Matthew C. Wallin joined Fisher Phillips LLP as a partner in Woodland Hills.

Wallin has represented clients in industries such as construction, manufacturing, technology, healthcare, and professional services in single-plaintiff and class-wide actions. He has also appeared before various administrative agencies, including the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Industrial Relations, and the Office of Administrative Hearings. In addition, Matt advises clients on implementing best practices to minimize risk and ensures their policies, procedures, and handbooks are up to date with ever-changing employment laws.

Chad Chen was promoted to shareholder of Yoka | Smith, LLP in Los Angeles. The promotion is effective Sept. 22, 2025.

Chen's practice focuses on business litigation, land use and energy disputes, where he has built a reputation for delivering effective strategies and results. His elevation reflects both his commitment to excellence and the firm's continued growth in these key practice areas. He is based in the firm's Los Angeles office and can be reached for client inquiries and consultation. He represents national and multinational clients in a broad range of litigation and advisory matters. His litigation practice includes complex commercial and business disputes, product liability defense and class action defense. He has successfully represented companies of all sizes in high-stakes cases involving contract breaches and terminations, trade secret misappropriation, intellectual property disputes, warranty claims, unfair competition and fraud.

Gaurav B. Kalra joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP as a partner in Sacramento.

Kalra is a trial attorney and has litigated cases before state and federal courts and various administrative agencies, including bench and jury trials. He has extensive experience, including trials, involving the intersection of employee mobility and the protection of intangible assets. He has represented clients in cases involving claims for wage and hour violations, discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, fraud, business interference, trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition and business practices, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty.

Joanne A. Buser was promoted to managing partner of Quarles & Brady LLP's San Diego office.

Buser has been named San Diego office managing partner, effective October 1. She succeeds Fred Plevin, who will continue with the firm as a labor and employment partner. Buser advises employers in a variety of industries, including higher education, on employment law and litigation, investigations of employee complaints, higher education litigation and more.

Justin T. Carter joined Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP as an associate in San Diego.

Carter's practice is shaped by his prior experience representing plaintiffs in complex employment matters. He played a central role in securing a landmark eight-figure verdict in a single-plaintiff sexual harassment trial that withstood post-trial challenges, and has handled high-stakes class action litigation, including a case involving more than 140,000 putative class members.

Paul E. Burns joined JAMS as a neutral in Los Angeles. The move was Sept. 24, 2025.

Burns has presided over 500 arbitrations and 150 mediations, including disputes valued at over $100 million and numerous international cases. From 2023 to 2025, he managed his own nationally recognized legal practice following over 13 years as a partner, arbitrator and mediator at Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP. Before 2010, he worked at Am Law 100 and regional firms, including Steptoe & Johnson and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae. He has also served as an arbitrator and mediator with the American Arbitration Association and the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR), is a Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, and has been recognized by the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center on its Tech List of the world's leading technology neutrals. Based in the Century City and Los Angeles Resolution Centers, Burns will serve as an arbitrator and mediator, handling business and commercial, employment, technology/internet, intellectual property (patent, trade secret, copyright and trademark), entertainment and sports, franchise, health care, life sciences, insurance, cybersecurity and privacy, professional liability, securities, finance, real estate and international disputes. He maintains offices in Los Angeles and Phoenix/Scottsdale and is available to conduct sessions in person or virtually for clients across the country and internationally.

Diana Lerma joined Jackson Lewis P.C. as a principal in Los Angeles.

Lerma's practice focuses on representing employers in workplace law matters, including preventive advice and counseling. She has extensive class action, PAGA and trial experience across the hospitality industry. She is known for her ability to connect with juries and deliver results, successfully representing employers in complex civil litigation matters. Her practice emphasizes not only achieving favorable outcomes but also building enduring partnerships grounded in trust.

Consensus Legal P.C. welcomes Fredrick A. Rafeedie as a partner in Los Angeles.

Rafeedie's litigation practice focuses on real estate, civil tort, and commercial and business litigation matters. He has extensive trial and appellate experience (including California Supreme Court experience) representing both defendants and plaintiffs in a wide variety of cases involving negligence, fraud, false advertising, contract disputes, commercial unlawful detainer, unfair competition, and unfair business practices.

