In a supplement published on September 12, 2016, the Los Angeles Business Journal recognized Manatt partners Michelle Cooke, Victor De la Cruz and Brad Seiling among the city’s most influential minority lawyers. They are three of only 40 lawyers to be recognized.
The Los Angeles Business Journal’s annual list has a different focus each year, this year highlighting the most successful L.A.-based diverse lawyers, including minorities, women and members of the LGBT community, from a wide range of legal practices.
The publication noted that Michelle Cooke, who co-chairs Manatt’s intellectual property practice, continues to build a high profile and expansive practice in the trademark field, with notable clients such as Universal Studios, Alliance Healthcare and Eurostar among others. Universal first engaged Cooke several years ago to develop and implement trademark enforcement strategies for merchandise from certain film franchises in emerging markets. She now spearheads enforcement and protection efforts for multiple Universal divisions for different film franchises on a global basis, including major markets such as the United States and Europe.
In its profile of Victor De la Cruz, the journal notes that he has become a recognized leader for land use and government matters in Los Angeles. He serves as the co-chair of Manatt’s land use practice, as well as the co-chair of the Central City Association’s Housing, Land Use & Development Committee. Over the past two years, De la Cruz has represented Kilroy Realty in its $300 million Academy Square project off of Sunset and Vine in the heart of Hollywood, handling the land use entitlement and California Environmental Quality Act Review for the 3.5-acre project.
The article highlights the long and successful track record of Brad Seiling, who chairs Manatt’s class actions and advertising litigation groups, of defending clients against class action suits in the financial services, healthcare, direct marketing, entertainment, publishing and insurance industries. Seiling’s profile notes that his philosophy is to seek the most expeditious way to eliminate the risk of class action for the client, having defeated class certification in both trial and appellate courts. Seiling recently employed novel arguments to successfully defend a marketer of a dietary supplement in a case of alleged false advertising.