Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton

Infobox Law Firm
firm_name = Sheppard Mullin
headquarters = Los Angeles, California
num_offices = 11
num_attorneys = 520
practice_areas = General practice
key_people = Guy N. Halgren (Chairman)
date_founded = 1927
company_type = Limited liability partnership
homepage = [http://www.sheppardmullin.com/ www.sheppardmullin.com]

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, known more commonly as Sheppard Mullin, is an AmLaw 100 law firm with over 520 attorneys in 10 offices in the United States and one in Shanghai. Its first office was founded in Los Angeles, California in 1927. Its most recent office opened in Silicon Valley in 2008.

In 2008, Sheppard Mullin represented the Wikimedia Foundation in a defamation lawsuit. [ [http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/05/02 EFF and Sheppard Mullin Defend Wikipedia in Defamation Case] ]

History

The firm's four name partners had distinctive careers.

*James C. Sheppard (1898-1964) was the first chairman of the American Bar Association Section of Labor Law in 1955, a member of the State Bar Board of Governors, and President of the State Bar of California in 1960-1961. When the United States entered World War II, Sheppard became Director of the Office of Civil Defense for eight western states.
*J. Stanley Mullin (1907-2000) was Chairman of the American Bar Association Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Sections and served on the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. In World War II, Mullin received a Navy commission and served with distinction in both theaters, including the Normandy invasion and the battle of Iwo Jima. He was an avid sportsman who participated in the 1932 Olympic Trials in equestrian events and was on the organizing committee for the 1960 Winter Olympic Games at Squaw Valley.
*George R. Richter (1910-2002) specialized in banking and commercial law. He helped author the original Uniform Commercial Code. A plaza at the USC School of Law is named after him.
*Gordon F. Hampton (1912-1996) helped develop the antitrust laws during the 1950's and was a founder of the American Bar Association Antitrust Section. He was a well known collector of contemporary art and a charter benefactor of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; a gallery at the Museum's California Plaza location is named after him.

In 1946, at a time when there were few women practicing law, Sheppard Mullin became one of a handful of law firms in Los Angeles to hire a female associate, the late Kathleen Parker. Ms. Parker went on to become one of the first female judges in Los Angeles County where she served on the bench for more than 30 years.

Sheppard Mullin's first branch office opened in Orange County in 1977, followed by the openings of the San Francisco and San Diego offices in 1981 and 1986, respectively.

The twenty-first century has been a period of significant expansion for Sheppard Mullin: establishing a well known entertainment practice in Century City (2001); also in 2001 opening offices in Santa Barbara and Del Mar Heights -- the latter located in the biotech corridor near San Diego; expanding to the East coast, opening offices in Washington, D.C., and in New York (2003); going global with the firm's first international office in Shanghai (2007); and most recently opening in Silicon Valley in 2008.

Locations

Sheppard Mullin currently has offices in Los Angeles, Century City, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Washington, DC, Orange County, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Del Mar Heights and Shanghai.

Recognition

*Sheppard Mullin partners have been ranked in "Best Lawyers in America", "Chambers", "Legal 500", "Super Lawyers", and "Which Lawyer PLC"
*Ranked as one of "Multicultural Law Magazine's" Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity and Women
*Ranked as one of the "Best Places to Work" by the "Los Angeles" and "San Francisco Business Journals"
*"American Lawyer Media" Recognized Sheppard Mullin As Fortune 500 "Go-To" Law Firm and Leading Financial Services and Technology Companies' "Go-To" Law Firm, 2007
*Sheppard Mullin's Government Contracts Practice Received National Ranking From "Chambers USA", 2007
*Sheppard Mullin's Antitrust, Banking & Finance, Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Corporate/M&A, Corporate/Venture Capital, Labor & Employment, Media & Entertainment and Real Estate Practices Received Top Rankings in California from "Chambers USA", 2007
*"Legal 500 U.S." Recognized Sheppard Mullin Entertainment, Antitrust, Labor and Employment, Real Estate, Restructuring and M&A Practices, 2007
*"California Real Estate Journal" Ranked Sheppard Mullin #3 among "California's Major Real Estate Law Firms," 2007
*Sheppard Mullin's Land Use & Zoning Law Ranked #1 in both California and San Francisco by "Best Lawyers", 2007

External Links

* [http://www.sheppardmullin.com Sheppard Mullin website]
* [http://careers.sheppardmullin.com Sheppard Mullin Careers website]
* [http://www.martindale.com/Sheppard-Mullin-Richter-Hampton/law-firm-76007.htm Martindale-Hubbell Profile]
* [http://www.bestlawyers.com/search/firmProfile.aspx?firm_ID=12863 Best Lawyers in America]
* [http://www.vault.com/companies/company_main.jsp?co_page=1&product_id=22116&ch_id=242 Vault Profile]

References