Leeran Kasis is an associate at Russ August & Kabat, where he is a member of the firm’s intellectual property, litigation, and mergers and acquisitions groups. Mr. Kasis has represented businesses and individuals in a wide variety of complex disputes, including in the areas of real estate, corporate governance, and business. Mr. Kasis previously practiced in the litigation department of Clark Hill. Mr. Kasis received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law. While in law school, he externed for the Honorable Stephen V. Wilson of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Jacob Agi is a partner at Russ August & Kabat, where he is a member of the firm’s corporate & finance, mergers and acquisitions/private equity and real estate groups. Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, Jacob practiced at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where he represented top-tier private equity fund sponsors and corporate clients in significant financing and private equity fund formation matters. Jacob has also assisted clients by providing strategic advice in a variety of corporate matters.
Jacob was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2021 – 2025 Editions) for Real Estate Law. He was named a “Rising Star” by the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine in 2023 and 2024.
Jacob received his law degree from the USC Gould School of Law. He received his B.A. in Business from Brandeis University.
Lauren Geisser is a partner in the corporate and mergers & acquisitions group of Russ August & Kabat.
Lauren acts as lead counsel and advises both buy-side and sell-side clients in their most significant M&A transactions through all stages of a deal cycle. She represents start-up and emerging growth companies and is a trusted advisor to founders and CEOs, leading them through equity financings and liquidity transactions. Her clients also include private equity firms, investment banks, public companies and middle-market sellers. Serving as outside counsel, Lauren negotiates commercial contracts for companies in a variety of sectors, including fashion and apparel, cannabis, entertainment, healthcare, technology, and transportation and logistics. Lauren was named a “Rising Star” by the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine from 2022-2024.
Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, Lauren practiced in the corporate department of Kirkland & Ellis, where she focused on M&A, debt financing transactions and corporate governance for private equity firms. Lauren earned her law degree from USC Gould School of Law, where she served as Senior Editor of the Southern California Law Review. She received her B.A. in History with a minor in Economics from Emory University.
Recent representative matters include:
- Represented California Fertility Partners in connection with their strategic investment
- Represented an internet services company in its sale to a private equity firm, followed by representing the private equity firm in connection with multiple add-on acquisitions
- Represented Knowable Universe in its sale to A Medium Corporation
- Represented Rumor Rose and Haoma.Earth in connection with their Series Seed and bridge financings
- Represented investment banks, including Houlihan Lokey, Duff & Phelps and Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt, in connection with their fairness opinions and solvency opinions in a wide range of public company M&A transactions
- Represented various producers and creators in connection with their film, television, podcast and other projects
PUBLICATIONS:
Christine Shin is a partner in the corporate group at Russ August & Kabat and chair of the mergers & acquisitions/private equity practice.
Christine has represented U.S. Fortune 500 companies, international conglomerates and global private equity firms in their significant transactions. She has extensive experience in M&A, private equity, public company representation, cross-border investment, multi-jurisdictional deal execution and related corporate transactions. Ms. Shin leads and executes transactions for private equity funds active in the middle market and counsels their portfolio companies on operational matters.
Ms. Shin has negotiated and closed transactions ranging from less than $10 million to over $3 billion, including representing clients in the automotive, cosmetics, energy, entertainment, fashion, financial services, gaming, healthcare, medical, online gaming, real estate, retail, technology and pharmaceutical industries. She has worked closely with boards of directors in making critical strategic decisions for cross-border expansion in the US and overseas.
In 2022, Ms. Shin was recognized among the Los Angeles Business Journal‘s Women of Influence: Attorneys. She was also named a Super Lawyer Rising Star by the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine from 2022-2024. In 2020 and 2021, Ms. Shin was named “A Leader of Influence” among 2020 Private Equity Investors & Advisors by the Los Angeles Business Journal.
Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, Ms. Shin was part of the corporate practice at Latham & Watkins LLP. She earned her J.D. from Yale Law School and graduated with honors from Wellesley College where she majored in English and Economics.
Recent Matters:
- Phillips Edison in its $1 billion sale of real estate assets to Phillips Edison Grocery Center Operating Partnership.
- Guidance Software in its $240 million sale to OpenText.
- Air Medical Resources Group in its $750 million sale to Air Medical Group Holdings, a KKR portfolio company.
- ArcLight Capital Partners in its acquisition of hydroelectric power assets from TransCanada Corporation for $1.065 billion.
- Onex Partners in its $3.55 billion acquisition of Thompson Reuter’s intellectual property and life sciences business.
