffs Jeffrey Lane and David Villalpando $89.5 million in a celebrated discrimination suit.

In the second case, after an appeals court overturned a San Francisco Superior Court's summary judgment in favor of Bechtel National Inc., a construction company that had been sued for discrimination after it fired 22-year employee John Guz, Grossman persuaded the high court to reverse the decision last summer.

"We call it disaster mitigation," he said. "When a jury comes in with a seven-, eight-, or nine-figure verdict, we're likely to be called in to handle the post-trial arguments or appeals."

Grossman is currently serving as a consultant to lawyer Paul Cane, who is defending the makers of Wonder bread. Last year, the company was ordered to pay about two dozen plain-

Tiffs more than $120 million for alleged discrimination.

Herbert Hafif

Office Of Herbert Hafif

Speciality: Business litigation

Law School: USC, 1956

Career Highlight: Represented Computerland investors in case resulting in huge damages award.

HERBERT Hafif has been floating near the top of all measures of earnings for a long time.

In the late 1980s, Forbes magazine named him as the second wealthiest lawyer in America, with a $40 million annual income. That ranking should have been expected, since he had won 13 percent lion-dollar jury awards in U.S. history in the late 1970s.

Since then, Hafif has continued to rack up massive wins: a $141 million punitive damages award (plus another $500 million in stock) for ComputerLand investors in a shareholder suit against the company, and a $45 million judgment against California Federal for Weyerhaeuser Mortgage Co. in a loan repayment case.

"I began giving half my earnings away in the 1970s, when I started making an obscene amount of money," he said. "Don't get me wrong, I don't have an objection to going out and buying nice things, so I don't want to sound hypocritical or spiritual about it, but I do feel an obligation to give my money away."

Barry L. Hirsch

Armstrong, Hirsch, Jackoway, Tyerman & Wertheimer

Specialty: Entertainment law

Law School: USC, 1957

Career Highlights: Negotiating contract deals for Julia Roberts, Robert Redford and Francis Ford Coppola 

THERE are plenty of high-powered entertainment lawyers in town, but rare are those whose clients can claim they command the top dollar. Fewer still are those whose female clients are the biggest earners in the field.

Barry Hirsch counts among his clients Julia Roberts, the top female box office draw and one of the highest paid women in Hollywood.

Among his recent negotiations, Hirsch represented filmmaker Ed Burns in hammering out the production deal for the upcoming "Sidewalks of New York," starring Burns and Heather Graham. He also helped negotiate the terms of the 10-picture deal between Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope and MGM.

"For years, ICM has shared many clients with Barry," said ICM President Jeff Berg. "He brings a deep knowledge and insight to the situation."

Hirsch's wealth of contacts and insider know-how has also helped secure him a. high standing among his peers.

"He's one of the senior, outstanding lawyers in the city," said Bertram Fields of Greenberg, Glusker. "He knows as much as anyone about entertainment in L.A."

It's knowledge that Hirsch brings to his involvement in the Los Angeles Copyright Society. He has been a member for more than 35 years, helping weigh in on the intellectual and copyright issues at the heart of so many of his day-to-day activities.

Dan Jaffe

Jaffe & Clemens

Specialty: Family law

Law School: UCLA, 1962

Career Highlights: Represented the wives of James Cameron and Rupert Murdoch in their divorces.

ASK who the hottest divorce attorney in Los Angeles is these days and the name Dan Jaffe comes up a lot.

Charging a $600 hourly rate, he, along with partner Bruce Clemens, has handled countless cases where the marital estates exceeded $250 million.

While Jaffe adamantly refuses to discuss his client list, he confirmed that he and Clemens have represented the wives of James Cameron and media mogul Rupert Murdoch in their recent splits and that most of their other clients are "extremely wealthy."

"Sometimes I'll be in court with a client and, to keep things in perspective, I'll remind him that he makes more in a month than every single person in that courtroom, including the judge, makes in a year," he said.

Keeping things in perspective helps explain why only 5 percent of his cases go to trial.

"We do maybe three or four contested trials a year," he said, "One reason why is that the numbers are so large in the cases we handle. But sometimes even those contested cases are easy to settle if you just tell your client that, if they give their spouse another few millions dollars, the case will go away."

Jaffe's success in what can be a ruthless, cutthroat business may partly stem from his low-key, no-nonsense approach.

"My approach is not to try to kill the other side and get every dollar possible," he said. "My approach is to see if we can get two genuinely nice people out of a difficult situation alive and well. If we can do that, and if we can get their kids out alive and well, then we've done our job well."

Martha Jordan

Latham & Watkins

Specialty: Real estate law

Law School: UC Berkeley, 1983

Career Highlight: Played key role in reorganization of Red Lion Hotels.

As managing partner of the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins and a past head of its finance and real estate department, Martha Jordan has been actively involved in a wide array of high-profile property transactions. Among them have been the reorganization of Red Lion Hotels, the sale of Wine World Estates (including the Beringer Winery), the acquisition of Orchard Supply Hardware and the sale of the Stouffer hotel chain.

In recent years, she has been involved in numerous real estate investment trust transactions, including the initial public offering of REITs formed by Arden Realty, Kilroy Realty and Alexander Haagen Properties (now CenterTrust) as well as the complete liquidation of Wells Fargo Mortgage and Equity Trust.

In addition to her work on behalf of individual clients, under her chairmanship, Latham & Watkins topped $1 million in profits per partner last year.

