Frank Busch joined Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Busch is an experienced litigator who has represented parties of every size in complex trial and appellate matters. He has experience with all phases of discovery, motion practice, mediation, arbitration, trial, and appeal, including leading successful trial teams and winning oral arguments before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Brandon Rainey was promoted to partner of Duane Morris LLP in Palo Alto.

Rainey is a litigator who handles high-stakes disputes for large domestic and international corporate clients in the technology, financial services, infrastructure and manufacturing industries. His practice currently focuses on defending employers in cases involving all types of employment-related claims, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, defamation, breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets. Rainey also has deep experience representing corporations in complex commercial disputes involving contract, tort, product liability, intellectual property and regulatory disputes.

Ryan C. Smith was promoted to partner of Duane Morris LLP in San Diego.

Smith has extensive experience in intellectual property due diligence and U.S. and international patent prosecution in the areas of biotechnology and chemical arts. In addition, Smith has experience in matters directed to noninfringement, invalidity and freedom-to-operate analyses, as well as intellectual property due diligence associated with mergers/acquisitions, public offerings and private equity investments.

Gretchen Tomanek Shaffer was promoted to partner of Duane Morris LLP in San Diego.

Shaffer focuses her practice on a wide variety of estate planning matters, primarily in the context of the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax, revocable and irrevocable trust planning, estate, and trust administration, life insurance planning, charitable planning, and intra-family transactions.

Karen L. Alexander was promoted to partner of Duane Morris LLP in San Diego.

Alexander focuses on white-collar criminal defense and business litigation. She has tried more than 20 cases to verdict, including numerous jury and bench trials in federal court and multiweek arbitrations.

Joseph R. Dunn joined Covington & Burling LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Dunn is a seasoned bankruptcy attorney and creditor rights litigator who has developed a unique practice representing creditors and insolvency fiduciaries and pursuing asset recovery, judgment enforcement, and litigation in the insolvency arena. His broad-ranging restructuring and litigation practice draws on his significant experience with complex bankruptcy cases, creditor rights litigation, bankruptcy litigation, and other work in insolvency scenarios.

Abigail O'Brient joined Covington & Burling LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

O'Brient's wide-ranging restructuring and creditor rights litigation practice focuses on the representation of secured and unsecured creditors in insolvency cases and other proceedings nationwide. She routinely represents parties in litigation related to insolvency and distressed debt in state and federal court, as well as purchasers and sellers of distressed assets and fiduciaries in bankruptcy cases and other insolvency matters.

Alex Westerfield was promoted to partner of Nossaman in San Francisco.

Westerfield has represented public agencies, businesses, and individuals as plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of federal and state proceedings. His practice generally focuses on helping public agencies navigate complex statutory schemes in areas of intense public scrutiny. He has particular expertise in the administration of public pension systems.

W. Stephen Wilson joined Haynes & Boone LLP as senior counsel in San Francisco.

Wilson's practice focuses on complex, value-added urban mixed-use projects and joint ventures, with a recent focus on project planning in Qualified Opportunity Zones. Another longtime focus of Wilson's is assisting nonprofit or charitable organizations (including religious organizations) seeking to monetize their land holdings in a way that incorporates a charitable or public benefit.

Julian Gurule joined O'Melveny & Myers LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Gurule has guided clients for 16 years through the full range of distressed and bankruptcy matters -- from in-court and out-of-court restructurings to bankruptcy and distressed financings, M&A, and litigation. His practice spans an array of industries that align with O'Melveny's strengths, including entertainment, hospitality, health care, energy, and manufacturing. He also has extensive experience in the financial services, corporate finance, and private equity sectors.

Gordon C. Young joined Frost Brown Todd LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Gordon has three decades of experience trying and arbitrating cases for Fortune 500 companies, banks, trustees, individuals, and investment advisors. These cases include securities, trusts & estates, probate, employment, unfair competition, trade secrets, and personal injury cases in court and arbitration.

Victoria M. Manfredonia joined Hahn Loeser & Parks as associate in San Diego.

