Ara Babaian

Ara Babaian is the founding partner of Encore Law Group. With over 25 years of experience in mergers & acquisitions, corporate finance, and the legal matters that touch every facet of a client's business, he counsels founders, business owners, and executives through the moments that define a company — the sale of a business, a financing round, a partnership formed or unwound, an executive compensation package negotiated well.

His clients range from startups and family-owned businesses to large corporations, along with the entrepreneurs, C-suite executives, and physicians. Known for anticipating clients' needs rather than just reacting to them, Ara builds relationships that last from formation through exit.

Before founding Encore in 2011, Ara was a partner at Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP in Beverly Hills, practicing in the firm's Business Law and Health Care Law departments. Prior to that, he was an associate at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where he represented publicly traded companies in SEC reporting and registration, corporate governance, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and complex mergers and acquisitions.