Profiles of the 50 Best-Compensated Lawyers in L.A
Louis R ‘Skip’ Miller III
Miller Barondess
Specialty: Litigation
Law School: UCLA, 1972
Career Highlight: Assisted the city of Los Angeles in the Rodney King civil rights action
WHEN it comes to complex, high-profile cases, Skip Miller is regarded as a go-to heavy hitter in Los Angeles. Along with the city attorney, he defended the city of Los Angeles in a series of cases arising from the operations of the LAPD including, among several others, the Rodney King civil rights action.
Now on the side of private-sector litigants, including a fair number of celebrity clients, Miller has vaulted into the top tier of legal moneymakers.
Miller has worked with many of Hollywood’s artists and actors, such as Rod Stewart, Elton John, Paula Abdul, Nick Nolte and Bob Dylan as well as many of the major studios including MGM, Columbia and TriStar.
“It’s great being in the courtroom with him as opposing counsel,” said Guy Nicholson, litigation partner at Tisdale & Nicholson. “He’s a terrific lawyer and-is always well-prepared. I’d hire him.”
Miller said he has no preference for the types of cases he takes, noting that in the span of his career he has tried civil rights, real estate, entertainment, securities, antitrust and even criminal cases.
“I enjoy the process, and I especially enjoy trials,” Miller said. “I’m most proud of getting good results for my clients.”
Other prominent cases include prevailing on behalf of a director of Executive Life Insurance Co. after a three month trial in the largest insurance failure in California history, as well as winning a sexual harassment trial on behalf of the City of Pasadena and Rose Bowl.
“He’s probably the most capable cross-examiner I have ever seen,” said Dave Jacobs, retired general manager of the Rose Bowl. “He has an absolute will to win.”