CUSTOM CONTENT OCTOBER 29, 2018 Top row left to right: James L. Arnone (Latham & Watkins LLP); Platinum sponsor Dave Thomas (Blank Rome LLP); Diamond sponsor Tom Wingard (Alston & Bird LLP); Winners Lisa L. Kim (Cathay Bank); Kim Matthews (Hot Topic, Inc.); Erik M. Krautheimer (Sullivan & Cromwell LLP); Apalla U. Chopra (O’Melveny & Myers LLP); Richard B. Levy (ICM Partners) Bottom row left to right: Winners Jared Wolff (City National Bank); Christopher S. Spicer (Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP); Jennifer Banks (Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.); Victor King (California State University, Los Angeles); Rick Richmond (Jenner & Block); Shannon Kelly (Halo Top Creamery); Platinum sponsor Betsy Johnson (Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.) DIAMOND SPONSOR PLATINUM SPONSORS GOLD SPONSORS American Airlines | City National Bank | FivePoint Holdings, LLC | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP SILVER SPONSORS Holland & Knight LLP | Latham & Watkins LLP 019-49_leaders_in_law_recap-supp.indd 19 10/25/18 3:10 PM 20 LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL – CUSTOM CONTENT OCTOBER 29, 2018 LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER he State Bar of California reports that there are more than 67,000 lawyers in Los Angeles County, which makes standing out from the field a particularly impressive feat. But that’s what the in-house counsel and firm attorneys in our eighth annual Leaders in Law special supplement have done. This supplement comes on the heels of the Leaders in Law Awards Luncheon, where we had the Topportunity to celebrate the outstanding work performed by these remarkable individuals and teams on Wednesday, October 20th at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza. In the following pages, we will reflect on the winners and finalists who were a part of what was a truly inspirational event. We also shed some additional light on a select group of premier business law practitioners who work among us today. We hope you enjoy this special section, which contains some unique insights on what exactly it means to be a leading attorney in today’s business climate. Best regards, Anna Magzanyan Publisher & CEO Congratulations to our Chief Legal Officer Mike Alvarado & all of this year’s honorees for being recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as Leaders in Law 019-49_leaders_in_law_recap-supp.indd 20 10/25/18 2:36 PM OCTOBER 29, 2018 CUSTOM CONTENT - LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 21 07-106_labj_fullpages_20181029.indd 21 10/23/18 1:52 PM 22 LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL – CUSTOM CONTENT OCTOBER 29, 2018 WINNERS IN-HOUSE COUNSEL AWARDS GOVERNMENT/MUNICIPAL IN-HOUSE COUNSEL OF THE YEAR VICTOR KING University Legal Counsel California State University, Los Angeles ictor King has served as the University Legal Counsel and Information Privacy Officer at California State University, Los Angeles, for almost sixteen years. The University is part of a 23-campus system, with total enrollment of over 450,000 students, V headquartered in Long Beach, California. Of the thirty attorneys that serve California State University, King is the only one resident full-time on a campus. King works closely with other administrators on the President’s Cabinet and the Presidential Leadership Team to create opportunities for the over 28,000 students and 3000 employees on the LA campus, to make sure the university’s record of upward mobility, which was based on a study of thirty million income tax records from 1999 to 2013, continues to hold true for the next generation. As the Los Angeles Chief Legal Officer, King furnishes daily litigation, risk management, contract formation, information privacy, and human resources advice to the employees. He directs over half a dozen outside law firms retained to defend the institution and its employees in commercial, construction defect, discrimination, employment, First Amendment, and personal injury litigation. Over the past decade, he has overseen the modernization of his department, adopting e-filing, online research, and electronic case management tools that have greatly increased the efficiency of campus legal services. As a California State University Human Resources legal team member, he is a designated specialist for all campuses on disability law and employee benefits. He is also a member of the system Intellectual Property legal team, helping to guide faculty about how to apply for, maintain, and defend their copyrights, trademarks, and patents. Among his achievements, In 2017 to 2018, King settled an employment lawsuit after it was heard by the California Supreme Court. He worked to develop legal agreements to forge a partnership with the Los Angeles Football Club to make the campus its home for practice activities. PRIVATE LARGE COMPANY IN-HOUSE COUNSEL OF THE YEAR RICHARD B. LEVY Board Member and General Counsel ICM Partners ick Levy is a Founding Partner and General Counsel of ICM Partners, a talent and literary agency representing clients in the fields of motion pictures, television, publishing, and concerts. In