Dena Roche

Managing Partner

M: (415)-952-3002

D: (415)-952-3006

dena@oriellyroche.com

VCARD > LinkedIn >

With over 25 years of diverse legal experience, Ms. Roche applies her in-depth knowledge and understanding of law firms and legal ethics to help her clients understand and resolve the critical issues they face every day. She is a trusted advisor to lawyers, law firms, in-house legal departments, and law-related businesses, providing insight, analysis, and counsel in the following areas:

LAW FIRM TRANSITIONS, PARTNER DEPARTURES, AND DISSOLUTIONS

Counsels and advises lawyers and law firms on partner and group departures, acquiring lateral partners or groups, and managing law firm mergers. Counsels and advises law firms on partnership terminations, succession planning, start-up planning and growth planning, and dissolutions.

Law Firm General Counsel and Legal Ethics

Serves as an outside General Counsel to California law firms and inhouse legal departments on legal ethics, compliance, and practice management, providing practical advice and counsel to identify and resolve complex issues and implement best practices for risk management.

Law-Related Business Counsel

Counsels and advises law-related businesses, alternative legal service providers, and technology companies operating in the legal industry on a variety of complex compliance, regulatory, ownership, and operations issues, including analysis of entity structures, business models, regulatory risks, and key business documents.

Ms. Roche began her legal career as a litigator and trial attorney in San Francisco, handling a wide variety of business disputes and complex litigation matters and acting as both first and second chair in numerous jury trials and arbitration hearings.

In 2007, she co-founded O’Rielly & Roche LLP with relentless diligence and an enthusiastic desire to build a better platform to serve her law firm and business clients. Today, the firm has emerged as an industry leader in the law of lawyering in California, with an exclusive focus on providing law firms, in-house legal departments, and law-related businesses the support and answers they need to succeed. She has unparalleled experience in counseling law firms in all areas of law firm practice management – firm formation, structuring and growth strategies, legal ethics counsel, practice and risk management, and law firm transitions, including partner departures and law firm dissolutions. Ms. Roche also works as outside counsel to in-house legal departments and technology companies who need legal ethics subject matter expertise or assistance with a variety of general counsel duties.

Ms. Roche’s unique blend of experience with law firms, in-house legal departments, and law practice management, coupled with her deep background in legal ethics — she is the past Advisor and former Chair of the State Bar of California’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (“COPRAC”), and is actively involved in the California and national ethics community — sets her apart from other practitioners in her field.  She uses her distinct background and experiences to help her clients navigate and resolve their most complex problems, and provides real-world, practical advice they can trust and rely on.

Ms. Roche also serves as a consultant and expert witness on legal and ethical issues related to law firm departures and attorney transitions. She is also a certified mediator who conducts mediations and acts as a neutral throughout California, with an emphasis on resolving business and law firm partnership-related disputes.

Ms. Roche is also a Lecturer at Berkeley Law where she teaches a course on legal ethics and professional responsibility.

 

Our firm’s exclusive focus and dedication to understanding the legal, ethical and risk management issues that law firms and lawyers face every day is what makes us unique. Our wide-ranging experience gives us the ability to tackle problems creatively, efficiently and with discretion, giving those we serve a distinct advantage.”

Practices

Partner Departure Law

Law Firm Dissolution

Law Firm General Counsel

Legal Ethics Counsel

Law-Related Business Counsel

Law Firm Formation and Structure

Mediator and Neutral

Education

University of San Francisco School of Law, J.D., 1997

Occidental College, Advanced B.A., in English and Comparative Literature, 1992

Memberships

California State Bar Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC)
-Advisor (2021-2022)
-Chair (2020-2021)
-Vice-Chair (2019-2020)
-Member (2016-2019)

California Lawyers Association, Law Practice Management and Technology

Bar Association of San Francisco, Legal Ethics Committee

Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL)

American Bar Association, ABA Center for Professional Responsibility

American Bar Foundation, Fellow

Recent Presentations
March 21, 2023

Attorney Succession Planning: Ethical Duties to Plan Ahead and Best Practices, Berkeley-Alameda Bar Association.

May 6, 2022

The Changing Culture of Law Firm Practice and Managing Law Firm Departures, PilotLegis Risk Prevention Group, Mid-Year Member Program, 2022.

April 15, 2022

Recent Developments in Legal Ethics-What You Need to Know, Panelist, State Bar of California 2022 Ethics Symposium

April 16, 2021

Recent Developments in Legal Ethics-What You Need to Know, Moderator and Panelist, State Bar of California 2021 Ethics Symposium

May 19, 2020

New Ethics Rules that May Impact Your Practice the Most, Presenter, Zoom MCLE for Berkeley-Albany Bar Association

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Recent Publications
March 13, 2024

Why Smart Lawyers Get Counsel for Law Firm Departures, Partner Departure Law Blog

February 9, 2024

Law Firm Resolutions for a Happy New Year, Partner Departure Law Blog

January 18, 2024

Managing Partner Departures So They Are Not Bad for Business, Partner Departure Law Blog

January 31, 2023

Creating Successful Outcomes for Lateral Partner Transitions, Partner Departure Law Blog

January 5, 2023

Get Your Law Firm’s Succession Planning Out of Your Lizard Brain, Los Angeles Daily Journal

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Bar Admissions

California, Ohio

U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Central and Southern Districts of California

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit