Firm Summary
Irell & Manella LLP
With Tinseltown roots dating back to 1941, Irell & Manella saw its start as the go-to tax firm for old Hollywood — clients included Lucille Ball, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, and Dean Martin, just to name a few. These days, the firm is perhaps best known for its IP work, earning the title of IP Litigation Department of the Year for 2018 from The American Lawyer. Its revered IP practice shares the spotlight with the firm’s other top practices, including transactional, securities, litigation, white collar, and entertainment. While the firm has expanded in scope, it has stayed true to its Hollywood roots, with offices only in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, which employ just over 100 lawyers.
Firm Stats
- Firm Name
- Irell & Manella LLP
- U.S. Lawyer Headcount
- 62
- Headcount Change Since 2016
Overall-65Partner-22
- Salary Scale
- Market +
- Hours Required
- Unspecified
- Top Feeder Schools
- UCLA School of Law, Harvard Law School, Yale Law School
- Average Lawyer Tenure at Firm (Years)
- 7.6
- Revenue Per Lawyer Change Over Five Years
- 18%
- Women Partners (as Percentage of U.S. Lawyer Headcount)
- 6%
- Women Partners (As a Percentage of U.S. Partnership)
- 20%
- Promotion Rate
- 4%
- Most Common Federal Case Types
- Intellectual Property, Antitrust, Contract
- Most Active Federal Jurisdictions
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
- Frequent Federal Litigation Clients
- VLSI Technology LLC, Optis Wireless Technology LLC, Optis Cellular Technology LLC
Firm Policies
Benefits and Perks
- Bar review course
- Bar exam fees
- $15K bar stipend (5 weeks pay)
- Case-by-case salary advance
- Up to $3.5K moving reimbursement; direct billing with prefered movers
- Pro-rated stub bonus
Superstars
Morgan Chu
Partner
Specializing in IP and litigation, Chu is currently the chair of the firm’s Litigation group and previously served as a co-managing partner of the firm. As a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office, Chu has served as lead counsel in some of the world’s biggest verdicts, judgments, and settlements, with actual payments totalling over $5 billion to date.
David Nimmer
Of Counsel
Of counsel in the firm’s Los Angeles office, Nimmer is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts in copyright law today. Nimmer regularly litigates on behalf of top clients in the entertainment, high technology, and publishing fields, including twice before the Supreme Court, and since 1985 has authored and updated Nimmer on Copyright, the field’s major treatise, first published by his late father.
Andra Greene
Partner Emeritus
A partner in the firm’s Newport Beach office, Greene is the head of the firm’s Class Action Defense practice group. An established trial lawyer in the complex business litigation arena, Greene’s practice focuses on class action and professional liability defense. She has frequently represented other major lawyers and law firms in need of top-notch counsel.
Above the Law Coverage
-
Changing The Face Of Law
An interview with the new managing partner of Irell & Manella.
-
Elite California Firm Offers Market-Busting Bonuses To Associates
Holy crap! These bonuses are bountiful!
-
Associates At This Firm Are REALLY Pissed About Their Bonuses…
Associates at this firm say morale is terrible.
-
$2,000 An Hour Lawyers: That’s One Way To Fund Salary Increases
Which lawyers make the list of those able to charge $2,000 an hour?
-
The Biglaw Firms With The Biggest Drops In Attorney Headcount (2015)
Some of these drops in headcount are stunning — we’re talking more than 20 percent.
-
EVERYONE Is Getting An Above Market Bonus This Year At Irell & Manella
There’s a new top of the Biglaw bonus game!
The Law Firm Transparency Project draws upon Above the Law research as well as data provided by Leopard Solutions and UniCourt. Click here for an expanded methodology and definition of terms.
