Law Office Is in a League of Its Own

Even though he’s a partner at a prestigious law firm in a downtown Los Angeles high-rise, Mike Meyer doesn’t have an office with a view.

Meyer has an office with a window, all right, but there’s no view because it’s blocked by banners celebrating a championship won by the Chicago Bulls basketball team.

The banners are just a small part of the huge haul of sports memorabilia that crams and clutters the real estate lawyer’s office, which he has turned into a shrine to sports in general and Chicago sports teams in particular.

Meyer, who grew up in the shadow of Chicago’s Wrigley Field baseball stadium, is a fanatic fan of the Chicago Cubs--something of a redundancy because long-suffering Cubs fans are practically by definition fanatics.

His office at Pillsbury Madison & Sutro is a reflection of his devotion to the Cubs, the Bulls and other Chicago sports franchises, but there is also plenty of other “stuff,” as Meyer calls it, much of it given to him by clients and friends like Ernie Banks, the former Cubs slugger.

Among Meyer’s design elements are an autographed Wayne Gretzky hockey stick, a stool made of golf clubs, a chair made of baseball bats and a wooden seat from the stands at Wrigley Field (the Cubs offered the seats to fans when it replaced the wooden seats with plastic). A golf flag is planted in one of his plants, and the walls are adorned with photos of Meyer playing alongside former major leaguers as a guest in old-timer games at Wrigley Field. A smaller version of the Goodyear blimp, famous for flying over sporting events, hangs from his ceiling.

Being surrounded by his sports collection makes Meyer feel relaxed and comfortable, he says, even though he’s been told by some fellow attorneys that his office isn’t quite dignified enough for a partner at a powerful law firm.

“I work so hard and spend so much time in my office that I want to be comfortable in it,” he said. “One of my favorite sayings is that it’s very important to take your job seriously, but it’s equally important not to take yourself too seriously. I’m very serious about my work, but this office helps keep me from taking myself too seriously.”

Meyer also likes the effect it has on visitors.

“I’ve never seen somebody not smile when they see this office for the first time,” he said. “It’s too cluttered to have a meeting in here, so if we need a really serious place we can go down the hall to a conference room.”