Jennifer L. Bryant was promoted to partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in Los Angeles.

Jennifer L. Bryant, based in Los Angeles, focuses on high-stakes complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on legal challenges faced by the entertainment and technology industries, including trade secret, copyright and privacy issues. She has experience litigating cases at all stages, from providing pre-suit counseling to writing dispositive motions, and from taking and defending depositions to examining witnesses at trial. A former clerk to Chief Judge George H. King of the Central District of California, Bryant was named one of The LGBT Bar's "Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40" in 2021.

Wesley T.L. Burrell was promoted to partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in Los Angeles.

Wesley T.L. Burrell’s practice spans a broad range of high-profile litigation matters concerning complex, often novel, finance, intellectual property and corporate governance issues on behalf of clients ranging from financial institutions and major corporations to start-ups. A Los Angeles litigator, Burrell also maintains an active pro bono practice, representing asylum seekers and domestic trafficking victims. Before joining the firm, he clerked for Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He also served as a judicial extern to Judge Consuelo M. Callahan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Nicholas D. Fram was promoted to partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in San Francisco.

Nicholas D. Fram is a litigator in the San Francisco office whose practice focuses on high-stakes complex commercial litigation, internal investigations and mass torts. He is active in the community and with local bar associations. Prior to joining the firm, Fram clerked for Judge Michael A. Chagares of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and Judge George B. Daniels of the Southern District of New York.

Tyler Hilton was promoted to partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in Los Angeles.

Tyler Hilton, a Los Angeles lawyer, advises buyers and sellers in public and private M&A transactions. He also represents companies and investors in a variety of equity financing and commercial transactions, as well as corporate governance matters. He was part of the team that advised Intel Corp. in the $9 billion sale of its NAND memory chip business to SK Hynix Inc. Hilton maintains a pro bono practice representing immigrants before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and in asylum proceedings.

Craig Jennings Lavoie was promoted to partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in Los Angeles.

Craig Jennings Lavoie handles high-stakes civil litigation from Munger Tolles’ Los Angeles office. His major representations include the owners of the LA Clippers in litigation related to the team’s new arena in Inglewood, and Kobe Bryant’s widow in litigation against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s and Fire Departments regarding the improper taking and sharing of photos of human remains, which is scheduled for trial in February. He is a former law clerk to Judge Michelle T. Friedland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Vincent Y. Ling was promoted to partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in Los Angeles.

Vincent Y. Ling, based in Los Angeles, focuses on intellectual property litigation and counseling, including patent infringement and trade secret matters. He has represented clients across a range of industries, spanning biopharmaceuticals, wireless communications and computer technologies. Ling joined the firm after clerking for Judge Sharon Prost of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He also clerked for Judge Kent A. Jordan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and Judge Sue L. Robinson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

Jonathan S. Meltzer was promoted to partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in Washington, D.C..

Jonathan S. Meltzer handles appellate and complex civil litigation from Munger Tolles’ Washington, D.C., office. He frequently briefs cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court and federal and state appellate courts, including as a member of the team that defended before the Supreme Court the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act on behalf of the U.S. House of Representatives. He also regularly represents a range of clients in complex civil litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Meltzer served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan and Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and as a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General in the U.S. Department of Justice.

Lee A Kaplan joined Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson LLP as associate attorney in Los Angeles.

Kaplan was an in-house attorney with the California Association of Realtors, started a land use practice at Harding Larmore Kutcher & Kozal LLP and advised municipalities
with Richards Watson & Gershon. He also practices environmental law.

Jana Balik FitzGerald joined FitzGerald & Mulé LLP as senior associate in Indian Wells.

Ms. FitzGerald's practice experience has included litigation and all aspects of labor and employment law. She has worked on the defense of class actions, representative actions, and individual plaintiff lawsuits involving federal and California anti-discrimination and equal pay laws; California wage-and-hour laws; the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), and others. She has provided advice and counseling to numerous clients, and has conducted workplace training.

Lee Kaplan joined Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson LLP (CGS3) as associate attorney in Los Angeles.

Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson LLP (CGS3), a rapidly growing commercial real estate law firm, has announced the addition of Lee Kaplan as an associate attorney. Prior to joining CGS3, Kaplan advised municipalities and other public entities with Los Angeles-based Richards, Watson & Gershon and established a land use practice at Harding Larmore Kutcher & Kozal in Santa Monica. He also has in-house experience working as a staff attorney for the California Association of Realtors, a statewide trade association for real estate professionals. In addition to his extensive general real estate and land use experience, he has broad expertise in environmental law. He is particularly adroit at conducting due diligence and shepherding development projects of all sizes through complex entitlement processes throughout Southern California. Kaplan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics from New York University and earned his J.D., from the UCLA School of Law.

Anya Griffith joined Jacko Law Group PC as of counsel in San Diego.

Beginning her career at the Office of Chief Counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Griffith has specialized in investment company registration, commercial contracts and stock purchase agreements, among other fields.

Rachel McRoskey was promoted to special counsel of Akerman LLP in Miami.

Rachel McRoskey has been promoted to Special Counsel in Akerman's national Real Estate Practice Group. She has experience representing investors, owners, lenders, and developers in a range of local and national transactions, including shopping center development, acquisitions and dispositions, and public and private sector financing.

Matthew D Segal joined Stoel Rives LLP as partner in Sacramento.

Formerly the chief of the Special Prosecutions Unit in the Eastern District, Rives worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office for 17 years. He now focuses his practice on internal investigations, white-collar crime and antitrust litigation.

Stephe B Ballas joined Sidley Austin LLP as partner in Century City.

After a 19-year legal career encompassing in and out of house counsel, attorney Stephen B. Ballas has joined Sidley Austin LLP
as a partner in Century City. Ballas had been a partner at DLA Piper since 2019.
Ballas' ties to Sidley Austin LLP run deep, dating back to his time at the New York offices of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. It was there that he met Sidley partner Dan Clivner, who at the time worked at Simpson's Los Angeles offices.
"Dan is one of the people I liked working with at Simpson, and one of the lessons you learn as you go through your career is that you keep the relationships you build and develop them, because those are people whose paths you'll cross later," Ballas said. "So Dan was one of the first people I reached out to when I was looking
for jobs out in L.A."
Clivner said, "I'm a little older than Stephen, and I served as a trusted adviser to him during his career, both internally when we worked at the same firm and then when he relocated to L.A."
Ballas moved to Los Angeles in 2011, where he joined real estate firm CBRE as senior counsel. By 2013, he had risen to the rank of senior vice president and deputy general counsel.
"I oversaw M&A and SEC reporting and public company governance," Ballas said. "So not totally dissimilar from the things I hope to do at Sidley."
In 2016, Ballas moved on to communications firm Global Eagle Entertainment, where he served as executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary. In these capacities, Ballas continued to work in mergers and acquisitions and SEC reporting while also overseeing compliance functions and employment litigation.
"That was true general counsel, a little bit of everything," Ballas recalled.
Ballas' various positions helped him find a true passion for legal work, which he initially pursued in his father's footsteps.
"When I actually went to law school and then had my first job at Simpson, I realized I actually like the negotiation aspects of it, I like the attention to detail aspects of it, and I'm kind of drawn to the power of language," Ballas said. "I recognize legal contracts are so dry and not the most exciting thing in the world, but there's a lot packed in them."
Clivner believes that the addition of Ballas to Sidley will only strengthen the firm's practice as part of an ongoing effort to bring in fresh new talent.
"What we've done at Sidley over the last decade in Los Angeles is really very special, and it's because people like Stephen have joined us to make it so special," Clivner said. "It's been a lot of recruiting and a lot of lateral movement -- we expect more to come -- and that's really elevated us in the market nationwide."

Nicholas A Doloresco was promoted to partner of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP in Silicon Valley.