Manfredonia is a member of the firm's Litigation Group. She represents clients in a variety of commercial matters, including privacy and data litigation and advising, business torts, and contract and shareholder disputes, among others. Prior to joining Hahn Loeser, Manfredonia was a litigation associate at a leading Midwest firm. She additionally worked in corporate bankruptcy, representing trustees and debtors in possession in avoidance action litigation.

Eric Kennedy was promoted to office managing shareholder of Buchalter in Orange County.

Kennedy handles real estate disputes involving owners, developers, landlords, and commercial tenants. He also regularly represents clients in disputes involving corporate financing, governance, and operations. He has significant experience defending consumer class actions and handling disputes involving contracts, unfair competition, and fiduciary relationships. Kennedy represents clients in a variety of industries, including technology, retail, apparel, social media, consumer products, and automotive.

Carol H. Wang joined Shartsis Friese LLP as senior counsel in San Francisco.

Wang most recently served as Legislation Counsel for the Joint Committee on Taxation. Before serving Congress, she was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis in its Tax Department. She has extensive experience in a broad array of tax matters with special expertise in investment fund formations and offerings, sponsor liquidity and minority investment transactions, fund- and sponsor-level tax considerations arising from investments, and sponsor-level economic and tax planning and structuring.

Sarah Evans joined Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP as partner in San Diego.

Evans has been practicing law for over two decades and regularly provides employment law advice to local employers to assist their compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations. She counsels employers on issues including preventing harassment and hostile work environment claims, wage and hour compliance, and disciplinary actions. Her litigation work includes defending lawsuits and claims filed by individual employees, and she also regularly defends clients in class and representative action cases involving employment and wage issues.

Vasti S. Montiel joined Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP as associate in Burlingame.

Montiel's practice focuses on consumer protection class actions, commercial litigation, and securities.

Jad Terrell Davis was promoted to office managing partner of Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP in Orange County.

Davis successfully represents clients ranging from family-owned businesses to multinational corporations across diverse industries in environmental disputes. He has been with Shook since 2019. Shook has three offices in California including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orange County, which opened in 2003. Orange County attorneys and professional staff work with community groups including Women Helping Women, Families Forward, Project Self, Orange County Coalition for Diversity in the Law and the Public Law Center Federal Pro Se Clinic-Southern Division.

Ulrick T. Matsunaga was promoted to associate of Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson LLP (CGS3) in San Diego.

Matsunaga is part of CGS3's entity formation and tax practice group and concentrates his practice on commercial real estate and tax law. Providing transactional support to enable varied business objectives, Matsunaga partners with clients to achieve creative, ethical, and balanced solutions to complex business challenges.

Dmitriy Kopelevich was promoted to member of Dykema Gossett PLLC. in Los Angeles.

Kopelevich has significant experience with automotive product liability cases involving airbags, seat belts, seats, structure, advance safety systems, vehicle data recording, data privacy, driver distraction, and "lack of" safety systems matters. He also serves as a member of the national discovery counsel team for a global automobile manufacturer. His practice also includes focus on advanced automotive safety technologies and he serves as a member of the firm-wide Electric and Autonomous Vehicles (E/AV) and Advanced Mobility team.

Zagros S. Bassirian was promoted to partner of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP in San Diego.

Bassirian's practice primarily focuses on corporate and commercial litigation and representing plaintiffs in serious injury and wrongful death matters. He represents clients in complex and high stakes business disputes in both state and federal court.

Steven Casselberry was promoted to partner of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP in Orange County.

Casselberry represents clients in the financial services, real estate and title insurance industries. His financial services clients include community and regional banks, as well as mortgage bankers, brokers, lenders and investors. His legal services include mitigation, litigation, bankruptcy, foreclosure, and loan and fraud investigation matters as well as business venture formations, problem loan workouts and acquisition of loans in bulk. With his deal-making and litigation experience, creditors often recruit him to resolve complex disputes and recover millions from debtors.

Shai Larkin was promoted to partner of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP in San Diego.

