The Recorder profiles FBT Gibbons’ California growth strategy, quoting Chairman Robert Sartin on the firm’s expanding West Coast platform, long-term plans for the state, and continued investment in key industries and practices.
In the article, Sartin outlines the firm’s ambition to grow from approximately 50 attorneys in California to more than 100, while continuing to build its presence in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Orange County.
“I’ve told our teams that we really aspire to see 100-plus lawyers in California,” Sartin says. “We’re going to continue to grow in a material way in the state.”
The profile highlights the firm’s strategic approach to growth, which is centered on client demand, industry strength, and opportunities to expand the capabilities of its broader national platform. Sartin points to California’s economic scale and concentration of major industries as a strong fit for the firm’s experience in finance, energy, manufacturing, and other key sectors.
“We’re a finance firm; we’re an energy and manufacturing firm,” Sartin says. “[California’s] gross domestic product would be the fifth-largest country in the world, and it plays a major role in anything financial and energy-related.”
The article also examines the continued development of the firm’s private equity and wealth planning capabilities. As Sartin explains, both California and Florida are “markets that really drive the high-net-worth, family office, wealth, and private equity practices. … The capital is flowing into that ecosystem these days.”
Recent arrivals, including wealth planning Partner Kristin Yokomoto and labor and employment Partner Jeffrey Wortman, demonstrate how the firm is adding experienced lawyers whose practices align with its strategic priorities in California. Sartin also identifies labor and employment, general business litigation, product torts, mergers and acquisitions, white-collar investigations, and real estate as areas with significant potential for continued growth.