Bryan M. Sullivan

Trying to fit the work Sullivan does into a tidy box is nearly impossible.

On one end of the spectrum he represents Hollywood luminaries like Miley Cyrus, Kathy Griffin and Whoopi Goldberg in a variety of legal scenarios. On the other, he's a board member of the tenants' rights organization Basta and sits on Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's affordable housing committee.

Sullivan said that while he is constantly stimulated by all the legal work he does it's the latter that really appeals to him.

"Basta is probably what I am most passionate about because this is what most people claim to have gone to law school to do - help those less fortunate," he said, noting his work on the mayor's commission. "My personal goal is to find ways to protect the existing stock of affordable housing in L.A., which involves strengthening certain provisions of the Rent Stabilization Ordinance."

Sullivan is passionate about pro bono but he's also a fierce advocate and valued advisor for his stable of paying clients. Not content to do reactive legal work, Sullivan characterizes himself as a "legal advisor" someone more likely to figure out a way to avoid prolonged litigation than to blindly throw himself into the fray.

That comprehensive legal guidance is what he does for a lot of clients he has in the start-up space. He represents the founder and majority stakeholder of a digital advertising start-up Streamroll, Kenneth Brook, who is attempting to wind down the company to focus on a new venture. There's a litany of issues involved, from dealing with minority shareholders to making sure fiduciary duties are met, and Sullivan has his hands in everything.

"In these types of situations, I am dealing with brilliant individuals with extraordinarily creative minds but who have no understanding of the legal issues in forming a company, protecting intellectual property and trade secrets, or fiduciary duties," he said. "I try to help them with that so they can focus on developing and growing their business."

There are more traditional successes, such as his win at the Court of Appeal in a case involving a dispute between a contractor and construction lender that set new precedent about how subordination agreements are enforceable as a matter of law. Sullivan said the case, Moorefield Construction, Inc. v. Intervest Mortgage Investment Co., et al, D065464 (Cal. 4th App. Dist., filed Sept. 12, 2014), was a huge win, not only for his client but for construction in California generally.

- Henry Meier