Grunfeld represents clients in a wide variety of issues, including business, automotive, medical devices, gaming and entertainment. Beyond high-profile matters, a good number are pro bono cases. Grunfeld, who grew up mostly in Ethiopia with his diplomat parents, said watching his mother practice law in different countries influenced much of how he sees the profession.
"That work is just as important as the work I do for the big companies. It requires the same amount of passion," Grunfeld said.
He currently serves as lead pro bono counsel in an ongoing case in which 17 elderly and disabled residents of a residential care facility in west Los Angeles were being forcibly removed from their housing. Allison v. Brentwood Manor Inc., BC629539 (L.A. Super Ct., filed Aug. 4, 2016).
"In early May 2016 when it became known that the building was for sale, the owners' harassment has included things like removing residents' belongings from their rooms or threatening to throw them away, locking residents out of their rooms, and threatening to forcibly remove, with assistance from police, those who remained after July 31," Grunfeld said.
Working alongside the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, Grunfeld and his team secured a temporary restraining order on behalf of the residents.
Grunfeld also specializes in intellectual property litigation and led the Alfred Mann Foundation litigation team, which in 2014 secured a $131 million jury award. The jury found the defendant, the world's largest manufacturer of cochlear devices for hearing impaired individuals, infringed on the plaintiff's patents. The appeal before the federal circuit was heard in July, and the court's decision is pending. Alfred E. Mann Foundation for Scientific Research v. Cochlear Corp., CV07-08108, (C.D. Cal., filed Dec. 13, 2007).
Grunfeld said he plans to keep searching for a fulfilling work balance.
"I've been so fortunate in my legal career," Grunfeld said. "I've had the great luck to be able to dive into some really interesting issues and help some really deserving clients ... paying and pro bono clients. All I want to do is be able to continue to do that for both."
— Renee Flannery
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