Ronald E. Wood is a Managing Director in our Partner Practice Group where he represents and places partners, counsel and groups into top global, national, regional and local law firms throughout Los Angeles and Southern California. Ron brings a unique perspective to legal recruiting having been a litigator in large and small law firms, a federal enforcement lawyer and in-house counsel. He is the creator and author of Major, Lindsey & Africa’s Law Firm Culture Survey, which looks to define the tangible traits of law firm culture.
Since joining MLA in 2019, Ron has counseled dozens of partners and placed more than 30 in practices as varied as white collar and renewable energy; healthcare and project finance; labor/employment and insurance recovery; M&A and antitrust; national security and securities litigation; patent prosecution and litigation; consumer and appellate litigation. Candidates have included managing partners, former U.S. Attorney’s Office section chiefs and supervisors, PhDs, and groups/teams of 2-19 lawyers. Ron has handled, led or assisted in moves across markets within and outside the U.S., including in Asia and Europe, as well as into senior in-house positions, and also helped open and staff the first Los Angeles office for a prestigious global law firm. He was honored in November 2022 with MLA's "Global Colleague of the Year" award.
Ron lives in Los Angeles, is the proud father of two daughters and is an avid traveler and Argentine Tango dancer. He is rabid about college football and a fan of professional tennis, boxing and March Madness. Ron maintains an active lifestyle and enjoys a fine cigar.
Prior to joining Major, Lindsey & Africa, Ron was a partner at Brown, White & Osborn, where he counseled and defended private investment managers, hedge funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds as well as securities industry and public company professionals.
Prior to that, Ron was a litigation partner at Proskauer LLP and had previously spent 10 years with the SEC's Division of Enforcement, conducting and directing investigations and follow-up civil and administrative proceedings, and six years in the law division at Morgan Stanley, where he was an executive director, responsible for managing the company’s Southern California legal staff and outside counsel in litigation and regulatory matters.
In his 31 years of practice, Ron tried more than 50 cases in federal and state courts and private arbitration forums. Ron is a frequent panelist and author on securities regulatory and enforcement issues.
Howard University: J.D.
Howard Law Journal, Special Articles Editor
Howard National Moot Court Board
Howard University: B.A., Classical and Ancient Studies