Larkin represents companies from formation through exit, servicing them throughout their lifecycle, including initial organizational matters, and seed and subsequent debt and equity financings. With emerging growth and later-stage companies, Shai handles corporate governance matters, employment agreements and executive compensation packages, services agreements and strategic partnership agreements and other commercial agreements.

John C. Miles was promoted to partner of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP in San Diego.

Miles serves clients through domestic business and tax planning. He assists in the development of business transactions including general matters; financing structures; mergers and acquisitions and strategic joint ventures with significant experience working in the healthcare field. He has extensive experience planning tax-free reorganizations, advising on the choice of entity, and on the effectiveness of S corporation elections. He previously was a licensed stock broker at a financial firm in Point Loma.

Sarah L. Taylor was promoted to partner of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP in San Diego.

Taylor's practice focuses exclusively on family law matters, including all divorce proceeding issues, legal separation, parentage matters, child custody and visitation, move-away/relocation cases, grandparent visitation, child and spousal support, restraining orders, contempt actions, characterization issues, reimbursements, and post-judgment modifications. She represents parties in cases ranging from simple dissolutions to complex divorce cases. She works closely with each client to determine the best avenue to follow, with a primary focus on achieving an outcome that is fair and reasonable for the client. She has extensive experience representing clients in mediation as well as litigation proceedings.

Eleno Núñez Gonzalez joined Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel as associate in San Jose.

Gonzalez's practice includes litigating complex employment law matters and focuses on providing advice and counsel to employers regarding California's Labor Code, Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and various regulations. He has expertise in handling all phases of discovery, law, and motion and bringing or defending claims arising from the FEHA or Labor Code, including the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).

Jacklin Rad joined Fisher & Phillips LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Rad advises employers across the state of California on the rapidly changing workplace laws, including pay transparency and regular rate calculations. She also provides guidance on workplace investigations. She also formerly served in the California Labor Commissioner's Office as Senior Deputy Labor Commissioner, where she oversaw deputies' casework across six district offices and helped the Labor Commissioner develop agency positions on policy and enforcement.

Remington Lenton-Young joined Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel as shareholder in San Jose.

Lenton-Young's practice focuses on complex commercial civil litigation, including patent, trademark, trade secrets, licensing, class action, antitrust, and unfair competition. He has successfully represented international and U.S. clients in both state, federal, and appellate courts.

Heather L. Boshears joined Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel as shareholder in San Jose.

Boshears' practice is focused on estate planning and trust administration. Heather guides clients through the development of basic and complex estate plans presenting decisions in an understandable format and providing counsel in the decision-making process. She explains the various income and transfers taxes at play, including estate, income, and real property taxes. She considers her clients’ values and circumstances and suggests strategies to help them achieve their goals.

Zane A. Bryant was promoted to partner of Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP in San Diego.

Bryant is an immigration attorney representing clients with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of State and the Department of Labor. Bryant's practice focuses on employment-based solutions for immigration needs, encompassing PERM labor certifications, adjustment status and naturalization applications, consular processing, and nonimmigrant petitions. He is also a part of the firm's newly launched Gig Economy practice group. Bryant also works on several immigration cases pro bono, representing those seeking asylum or other temporary protected status and DACA applicants.

Kyle W. Nageotte was promoted to partner of Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP in San Diego.

Nageotte is an employment law and business litigator, representing employers in a broad range of employment law matters, including claims involving class actions, discrimination, wage and hour disputes, retaliation, wrongful termination, trade secrets, and the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Nageotte is a past chair of the California Young Lawyers Association (CYLA). He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Downtown San Diego Partnership.

Jacob T. Spaid was promoted to partner of Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP in San Diego.

Spaid's practice focuses primarily on business and tort litigation. He has successfully represented clients at all stages of litigation, including through trial and at the California Court of Appeal and the Federal Court of Appeals for the 9th, 2nd, and 5th Circuits. Spaid is active in the San Diego legal community and mentors students at San Diego State University and California Western School of Law.

Katy Spillers joined Locke Lord LLP as equity partner in Los Angeles.

