Living Proof that Sharks Have Heart

The success of Boesch Law Group is built upon vast experience, an esteemed reputation, and a victorious record. 

Philip Boesch does nothing halfheartedly. Whether leading non-profits or representing Hollywood A-listers in wildly complex entertainment litigation cases, the veteran attorney never fails to bring wisdom, creativity, and a relentless pursuit of success for the betterment of his clients and community.

Graduating with undergraduate honors from Brown University and with distinction from Duke University School of Law, Boesch launched his legal career 3,000 miles from home in Los Angeles. His career built upon itself like bricks in a fortress, as he took on splashy legal issues in the entertainment and media industries, among them cases with the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal. Each case delivered a new area of exposure and experience, and his reputation snowballed as a lawyer of ingenuity and integrity.

In 2000, after years honing his signature litigation style, at big-law Gibson Dunn and then in creating the mid-size firm Kinsella, Boesch, Philip Boesch decided to go out on his own with a stellar hand-picked crew – delivering the personal attention of a small firm with the competence of the nation’s largest. Though he never set out to specialize in one lane of the law, he has become known and respected for his high-profile success in business litigation and estate litigation, from real estate and tech to media and entertainment.

Then he won the highly publicized court case for child actor Gary Coleman, followed by numerous subsequent cases on behalf of children, including what was the largest wrongful death judgment and recovery for noneconomic loss in California history. After representing 26 of the 27 television news anchors in  Southern California in the first case for cameras in the courtroom, the California Judges Association requested three times that he author new editions of The Judges’ Handbook for Media Access to Court Proceedings.

Then came his win of a $475 million judgment for Anna Nicole Smith against the estate of her late billionaire husband, named by US Law Weekly as the No. 1 Judgment of the Year.

“Those were foundational moments in my career,” Boesch recalls. Word got out quickly that he was a shark with a heart, and he was soon sought for television appearances and community leadership roles, which has led to even greater renown and visibility.

Working With Winners

Success often begets success in a career as storied as Boesch’s. He credits that record, in large part, to the fact that his clients are “winners.”

Boesch has represented some of the most prominent public figures of recent times: NBA and NHL champions; Emmy, Academy, and Grammy Award winners; gold-medal Olympians; heads of state; judges; and business moguls. He’s been named a Super Lawyer and rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell annually for the majority of his career, as well as served as an Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association’s Large Complex Case Panel. 

Whether involved with business disputes, estate litigation, or wrongful death, the Boesch Law Group is all business all the time.

To achieve the most favorable outcomes, Boesch says, clients must be willing to think strategically, not emotionally. A soberly executed cost-benefit analysis helps Boesch and his clients chart each step of their proceedings with resolution and damage mitigation in mind. “Clients who are motivated by reason, not emotion, are ultimately the most successful. Taking a business-like approach helps us resolve conflict more efficiently,” he says. “Trials are so all-consuming and expensive that, I often say that if you can’t resolve a client’s problem before trial, you’ve already lost. You’re a true winner if you can figure out how to resolve the problem without trial.”

Deepest Rewards

Over his four-decade career, Boesch has represented some of the most prominent public figures of recent times: NBA and NHL champions; Emmy, Academy, and Grammy Award winners; gold-medal Olympians; heads of state; judges; and business moguls. He’s been named a Super Lawyer^® and rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell annually for the majority of his career, as well as served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association^®’s Large Complex Case Panel. Three times, the California Judges Association has requested that he author new editions of The Judges’ Handbook for Media Access to Court Proceedings.

But impressive as his resume reads, Boesch will likely point to a different kind of success when asked about his most memorable cases. “In my office hangs a framed picture of a heart drawn by the 12-year-old girl we represented and saved from being sent to Pakistan after the unexpected death of her mother,” he says. “She went on to graduate from Columbia University and is now a happy and successful professional in New York City.”

Or he might cite the soccer player he coached as a young woman, who came back years later as a high-powered businesswoman seeking Boesch’s counsel because she trusts him on both a professional and personal level.

For Future Generations

With an eye for the greater good, Boesch deposits his time into causes that will impact millions of people he’ll never meet. As Chairman of the Board of Directors of TreePeople for the last four years, he leads a 50-year nonprofit dedicated to combating climate change by urban greening, reforestation, planting and caring for trees in community spaces. “All people are tree people. Everyone likes trees,” he says. “Our work to plant millions of trees not only makes a difference for the environment and for climate change, but for the human spirit and the way people experience their neighborhoods.”

When Boesch also served as President of Heal the Bay, California’s premier non-profit advocate for clean oceans and waterways, Heal the Bay reminded us that sharks have a place in the ocean ecosystem. As the Boesch Law Group racks up success after success, it is indeed good to know that sharks do have hearts.