Women Making an Impact: Carla Christofferson

O'Melveny partner Carla Christofferson, head of the Los Angeles office, is profiled in the Sports section of the April 11 edition of The New York Times and the April 2008 issue of Vogue magazine.

The Times article, written by Karen Crouse, focuses on Christofferson's multi-faceted biography, her bowhunting hobby, her co-ownership of the Los Angeles Sparks WNBA team, and the franchise's acquisition of the rights to No. 1 draft choice Candace Parker of University of Tennessee.

"Over the years," Crouse writes of Christofferson, "her circles of ambition have grown larger and the bull’s-eyes have become more minuscule: From a tomboy in North Dakota to Miss North Dakota; from a law student at Yale to one of the youngest partners at a prestigious Los Angeles law firm that specializes in entertainment and commercial litigation; from a Los Angeles Sparks season-ticket holder to a team co-owner."

Crouse also describes Christofferson's path at O'Melveny: "She distinguished herself at Yale, then at the law firm O’Melveny & Myers. In 2001, at 31, she made partner while finding time to play basketball in a couple of recreational leagues."

Vogue's profile opens with a full-color photo of Christofferson, in a rose chiffon Halston dress and high heels, hoisting the two WNBA Championship trophies won by the team she co-owns, the Los Angeles Sparks.

Titled, "Holding Court," the article in the magazine's annual fitness issue chronicles Christofferson's journey from her tiny hometown on the prairie where she was an all-state high school basketball player and A-student, to New Haven, Conn., and Yale Law School, and onto Los Angeles, the world of the WNBA, and O'Melveny. The lengthy profile is written by John Powers and carries the subtitle: "Whether buying a basketball team or waging a legal battle, Carla Christofferson plays by her own rules."

Describing her career at "the powerful international law firm O'Melveny & Myers," Powers quotes senior partner Warren Christopher and partner John Daum, two of Christofferson's mentors. "Carla played basketball and did it very well," Christopher told the writer. "She plays on our [law firm's] men's team. She has a deep sense of confidence. She's not afraid to go into new things." Daum said part of his initial reaction to Christofferson as a young associate was that she was "very smart, very green, and very ambitious."

The Vogue writer also notes Christofferson's work for the Firm on litigation involving the Exxon Valdez episode, and such clients as Trader Joe's, Christina Aguilera, and that great American rock band, the Eagles. Christofferson said she has "worked incredibly hard because I was afraid they'd send me back to North Dakota."