Robert S. Kaufman

Kaufman & Young

Specialty: Family law

Law School: Southwestern University, 1963

Career Highlights: Represented Michael Douglas and Rupert Murdoch in their respective divorce cases.

WHEN Splitsville hits Hollywood, divorce attorney Robert Kaufman is there to sort out the mess.

Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan and Antonio Banderas have all made use of the services of Kaufman, who is credited with developing the argument that the goodwill of a celebrity can have economic value as a property right and, therefore, should figure into divorce settlements.

Other big-name clients include actor Michael Douglas and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

"Whenever there is a big divorce case in Los Angeles or New York, he's involved. He is one of the guys who gets called in when there is $100 million on the line," said Nathan Goldberg, senior partner at Alfred, Maroko & Goldberg.

After graduating from Southwestern University law school in 1963, Kaufman began specializing in family law, which he has taught at Pepperdine University and UCLA. He, also lectures- around the country at legal seminars and writes about divorce issues for legal magazines.

Walter Lack

Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack

Specialty: Environmental/toxic torts, personal injury, insurance bad-faith cases

Law School: Loyola University in Los Angeles, 1973

Career Highlight: Secured $333 million settlement from Pacific Gas & Electric.

WALTER Lack has secured so many multimillion-dollar awards that he has lost track of the number.

But lawyers who have opposed him have not forgotten what makes him so effective: intelligence, preparedness and self-confidence - oh, and he's real tough on witness cross-examinations.

"Walter goes right at them and he's usually got the goods on them," said Bob Baker, who also represented O.J. Simpson in his civil trial. "Walter has a confrontational style. It works well with his personality. And it's a lot of fun to watch - if it's not your client."

Lack was part of the legal team that won a $333 million settlement from Pacific Gas & Electric for residents of Hinkley, Calif., whose water the utility giant contaminated with chromium 6.

A year ago, a court sided with his contention that residents living in San Bernadino County during the 1950s and 1960s should recover the costs of monitoring their health from Lockheed Martin, which allegedly polluted their drinking water supply with industrial chemicals. That case is now on appeal before the California Supreme Court.

Lack won a $100 million settlement two years ago from State Farm Insurance for rejecting property claims filed by 102 victims of the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

He also recently won what he said would ultimately be more than $90 million from Allstate Insurance Co. to repair about 3,000 homes to their condition before the earthquake.

Lack is currently seeking what he hopes will be hundreds of billions of dollars from the tobacco industry for health care costs stemming from tobacco-related illnesses in seven foreign countries. In short, Lack is likely to add considerable additional sums to his already rich compensation.

John Lavley

Lavley & Singer

Specialty: Business litigation, with an emphasis on entertainment

Law School: University of Pennsylvania, 1969

Career Highlights: Represented Brad Pitt against Playgirl after the magazine published nude photos of him.

WHEN one of your clients is considered among the sexiest men in the world, trouble's bound to follow him.

So Brad Pitt has relied on John Lavley over the years to help protect his image and his name.

Lavley has represented many of Hollywood's elite in defamation and privacy cases, and in 1997 he handled Pitt's suit against Playgirl magazine after it published nude photos of the Hollywood hunk frolicking on a Caribbean island with former finance, Gwyneth Paltrow.

The decision: a Superior Court judge recalled the issues, despite the fact that it had sold out weeks prior the decision.

Lavley said he enjoys working in the entertainment industry, but celebrities aren't always his dish.

"I enjoy cases in the entertainment industry," he said. "But I like to handle clients that are involved in all areas of the business. You become familiar with how their business works and how agreements are made - the creative and business collaboration among a variety of people. And then, of course, the disputes that arise as a result of those complex relationships."

With new media come new challenges. Layley recently handled another case for Pitt, this time against a "cyber-squatter" who had appropriated Pitt's name for a Web site.

Robert Lewis

Lewis D 'Amato Brisbois & Bisgaard

Specialty: Securities transactions

Law School: UCLA, 1961

Career Highlight: Established that an insurer was not liable for the bankruptcy of an uninsured physician it had agreed to defend.

ROBERT Lewis most enjoys complex litigation, for the high stakes and challenge.

"Normally they're very substantial cases, multimillion-dollar lawsuits," he said. "And you're dealing with some of the most respected and successful lawyers around."

In one malpractice case, an uninsured physician argued that he was liable for a smaller portion of damages due to his bankruptcy filing. Lewis represented the insurance company on behalf of two insured doctors in the same case.

At trial, the uninsured physician was allowed to introduce evidence of his bankruptcy, and the jury allocated less liability to him. Lewis argued that the acts of the insurer had nothing to do with the uninsured physician's bankruptcy, and that learning of his bankruptcy had improperly influenced the jury. The court agreed.

In addition to his success in the courtroom, Lewis has a reputation for being an astute businessman, as evidenced by the growth of the firm that he and three others co-founded on April Fool's Day, 1979. Today the firm - Lewis D'Amato Brisbois & Bisgaard - boasts more than 200 lawyers across the state, with offices in San Francisco, San Diego, Costa Mesa, the Inland Empire and Sacramento.

"Bob developed his business not only internally, but he was also able to expand laterally by hiring key players and sometimes entire law firms," said U.S. District Court judge Dickran Tevrizian. "Most firms cherry-pick the rainmakers. Bob had enough respect for the other employees to absorb the entire firm."

Louis R 'Skip' Miller Ill

Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser

Weil & Shapiro

Specialty: Litigation

Law School: UCLA, 1972

Career Highlight: Assisted the city of Los Angeles in the Rodney King civil rights action.

