Brian Procel Jeremiah Levine A longtime Miller Barondess LLP trial lawyer has joined forces with a former Los Angeles federal prosecutor to launch a nationwide litigation boutique representing both plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes business disputes.

The founders of Santa Monica, California-founded Procel Levine LLP are litigator Brian Procel and Jeremiah Levine, who most recently worked as an assistant U.S. attorney, according to the new firm's Tuesday announcement.

Procel Levine officially launched this month and handles matters involving fraud, class actions, privacy, entertainment, real estate, financial services disputes, government investigations, white-collar criminal defense and breach of fiduciary duty.

"We're drawn to the David-versus-Goliath cases," Levine told Law360 Pulse Thursday. "Those are the kinds of matters we're passionate about. Taking on powerful organizations or industries and standing up against practices that are unjust or unfair. That's the work we find most rewarding."

Brian Procel handles complex commercial disputes involving investor and consumer fraud, class actions, breach of fiduciary duty, lender liability, intellectual property, entertainment and real estate. He founded Procel Law, co-founded Miller Barondess and began his career at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, according to the announcement. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley-School of Law.

"Procel Levine LLP delivers big law quality with the efficiency and personal attention of a boutique firm," Procel told Law360 Pulse. "We win for our clients, and we do it the right way: ethically, efficiently and aggressively."

Procel said he and Levine have known each other for years, and appreciate each other's skills.

"Together, we bring a powerful background of trial experience to clients facing complex, bet-the-company litigation throughout the U.S.," Procel said in a statement. "We are strategists who think twelve moves ahead and put outcomes over hours, meaning clients receive trial-tested advocacy that's efficient and principled."

As a federal prosecutor, Jeremiah Levine indicted the largest white supremacist case in the history of the Justice Department, the firm said. He also prosecuted complex Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act matters and white-collar crime, including bank fraud and COVID-19 benefits fraud. He began his legal career as a litigator at Morrison & Foerster after graduating with honors from Harvard Law School.

"Having both come from big law earlier in our careers, we are uniquely positioned to deliver big law quality with the efficiency and personal attention of a boutique firm," Levine said in a statement. "We thrive on tackling high-stakes cases – often against opponents with far larger teams – and have a track record of prevailing in those matters."

Procel Levine recently represented Stockdale Capital Partners, a multibillion-dollar real estate investment firm, as the defendant in a contractual dispute with Maguire Partners involving a large downtown Los Angeles commercial property. The firm won summary judgment on the vast majority of claims, and following mediation, the remaining claim was dismissed with prejudice, resulting in a complete victory for Stockdale, according to the announcement.

The firm is also representing four former LSV Asset Management partners in their $100 million lawsuit pending in Chicago. In that case, LSV founder Josef Lakonishok, Chief Legal Officer Josh O'Donnell and other C-suite executives are accused of engaging in a fraudulent scheme to force the sale of their equity at a significantly reduced price. In June, the firm defeated LSV's motion to dismiss the case, allowing the plaintiffs' key claims of breach of fiduciary duty and breach of the implied covenant of good faith to move forward, the announcement stated.