Michael H. Swartz joined Scheper Kim & Harris LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Michael H. Swartz has joined Scheper Kim & Harris LLP in Los Angeles as partner, the firm announced Jan. 21. Swartz joins from McKool Smith, where he was a partner.
He had been with McKool Smith for eight years before he decided to look for new opportunities.
"Sometimes, after you've been in one place for a long time, it feels like it would be interesting to be somewhere else," Swartz said. "I had the opportunity to do that, and I decided to take it."
David C. Scheper and Richard E. Drooyan, partners at Scheper Kim, asked Swartz to join them at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles 23 years ago. Two decades later, Scheper suggested once more that Swartz join their firm.
At Scheper Kim, Swartz will continue to focus on complex commercial and securities litigation. A former mathematics and economics major in college, Swartz wanted to use his law practice to help new businesses succeed.
"One of the great things about my job is that I get to learn about the numbers for new businesses," Swartz said about his practice area, noting every day is different. "It's exciting to learn about how a steel mill works, which was one of our cases, to learning about how a company produces asphalt."
Swartz said he's excited to join an already thriving commercial litigation firm, and he hopes to enhance it. Swartz received his law degree from Yale Law School in 1992. His first day at Scheper Kim was on Dec. 13.

Robert Allen joined Glaser Weil LLP as partner in Century City.

Robert E. Allen is a member of the Intellectual Property Department. As a highly accomplished, results-focused attorney, Mr. Allen has significant experience in both litigation and transactions involving copyright and trademark, specializing in entertainment and new media related fields.

His litigation practice focuses on representing creators and copyright owners in the protection of their works, including recording artists, songwriters, actors, photographers and authors, as well as ensuring they are properly accounted to and paid.

His transactional practice focuses on providing counsel on both domestic and international acquisitions, negotiating licenses and agreements relating to music, film, television, digital media, production, television exploitation, on-demand media delivery, gaming and software.

Prior to returning to private practice, Mr. Allen was the senior vice president, head of business and legal affairs for Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), and led its New Media Business Development.

Lewis Zirogiannis joined Foley & Lardner as partner in San Francisco.

Foley & Lardner announced that Lewis Zirogiannis has joined the firm as a partner in its Litigation Department and Government Enforcement Defense & Investigations Practice Group. Zirogiannis is resident in the firm's San Francisco and New York City offices.

Zirogiannis' practice focuses on complex litigation, as well as government and internal investigations and corporate compliance. He has deep expertise in counseling corporations and company executives in connection with litigation and investigation matters in the areas of anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, trade sanctions, information governance, securities fraud, and data privacy and protection, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Zirogiannis has appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court and in federal and state trial and appellate courts, and he has conducted investigations in Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe.

Zirogiannis brings extensive in-house experience from having served six years in legal leadership roles at two global businesses of General Electric Co., where he oversaw global compliance programs and supervised litigation, investigations and regulatory relations. In addition, he previously served as Associate General Counsel and Global Anti-Corruption Officer at American International Group.

"Lewis' extensive global regulatory and compliance experience enhances our ability to navigate Foley's clients through increasingly complex regulatory challenges," said Lisa Noller, chair of Foley's Government Enforcement Defense & Investigations Practice Group. "His presence in California and New York expands our already significant litigation capabilities nationwide, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the team."

Zirogiannis comes to Foley from Reed Smith, where he was a member of the complex litigation and global regulatory enforcement practice groups. He began his legal career as a staff attorney in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and as a federal judicial law clerk in the Southern District of New York before entering private practice.

"We continue to focus on expanding our capabilities in San Francisco with the addition of top lateral talent, and Lewis' addition immediately deepens our bench strength and the services we can provide to our clients both in California and nationally, particularly in the areas of government enforcement, labor and employment, and privacy," said Thomas Carlucci, managing partner of Foley's San Francisco office. "We are excited to welcome Lewis to the team."

Thomas Asmar joined Baker McKenzie as partner in Palo Alto.

