Ms Phillips’ Los Angeles-based boutique firm Phillips Lerner has agreed to be absorbed into Blank Rome, a move that will see Ms Phillips join the AmLaw 100 firm alongside four other attorneys and a team of support staff. The legal mind behind some of Hollywood’s most high-profile divorces, Ms Phillips is a coup for Blank Rome as the firm looks to expand its family law practice away from its East Coast stronghold. ‘We have one of the top family law practices in the country but most of it is based on the East Coast,’ said Blank Rome chairman and managing partner Alan Hoffman of the new lateral hires. ‘We needed a presence on the West Coast, so when the opportunity presented itself, we grabbed it.’ The Los Angeles office of Blank Rome is conveniently located in the same building as Phillip Lerner’s current office, and the two firms are now working towards consolidating their spaces.

Star credentials

Phillips Lerner’s client book contains some of the most recognizable names in American popular culture. Ms Phillips was attorney to Bobby Brown throughout his divorce from pop star Whitney Houston and to Darcy LaPier in her custody battle with actor Jean Claude Van Damme. ‘Just as each family is unique, so too are their legal needs. As a result, it has become increasingly important to provide our clients with additional resources as they face some of life’s toughest challenges, and the platform that Blank Rome offers us and our clients is second to none,’ said Ms Phillips of her decision to join her new firm.

Sources: Law.com; Bloomberg BigLaw Business