Louis R. (Skip) Miller

With over 50 years of experience, Louis R. (Skip) Miller is a trial lawyer who represents clients in state and federal courts in California and across the country. He has been lead counsel in over 100 trials, sometimes under intense media scrutiny. Recognized for his persuasive abilities and proven results, Skip represents a diverse range of clients, including individuals, Fortune 500 companies, public and private entities, and governmental entities. He has earned accolades as one of California’s leading lawyers and has been recognized as a leading music and entertainment lawyer by industry publications such as Billboard, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter. Since 2018, Skip has been named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s LA500 list, The Most Influential People in Los Angeles.

Skip’s expertise encompasses a variety of practice areas, including securities, sports, corporate takeover, energy, investment banking, defamation, First Amendment, entertainment, copyright, civil rights, real estate, contracts, partnerships, unfair competition, environmental, energy, health care, insurance, white-collar criminal, and extensive governmental and public litigation. He has represented privately owned manufacturing and marketing companies, investment banks, private equity funds, and other financial institutions. He has worked with numerous public entities, including the County of Los Angeles and the Cities of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Carson, Anaheim, Riverside and Monterey Park; and entertainment icons such as Rod Stewart, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Sean Connery, Steven Tyler, Lionel Richie, Mötley Crüe and Don Felder (who wrote the music for the Eagles’ song “Hotel California”), among many others.

In August 2024, Skip tried a complex criminal conspiracy and securities fraud case in the Southern District of California. After a month-long trial, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, resulting in a hung jury with the majority voting not guilty. In December 2024, the court granted Skip’s motion to dismiss the indictment under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29, stating that no reasonable juror could find his client guilty of securities fraud or conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt.

Skip recently represented the trustee of the Woodbridge Liquidation Trust in a lawsuit against multiple professionals accused of aiding and abetting the now-bankrupt real estate investment firm Woodbridge Group in a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. He delivered opening statements/closing arguments in multiple mediations, resulting in several multi-million-dollar confidential settlements before discovery began, thus avoiding significant legal expenses.

Among Skip’s noteworthy successes is a $119.5 million settlement achieved for the County of Los Angeles in a landmark case against Southern California Gas Company stemming from the Aliso Canyon gas leak. He defended the City of Inglewood and its Mayor against Madison Square Garden’s attempts to block the construction of a new arena, the Intuit Dome, for the LA Clippers of the National Basketball Association; and make The Forum, owned by Madison Square Garden, the only concert venue in Inglewood. The litigation was successful—the Intuit Dome opened in August 2024 adjacent to SoFi Stadium, home of the LA Rams, whom the firm also represents.

Skip successfully represented Entertainment Studios, an African American-owned media company, in civil rights lawsuits against AT&T, DirecTV, Comcast and Charter, alleging discrimination and violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. § 1981 for refusing carriage of Entertainment Studios’ television channels. He also defended the City of Los Angeles in a series of cases arising from the operations of the LAPD, including the civil rights damages action stemming from the Rodney King incident.

Other notable successes include representing SunCal as special litigation counsel in the Lehman bankruptcy in New York and California, where 25 real estate development projects and billions of dollars in joint ventures and loans were at stake. Skip went up against the country’s largest bankruptcy and litigation firms, fought intensive litigation for four years, and ultimately got his client—the property developer—a favorable settlement. SunCal had over $2 billion in loans and investments with Lehman and was by far its biggest real estate partner.

Skip also represented investors who put a billion dollars into Internet incubator Idealab; won a $7 million judgment against musician Michael Jackson in a jury trial in Santa Maria; and prevailed in the Ninth Circuit and district court in a series of civil rights cases brought against the Cities of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills and their Mayors, Chiefs of Police, and City Council members. Zev Yaroslavsky, a former member of the Los Angeles City Council and County Board of Supervisors, summed it up, “If you are in the legal trenches, Skip is the one you want down there with you.”

Skip has prosecuted trade secret/unfair competition cases for a manufacturing conglomerate, a private equity company, and the top hotel in Beverly Hills; defended the maker of Seven Jeans in a multi-hundred million dollar partnership dispute; represented high-tech and manufacturing companies, including a public company in China with over 500,000 employees for which he won a $46 million jury verdict; won a defense verdict in a major lender liability action for the largest bank headquartered in Los Angeles; won sexual harassment trials on behalf of the City of Pasadena/Rose Bowl, a Los Angeles City Council member, and the City of Los Angeles; represented the City of Anaheim in a $50 million dispute with its telecom provider; and handled a case in the spirits industry when Patron Tequila sued Seagrams.

Skip is the former Chairman of the Board of D.A.R.E. America, an international program aimed at educating millions of schoolchildren about drug, violence and alcohol abuse. He earned his law degree from UCLA Law School in 1972, where he served on the UCLA Law Review. From 1972 to 1973, he worked as a law clerk for the Honorable Jesse W. Curtis, U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California.

Skip resides in Pacific Palisades with his high school sweetheart and wife of 55 years, Sherry, who has her own music company.  The Millers have two sons, Dan and Jim, who are partners in the firm. Skip is dedicated to training and mentoring the lawyers at his firm through the Miller Barondess Mentorship Program, helping them achieve their goals and become top trial lawyers.