Akin Grows Complex Commercial and Labor & Employment Litigation Practices with Addition of Laura D. Smolowe in Los Angeles

(Los Angeles) – Akin announced today that Laura D. Smolowe has joined the firm as a litigation partner based in Los Angeles. Her addition further bolsters the firm’s capabilities in California, particularly in representing corporate and funds clients in high-stakes litigation.  

Smolowe’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, with a special concentration in trade secret and employee mobility and other labor and employment issues. She leads trial teams on both the plaintiff and defense sides in litigation before federal and state courts and arbitration panels and represents clients across a range of industries including technology, entertainment, fashion, retail, finance and pharmaceuticals. Smolowe has been based in California for her entire career, but her practice is nationwide.

“Laura joins a team of powerhouse litigators with tremendous sophistication and a depth of experience advising clients in California’s complex regulatory environment,” said Akin co-chair elect Abid Qureshi. “Laura’s combination of experience in the labor and employment, trade secret and commercial litigation spaces will be a uniquely valuable asset to our corporate and funds clients.”

“Laura is a top-notch, first-chair trial lawyer with experience leading high stakes commercial litigation trial teams on behalf of Fortune 500 companies and a track record of successful verdicts,” said Joseph Sorkin, leader of the firm’s litigation practice. “She’s a perfect fit for our Los Angeles litigation team and we’re pleased to welcome her to the firm.”

Bob Lian, head of Akin’s labor & employment litigation practice added, “Laura is a highly skilled labor and employment litigator. Her addition to the firm further positions the team to serve our clients’ needs in California and its complex labor and employment laws, restrictive employee mobility regulations and lawsuits brought as class or representative actions.”

“Akin’s global platform for litigation, including labor & employment, with its complementary strength in investigations, trade, regulatory, lobbying, tax and private capital makes the firm an ideal setting for me to continue handling clients’ most high-stakes disputes,” said Smolowe on her move to the firm. “I look forward to working with new colleagues in litigating some of our clients’ most consequential matters.”

Smolowe joins Akin from Munger, Tolles & Olson, where she was co-chair of the firm’s trade secret and employee mobility practice group. She previously clerked with the Honorable Richard A. Paez of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Honorable Dean Pregerson of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

About Akin’s Complex Commercial Litigation Practice

Akin’s complex commercial litigation team handles high-stakes commercial litigation in matters of extraordinary complexity and scope for sophisticated global clients, maintaining a keen focus on their end goals, whether advising on regulatory and compliance issues or engaging in litigation where a business resolution cannot be achieved. Our team has handled—and won—cases that have generated global headlines, established precedent and advanced business strategies across industries.

About Akin’s Labor & Employment Litigation Practice

Described by Chambers USA as a “labor and employment giant [that is a] go-to firm for high-profile cases,” Akin has been repeatedly recognized as having one of the nation’s premier labor and employment practices. The firm’s labor and employment lawyers represent a wide range of employers on their most complex and challenging labor and employment legal problems, from wage and hour class actions and discrimination cases, to arbitrations involving key talent, to complex labor controversies.

Akin is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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