Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton History

In November 1927, they left the Newlin firm to open their own office under the name Haight Mathes in the Title Insurance Building on Spring Street in Los Angeles.

1928 The following year, they were joined by Mathes' law school roommate, James Sheppard, and the name of the Firm became Haight, Mathes Sheppard.

The Firm has garnered numerous awards for its pro bono service, and now boasts more than 400 lawyers, a far cry from the small contingent who laid the foundation in the 1930's.

The Firm -- now named Mathes Sheppard -- had two law clerks in 1932 J. Stanley Mullin and George R. Richter.

Both joined the Firm upon completion of their legal studies in 1933.

In 1936, he returned to the Firm, where he began serving lending clients and also became an expert in labor law.

With the 1938 hiring of Harvard grad Gordon Hampton, the firm closed out its recruitment of the quartet that formed the nameplate maintained through today a rarity in this age of mergers, spinoffs, and partner raids.

Having lost its senior trial lawyer, in October 1945 the Firm recruited Frank Balthis, who had begun his legal career at O'Melveny and who had served during the war years as Southern California Director of the Office of Price Administration.

1946 In 1946, at a time when there were few women practicing law, the Firm became one of a handful in Los Angeles to hire a female associate, Kathleen Parker.

Gordon Hampton specialized in antitrust law, helped develop the antitrust laws during the 1950's, and was a founder of the American Bar Association Antitrust Section.

He spent 16 years as the United States delegate to the International Ski Federation, was the first president of the California Sports Car Club in the 1960s, and was on the organizing committee for the 1960 Winter Olympic Games at Squaw Valley.

By 1975, because of the leadership exhibited by the founders and the excellence of those who followed, the Firm outgrew the space it had occupied in the Rowan Building for over 40 years.

1977 In 1977, the Firm opened its first branch office, in Orange County.

1981 In 1981, the Firm opened its San Francisco office.

The San Diego office opened in March, 1986.

2001 In 2001, the Firm moved to invest itself even more fully in the legal firmament of California by opening two new offices in Century City and Del Mar Heights.

2003 In 2003, the Firm opened an office in Washington, D.C. allowing for a truly nationwide practice.

In the Chips In April 2008, Sheppard Mullin's 11th office opened shop in Menlo Park, in California's Silicon Valley.

Yippee Yahoo Sheppard Mullin client Yahoo Inc. announced a landmark deal in July 2009 with Microsoft under which Microsoft will become the Internet search platform for Yahoo , and Yahoo will become the exclusive sales force for Microsoft's paid search services to premium advertisers.

The office moved to Palo Alto in 2010.

Per the article, The Los Angeles-based firm saw revenue rise 10.5 percent in 2017, to more than 671 million, according to preliminary reporting by ALM.

Sheppard Mullin was the only law firm to win an employment case before the California Supreme Court in 2018.

Merchant was featured in a May 2019 article in Washington Lawyer, titled Fatema Merchant Breaking Barriers For Muslim Women In The Law, which described Merchant as the first hijab-wearing woman to make partner at a Washington, DC, Am Law 100 firm.