addition to serving as the agency’s chief legal officer, Levy R is a Managing Member of the agency as well as a member of the company’s Board of Directors. In 2005, Levy led ICM’s deal team to sell a controlling interest in the agency to a private equity firm. At the time, ICM was the only major agency to have sold a significant interest to a private equity firm. Seven years later, he played a pivotal role in the successful re-acquisition of control and ownership of the company through a management buyout of the agency in 2012. Before joining ICM in 1997, Levy was an associate in the employment and entertainment practice groups of Los Angeles law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Levy is a member of the Board of the Association of Talent Agents, and has chaired numerous board committees including its Legal and Political Action committees. Levy is on the Executive Board of the Golden West Chapter of Y.P.O., and his name is included in America’s Registry of Outstanding Professionals. He has received numerous professional awards and recognition including the Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel’s Dealmaker of the Year Award. Levy’s charitable involvement includes the U.S. Fund for Unicef, where he is co-President of the Southern California Regional Board on which he has served since 2005. He also has served on the Advisory Board of the charity Peace Over Violence. 019-49_leaders_in_law_recap-supp.indd 22 10/25/18 2:37 PM OCTOBER 29, 2018 CUSTOM CONTENT - LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 23 Congratulations to the 2018 honorees of the Los Angeles Business Journal Leaders in Law Awards. Your accomplishments, leadership, and contributions to the Los Angeles community set a strong example for us all. Blank Rome is an Am Law 100 firm with 13 offices and more than 600 attorneys and principals who provide a full range of legal and advocacy services to clients operating in the United States and around the world. Cincinnati • Fort Lauderdale • Houston • Los Angeles New York • Philadelphia • Pittsburgh • Princeton • San Francisco Shanghai • Tampa • Washington • Wilmington Attorney advertising. © 2018 Blank Rome LLP. All rights reserved. 07-106_labj_fullpages_20181029.indd 23 10/19/18 4:17 PM 24 LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL – CUSTOM CONTENT OCTOBER 29, 2018 WINNERS IN-HOUSE COUNSEL AWARDS PRIVATE LARGE COMPANY IN-HOUSE COUNSEL OF THE YEAR KIM MATTHEWS VP & General Counsel Hot Topic, Inc. im Matthews is an accomplished legal executive with over 22 years of in-house experience in the health and wellness, retail, telecommunications, regulatory and franchise arenas holding in-house positions in various mega companies such as MCI K (now Verizon), Jenny Craig/Nestle, Hot Topic and Torrid. She believes that a successful in house attorney partners with the business units to minimize risk, increase productivity, reduce costs and meet and exceed business goals. Matthews is currently the Vice President and General Counsel of Hot Topic, BoxLunch and Her Universe brands – a position she has held since April 2015. As head of the company’s legal department she focuses on, among other things, Direct to Consumer license agreements with major studios and networks, IP portfolio management, compliance, IP claims, vendor compliance, employment matters, and outside counsel management. She is pursuing her MBA at UCLA Anderson School of Management (EMBA 2020), and has been an active member of the State Bar of California since 2000. Prior to Hot Topic, Matthews worked as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and VP of Human Resources for Total Woman Gym & Spa from 2015-2016 where she was responsible for all legal matters and employee matters including litigation, EEOC, WC, LOAs, terminations, training, benefits, state and federal reporting. She also managed corporate governance, vendor and distribution contracts, lease negotiations, advertising review, litigation, and franchise matters. Matthews also served as Vice President and General Counsel for Jenny Craig from 2007-2014 where she was a member of executive leadership team reporting directly to the CEO. PRIVATE SMALL COMPANY IN-HOUSE COUNSEL OF THE YEAR NICOLE DUCKETT General Counsel L.A. Clippers icole Duckett built the Clippers’ legal department from the ground up as the organization’s first in-house counsel. She is the NBA’s first woman of color to serve as chief legal officer, and a key member of the largest female leadership team in the N NBA. Duckett advises on all strategies related to protecting the business and focuses on innovations in new media, digital platforms and broadcasting. She also oversees the L.A. Clippers Foundation as its President. Duckett has demonstrated a commitment to increasing diversity in the legal profession through her work with non-profit organizations, including the Fulfillment Fund and F.A.S.T. Track, as well as her leadership at the Clippers. With the Clippers, Duckett led the development and creation of entirely new contract templates across all departments, creating central repositories and intake processes, formal advisory protocols and audits for internal stakeholders.