Sheppard Mullin

Sheppard Mullin’s Retail team has expert knowledge of the retail sector and deep experience advising its various industry leaders. Our clients range from large department stores to specialty product chains who sell everything from high fashion to bargain footwear, from hi-tech electronics to low-tech sporting goods through both brick and mortar and online channels.

From its high revenue production, diverse collection of business establishments, and status as the largest private employer in the United States, it’s easy to see why the retail industry powers the American economy. This sector is also one of the largest internationally and is a major motor for worldwide commerce. Operating in a very competitive environment on a global basis demands that retailers be proactive and efficient with how they tackle the multitude of legal issues with which they are routinely confronted. Moreover, with the rapid transformation of technology and global markets in the retail space, the way retailers sell their goods has also changed and brought about additional considerations. Although the vast majority of retail goods are sold in the most affluent nations, such as the United States and the European Union, they are often manufactured in foreign lands, such as China. This dynamic has forced retail companies and their counsel to become more fluent with, for example, international outsourcing and import/export trade issues. As the retail industry continues to evolve, there will be more pressure on those companies to manage the cross-section of legal concerns that accompany innovation and growth.

To ensure your company is on the cutting edge, you need a law firm that understands your business and can assist you in expanding into new markets and developing new business strategies that can capitalize on the global market, while protecting your products and brands along the way. Sheppard Mullin is the answer.

Our Retail team can assist your company in virtually every area that affects the retail industry:

• ADA Access
• Advertising and Promotions
• Anti-Piracy and Counterfeit Goods
• Antitrust
• Corporate Finance and Secured Transactions
• Creditors’ Rights & Bankruptcy
• E-Commerce
• Employee Benefits
• Factoring and Financing
• Franchise Protection
• Government Relations
• Immigration
• Import, Export and Customs Matters
• Intellectual Property
• Joint Ventures and other Strategic Business Relationships, Transactions and Alliances
• Labor and Employment
• Land Use
• Litigation and Dispute Resolution
• Licensing and Distribution
• Merchandising
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Real Estate Development and Leasing
• Stock and Equity transactions
• Tax

"As Sheppard Mullin continues to grow, it is important that we not lose sight of the need to recruit women, attorneys of color and others of diverse backgrounds."
-Guy Halgren, Chairman of the Executive Committee

At Sheppard Mullin, we make every effort to recruit the finest lawyers and nurture their talents. The firm recognizes the importance of diversity and the need to create a workplace of inclusion. We need ¿ and our clients demand ¿ a team of attorneys that is as diverse as our increasingly global client base. Achieving and maintaining diversity is key to great client service ¿ a core value of our firm. What distinguishes good intentions from results is a commitment by senior management to find the best attorneys possible coupled with the sincere belief that people with diverse backgrounds bring valuable attributes to the firm. At Sheppard Mullin, the Executive Committee, Diversity Committee, and the lawyers in each of our offices work hard to ensure that all attorneys who join our firm fit in seamlessly and are encouraged to succeed.

Members of our Diversity Committee include ethnically diverse attorneys and a representative from the firm's Executive Committee. Diversity Committee members have served on the Boards of the Anti-Defamation League, the Black Women Lawyers Foundation (Los Angeles), and the Charles Houston Bar Association (northern California). Women and minority attorneys participate on key committees of the Firm (Executive Committee; Compensation Committee; Diversity Committee; Recruiting Committee; Professional Personnel Committee; Associate Issues Committee). Four of the Firm's nine Office Administrative Partners are women, one of whom is African-American and another is multi-racial.

"Serving on the firm's Diversity Committee is one of the most important things I do. I firmly believe that we must be vigilant in our efforts to recruit talented women attorneys and attorneys of color. Our success in this area has a positive effect our firm's culture, practice and client relationships."
-Joan Story, Member Executive Committee and Diversity Committee

Below is a description of just some of our outreach efforts.

• The firm participates in and financially supports the California Minority Counsel Program and the ABA Minority Counsel Program, as well as several minority bar associations. These groups are dedicated to increasing access for and promoting and retaining minorities in the legal profession.
• The firm actively recruits law students of color, e.g., we participated in the National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA) of the Western Region job fair held at UCLA School of Law.
• Sheppard Mullin contributes to the Minority Corporate Counsel Association; California Women Lawyers; Queen's Bench; Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles; and the National Black Law Students Association, among others.
• We actively participate with other major Los Angeles law firms in the Diversity Directors Roundtable, a group that is committed to promoting diversity in the legal profession and in our firms.
• The firm received the Law Firm Award from the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles Foundation for its strong commitment to the promotion of community and pro bono activities.
• Multicultural Law magazine named Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as one of "The 2011 Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity."
• Sheppard Mullin helped underwrite the production of a motion picture project entitled "Soul of Justice: The Life and Times of Thelton Henderson." The film chronicles the life of respected African-American jurist Thelton Henderson, a crusading civil rights litigator and role model.
• The firm signed the Bar Association of San Francisco's "No Glass Ceiling Initiative," BASF's "Minority Goals and Timetables," the New York County Lawyers' Association Diversity Statement, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Diversity Statement.

Much of our pro bono work relates to the diversity of the communities in which we practice; sample clients include:

• Constitutional Rights Foundation
• Domestic Violence Project, Los Angeles Bar Association
• Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights
• Task Force for the Women's Resource Fair, City of San Diego
• Tolerance Through Education Program, Beverly Hills Barristers Associations
• Violence Against Women Act Program, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles

Awareness of diversity enables us to understand the value of differences. At Sheppard Mullin, we are committed to hiring top tier attorneys, without regard to race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.