bio
Partner Emeritus

Kent L. Richland

portrait

Biography

Kent Richland has been an appellate lawyer since he graduated from UCLA Law School in 1971.  In 1983, Kent was one of the founding partners of Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP.

Kent has been lead appellate counsel in hundreds of appeals.  He has argued in state and federal appellate courts across the country, including many high-profile cases in both the California Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court.  He gained national prominence in 2006 for his United States Supreme Court argument in Marshall v. Marshall, in which he successfully represented the late Anna Nicole Smith.

Kent is a frequent lecturer and author on appellate law topics and is co-author, with Presiding Justice J. Anthony Kline of the California Court of Appeal, of West’s California Litigation Forms Civil Appeals and Writs.  He has served as president of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers and multiple terms as president of the California Supreme Court Historical Society.  He was selected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, the American Bar Foundation and the Litigation Counsel of America.

Among the honors he has received are the California Lawyer Magazine’s California Lawyer of the Year award in 2007, 2010 and 2019, Best Lawyers® Los Angeles Appellate Lawyer of the Year Award in 2015, multiple years’ recognition by the Los Angeles Daily Journal as one of the top 100 lawyers in California, multiple years’ recognition as one of the top 100 Southern California Super Lawyers and recognition by Chambers USA as one of five “Band One” appellate lawyers in California.

High-Impact Wins

2018

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, LLP v. J-M Manufacturing Company, Inc. (2018) 6 Cal.5th 59

Groundbreaking Decision on Arbitration and Legal Ethics

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2010

City of Ontario v. Quon (2010) 560 U.S. 746

This is the first case in more than two decades in which the Court has considered how the Fourth Amendment applies in a government workplace.

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2006

Marshall v. Marshall (2006) 547 U.S. 293

Seminal Case on Federal Court Jurisdiction

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1998

Batchelder v. Kawamoto (1998) 147 F.3d 915

Landmark Decision on Securities Law

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Speaking and Involvement

2023
In Case You Missed It: Civil Law Highlights From The Past Year, Beverly Hills Bar Association
2022
In Case You Missed It: Civil Law Highlights From The Past Year, Beverly Hills Bar Association
2016
American Bar Association Section Litigation Conference, The Stern Trilogy: The Future of Article I Courts
2013
University of California at Irvine School of Law, Lecture on United States Supreme Court Practice in the 21st Century
2012
Federal Bar Association, Bankruptcy Section for the Western District of Michigan, Speech on Stern v. Marshall
2012
Estate Planning and Community Property Journal Annual Banquet, Texas Tech School of Law, Featured Speaker on Marshall v. Marshall
2011
Oklahoma Bar Association Annual Advanced Bankruptcy Seminar, Speech on Stern v. Marshall
2010
National Foundation for Judicial Excellence Annual Symposium, Lecture on City of Ontario v. Quon (Chicago, IL)
2010
ABA Administrative Law Conference, Lecture on City of Ontario v. Quon (Washington, D.C.)
2009
State Bar of California Annual Conference on Federal and State Appeals, Panel on Appellate Stays (2009 - Present)
2008
California Center for Judicial Education and Research (CJER) Appellate Judicial Attorneys Institute, Lecture--Civil Law Update (2008 - Present)
2008
Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), Lecture--Recent Developments in Civil Practice
2007
California Center for Judicial Education and Research (CJER) Appellate Justices Institute, Featured Speaker on Media and the High Profile Appeal
2006
American College of Trial and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Fiduciary Litigation Committee, Speech on Marshall v. Marshall
2006
UCLA School of Law Dean’s Roundtable, Discussion of Marshall v. Marshall
2004
The Rutter Group, Panel on Mastering Appellate Advocacy
2004
Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), Panelist on Making and Opposing Anti-SLAPP Motions
2003
Mealey’s Anti-SLAPP Statute Conference, Panelist (2003, 2004)
2000
Federal Practice Institute, Panelist on Ninth Circuit Practice (1994 - 2000)
1999
Scotland Yard, Panelist on The Human Rights Act: The Practical Implications for British Policing—Learning from the U.S. Experience (London, U.K.)
1997
Southwestern University School of Law, Adjunct Professor of Law, Team Taught Course (with Professor Laurie Levenson and Judge Aurelio Munoz on Issues in Criminal Appellate Law (1996 - 1997)
1996
Appellate Courts Institute and California Judges Association Annual Meeting, Panelist on Views from the Other Side of the Bench
1990
American Bar Association, National Institute on Medical Malpractice, Moot Court Argument
1991
Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), Panelist on Extraordinary Writs (1987, 1991)
1987
Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), Panelist on The Court of Appeal Speaks
1983
Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), Panelist on Step By Step: The Appellate Process

Professional Associations

American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, Fellow
California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, President (1995 - 1996)
California Supreme Court Historical Society, Board of Directors (President, 1999 - 2005)
Chancery Club of Los Angeles
Appellate Indigent Defense Oversight Advisory Committee to the California Judicial Council
Appellate Advisory Committee to the California Judicial Council (2000 - 2006)
Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, Board of Advisors (1978 - 1988)
Los Angeles County Bar Association, Trustee (1999 - 2000); Appellate Courts Section, Appellate Courts Committee, Chair (1985 - 1988); Los Angeles Bar Journal and Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, Board of Editors, Articles Editor and Managing Editor (1977 - 1978); California Judicial Systems Committee, Chair (1988 - 1990); Committee on Delivery of Legal Services; Judicial Appointments Committee, Chair (2001 - 2003); Judicial Evaluation Committee; State Appellate Judicial Evaluation Committee, Chair (1992 - 1994)
Member, California Lawyers Association (CLA), Litigation Section