Law Students
Rutan
Law Students
We believe Rutan offers excellent opportunities for successful law students and new lawyers with a strong desire for professional and personal achievement and a sincere interest in contributing to the continuing growth of one of California’s most interesting and successful law practices.
Administratively, Rutan’s attorneys are organized in seven Sections or departments:
- Corporate and Tax
- Employment
- Government and Regulatory
- Intellectual Property
- Land Use and Entitlement
- Litigation and Trial
- Real Estate
Attorneys within each Section specialize in one or more substantive areas of law that fall generally within that Section’s jurisdiction.
Many of the firm’s attorneys are also members of practice groups that may include attorneys from more than one Section. Areas of specialization within the firm include business and commercial litigation, public entity representation, creditors’ rights and bankruptcy, communications law, zoning and land use regulation, products liability, environmental law and toxic torts, real property finance, municipal finance, securities, mergers and acquisitions, eminent domain, redevelopment, and construction law, among others. This website includes more detailed descriptions of each of the firm’s five Sections and eight interdisciplinary practice groups and the individual resumes of our attorneys.
Client matters are typically staffed with a partner and one or more associates, based upon such criteria as the size and complexity of the matter, the expertise required to handle the matter in the most cost-effective manner, and attorney availability. Associates are encouraged to assume significant responsibility for formulation and implementation of transaction and case strategy and management. Each associate customarily maintains significant responsibility for a wide variety of matters within his or her Section’s practice area.
Partners and senior associates are responsible for providing guidance, advice, and training to the associates working with them. This approach to case management and associate development necessarily involves significant contact between the associate and the firm’s clients, as well as contact with counsel for adverse and associated parties.
Associates also participate in firm management, including the firm’s Business Development Committee, Recruiting Committee, Associates Committee, Library/MCLE Committee, Technology Committee, and Pro Bono Committee.
We are headquartered in the Orange County city of Irvine, in the heart of Southern California’s Tech Coast. Our offices offer state-of-the-art workplace design and technology, and are just minutes from some of Southern California’s best beaches and shopping and a short drive from the desert resort communities and local mountains. Our Palo Alto office is located at the hub of the Silicon Valley business community and the San Francisco office is located in the City’s Financial District.
All offices are designed to provide a comfortable, congenial, and efficient working environment. Individual attorneys’ offices in the Orange County office are situated to preserve the close working relationships and camaraderie often associated only with small firms and to encourage interaction and sharing of knowledge and experience on an informal basis. Secretaries, paralegals, word processors, law librarians, and other support personnel are stationed in close proximity to attorneys’ offices to expedite our work. The firm maintains a state-of-the-art computer system, integrating the latest server and client platforms available today. An in-house Information Systems Department provides technical assistance and expertise for users at all levels of technical proficiency. The firm maintains a dedicated Training Facility and a full-time, in-house Application Training Specialist to provide ongoing training. Laptops are available for traveling attorneys and are configured for free Internet access from virtually anywhere in the world. Remote access to the firm’s network is available to all attorneys “24/7”.
Rutan is strongly committed to applying technology to the practice of law in ways that maximize efficiency. Various legal research services are available online which allow for effective comprehensive legal research. The applications used for document creation and management are consistently updated and are among the very latest, most efficient available. In addition, “back office” programs such as the firm’s accounting and firm-wide document management systems utilize the latest database technology. Our attorneys come from diverse educational and geographic backgrounds. We believe Rutan offers excellent opportunities for successful law students and new lawyers with a strong desire for professional and personal achievement and a sincere interest in contributing to the continuing growth of one of California’s most interesting and successful law practices.