Ramez Krishnan joined Hahn & Hahn LLP as a partner in Pasadena. The move was April 27, 2026.

Krishnan advises private equity funds, family offices, venture and growth investors, founders, startups and operating companies on mergers and acquisitions, equity financings, buyouts, minority investments, joint ventures and other corporate matters. He also represents management teams and executives in buyouts and equity compensation matters. He previously practiced at AmLaw 50 firms in California and London, where he handled domestic and cross-border transactions.

John Rockwell joined Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP as a partner in Silicon Valley.

Rockwell works closely with early-stage and late-stage companies on a wide range of corporate matters. He advises founders and companies on entity formation, venture capital, equity and debt financings and related transactions, as well as mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance matters. He also advises U.S. investors on a range of financing and investment transactions. He also works with international-based founders, companies and investors--most notably in Latin America--in connection with corporate restructurings and cross-border investments, financings and acquisitions.

Jamie L. Gross joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner in San Diego.

Gross represents employers in state and federal courts and before agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the California Civil Rights Department. Her practice includes wage-and-hour litigation involving unpaid wages, overtime, meal and rest breaks, reimbursement claims, wage statements and misclassification, as well as disputes involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination and breach of contract. She also advises employers on workplace policies, wage-and-hour compliance, investigations, hiring and termination practices, leaves of absence and disability accommodations.

Seth B. Herring joined Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP as a partner in San Francisco.

Herring is a trial lawyer who handles intellectual property and commercial litigation, including patent, trademark, trade dress, copyright and related business disputes. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in patent cases in federal courts nationwide and before the International Trade Commission, involving technologies such as software, hardware, wireless networks, cybersecurity and medical devices. He also represents clients in trademark and trade dress disputes involving industries including food and beverage, household goods, hospitality, apparel and engineering, in both federal court and proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Christine M. Morgan joined Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP as a partner in San Francisco.

Morgan is a first-chair intellectual property and commercial trial lawyer who defends companies in patent infringement cases involving computer hardware and software. Her clients include companies in video games, fintech, ride sharing, consumer electronics, Wi-Fi semiconductors, health care software and wireless security cameras. She has handled cases in the Eastern District of Texas, Northern District of California, Eastern District of Virginia, the International Trade Commission and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Her work includes Section 101 patent-invalidity defenses, including cases involving multifactor user verification and bedside-machine data displays.

Andrew J. Sokolowski joined FordHarrison LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Sokolowski's practice focuses on defending class actions and representative actions, including claims brought under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). He advises clients on a wide range of employment issues, including employee classification, wage and hour compliance, overtime and compensation disputes, meal and rest period requirements, wage statement compliance, and expense reimbursement obligations.

Simone McCormick joined Clark Hill as a member in San Francisco. The move was May 14, 2026.

McCormick represents companies across a range of industries in high-stakes litigation, regulatory investigations, and incident response matters involving data privacy, cybersecurity, and emerging technology risks. Her practice includes defending clients in consumer class actions, privacy and technology litigation, managing responses to data breaches and cyber incidents, and counseling organizations on compliance with state, federal, and international privacy laws.

Sarah Kern was promoted to partner of CunninghamLegal in San Rafael

Kern, a Certified Specialist in Estate, Trust and Probate Law, advises families, business owners and individuals on estate planning, wealth transfer and business succession matters. Her practice includes advising same-sex couples on estate and planning issues.

Joseph Balice joined Barnes & Thornburg LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Balice focuses his practice exclusively on insurance recovery, representing policyholders when insurance companies deny, delay, or underpay claims. With nearly two decades of experience spanning virtually all lines of commercial and professional insurance, he has helped clients recover on their insurance policies in a wide range of industries. His practice spans the full spectrum of insurance recovery work -- from assisting individual policyholders and homeowners secure coverage after a loss to representing publicly traded corporations in billion-dollar catastrophic exposure cases.