Rafeedie has broad commercial real estate experience. His real estate practice includes real estate acquisition, disposition, and leasing, and he has provided representation to owners, tenants, buyers, sellers, and commercial real estate brokers. His corporate practice includes general business advice and representation from entity formation through dissolution.

Daniel Wu joined Greenberg Traurig, LLP as a shareholder in Los Angeles.

Wu represents emerging growth companies at all stages, and the venture capital and private equity firms and strategic investors that finance them. His work with companies spans the entire corporate life cycle, including advising on formation, governance, financings, commercial arrangements, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions. He closely works with companies in the space and defense and frontier tech industries as well as consumer internet, digital media, software-as-a-service (SaaS), e-commerce, fintech, video games, and digital assets/Web3.

Jessica Jones was promoted to partner of The Urbatsch Law Firm, P.C. The promotion is effective Oct. 1.

Jones works closely with individuals, corporate fiduciaries, and California-licensed private professional fiduciaries across the state who serve as trustees of Special Needs Trusts, assisting clients in selecting the best trustee option for their unique circumstances. She also supports persons with disabilities who need help making important decisions by creating powers of attorney, advance health care directives, and limited conservatorships, always with compassion and a focus on independence.

Edward Han joined Orrick as a partner in Silicon Valley. The move was Sep. 12, 2025.

Han joined Orrick's Financial & Securities Litigation Group. He brings a strong record of winning securities, commercial and fund litigation in federal and state courts, as well as advising on internal investigations and regulatory enforcement matters. He also has significant experience representing clients in investigations initiated by the DOJ, SEC, and other federal and state agencies and self-regulatory organizations. His clients include companies, officers, directors, underwriters, investment advisors, hedge funds, mutual funds and venture capital firms, and his experience spans the tech, life sciences and finance sectors.

Miranda L. Bane joined Goldberg Segalla as a counsel in San Francisco.

Bane advocates for clients in all aspects of employment litigation, including discrimination and harassment claims under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. She also defends matters of unpaid wage, minimum wage, overtime, meal/rest period claims and other claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Drawing on more than six years of experience defending claims against health care providers and residential care facilities, Miranda manages cases from pre-litigation strategy through resolution to achieve the most favorable results for her clients.

Nina Tajalli joined Goldberg Segalla as a counsel in Los Angeles.

Tajalli counsels and defends employers, insurance companies, and third-party administrators in all aspects of the workers’ compensation claims process. She is actively involved throughout the claim – from inception through resolution – including conducting depositions, negotiating settlements, participating in mediations, and drafting petitions and motions. Prior to joining Goldberg Segalla, Nina practiced as a corporate attorney with a focus on privacy and compliance matters, where she translated complex state and federal regulations into clear, actionable policies and procedures, trained executives and staff on privacy and compliance matters, and negotiated data sharing, data transfer and business associate agreements.

Edward S. Chang joined Morrison Foerster as a partner in Los Angeles.

Chang represents institutional clients in all aspects of complex litigation, with an emphasis on high-stakes consumer and commercial litigation. His focus includes cybersecurity and privacy class actions, complicated business disputes, and regulatory investigations and compliance matters. Ed also advises major corporations on complex cybersecurity incidents, including data breaches and ransomware attacks, and is frequently acknowledged as a leading cyber law practitioner in the United States.

Dana Kennedy joined Shartsis Friese LLP as a partner in San Francisco.

Kennedy advises real estate developers, investors, and other clients on a wide range of land use matters and real estate transactions, including zoning, planning, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Her practice focuses on processing entitlements, supervising the preparation and approval of environmental documentation, and negotiating transactional documents associated with land use, project development, and construction, including public/private partnership agreements.

Anne-Leith F.W. Matlock joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP as a partner in San Diego.

Matlock focuses her practice on representing clients in complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis on business disputes, intellectual property matters, and class actions. She has extensive experience handling cases in both state and federal courts, and she is known for her strategic approach to litigation and her commitment to achieving favorable outcomes for her clients. Matlock also advises companies on risk management and pre-litigation strategies, helping them navigate legal challenges with confidence and clarity.

Mayer Brown welcomes Davina Pujari as a partner in San Francisco.