WHEN it comes to complex, high-profile cases, Skip Miller is regarded as a go-to heavy hitter in Los Angeles. Along with the city attorney, he defended the city of Los Angeles in a series of cases arising from the operations of the LAPD including, among several others, the Rodney King civil rights action.

Now on the side of private-sector litigants, including a fair number of celebrity clients, Miller has vaulted into the top tier of legal moneymakers.

Miller has worked with many of Hollywood's artists and actors, such as Rod Stewart, Elton John, Paula Abdul, Nick Nolte and Bob Dylan as well as many of the major studios including MGM, Columbia and TriStar.

"It's great being in the courtroom with him as opposing counsel," said Guy Nicholson, litigation partner at Tisdale & Nicholson. "He's a terrific lawyer and-is always well-prepared. I'd hire him."

Miller said he has no preference for the types of cases he takes, noting that in the span of his career he has tried civil rights, real estate, entertainment, securities, antitrust and even criminal cases.

"I enjoy the process, and I especially enjoy trials," Miller said. "I'm most proud of getting good results for my clients."

Other prominent cases include prevailing on behalf of a director of Executive Life Insurance Co. after a three-month trial in the largest insurance failure in California history, as well as winning a sexual harassment trial on behalf of the City of Pasadena and Rose Bowl.

"He's probably the most capable cross-examiner I have ever seen," said Dave Jacobs, retired general manager of the Rose Bowl. "He has an absolute will to win."

Christopher Murray

O'Melveny & Myers

Specialty: Entertainment and new-media law

Law School: USC, 1974

Career Highlights: Represented Warner Bros. in several multi-picture deals.

'T'HERE'S big money where the entertainment and the digital worlds collide. And that's where Christopher Murray just happens to be standing.

Murray represented EMI in its deal for the digital delivery of its music catalogue through MP3.com. He was involved in Yahoo's content deal with the National Basketball Association. And, he represented Warner Bros. Studios in signing big-money, multi-picture deals with Bet Air Films, Franchise Pictures and the former Castle Rock Entertainment.

After clerking for a 9th Circuit judge right after law school, Murray took a job at O'Melveny & Myers and hasn't looked back. Along the way, he has carved out a space for himself and his firm in the changing world of entertainment law.

Murray was drawn to O'Melveny & Myers by its entertainment and media focus - the only firm among the major Wall Street-oriented law firms with that focus at the time.

His practice hasn't been limited to corporate entities - "a lawyer's lawyer," he counts among his clients several general counsels from Hollywood studios and dot-coms across the country. These days, Murray has increasingly involved himself in digital media advisory work.

"I'm drawn to the velocity of change, the intellectual challenge, the existential chess of the digital technology revolution," he said.

Murray enjoys the possibilities for creative deals that are currently available to today's entertainment lawyers.

"It's no longer the painting by numbers of an actor's contract," he said.

Thomas J. Nolan

Howrey Simon, Arnold & White

Specialty: Antitrust and intellectual property

Law School: Loyola of Los Angeles, 1975

Career Highlights: Represented Litton Industries Inc. in its 1996 antitrust suit against Honeywell Inc.; represented Pioneer Electronic Corp. in an antitrust suit involving compact discs.

OPPOSING parties are finding out that it will cost them more and more to mess with Thomas Nolan.

In 1996, Nolan was lead counsel for Litton Industries in an antitrust suit against Honeywell Inc., in which a federal jury found for Litton and awarded the company $234 million.

That award was tripled under the antitrust laws, resulting in a verdict of $702 million. Honeywell, needless to say, wasn't thrilled and appealed the verdict. When the damages portion of the case was retried two years later, the award was bumped up to $250 million and, with treble damages, judgment was entered in favor of Litton in the amount of $750 million.

Those are big numbers for a guy who started out an Assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles. It also helps explains why Nolan s now the managing partner of Howrey Simon Arnold & White's Southern California offices and one of the most influential attorneys in California.

He has represented Pioneer Electronic Corp. and its licensing entity, DiscoVision Associates, in connection with a patent infringement and antitrust suit regarding patented technology in compact discs.

Nolan also played a key role in Howrey's acquisition of Los Angeles-based firm Troop Steuber Pasich Reddick & Tobey LLP, which was merged into Howrey on Jan. 1.

Pierce O'Donnell

O'Donnell & Shaeffer

Specialty: Trial cases

Law School: Georgetown, 1972; Master's from Yale Law, 1974

Career Highlights: Served as lead defense counsel for Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., Pfizer Inc. and Lockheed Martin Corp., in a variety of class-action suits; represented MGM in defending the James Bond character against copyright infringement; successfully represented Art Buchwald in litigation against Paramount Pictures.

PIERCE O'Donnell describes the kind of cases that he likes to take as the ones where his clients "bet the company." The gamble usually pays off.

O'Donnell has been involved in some of the largest class-action lawsuits and more infamous entertainment legal wrangles of the past decades.

In 1993, he served as lead counsel for Pfizer Inc., successfully defending the company against 375 cases involving allegedly defective heart valves. Having done so well, O'Donnell has been retained to defend the pharmaceutical giant in litigation over its drugs Zoloft, Viagra and Rezulin, as well as pending lawsuits over its penile implants.

O'Donnell has been equally successful for other corporate clients, including Reebok International Ltd., Bridgestone/Firestone, General Electric Capital Services, NBC, Philips Petroleum Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Texaco, as well as the Republic of France and the city of Los Angeles.

