Christian E. Mammen joined Womble Bond Dickinson LLP as partner in Palo Alto.

Mammen has more than 20 years of experience representing tech sector companies in complex patent litigation. His specific experience includes serving as lead counsel in patent infringement cases and other IP disputes. In addition, he guides clients in federal patent appeals.

Lee C. Cheng joined Maschoff Brennan as shareholder in Irvine.

Cheng's practice spans a broad array of disciplines, from corporate transactional work, M&A, governance, to intellectual property, licensing and litigation management and advice. He has delivered uniquely positive outcomes for clients in both commercial and intellectual property litigation matters. Lee is regarded as a national expert on defending companies against frivolous patent assertions and other types of extortionary litigation.

Charles S. Barquist joined Maschoff Brennan as shareholder in Los Angeles.

Barquist is a trial lawyer and IP litigator. His practice is focused on business litigation including patents and other intellectual property, antitrust and unfair competition, and dispute resolution for technology companies.

Katherine L. McDaniel joined Arendsen Cane Molnar LLP as head of intellectual property department in Beverly Hills.

McDaniel focuses her practice on trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, rights of publicity, domain names and related intellectual property for clients that are usually startups and small- to medium-sized companies.

Matthew A. Portnoff joined Venable LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Portnoff is a member of the firm's corporate and business transactions tax practices. He focuses on federal, state, and local tax matters as well as a broad range of business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, real estate taxation, tax credits and tax-exempt financing, nonprofit taxation, and general business planning. In addition to his transactional practice, Portnoff regularly handles tax controversy issues in judicial and administrative forums at the federal, state, and local levels. He also has significant experience representing clients investing and operating in the commercial cannabis industry in accordance with applicable state laws.

Ohyoung Denny Kwon joined Covington & Burling LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Kwon represents numerous public and private companies, private equity firms, and investment banks in a wide range of M&A transactions. His transactional experience includes the acquisition and sale of domestic and foreign public companies, private companies, divisions, and other assets for cash, stock, and other consideration, structured as mergers, stock sales, asset sales, mergers of equals, leveraged buy-outs, going-private transactions, tender offers, unsolicited offers, and proxy contests.

Stacy R. Horth-Neubert joined Sidley Austin LLP as counsel in Los Angeles.

Horth-Neubert focuses her practice on commercial litigation, multi-district litigation and class actions, federal and state appeals, international arbitration, and administrative appeals. She has advised clients on matters including state and local regulation, commercial contact disputes, and unfair business practices and false advertising. Horth-Neubert has also represented several internet-based enterprises and large companies in such industries as design, entertainment, fashion, and travel and leisure.

Scott E. Adamson joined Alston & Bird LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Adamson represents public and private strategic and financial buyers and sellers, emerging businesses, and family offices and business owners in transactions spanning leveraged buyouts, carve-outs, 363 asset sales, and going-private deals.

Tina L. Baravarian was promoted to partner of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP in Los Angeles.

Baravarian is a member of the firm's products liability practice.

Elizabeth A. Burns was promoted to partner of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP in San Francisco.

Burns is a member of the firm’s health care practice. She specializes in the defense of health care providers including acute care and sub acute hospitals, long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities, physicians, nurses, group homes for the disabled, home health agencies, residential board and care homes and other health care facilities.

Christopher D. Chaplin was promoted to partner of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP in Los Angeles.

Chaplin focuses his practice in the defense of general liability matters involving personal injury, premises liability, wrongful death and catastrophic loss.

Amy R. Freeland was promoted to partner of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP in San Bernardino.

Freeland is a member of the firm’s construction practice. Her practice focuses on matters including construction defect litigation, product liability and general liability.

Kristine M. Scribner was promoted to partner of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP in Sacramento.

Scribner is a member of the firm’s general liability practice. She handles a variety of cases including those in the area of general liability, public entity defense, professional liability and employment law. She represents a variety of clients, including local businesses and entrepreneurs and various California public entities in matters involving fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, entity dissolution, real property rights, California Government Tort Claims, intellectual property and trademark registration.

Lovee D. Sarenas was promoted to partner of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP in Los Angeles.

Sarenas is a member of the firm’s bankruptcy & insolvency practice. She has represented corporate and individual debtors, turnaround professionals and creditors in chapter 11 reorganizations, out-of-court workouts, corporate wind downs, and chapter 7 liquidations. Corporate clients range from small businesses to publicly traded corporations and startups in the retail, winery and technology-based industries.

Roxanne Reyna was promoted to partner of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP in San Bernardino.

Reyna is a member of the firm’s health care practice. She focuses on health care defense, including elder abuse and medical malpractice. Reyna has experience in the defense of longterm care facilities, hospitals, physicians, and residential care facilities. She also has experience in general liability and personal injury actions.

Marcus J. Lee was promoted to partner of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP in San Francisco.

Lee is a member of the firm’s labor & employment and Korean business and litigation practices. He represents and counsels employers in all employment-related matters – litigation, risk management and policy preparation.

