James Sargent joined Glaser Weil LLP as of counsel in Los Angeles.

Sargent provides sophisticated legal counsel to guide corporate and individual clients through a wide range of high stakes commercial and business disputes.

Victoria Torres Gallardo joined Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek as associate in San Diego.

Gallardo's practice focuses on cross-border, business and real estate transactions, as well as estate planning matters. She has extensive experience in Mexican corporate, business, M&A, joint venture and real estate transactions, operations and investments, including regulatory matters.

Jonathan D. Consani was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in Irvine, CA.

Consani is a real estate transactional attorney in the firm's Orange County Office, whose practice focuses on purchase and sales and leasing for various types of commercial property.

Alexander J. Doherty was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in San Francisco.

Doherty is a litigation attorney in the firm's San Francisco office with a special focus on appeals and water law-related litigation. He has successfully advocated on behalf of clients in various industries, including the financial services, healthcare, and publishing industries.

Amanda D. Donson was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in Irvine, CA.

Donson is a real estate transactional attorney in the firm's Orange County office, representing a wide variety of clients including developers, homebuilders, private investors, institutional investors, and global technology companies in their acquisition, disposition, development and leasing of industrial, retail, office, and multifamily assets throughout the United States.

Seth A. Garrett was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in San Diego, CA.

Garrett is a real estate transactional attorney in the firm's San Diego office who provides counsel to commercial and industrial real estate developers, business owners and investors on a wide range of matters, including acquisitions and dispositions, leasing, planning and development, construction, and property management of real property.

Jared C. Kassan was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in Los Angeles, CA.

Kassan is a member of the firm's Tax and Joint Ventures department in the firm's Los Angeles office. He counsels individuals and companies on tax-related planning and structuring matters often involving issues related to partnership tax, 1031 exchange issues, California property tax, and local real estate transfer tax.

Morgan L. Medlin was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in Irvine, CA.

Medlin is a real estate transactional attorney in the firm's Orange County office, providing counsel on acquisitions and dispositions, and leasing of industrial, retail, mixed-use, office, and residential properties across the United States. Morgan often represents clients on challenging, environmentally impacted projects.

Shannon I. Snell was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in Los Angeles, CA.

Snell is a real estate transactional attorney in the firm's Century City office, structures, negotiates, and executes sophisticated commercial real estate transactions for office, retail, multifamily, mixed-use, and industrial properties. In recent years, she has represented developers, private equity firms, and institutional owners and investors in the acquisition and disposition of more than $3 billion of real estate, and leasing of millions of square feet of space, across the United States.

Ann Maas was promoted to partner of Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson LLP in San Diego.

Maas is a real estate attorney whose carefully honed her skills at peak efficiency to work in getting deals drafted, negotiated, and signed while maintaining a keen awareness of her client's needs and business goals.

Lisa Von Eschen joined Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Von Eschen's practice includes advising companies and executives on employment contracts, commission and bonus plans, restrictive covenants, trade secret and confidentiality issues, and severance agreements. She routinely drafts and audits personnel policies and handbooks, leads internal investigations, and conducts preventive training sessions on harassment and other employment topics.

Jennifer DePalma joined Arentfox Schiff LLP as partner in San Francisco.

DePalma represents technology companies at all stages of growth in transactions and general corporate matters. Her experience includes the negotiation of mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, and financing, as well as counseling boards on corporate governance matters. She serves as primary outside counsel to private and public companies and handles alternative investments for clients in the private equity, hedge fund, and venture capital space.

Paige H. Gosney joined Allen Matkins as senior counsel in Irvine.

Gosney represents industrial, commercial, and residential landowners and developers in a variety of land use and transactional matters and in all aspects of litigation before state and federal courts. These matters include the Subdivision Map Act, CEQA, and Coastal Act compliance, eminent domain and inverse condemnation, water rights, development entitlements, due diligence, the Outdoor Advertising Act, and general planning and zoning laws.

Alex Flumenbaum was promoted to partner of Fragner Seifert Pace & Mintz, LLP in Los Angeles.

Flumenbaum's practice concentrates on the legal aspects of sophisticated commercial real estate transactions. He represents institutional and non-institutional clients in a wide variety of real estate transactional matters, including real property purchases and sales, retail and commercial leasing, and mortgage financings, refinancings and restructurings.

Kristen Wenning was promoted to partner of LaPolt Law P.C. in Los Angeles.

