Mojan Anari was promoted to partner of Akerman LLP in Los Angeles. The promotion is effective Nov. 1, 2025.

Anari focuses her practice on pre-litigation disputes, administrative claims, civil individual and class litigation, and preventative advice and counseling. She has experience handling single-plaintiff FEHA matters, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) actions, wage-and-hour actions, and commercial and business litigation from inception to conclusion in California state and federal courts, employment arbitrations, and FINRA arbitrations. She has defended high-exposure cases from commencement to resolution, handling fact investigation, discovery, depositions, law and motion, oral argument, settlement negotiations, mediation, trial preparation, and arbitration.

Michael A. Hale joined Miller Barondess, LLP as an associate in Los Angeles. The move was Nov. 17, 2025.

Hale is a complex commercial litigator who represents clients in high-stakes business and entertainment disputes. He has represented leading companies in the entertainment, sports, technology, and consumer products industries in matters involving breach of contract, fraud, unfair competition, defamation, and environmental and regulatory disputes.

Christopher Franich was promoted to partner of Snell & Wilmer LLP in San Diego.

Franich was promoted to partner effective March 1. Franich concentrates his practice in patent prosecution, intellectual property portfolio counseling and transactions, and USPTO proceedings. During his more than 10 years of practice, he has developed and executed intellectual property strategies for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies. Franich also has experience developing and managing domestic and international patent portfolios.

Monique L. Fierro joined Berger Kahn, A Law Corporation as a partner in Lake Forest. The move was July 21, 2025.

Fierro has litigated matters in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies, securing millions of dollars in damages for clients facing discrimination and abuse while also obtaining dismissals and reduced liability in high-risk cases. She serves as president of the Ventura County Unity Bar and previously was president of Women Lawyers of Ventura County in 2024.

With more than a decade of experience, Fierro's practice spans civil litigation, pro bono work, and matters involving employment, personal injury, civil rights, and education law. Her work includes cases alleging employment discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, business disputes, and education-related claims, including bullying, special education, and disability-based discrimination.

Manish Kumar joined Freshfields LLP as a partner in San Francisco. The move was Dec. 8, 2025.

Kumar specializes in criminal antitrust enforcement and related white-collar matters. Drawing on more than 15 years as a federal prosecutor and senior Justice Department official, he advises companies and individuals facing high-stakes criminal antitrust investigations, dawn raids, litigation, and cross-border enforcement actions.

Kumar previously served as deputy assistant attorney general for criminal enforcement, the highest-ranking career position in the DOJ's Antitrust Division, where he oversaw all domestic and international criminal antitrust prosecutions from grand jury through appeal, supervising more than 100 attorneys. He also held leadership roles as chief and assistant chief of the division's San Francisco office, supervising criminal and civil antitrust and white-collar investigations involving the technology sector, multinational companies, and government procurement. Earlier in his career, he served as an Antitrust Division trial attorney and as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of California, prosecuting felony cases.

Kumar has overseen and tried precedent-setting matters, including the first felony criminal monopolization conviction, the first guilty plea and trial conviction in a labor market antitrust case, and the conviction of a C-suite executive. He also played a key role in shaping criminal antitrust policy, including the division's Corporate Leniency Policy, compliance frameworks, and cooperation with domestic and international enforcement authorities.

James Ferguson joined KENT | PINCIN as an associate in Redondo Beach. The move was Jan. 5, 2026.

Ferguson is a civil litigation attorney with prior experience as a judicial law clerk for the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where he worked closely with multiple judges and gained extensive experience in civil law and motion practice.

Dane P. Shikman was promoted to partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in San Francisco.

Shikman maintains a diverse practice focusing on complex civil litigation, jury trials and appeals across numerous areas including antitrust, technology and employment law. He has argued and won favorable results for clients in state and federal courts and represents clients on appeal in high-stakes matters. He also has experience handling government investigations for major technology companies, and he advises clients on regulatory and employment matters.

