Coleman & Horowitt, LLP
Lucille Goins Dimmick
joined Coleman & Horowitt, LLP as senior counsel in Los Angeles.
Coleman & Horowitt, LLP has announced that Lucille Goins Dimmick has joined the firm’s Los Angeles office. She will advise clients on banking compliance issues relating to consumer financing, including automobile financing, credit cards, and the CFPB.
Address
1880 Century Park East, Suite 404 , Los Angeles 90067 United States
T:
(559) 248-4820
F:
(559) 248-4830
Coleman & Horowitt, LLP
Lee Norman Smith
joined Coleman & Horowitt, LLP as partner in Sacramento/Fresno.
Coleman & Horowitt, LLP has announced that Lee N. Smith has joined the firm as head of the firm's new Environmental Practice Group. Lee will manage the firm's new Sacramento location and work in each of the firm's offices. Lee’s practice includes land and natural resource regulation and development, environmental compliance, water law and litigation. He is experienced in federal and state water quality, hazardous materials, air quality and Prop. 65 compliance issues, including environmental due diligence projects for mining and energy projects. He has handled cases before the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, the San Joaquin Unified Air Pollution Control District, and local environmental agencies.
Address
499 W Shaw Ave , Fresno 93704-2516 United States
T:
(559) 248-4820
F:
(559) 248-4830
Loeb & Loeb LLP
Ryan Matthew Austin
was promoted to partner of Loeb & Loeb LLP in Los Angeles.
Loeb & Loeb LLP has announced that Ryan M. Austin has been promoted to partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Ryan’s practice covers a wide range of U.S. federal income and state and local tax issues. He represents clients in federal and state tax controversy matters, particularly in disputes with the Internal Revenue Service and the California Franchise Tax Board, and he regularly advises clients in connection with business and investment transactions, including formations, acquisitions and dispositions.
Department of Fair Employment and Housing

Sheila Thomas
joined Department of Fair Employment and Housing as senior counsel in 2218 Kausen Drive, Elk Grove, CA 95758.
Sheila Thomas, a prominent class action employment lawyer, has joined the California Department of Fair Employment as Senior Counsel. Sheila comes to DFEH from private practice where for the past several years she represented classes of plaintiffs in various employment and discrimination cases. She was formerly the litigation director for the Equal Rights Advocates, an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (as a Skadden Fellow), and an associate at the class action firm of Saperstein, Mayeda, Larkin and Goldstein where she worked with Mari Mayeda. Sheila has been on the board of the Advancement Project, a civil rights think tank based in Los Angeles and Washington D.C.
Address
2218 Kausen Drive , Elk Grove 95758
T:
(916) 585-7076
F:
(888) 275-5529
Loeb & Loeb LLP

Rodney Calvin Lee
joined Loeb & Loeb LLP as partner in Los Angeles.
Loeb & Loeb LLP has announced that Rodney C. Lee has joined the firm’s trusts and estates department as a partner in its Los Angeles office. Rodney’s practice concentrates on estate, trust and fiduciary litigation, including disputes involving issues of undue influence, lack of capacity, breach of fiduciary duty, and elder abuse. He also has extensive experience advising clients on the removal of personal representatives and trustees.
Address
10100 Santa Monica Blvd , Los Angeles 90067-4120 United States
T:
(310) 282-2000
F:
(310) 282-2200
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Kandace P. Watson
joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as partner in Del Mar.
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP has announced that Kandace P. Watson has joined its corporate practice group as a partner in the firm’s Del Mar office. Kandace has experience representing companies, corporate boards and executives in intellectual property intensive industries, including biomedical, biotechnology, chemical, healthcare, pharmaceutical, software and technology.
Address
12275 El Camino Real , San Diego 92130 United States
T:
(858) 720-8900
F:
(858) 509-3691
McGuireWoods LLP
Elliot Schlesinger Katz
joined McGuireWoods LLP as partner in San Francisco.
McGuireWoods LLP has announced that Elliot Katz has joined as a partner to lead the firm’s connected automated vehicle practice in its San Francisco office. In his previous practice, Elliot advised automakers, global technology companies, and municipalities on emerging issues in the mobility space. He also has significant experience litigating privacy, intellectual property, and complex business matters, and counseling clients on privacy and consumer protection laws.
Address
2 Embarcadero Center , San Francisco 94111 United States
T:
(415) 844-1963
F:
(415) 844-1939
Klinedinst PC
Alisa Shu Edelson
joined Klinedinst PC as counsel in Los Angeles.
Klinedinst PC has announced that Alisa S. Edelson has joined the firm as counsel. Alisa has experience representing individuals and businesses in a variety of disputes involving unfair competition, defamation, trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, copyright and trademark infringement, idea submission, and wrongful termination in state and federal courts. In addition, Alisa has counseled clients on branding and intellectual property protection and enforcement including with respect to due diligence, clearance, prosecution, and management.
Address
777 S Figueroa St , Los Angeles 90017-5826 United States
T:
(213) 406-1100
F:
(213) 406-1101
Hopkins & Carley

