ArentFox Schiff names new LA managing partner

Aram Ordubegian, a veteran bankruptcy attorney who has spent more than 15 years at ArentFox Schiff, has been named managing partner of the firm's Los Angeles office, succeeding Aaron Jacoby after a decade of leadership.

Jacoby will continue his practice and role as chair of the firm's Automotive & Transportation industry group. Both attorneys serve on the firm's Executive Committee.

"It has been an honor to serve as office managing partner over the past decade and to work alongside my colleagues as our Los Angeles office has grown and evolved to provide comprehensive services to clients in California and across the globe," Jacoby said. "Having known Aram for many years as a colleague and friend, I know I speak for all of us when I say that he is the ideal leader to step into this role and take our office to new heights."

Ordubegian leads the firm's Financial Restructuring & Bankruptcy practice and has broad experience in reorganization, bankruptcy litigation and appellate matters across the spectrum of insolvency work. He regularly advises financially distressed businesses, high net worth individuals, asset purchasers, creditors, creditors' committees and trustees.

"I'm a financial restructuring and bankruptcy lawyer. I've been doing that since day one--I'm talking since pretty much the second week of law school," Ordubegian said.

After externing with a bankruptcy judge, Ordubegian entered practice during the California real estate downturn of 1996-97, spending his first three years at an Orange County firm representing lenders. He then joined Weinstein and Eisen, which became Weinstein Weiss and Ordubegian in 2000.

"We reorganized a lot of companies, and you're really in a trust relationship when you're in the trenches with a company or a person that's in financial distress," he said. "So many of them were thriving afterward, and they were calling me back because I was that trusted advisor."

Ordubegian joined ArentFox Schiff in July 2009, at the height of the Great Recession.

"Since then, it's been expanding my practice, having a local and regional touch," he said. "I'm still and always will be sort of a middle-market bankruptcy lawyer. But because of the national practice, I was able to work on and generate business in more of the public debt type forums--Delaware, Southern District of New York, and the last few years, of course, Texas has been booming in that regard."

Born to Christian Armenian parents in Iran, Ordubegian fled with his family to the United States in 1978, as the newly empowered cleric-led regime began targeting ethnic and religious minorities.

"To think that they've been in that type of repressive regime for so long--you could see the population wants freedom, and who can argue against that," he said.

He has served on the firm's executive committee since 2018 and is active on the compensation committee, giving him insight into firmwide operations.

Ordubegian outlined plans to grow the Los Angeles office from its current 75 attorneys to at least 100.

"My predecessor, Aaron Jacoby, who's become a friend and a mentor both in my personal life and professional life, has done a great job," he said. "In the legal business -- there is a need for growth; we can see the uncertainty of what's going to happen with AI--it's only proper to help grow the LA office and get us to at least 100 lawyers. That has to happen."

The growth strategy focuses on strengthening existing practice areas including health care, intellectual property, litigation, bankruptcy restructuring, labor and employment, and white-collar defense, while adding real estate and litigation attorneys.

"It's about what I'm seeing in the general law firm business space, the need to grow and be strong because of the uncertainties that are out there," Ordubegian said. "But frankly, it's also driven by client needs and demands."

The firm's Los Angeles office relocated to redesigned space at 555 South Flower St. in late 2024. The office features high-tech conference rooms and indoor/outdoor spaces.

"Our Los Angeles office is as strong as it is today because of Aaron's strategic vision and calm, steady leadership," Ordubegian said. "I have big shoes to fill but could not be more excited to step into this role and help guide our LA office into its next chapter."