J. Max Rosen was promoted to partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in San Francisco.

Rosen's practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, including mass tort litigation, strategic advising, insurance ,and appeals. He has extensive experience in resolving complex high-stakes commercial litigation, including representing multiple utilities in cases arising out of wildfires. He was one of the lead members of the team that represented Hawaiian Electric in securing a historic global settlement resolving litigation related to the devastating 2023 Maui wildfires. He has also become a go-to policy advisor to utility companies on wildfire legislation. He has represented numerous utilities in drafting and conceptualizing legislative solutions to the challenge of wildfire liability and spoken on the topic at a leading utility conference.

Nicole M. Howell was promoted to partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in Los Angeles.

Howell advises strategic and financial buyers and sellers in connection with domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions and the formation of joint ventures and strategic partnerships. She also regularly counsels clients regarding corporate governance, private equity and general corporate and commercial matters, including the structuring and negotiation of manufacturing, procurement, professional services, transition services and other operational agreements. Her experience spans a wide variety of industries, including media and entertainment, sports, technology, life sciences, gaming, food and beverage, manufacturing and professional services, among others.

Joshua Carter joined Tully Rinckey PLLC as an associate in Ladera Ranch.

Carter focuses his practice on military law. Before joining Tully Rinckey, he served 17 years in the U.S. Army on active duty and in the Virginia National Guard. He began his military career as a musician in Army Bands, serving at multiple U.S. duty stations and spending two years in Seoul, South Korea. He later returned to active duty as a legal noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, where he gained experience on both the government and legal assistance sides of military justice matters.

After leaving military service, Carter served as an assistant Commonwealth's attorney in Virginia, prosecuting misdemeanor and felony cases in General District Court, Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, and Circuit Court.

Nicole Merri Engler was promoted to director of Murphy, Pearson, Bradley & Feeney P.C. in San Francisco. The promotion is effective Dec. 1, 2025.

Engler draws on two decades of experience in business and executive coaching to translate complex litigation concepts into clear, accessible guidance for clients. Using a range of communication styles, she takes a compassionate, client-centered approach to ensure clients understand both the litigation process and their role in it.

Engler has represented attorneys in professional liability matters and, combining her HR background with her legal practice, has represented employers--including a large manufacturer--in wage and hour, PAGA, and employment claims under FEHA and federal law. She has also represented contractors and subcontractors in breach of contract and complex construction defect cases.

Thomas Tuon joined Murphy, Pearson, Bradley & Feeney P.C. as an associate in Murphy, Pearson, Bradley & Feeney (San Francisco). The move was Dec. 2, 2025.

Tuon focuses on intellectual property transactions, data privacy counseling, and professional liability and taxation litigation. Combining experience in both transactional and controversy matters, Tuon helps clients navigate licensing, compliance, and corporate structuring issues that arise at the intersection of innovation and regulation. He assists individuals, startups, and established companies in protecting their intangible assets, managing risk, and ensuring compliance with evolving state and federal frameworks.

Michèle Bissada joined Signature Resolution as a neutral in San Francisco. The move was Dec. 3, 2025.

Bissada will serve as a mediator, arbitrator, private judge (JPT/PCTJ), and parenting plan coordinator. With more than 30 years of experience in California family law, Bissada has earned a reputation for her integrity, discernment, and calm command of even the most emotionally charged disputes. Her ability to balance clarity and compassion with legal precision has made her a trusted resource for families, attorneys, and business partners seeking lasting resolution.

Jason Mills joined Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP as a partner in Los Angeles. The move was Dec. 5, 2025.

Mills litigates the full spectrum of employment claims across all levels of the workforce, representing clients in state and federal jury trials, bench trials, arbitrations, and administrative proceedings. He has tried numerous significant employment cases to verdict, including claims alleging wrongful termination, discrimination, and other complex workplace disputes. Mills also regularly defends employers in wage-and-hour putative class actions and has argued before the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals and California Courts of Appeal. In addition to his employment litigation practice, he represents employers in defending federal and state OSHA citations, including workplace incident investigations and whistleblower matters. Mills served as the management-side chair of the American Bar Association's Workplace Occupational Safety & Health Committee from 2022 to 2024.