Prominent plaintiff attorney Tom Girardi, who is now working with O'Donnell after many years of being on the other side of the courtroom, likens the experience to "being a mediocre center in the NBA and having to guard Shaq, then having him traded to your team."

O'Donnell has also played hardball on several Hollywood cases. Working on behalf of Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Inc., he won a landmark case in 1995 against American Honda Motor Co., which recognized federal copyright protection for the fictional movie character James Bond. Three years later, his injunction blocked Sony Corp. from starting its own competing James Bond film series.

O'Donnell has also worked for Miramax Films and New Line Cinema. He switched sides to take on Paramount Pictures in the case over authorship of the film "Coming to America." The seven-year suit on behalf of columnist Art Buchwald was the subject of his book, "Fatal Subtraction: How Hollywood Really Does Business."

O'Donnell -- a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Byron White, protege of Edward Bennett Williams, and a 1980 Democratic candidate for Congress -- has never liked to restrict his work to one side of the courtroom.

"The intellectual challenges become limitless when you divide your time between being the defendant and the plaintiff," he said.

Ronald Olson

Munger Tolles & Olson

Law School: University of Michigan, 1966

Specialty: Business and entertainment litigation

Career Highlight: Defended Merrill Lynch in a lawsuit brought on by Orange County.

RONALD Olson's fingerprints can be found on some of the state and nation's biggest oil and utility litigation.

He just negotiated a $110 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by the federal government alleging that his client, Shell Oil Co., was underpaying royalties for on- and offshore drilling.

While that settlement may seem painful for Shell, the company is pleased with Olson's performance and the case's outcome. Evidence of that is the fact that the oil giant has retained him for defense against lawsuits filed by California's gasoline buyers, who are alleging price fixing against Shell and several other major companies.

Colleagues say that Olson earns the respect of lawyers on both sides with his superb negotiations skills, high level of integrity and preparedness.

"He's not going to get into a position where, if settlement negotiations fail, he's not ready for trial," said Cathy Lamboley, general counsel for Shell. "He does his homework. I would classify Ron as a doer rather than just a talker."

Olson negotiated an undisclosed settlement on behalf of Merrill Lynch, which was sued for breach of fiduciary duty by Orange County following its bankruptcy in the mid-1990s.

He is currently. representing Southern California Edison in a suit filed against the California Public Utilities Commission, claiming that the agency lacks the authority to maintain a cap on power rates.

Despite his long, distinguished track record in litigation involving major oil and utility companies, Olson said he has no real preferences regarding the types of cases he takes on.

"I take what comes in the door," he said.

Brian Panish

Greene, Broillet, Taylor, Wheeler & Panish

Specialty: Aviation law, business, personal injury and product liability litigation

Law School: Southwestern University in Los Angeles, 1984

Career Highlight: Won a $4.9 billion award against General Motors, said to be the largest personal-injury jury verdict ever in the United States.

BRIAN Panish's resume contains a list of 60 jury verdicts or settlements garnering more than $l million each, including seven for at least $10 million each.

One of those verdicts made the others look like pocket change: a $4.9 billion award in July 1999 against General Motors. The gas tank on a 1979 Chevrolet Malibu exploded when the car was rear-ended, severely burning the two adults and four children inside. The verdict is currently on appeal.

That he was able to win such high judgments comes as no surprise to San Francisco attorney Stuart Gordon, who faced Panish last year in a diet drug lawsuit.

"He's one of the best lawyers I've ever dealt with in the 35 years I've practiced law," said Gordon.

Panish also won a 1996 jury verdict of $22 million against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority after a motorist ran over his client while being chased by MTA police. The woman's leg had to be amputated.

His current clients include the families of numerous passengers who died in the Singapore Airlines and Alaska Airlines crashes in the past year.

Kirk Pasich

Howrey, Simon, Arnold & White

Specialty: Commercial trial law and insurance coverage

Law School: Loyola of Los Angeles, 1980

Career Highlights: Represented Kaiser Aluminum Chemical Corp. in its suit against Fireman's Fund Insurance. Negotiated multimillion-dollar settlement for Northrop against American Motorists Insurance Co.

AFTER two decades as an attorney, Kirk Pasich has proven he can handle the high- pressure cases. His client list includes such corporate giants as American Motorists Insurance Co., Kaiser Aluminum Chemical Corp. and Rockwell International Corp.

Pasich sued Fireman's Fund Insurance on behalf of Kaiser Aluminum, claiming that the company had wrongly denied the existence of coverage and the scope of coverage for asbestos bodily injury lawsuits. The matter was settled during the first day of the defense's case -- two months into a jury trial and after Kaiser Aluminum had rested.

He also represented Northrop in its case against American Motorists Insurance Co., involving insurance coverage for pollution-related damage at a Massachusetts location. The jury returned a verdict of $19.6 million in favor of Northrop. The verdict was one of the 10 largest verdicts in California in the 1990s and was subsequently settled on appeal.

"He's one of the most effective litigators I've ever dealt with," said Michael Berg, a private judge and former Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. "In' the three private cases I've witnessed, he always had a command of the facts. He is also known as an aggressive settlement attorney."

Donald S. Passman

Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown

Specialty: Entertainment law

Law School: Harvard, 1970

Career Highlights: Represented singers Lauryn Hill, Mariah Carey and Master P.

THE Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" garnered a record five Grammys for pop diva Lauryn Hill in 1999. It also nabbed her a lawsuit when four of the musicians who had worked with her on the album claimed they were not given the credit -- or cash -- they deserved for their work on the project.