Spillers handles a broad range of corporate matters for emerging growth and middle-market companies, including mergers and acquisitions, financings and joint ventures. She represents clients in a wide variety of industries, but she has vast knowledge and experience advising branded consumer products, technology/new media and entertainment companies with a focus on representing CEOs and founders.

Christiane Sinclair joined Hinshaw & Culbertson as senior counsel in San Francisco.

Sinclair handles insurance coverage matters, bad faith litigation, and commercial litigation related to construction and toxic tort claims. She also advises insurers on compliance with regulations related to claims handling practices, fraud investigations, roadside assistance programs, and training requirements.

H. Gregory Nelch joined Hinshaw & Culbertson as senior counsel in San Francisco.

Nelch has a proven record of success representing corporations, individuals, and government entities in personal injury, product liability, and professional negligence disputes in court trials, arbitrations, and mediations. He has significant experience in personal injury cases, including fatal injuries and severe disabilities.

Marcus N. McElhenney joined Hinshaw & Culbertson as senior counsel in San Francisco.

McElhenney has nearly a decade of experience as a trial attorney representing individuals, businesses, and international corporations in personal injury, product liability, construction defect, premises liability, and real estate cases. McElhenney also has experience in complex toxic tort lawsuits and class-action matters. He handles a broad range of legal disputes related to business and also advises on regulatory compliance matters.

Rebecca D. Martino joined Hinshaw & Culbertson as partner in San Francisco.

Martino has represented individuals, insurers, and companies of all sizes in state and federal court cases involving bad faith, insurance coverage, catastrophic injury, and real estate matters. Her practice focuses primarily on bad faith litigation, real estate matters, and complex insurance coverage, including litigation, preparation of coverage opinions, advising insurance companies on fraud investigations, and policy drafting. She has also successfully handled appeals in bad-faith litigation and insurance coverage cases. Martino's experience, negotiation skills, and pragmatic approach enable her to effectively resolve cases for clients.

R. Wardell Loveland joined Hinshaw & Culbertson as partner in San Francisco.

Loveland represents clients in a broad spectrum of litigation, appellate, and insurance services matters, including administrative proceedings. In class action and multi-district (MDL) matters, He primarily represents insurers in the defense of lawsuits arising out of claims handling and business practices. He has successfully defended judgment matters ranging from contested auto body labor rates, computer-based claims evaluation tools, total loss valuation, policy interpretation, premium setting, and claims and business processes.

Min K. Kang joined Hinshaw & Culbertson as partner in Los Angeles.

Kang is an experienced legal analyst, advisor, and litigator adept in various areas, including business litigation, insurance, appellate, class action, contract, transportation, trucking, aviation, cannabis, e-commerce, and privacy matters. She also has particular experience in complex coverage disputes and toxic tort litigation. In addition, Kang handles regulatory and administrative law issues. She is also a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US). She represents a broad range of clients, from large-scale national corporations to small local businesses to private individuals. With her considerable experience, she delivers positive results by developing legal solutions that span multiple jurisdictions and deliverables while managing risks and ensuring compliance.

Jessica L. Garland was promoted to partner of Newmeyer & Dillion in Newport Beach.

Garland's practice consists of both compliance advice and litigation work on behalf of employers. She serves clients representing a wide range of industries, including medical, manufacturing, agricultural, hospitality, fitness, beauty, financial, real estate, and construction.

Paul Tobin joined Haynes & Boone LLP as partner in Orange County.

Tobin represents companies of all sizes, from those in the earliest stages of development to large global entities. He provides advice through the entire company life cycle, from initial organization and corporate governance to capital raising, the development of contracts to meet company needs, and through to later stage extraordinary transactions such as joint ventures, partnerships, and mergers and acquisitions with the client as both the buyer and the seller. He has had a long career in global business in both in-house and outside counsel roles and has represented companies in North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

Tereza L. Callender joined Law Offices of James Crosby as associate in San Diego.

Callender graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in May of 2023. She spent four years working as a paralegal, supporting attorneys in corporate immigration and insurance defense litigation prior to beginning law school. During law school, she was involved in the National Lawyers Guild and the Women's Law Caucus.