Page 16 - Los Angeles Vol 5 No 1

AT A GLANCE
Manning & Kass
801 South Figueroa Street Los Angeles, CA 90017 (213) 430-2632 www.manningllp.com
Practice Areas
Retail, Restaurant and Hospitality Litigation
Trucking and Transportation Law Catastrophic Liability Defense Professional Liability
Product Liability
Employment Law
Class Action and Mass Torts Defense Entertainment Law
Professional Sports Law
Education
Juris Doctor, Northern Illinois University College of Law, 1991
Bachelor’s Degree, McGill University, 1987
Professional Memberships
Association of Southern California Defense Counsel
Sports Lawyer Association
Los Angeles Bar Association
National Retail and Restaurant Defense
Association
Claims and Litigation Management
Alliance
National Hockey League Players
Association, Certi ed Agent
Honors:
Lawyer of the Year, Northern Illinois University College of Law
Rising Star, Super Lawyers
Community Involvement
Littles in Law, Founder Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids
Foundation, Bene t Committee
Los Angeles Film School, Advisory Board Boston Bombing Fire & Police Event,
Co-Host
Hobbies
Extreme Sports Books
Art
Favorite Quote
"You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take." — Wayne Gretzky.
e Lion King role answered a childhood calling to be in the theater, which Lenkov forsook in favor of a more practical career. He has channeled his love for the stage into being an advocate for a charity called Broadway Cares, which does good work in that com- munity.
Back home in Los Angeles, he founded the program Littles in Law, which aims to inspire at-risk teens to be great by placing them in jobs at law rms to expose them to careers in law and other high- aiming professions. Giving back is a big theme in his home, some- thing he learned from his mother.
A Montreal native, Lenkov admits he didn’t have any real expo- sure to the eld when he was a child.
“I come from a middle-class background,” he says, adding that in his early years he thought working in a retail store would be his high- est level of achievement. “We didn’t know any attorneys growing up.”
His aspirations changed later in his college years.
“My mother was a force, and I think I inherited that ability to ght back,” he says. “And my father was incredibly hard working, which certainly impacted my siblings and me. I thought being a law- yer would be a magical special occupation. I always believed in the sanctity in the practice of law. It meant something, and the opportu- nities given to a lawyer can be so meaningful.”
With a bar set astronomical by his high-achieving siblings (one a Chicago attorney, another a successful television producer and an- other who is a New York business executive), he decided in college that law would pave the road to reaching his potential. And where else could he reach his potential other than California?
“I thought, if I can make it here, I’ll really be able to ful ll all of my ambitions,” Lenkov says. He arrived in Los Angeles with no real connections but with limitless aspirations.
Today, his practice is not only varied, it’s also impactful. Lenkov had a big win in the California Supreme Court for his client, Knott’s Berry Farm. e case gave greater clarity to the assumption-of- risk doctrine. is was just one of the many pivotal wins he counts throughout his career, from high-exposure personal injury cases, to defending celebrities on employment matters to business transac- tions.
“In a general sense, those cases, experiences, clients and even my opponents made me who I am,” Lenkov says.
And a er having defended so many cases over the years, he says, “It’s the personal experiences gained through the years of practice that would be most exemplary to me—not a ‘win’ on any particular case.”
It could be said that Lenkov’s entire law career is a win—for his clients and for his own search for personal growth.
“It’s a great practice and I am very thankful,” says Lenkov. “My family for sure would like me to slow down, but I’m just not wired that way.”