Baker McKenzie has added highly accomplished lawyer Thomas Asmar as partner, bringing nearly 20 years of experience advising companies and private equity funds on all employee benefits and compensation issues related to corporate transactions, such as mergers, acquisitions, IPOs and financings.

Based in Silicon Valley, Tom will play an integral role in the expanding M&A practice in Silicon Valley, led by Partner Leif King, another recent addition from Skadden. Tom counsels companies in a variety of industries on the design, negotiation and implementation of compensation arrangements, including employment agreements, equity compensation plans, incentive compensation, deferred compensation, severance agreements and change-in-control arrangements, for executives and employees. Tom also advises clients on tax, securities and corporate governance law issues as they relate to executive compensation and employee benefit arrangements.

Tom received his Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law and his Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is licensed to practice law in California and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Adam M. Weg joined Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman & Rabkin, LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Mr. Weg is an experienced litigator who has cultivated a multi-faceted practice that encompasses complex business, real estate, antitrust and trade secret matters, cross-border international arbitration disputes and sophisticated insurance matters. His clients have ranged from multi-national businesses to individual investors. Additionally, Mr. Weg worked extensively in the real estate industry. As a result, his clients often turn to him for his real-world business acumen to guide them through their legal issues.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Weg worked at Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP where he handled various business litigation matters including an antitrust matter pertaining to the international pima cotton market with over $300 million in dispute, a trade secrets matter pertaining to the global aircraft leasing industry with over $1 billion in dispute, and a real estate matter involving the two largest proprietors of skilled nursing facilities in the State of California.

Daniel M. Engler was promoted to partner of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP in San Francisco.

Daniel M. Engler's practice focuses on the buying, selling, leasing, and development of real property. He joined the firm in 2012 and is a member of Cox, Castle & Nicholson's San Francisco Real Estate and Renewable Energy Development team. Engler's expertise spans the residential, commercial, mixed-use, healthcare and renewable energy sectors, and he regularly represents clients in complex real estate transactions and land use and entitlement matters.

Engler sits on NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area Chapter's Government Affairs Committee, the Urban Land Institute's San Francisco Sustainability Committee, and the Bay Area Council's Housing Committee. Engler graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and earned his bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University.

Linda C. Klein was promoted to partner of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP in San Francisco.

Linda C. Klein’s practice focuses on land use entitlement and litigation, with extensive expertise in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and in particular air quality and greenhouse gas issues. Since joining Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s Land Use and Natural Resources team in 2011, she has helped the firm successfully entitle numerous projects in the Bay Area, including the Oak Knoll community in Oakland and Fortinet’s newest building in Sunnyvale. With an architectural background, she provides entitlement clients practical solutions to the most complex development and zoning matters. She also has helped litigate a number of CEQA cases, including several in the California Supreme Court.

Klein is an active member of the California Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP) and the San Francisco chapter of Urban Land Institute, where she sits on the Policy & Practice Committee. She earned her Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law, graduating Order of the Coif, her Master of Architecture from Yale School of Architecture, and bachelor's degrees in art and art history and civil engineering from Rice University, magna cum laude in both. After law school, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sandra S. Ikuta of the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Cathy T. Moses was promoted to partner of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP in Irvine.

Cathy T. Moses joined Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s Litigation team as senior counsel in 2017. Her experience spans a wide range of business and real estate litigation matters, including business torts, contracts, partnership disputes, and employment litigation. She has achieved successful outcomes for the firm’s clients at all stages of litigation, including pre-litigation negotiations, dispositive motion practice, trial, and appeal.

Outside of the office, she serves on the board of directors of the Constitutional Rights Foundation Orange County. She graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif from the University of Michigan Law School, and earned her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in history and literature from Harvard University. After graduating from law school, she served as a law clerk to The Honorable M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. From 2011 to 2012, she served as a Trial Attorney with the United States Department of Justice, Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, in Washington, D.C.

Jake Storms was promoted to partner of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP in San Francisco.

