Business Journal makes its case for L.A.’s top lawyers who shepherd the biggest M&A deals.
TOM HOPKINS, 47
FIRM: Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
LAW SCHOOL: USC
CLIENTS: RealD, LegalZoom.com, Adconion Media Group, La Brea Bakery, CSR, OpenTable, Fidelity National Financial
Tom Hopkins has focused his corporate practice on up-and-coming media and technology companies in Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
“I enjoy getting to work closely with senior management, which is more common at smaller, fast-growth companies,” he said.
Last year, Hopkins, who co-leads the corporate and securities practice at Sheppard Mullin, represented Beverly Hills 3-D tech company RealD for the company’s public offering.
His role was to expedite the company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, which allowed RealD to go public during last summer’s blockbuster movie season. As a result, the company was able to capitalize on high growth projections for 3-D cinema at the time and raised $230 million.
“My job is to get our clients through the process with the SEC and out on the road,” he said. “There are hiccups that can really impact or derail the process.”
For evidence, he points to Groupon in Palo Alto. The company has delayed its public offering, in part, because of legal issues.
Hopkins’ other fast-growth clients include LegalZoom.com in Glendale and OpenTable in San Francisco. He also advised Jamdat Mobile when it went public in 2004. (The company was later acquired by Redwood City’s Electronic Arts.)
But Hopkins, a Philadelphia native, decided to move to Los Angeles after graduating with an undergraduate degree from American University in Washington, D.C.
He spent four years in TV production, public relations, drove a Super Shuttle van and even had a bit role on TV show “Moonlighting.”
When it was time to get serious, friends and family members told him he was a good arguer, so he enrolled at the USC Gould School of Law. That was the early ’90s.
Now he makes his home in Santa Barbara with his wife, Sandy, and two young sons, Sean and Grant. When he’s not commuting to Los Angeles to meet with clients, Hopkins enjoys taking his kids for ski trips to Mammoth Mountain.
