Merged Newport Beach Law Offices Combine Business, Litigation Expertise

If bigger means better, two Newport Beach law firms should do very well, indeed.

Six lawyers at the 25-year-old Wenke, Evans & Ikola have joined forces with five attorneys at the Orange County branch of Los Angeles-based Hufstedler, Miller, Carlson & Beardsley, both firms announced recently.

The combined offices--which began practicing under the Hufstedler moniker last week--hope to add 20 lawyers to the current roster of 10 partners and one associate, said Paul F. Marx, a senior partner with the original Hufstedler branch.

The Hufstedler firm started the courtship with Wenke, Evans because of the latter firm’s expertise in litigation, said Raymond J. Ikola, a senior partner at Wenke, Evans.

“We had essentially a business practice and wanted to add litigation,” Marx said.

Legal notables at Wenke, Evans include Ikola, who represented the Committee of 4,000 in its dispute over leasing rights with the Irvine Co. four years ago. Ikola also headed American Airlines’ fight for access to John Wayne Airport. Retired partner William F. Wenke was president of the California State Bar before he unsuccessfully ran for a seat on Orange County’s Board of Supervisors. Another former partner, Gary L. Taylor, became a Superior Court judge in Orange County about a year ago.

Hufstedler, Beardsley is a well-established, 58-lawyer firm that posted a profit of $6.5 million last year on billings of $15.7 million. Partners in the downtown Los Angeles office include Shirley M. Hufstedler, former secretary of education in the Carter Administration, and two former presidents of the bar association.

Before the merger, Hufstedler’s Newport Beach office, which opened in 1979, had five partners with expertise in tax, estate planning, real estate and corporate law. Clients include George Argyros, owner of the Seattle Mariners, and William Hughes, an Orange County shopping center developer.

Billings rates should range from $90 to $250 per hour, Marx said.

The merger became effective last week. By December, the lawyers expect to be practicing in the Wenke offices in Newport Beach.