Kim T. Le joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Le advises clients on privacy, data security and cybersecurity matters, with a focus on healthcare and life sciences transactions. She counsels provider organizations, technology companies, sponsors and strategic buyers on regulatory compliance, data breach preparedness and privacy and security diligence involving HIPAA, CCPA/CPRA and HBNR. She is based in the firm's Los Angeles and Bay Area offices.

Aron Estaver joined Arnold & Porter as a partner in San Francisco. The move was May 8, 2026.

Estaver advises U.S. and international fund sponsors on the formation and operation of private investment funds, including private equity, venture capital, credit, hedge, real estate and infrastructure funds. He also advises on secondary funds, funds of funds, co-investment vehicles, joint ventures, separately managed accounts and other fund structures. His practice includes sponsor-side fund formation and investor negotiations, as well as representing institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and high-net-worth investors in private fund investments.

Travis Jang-Busby joined Foley & Lardner as a partner in San Diego.

Jang‑Busby advises companies and management on a wide range of matters, including labor, employment, and commercial disputes. His practice covers emerging companies to Fortune 50 organizations in a host of industries, including health care, defense, manufacturing, and biotech. His practice centers on navigating complex employment and commercial challenges, combining strategic guidance with deep experience managing high‑stakes litigation.

Albert Valencia joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a shareholder in Los Angeles. The move was May 7, 2026.

Valencia's real estate practice is informed by his strong business foundation as a former consultant and as a co-founder of two startups. He advises clients on structuring complex real estate transactions and related business matters, serving as lead counsel to developers, operators, private equity investors and lenders in acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures and syndications, commercial leasing, financing, loan modifications, workouts and restructurings. Clients look to Albert for his experience in a wide range of real estate asset classes including multifamily, industrial, retail and office properties, as well as specialty sectors such as industrial outdoor storage, life sciences and build-to-rent communities. He regularly represents clients in joint ventures, structured finance transactions (including CMBS, mezzanine debt and preferred equity) and ongoing asset management.

Joshua Loeb joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a shareholder in Los Angeles. The move was May 7, 2026.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is pleased to announce Joshua Loeb, a partner from Ervin Cohen & Jessup, will be joining the firm as a shareholder in Brownstein's Real Estate Department in Los Angeles. 

Zeeshan Ahmedani joined Proskauer as a partner in Los Angekes. The move was May 5, 2026.

Ahmedani is a highly regarded private funds lawyer with nearly 30 years of experience advising sponsors across private equity, venture capital, and real assets. His arrival expands and strengthens Proskauer's private funds capabilities and bolsters the Firm's private capital platform, including its Private Equity Transactions, Fund Finance, and Real Assets practices.

Julie Zaligson joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a shareholder in Los Angeles. The move was May 7, 2026.

Zaligson focuses on real estate transactions, offering comprehensive support to property owners, sponsors, developers, and borrowers. Her clients range from national investment companies to medium-sized operators, and closely held businesses. With a focus on purchases, sales, joint ventures, and financing, Julie ensures that her clients achieve their objectives in an ever-evolving real estate landscape. Her pragmatic approach enables clients to navigate complex transactions effectively and align legal strategies with their business goals. Julie brings extensive experience across a wide range of property classes, including commercial office, retail, and mixed-use projects; development of industrial, healthcare, and charter school facilities; and multifamily projects.

Stephen P. Pfahler joined ADR Services, Inc. as a neutral in Los Angeles. The move was May 4, 2026.

Pfahler was a judge for more than 20 years and was a litigator for more than 35 years. During his judicial tenure, he presided over hundreds of trials and successfully resolved more than 500 civil cases, most recently serving for 15 years in a Civil Independent Calendar court. Widely regarded as one of the court's most effective settlement judges, his colleagues frequently referred their most difficult, impasse-bound cases to him. He is known for his thoughtful, facilitative approach, strong people skills, and ability to guide parties through challenging disputes toward resolution.

Bryan Ikegami joined Reed Smith as a partner in Los Angeles.

Ikegami represents numerous private equity funds and their broad range of portfolio companies, as well as other public and private companies, in complex domestic and cross-border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, financing transactions, restructurings, and recapitalizations. Additionally, he advises sponsors and their portfolio companies on corporate governance, executive compensation and equity incentive arrangements, and general corporate matters.

