N.Y. Lawyers Head West
The business climate in Los Angeles certainly appears to be agreeing with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, the New York law firm best known for its expertise in hostile takeovers.
After a three-month search, the firm has just agreed to lease seven floors of space in the 42-story California Plaza office building in downtown Los Angeles. The lease agreement, valued at $45 million, runs for 15 years.
The move is another reflection of the scramble by prestigious corporate law firms in New York to beef up their offices in Los Angeles, whose significance as a financial center has swelled in recent years.
Skadden, Arps first opened a Los Angeles office three years ago with a dozen lawyers. Today, it has 55 attorneys on staff and expects to have “well in excess of 100” by early 1988, said Mike Diamond, partner in charge of the Los Angeles operation.
Skadden, Arps now leases about 28,000 square feet of space in the ManuLife building on South Figueroa Street. Its new digs take in 168,000 square feet of space on floors 30 through 36 in California Plaza, located on Bunker Hill. The move is expected to be completed in a few months.
