Top Tier Law Firm Latham & Watkins Extends Center Tower Lease Through 2025
Costa Mesa, Calif. (PRWEB) July 03, 2013 -- When USC law school student Dave Meckler was recruited as a clerk by the Costa Mesa office of Latham & Watkins in the fall of 1987, he recalls navigating through floors filled with yet unpacked boxes.
The top-tier law firm that expanded from Los Angeles into Orange County with the opening of a tiny practice in Santa Ana in 1972 had just moved to the top floors of the brand-new, 21-story Center Tower, the distinctive Swedish Napoleon Red Granite high-rise with a sweeping curved face located in the heart of the county’s urban center adjacent to South Coast Plaza and Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
Meckler, now 49, hasn’t had to rearrange boxes again since the firm’s move to Center Tower in 1987. He still works out of the same building for Latham & Watkins, a testament to the marquee law firm’s longstanding and unique partnership with the building’s owner and management staff.
“Center Tower has been my second home for almost 25 years now,” says Meckler, a partner who specializes in real-estate transactions. “As with many of our attorneys, I moved to within 10 minutes of the office and enjoy the convenience of an easy commute. There are some tremendous benefits to staying in this great location.”
Already the largest and longest-standing tenant of Center Tower, Latham & Watkins recently renewed its lease to remain on the four upper floors of the prestigious high-rise through 2025 – a rare long-term renewal (its second at the location) in the sometimes volatile and rapidly changing commercial office market.
Center Tower has been a landmark on Orange County’s skyline since it opened as the county’s tallest office tower. And as original tenant Latham & Watkins illustrates, it is home to business operations that have a global reach, testament to its longstanding reputation as one of Orange County’s premier business addresses.
Latham & Watkins began as a two-man shop in Orange County and, when the firm relocated to Center Tower, its client base was strictly local.
How times change.
Today, with more than 30 offices worldwide and more than 2,000 lawyers, Latham & Watkins is a global powerhouse – and many of its international functions are housed in Costa Mesa, including Internal Auditing. About half of the business generated out of the Costa Mesa office, including Mergers and Acquisitions, Intellectual Property, Environmental, Real Estate and Securities Legal Services, is for clients outside of Orange County.
“The sophistication of the work being done out of this office is comparable to the work being done by the major law firms in New York City,” Meckler says.
Meckler and other longtime employees of the law firm’s Costa Mesa office have witnessed the area around Center Tower transform from fields of lima beans into a world-class destination that also includes South Coast Plaza and cultural venues, as well as the finest collection of retail, dining, and hotel amenities in southern California.
Located at 650 Town Center Drive, Center Tower is just minutes from John Wayne Airport with easy freeway access to all of Orange County – one of the main benefits for Center Tower tenants, says Scott Shean, 43, managing partner of Latham & Watkins’ Costa Mesa office who has worked there for 19 years.
“There have been opportunities to move to new locations over the years, particularly during the dot.com craze as well as the recession,” Shean says. “But we’ve always been very happy with the management of this building, and we feel this is one of the best locations in the county.”
“The Building Owner recognizes market dynamics, and we’ve always had a special relationship,” adds Shean. “They continue to make this a Class-A property in all respects. The location, the tenant service and the quality of the building make this great for the long term.”
Today, about 75 lawyers and 150 total employees of Latham & Watkins work in Center Tower, says Nancy Eberhart, who runs the firm’s administrative functions and is marking her 24th year in Center Tower in March. She started at the firm as a paralegal.
Taking her usual lunch across the street at South Coast Plaza, Eberhart has become an expert over the years about the changing tenants at the premier retail center – and the hot spots for lunch. She’s currently a big fan of Champagne French Bakery and Cafe, but enjoys the variety of the many restaurants just minutes from her office.
Meckler calls the Building Ownership “truly a class organization all the way around” and one of the reasons Latham & Watkins has decided to remain in Center Tower.
“They’re incredibly loyal,” Meckler says. “Their philosophy is built around finding out what they can do to help their tenants succeed.”
Now that Latham & Watkins has extended its lease through 2025, Meckler expects to spend his entire career at Center Tower – handling, as do many of his colleagues, major business deals just across the street from South Coast Plaza.
# # #
About Center Tower
Center Tower and the adjacent Segerstrom Center for the Arts are at the core of Orange County’s urban center. 21 stories of Swedish Napoleon Red granite and the distinctive sweeping curved face are immediately recognizable. Tenants include prestigious legal, financial and service firms. At the base of Center Tower is The Center Club, a private club that provides fine dining and meeting facilities. The rich array of amenities in and around Center Tower include sculptural works by Richard Lippold, Carl Milles, Joan Miro, Henry Moore, George Rickey and Tony Smith; over two hundred separate shopping opportunities within internationally acclaimed South Coast Plaza; and an impressive array of over fifty restaurants from quick-bites to fine dining. Discriminating tenants who choose to become part of the urban excitement and vibrant fabric of Orange County choose Center Tower.
About Latham & Watkins
Latham & Watkins is a global law firm with approximately 2,000 attorneys in 31 offices located in Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Doha, Dubai, 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 http://www.lw.com.
Karen Graham, South Coast Plaza Office Division, http://officesofsouthcoastplaza.com/, 714-435-2100, [email protected]
Share this article