Oct. 16, 2014
Armbruster Goldsmith & Delvac LLP
See more on Armbruster Goldsmith & Delvac LLPLos Angeles | Land use and land use litigation
The three are at a place where they get to follow their passion and don't feel pressured to dilute what they do by adding other areas of practice to their thriving Los Angeles firm of nine attorneys and three planners.
"We're all big firm refugees," said Goldsmith, who along with Armbruster founded one of the first land use-specific firms in Southern California in 2004 after leaving major law firms to create the boutique. Delvac, a senior Latham & Watkins LLP land use partner, joined them in 2009.
"I felt extremely frustrated in trying to expand my practice," said Goldsmith, explaining why he wanted out of a large firm. The constant pressure to increase rates and having to compete with other practice areas was a factor in his move.
A full service practice is not an issue at a boutique, which for purists offers undiluted focus in a specialization of choice.
"It's also a question of what sort of people you want to be around," Goldsmith said. "One of the big problems with big firms is they want to be everything for everybody."
But at the boutique, added Armbruster, "under one roof we had cross-pollination of specialties within a specialty ... We all talk the same language."
For example, Armbruster has the strong relationships with elected officials throughout the region, Goldsmith understands the California Environmental Quality Act inside out, and Delvac is the historic preservation law expert.
"I am at a point in life where I get to choose what I want to do," said Delvac. "Happiness [is] not having what you want but wanting what you have. I am not looking for anything else. We do what we do well. Sometimes when you lose your focus, you lose your way."
The firm's market share is growing, said the partners who together have almost 100 years of collective land use experience between them.
"Individually we're all strong but collectively we're even stronger," said Goldsmith, adding that the same reasons be became a "big firm refugee" is also why the boutique has resisted mergers.
"We've been courted by larger firms and I have no urge whatsoever to merge," he said. "I am making more money, controlling my own destiny and I am having a lot of fun. Why would I want to change?"
Along the way, beyond multiple other projects, the partners have left their stamp on the L.A. entertainment and sports scene.
The firm's attorneys have clinched approvals for many of the city's iconic projects including Staples Center, LA Live, the W Hotel at Hollywood & Vine, St. Vibiana Cathedral, Fox Studios' Century City expansion, the renovations of Dodger Stadium, Pacific Design Center, Santa Monica Place, RAND Headquarters, Home Depot Center in Carson, Union Station in Los Angeles and the Greek Theater.
Delvac is leading the charge on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' effort to create a Museum of Motion Pictures, which will be housed in a 75-year-old former May Company building near the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's campus at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue.
Goldsmith is working on the Los Angeles Lakers' new practice facility in El Segundo.
"We're reshaping the urban fabric of Southern California and it's exciting," he said.
- Vik Jolly
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