Jacqueline G. Go was promoted to partner of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP in San Francisco.

Go is a member of the firm’s workers’ compensation practice.

Aldo E. Ibarra was promoted to partner of Nixon Peabody LLP in San Francisco.

Ibarra represents clients in the areas of wildfire litigation and tree law, construction defect, bankruptcy and personal injury. He also works with special servicers in connection with the recovery of bank loans.

Christopher M. Mooney was promoted to partner of Nixon Peabody LLP in San Francisco.

Mooney focuses his practice on strategic patent counseling, patent prosecution and patent litigation. He advises large companies to maximize the value of their IP assets and works with well-funded startups to build strategic patent portfolios for defensive and offensive purposes.

Edward J. Campbell was promoted to partner of Nixon Peabody LLP in Los Angeles.

Campbell handles regulatory and transactional matters involving the acquisition, financing, development, asset management, rehabilitation and preservation of affordable and multifamily housing developments using low-income tax credits, various U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development subsidy programs and Federal Housing Administration loan products.

Angelica Valencia was promoted to partner of Nixon Peabody LLP in Los Angeles.

Valencia serves as bond counsel and underwriter’s counsel in financings involving multifamily housing projects, utilities, transportation, nonprofits, higher education and student loans. Puerto Rico is a key area of focus for Valencia. She serves as bond counsel to a number of different agencies in the U.S. territory in issuance of bonds and other financings. She also serves as counsel to the Build America Bureau, which provides financing for a range of transportation projects across the United States.

Thomas J. Betts was promoted to partner of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP in San Diego.

Betts is a member of the firm's workers' compensation practice. He represents self-insured employers, third party administrators, and carriers at Workers' Compensation Appeals Boards throughout California.

Todd A. Pickles joined Greenberg Traurig LLP as of counsel in Los Angeles.

Pickles represents clients in white-collar matters and investigations as well as in business litigation, tort, employment, constitutional, and environmental claims.

Charles O. Thompson joined Greenberg Traurig LLP as shareholder in San Francisco.

Thompson focuses his practice on employment litigation and counseling representing clients through all phases of class actions and single plaintiff cases.

Camarin E.B. Madigan joined Perkins Coie LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Madigan is a member of the firm's real estate and land use practice. She advises developers, landowners, lenders, and public agencies on acquisitions and dispositions and leasing for complex development projects and commercial properties, as well as land use entitlements and environmental permits.

Bryan K. Basso was promoted to principal of Fish & Richardson in Silicon Valley.

Basso represents both plaintiffs and defendants, ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies, in complex patent litigation in U.S. district courts, the International Trade Commission and at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Katherine D. Prescott was promoted to principal of Fish & Richardson in Silicon Valley.

Prescott focuses on patent and trade secret litigation with an emphasis on software, network and internet technologies. She has experience before federal courts nationwide and has handled all aspects of litigation.

Lisa Barnett Sween was promoted to office managing partner of Jackson Lewis P.C. in San Francisco.

Sween joined Jackson Lewis in 2014 and said she's been continually impressed by the firm's commitment to its clients as well as the inclusive nature of the firm itself.
"It is gratifying to see how the San Francisco roster has grown to include so many talented and diverse attorneys," Sween said in a statement.
Sween represents employers in all aspects of employment law and litigation, including state and federal employment harassment and discrimination litigation, wrongful discharge litigation, FMLA, CFRA, ADA, and wage and hour litigation.
As office managing principal in San Francisco, she hopes to expand the firm's labor and preventative practices as well as its employee benefits, class actions and complex litigation and wage and hour practice groups.
Sween succeeds Fraser McAlpine, who stepped down to focus on his litigation practice.

Quynh K. Vu was promoted to partner of Kaufhold Gaskin LLP in San Francisco.

Vu focuses her practice on complex civil litigation in federal and state courts across the country.

Kelly D. Fair was promoted to partner of Dentons in San Francisco.

Fair is co-leader of the firm's U.S. cannabis group and focuses on representing cannabis and hemp industry clients in a broad range of regulatory matters and commercial transactions. She also represents insurance and financial services clients in all phases of complex commercial litigation and cybersecurity and data protection.

Tania M. Moyron was promoted to partner of Dentons in Los Angeles.

Moyron represents chapter 11 debtors, creditors’ and equity committees, liquidating trustees, principals, and secured and unsecured creditors in all aspects of corporate bankruptcy, as well as asset purchasers in bankruptcy and receivership cases.
Her client base includes a variety of industries, including health care, retail, entertainment, trucking, real estate and restaurant franchise industries.

Sara Dutschke Setshwaelo was promoted to partner of Dentons in San Francisco.

Dutschke Setshwaelo advises and supports tribal clients on complex matters involving tribal sovereignty and governance, government-to-government relations and business and economic development, which includes gaming, energy, conventional and bond financing, and tax analysis.

