A practicing attorney for over well 30 years, Mr. Lawrence joined the Firm’s partners in March 2000. After graduating from UCLA School of Law in 1976 and entering the California Bar that same year, Mr. Lawrence spent 24 years in practice with Rudin, Richman & Appel and its successor firm, Richman, Lawrence, Mann, Chizever & Phillips in Beverly Hills, California, where he practiced appellate advocacy, entertainment litigation, intellectual property litigation, traditional labor law, competitive business practice and related complex business litigation and employment law.

Over the years, Mr. Lawrence has had the opportunity to represent a number of high-profile clients in high stakes litigation, including representing entertainer Frank Sinatra in a number of litigation matters; Warner/Elektra/Asylum Records in massive antitrust litigation against independent record promoters, including Joseph Isgro; numerous film production companies (including Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, 20th Century-Fox, Lorimar Productions, Sony/Tristar Productions, New World Entertainment, Reeves Entertainment, Marvel Productions, Ltd., and Fries Entertainment) in all types of commercial and intellectual property litigation; athletes Willie Gault, Edwin Moses and Greg Harrell in intense litigation relating to the composition of the 1992 United States Olympic Bobsled Team; producer Smith-Hemion Productions in litigation with Michael Jackson and the Jackson family; producer Gary Smith; Caesar’s Palace developer Jay J. Sarno; musician Bob Dylan; writer Jackie Collins; and game show host Alex Trebek, to name a few. Mr. Lawrence has also had the opportunity to litigate against, and indeed cross-examine, a number of well-known personalities, including Dustin Hoffman, Lee Iacocca, Michael Jackson, director Antoine Fuqua, Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, and (now convicted felon) Joseph Isgro, among numerous others.

Mr. Lawrence also spent years representing several Las Vegas Casinos (the Aladdin Hotel, the Stardust Hotel, the Royal Americana Hotel, the Fremont Hotel and the Sundance) in all aspects of labor and employment law, and as well obtained several seven-figure tax refund awards on behalf of his clients.  Mr. Lawrence has had a longstanding traditional labor law practice, handling all types of employer/union issues and litigated matters.  For instance, Mr. Lawrence successfully prevented the organization of a large mid-Western glass manufacturer against five straight organizational attempts by the Teamsters, the United Auto Workers, and the Aluminum, Brick and Glass Workers.

An accomplished trial attorney with many substantial defense judgments as well as a number of multi-million dollar awards to his credit, including a recent appearance in The National Law Journal's list of the Top 100 Jury Verdicts for 2006 with an unanimous jury verdict of $24.2 Million Dollars in a dispute between a medical corporation and a hospital, Mr. Lawrence added his expertise in these fields to his work with the Firm’s members over the past eight years, in addition to serving as the managing partner.

A veteran of more than 25 state and federal appellate arguments, many of which have been reported, a dozen jury trials, innumerable non-jury, arbitral, administrative and regulatory trials, arbitrations and mediations, and hundreds if not thousands of contested court hearings, Mr. Lawrence brings a seasoned hand to the Firm’s litigation practice. Outside the Firm’s practice, Mr. Lawrence has spent over 20 years as a trustee and member of the board of directors of several private non-profit educational institutions, including The Buckley School and The Foundation for Excellence in Education, specializing in financial and labor and employment contributions to the expertise of the respective governing boards, and is privileged to work with both The Hollywood Entertainment Museum and Haskell Wexler’s Institute for Cinema Studies as well.