Prominent Fortune 500 Corporate Counsel Brings Decades of Executive Legal & Business Experience to Firm in Innovative Advisory Role; Further Expands Sheppard Mullin's Client Service & Diversity Initiatives

/EINPresswire.com/ -- LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - June 03, 2016) - Art Chong has joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a special advisor to the firm. Chong is a seasoned in-house attorney with more than 30 years of experience in corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, finance, securities law, intellectual property and litigation. He has been the general counsel of two Fortune 500 companies and the deputy general counsel of another.

Most recently, Chong was the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Broadcom Corp., prior to its sale to Avago Technologies. Before that he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Safeco Corporation. Chong began his in-house career at McKesson Corporation, where he rose to the position of Deputy General Counsel.

"Art has had an impressive legal career, which includes private practice and serving as corporate counsel at several Fortune 500 companies. He is well known and respected in the legal industry and in business circles. Art's experience offers a unique and extremely valuable perspective for our clients and he is a timely addition to the firm as we continue to innovate our client service approach and processes. He is an incredibly intuitive strategist, who brings significant knowledge and expertise as a thought leader and forward thinking GC. Art is a tremendous resource and he will play a key role in advising firm's attorneys on business development and diversity issues," said Guy N. Halgren, chairman of Sheppard Mullin. 

"I am excited to join Sheppard Mullin and I am truly impressed by the firm's financial strength and the consistent growth the firm has experienced year-over-year. I was especially attracted to the opportunity to collaborate with a high caliber, prestige firm on providing real value to clients at a time when the demand on corporate law departments to do more with less is at a crucial point. As a former Sheppard Mullin client, I have seen firsthand the excellent 'Clients First' philosophy and service provided by the firm. I was intrigued by the idea of working with a firm from the inside out to bring the unique experience of a Fortune 500 GC to all aspects of the law firm-client experience," Chong commented.

Chong received a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Chong serves on the board of the American Arbitration Association. He previously sat on the boards of the American Insurance Association, Washington LAW Fund (legal aid), Broadcom Foundation, Safeco Foundation (chair) and McKesson Foundation and served on the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession and the UCI Law Business Council. 

Chong has been honored for his diversity efforts by ACC-SoCal, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, The Council on Legal Education Opportunity, The National Law Journal and Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association.

About Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Sheppard Mullin is a full service Global 100 firm with 770 attorneys in 15 offices located in the United States, Europe and Asia. Since 1927, companies have turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. In the U.S., the firm's clients include more than half of the Fortune 100. For more information, please visit www.sheppardmullin.com. 

CONTACT:
GUY HALGREN
(619) 338-6605

ART CHONG
(415) 774-2996

RALPH RICHARDSON
(213) 617-5542