Quick, name the Sacramento, Calif., firm whose past and present clients include Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Johnny Cash and Smith Barney.

Try Mennemeier, Glassman & Stroud, a five-lawyer litigation boutique with a high-powered client list and a low public profile. Over the last 10 years, the three name partners, all former colleagues at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, have developed a niche handling matters for private companies and public agencies that the big-name firms can’t or won’t take on.