Jake Storms has played a key role in the expansion of Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s renewable energy practice since joining the firm in 2015, where he is a member of the firm’s San Francisco Real Estate and Renewable Energy Development team. Storms is an experienced energy attorney advising developers, lenders and tax equity investors on a broad range of renewable/alternative energy projects, including some of the largest utility-scale solar installations in California and across the United States. Outside of energy, he focuses on project development and the acquisition, disposition and development of real property for a variety of industries, including healthcare, conservation and mitigation lands and mixed-use projects.

Storms is a member of the San Francisco Bar Association and the Napa County Bar Association. Previously, he sat on the advisory board for the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at the University of California, Davis School of Law, as well as the Native American Resources and Renewable, Alternative and Distributed Energy Resources committees for the American Bar Association. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Davis School of Law.

Gabriel R Duarte was promoted to partner of Musick Peeler in Westlake Village.

Trust & Estates

Candice S Liao was promoted to partner of Musick Peeler in Costa Mesa.

Litigation and Construction

Michael A. Seiden was promoted to partner of Pircher, Nichols & Meeks LLP in Los Angeles.

Pircher, Nichols & Meeks LLP today announced the promotion of Michael A. Seiden to partner of the firm. Seiden began his legal career in 2011 as an associate at Pircher and continues to represent institutional investors, developers, homebuilders, publicly traded corporations and lenders nationwide in connection with their complex real estate transactions.

Seiden's practice has an emphasis on acquisitions, dispositions and both lender-side and borrower-side financings across a wide range of asset types. He also represents clients in connection with the negotiation and structuring of joint venture agreements.

"Since he joined the Pircher team nearly a decade ago, Mike has been deeply committed to providing the highest quality legal services to the firm's clients and ingraining himself within our business," said Alex Jacobs, partner at Pircher and member of the firm's Executive Committee. "This is a natural next step for a lawyer as talented as Mike, as he continues to progress in his career at Pircher. We're very confident that both his experience as a real estate transaction attorney and the strong relationships that he has created with our clients and senior partners will produce continued success for his practice."

Seiden contributes to the broader legal community through his involvement on the Board of Directors of the Century City Bar Association. He has also been recognized for his work as an honoree on the 2018 and 2019 Super Lawyers "Southern California Rising Stars" lists.

Seiden earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law, during which time he received both the 2011 Burton Marks Memorial Award and the David Mellinkoff Scholarship. Seiden earned his bachelor's degree in government and history from Claremont McKenna College where he graduated magna cum laude.

Daniel M. Engler was promoted to partner of Idea Hall in San Francisco.

Daniel M. Engler's practice focuses on the buying, selling, leasing, and development of real property. He joined the firm in 2012 and is a member of Cox, Castle & Nicholson's San Francisco Real Estate and Renewable Energy Development team. Engler's expertise spans the residential, commercial, mixed-use, healthcare and renewable energy sectors, and he regularly represents clients in complex real estate transactions and land use and entitlement matters.

Engler sits on NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area Chapter's Government Affairs Committee, the Urban Land Institute's San Francisco Sustainability Committee, and the Bay Area Council's Housing Committee. Engler graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and earned his bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University.

Linda C. Klein was promoted to partner of Idea Hall in San Francisco.

Linda C. Klein’s practice focuses on land use entitlement and litigation, with extensive expertise in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and in particular air quality and greenhouse gas issues. Since joining Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s Land Use and Natural Resources team in 2011, she has helped the firm successfully entitle numerous projects in the Bay Area, including the Oak Knoll community in Oakland and Fortinet’s newest building in Sunnyvale. With an architectural background, she provides entitlement clients practical solutions to the most complex development and zoning matters. She also has helped litigate a number of CEQA cases, including several in the California Supreme Court.

Klein is an active member of the California Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP) and the San Francisco chapter of Urban Land Institute, where she sits on the Policy & Practice Committee. She earned her Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law, graduating Order of the Coif, her Master of Architecture from Yale School of Architecture, and bachelor's degrees in art and art history and civil engineering from Rice University, magna cum laude in both. After law school, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sandra S. Ikuta of the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Cathy T. Moses was promoted to partner of Idea Hall in Irvine.

