Firm Adds Mark Grushkin and Sam Stein as Shareholders in Century City Office

LOS ANGELES, CA (March 12, 2012) – Littler Mendelson, P.C. (Littler), the nation’s largest employment and labor law firm representing management, has added Mark J. Grushkin and Samuel H. Stein to the firm’s Employee Benefits Practice in Century City. The duo, formerly partners with Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis, LLP, are the latest arrivals at the firm’s growing Southern California practice. In recent months, Littler has added several new attorneys to its Century City and downtown Los Angeles offices.

“It is exciting to see the firm’s Southern California presence continue to grow while expanding Littler’s Employee Benefits Practice, which is a core area of focus,” said Robert S. Blumberg, office managing shareholder of the firm’s Century City and downtown Los Angeles locations. “Mark and Sam are renowned in the areas of employee benefits and their combined leadership, experience and ties to the legal and business communities locally and nationally will complement our existing team of sophisticated benefits professionals throughout Littler’s 56 offices.”

Grushkin, former chair of Allen Matkins’ Employee Benefits Department, brings over 30 years of legal experience to the firm. He has been involved in a wide variety of employee benefits matters, including drafting and advising clients regarding pension, profit-sharing, employee stock ownership, welfare plans and deferred compensation plans. His practice focuses on providing clients with employee benefit services involving mergers and acquisitions, qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, and health and welfare plans. Additionally, he has substantial experience representing employers in retirement and benefits disputes and audits with government agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor.

“Sam and I are thrilled to be joining the largest leading specialty labor and employment firm,” added Grushkin. “The firm’s sole focus on this area of law is the ideal platform for us to further expand our practice and to work alongside some of the most prominent benefits attorneys in the industry. Our clients will undoubtedly benefit from Littler’s national and international footprint as we continue to help them navigate the technical and intricate legal issues surrounding employee benefits.”

Named in Best Lawyers in America^® 2012, Grushkin continues to provide outstanding representation to clients helping them with a broad range of complex employee benefits issues. He has significant experience with private equity funds, as well as the healthcare, automotive and retail sectors of the economy.

Grushkin is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Employee Benefits Committee Subsection and the Beverly Hills Bar Association, Employee Benefits Committee Subsection. He earned his J.D. from the Southwestern University School of Law (1978) and his B.S. from California State University, Los Angeles (1975).

Stein has extensive experience representing large public corporations, small and mid-market companies, healthcare systems, non-profit organizations, corporate trustees and single employer plans. He provides clients with a range of employee benefits services including mergers and acquisitions, pension investments, qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, government audits and litigation.

A sample of his representative matters include the formation of a non-profit health system, including the acquisition of government hospitals; the merger of three health systems and designing, implementing and drafting retirement plans that combined and modified the plans of various unions; the design and drafting of executive compensation plans; and counseling clients on 401(k) plan fiduciary duties when publicly-traded corporations convert into real estate investment trusts; among others.

Stein is a member of the California Bar Association and received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law (1989) and his B.S. from the University of Illinois (1984).

About Littler Mendelson

With over 900 attorneys and 56 offices, Littler Mendelson is the largest U.S.-based law firm exclusively devoted to representing management in employment and labor law matters. As the only U.S. member of the Ius Laboris global alliance, Littler has extensive resources to address the needs of multi-national clients, from navigating international employment laws and labor relations issues to applying corporate policies worldwide. Established in 1942, the firm has litigated, mediated and negotiated some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record.