Colleen D. Calkins joined Akerman LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Calkins works with families and individuals in trust matters, complex probate administration, and legal estate planning. Clients rely on her to create and implement tailored plans for varied levels of wealth as well as the coordination of their business and estate planning. She also represents individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations on general business transactions and taxation.

Fred W. Alvarez joined Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Alvarez combines a distinct blend of employment law experience, public service and legal profession leadership. He has had an active individual and class action litigation practice devoted to defending employers in trial and on appeal in claims brought by private and governmental parties and by former senior executives.

Anthony Pacheco joined Vedder Price P.C. as shareholder in Los Angeles.

Pacheco focuses on white-collar criminal defense, internal investigations and complex business litigation, including civil and criminal trials.

Steven P. Braccini joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as partner in Palo Alto.

Braccini's practice focuses on trust, probate, fiduciary and conservatorship litigation, including will contests, trust contests, removal and surcharge actions, contested conservatorships, accounting disputes, financial elder abuse actions, reformation or modification actions, tax controversy and related civil claims.

Elizabeth A. Frohlich joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Frohlich represents banks and securities broker-dealers in complex, high-stakes civil and criminal actions in federal and state courts and arbitrations and is particularly experienced with litigation involving asset-backed securities.

Nicolas P. Martin was promoted to partner of Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP in San Francisco.

Martin defends companies and individuals sued in products liability, premises liability, toxic tort and general litigation matters. His clients include national and local manufacturers, retailers, property owners and entrepreneurs in a wide variety of service, sales and products industries.

Tae S. Um was promoted to partner of Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP in Los Angeles.

Um represents corporations and the insurance industry in coverage disputes, primarily in the areas of directors’ and officers’ liability as well as professional and general liability claims. He has also defended clients in professional liability and general liability suits.

David J. Aveni was promoted to partner of Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP in San Diego.

Aveni defends clients in a wide variety of securities proceedings, including securities class actions and other civil litigation, enforcement proceedings involving the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory entities, defense of securities arbitrations before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and internal investigations related to securities and accounting misconduct.

Zoë K. Wilhelm was promoted to partner of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP in Los Angeles.

Wilhelm has a diverse litigation practice with a focus on class actions, accounting and valuation litigation, and general business disputes. She handles complex financial issues, including those related to allocations, the valuation of pass-through entities, and discount rates.

Eric J. Wu was promoted to partner of Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl LLC in El Segundo.

Wu focuses his practice on California business and labor & employment law matters. He regularly advises companies on business and corporate transactional matters and Wu's clients include small to mid-market companies in the aerospace, entertainment, food production, manufacturing, medicine, retail, service, technology, and transportation industries. He is a Notre Dame Law School alumnus.

Shaye Diveley was promoted to principal of Meyers Nave Riback Silver & Wilson PLC in Oakland.

Diveley is a member of the firm's land use and environmental law practice group. She has more than 17 years of experience with complex issues involving land use and zoning, and natural resources and environmental law compliance and litigation.

Jon D. Feldhammer joined Baker Botts LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Feldhammer represents businesses and high net-worth individuals in tax disputes covering the range of income, estate and gift, international, and employment tax issues at the IRS and California administrative levels and before federal and state courts.

Eric M. Gruzen joined JML Law, APLC as partner in Woodland Hills.

Gruzen has extensive employment experience, helping employees in employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower, wrongful termination, wage theft as well as class actions. He worked for many years defending management-side cases and now brings that knowledge to the employee side to represent employees whose rights have been violated.

Drew R. Hansen joined Nossaman LLP as partner in Orange County.

Hansen will serve as co-chair of the firm's employment practice group and chair of the firm's trucking, logistics and warehouse industry practice group. He is an employment lawyer and business litigator specializing in defending companies against wage and hour class actions, PAGA claims, individual employment disputes, complex commercial lawsuits, and unfair business practice claims.

Roy Z. Silva joined Nossaman LLP as partner in Orange County.

Silva will serve as co-chair of the firm’s employment practice group. His areas of expertise include mortgage banking/lender liability, employment counseling and litigation, and appellate litigation. He represents clients in regulated industries throughout California.

Seth M. Goldstein joined Nossaman LLP as of counsel in Orange County.

Goldstein focuses on the representation of employers, particularly those in the transportation industry, with an emphasis on the defense of class and collective actions and other complex matters.

Deborah L. Stein joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Stein is a complex commercial litigator with experience in matters spanning cybersecurity, trade secrets, insurance and reinsurance, securities and consumer class actions, joint venture disputes, and business practice disputes. She also regularly advises clients on False Claims Act matters and whistleblower allegations of fraud.

Nathan A. Cohen was promoted to partner of Peckar & Abramson P.C. in Los Angeles.

Cohen focuses on construction law, commercial litigation, real estate, corporate compliance and internal investigations.

Artin Betpera was promoted to partner of Womble Bond Dickinson LLP in Costa Mesa.

Betpera represents financial services companies in high stakes litigation in federal and state courts and specializes in Telephone Consumer Protection Act litigation. He is a Chapman University School of Law alumnus.