Laura W. Brill

Brill isn’t one for looking back, even as the firm she launched with Richard Kendall celebrates its 10th anniversary.

“It’s more about looking at today, and what we’ve built,” she said.

The firm, now 19 lawyers strong, is known for its appellate and entertainment practices, and bolstered its white-collar team by hiring top-tier litigators Janet I. Levine, Jeffrey H. Rutherford and Robert E. Dugdale. Recently, the firm moved into a second location in downtown Los Angeles.

“Our goal has been to grow slowly and steadily,” Brill said. “I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of building that.”

Meanwhile, Brill’s practice has been busy over the past few years. In January 2018, she advised the Hotel Association of New York City, which represents more than 280 New York City hotels, as part of a class action against San Francisco-based Airbnb Inc., before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The association joined Aimco, a real estate investment trust company that owns and operates multiple apartment buildings in Los Angeles County, in the action against Airbnb, claiming that the company illegally brokered and promoted short-term rentals via subleasing. La Park La Brea A LLC v. Airbnb Inc., 18-55113 (9th Cir., filed Jan. 26, 2018).

Brill’s other project is The Civics Center, a non-profit she officially launched last September that promotes preregistration and voting registration initiatives for teenagers.

A former law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginburg, Brill started the organization after learning about California’s preregistration law that lets those under 18 sign up to vote once they reach voting age. At the time, only 20 percent of state high school had complied with the law.

“I was stunned. I do a fair amount of election-related litigation and I had never heard of this law,” Brill said. “And there’s not a lot of voices out there aimed at young people, helping them understand how they can affect things.”

Since starting The Civics Center, Brill has launched preregistration programs in Houston, Texas, as well as Los Angeles and Orange counties. And through social media, she’s helping high schools in Utah, New York, New Jersey and Maryland develop their own drives.

“It’s been incredible,” she said of the project’s growth. “It shows the hunger for this kind of information and this kind of program.”

— Glenn Jeffers