Enter Donald Passman, one of the preeminent music industry attorneys in Los Angeles.

Passman -- whose client list has included singers Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey, producer/impresario Quincy Jones and pop band R.E.M. -- represented Hill in the negotiations with the four. Hill agreed to a settlement last week, the terms of which were not disclosed.

Odds are, however, she was well served.

"He's one of the best in the industry and across the country," says colleague Bertram Fields. "Second to none."

Passman is also an author, having penned "All You need to Know About the Music Business" in 1991. It's one of the most widely read and influential books about the nuts and bolts of succeeding in the music industry. Artists as diverse as pop rock band Vertical Horizon and Louisiana rapper Master P (the 10th highest paid entertainer in America) credit their success to following Passman's tenets.

Michael J. Piuze

Law Offices of Michael J. Piuze

Specialty: Personal injury litigation

Law School: University of Texas, 1971

Career Highlights: Won a $40 million judgment against Allstate Insurance Co.; won a $12 million judgment against Ford Motor Co.

MICHAEL Piuze says he decided to go to law school after being roughed up by two Southern cops who had pulled him over on a minor traffic violation. Dun his almost 30 years in practice, he has been the one doing the roughing up, legally pummeling some major opponents. His resume includes cases against Ford Motor Co., the County of Los Angeles and General Motors Corp.

In 1998; Piuze won a $12.5 million judgment against Ford after arguing that the roof of a pickup truck had collapsed too easily during a rollover and left his client with a broken back. He also won a $40 million judgment in 1983 against Allstate Insurance, an unprecedented award at the time, stemming from a $30,000 accident claim.

He has been named Trial Lawyer of the Year twice, once in 1996 by the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association and in 1998 by O'Brien's Evaluator, after trying three cases that resulted in $27 million in gross verdicts and $20 million in net verdicts.

Piuze says he takes the tough cases because he enjoys a challenge. In 1978, after only six years in practice, he became the youngest California attorney to win a $1 million jury verdict.

John B. Quinn

Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart, Oliver & Hedges

Specialty: Business litigation

Law School: Harvard, 1976

Career Highlight: Served as lead trial lawyer for General Motors in its lawsuit against Volkswagen over the departure of Ignacio Lopez.

"DRIVEN" seems to be an appropriate word for describing John B. Quinn.

Quinn was the lead trial lawyer in GM's lawsuit against Volkswagen, stemming from the defection of Jose Ignacio Lopez just as he was about to be anointed GM's No. 2 boss.

In one of the biggest industrial spying cases in history, Quinn was able to negotiate a $1.1 billion settlement on behalf of GM.

That makes the $80 million jury verdict he won in a case for Avery Dennison Corp. look small. The Avery case, also involving theft of trade secrets, was waged against a Taiwanese competitor and its chairman.

Quinn -- a founding partner at Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart, Oliver & Hedges -- "is an extremely hard worker who isn't bashful about getting down in the trenches," said John J. Higgins, acting general counsel for Hughes Electronics. "He plays to win."

"He likes to go to trial, which is unusual for a senior partner of a big firm," said Hillel Chodos, who has opposed Quinn a number of times.

Quinn is also general counsel for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a position he has held since 1987.

Bruce M. Ramer

Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown

Specialty: Entertainment law

Law School: Harvard, 1958

Career Highlights: Representing Steven Spielberg for the past 30 years.

BRUCE M. Ramer is the high-profile movie industry lawyer best known for his longtime representation of Steven Spielberg. But he also represents several other celebrities, including actors Clint Eastwood and George Clooney and directors Milos Forman and Robert Zemeckis. The National Law Journal's "Profiles in Power" has lauded Ramer as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America.

"He's been Steven's attorney and friend for as long as Mr. Spielberg has been making movies and television shows," said Spielberg's press agent, Marvin Levy. "Bruce has been there on every major thing Steven has done. When you have somebody who you trust, that lasts. A lot of people don't have those relationships. Bruce Ramer is an outstanding man, both professionally and personally.

Levy neglected to add that on the set of "Jaws," Spielberg nicknamed the mechanical great white shark "Bruce."

Donald M. Re

Law Offices of Donald M. Re

Speciality: Criminal defense

Law School: UCLA, 1970

Career Highlight: Helped John DeLorean beat a cocaine rap.

THEY'RE the kind of people who make the news, but for all the wrong reasons. And when the heat comes down, their immediate response is to put in a call to Donald M. Re.

From automaker John Z. DeLorean (accused of cocaine dealing) to McKinley Lee (the bodyguard of rap star Snoop Dogg who was accused of murder), high-profile types facing criminal charges have been turning for years to Re to get them off the hook.

In many cases, Re hasn't let them down. And although he takes on very public cases, Re says he does not seek the limelight.

"I don't think that publicity brings people in the door, though it may make it easier for them to stay -- if it makes them think, 'This guy knows what he's doing,"' said Re.

Most of his clients come through referrals from other attorneys, rather than from notoriety generated by previous cases, he said.

And while confrontations in criminal proceedings can be hard fought, even Re's courtroom adversaries acknowledge his talents.

Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Munisoglu, for example, went up against Re in what investigators called the state's largest workers' comp fraud scheme ever. She lost, with Re prevailing in his defense.

Even in defeat, Munisoglu acknowledged, "I would much rather have a really good professional on the other side than someone who doesn't know what they are doing."

Re, who works alone, continues to represent some of the most notorious criminal defendants in town.

