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Early Sullivan Named a 2019 “Best Law Firm” By U.S. News & World Report
Category: Awards, News | Thursday, November 1st, 2018 | Comments Off on Early Sullivan Named a 2019 “Best Law Firm” By U.S. News & World Report
Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae has been named a 2019 “Best Law Firm” by the prestigious ranking guide U.S. News & World Report. The firm received national and metropolitan rankings in the practice areas of “Litigation – Intellectual Property,” “Real Estate” (metropolitan), “Entertainment Law – Music,” “Commercial Litigation” (metropolitan), “Entertainment Law – Motion Pictures & Television” (metropolitan), and “Commercial Transactions / UCC Law” (metropolitan).
The U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.
Lisa Boswell Named Chair of DRI’s Intellectual Property Litigation Committee
Category: News | Friday, October 26th, 2018 | Comments Off on Lisa Boswell Named Chair of DRI’s Intellectual Property Litigation Committee
Early Sullivan’s Lisa Boswell is the new Chair of the Defense Research Institute’s (DRI) Intellectual Property Litigation Committee. She was previously the Committee’s Vice Chair.
DRI is an international organization of attorneys and in-house counsel with more than 22,000 members.
Bryan Sullivan Quoted in LA Times on #MeToo in Entertainment
Category: News | Thursday, October 4th, 2018 | Comments Off on Bryan Sullivan Quoted in LA Times on #MeToo in Entertainment
Bryan Sullivan was recently quoted in Josh Rottenberg and Ryan Faughnder’s Los Angeles Times article “One year after the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke, #MeToo has become a battle for hearts and minds.” In the article, Bryan discusses the legal aspect of the #MeToo movement and its impact on studio culture and hiring practices.
“Keeping the public spotlight on it and, frankly, filing lawsuits, is the only way to hold the industry accountable,” Bryan says.
To read the full article, click here.
Early Sullivan Handles Another Lawsuit Involving Native American Law, Representing Homeowners Alleged To Be Trespassing on Indian Land
Category: News, Press, Publications | Friday, September 14th, 2018 | Comments Off on Early Sullivan Handles Another Lawsuit Involving Native American Law, Representing Homeowners Alleged To Be Trespassing on Indian Land
Mobile home park Safari Park Inc., located in Palm Springs, California, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against numerous high-end property owners, alleging that they regularly trespass onto land allotted to a member of the Agua Client Band of Cahuilla Indians and subleased by Safari Park.
Early Sullivan represents the property owners and has filed a Motion to Dismiss Safari Park’s action, arguing that the Plaintiff relies on federal laws which do not confer jurisdiction of the action to the Central District. The Firm argues that the law cited by Safari Park that authorizes the allotment of reservation land to individual tribal members, and the related law that allows this property to be leased, do not apply to disputes between non-Indian lessees like Safari Park and third parties like the homeowners — rather, the laws can only be applied to relationships between lessees and Indian landowners.
The full article in the Desert Sun can be read here.
Eric Early Represents Non-Profit Group Concerned About Fair Education in Santa Barbara
Category: News, Press, Publications | Wednesday, September 12th, 2018 | Comments Off on Eric Early Represents Non-Profit Group Concerned About Fair Education in Santa Barbara
Representing a group of concerned citizens about fair and quality education, Eric Early appeared before the Board of the Santa Barbara Unified School District and spoke about its pending adoption of training programs to be provided by a nonprofit named Just Communities Central Coast. Detailed in Josh Grega’s Santa Barbara News-Press cover story titled, “School Board Threatened With Lawsuit Over Training Program,” Eric spoke out against three memoranda of understanding that purport to deal with diversity, inclusion and equity in schools, arguing that they were radical, discriminatory, and illegal. Early stated, “I’m here to tell you that the Board should consider long and hard and very carefully the legal exposure it will face if it enters these MOUs.”
Bryan Sullivan Settles Lawsuit for Client Terry Crews
Category: News, Press, Results | Friday, September 7th, 2018 | Comments Off on Bryan Sullivan Settles Lawsuit for Client Terry Crews
Several publications, including Vanity Fair and The Hollywood Reporter covered Bryan Sullivan’s representation of actor Terry Crews in his #MeToo case against behemoth agency WME and agent Adam Venit. Bryan filed the civil lawsuit last year against WME and Venit following allegations that he groped Crews at an industry party in 2016. WME admitted that Venit had exhibited a pattern of this type of behavior. As part of the settlement, Venit will be retiring from WME and the agency will institute a new, landmark policy to address workplace conduct of this nature.
Additionally, Bryan authored an exclusive Forbes article about his experience representing Crews in his lawsuit.
The Daily Journal and Recorder Cover Early Sullivan New Hires David Giannotti and William Lalor
Category: News, Press | Friday, August 17th, 2018 | Comments Off on The Daily Journal and Recorder Cover Early Sullivan New Hires David Giannotti and William Lalor
On August 8, 2018, the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal highlighted the firm’s hire of senior counsel David Giannotti. The Daily Journal notes David’s three decades of environmental law experience, as well as his successful negotiation of a settlement in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Superfund program, among other accomplishments.
