S. Desmond Jui joined Lathrop Gage LLP as of counsel in Los Angeles.

patent infringement

Kevin Bendix was promoted to partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Los Angeles.

IP litigation

Jacob H. Johnston was promoted to partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in San Francisco.

Litigation

Barry S. Le Vine was promoted to partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in San Francisco.

Investment Funds

Christine Wong joined Morrison & Foerster LLP in San Francisco.

Christine joins the firm after spending the last five years at Fujitsu, where she most recently served as Vice President, Head of International Compliance. In this role, she led the development and implementation of compliance programs including anti-bribery/corruption, antitrust and competition, and export control. Christine also has significant prosecutorial experience, having served seven years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York and in the Northern District of California. She has prior experience at a national law firm as well.

Robert D. Wilson III joined Fisher Phillips Bolsters as partner in San Diego.

Wilson represents employers in state and federal courts and before all California administrative law agencies (including the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement and Department of Fair Employment and Housing) handling various employment matters, including the defense of wage-and-hour, business expense reimbursement and unfair business practice claims. He specializes in the defense of complex "bet-the-company" wage-and-hour class actions and California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) representative actions involving California's wage-and-hour laws and claims made by employees under both the California Labor Code and the FLSA, including in other states.

Additionally, Wilson routinely defends employers and supervisors in individual employment matters, including claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, maritime injury, retaliation and individual wage-and-hour claims. He routinely advises and counsels clients on their obligations arising under federal, state and local labor laws, and regularly performs workplace trainings, investigations and audits.

"Robert's substantial litigation experience informs his workplace investigations, and he applies this keen insight in his analysis of the evidence, potential exposure and resolution options - all of which are of great benefit to our clients across industries," said Christopher C. Hoffman, regional managing partner of the firm's San Diego office.

Wilson joins the firm from Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP in San Diego. In 2017 and 2018, he was selected to the San Diego Magazine's "Top Lawyers in San Diego" awards, with a distinction in Employment Law. Wilson earned his J.D. from Albany Law School of Union University (2001), where he served as Note and Comment Editor for the Albany Law Review, and his B.S. in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship with Honors, magna cum laude, from Northeastern University (1998).

Amir Freund joined Kirkland & Ellis LLP as partner in Palo Alto.

Tyler Woods joined Fisher Phillips as partner in Irvine.

Woods represents employers in litigation involving discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, wage-and-hour, breach of employment contracts, unfair competition, and misappropriation of trade secrets claims. He also defends restaurants and retail businesses against claims brought under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and he counsels clients regarding employment policies and practices.

"Tyler has both litigation prowess and a deep understanding of business, which are decided benefits to his clients who are often facing difficult operational and reputational considerations. He's a great complement to the expanding Orange County team," said James J. McDonald, Jr., managing partner of the firm's Irvine office.

Woods joins the firm from Pacific Trial Attorneys in Newport Beach. He was honored as a Southern California Super Lawyers "Rising Star" from 2009-2011 and in 2014. Woods earned his J.D. from the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law (2004) and his B.A. from the University of California, Davis (1999).

Emily J. Yukich joined California Lawyers Association Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section in Los Angeles.

She is managing partner of Fox Rothchild LLP's Los Angeles office. Yukich was appointed to serve a two-year term on the association committee. As a Corporations Committee member, she will work with fellow members to create educational materials for attorneys and corporations that are based in California, as well as propose new legislation and make recommendations to improve existing regulations of the state's corporations code. Yukich counsels small to midsized businesses in a variety of industries and handles business formation, planning and restructuring and works with startups on strategy and early-stage funding as well as with existing companies on growth and acquisition financing. She is based in Los Angeles.

Josh Cook joined Goodwin Proctor LLP as partner in San Franciso.

Working in the firm's technology companies practice, his focus industries include consumer internet, software, blockchain and entertainment technology. He represents emerging growth companies, venture capital firms and private equity investment funds. He is based in San Francisco

Scott M. Wornow joined Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP in San Francisco.

Wornow's experience includes general corporate and commercial matters, merger and acquisition transactions, securities law matters, public and private capital markets and venture financings, technology licensing, corporate compliance, governance and internal investigations, litigation management, intellectual property portfolio development, executive compensation and human resource matters and corporate restructurings. He is based in San Francisco.

Alison Bassett Bassett joined Best Best & Krieger LLP as of counsel in Walnut Creek.

Bassett represents a broad range of health care providers across all aspects of medical practices and operations, with a focus on transactional work and regulatory compliance. She is based in Walnut Creek

Boris Zelkind joined Duane Morris LLP as partner in San Diego.

Zelkind specializes in intellectual property litigation, including patent infringement, trade secrets, trademark, copyrights and unfair competition cases. He has litigated complex trademark infringement matters and has written extensively on the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016. He also oversees patent infringement proceedings and nullity actions in Europe. He is based in San Diego.

Tom Duley joined Sidley Austin LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Duley joins the firm's global life sciences practice. He has experience advising international and domestic clients in the life sciences sector on multifaceted strategic partnering and commercial transactions. Duley worked as senior in-house corporate counsel at PDL BioPharma, where he brings that operational experience to advising life sciences companies on transactions such as multibillion-dollar collaboration agreements between biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, as well as licensing agreements, supply and manufacturing agreements and asset purchases and sales. He is based in San Francisco.

Kelly A. Knight joined Judicate West as mediator.

Knight joins the roster of neutrals at the private dispute resolution firm. Knight has litigated cases involving employment law, including class actions, discrimination, harassment, wage-and-hour and Private Attorneys General Act claims; all types of personal injury; and business and contractual matters. He also worked handling insurance claims as an adjuster for a national carrier. As a mediator, Knight has handled matters for the Los Angeles Superior Court's Personal Injury CRASH settlement program, as well in private practice. He also works on the mediation panel for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He earned his law degree from
the University of California Gould School of Law. Knight is based in Los Angeles.

Colin Coffey joined Best Best & Krieger LLP as partner in Walnut Creek.

Coffey's central practice is public health care law and regulation, representing providers generally, and medical centers, health care districts, community clinics, skilled nursing facilities and physician groups. Coffey is based in Walnut Creek.

Susan Estrich joined Boies Schiller Flexner LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Estrich, a 30-year veteran litigator in California, most recently defended the University of Southern California in connection with allegations of sexual abuse by a longtime staff gynecologist. And earlier this year, Estrich won dismissal in a 14-year, $100 million trade secrets case against her client Mattel Inc. But it was representing the late Fox
News Chief Executive Roger Ailes in a slew of sexual assault matters that got her the most attention, and vexed her critics. Estrich is a longtime Democrat known for championing feminist causes who agreed to represent her ideological opposite. Ailes ended up costing the company $45 million to settle a number of sexual harassment allegations. She is based in Los Angeles.

Noël M. Noël joined Best Best & Krieger LLP in Walnut Creek.

Caughman's practice concentrates on both health care and em
ployment law. She represents hospitals and various business entities working predominantly on transactional and regulatory compliance matters. She is based in Walnut Creek.

Amy Hoyt joined Best Best & Krieger LLP as partner in Riverside.

Hoyt represents cities, counties and special districts in environmental and public law litigation matters. She is a certified appellate specialist, certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. She joined the firm's environmental law and natural resources practice group. She is based in Riverside.

David Bainbridge joined Fair Political Practices Commission as general counsel in Sacramento.

Government ethics

Nate A. Garhart joined Farella Braun + Martel LLP as special counsel in San Francisco.

Business transactions

Harper Batts joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as partner in Palo Alto.

Intellectual property