Founding Story
RAK Law was founded in 1987 by its current managing partner, Larry C. Russ. In 1990, Richard August and Jules Kabat joined Mr. Russ as founding partners. By combining their litigation, corporate and finance, real estate, and intellectual property expertise, they established a law firm that focuses on the creative analysis of complex legal problems to achieve outstanding results.
Growing RAK Law
In 2003, Marc Fenster joined the firm with the mission of building a world-class patent law firm. He was joined by Reza Mirzaie in 2015 as a co-department head. Mr. Fenster and Mr. Mirzaie have since built a formidable patent litigation department, employing 35+ patent and IP litigators. Mr. Fenster and Mr. Mirzaie are acknowledged to be among the best trial lawyers in the country, having prevailed in multiple jury trials against the largest tech companies. RAK Law’s patent litigation group is now one of the country’s most sought-after patent litigation groups.
Founding Partners Richard August, Jules Kabat, and Matthew Rips focused on building a sophisticated real estate practice representing some of the leading real estate developers and property owners in both transactional and litigation contexts. After Mr. August passed, Mr. Rips has continued to chair this jewel of a department.
Irene Lee joined RAK Law as one of its first intellectual property litigators in 2005. Since that time, Mrs. Lee has created a dynamic trademark and copyright practice representing businesses and entertainers in both transactional and litigation matters. Renowned entertainment lawyer Stanton “Larry” Stein brought his entertainment team to RAK in 2018. That team now works hand in hand with Mrs. Lee to represent a number of well-known musicians and holders of valuable intellectual property.
In 2018, Christine Shin moved from Latham & Watkins to RAK as the department head of our Mergers & Acquisitions Department. RAK founding partner Larry Russ recognized the need to seek out M&A legal talent based upon requiring representation in connection with his own entrepreneurial transactions outside of the law practice. In short order, Ms. Shin built a significant-sized team and practice, representing clients in an extraordinary array of transactions varying in size from $5,000,000 to close to a billion dollars. Ms. Shin, Larry Russ, and the M&A team assist clients in numerous ways, from guiding purchase and sales transactions to helping clients grow their companies.
Our Attorneys
Our lawyers have clerked for federal district and appellate court judges, run in-house legal departments, and have led other law firms and departments of major national firms. Our lawyers include graduates from Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Michigan, Georgetown, Berkeley, Columbia, USC, and UCLA, with backgrounds in biology, computer science, engineering, biochemistry, physics, and mathematics.
Practice Areas
Russ August & Kabat Law is a full-service business law firm that combines litigation, corporate and finance, real estate, and intellectual property expertise. Our firm is recognized as one of the top five plaintiff’s patent infringement law firms in the U.S., with over a billion dollars in recent jury verdicts. Our M&A and corporate departments are also nationally recognized for highly efficient professional services catering to middle-market buyers and sellers.
In Memorium: Rick August
A co-founder of our firm, Rick, passed away in January 2019. Rick was a dear friend, loyal partner, gifted mentor, peerless lawyer, and trusted advisor. He enabled projects and protected clients from coast to coast. Together, we created our firm, pursued our success, and raised our families. With great appreciation for the time we had, we honor his memory.
Press • In the news
Russ August & Kabat Law is proud to be one of the preeminent midsize law firms in Los Angeles and has been repeatedly recognized on the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Top Law Firms list. Explore all press.
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