Ruby Kazi
joined Hopkins & Carley as of counsel in Palo Alto.
Ruby Kazi is an experienced litigator with a focus on crisis management, with matters ranging from defending harassment suits to pursuing workplace violence prevention. She has significant experience at both the trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts.
Address
100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 , San Francisco 94117 United States
T:
(415) 635-1196
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Kenneth Edward Keller
joined Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP as partner in San Francisco.
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has announced that Ken Keller has joined the litigation boutique as a partner in San Francisco. He comes to Pillsbury from the San Francisco litigation boutique, Keller Sloan Roman & Holland LLP, which he co-founded in 1998. Ken represents clients in a wide array of patent, trademark, trade dress, trade secrets, copyright, licensing, breach of contract and unfair competition litigation. In addition to litigating cases involving issues pertaining to the industry, Ken advises producers, directors, screenwriters and composers with transactional issues.
Address
4 Embarcadero Center , San Francisco 94111-5998 United States
T:
(141) 598-3108
F:
(141) 524-9846
Best Best & Krieger LLP

Jeffrey Chang
joined Best Best & Krieger LLP as partner in Sacramento.
Previously a shareholder at CRL, Jeff Chang brings more than four decades of experience in skillful evaluation of benefit and retirement plans for compliance and maximum outcomes for clients. Chang represents government agencies, nonprofits, businesses, tax-exempt organizations, non-ERISA and religious organizations, including churches. He works closely with his clients on every aspect of retirement plan design, compliance and correction, as well as fiduciary compliance and executive compensation.

Susan Neethling
joined Best Best & Krieger LLP as of counsel in Sacramento.
Susan Neethling focuses on counseling governmental, church, nonprofit, ERISA, and non-ERISA clients in all aspects of retirement plan design, documentation, compliance, implementation, reporting and disclosure. She is a leading authority on issues concerning defined contribution, defined benefit and 403(b) and 457(b) retirement plans. She has 30 years of experience in the employee benefits consulting and legal field.
Address
500 Capitol Mall, Suite 1700 , Sacramento 95814 USA
T:
(916) 329-3685
Blank Rome LLP
Laura Reathaford
joined Blank Rome LLP as partner in Los Angeles.
Blank Rome LLP has announced that Laura Reathaford has joined its Labor and Employment group in Los Angeles. Laura focuses her practice on management-side employment litigation, with a special emphasis on representative actions under the Private Attorney General Act and other wage and hour collective and class actions. She counsels clients on termination issues, employee handbooks, leave and disability rules, and California and federal wage and hour laws, and represents the management of public and private businesses in the manufacturing and grocery industries, as well as in banking, healthcare, and telecommunications.
Address
2029 Century Park E , Los Angeles 90067 United States
T:
(424) 239-3428
F:
(424) 234-5454
Carlsmith Ball LLP
David Michael Ross
was promoted to partner of Carlsmith Ball LLP in Los Angeles.
David Ross, former of counsel for Carlsmith Ball, has been promoted to partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office. David’s practice includes complex commercial litigation, alternative dispute resolution, and pre-dispute counseling.
Foley & Lardner LLP
Rick Chiliang Chang
joined Foley & Lardner LLP as partner in San Francisco.
Foley & Lardner LLP has announced that Rick Chang has joined its IP Litigation Practice in San Francisco. Chang, a seasoned intellectual property litigation and transactions lawyer, represents technology clients in patent, trade secrets, ANDA and complex commercial matters in district court; AIA procedures before the Patent Office; and Section 337 investigations at the International Trade Commission. Chang also provides counseling to start-ups in technology transactions, patent licensing, and IP strategy.
Address
555 California Street , San Francisco 94104-1520 United States
T:
(415) 984-9844
F:
(415) 434-4507
Foley & Lardner LLP
Duane H. Mathiowetz
joined Foley & Lardner LLP as partner in San Francisco.
Foley & Lardner LLP has announced that Duane Mathiowetz has joined its IP Litigation Practice in San Francisco. Duane, a registered patent attorney with a graduate degree in mechanical engineering design, primarily represents clients in patent litigation before U.S. district courts and the International Trade Commission, as well as in post-grant proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office across diverse technologies. He also provides patent counseling and licensing services and represents clients in copyright, trademark, trade secret, unfair competition and complex commercial disputes.
Address
555 California Street , San Francisco 94104-1520 United States
T:
(415) 984-9845
F:
(415) 434-4507
Goodwin Procter LLP
Jason R. Vollbracht
joined Goodwin Procter LLP as partner in San Francisco.
Goodwin Procter LLP has announced that Jason Vollbracht has joined its tax group as a partner in the firm’s San Francisco office. Jason focuses his practice on federal income taxation, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, formation of investment funds, partnerships and other joint ventures, and real estate transactions.
Address
3 Embarcadero Center , San Francisco 94111 United States
T:
(415) 733-6026
Bick Law LLP