Among his more recent cases was a 50-month plea bargain that he negotiated for Joseph Isgro, the record promoter accused of being a mob soldier and running a loan sharking business at a Beverly Hills shopping center. He is also the attorney for former nightclub owner and accused racketeer Eddie Nash on charges ranging from murder to drug trafficking.

Frank Reddick

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld

Specialty: Mergers and acquisitions

Law School: UC Berkeley, 1980

Career Highlights: Represented Sony Pictures Entertainment on its investment in Telemundo Group Inc.; represented Fox Kids Worldwide in its $1.9 billion acquisition of International Family Entertainment.

THE past few years have been busy ones for Frank Reddick. Since 1997, he has handled Sony's investment in the Telemundo Group Inc., helped negotiate Fox's purchase of the Family Channel and merged his previous law firm -- Troop, Steeper, Pasich, Reddick, & Toby LLP -- with the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP.

The merger, effective Jan. 1, involved 61 lawyers joining Akin Gump in Los Angeles. The Akin Gump office now has 136 lawyers and ranks among the city's 10 largest law firms.

Reddick's transactional experience is diverse. In 1997, he represented Fox Kids Worldwide, now known as Fox Family Worldwide, in its $1.9 billion acquisition of a family-oriented cable channel from religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, which today is the Fox Family Channel.

He also represented Sony Pictures Entertainment on a deal in which a consortium of Sony and Liberty Media bought a 25 percent equity stake in Telemundo Group Inc. for $539 million.

Miles Ruthberg

Latham & Watkins

Specialty: Securities law, accountants' defense, antitrust and class actions

Law School: Harvard, 1976

Career Highlight: Defended 3M in the massive class-action lawsuit brought by silicone breast-implant patients.

YOU wouldn't think a case in which your client was among those stung with a $1 billion-plus settlement would be much to crow about, but in the world of big-time class-action lawsuits, success is a relative matter.

And no one may know that better than Miles Ruthberg, national chair of Latham & Watkins' litigation department, who represented 3M in the lawsuit brought by hundreds of thousands of women who claimed they were sickened by their silicone breast implants.

As one of the lead negotiators for 3M, Ruthberg helped the Minnesota industrial giant to settle the case for $26,000 per claim. Hardly peanuts, but in the end, 3M was still standing while fellow defendant Dow Corning Corp. was bankrupt.

"He is a super attorney," said U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Poynter, who handled the case for eight years before retiring last year. "Nobody was too happy, but it was not a situation where everybody walked away grumbling from the legal settlement."

You can ditto that for Ruthberg's handling of class-action and professional liability lawsuits brought against accounting giant Ernst & Young, which had audited the books of Lincoln Savings & Loan before it failed in the S&L debacle of the 1980s.

The accounting firm was facing $2 billion in damages, but walked away with a $63 million judgment.

"The game is to pay a small percentage, and sometimes you luck out and get out entirely," Ruthberg said.

One case in which Ruthberg's client "got out entirely" came when a federal judge, in a decision upheld a few months ago, dismissed a $100 million RICO lawsuit against America Online, for its initially problem-plagued move to go to unlimited Internet access.

Ted Sonnenschein Jr.

Latham & Watkins

Specialty: Strategic legal consulting, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions

Law School: Harvard, 1979

Career Highlights: Represented Harrah's in its acquisition of Player's International, Rio Hotel & Casino and the Showboat Casino-Hotel.

FOLLOW the money. What was good advice for Woodward and Bernstein hasn't turned out too shabby for Ted Sonnenschein Jr. either.

A 21-year veteran of Latham & Watkins, Sonnenschein was chairman of the global law firm's corporate department for five years before becoming co-chairman of its venture and technology group upon its formation last year.

That puts him knee-deep in such industries as computational genomics, satellite-based broadband and the still-kicking portions of the Web, including a B2B Web site being developed by some of the nation's top property management firms.

"You follow the market,". Sonnenschein said, in describing his legal path to riches.

A few years ago, that meant putting together real estate investment trusts for Kilroy Realty Corp., National Golf Properties and Center Trust Inc. Prior to that, he represented Harrah's Entertainment's acquisition of Players International Inc., the Rio Hotel & Casino and the Showboat Casino-Hotel.

Now, with his new technology focus, he was lead counsel last year for Merrill Lynch & Co. in its role underwriting three public offerings totaling $4.7 billion by Solectron Corp., a giant electronics manufacturer.

Though he didn't have as much experience in technology as some of the firm's other attorneys, firm chairman Bob Dell said that Sonnenschein was the smart choice to head the new division.

"I knew he would roll up his sleeves and jump in," Dell said. "Ted is the kind of lawyer who is not just a big-picture person. Ted likes to know everything."

David Steuber

Howrey Simon, Arnold & White

Specialty: Commercial litigation

Law School: University of Virginia, 1973

Career Highlight: Represented Sony Pictures Entertainment against Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in a battle over the James Bond franchise.

CENTURY-old advice may have prompted David Steuber to move to Los Angeles more than 30 years ago, but his practice is very much of the moment.

Specializing in complex commercial litigation, Steuber recently represented Sony Pictures Entertainment in its battle against Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer over the rights to the valuable James Bond franchise.

More significant, from a legal perspective, was Steuber's involvement in the 17-year asbestos battle that has been called one of the biggest pieces of litigation in California's history. While he couldn't put an exact figure on that proceeding, Steuber said the stakes in the asbestos case are in the multibillion-dollar range.

Currently, he's representing Montgomery Ward in an insurance coverage case in which tens of millions of dollars are at stake.