Cathy T. Moses joined Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s Litigation team as senior counsel in 2017. Her experience spans a wide range of business and real estate litigation matters, including business torts, contracts, partnership disputes, and employment litigation. She has achieved successful outcomes for the firm’s clients at all stages of litigation, including pre-litigation negotiations, dispositive motion practice, trial, and appeal.

Outside of the office, she serves on the board of directors of the Constitutional Rights Foundation Orange County. She graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif from the University of Michigan Law School, and earned her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in history and literature from Harvard University. After graduating from law school, she served as a law clerk to The Honorable M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. From 2011 to 2012, she served as a Trial Attorney with the United States Department of Justice, Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, in Washington, D.C.

Jake Storms was promoted to partner of Idea Hall in San Francisco.

Jake Storms has played a key role in the expansion of Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s renewable energy practice since joining the firm in 2015, where he is a member of the firm’s San Francisco Real Estate and Renewable Energy Development team. Storms is an experienced energy attorney advising developers, lenders and tax equity investors on a broad range of renewable/alternative energy projects, including some of the largest utility-scale solar installations in California and across the United States. Outside of energy, he focuses on project development and the acquisition, disposition and development of real property for a variety of industries, including healthcare, conservation and mitigation lands and mixed-use projects.

Storms is a member of the San Francisco Bar Association and the Napa County Bar Association. Previously, he sat on the advisory board for the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at the University of California, Davis School of Law, as well as the Native American Resources and Renewable, Alternative and Distributed Energy Resources committees for the American Bar Association. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Davis School of Law.

Bill Veatch joined Norton Rose Fulbright as partner in San Francisco.

Veatch has extensive transactional experience in banking, equipment leasing, venture lending and leasing, cross-border leasing and vendor finance. He focuses much of his practice on advising financial institutions and technology clients on the structuring of global equipment and software vendor programs, including the sale and securitization of receivables.

Admitted to practice in California, Veatch received his JD from the University of California Hastings College of Law, his LLB from the University of Manitoba and his BA from the University of Winnipeg.

Catherine Hagerty joined Norton Rose Fulbright as partner in San Francisco.

Hagerty advises financial institutions and other lenders, borrowers and equipment leasing companies on the structuring, documentation and administration of various forms of complex debt financings. Her leasing experience focuses on the lifespan of equipment, including vendor agreements, sale and leasebacks, lease originations, cross-border leases and restructurings.

Hagerty, who is licensed to practice in California and New York, earned her JD at Duke University School of Law and her BA at William & Mary.

Melissa Meister joined Baker Marquart LLP in Downtown, Los Angeles.

Baker Marquart is pleased to announce that Melissa A. Meister has joined the firm.

Melissa A. Meister is an experienced trial and appellate attorney who has tried cases and argued appeals in state and federal courts across the country, including the United States Supreme Court. A former Department of Justice Trial Attorney and Assistant United States Attorney, Melissa is not only a skilled trial attorney and appellate advocate, but has extensive experience conducting internal investigations. Melissa works on both high-stakes criminal and regulatory defense matters and civil litigation and has worked on numerous parallel criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions, including numerous fraud, cryptocurrency, and False Claims Act matters.

Melissa has represented Fortune 500 companies, blockchain and cryptocurrency startups, visionaries, hospitals, doctors, large pension funds, public universities, whistleblowers, and individuals in a variety of criminal and civil matters throughout the country. Melissa enjoys learning about her clients and their businesses and is as comfortable thinking on her feet in a courtroom as she is in talking to her clients and their employees on an individual basis.

Melissa is currently admitted to practice in California, Arizona, and the District of Colombia.