Wenning's practice focuses on advocacy and legislative change in favor of creators. Soon after joining LaPolt Law, Kristin found herself immersed in the final revisions and eventual historical passing of the Orrin G. Hatch--Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act, a huge win under U.S. Copyright Law for songwriters and artists!

Tom Dean was promoted to partner of LaPolt Law P.C. in Los Angeles.

Dean focuses his practice on talent representation and represents, advises and counsels numerous recording artists, content creators, producers, and songwriters in all aspects of their entertainment careers. With over 15 years of experience in the music and entertainment industry.

Dominic Chaklos was promoted to partner of LaPolt Law P.C. in Los Angeles.

Chaklos represents a wide variety of talent in the music and entertainment industry. He advises clients on all aspects of their careers and helps them make informed decisions regarding business development and brand management.

Lindsay Arrington was promoted to partner of LaPolt Law P.C. in Los Angeles.

Arrington specializes in matters relating to electronic music, endorsements, and independent labels. She negotiates all varieties of agreements relating to the music business, as well as endorsement and social media agreements for influencers, entrepreneurs and professionals across the entertainment industry.

Mariah Comer was promoted to partner of LaPolt Law P.C. in Los Angeles.

Comer’s practice focuses on a wide range of transactional entertainment and intellectual property matters relating to both the music industry and brand endorsements.

Lee D. Oida joined Youngman Reitshtein, PLC as associate in Los Angeles.

Oida's passion for family law and domestic violence advocacy developed while interning for the Battered Women's Justice Project, and then later representing families at the Family Justice Litigation Clinic.

Rachel A. Simon joined Snell & Wilmer LLP as partner in Orange County.

Simon, a corporate and securities partner, provides comprehensive legal counsel to her clients on a global stage. In addition to mergers and acquisitions, tax structuring, financing, and general corporate matters, Simon has built trusting relationships with clients and often acts as go-to outside counsel for them.

John Gregory Yslas joined Wilshire Law Firm as senior partner in Los Angeles.

With over 25 years of experience since graduating from UCLA Law School in 1996, John has litigated countless wage and hour class actions as well as single and multi-party matters. He previously has been a partner at Foley & Lardner, Norton Rose Fulbright and Seyfarth Shaw.

He currently serves as the Southern California Regional President with the Hispanic National Bar Association and on the Mexican American Bar Foundation Board of Directors. Previously he has served as the National Chair of the Communications Committee with HNBA, on the Board of Directors with the California Minority Counsel Program, as well as a commissioner with the Los Angeles Civil Service Commission and the Los Angeles Convention Center Commission (where he was appointed by two mayors).

Nathaniel P. Gallon joined O'Melveny & Myers LLP as partner in Silicon Valley.

Gallon counsels clients on corporate and securities law and also acts more generally as a trusted business advisor in connection with a wide range of transactions that technology companies typically undertake throughout their life cycle - entity formation, debt and equity financings, recapitalizations, joint ventures, spin-offs, and growth stage through to a liquidity event.

Ashwin Gokhale joined O'Melveny & Myers LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Gokhale regularly negotiates and advises technology companies on a range of intellectual property licensing and other commercial transactions, including agreements for software and hardware development and licensing, manufacturing and distribution, advertising and marketing, patent licensing, mergers and acquisitions and venture capital investments.

Heather D. Bennett joined Barton LLP as partner in Los Angeles and Nashville.

Bennett's practice focuses on intellectual property matters including copyright, trademark, trade secret, and right of publicity from creation and acquisition to licensing and litigation. With over a decade of experience in entertainment, art, media, and technology in the U.S. and abroad, Heather's client relationships go beyond negotiating deals and handling judicial matters.

Peggy Hosking joined Buchalter as shareholder in Los Angeles.

Hosking serves as outside general counsel to her clients focusing on their commercial real estate transactions. She represents owners, developers, borrowers, lenders and investors in the acquisitions, disposition, development, finance, leasing, and management of real estate for their retail, commercial, industrial, residential, and office use needs. Further, she has extensive experience counseling clients in all areas of business, from formation through succession.

Caroline Djang joined Buchalter as shareholder in Orange County.

Djang counsels her clients on the best strategies for pursuing and collecting debts and provides realistic solutions for recovery. Her notable work includes representation of one of the largest creditors in the chapter 11 case of a recycling company and representation of an internationally known luxury brand with respect to creditors’ rights. She also represents several prominent landlords, banks, and cities with respect to creditors’ rights and claims in bankruptcy.

