Shook Opens Los Angeles Office With Team of Business Litigators

Shook, Hardy & Bacon is pleased to announce the opening of a Los Angeles office, spearheaded by new Partners Michael Mallow, Mark Campbell and Rachel Straus. As members of Shook’s Business Litigation and Class Action and Appellate practices, the attorneys bring decades of experience defending complex commercial litigation and consumer class actions to the firm’s roster of automotive, consumer products, cosmetics, energy, and food and beverage clients. 

“Shook’s holistic approach to commercial and class action litigation was a natural fit,” said Mallow. “We look forward to helping our industry trailblazing clients tackle the most challenging legal questions facing their businesses today. Our team offers Shook’s nationwide network of clients a strategic defense with deep roots in California venues, where, according to some commentators, more than half of all consumer class actions are filed.” 

Mallow and Campbell will lead the Los Angeles office, where the new team will be joined by their colleagues, Of Counsel Darlene Cho and Associate Matt Light, as well as Shook Partner Frank Kelly and Of Counsel Andrew Trask. In addition to their industry-leading representation of auto manufacturers and distributors, Mallow, Campbell and Straus will continue to focus their practice on consumer products, food and beverage, dietary supplement, and internet and technology companies facing litigation arising from alleged product defects, marketing and advertising claims, and alleged privacy violations like those filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), California’s Consumer Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) and the forthcoming California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The group’s combined experience defending privacy class actions complements Shook’s emergence as the leading defense firm in the country for Fortune 500 companies defending against class actions brought under state biometric privacy laws. 

In addition to class action defense, Campbell has experience with patent, trademark, trade secrets, collaboration and intellectual property license agreements and other complex commercial disputes, while Straus regularly counsels clients on compliance with state and national consumer protection laws and risk mitigation strategies.

“We are excited to welcome Rachel, Mark and Michael to the firm and believe they have just the right chemistry and experience to expand our national platform to Los Angeles,” said Shook Chair Madeleine McDonough. “They are the complete package: strategic litigators, tenacious trial lawyers and seasoned counselors. Their decision to join Shook reflects our shared desire to build a science-savvy team of litigators that can respond to the complexities of the global supply chain and the disruption of traditional economic sectors by new technologies.” 

“Coupling Shook’s well-recognized innovative and cost-effective litigation model with Michael, Mark and Rachel’s impressive track record in California’s trial and appellate courts is a dynamite combination attractive to Shook clients in multiple industries,” said Shook’s Class Action and Appellate Practice Co-Chair Tristan Duncan. 

“The firm continues its strategic investment in services and locations that speak directly to the needs of our clients,” said Shook’s Class Action and Appellate Practice Co-Chair Holly Smith. As Business Litigation Practice Co-Chair Gary Miller noted, “Mark, Michael and Rachel work at the intersection of business litigation and class action trends. We look forward to growing our team in California and nationwide.”

A graduate of The George Washington University Law School, Mallow is recognized by Chambers USA in the category of California Litigation: General Commercial and The Legal 500 United States in Dispute Resolution - Product liability, mass torts and class actions: automotive/transport and consumer products. Campbell received his law degree from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, where he was business editor of the Entertainment Law Review, and Straus earned her law degree, cum laude, from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, where she was the assistant editor of the Arts and Entertainment Law Journal and a Heyman Center on Corporate Governance Scholar. 

The Los Angeles location in Century City will be Shook’s third California office. Shook currently has offices in Orange County and San Francisco.