Though he's now ensconced in Los Angeles, it was youthful wanderlust that brought him here.

"Right after I finished law school at the University of Virginia, my wife and I decided to heed the words of Horace Greeley and 'Go West,'" he said. "Neither of us had been to California before. We were young and had no kids, so we decided it would be a great opportunity to see what California might provide."

Before making his move to Howrey, Simon, Arnold & White last year, Steuber was a nameplate partner at Troop, Steuber, Pasich, Reddick & Tobey.

Paul Tosetti

Latham & Watkins

Specialty: Mergers and acquisitions

Law School: Harvard, 1981

Career Highlights: Represented Hilton Hotel Corp. in its unsuccessful hostile takeover bid for ITT Corp.; Represented Telemundo Group Inc. when a consortium of companies, including Sony Entertainment Pictures, purchased a 25 percent equity stake in the network in 1997.

FOR Paul Tosetti it's about the deal.

Over the years, Tosetti has represented some of the nation's most sophisticated clients, including Hilton Hotel Corp., Telemundo Group Inc., Amgen Inc. and Marvin Davis.

Among the biggest-value deals he's been involved in was Hilton's unsuccessful hostile $10 billion takeover bid for ITT.

"We basically did everything right in forcing their shareholders to vote on the offer," said Tosetti. "In the end, we got outbid by Starwood. It was a good, long process, even though Hilton didn't get the deal that it wanted."

Tosetti said that, although the Hilton bid was unsuccessful, it was an experience that he has been able to continually draw on when working on various other transactions, most recently the ones for William Simon & Sons.

He was also instrumental in assisting Telemundo in 1997, when several companies including Sony paid $539 million for an ownership stake in the Spanish-language television network.

But his practice isn't limited to high-stakes corporate takeovers. Tosetti also practices sports and entertainment law, with his experience ranging from negotiation of television contracts to the organization of new sports leagues.

He acted as outside counsel to World Cup USA 1994 Inc., the organization responsible for coordinating the international soccer tournament. He is also acting as counsel to Major League Soccer LLC.

Sorrell Trope

Trope & Trope

Specialty: Family law

Law School: USC, 1949

Career Highlights: Represented Cary Grant for 18 years; proved that a wife could learn to run her husband's business during the divorce proceedings, thereby taking it over as part of the divorce settlement.

WHEN a celebrity marriage fails, there's a good chance that Sorrell Trope's telephone will ring. Trope has been practicing family law for more than half a century, even before California passed its no-fault law in 1970 that made divorce litigation just another form of civil law.

Over the years, he has built a high-profile celebrity divorce business that has attracted clients like Kelly LeBrock, Rod Steiger and Roseanne Barr. He also represented Cary Grant for 18 years in custody disputes involving the daughter he had with Dyan Cannon.

"He was a wonderful client," Trope said. 'The reason he was wonderful was not because he was Cary Grant, the actor, but that he was a compassionate human being to deal with."

Trope said another career highlight was around 12 years ago when he proved that a husband's wife could learn to run his business during the divorce proceedings, thereby allowing the judge to award the business to his client as part of a settlement. "It was the first of its kind ruling in California," he said.

In 1999, he gave $1 million to the USC Law School. "I feel that my career was enhanced by the USC Law School," he said. "I donate money to the school every year."

Paul R. Walker

Dewey Ballantine

Specialty: Real estate

Law School: University of Pennsylvania, 1969

Career Highlight: Negotiated purchase of Pacific Design Center.

WHEN Paul Walker took a walk in 1999, he created one of the biggest stirs the legal community has witnessed in recent years. Specifically, Walker split from his namesake firm of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker -- taking five partners along with him -- to start up a new real estate department at Dewey Ballantine.

Observers at the time called it a soap-operatic poaching spree.

"It was soap operatic," admitted Walker.

And who could blame those involved for being dramatic, considering the big-ticket transactions that Walker has been handling over the years.

He was instrumental in the New York-based Cohen Brothers/Cheslock Bakker Opportunity Fund purchase of the Pacific Design Center for $165 million in 1999.

He also represented the owners of downtown L.A.'s Wells Fargo North Tower in connection with a $144 million refinancing deal. Wells Fargo made the loan as part of a $854.1 million commercial mortgage securitization sponsored by Morgan Stanley.

Currently, Walker is representing Credit Suisse First Boston, which is a creditor of bankrupt Ocean Trails Golf Club. The lender has $117 million in loans extended to the Palos Verdes Peninsula golf club, whose 18th hole tumbled into the ocean on June 2, 1999, six weeks before the scheduled opening, leading to the bankruptcy filing.

Now well ensconced at Dewey Ballantine, Walker specializes in lending, equity investments, acquisitions, foreclosures and bankruptcies.

Dennis Wasser

Wasser, Cooperman & Carter

Specialty: Family law

Law School: USC, 1967

Career Highlights: Represented Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, James Cameron and Kirk Kerkorian in their divorces.

TOM Cruise, soon after deciding he would file for divorce from Nicole Kidman, did what numerous celebrities have done when their marriages fell apart -- he called Dennis Wasser.

Wasser began practicing family law in 1970 and quickly built a reputation as one of the premier divorce attorneys in town. His tenacity, ability to bring divisive issues to a close and his desire to protect clients' privacy have attracted such high-profile Hollywood clients as Steven Speilberg, Clint Eastwood, James Cameron, James Wood, Rod Stewart and Jane Fonda.

