Downtown law firms with the resources and gumption to open a second office in Los Angeles typically have a Century City address.
Not so for Seattle-based Davis Wright Tremaine, which recently cut the ribbon for its Culver City office. Though the full-service law firm has maintained a downtown office since 1989, management had eyed expansion for years — and looked westward, per tradition. Ultimately, the firm’s specialized practice in entertainment helped point it to Culver City, where that industry is heavily represented.
“About 10 years ago, we were kicking the idea of whether we want a westside presence,” said Camilo Echavarria, partner-in-charge of Davis Wright Tremaine’s Los Angeles and Culver City operations. “Nothing really felt right, but over the last three or four years, we really started zeroing in on Culver City, where it just seemed like so many more things were happening, and we could be so close to our clients as they took off.”
While there are more than a handful of law practices in Culver City, none are at the caliber of Davis Wright Tremaine, which had a reported revenue of $482 million in 2021. This has emboldened the firm to hail itself as the first AmLaw 100 firm — one of the nation’s top 100 revenue grossing firms, per the publication American Law — to move into Culver City, in anticipation of others potentially following suit.
“We often see that in international markets or new cities,” said Victoria Schwartz, a professor of entertainment law at the Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law. “One will move, and others will feel the need to move.”
A little different
Working during the Covid-19 pandemic upended things for law offices, at least temporarily. Many, like Davis Wright Tremaine, have in the immediate term adopted a hybrid working arrangement for their attorneys.
With this new office, located in a warehouse at Jefferson Boulevard and Obama Boulevard where Baldwin Hills meets Culver City, Echavarria said…
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