Two Silicon Valley stalwarts, Fenwick & West and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, have added partners to their Silicon Beach offices in Santa Monica this week, as firms continue to seek growth in the region in hopes of representing its growing startup community.

Orrick, which opened its Santa Monica outpost in 2017, has hired private equity-focused lawyer Justin Yi from Los Angeles boutique Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern. And Fenwick's newly opened Santa Monica office has brought on partner Andrew Klungness, a longtime Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner attorney and leader of the firm's commercial practice.

"I think that the firm has done a great job of getting into the LA market, especially out here in Santa Monica, and really taking advantage of investing the resources to build a vibrant, technology-centered practice," said Yi. "The kind of the beachhead that they've established here, along with sort of the continual investments and growth in the LA region, generally—not only in Santa Monica but also in Orange County—was just an attractive opportunity."

In a statement about his move, Klungness said he was drawn to Fenwick's growing focus on "representing technology companies in the greater Los Angeles area."

"I'm excited to bring Fenwick's depth of expertise to intellectual property-driven businesses, like my clients, to help them grow," he said. "The firm's singular focus on technology and life sciences and thorough understanding of startup and emerging growth companies—along with a strong, collaborative platform—are compelling and make Fenwick the clear firm of choice in Santa Monica for a technology-focused practice like my own."

With Li's arrival, Orrick now has 21 lawyers in Santa Monica. Combined with its downtown Los Angeles office, which was established in 1985, the San Francisco-headquartered firm has about 90 lawyers in Southern California.

Fenwick, which launched its Santa Monica office in early March, has grown that team to more than 20 professionals, which includes 15 attorneys. The firm recently added Sarah Chambless, a former leader of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips' venture capital and emerging companies practice, and five new associates to bolster its Silicon Beach outpost.

These two moves are the latest examples of the invasion of West Los Angeles by Silicon Valley firms, as they follow their tech clients down the coast. Other tech-centric law firms that have planted flags in the Silicon Beach area include Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, Cooley and Goodwin Procter. (Goodwin has Boston roots, but the other four are all based in Silicon Valley.)

"As LA has grown, and this market has matured, I think there's a lot of cross-pollination," Yi explained. "There's a lot of opportunities for firms, [that have been based] traditionally in Silicon Valley, to come to LA and to expand their footprint."

Yi primarily represents sponsors and companies in M&A and restructuring matters. Prior to his venture at Klee Tuchin, he was a senior associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, which he joined 2011 after decamping the New York office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

Over the years, Yi has worked with PE funds such as Diversis Capital, Clearlake Capital Group, Siris Capital, Z Capital Partners and Cerberus Capital Management, as well as Vivendi S.A. and its affiliated companies, Burford, Pinnacle Foods, See Tickets and Open Road Films, according to Orrick's press release.

"A lot of sponsors are moving closer toward the technology companies as potential investment opportunities," said Yi of his practice. "From a traditional private equity perspective, you may not have seen [that] 10 years ago."

Peter Lamb, a partner in Orrick's technology companies group, also noted in a statement that there has been a growing demand from funds and investment companies in the region.

"As funds and their portfolio companies increasingly demand domain expertise and efficient execution from their advisors, our growing team will continue to deliver a unique value proposition to clients," Lamb said. "We are confident that the hands-on partner-level attention and expertise that a practitioner like Justin will bring to deals will further differentiate us from the traditional legal advisors in the PE market."

Prior to his move, Klungness was at Bryan Cave for over 15 years. His practice focuses on intellectual property and technology transactions, helping companies with structuring, negotiating and managing business deals. For over 20 years, he has serviced companies in a number of tech-related industries, including e-commerce, mobile, social media, hardware, SaaS, interactive entertainment and consumer products.

In a statement responding to Klungness' departure, a spokesperson from Bryan Cave wished him well in his new endeavors.

"Our 181-lawyer technology and commercial group spans three continents and represents investors and technology businesses in all aspects of their transactional activities and disputes," the firm continued. "BCLP is located in the heart to Santa Monica's Silicon Beach and our team represents emerging and thriving businesses in achieving their strategies"

Klee Tuchin did not respond for comment regarding Yi's move to Orrick.

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