The Recorder says: “Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae brought on environmental law attorney David Giannotti and litigator William Lalor to its practice. Giannotti represents clients regarding due diligence, compliance, remedy implementation, environmental risk assessment and environmental litigation. Lalor represents clients in issues regarding complex insurance coverage, toxic torts, mass torts, business disputes and regulated matters.”
Seven Early Sullivan Attorneys Named Best Lawyers in America
Category: Awards | Wednesday, August 15th, 2018 | Comments Off on Seven Early Sullivan Attorneys Named Best Lawyers in America
Early Sullivan attorneys Eric Early, Scott Gizer, Sophia Lau, Stephen Ma, Devin McRae, Christopher Ritter, and Bryan Sullivan have been recognized among the top lawyers in the nation in the 2019 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, one of the oldest and most distinguished guides to the legal profession.
The following attorneys earned a spot in the 2019 edition for their work in the following practice areas:
Eric Early: Commercial Litigation; Entertainment Law – Motion Pictures and Television; Entertainment Law – Music; Litigation – Real Estate
Scott Gizer: Commercial Litigation
Sophia Lau: Commercial Litigation; Entertainment Law – Music; Litigation – Intellectual Property
Stephen Ma: Entertainment Law – Music
Devin McRae: Entertainment Law – Motion Pictures and Television; Litigation – Intellectual Property
Christopher Ritter: Entertainment Law – Motion Pictures and Television; Litigation – Intellectual Property
Bryan Sullivan: Commercial Transactions/UCC Law; Entertainment Law – Music
“Best Lawyers” is one of the oldest and most respected guides to the legal industry. The selection process is based on a comprehensive peer-review process designed to capture the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within common legal practices and geographical areas. Corporate Counsel magazine has called “The Best Lawyers in America” “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”
Early Sullivan’s Demurrer Victory Upheld on Appeal
Category: News, Results | Tuesday, August 7th, 2018 | Comments Off on Early Sullivan’s Demurrer Victory Upheld on Appeal
The California Court of Appeal has affirmed, in its entirety, the judgment of dismissal that Partner William Wright obtained for the Firm’s client First American Title Insurance Company, in the case entitled Jaisinghani v. U.S. Bank National Association, et al.. The Court of Appeal agreed with Mr. Wright on all five causes of action that were asserted against First American in the various amended complaints filed in Santa Monica Superior Court by Jaisinghani (including causes of action for negligent undertaking, negligent supervision/selection of agent, breach of title insurance policy, breach of agency agreement and unjust enrichment/restitution).
Click here to read the full Court of Appeal ruling.
Early Sullivan Lands Top Names David Giannotti and William Lalor
Category: News | Thursday, August 2nd, 2018 | Comments Off on Early Sullivan Lands Top Names David Giannotti and William Lalor
August 02, 2018 – Los Angeles, CA – Leading business, real estate and entertainment litigation and transactional law firm Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP (“Early Sullivan”) is proud to announce the addition of David Giannotti and William Lalor, two high-profile attorneys with track records of representing Fortune 500 companies.
Giannotti has been an environmental law attorney for more than 35 years. He has played significant roles in landmark environmental law cases and negotiated the largest partial settlement to date in EPA’s Superfund program totaling more than $650 million. He represents clients throughout the U.S. and internationally in matters concerning due diligence, compliance, remedy implementation, environmental risk assessment and environmental litigation. Giannotti served as in-house counsel to leading petroleum company Occidental Petroleum Corporation and on its Board of Directors’ Environmental Committee, and has served as common counsel for multiple parties at several Superfund sites around the country, currently representing a group of companies at a Superfund site in Los Angeles.
Lalor is a litigator with almost twenty years in practice representing a diverse group of individual and commercial clients in litigated and other matters involving complex insurance coverage (including coverage-in-place agreements, structured settlements, and other coverage issues), employment, FINRA (including “dirty” U-5 issues), toxic torts and mass torts, business disputes, and regulatory matters. Lalor has litigated cases throughout the United States, including for “CNA” insurers and the Lloyd’s of London insurance market, including serving as National Coordinating Counsel for clients including Alcoa Inc., Arkema, and a unit of BP Chemicals.
“David and Bill are both smart, well-respected lawyers in their fields who represent industry leaders,” says Eric Early, Managing Partner. “There is synergy in what they do, and they also complement our existing practice areas to provide our clients with additional, necessary services.”
Giannotti received his law degree in 1971 from Emory University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969 from Ithaca College. He is admitted to practice in Georgia, New York, Tennessee and California. Lalor earned his Juris Doctor at Penn State where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Environmental Law Review and he earned his undergraduate degree in Accounting from Penn State as well. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts.
Early Sullivan represents a wide variety of major national corporations and individuals in litigation, trial, transactions and appeals.