Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
Name	Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California
Founded	1927
Offices	16
Attorneys	~1,000
Practice areas	Corporate, Litigation, Real Estate, Labor and Employment, Intellectual Property

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton is an American law firm founded in 1927 with headquarters in Los Angeles, California. The firm has grown into a national and international presence, representing clients in corporate transactions, complex litigation, real estate, intellectual property, labor and employment, and regulatory matters. Its work spans industries including technology, entertainment, healthcare, energy, finance, and transportation, engaging with major actors such as Apple Inc., Walt Disney Company, Facebook, Wells Fargo, and ExxonMobil.

History

Founded in 1927 in Los Angeles during the era of the Roaring Twenties and the rise of the Hollywood studio system, the firm developed alongside institutions like the University of California, Los Angeles and USC. Over the decades it navigated legal eras marked by the New Deal, the Civil Rights Movement, the expansion of antitrust law in the mid-20th century, and the growth of the technology industry in Silicon Valley. The firm expanded regionally during the postwar years into markets connected to San Francisco, San Diego, and Orange County, and later internationally to link with financial centers such as New York City, London, and Beijing. Its alumni have included judges and public officials who moved between the firm and institutions like the California Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and state agencies.

Practice areas and notable work

The firm’s transactional work has included mergers and acquisitions involving companies like AT&T, Verizon Communications, General Motors, and Chevron, as well as capital markets representations related to Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange. In litigation, its practice has touched on precedent-setting disputes in venues including the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the United States Supreme Court, and state appellate courts. The intellectual property group has handled matters for clients in the mold of Intel, Qualcomm, Adobe Inc., and entertainment companies tied to Paramount Pictures, dealing with patent, trademark, and copyright claims under statutes such as the Lanham Act and the Copyright Act of 1976. Real estate and land use representations have connected the firm to developers, municipalities, and public agencies like the City of Los Angeles and regional transportation authorities involved with projects comparable to the Los Angeles Metro expansions. Labor and employment work has intersected with legislation and agencies including the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and state departments of labor, representing employers in wage-and-hour, discrimination, and union matters with ties to unions like the Teamsters and industries such as hospitality, retail, and manufacturing.

Offices and global presence

Headquartered in Los Angeles, the firm operates offices in major U.S. markets including San Francisco, New York City, Washington, D.C., San Diego, Orange County, California, and Dallas. Internationally, the firm maintains relationships and representative counsel in global centers such as London, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, enabling cross-border work involving institutions like the World Bank, multinational corporations, and international arbitration forums such as the International Chamber of Commerce and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution. The office footprint aligns with commerce corridors tied to ports like the Port of Los Angeles and financial hubs like Chicago and Hong Kong.

Firm leadership and organization

The firm is structured with practice group leaders, office managing partners, and an executive committee overseeing firm strategy, finance, and governance. Leadership roles have been held by partners who formerly clerked for federal judges in circuits including the Ninth Circuit and served in government roles at agencies analogous to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, and state attorney general offices. The organizational model includes specialized departments for risk management, compliance, knowledge management, and litigation support, interfacing with professional operations found at firms that advise on matters before bodies such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Internal Revenue Service.

Diversity, pro bono, and community engagement

The firm reports programs focused on recruiting from institutions such as Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Stanford Law School, Columbia Law School, and public law schools, and supports affinity groups for attorneys with connections to organizations like the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the National Hispanic Bar Association, and the National LGBT Bar Association. Its pro bono initiatives have involved representation before immigration tribunals, public interest litigation similar to cases in the ACLU, and volunteer efforts with nonprofits comparable to Habitat for Humanity and legal clinics at law schools. Community engagement extends to civic partnerships with arts institutions, healthcare systems like Kaiser Permanente, and educational initiatives with school districts and scholarship foundations.

Recognition and rankings

The firm has been ranked in national directories and surveys including those produced by Chambers and Partners, The American Lawyer, Vault, U.S. News & World Report, and Legal 500. Individual lawyers have earned recognition from bar associations and award bodies such as the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and industry groups that confer honors akin to "Lawyer of the Year" or inclusion in lists like Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America. Rankings reflect practice strength in corporate, litigation, real estate, and intellectual property matters and placements in league tables for deal volume and litigation outcomes.

Category:Law firms based in California