San Diego is home to two largest U.S. law firms
San Diego-based law firms, Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP and Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps LLP, made the National Law Journal's list of the largest 250 law firms in the country.
The National Law Journal, in its annual survey of the most populated law firms, placed Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins at number 234 with 180 lawyers. This is the firm's first placement among the impressive array of top 250 law firms in the country. The firm has offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Houston, Philadelphia, and Seattle. Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps with its 178 lawyers is the other firm to join ranks with the top 250. The firm has offices in downtown Carmel Valley, Rancho Santa Fe, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Robert Bell, managing partner of Luce Forward, attributed the firm's success to the escalating head count of quality attorneys in the firm through systematic and consistent hiring. The firm managed to add 40 employees in the past three years.
The other renowned firms who constitute the top layer among the heavyweights like Baker & McKenzie, DLA Piper, Jones Day, Latham & Watkins, and Best & Krieger have well established offices functioning in San Diego.
Colbert & Winstead amicably part ways
Two new law firms grew from the vestiges of Colbert & Winstead, a six-year partnership that parted to embrace Rudy Wood and Courtney Wilbert, respectively.
Kurt Winstead opted out of the partnership with Richard Colbert and joined with partner Rudy Wood to create a new firm, Rudy Wood and Winstead. The new firm has six attorneys on board and is keeping its doors open for more. The second firm, Colbert & Wilbert, led by Richard Colbert and Courtney Wilbert will be operational soon, though details are unknown.
The erstwhile Colbert & Winstead's eight attorneys served an impressive list of clientele that included names like the Tennessee Education Association, RJ Young, One Source Mortgage, and the Tennessee Manufactured Housing Association in areas of banking and finance, corporate, education, intellectual property, labor and employment, personal injury, and real estate. The old clients have been informed of the change and Winstead is hopeful that his new alliance will help him serve clients better with the induction of more attorneys in future.