Ashley E. Dang joined Kent| Pincin as an associate in Redondo Beach. The move was Nov. 17, 2025.

Dang has worked alongside some of the top plaintiff's attorneys in California and has extensive experience in employment, personal injury, and mass tort matters. She has assisted in obtaining several notable seven-figure settlements against global defense corporations, public entities, trucking companies, and ride share companies, to name a few.

Thomas M. Hadid joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Hadid is a nationally recognized trademark attorney with extensive experience managing global trademark portfolios for clients across a range of industries, including consumer products, fashion and technology. His practice focuses on designing comprehensive brand-protection programs and advising clients on every stage of brand protection--from clearance and selection of new marks to prosecution, enforcement and anti-counterfeiting strategies. He also represents clients in contentious trademark matters before the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board and in federal courts.

Maureen Bogue joined Ogletree Deakins as a shareholder in San Francisco. The move was Nov. 24, 2025.

As a distinguished employment law counselor and litigator, Bogue advises employers on a wide range of workplace issues, including leaves of absence, disability accommodations, wage and hour compliance, performance management, and workforce restructuring. She also has significant experience defending employers in wage and hour disputes, discrimination and harassment claims, failure-to-accommodate cases, and other employment-related matters. Additionally, Bogue has over 20 years of experience conducting workplace investigations addressing a wide range of issues, including harassment, discrimination, retaliation, pay equity, conflicts of interest, and fraud.

Ephraim T. Hintz was promoted to principal of Polsinelli in Los Angeles. The promotion is effective Nov. 1, 2025.

Hintz focuses his practice on technology transactions, data privacy, intellectual property licensing and advising clients on the legal aspects of emerging technologies. He counsels clients across a wide range of industries, including artificial intelligence, SaaS, cloud services, public transit, defense technology, health care and e-commerce.

Garrick P. Vanderfin was promoted to principal of Polsinelli in Los Angeles. The promotion is effective Nov. 1, 2025.

Vanderfin provides legal counsel to clients in the financial services industry, including assisting businesses in structuring, documenting and negotiating financial transactions. Vanderfin has handled a wide variety of diverse matters involving civil litigation relating to real estate, contract and business disputes in both state and federal courts.

Mary T. Vu was promoted to principal of Polsinelli in Los Angeles. The promotion is effective Nov. 1, 2025.

Vu focuses her practice on labor, employment and benefits law. She represents employers in high-stakes litigation and regulatory matters across a range of industries, including luxury fashion, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, health care and construction. Drawing on her experience advising some of the world's leading global brands, Vu has cultivated a practice at the intersection of luxury law and employment compliance.

Morgan Donoian MacBride was promoted to partner of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in Silicon Valley.

MacBride's practice focuses on representing corporate clients in complex commercial litigation and high-stakes business disputes in federal and state courts, including in matters involving transactional disputes, business torts, commercial fraud, consumer protection, antitrust, and greenwashing claims. He has successfully defended clients in a range of industries, including financial services, consumer products, media, and tech. MacBride has extensive experience defeating nationwide class actions. He has served as counsel in many putative class actions, most involving high-profile claims of false advertising, unfair business practices, consumer deception, and corporate fraud.

David Rutan was promoted to partner of Troutman Pepper Locke in Los Angeles. The promotion is effective Jan. 1, 2026.

Rutan represents clients in labor and employment disputes, class actions, unfair competition, and entertainment disputes. He handles all phases of litigation, including trials and appeals. focuses his labor and employment practice on defending clients in a variety of disputes, including cases involving alleged independent contractor misclassification; wrongful termination; harassment; discrimination; wage and hour violations, including single-plaintiff cases, class actions, Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) representative actions, and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective actions; and whistleblower cases. He also advises employers on personnel matters, wage and hour issues, and other compliance issues. He also litigates entertainment industry disputes. He has represented clients in several high-profile, reputation-defining disputes, including matters involving investigations, public relations crises, fraud, and corporate governance issues.

