A prominent group of litigators left Irell & Manella‘s Los Angeles office on Monday to launch their own boutique, the third spinoff from a major firm in the last few months in a trend that appears to be prompted by client rate pressure.

Richard Kendall, Laura Brill and Robert Klieger have launched Kendall Brill & Klieger, taking with them huge clients Viacom Inc., CBS and Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc., among others. Kendall said increasing sensitivity to billing rates was a factor.