Christina S. Chang joined Barnes & Thornburg LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Chang is a go-to advisor for creators, talent, brands, and platforms building and monetizing brands and intellectual property across the creator economy, entertainment, and sports. She structures high-impact commercial deals--including advertising and endorsement partnerships, licensing, and multi-platform ventures--and advises across media, technology, consumer products, fashion, e-commerce, wellness and beauty, art, and data privacy. Drawing on deep creator economy experience and a background in licensing and intellectual property valuation, Chang helps clients turn ideas and influence into scalable, durable businesses across evolving platforms.

Carron Joan Mitchell joined Barnes & Thornburg LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

A significant focus of Mitchell's practice involves business development and strategy for talent, athletes, and founders. She works with talent to build and launch new business enterprises, including record labels, distribution companies, publishing companies, creative and marketing agencies, consumer brands, and athlete-led enterprises. She advises clients at every stage and across a range of career verticals to build a durable foundation for long-term growth, not only as creative professionals, but as brands and businesses.

Matthew R. Follett was promoted to partner of Fox Rothschild LLP in Los Angeles.

Follett litigates a broad cross-section of business, contract-related, and other claims in state and federal courts and before arbitration panels. His clients span a diverse crosscut of industries, ranging from early-stage entrepreneurs and the ultra-wealthy to Fortune 500 financial institutions and other multinational companies. He has been published on issues relating to repose and state borrowing statutes and has guest lectured on legal and equitable remedies at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

Meeghan H. Tirtasaputra was promoted to partner of Fox Rothschild LLP in Los Angeles.

Tirtasaputra assists clients in resolving their litigation needs, focusing on commercial, intellectual property, entertainment, and appellate matters. With both trial and appellate experience, she is adept at protecting clients’ immediate interests while also anticipating future risks and opportunities. Entertainment industry clients count on Her for sophisticated advice on copyright, trademark and other intellectual property matters as well as deal negotiation and litigation prevention, informed by an insider perspective on the business she acquired as a former actress and musician. She also guides clients through a full range of IP transactions and prosecution matters, including trademark enforcement, such as opposing proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the USPTO; drafting and negotiating trademark and copyright agreements; and domain name and social media disputes.

Richard Shamos joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as a partner in Los Angeles. The move was May 6, 2026.

Shamos has joined the firm as a partner in its investment management practice and funds group in Los Angeles, deepening its integrated platform for sponsors raising, structuring and deploying private credit and alternative capital at a time when evergreen vehicles and insurance capital are reshaping the market.

Shamos advises sponsors building credit‑focused fund platforms, including private credit and direct lending vehicles, evergreen and hybrid structures, and insurance‑rated note feeders. He also brings significant experience advising buyout and growth capital sponsors, extending Akin's bench in an increasingly integrated market.

Sarah Tauman joined Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP as a partner in Sacramento.

Tauman counsels clients through employment issues at each stage of the corporate lifecycle, including structuring executive employment arrangements, addressing performance management and terminations, ensuring proper worker classification, managing wage-and-hour compliance, and navigating leave and ADA accommodation obligations. She also advises on reductions-in-force, employee mobility, and the development of personnel policies. Her work often intersects with complex corporate transactions, including private equity investments, capital markets activity, and mergers and acquisitions. Tauman's guidance balances legal requirements with practical business considerations, helping clients manage risk while supporting their operational goals.

Rami S. Yanni joined Jeffer Mangels & Mitchell LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Yanni has more than 30 years of experience advising multinational companies, emerging growth businesses, and individuals on intellectual property, media, entertainment, and technology matters. His practice focuses on intellectual property transactions, licensing, portfolio strategy and management, enforcement and anti-piracy matters, entertainment and digital media transactions, content acquisition, licensing and distribution, consumer products licensing, e-commerce, advertising and promotions, celebrity endorsement agreements, and M&A due diligence. Over the course of his career, he has negotiated hundreds of license, distribution, acquisition, and commercial agreements across a wide range of industries, including motion picture, television, music, software, video games, publishing, apparel, footwear, cosmetics, consumer electronics, food and beverage, toys, theme parks, and sporting goods.