Scott E. Oross as partner in San Diego

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
welcomes Scott E. Oross as partner
from Paul Hastings LLP
Oross joined the firm's corporate practice group as well as the life sciences and U.S. Food and Drug
Administration industry team.
Sheppard Mullin offered a different opportunity for him to serve the community in San Diego, Oross
said.
"Just like the other law firms that I've been at, Sheppard is a full global service law firm. But their presence
in San Diego is much larger and broader," He said. "It offers me greater opportunities to be active in
the community and to better serve my clients by having that broader practice offering."
The move from Paul Hastings to Sheppard Mullin won't drastically change Oross' responsibilities. He
said he will continue to work toward being the "go-to" person in his practice area in San Diego and help
companies in the life sciences realize their goals.
"The creative spark is such a cool thing," said Oross. "Being able to help people by guiding them
through something that they might be less familiar with, such as how to structure an entity or how to
attract investors, is nice to be apart of, and we all benefit from their success."
For the majority of his career, Oross has focused on emerging companies and the life sciences.
Life sciences has a strong presence in San Diego, which in combination with his interest in emerging
companies, helped him choose his practice area, Oross said.
When he's not guiding emerging companies through the legal landscape, Oross let's his five-year-old
golden retriever take the reins and drag him and his wife down the streets of San Diego. Oross is also an
avid traveler who recently took a trip to Germany and Austria with his wife.
Oross received his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School in 2001.

Daniel M. Engler was promoted to partner of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP in San Francisco.

Daniel M. Engler's practice focuses on the buying, selling, leasing, and development of real property. He joined the firm in 2012 and is a member of Cox, Castle & Nicholson's San Francisco Real Estate and Renewable Energy Development team. Engler's expertise spans the residential, commercial, mixed-use, healthcare and renewable energy sectors, and he regularly represents clients in complex real estate transactions and land use and entitlement matters.

Engler sits on NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area Chapter's Government Affairs Committee, the Urban Land Institute's San Francisco Sustainability Committee, and the Bay Area Council's Housing Committee. Engler graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and earned his bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University.

Linda C. Klein was promoted to partner of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP in San Francisco.

Linda C. Klein’s practice focuses on land use entitlement and litigation, with extensive expertise in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and in particular air quality and greenhouse gas issues. Since joining Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s Land Use and Natural Resources team in 2011, she has helped the firm successfully entitle numerous projects in the Bay Area, including the Oak Knoll community in Oakland and Fortinet’s newest building in Sunnyvale. With an architectural background, she provides entitlement clients practical solutions to the most complex development and zoning matters. She also has helped litigate a number of CEQA cases, including several in the California Supreme Court.

Klein is an active member of the California Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP) and the San Francisco chapter of Urban Land Institute, where she sits on the Policy & Practice Committee. She earned her Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law, graduating Order of the Coif, her Master of Architecture from Yale School of Architecture, and bachelor's degrees in art and art history and civil engineering from Rice University, magna cum laude in both. After law school, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sandra S. Ikuta of the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Cathy T. Moses was promoted to partner of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP in Irvine, Orange County.

Cathy T. Moses joined Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s Litigation team as senior counsel in 2017. Her experience spans a wide range of business and real estate litigation matters, including business torts, contracts, partnership disputes, and employment litigation. She has achieved successful outcomes for the firm’s clients at all stages of litigation, including pre-litigation negotiations, dispositive motion practice, trial, and appeal.

Outside of the office, she serves on the board of directors of the Constitutional Rights Foundation Orange County. She graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif from the University of Michigan Law School, and earned her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in history and literature from Harvard University. After graduating from law school, she served as a law clerk to The Honorable M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. From 2011 to 2012, she served as a Trial Attorney with the United States Department of Justice, Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, in Washington, D.C.

Jake Storms was promoted to partner of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP in San Francisco.

Jake Storms has played a key role in the expansion of Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s renewable energy practice since joining the firm in 2015, where he is a member of the firm’s San Francisco Real Estate and Renewable Energy Development team. Storms is an experienced energy attorney advising developers, lenders and tax equity investors on a broad range of renewable/alternative energy projects, including some of the largest utility-scale solar installations in California and across the United States. Outside of energy, he focuses on project development and the acquisition, disposition and development of real property for a variety of industries, including healthcare, conservation and mitigation lands and mixed-use projects.

Storms is a member of the San Francisco Bar Association and the Napa County Bar Association. Previously, he sat on the advisory board for the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at the University of California, Davis School of Law, as well as the Native American Resources and Renewable, Alternative and Distributed Energy Resources committees for the American Bar Association. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Davis School of Law.