Partner Eric Klein Joins Sheppard Mullin Century City
Eric A. Klein has joined the Century City office of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in the firm's Corporate practice group. Klein most recently practiced as a leader of Katten Muchin Rosenman's West Coast Mergers and Acquisitions and Securities practices. Joining Klein in Sheppard Mullin's Corporate practice group is special counsel John J. Molloy. Molloy also joins from Katten's Century City office.
Klein specializes in mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financings, private equity transactions and venture capital. He regularly advises clients in the healthcare, life sciences and technology industries. Known for his creativity in the structuring of transactions, Klein represents entrepreneurial and established businesses, private equity and venture capital funds and foreign companies in their growth initiatives.
In the healthcare industry, Klein has recently assisted clients with strategic transactions and operational matters for physician-owned managed care organizations, the acquisition of multiple hospitals in Los Angeles and San Diego counties, obtaining California HMO licensure under the Knox-Keene Act, the purchase and sale of health care companies by or to private equity funds, the formation of joint ventures and management services organizations, and health care regulatory and compliance matters. He also works regularly with life sciences businesses, including the recent SEC registration of a stem cell company, and has authored a chapter offering "best practices" advice on mergers and acquisitions in the forthcoming book "Inside the Minds: Life Sciences Mergers & Acquisitions" to be published in April 2008.
Klein regularly advises a broad range of technology companies, including Internet, enterprise software, encryption data security and hardware companies. He routinely structures strategic alliances and licensing transactions for companies in the tech sector, as well as assisting them with venture capital and private equity transactions and with mergers and acquisitions. Klein represents a number of private equity funds in their growth equity and acquisition transactions, as well as counseling clients on investment fund formation. He also regularly represents companies in their transactions with private equity funds, such as the recent sale to a Forstmann Little portfolio company of a Los Angeles based media company that produces two of the top ten U.S. trade shows.
For more than three decades, Molloy has handled entrepreneurial and middle market clients' mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; joint ventures; public and private equity and debt financings; complex contractual matters; business formation; and tax planning. His clients include healthcare providers, software and hardware development companies, service and maintenance firms, telecommunications firms, medical device manufacturers, Internet companies and measuring devices manufacturers. Molloy has handled more than ten acquisitions over the past year for a publicly-traded national physician group practice company.
"As an accomplished dealmaker with expertise in the healthcare and tech sectors, Eric will be a significant asset for our clients. He and Jay will add to our existing strength and expertise in the Corporate practice group, as well as in the firm's Healthcare and Life Sciences industry teams," said Guy Halgren, chairman of the firm.
Commented Klein, "Sheppard Mullin occupies a strategic position in California and beyond, and offers the support needed to handle sophisticated M&A, private equity, venture and other emerging company transactions. I am greatly impressed by the firm's dedication to expanding its healthcare and tech-related practices and the excellent group of attorneys based in Century City."
Klein and Molloy are the latest in a recent flurry of attorneys joining Sheppard Mullin's Century City office. Two weeks ago, Jim Curry joined the office as an Entertainment and Media litigation partner. Curry most recently practiced as a founding partner with White O'Connor Curry LLP in Century City. Additionally, Robb Klein joined in March as special counsel in the firm's Entertainment & Media practice group from the London office of European law firm SJ Berwin LLP.
Sheppard Mullin has 40 attorneys based in its Century City office and about 160 attorneys based in its downtown Los Angeles office. The firm's Corporate practice group includes close to 100 attorneys.
Klein earned a J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1985 and received an A.B. from Princeton University in 1981. Molloy earned a J.D. from University of Southern California Gould School of Law in 1972 and a B.S. in Accounting from University of Southern California in 1968.
Klein is a member of the board of directors of the Association for Corporate Growth in Los Angeles. He is also a member of the executive committee of the Private Equity Roundtable. Klein also lectures nationally on negotiation skills and has taught business leaders, investment bankers, lawyers and entrepreneurs on this topic. His writing is regularly published in legal and business publications, most recently in the Harvard Business Review.
Molloy regularly speaks on technology transactions, M&A, venture capital and private equity. He is a member of the board of directors of the Technology Council of Southern California.
About Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
Sheppard Mullin is a full service AmLaw 100 firm with more than 520 attorneys in 11 offices located throughout California and in New York, Washington, D.C. and Shanghai. The firm's California offices are located in Los Angeles, Century City, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Orange County, Santa Barbara, San Diego and Del Mar Heights. Founded in 1927 on the principle that the firm would succeed only if its attorneys delivered prompt, high quality and cost-effective legal services, Sheppard Mullin provides legal counsel to U.S. and international clients. Companies turn to Sheppard Mullin to handle a full range of corporate and technology matters, high stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. In the U.S., the firm's clients include more than half of the Fortune 100 companies.