December 3, 2019, Sacramento and Oakland, CA – California’s two leading political and government law firms – Olson, Hagel & Fishburn (“OHF”) and Remcho, Johansen & Purcell (“RJP”) – announced today that they are merging on January 1, 2020 to form the new law firm of Olson Remcho LLP.
The new firm will be a political powerhouse in California. Among numerous other clients, Olson Remcho will represent the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, the Senate President pro Tempore, the California Democratic Party, dozens of labor organizations, and several members of the California Congressional Delegation.
With attorneys located in offices in Sacramento, Oakland and Long Beach, the new firm will include 22 attorneys when launched on January 1. Olson Remcho attorneys will advise government agencies, nonprofits, unions, ballot measure committees, lobbyists, candidates, public officials, corporations, and political action committees regarding their participation in elections and government decision-making at the federal, state, and local levels.
“Political and government law is a growing field,” said Lance Olson, a founding partner of OHF. “We believe that the new firm will be a leader in California law and politics for years to come, giving our clients a team of lawyers with unmatched experience and expertise in the full range of political and government law matters.”
“We are two very successful firms coming together to form what we believe will be the premier political law firm in California,” said Karen Getman, a partner at RJP who will be the first managing partner of the new firm. “We have tremendous respect for the Remcho firm. They are fantastic lawyers and some of the top political attorneys in the state,” added Richard Rios, managing partner of OHF.
“We are all extremely excited at the prospect of joining forces with Olson Hagel,” concluded Robin Johansen, a founding partner at RJP. “They are excellent lawyers and our firms are a great fit.”
For the past four decades, Olson Remcho attorneys have played a part in most of the important statewide and local measures to appear on the ballot. They have drafted groundbreaking initiatives on campaign finance, gun safety, marijuana legalization, stem cell research, privacy, soda taxes, and public school funding, to name just a few. Olson Remcho attorneys were the principal drafters of Proposition 34, the measure that is currently the framework for California’s campaign finance law, as well as many of its amendments. Lawyers from both firms regularly advise candidates, committees and donors on its requirements.
The new firm’s attorneys have litigated some of the most important constitutional, ballot measure, campaign finance, education finance, and election law cases in California. Their winning litigation track record includes successfully challenging campaign finance laws, defending the state’s redistricting plans, initiating and defending against legal challenges to high-profile state and local initiatives, and securing billions in funding for public schools. Olson Remcho attorneys routinely represent candidates and committees in fast-moving election litigation, including ballot designation, ballot pamphlet litigation, candidate qualification, and post-election contests.
Olson Remcho will also offer a robust government law practice, including litigation, internal investigations, legislative interpretation and drafting, advice on complex statutory interpretation and constitutional issues, and advice on election matters, conflicts of interest, and open meeting and public record laws. In addition, the new firm will provide legal advice, representation and consulting services to non-profit organizations and to California’s state and local public retirement systems.