Oct. 16, 2014
Fortis General Counsel LLP
See more on Fortis General Counsel LLPEl Segundo, Aliso Viejo, San Mateo, San Jose | Corporate, M&A, Licensing
"It's about being closer to our clients," said Orange County-based partner Fred Hasani, who co-founded Fortis in 2005. "The greater the proximity, the more likely it becomes that they are going to keep coming back to us."
The firm represents emerging growth companies as well as mature companies. Some of its clients, Hasani said, includes the University of Southern California and Kelly Bluebook .
The firm was founded with the goal of producing a platoon of general counsels for hire. Those plans have since been modified to meet the client demand for more specialized attention. Despite the shift towards a more narrow strategy of capturing corporate work, one key personnel concept remains from the old days.
"There is no upfront capital buy in at our firm," Hasani said.
Instead of being paid based on hours logged or sharing in profits, the company requires each attorney to develops his or her own book of business.
"We also make sure to recruit experienced attorneys and ones who are similarly inclined towards entrepreneurship," Hasani said.
San Mateo-based partner Robert M. Dang, who leads Fortis in Northern California, said that the Bay Area is a very different game from the firm's other operations.
"In Southern California, there is USC, who we work with a lot. There are also a lot of real estate and brick and mortar type companies," Dang said. "Up here, we primarily focus on startups."
Fortis first reached the Bay Area by establishing an office in Redwood Shores. Since then, the firm has relocated to San Mateo and San Jose.
"We think that if you are going to be a firm and say that you are in a particular area, then you have to have an office there," Dang said. "Some people say it's a lot of overhead but it's really not that bad as long as you can do without the marble floors and so forth. "
Right now the firm has seven partners, two of counsel and no associates.
"Most of our partners joined the firm as of counsel and have since moved up," Dang said.
This year has been quiet for Fortis in Northern Califor nia, as it continues to establish its brand. However, the firm has enjoyed a strong year on the base of its Southern California roots.
Hasani has spent much of his year representing his client Pacolian Inc., for whom he was previously g eneral c ounsel. Hasani helped the company leverage two existing relationships with Stubhub and the University of Oregon as they sought to create a better secondary market for tickets.
David Butler, CEO of Paciolan Inc., said that Hasani remains a valuable part of his team.
"Fred used to work here," Butler said, "but we eventually decided that we should contract with him and he could go along and set up his own firm."
Hasani was able to oversee a quick scaling up of Paciolan's legal efforts during a critical four-week window during the University of Oregon deal.
"The university is a state organization," Butler said, "so a lot had to be worked out in terms of requirements during the ticket sales process."
"I've been working with Paciolan for many years now," Hasani said, "and it was great to take part in another big step in the company's evolution."
- Alex Shively
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