Pujari's practice focuses on environmental and white-collar defense, class and mass actions, False Claims Act litigation, and crisis management. She has acted as lead counsel in high-profile matters under the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, the Superfund law, and other federal and state environmental statutes. Her representative work includes defending a global remediation contractor in parallel False Claims Act and mass tort actions, representing a Class I railroad in derailment-related litigation, and resolving numerous criminal environmental investigations with no charges filed.

Mayer Brown Chris Rheinheimer as a partner in San Francisco.

Rheinheimer represents clients in complex environmental, energy and real-estate litigation, class and mass actions, False Claims Act matters and state and federal enforcement defense. He regularly advises clients on land-use and NEPA/CEQA disputes. His recent matters include defending an environmental remediation contractor in multiple governmental enforcement actions and class actions arising from a Superfund site, representing a railroad in a class action and civil enforcement proceedings following a derailment, securing dismissal of charges for an individual in an Endangered Species Act/Lacey Act prosecution, and successfully challenging voter initiatives that sought to restrict large-scale energy and development projects.

Billy Joe McLain joined Hueston Hennigan LLP as a counsel in Los Angeles.

McLain is a former federal prosecutor whose practice focuses on trial work, white collar defense and investigations, and civil litigation. During his nearly decade-long tenure with the U.S. Attorney's Offices for the Central and Southern Districts of California, he prosecuted complex matters. He served as associate U.S. attorney and senior leadership team member in the Central District, the nation's largest U.S. Attorney's Office. As an assistant U.S. attorney, McLain successfully prosecuted 10 felony jury trials to verdict, including the conviction of a doctor in one of California's largest hospital bribery schemes, a gangster who murdered a civilian, and as part of the trial team in the Southern District's most significant foreign-national campaign finance fraud case in history.

Mai Lin joined Womble Bond Dickinson as a partner in Los Angeles.

Lin has nearly two decades of experience in Chinese intellectual property law, including trademark prosecution, portfolio management, anti-counterfeiting and IP enforcement. Fluent in English and Mandarin, she helps U.S. companies navigate the legal, linguistic, and cultural complexities of the Chinese legal system.

Having lived and practiced in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong for over a decade, Lin has advised multinational clients across industries - including fashion and apparel, electronics, software, toys, food and beverage, oil and gas, retail, gaming, hospitality, and entertainment - on protecting and enforcing their IP rights in China. Her practice spans trademark prosecution, enforcement, anti-counterfeiting, registry disputes, and commercial IP transactions. She has helped many companies reclaim trademarks from squatters and develop proactive strategies to safeguard their portfolios.

Brian L Johnsrud was elected vice chair of the firm's employment, labor, benefits and immigration practice group of the Silicon Valley office of Duane Morris LLP. Their tenure is effective Sep. 1, 2025.

Johnsrud, who will assume the role of chair on Jan. 1, is managing partner of the firm's Silicon Valley office and a member of its governing Partners Board. He has represented companies in their most challenging employment law matters for more than 25 years. Johnsrud defends companies in multiple forums, from agency proceedings and hearings to arbitration and litigation. He has achieved more than a dozen winning arbitration awards. Johnsrud gives specific litigation recommendations, from strategy calls to settlement authority, and does so in a cost-effective and results-oriented manner. He defends a wide variety of claims, from whistleblower/retaliation claims to gender, age and race discrimination cases as well as executive contract and compensation matters. Johnsrud has defended many PAGA actions as well as other wage-and-hour claims. He is a frequent advisor on sensitive investigations and executive separations. Johnsrud focuses his client representation in the technology, finance, and bioscience and life sciences industries. He has worked on employment law issues for artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, clean energy, communications, electronic gaming, hardware, internet, medical devices, mobile devices, semiconductors, software and transportation companies. Johnsrud has worked with startups and mid-size companies, as well as many of the largest technology companies in the world. He speaks and writes on employment law trends, especially those facing technology companies.

Edward S. Chang joined Morrison & Foerster LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Chang represents institutional clients in all aspects of complex litigation, with an emphasis on high-stakes consumer and commercial litigation. His focus includes cybersecurity and privacy class actions, complicated business disputes, and regulatory investigation and compliance matters. Chang also advises major corporations on complex cybersecurity incidents, including data breaches and ransomware attacks, and is frequently acknowledged as a leading cyber law practitioner in the United States.

