Contact Information: CONTACT: Eric Klein (310) 228-3728 Ralph Richardson (213) 617-5542
Partner Eric Klein Joins Sheppard Mullin Century City
M&A Experts Expands Growing Office's Corporate Practice
| Source: Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - April 17, 2008) - Eric A. Klein has joined the Century City
office of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in the firm's
Corporate practice group. Klein most recently practiced as a leader of
Katten Muchin Rosenman's West Coast Mergers and Acquisitions and Securities
practices. Joining Klein in Sheppard Mullin's Corporate practice group is
special counsel John J. Molloy. Molloy also joins from Katten's Century
City office.
Klein specializes in mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financings,
private equity transactions and venture capital. He regularly advises
clients in the healthcare, life sciences and technology industries. Known
for his creativity in the structuring of transactions, Klein represents
entrepreneurial and established businesses, private equity and venture
capital funds and foreign companies in their growth initiatives.
In the healthcare industry, Klein has recently assisted clients with
strategic transactions and operational matters for physician-owned managed
care organizations, the acquisition of multiple hospitals in Los Angeles
and San Diego counties, obtaining California HMO licensure under the
Knox-Keene Act, the purchase and sale of healthcare companies by or to
private equity funds, the formation of joint ventures and management
services organizations, and healthcare regulatory and compliance matters.
He also works regularly with life sciences businesses, including the recent
SEC registration of a stem cell company, and has authored a chapter
offering "best practices" advice on mergers and acquisitions in the
forthcoming book "Inside the Minds: Life Sciences Mergers & Acquisitions"
to be published in April 2008.
Klein regularly advises a broad range of technology companies, including
Internet, enterprise software, encryption data security and hardware
companies. He routinely structures strategic alliances and licensing
transactions for companies in the tech sector, as well as assisting them
with venture capital and private equity transactions and with mergers and
acquisitions. Klein represents a number of private equity funds in their
growth equity and acquisition transactions, as well as counseling clients
on investment fund formation. He also regularly represents companies in
their transactions with private equity funds, such as the recent sale to a
Forstmann Little portfolio company of a Los Angeles based media company
that produces two of the top ten U.S. trade shows.
For more than three decades, Molloy has handled entrepreneurial and middle
market clients' mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; joint ventures;
public and private equity and debt financings; complex contractual matters;
business formation; and tax planning. His clients include healthcare
providers, software and hardware development companies, service and
maintenance firms, telecommunications firms, medical device manufacturers,
Internet companies and measuring devices manufacturers. Molloy has handled
more than ten acquisitions over the past year for a publicly-traded
national physician group practice company.
"As an accomplished dealmaker with expertise in the healthcare and tech
sectors, Eric will be a significant asset for our clients. He and Jay will
add to our existing strength and expertise in the Corporate practice group,
as well as in the firm's Healthcare and Life Sciences industry teams," said
Guy Halgren, chairman of the firm.
Commented Klein, "Sheppard Mullin occupies a strategic position in
California and beyond, and offers the support needed to handle
sophisticated M&A, private equity, venture and other emerging company
transactions. I am greatly impressed by the firm's dedication to expanding
its healthcare and tech-related practices and the excellent group of
attorneys based in Century City."
Klein and Molloy are the latest in a recent flurry of attorneys joining
Sheppard Mullin's Century City office. Two weeks ago, Jim Curry joined the
office as an Entertainment and Media litigation partner. Curry most
recently practiced as a founding partner with White O'Connor Curry LLP in
Century City. Additionally, Robb Klein joined in March as special counsel
in the firm's Entertainment & Media practice group from the London office
of European law firm SJ Berwin LLP.
Sheppard Mullin has 40 attorneys based in its Century City office and about
160 attorneys based in its downtown Los Angeles office. The firm's
Corporate practice group includes close to 100 attorneys.
Klein earned a J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1985 and
received an A.B. from Princeton University in 1981. Molloy earned a J.D.
from University of Southern California Gould School of Law in 1972 and a
B.S. in Accounting from University of Southern California in 1968.
Klein is a member of the board of directors of the Association for
Corporate Growth in Los Angeles. He is also a member of the executive
committee of the Private Equity Roundtable. Klein also lectures nationally
on negotiation skills and has taught business leaders, investment bankers,
lawyers and entrepreneurs on this topic. His writing is regularly
published in legal and business publications, most recently in the Harvard
Business Review.
Molloy regularly speaks on technology transactions, M&A, venture capital
and private equity. He is a member of the board of directors of the
Technology Council of Southern California.
About Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
Sheppard Mullin is a full service AmLaw 100 firm with more than 520
attorneys in 11 offices located throughout California and in New York,
Washington, D.C. and Shanghai. The firm's California offices are located
in Los Angeles, Century City, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Orange County,
Santa Barbara, San Diego and Del Mar Heights. Founded in 1927 on the
principle that the firm would succeed only if its attorneys delivered
prompt, high quality and cost-effective legal services, Sheppard Mullin
provides legal counsel to U.S. and international clients. Companies turn
to Sheppard Mullin to handle a full range of corporate and technology
matters, high stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. In the
U.S., the firm's clients include more than half of the Fortune 100
companies. For more information, please visit www.sheppardmullin.com.