Andrew D. Thorpe as partner in San Francisco

Thorpe advises management teams and boards of directors on securities regulation, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and key corporate governance matters. In addition to extensive experience representing issuers and underwriters -- including in over 40 initial public offerings to date -- he served for six years at the Securities and Exchange Commission. While at the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance and in the Office of Rulemaking, Thorpe reviewed and commented on numerous public companies' SEC filings and played a significant role in drafting several landmark regulations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Colin M. Kawaguchi was promoted to shareholder of Nevers, Palazzo, Packard, Wildermuth, & Wynner, PC in Westlake Village.

Kawaguchi counsels emerging and established companies in the areas of corporate governance, mergers, acquisitions, financings, and general business matters. Colin has experience in various industry sectors including biotech, financial services, information technology, hospitality, and insurance.

John R. Bamford was promoted to shareholder of Nevers, Palazzo, Packard, Wildermuth, & Wynner, PC in Westlake Village.

Bamford has successfully defended numerous complex business litigation cases, including obtaining a compl;ete defense verdict for a financial advisor alleged to have mismanaged client accounts in 2019.

John F. Simonis joined Reed Smith LLP. as partner in Los Angeles.

Simonis represents investors, owners, developers, and operators in complex real estate transactions and development matters, and has substantial experience in real estate joint ventures, funds, purchases and sales, leasing, financings, development and construction, with particular depth of experience in data centers and technology-related facilities.

Daniel J. Hagedorn joined Reed Smith LLP. as partner in Los Angeles.

Hagedorn practices in all areas of commercial real estate transactions, including joint ventures and the acquisition and disposition of commercial projects, including multifamily and affordable housing projects, industrial projects, retail centers, data centers, leasing, and real estate financings.

Laurie D. Zelon joined Judicate West as neutral in Santa Ana.

Zelon will be based in the Orange County office and available as a private judge statewide focusing on arbitration, special master, private judging, neutral analysis and appellate matters. Zelon served as a justice on the 2nd District Court of Appeal from 2003 to 2020, and she is widely recognized for her work expanding and improving access to justice for low-income citizens.

Christopher Dacus joined Glaser Weil LLP as of counsel in Los Angeles.

Dacus handles all aspects of complex commercial litigation and manages cases from inception through judgment. He represents clients in complex commercial litigation, entertainment litigation, and white collar defense.

Russell L. Hom joined Judicate West in Sacramento.

Hom is available as a mediator, arbitrator and private judge for matters statewide. He has more than 40 years of combined legal experience, headlined by serving on the Sacramento County Superior Court for the past 20 years. During his tenure on the bench, Hom presided over a wide range of civil matters, including real property, premises liability, employment discrimination, workplace harassment, wrongful termination, personal injury, elder abuse, wage and hour, contract disputes and medical malpractice.

Melissa Mills joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as partner in Los Angeles.

Mills is a litigation partner where she is a member of the firm's national team of trial lawyers known for its success in litigating innovative disputes in technology, intellectual property, and other areas.

Brenda Aguilar-Guerrero joined Burke, Williams & Sorensen LLP as partner in Oakland.

Aguilar-Guerrero represents public entities on complex eminent domain and inverse condemnation matters. She represents clients with large, complex multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects requiring hundreds of acquisitions, as well as smaller scale projects throughout the state for a variety of clients.

Jonathan Braunstein joined Dentons as partner in Oakland.

Braunstein is a member of Dentons' Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice. He advises clients in the health care, insurance, employee benefits, financial services, technology, real estate, retail, construction and defense industries.

Cheryl Sabnis joined Vedder Price as shareholder in San Francisco.

Sabnis joined the firm's Labor and Employment practice area. She has long represented businesses and other organizations in high-stakes employment litigation, including complex wage and hour class actions, Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims and matters involving sensitive topics, such as gender, race and disability discrimination, harassment and retaliatory discharge.

David E. Parsly joined Blank Rome as partner in Los Angeles.

Parsly advises clients on a full range of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, emerging growth and venture capital financings, joint ventures, corporate restructurings, and corporate governance.

Jeffrey Wilcox joined Meyers Nave as of counsel in Oakland.

Wilcox advises public agencies, public utilities, transportation authorities and other municipal and state authorities in all phases of the condemnation process, from the pre-acquisition planning phase of eminent domain proceedings through trial and appeal.

Jane Ross was promoted to managing partner of Hogan Lovells LLP in Silicon Valley.

Ross represents buyers and sellers of public and private companies across many industries, with a focus on the technology and life sciences sectors. Her practice includes domestic and cross-border M&A and complex joint venture transactions.