Willkie Farr & Gallagher is expanding its Los Angeles office with a trio of real estate partners from Munger, Tolles & Olson.
Misty Sanford, Karen Lorang and Aimee Contreras-Camua have joined, and Sanford will serve as chair of the real estate practice.
The hires bring Willkie’s Los Angeles office to more than 70 lawyers, Alex Weingarten, managing partner of the office, said in a statement. The three “will further broaden Willkie’s presence in the market,” he said.
Willkie opened its office in LA in September 2021 with a trio of partners from Venable, including Alan Epstein, the chair of its media and entertainment practice and the West Coast business transactions group, and Michele Mulrooney, who chaired Venable’s West Coast estate planning group.
Over the last year the firm expanded its footprint in the city, bringing on high-profile hires, including Munger asset management partner David Hong, Sid Fohrman, the leader of Sheppard Mullin’s music industry team and esports and games industry team, and Cooley private equity partner Ray LaSoya.
Sanford, Lorang and Contreras-Camua focus on real estate purchase and sale, finance, redevelopment, joint ventures, leasing, environmental issues, and public/private partnerships. They also work on large-scale development projects.
Sanford and Lorang recently advised developers in securing financing for the mixed-use, 23-story Building A across from the San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park.
The trio worked with Divya Bala of global legal recruitment firm Lippman Jungers Bala in their move to Willkie.