But Wasser's client list isn't limited to movie stars. He has also represented high-powered businessmen like Kirk Kerkorian and "Mag" flashlight mogul Anthony Maglica.

He is also the sort of lawyer that other attorneys trust. Many of L.A.'s most high-powered attorneys -- and their divorcing spouses -- have turned to him when their marriages failed, including Browne Greene and Robert Lewis.

Wasser acknowledges that family law can be draining, but also very invigorating.

"Family law is always exciting because it cuts across every area of law -- corporations, securities, real estate, wills and trusts, personal injury and tax law. So, we're constantly learning new areas of law and constantly learning about new types of businesses."

Also good for business is the fact that Wasser happens to practice in L.A., the family-feud capital of the world.

"New York, Miami and Chicago have a lot of cases," he said. "But they don't compare to L.A. in terms of the volume, size and type of cases that we handle."

Edwin V. Woodsome

Howrey Simon Arnold & White

Specialty: Complex business litigation

Law School: Harvard, 1971

Career Highlights: Representing Unocal in a case brought by several individuals claiming they were forced to work for the oil giant; represented DHL Worldwide Express in its appeal of a $100 million tax assessment by the Internal Revenue Service.

FOR several years, Myanmar (Burma) and El Segundo-based Unocal Corp. have been the focus of a lawsuit claiming that both the oil giant and the small Southeast Asian nation knew about and benefited from the use of slave labor in the oil business.

Edwin Woodsome has represented Unocal since the case was filed and continues to represent it during the appeal.

Woodsome got what he wanted on Sept. 1, 2000, when Federal District Court Judge Ronald S.W. Lew issued his opinion that, despite knowing about and benefiting from the use of slave labor, Unocal could not be held liable. The ruling reasoned that since the oil company did not directly participate in forcing villagers to work on the pipeline and did not influence or encourage military forces in Myanmar to use slave labor, it could not be held liable for the acts of security forces.

"It's been gratifying to defend Unocal," said Woodsome. "It's been a long process and one that is still going on." The case is now before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Woodsome, a former editor of the Harvard Law Review, also represents a number of companies within the aerospace, securities, banking and entertainment industries.

Peter F. Ziegler

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Specialty: Corporate securities, mergers and acquisitions

Law School: USC, 1974

Career Highlight: Represented Times Mirror Co. in its sale to the Tribune Co.

PETER Ziegler has built a good chunk of his career on a single client, the Times Mirror Co.

For nearly the last eight years, he was the principal outside corporate counsel to Times Mirror, until it was bought last year by the Tribune Co.

Ziegler led his firm's team of lawyers that worked out the details for that massive buyout, which resulted in the disappearance of one of L.A.'s oldest and highest-profile public companies. It was the capper of many years of deals Ziegler had handled for Times Mirror.

He helped the company sell off a number of its subsidiaries, including the medical publisher Mosby Inc. to Harcourt General Inc. for $415 million in 1998. He helped dispose of Times Mirror's legal publishing company, Matthew Bender & Co., for $1.65 billion. And in 1995, he helped Times Mirror spin off its cable TV business.

This year, Ziegler said he has worked on two significant M&A transactions for Northrop Grumman Corp., and he has represented Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., California Amplifier Inc., the Zero Corp. and IT Group Inc.

His biggest challenges these days, he said, is balancing the demands of a corporate practice with the responsibilities of being co-managing partner in the Los Angeles office.

As a member of the firm's corporate practice, Ziegler has served as legal counsel in connection with a number of business transactions. In 1988, he shielded Farmers Group Inc. from a hostile takeover by BAT Industries Inc. Farmers ultimately was acquired by another company, but for a much higher price than BAT had been offering.

Kenneth Ziffren

Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca & Fischer

Specialty: Entertainment law

Law School: UCLA, 1965

Career Highlights: Served as outside counsel to Turner Broadcasting in its acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-United Artists; brokered subsequent sale of MGM to Kirk Kerkorian; led DirecTV in its negotiations for pay-per-view agreement with Hollywood studios.

KENNETH Ziffren has always worked or the best. Upon his graduation, the editor in chief of the UCLA Law Review clerked, for Chief Justice Earl Warren. Thirteen years later, he and Skip Brittenham founded the firm that bears his name and a reputation as the leader in entertainment-related intellectual property rights.

He has worked with a stable of big-name entertainment firms, including Liberty Media Group, DreamWorks SKG and DirecTV Inc. He's also been involved, alongside other members of his firm, as outside entertainment counsel to Vivendi, helping to orchestrate its purchase of Universal Studios from Seagram Co. Ltd.

"He enjoys financing transactions," said co-partner John Branca.

Ziffren's resume boasts many other big deals. In 1995, he served as outside counsel to Turner Broadcasting in its acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-United Artists and subsequently brokered the 1996 sale of MGM Inc. to Kirk Kerkorian. Ziffren also worked for the National Football League in its 1998 contract negotiations with the major television networks. He led the Hughes subsidiary DirecTV in its negotiations for pay-per-view agreement with nine different Hollywood studios. He also negotiated contracts with five studios for the subscription pay movie channel "Starz!"

Ziffren's record is equally impressive with new-media clients. He worked with Microsoft Corp., helping it to form its MSNBC cable channel and interactive joint venture with NBC Studios.

Ziffren is a frequent writer on entertainment law and, as an adjunct professor at UCLA's School of Law, lectures often and teaches seminar courses on Network Television and Motion Picture Distribution. He serves on the UCLA Law School's board of advisers and the Skirball Cultural Center's Board of Trustees.