Joseph H. Lee joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Lee has managed all phases of intellectual property litigation, from developing initial case strategy, through discovery and motion practice and to trial. Prior to becoming a lawyer, he worked as an engineer at Boeing for several years where he designed, developed and tested communication satellite systems.

Micaela P. Banach joined Nukk-Freeman & Cerra, PC as a partner in San Diego.

Banach has over two decades of considerable litigation experience representing clients in all types of employment cases, and she has also handled a variety of business conflicts and professional liability disputes throughout her career. A dedicated community leader, Banach spent six years serving on the Board of Directors for the San Diego County Bar Foundation, an organization focused on providing access to justice and promoting public understanding of the legal system. She served as the organization's president in 2017 and has also been involved in the San Diego County Bar Association, the American Inns of Court - Louis M. Welsh chapter, and Lawyers Club of San Diego. In addition to California, Banach is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Central, Northern, and Southern Districts of California, and the District of Colorado.

Offit Kurman, PC welcomes Ori S. Blumenfeld as a principal in Los Angeles.

Ori represents debtors, trustees, and both secured and unsecured creditors in bankruptcy courts. He also serves as general or special counsel to federal and state receivers appointed in matters involving equity disputes, family law, rents and profits, health and safety issues, and regulatory actions. His work often extends to guiding partition referees, successor trustees, and provisional directors in navigating property and business disputes. In addition, he has substantial litigation experience defending and prosecuting civil claims on behalf of receivers and businesses, giving him a strong command of the courtroom when cases require it.

Paul Sweeney joined Arnold & Porter as a partner in Los Angeles. The move was Sep. 3, 2025.

Sweeney defends clients in individual and class actions alleging unfair business practices and privacy law violations. His practice involves commercial contracts, consumer contracts, business torts, civil rights, and various federal and state statutes and regulations, and he regularly handles employment arbitrations and lawsuits involving claims of discrimination, wage-hour violations, wrongful termination, and theft of trade secrets. Sweeney's background spans industries, including entertainment, financial services, food and beverage, healthcare, manufacturing, retailing, and technology. He earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School and his B.S. from the University of Southern California, cum laude.

Josh Patashnik joined Perkins Coie LLP as a partner in San Diego.

Patashnik brings to his practice a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of appellate litigation. As a deputy solicitor general at the California Department of Justice, Josh worked on many of the state's most complex and consequential matters, with a particular focus on litigation in the U.S. Supreme Court and the California Supreme Court. He routinely served as the lead drafter of briefs and argued more than a dozen cases at all levels of the federal and state judiciary. His experience spans a wide range of substantive legal areas, including constitutional and administrative law, federal preemption, environmental law, and antitrust and unfair competition.

Chad W. Firetag joined JAMS as a neutral in Riverside. The move was Aug. 26, 2025.

Judge Firetag joined the Riverside County Superior Court in 2015. From 2022 to 2025, he was the supervising civil judge of the Superior Court, where he oversaw the administration and management of the Civil Division. From 2020 to 2025, he served on the Superior Court's Appellate Division, where he became the presiding judge in 2022. Judge Firetag presided over a broad spectrum of civil matters, including employment disputes, commercial litigation, business conflicts, breach of contract cases, catastrophic personal injury claims and environmental matters.

Based in the Inland Empire Resolution Center, Judge Firetag is available to conduct sessions in person, as well as virtually, for clients across California and the United States. He will serve as a mediator, arbitrator, referee and neutral evaluator, handling automotive, business and commercial, cannabis, civil rights, elder abuse and fraud, employment, environmental, family law, governmental and public agency, insurance, personal injury, professional liability, real property, and sexual abuse and assault matters.

Before joining the Superior Court, Judge Firetag served as an assistant public defender in Riverside County from 2013 to 2015. Prior to his public service, he established himself as a skilled trial attorney, successfully taking more than 35 cases to verdict. His combination of trial advocacy experience, comprehensive judicial background and proven leadership in court administration uniquely positions him to serve those seeking efficient resolutions.