 Gail I. Nevius Abbas joined Jeffer Mangels & Mitchell LLP as of counsel in San Francisco.

Nevius Abbas works closely with clients to develop and implement trademark registration and policing strategies in the United States and abroad. She manages large domestic and international trademark portfolios for companies across a wide range of industries, including apparel and other consumer goods, food and beverage, health and fitness, vitamins and dietary supplements, toy and games, educational services, venture capital and financial services, and computer software and hardware solutions for the automotive, insurance, and data security industries.

Jennifer A. Golinveaux joined Alston & Bird LLP as a partner in San Francisco and Palo Alto. The move was May 4, 2026.

Golinveaux is an intellectual property litigator representing technology, media, and consumer-brand clients in copyright, trademark, and related disputes. Her work includes defending internet service providers and online platforms in large copyright cases, obtaining rulings under the DMCA safe-harbor provisions, and handling matters involving digital media and online marketplaces. She also works on trademark enforcement, trade dress, false advertising, cybersquatting, and product design litigation, with results including dismissals, injunctions, and appellate decisions.

Golinveaux was one of three new partners who joined Alston & Bird's IP Litigation Group. The other two, Michael Elkin and Sean Anderson, are in New York.

Sydne N. Alexander joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP as a partner in Sacramento.

Alexander is an attorney with more than 14 years of experience, focusing on representing employers in workplace law matters, including preventive advice and counseling, and has demonstrated strengths in advocacy, legal writing and research, and client relations.

Dr. Maria-Vittoria Carminati joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP as a partner in Sacramento.

Carminati is a litigation attorney with more than 17 years of experience handling complex commercial and contract disputes in federal and state courts, with experience in large-scale discovery, trial preparation, litigation strategy, and first- and second-chair federal trials, and is admitted in California, New York, Texas, the District of Columbia, Colorado, and Oregon.

Yelitza V. Dunham joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP as a partner in Walnut Creek.

Dunham has more than 20 years of experience advising on insurance coverage matters, including cybersecurity, privacy, and intellectual property risks, and litigating disputes involving D&O, E&O, property, general liability, fiduciary, professional liability, and life insurance in arbitration and state and federal courts, with experience in trials, appeals, and resolving complex disputes, and is admitted in California and the U.S. District Courts for all four California districts.

Whitnee P. Goins joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP as a partner in Sacramento.

Goins is a trial attorney with federal and state court experience representing employers in litigation involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and wage-and-hour disputes, and is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and state prosecutor with trial and supervisory experience, admitted in California and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Jonathan K. Ross joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP as a partner in Sacramento.

Ross is a trial attorney focused on complex federal litigation, including class actions and regulatory disputes, and previously spent more than a decade with the U.S. Department of Justice as senior litigation counsel, with experience in district courts and courts of appeals, and is admitted in North Carolina, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jason Russell joined Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Russell is the head of the newly opened Los Angeles office. He represents a wide variety of clients in commercial litigation in federal and state courts throughout the country, as well as in international forums. He has earned a reputation as an adept litigator with particular experience in some of the most high-profile cases in the sports and entertainment field, as well as in complex class actions. He has extensive experience and takes an innovative approach to all aspects of complex litigation, ranging from jury trials and appellate arguments to mediation and arbitration.

Robert L. Uriarte joined Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Uriarte focuses on software, security technologies, and internet and digital crime law, advising companies on intellectual property, security, incident response, anti-piracy and licensing compliance programs, and digital enforcement matters.

Suparna Datta joined Buchalter as a partner in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The move was April 29, 2026.

Dr. Datta is a patent litigator and registered patent attorney with extensive experience representing clients in complex, high‑tech disputes before the International Trade Commission, federal district courts, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In addition to her litigation practice, Dr. Datta advises clients on intellectual property issues in complex mergers and acquisitions, including leading open‑source software audits, advising on representations and warranties insurance claims, and conducting IP asset valuation and risk analyses.