Barber Ranen Spinoff Attracts 110 Lawyers from Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith

110 Lawyers Join Barber Ranen, a New Law Firm Led by Former Lewis Brisbois

According to one of the founders of a newly-formed spinoff firm, approximately 110 lawyers from U.S. law firm Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith have signed agreements to leave the firm and join the spinoff. The new firm, Barber Ranen, may eventually see up to 140 lawyers join, with around 60 Lewis Brisbois lawyers becoming partners. The firm will be led by John Barber, former chair of Lewis Brisbois' employment practice, and Jeffrey Ranen, former national vice chair of the labor and employment practice at Lewis Brisbois.

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In addition to the 110 lawyers joining Barber Ranen, a 32-lawyer cybersecurity group, they had already left Lewis Brisbois to join Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete across several cities in January. In response to the departures, Bob Smith, co-chairman of Lewis Brisbois, stated that the departing employment lawyers were a minority and that many clients would continue to use both firms.

Lewis Brisbois Responds to Departures, Emphasizes Strong Partnership and Practices

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Despite the departures, Smith emphasized the firm's strong partnership and labor and employment practices. Barber Ranen will have three physical offices in Los Angeles, Newport Beach, and San Francisco and several remote locations across the US. According to Barber, the group desired more flexibility than they had at Lewis Brisbois, where compromise was necessary to maintain a functioning firm.

Barber Ranen Focuses on Labor and Employment Law, Plans to Expand Services

Barber Ranen's focus will primarily be on labor and employment law to expand to provide a full range of legal services, including commercial, transactional, intellectual property, and employment advice. Although Barber did not disclose any specific clients that may be moving with the group, he mentioned they had received enthusiastic support and excitement from their clients.