Hollywood Law Firm Weissmann Wolff to Merge with Northern California Firm (Exclusive)

7:36 PM PDT 7/5/2012 by Matthew Belloni

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The move combines the well-known Beverly Hills-based showbiz specialists into a new firm to be known as Weintraub Tobin.

One of Hollywood's most venerable entertainment law firms is combining forces and getting a new name, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

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Weissmann Wolff Bergman Coleman Grodin, the 16-lawyer firm that for three decades has represented studios such as Warner Bros. and such showbiz talent as actress Diane Lane and director Doug Liman, has agreed to merge with San Francisco and Sacramento-based Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Tobin & Tobin. The new 70-lawyer firm will be renamed Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin and be known as Weintraub Tobin.

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The merger brings together the entertainment-focused Beverly Hills firm with a more traditional corporate, banking and employment firm that also boasts an expertise in emerging technology. The move also represents the end of an era of sorts. Weissmann Wolff has been a brand-name in Hollywood legal circles, started in 1981 by several defectors from Kaplan Livingston, the firm that launched many of the biggest names in entertainment law.

“Our entertainment division will continue to operate on behalf of its clients with the independent spirit it valued as a boutique operation, but will now offer an expanded menu of resources key to doing business in the constantly evolving entertainment industry and broader corporate environment,” Weintraub Tobin shareholders Alan Grodin and Stan Coleman tell THR in a joint statement.

Michael Kvarme, Weintraub Tobin's managing shareholder, adds: “The combination with Weissmann Wolff offers clients a fully integrated team of business attorneys held in the highest esteem by the entertainment industry. Additionally, with our expanded and solid presence throughout California, we are large enough to offer superior depth and breadth of expertise and small enough to enable efficiencies and flexibility that ultimately benefit all clients.”

Email: Matthew.Belloni@thr.com

Twitter: @THRMattBelloni