Prominent Trial Lawyer to Join Latham & Watkins

Century City, Los Angeles … Latham & Watkins LLP¹ is pleased to announce that Marvin Putnam will join the firm in Century City as a partner in the Litigation Department. Putnam’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation – with an emphasis on trial work. He has had a distinguished career representing clients across industries on a range of issues in trial and appellate courts, both federal and state, throughout the United States and abroad.
A preeminent trial lawyer, Putnam has a broad practice advising clients in major litigations spanning entertainment, intellectual property and business torts. For more than two decades a major focus of his work has been the representation of media.

His recent trial work includes many notable matters, such as the successful defense of concert promoter AEG Live in a six-month wrongful death trial brought by the family of Michael Jackson – including successfully overcoming the Jackson family's California Supreme Court challenge, which the court recently rejected in May. Other notable successes include the resolution of several class actions brought in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and several class actions brought in New York federal courts against international banks for the return of Holocaust-era assets. He has also handled numerous defamation actions ranging from the answer to the appellate stages.

“We are delighted to welcome Marvin to the firm and know he will be a dynamic force in our litigation practice in Los Angeles and nationally. He is a gifted counsellor who will bring to Latham an incredible depth of experience at trial. Marvin’s skills and knowledge will be invaluable for our clients who are facing complex challenges in highly competitive environments,” said Jim Beaubien, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in Los Angeles.

“Across industries and markets, Latham & Watkins has built a litigation powerhouse that is trial-tested and attuned to the business needs of our clients. Marvin is a stand-out trial lawyer with a wealth of courtroom experience, and he has the judgment and drive to make significant contributions to the continued growth and success of our trial practice,” said Sean Berkowitz, global Chair of the Litigation Department at Latham & Watkins. “Equally important, Marvin embodies Latham’s approach to teamwork and strategic thinking, particularly with regard to complex litigation matters.”

Putnam worked closely with the team of transactional entertainment, sports and media lawyers that joined Latham & Watkins in November 2014, coinciding with the opening of the firm’s Century City office.

“Marvin was a terrific partner and colleague, and we’re excited about being reunited with him at Latham,” said‎ Christopher Brearton, Deputy Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in Century City. “He has many uncommon talents, which make him a great trial lawyer, including intellectual firepower, commercial acumen and strong instincts.”

Joseph Calabrese, Chair of Latham & Watkins’ Entertainment, Sports & Media Practice, added: “Marvin's sharp litigator’s eye and depth of knowledge are very complementary to our transactional practice, and he will further support our interdisciplinary approach.”

Putnam graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in government, cum laude, in 1986 and received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1993, where he was editor of The Tax Lawyer and on the Dean’s List. He clerked for Judge Roger Andewelt of the U.S. Claims Court in Washington, D.C. following law school.

Putnam will join from O’Melveny & Myers LLP in Century City. He has consistently received a range of industry accolades; for example, the AEG Live wrongful death case was named one of the most significant defense verdicts of 2014 by leading legal journals, and Putnam has been named “Trial Lawyer of the Year” by Law360 and has been continually cited as a “Power Lawyer” by The Hollywood Reporter.

About Latham & Watkins

Latham & Watkins is a global law firm with approximately 2,100 lawyers in its offices located in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States, including: Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Century City, Chicago, Doha, Dubai, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, New Jersey, New York, Orange County, Paris, Riyadh, Rome, San Diego, San Francisco, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. For more information on Latham & Watkins, please visit the website at www.lw.com.