Litigator Pistone Joins Ernest C. Brown & Co. : Law: Departing amicably from Stradling, Yocca, Carlson & Rauth, he becomes the second-largest shareholder in the small specialty practice.

Thomas A. Pistone, a respected Orange County civil trial lawyer, has left a large law firm to join the small specialty practice of Ernest C. Brown & Co.

Pistone, a litigator at Stradling, Yocca, Carlson & Rauth in Newport Beach, became the second-largest shareholder in Brown & Co. on Thursday when he took a new position as head of its litigation department.

Brown & Co. specializes in construction and environmental law. With Pistone joining, it has instituted a high-technology practice as well. Pistone has handled trials for such entities as AST Research Inc., Archive Corp., Thrifty Corp. and the Santa Margarita Water District.

Pistone’s departure from Stradling, Yocca was amicable. Ernest Brown himself was a partner at Stradling, Yocca--where he became friends with Pistone--before opening a two-lawyer office in 1989. Brown would not say how big a stake Pistone bought in his firm but said it was “significant.”

Pistone, 43, said of his new position: “It’s a good opportunity for me. . . . Hopefully, I’ll get more money and more opportunity here.”

He said he is not bringing any clients with him from Stradling, Yocca, though some clients may want to move over later on.

The two firms do not often compete for clients because Stradling, Yocca specializes in public law and business law. It also has a strong litigation department.

“I hope to be working together with them on several cases, and we’ll be sending work back and forth,” Pistone said. “There is some overlap. They’re not going to send us litigation that they can do.”

Brown said he wanted to bolster his own litigation crew and sought out his friend. “I feel Tom is one of the very best trial lawyers in Orange County,” Brown said.

Fritz R. Stradling said of Pistone: “He did good work for us.”

Both Brown and Stradling said their firms have worked together closely in the past and will likely continue to do so. Brown said that his former firm has referred major cases to him and that many lawyers in the two firms are friends.

With 72 lawyers, Stradling, Yocca is the second-largest law firm based in Orange County. It was formed in the late 1970s when the senior partners bolted from Rutan & Tucker, the biggest county-based firm.

Brown & Co. has been one of the county’s fastest-growing law firms. Brown said the growth is tapering off, though he will continue to look for good lawyers who would fit in. With Pistone joining and another lawyer leaving recently, Brown & Co. has 20 lawyers.

“Now the firm is at an effective size, so I have no intent to turn it into a much larger firm,” Brown said. “We have just about all our office space filled. For our area of practice, this is a good size.”