Nick Schuchert was promoted to partner of Troutman Pepper Locke in Orange County. The promotion is effective Jan. 1, 2026.

Schuchert focuses his practice on business litigation, including claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, product liability, and unfair competition. He also represents businesses in a wide variety of class action matters in state and federal courts across the U.S. Schuchert has significant experience defending companies in employment disputes concerning wrongful termination, harassment, wage and hour claims, and trade secrets misappropriation. His clients range from large publicly traded companies to small businesses across industries such as financial services, software, real estate, hospitality, and consumer products manufacturing.

Matthew C. Donahue joined Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP as an associate in Burlingame. The move was Nov. 12, 2025.

Donahue focuses on personal injury, wrongful death, mass torts, and other complex civil litigation. Before joining the firm, Donahue worked as an assistant district attorney in San Francisco where he prosecuted complex felony and domestic violence cases. He has tried nine cases to verdict. He also teaches Trial Advocacy at UC Law San Francisco (formerly Hastings).

Donahue received his J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law and his B.A. from George Washington University. After law school, he clerked for Judge Sally D. Adkins on the Maryland Supreme Court.

Justin Hassani joined Cummins & White, LLP as an associate in Newport Beach. The move was Nov. 3, 2025.

Hassani returns to his home state of California after building a legal career in Florida. He began his legal journey clerking for a county court judge in Coral Gables, Miami, before passing the Florida Bar in 2015. He then joined a prominent firm in the Fort Myers area, where he focused on real property litigation. Following the pandemic, Hassani continued to expand his civil litigation practice on Florida's east coast, honing his expertise in real property, intellectual property, and judgment enforcement matters.

Alessandro Nolfo joined Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP as an associate.

Nolfo's practice includes representing clients in complex business and franchise disputes. Nolfo's extensive experience in business litigation encompasses a wide array of essential skills for effectively navigating the complexities of corporate and franchise disputes. He is adept at representing clients in state and federal court proceedings, including mediation, arbitration, and trials. His experience includes resolving issues related to breach of contract, fraud, intellectual property disputes, and employment law matters. In addition, Nolfo possesses in-depth expertise in drafting and negotiating contracts, ensuring compliance with regulatory frameworks, and managing risk assessments for various business transactions.

Greg Erickson joined Goldberg Segalla as a partner in San Francisco.

Erickson is an accomplished trial and appellate attorney with a wealth of experience representing maritime transportation companies throughout the United States. He has been responsible for legal matters impacting the day-to-day operations of maritime companies from litigation to complex transactional matters, and served as outside general counsel for a maritime operator doing business in the U.S., the Caribbean and South America. For more than 25 years, He has been providing insightful, well-reasoned counsel to individuals and corporations to minimize their legal exposure, building a track record of resolving disputes through negotiation, mediation and litigation.

Bria Myles joined Goldberg Segalla as an associate in Los Angeles.

Myles counsels and defends regional and national retailers, hotels and resorts, restaurants and other businesses in the retail and hospitality industries on a variety of litigated matters, including general liability, premises liability, negligent security, and other claims. She is engaged in all aspects of litigation, preparing cases for filing, conducting depositions, drafting pleadings, motions and briefs, and participating in trials, arbitration and mediation.

Rodney S. Diggs was elected president & managing partner of the Los Angeles office of Ivie McNeill Wyatt Purcell & Diggs. His tenure was effective Aug. 21, 2025.

Diggs joined Ivie McNeill Wyatt Purcell & Diggs, California's oldest Black-owned law firm, as partner in 2016, became a named partner in 2019, and was appointed president & managing partner in 2025. His leadership reflects more than 15 years of distinguished legal practice, national recognition, and a proven track record of extraordinary results. Diggs has secured more than $250 million in verdicts and settlements over his career. His practice encompasses civil rights, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, employment law, sports and entertainment, municipal liability, high-stakes commercial litigation, and international matters. He is known for his strategic insight, courtroom skill, and ability to prevail in cases involving complex facts, public scrutiny, institutional defendants, and substantial damages exposure.