- Acquisitions and dispositions for Oaktree Capital Management, Odyssey Investment Partners, Clearlight Partners, Mondi AG, Nestlé, Motorcar Parts of America, Boeing, Shinseggae Co., Ltd. and the National Pension Service of Korea.
- Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Duff & Phelps, Moelis, Stifel and other investment banks as financial advisors in a wide range of public company M&A transactions.
Larry Russ is a founding partner and co-head of the litigation department of Russ August & Kabat.
As an active trial attorney, Mr. Russ has focused on trademark, copyright, patent, business torts, trade regulation and advertising law and complex litigation. Mr. Russ has also worked extensively on antitrust and unfair competition matters.
Directly after being admitted to the California Bar in 1978, Mr. Russ launched his career by successfully challenging Levi-Strauss & Co’s resale price maintenance program related to men’s jeanswear in Levi Strauss & Co. v. Federated Pants, et al., 1979-2 Trade Cases #62,727 (C.D. Cal. 1979). In 1981, as co-lead trial counsel, Mr. Russ achieved a multi-million dollar jury verdict in one of the first private Section 7 Clayton Act cases that directed Pillsbury Flour Co. to divest itself of Wilton, Inc., a dominant cake decorating equipment specialty firm.
Throughout his career, Mr. Russ has successfully represented clients in the direct marketing industry and the apparel industry. Mr. Russ also has extensive experience representing clients in the home entertainment, technology and communications sectors, including video game hardware manufacturers, computer software developers, electronic toy makers and wireless communications companies.
In 1985, Mr. Russ obtained the highest Superior Court sanctions award in California history in connection with his representation of plaintiffs in a complex Malibu real estate fraud matter in which the trial judge delivered a seven-figure verdict and awarded punitive damages.
In 2002, Mr. Russ negotiated a highly publicized settlement on behalf of Yodeler Wylie Gustafson against Yahoo. Gustafson, who had recorded a single yodel for a Yahoo radio commercial, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Yahoo after the company began using Gustafson’s distinctive and unique yodel as the company’s audible signature on a myriad of company products and releases.
Mr. Russ represented the prevailing parties in several major apparel cases. In 2010, Mr. Russ successfully defended Forever 21 in a copyright and trade dress infringement action filed by Express. Mr. Russ obtained Summary Judgment in Forever 21’s favor, as well as an award of attorney fees.
In 2016, Mr. Russ was lead Class counsel in Perkins, et al, v LinkedIn, a privacy class action challenging LinkedIn’s ubiquitous ad- connection emails. The Class was approved and LinkedIn agreed to modify its practices and pay the Class $13,000,000+.
More recently, Mr. Russ has been re-focusing his attention on consulting with established and emerging companies in connection with e-commerce, financing, expansion, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, strategic alliances and intellectual property issues. Along with the new chair of the Mergers & Acquisition Department, Christine Shin, Mr. Russ is tasked with the mission of building a pre-eminent M&A team rivaling the talent and depth of knowledge of big law M&A departments.
In addition to his law practice, Mr. Russ is the past President and a member of the Board of Directors of the Jewish National Fund Los Angeles zone. Mr. Russ is also involved as a principal of several well-known Los Angeles apparel companies including world renowned retailer, American Rag Cie. In 2014, Mr. Russ/ American Rag Cie was selected as a finalist by the Los Angeles Business Journal at the prestigious Southern California Apparel Awards, and WeAr Magazine, a world-renowned international magazine focusing on the apparel industry, announced that American Rag Cie was voted as the best retail denim store in the world.
Mr. Russ is also active in helping emerging and troubled companies raise funds. For a number of years, Mr. Russ served as an associate editor of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers quarterly publication. He is an active member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Litigation, Antitrust and Intellectual Property Law Sections as well as an active member of the American Bar Association Antitrust and Intellectual Property Law Sections.
Mr. Russ was recognized as a Super Lawyer by the Publishers of Los Angeles Magazine from 2008-2025. From 2013-2025, Mr. Russ was recognized as a Southern California Top 100 Super Lawyer. Mr. Russ was also recognized among The Best Lawyers In America list for Patent Litigation from 2012-2025. In 2024 and 2025, he was named a “Legal Visionary” in the LA Times B2B’s Business of Law: Updates, Trends, & Visionaries Magazine. Mr. Russ was selected to The American Lawyer’s Top Rated IP Lawyers list in 2015.
Admitted
- State Bar of California (1978)
- U.S. Supreme Court (1989)
- Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (1978)
