Stephen T. Kong joined Pepper Hamilton LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Kong focuses on technology transactions, intellectual property licensing and value creation. He also has experience advising on content and media transactions, the intellectual property aspects of mergers and acquisitions and open source software for clients including commercial software, e-commerce, consumer electronics, retail and apparel businesses.

Jana L. Russell joined Scheper Kim & Harris LLP as counsel in Los Angeles.

Russell's practice includes defense of civil and criminal investigations as well as commercial disputes and class actions. She handles health care fraud, environmental violations, financial services, securities, consumer products, antitrust and defense of legal, accounting and tax professionals.

Vikki L. Vander Woude joined Umberg Zipser LLP as partner in Irvine.

Vander Woude focuses her practice on commercial litigation, litigation consulting and neutral services. She assists smaller and mid-sized businesses as an "outside in-house" counsel with management and oversight of litigation, legal expenses, discovery, proactive risk management and alternative dispute resolution.

Laura Campbell joined Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck LLP as associate in Sonoma, CA.

Campbell concentrates her practice on landlord/tenant matters including representing clients in unlawful detainer lawsuits, negotiating tenant buy-outs and resolving property management issues. She received her B.A. from Northwestern University and her J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Yesenia M. Gallegos joined McDermott Will & Emery LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Gallegos counsels employers faced with mounting risks of class action litigation and workplace disputes. She represents employers for wage and hour cases and trade secret and non-compete matters. Gallegos also conducts and oversees workplace investigations of harassment and discrimination and provides organizations with training in sexual harassment prevention, disability law and employment law.

Sam A. Newman joined Sidley Austin LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Newman joins Sidley Austin's global restructuring group. He advises debtors, buyers, sellers, lenders and borrowers in transactions involving distressed assets.

Robert F. Kramer joined Feinberg Day Alberti Lim & Belloli LLP as partner in Menlo Park.

Kramer specializes in representing owners and companies accused of patent infringement in district courts throughout the country. He represents well-established companies as well as startups and has extensive experience litigating and advising clients in patent licensing negotiations.

Russell S. Tonkovich joined Feinberg Day Alberti Lim & Belloli LLP as partner in Menlo Park.

Tonkovich focuses on patent infringement, trade secret litigation, patent licensing negotiation, licensing disputes and counseling clients to resolve complex business disputes involving intellectual property. He also has experience representing biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

Greg A. Christianson joined Alston & Bird LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Christianson's practice focuses on allocation matters, natural resource damage actions, federal and state citizen suits and multiparty toxic tort actions. He also handles complex environmental litigation matters including class actions and mass joinder lawsuits.

Winston P. Hsiao was promoted to counsel of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Los Angeles.

Hsiao practices complex civil litigation in state and federal court, representing defendants in lawsuits such as class action securities litigation, shareholder derivative actions, tortious interference claims, contract disputes and fraud claims.

Allison M. Hunter was promoted to counsel of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Palo Alto.

Hunter focuses on clients in public and private debt and equity financings, including initial public offerings and follow-on and secondary offerings. She also advises on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, SEC maters and other corporate transactions.

David A. Niemeyer was promoted to counsel of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Los Angeles.

Niemeyer has represented clients in domestic and cross-border transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, auctions and joint ventures. He regularly advises clients on corporate governance and other general corporate matters.

Anthony Arnold joined Barnes & Thornburg LLP as partner in San Diego.

Arnold's practice focuses on corporate and finance, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity. He also regularly advises fund managers, company executives and boards of directors on corporate governance matters and compliance issues.

Michael C. Flynn joined Buchalter PC as of counsel in Los Angeles.

Flynn's practice focuses on consumer financial services, banking, mortgage lending and servicing, mergers and acquisitions regarding regulatory requirements, transaction due diligence and regulatory enforcement.

Steven M. Goldberg joined Pearl Cohen Zedek Latzer Baratz LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Goldberg has extensive litigation experience. Some of his clients include brokerage firms, banks, stockbrokers and their customers. Goldberg has also done work in copyright and trademark infringement, class actions and Securities and Exchange Commission investigations.

Matthew J. Meyer joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as chief client corporate development advisor in San Francisco.

Meyer will lead the firm's life science business advisory practice. He is an experienced executive who has held diverse roles of increasing responsibility across a wide range of private and public biopharmaceutical, medical technology and precision medicine companies in the U.S. and Europe.

Brian M. McDaniel joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as partner in Palo Alto.

Brian McDaniel focuses on corporate and securities law, specializing in the formation and operation of venture capital and other private investment funds. His practice is oriented around finding commercial solutions across multiple areas of law, including partnership, tax and regulatory.

Noelle M. Natoli joined Clark Hill PLC as member in Los Angeles.

Natoli's principal areas of practice are transportation and elder abuse, with extensive experience from pre-litigation investigation and emergency response to post-trial law and motion in both areas. Some of Natoli's clients include long-term care facilities, nursing homes, adult family homes, doctors, nurses, independent contractors, trucking companies and more.

Karen Michail Shah joined FisherBroyles LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Michail Shah's practice involves representing commercial lenders and institutional investors in multifamily affordable housing and mixed-use developments. She advises clients on originating and structuring construction and permanent loans and equity investments involving low income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bonds and taxable bonds, among other entities.

David P. Simonds joined Hogan Lovells US LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Simonds represents debtors, official and informal creditors' committees, secured and unsecured creditors, asset purchasers and other parties involved in out-of-court restructurings, cross-border insolvencies and transactions.

Dr. Nicole Ballew Chang joined Umberg Zipser LLP as patent agent in Irvine.

Ballew Chang's practice revolves around patent prosecution in biotechnology, life sciences and chemical arts. She has experience in molecular and cellular biology that provides her with insight into intellectual property challenges, so she can provide her clients with strategic solutions. Ballew Chang also provides support for due diligence and licensing matters.

Vikki L. Vander Woude joined Umberg Zipser LLP as partner in Irvine.

Vander Woude focuses her practice on commercial litigation, litigation consulting and neutral services. She assists smaller and mid-sized businesses as an “outside in-house” counsel with management and oversight of litigation, legal expenses, discovery, proactive risk management and alternative dispute resolution.

Erin E. Schneider was promoted to director of The Securities and Exchange Commission in San Francisco.

Schneider has investigated or supervised dozens of enforcement matters involving a variety of securities law violations. In her new role, Schneider will lead more than 125 enforcement attorneys, accountants, investigators and compliance examiners to handle investigation and prosecution of enforcement actions as well as compliance inspections with registrants across the region.

Ken Krug joined FisherBroyles LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Krug centers his practice around debt and equity financing of multifamily housing. He specializes in residential rental housing with governmental subsidies and limitations on the income earned and rentals payable by residents. Krug has represented clients in the preparation and negotiation of loan documents, tax exempt and taxable bond transactions and partnership.

John C. Opgenorth joined FisherBroyles LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Opgenorth represents banks and other institutional lenders and investors in real estate transactions. He focuses on the origination and structuring of loans and equity investments in multifamily housing developments financed with low income housing tax credits and tax-exempt bonds.