After participating in numerous high value transactions at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, private equity attorney Nicholas A. Doloresco has been elected to partner at the firm's Silicon Valley office.
Doloresco's connection to Weil goes back to his days at New York University, when he took a bankruptcy seminar with the firm's attorneys Harvey R. Miller and Michael F. Walsh. During this time he said he came to think of the firm as a "bankruptcy and restructuring powerhouse." When it came time to find his first legal job, he looked toward its Bay Area offices.
"I had the opportunity to talk to Weil partners Kyle C. Krpata and Craig Adas, and it was clear early on that Weil was the best place for me - a well-respected firm that has cultivated strong practices and great client relationships on the West Coast and beyond," Doloresco said in an interview.
Doloresco has advised client companies in transactional matters including mergers, acquisitions, equity investments and divestitures. He notably helped represent Applied Materials in a proposed $29 billion merger with Tokyo Electron Ltd., as well as Facebook in its $16 billion acquisition of WhatsApp.
"Many large, 'bet the company' deals take on a life of their own," Doloresco said. "They can be all-consuming and the amount of effort that goes into them on every level - associates, paralegals, partners and staff working across multiple offices and practice groups - is pretty amazing."
Krpata praised Doloresco's "excellence in every aspect of the job" in a prepared statement. "He has a broad skill set that enables him to handle all of the types of transactions we do in the Silicon Valley office -- from growth equity to traditional private equity, to public and private mergers and acquisitions,"
Krpata said. "He is a key member of our team and his election to partner is a significant part of our growth strategy."
Doloresco said he is gratified for the opportunity to handle a range of matters.
"It is exciting to work on large deals that make headlines, but my colleagues and I take tremendous pride in every matter we handle," he said. "Personally, I have had the good fortune of working with some great clients who are truly excited about how a deal is going to transform their company. They are really grateful for our help, and I'm very proud of those outcomes."

Bradley E Wolf joined Blank Rome LLP as of counsel in Los Angeles.

Wolf specializes in commercial law and transactional litigation on secured and unsecured debt financing. He has worked in many industries, including manufacturing, casino gaming and agricultural business.

Paul I Barker joined Kirkland & Ellis LLP as partner in San Francisco.

With a litigation career spanning continents, attorney Paul Barker is at the forefront of the especially timely and relevant field of environmental, social and governance law (ESG). Now, the former British barrister is bringing his expertise to the San Francisco office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP as a partner in the firm's ESG and impact practice group.
"I have several long standing connections with Kirkland and have always been impressed by how dynamic and pioneering the firm is," Barker said in an interview. "Alexandra Farmer has created an exceptional ESG and impact team in such a short space of time, so when I heard she was looking to grow the practice in the Bay Area I leapt at the opportunity."
Barker is a trained corporate attorney who practiced from Doughty Street Chambers in London. In this capacity he initially focused on public international law, finance and investment.
"My pathway to ESG practice was through my work at the London bar and at Stanford on a range of issues including international renewable energy disputes, international climate change law, and sustainable finance regulation," Barker said.
He prides himself on having litigated several cases where he feels his work has led to a positive social impact, in matters ranging from sovereign debt restructuring to business and human rights.
"I also think pro bono is very important, and have been grateful for the opportunity to work recently with Columbia Law School's Sabin Center on Climate Change, helping them draft model laws on deep decarbonization," he said.
Alexandra Farmer, the head of Kirkland's ESG and impact practice, praised Barker's skill in international arbitration, cross-border ESG and sustainable investment law.
"His multi-jurisdictional knowledge will be an asset," Farmer said in a company statement.
In joining up with Kirkland & Ellis, Barker hopes to harness his formidable ESG knowledge to aid the firm in navigating the uncertain terrain of climate-related
litigation.
"There is tremendous need from the private sector for thoughtful legal counsel in the context of climate strategies and disclosures, and sustainability linked incentives and financing, which is where I expect to spend a significant portion of my time, at least initially," Barker said. "In addition, I expect to leverage my international experience to support private funds clients in jurisdictions such as Asia, which are rapidly evolving on ESG and impact."