Global Law Firm Rimôn PC Opens Santa Barbara Office with Four New Partners

Corporate attorney Joseph Abkin and Litigators Craig Granet, Jennifer Gillon Duffy and Michael Hellman join new office 

Santa Barbara, CA –Rimôn PC is pleased to announce the opening of its Santa Barbara, California office, with the addition of four partners in the firm’s litigation and corporate practice groups. New partners Joseph Abkin, Jennifer Gillon Duffy, Craig Granet and Michael Hellman are joining the Santa Barbara office. All four were previously partners at Fell, Marking, Abkin, Montgomery, Granet & Raney LLP.  Joseph Abkin was a founding partner of the firm.  Associate, Claire Mitchell, also from Fell, Marking, Abkin, Montgomery, Granet & Raney LLP, joined Rimon as an Associate.

The new Rimôn Santa Barbara team offers a diverse mix of legal services.

Mr. Abkin is a corporate attorney who advises clients on transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, financings, and the full breadth of real estate transactions. On joining Rimôn, Mr. Abkin said, “I am looking forward to my association with Rimôn and having access to its vast legal practice resources.”

The other three Partners are litigators.

Mr. Granet is a civil litigator with a dual focus on real property litigation (including property disputes, land use challenges and environmental contamination issues), and business and commercial litigation, including breach of contract actions, wrongful termination claims, telecommunications disputes, and intellectual property matters. “I am excited to join the exceptional attorneys and staff at Rimôn in providing the highest quality of legal services to our clients,”said Mr. Granet.

Mr. Hellman focuses his practice exclusively on litigation, with an emphasis on disputes concerning trusts and estates. Mr. Hellman has been awarded an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review rating by Martindale-Hubbell, which recognizes lawyers for their strong legal ability and high ethical standards.  “I am looking forward to joining Rimôn, due to its stellar reputation in the legal community and its strong focus on providing the highest level of support to its attorneys,” said Mr. Hellman.

Ms. Duffy is a civil litigator with a focus on employment law and family law. She was notably ranked in the Pacific Coast Business Times, “Who’s Who in Professional Service” in 2020.  Ms. Duffy has a comprehensive family law practice and will contribute to expanding Rimôn’s family law offerings. “I look forward to joining the Rimôn team, with all that this global firm has to offer, while maintaining the fundamentals of my local law practice,” said Ms. Duffy. “I am excited to bring a new practice, family law, to the firm. I welcome the opportunity to continue my practice areas of family law and employment law, now with the added benefit of expert practitioners throughout the world to assist my clients as needed, supported by innovative, cutting-edge technology and exemplary office support.”

Ms. Mitchell is also a litigator, with a recent focus on Real Estate litigation.

A testament to the firm’s continued growth, the Santa Barbara office is the fourth new location Rimôn has opened in the first quarter of 2021, following recent openings in Paris, London and South Carolina. “We are excited to expand our presence in the Santa Barbara area and deepen our litigation and corporate practices with the addition of Joseph, Jennifer, Craig and Michael, said Michael Moradzadeh, Founding Partner and CEO of Rimôn. “The group’s diverse experience and existing connections in the Santa Barbara area are an asset to our firm.”

The opening of the Santa Barbara office reflects Rimôn’s continued growth. In the first two months of 2021 alone, Rimôn has added Partners Olivia Lê Horovitz, Keith Munson, Sean Byrne, Sonia Oliveri, Jonathan Rosen, Steven Aaron and Peter Wielgosz.

Rimôn has 37 offices across four continents. The firm is widely known as being at the vanguard of legal innovation. The firm has been repeatedly recognized by the Financial Times as one of North America’s most innovative law firms. The firm’s Managing Partners were both named ‘Legal Rebels’ by the American Bar Association’s ABA Journal and have spoken on innovations in the practice of law at Harvard and Stanford Law Schools. Rimôn and its lawyers have also received numerous awards for excellence, including from Best Lawyers and Chambers.