From left, Grant Gelberg, Aaron May, Katherine Huang, Carlos Singer and Joseph Ybarra
The Los Angeles-based Huang Ybarra Singer & May LLP prides itself on the wealth of
experience shared among its five partners. Much of that experience, partner Aaron
M. May said, was spent serving the big companies they now often litigate against.
"We've all represented Fortune 500 companies, and so we've got experience on both
sides," May said. "So when we do get into a fight with a Goliath on the other side,
we know how to fight, because we've been there, and they don't intimidate us."
Katherine K. Huang, a former Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP litigation partner and a founder
of Huang Ybarra, said experience has been pivotal over the course of the firm's first
year in business. In one such instance, the firm represented Madsen Medical Inc.,
a medical device distributor, in a lawsuit filed against them by NuVasive Inc., the
company's former medical device manufacturer.
When Madsen told NuVasive that it intended to sue some of the company's employees
for tortuous interference, Huang said NuVasive "rushed to the courthouse" and sued
Madsen. That suit, which claims Madsen failed to return certain inventory items to
NuVasive, alleges breach of contract, unfair competition, and intentional interference,
and was filed in what Huang describes as an attempt to bully the much smaller company.
"They sued our client thinking that they could just walk in and take whatever they
wanted," Huang said.
While the case remains unresolved, Huang said the firm was able to "turn the tables
on the plaintiff" by asserting counterclaims worth millions of dollars and then winning
the summary judgment on NuVasive's key claims, leaving them with claims for only tens
of thousands of dollars. The firm also proved that the manufacturer had destroyed
evidence related to the case and convinced the judge to impose sanctions for the larger
company's spoliation, Huang said.
"They were not expecting such a large response," Huang said.
With only five attorneys and six staff total, Huang said the firm has been guarded
against unnecessary growth to preserve its reputation as a premier litigation boutique.
In addition to Huang and May, who is a former assistant U.S. attorney, the firm launched
with Joseph J. Ybarra, a fellow Munger Tolles litigator, and Carlos Singer, a partner
at Willenken Wilson Loh & Delgado LLP. Since then, they've added Grant B. Gelberg,
who is also an assistant U.S. attorney.
"Part of our philosophy is to keep lean and mean to keep overhead as low as we can.
We provide the services we need to with as little additional cost as possible," May
said.
Ybarra notes that as a new boutique firm, one of the largest obstacle the firm faces
is a prospective client's unwillingness to break away from the status quo.
"There's always a certain inertia that you're fighting against, where companies hire
the firms they've been hiring for 20 years because it's the easy thing for them to
do," Ybarra said. "As a new startup, you're always fighting against that."
While the first year can often be chaotic for firms, Ybarra said the members' wealth
of experience and rich network of contacts has helped avoid most of the traditional
hiccups.
"We're fortunate enough where we've had great relationships with the people we've
worked with before where if a client comes to them... and they decide it doesn't fit
or there's a conflict, they can send it our way," Ybarra said. "That's a vote of confidence
from someone the client obviously trusts, which is a big way you can get over that
sort of hump."
- STEVEN CRIGHTON
#261325
For reprint rights or to order a copy of your photo:
Email
jeremy@reprintpros.com
for prices.
Direct dial: 949-702-5390
Send a letter to the editor:
Email: letters@dailyjournal.com