Steven Nataupsky
Managing Partner
Irvine Office
New York University School of Law
(J.D. 1991)
Joined Firm: 1991

Throughout the history of the firm, we have endeavored to attract the most talented young lawyers from the best law schools in the country. Much of our success is attributable to the energy, imagination and dedication contributed by each new group of lawyers.

These gifted individuals are attracted to the firm for several reasons. First, they come because of the firm's focus on scholarship. There are various approaches to almost any legal issue, and we strive for the best, most cost-effective solution. This requires a thorough understanding of the law and the practice, and an ability to apply imagination and insight to solve legal issues. Our partners devote a great deal of time to training associates to find the best solutions to legal problems. This training is often through one-on-one interaction while completing projects, but also through in-house seminars and educational meetings. We are willing to make this investment of our time because we look at each associate as a potential future partner who will help us grow our firm.

Second, talented law school graduates join us because we offer more than employment. We offer careers. At a time when many firms employ new lawyers as though they were fungible commodities, often employing them for only a few years, we only employ those who we believe have the potential to become one of our partners. And once they arrive, we immediately begin an evaluation process to determine whether they are progressing toward that goal. When they need correction, we provide feedback. When they are making good progress, we let them know. Our partnership track is shorter than most firms, because we don't think it takes eight or ten years to determine whether an associate has the talent, dedication and scholarship required to be a partner.

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