Krista deBoer
joined Bick Law LLP as senior associate in Newport Beach.
Newport Beach environmental law firm Bick Law LLP has announced that Krista deBoer has joined the boutique firm as Senior Associate. Her practice will focus on environmental litigation, regulatory compliance and enforcement defense in Southern California.
Address
520 Newport Center Drive, Suite 750 , Newport Beach 92660 United States
T:
(949) 432-3490
Baker Botts
Chris Carr
joined Baker Botts as partner in San Francisco.
Baker Botts has announced that Chris Carr has joined the firm’s Environmental practice based in San Francisco. Mr. Carr represents businesses, land developers, private individuals, public agencies and nonprofits in all areas of environmental and natural resource law, including energy, transportation, water, forestry, mining, coastal and marine resources, and agriculture. In particular, Mr. Carr's practice focuses on permitting and litigation under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as well as their California counterparts: the California ESA, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). He is also an expert in local, state, federal and international laws, regulations, initiatives and programs to promote the development of clean energy.
Address
2479 E Bayshore Rd, Ste 185 , San Francisco 94303-3245 USA
T:
(415) 683-5472
Jones Day

Amanda Christine Sommerfeld
joined Jones Day as partner in Los Angeles.
Amanda practices all aspects of employment litigation. She has secured several victories on behalf of SkyWest Airlines in repetitive putative class actions brought by customer service agents alleging various wage and hour violations, and defeated class and collective action claims brought against a health care consortium on behalf of nearly 50,000 health care professionals.
Address
555 S Flower St, Los Angeles, CA 90071 , Los Angeles 90071-2452 United States
T:
(213) 243-2174
F:
(213) 243-2539
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

Brandon Akio Takahashi
joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP as partner in Los Angeles.
Brandon Takahashi has joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP's labor and employment group as a partner. Brandon advises and counsels a wide range of private and public sector clients, representing them in state and federal employment related-litigation. He has represented clients in claims and cases involving discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, Fair Employment and Housing Act retaliation, whistleblower retaliation and others. He has represented clients in industries that include hospitality, retail, restaurant, banking and commerce, medical and medical device manufacturing, sports and software programming.
Address
633 W. 5th Street , Los Angeles 90071 United States
T:
(213) 680-2800
F:
(213) 614-7399
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration
Tad Tadashi Egawa
was promoted to chief counsel of California Department of Tax and Fee Administration in Sacramento.
Tad Egawa has been appointed chief counsel at the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration after serving as general counsel at the California Department of Housing and Community Development since 2015. Tad was assistant commissioner of legal affairs at the California Bureau of Real Estate from 2013 to 2015, and was a deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 2009 to 2013.
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Donna Lynne Wilson
was promoted to co-chair of financial services group of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP in Los Angeles.
Donna Wilson is nationally-recognized for her high-profile work on behalf of companies facing litigation and government enforcement actions, with a focus on both the consumer financial services and privacy and data security spaces. She has successfully represented clients including banks, mortgage servicers, auto finance companies, retailers and other financial services providers, as well as clients in other regulated industries, in a range of complex, high-stakes matters.
Details
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, is one of the nation’s leading law and consulting firms, with offices strategically located in California, New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The firm represents a sophisticated client base — including Fortune 500, middle-market and emerging companies — across a range of practice areas and industry sectors.
Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP
Gary A. Barrera
joined Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP as partner in Oakland.
Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP has added Gary A. Barrera as a partner in its Insurance Practice Group. Gary has more than 12 years of experience in insurance coverage litigation, defending insurance carriers and third-party administrators on bad faith, declaratory relief and equitable contribution actions. He has also represented major residential home builders in all aspects of construction defect litigation and has resolved insurance coverage disputes arising out of construction claims on behalf of policyholders.
Details
Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP serves a diverse clientele of business, public and individual clients located throughout California and the United States. With offices in Oakland and Modesto, California, the 108-year-old firm advises clients on transactional and civil litigation matters in several related fields of law, including business/corporate; construction; eminent domain; employment; environmental; estate planning, trusts and probate; green business; insolvency, restructuring and creditor rights; insurance; intellectual property; land use; real estate; taxation; and technology. In 2003, the firm became the first law firm in the country to gain third-party certification as a green business and has won numerous recognitions for its leadership in the green economy.
Address
1111 Broadway #2400 , Oakland 94607 United States
T:
(510) 834-6600
F:
(510) 834-1928
Rimon, P.C.
Matthew Herman Poppe
joined Rimon, P.C. as partner in Palo Alto and San Francisco.
Rimon, P.C. has added Intellectual Property Litigation Partner Matthew Poppe as a partner in the firm's Palo Alto and San Francisco office. Matt has handled patent and IP cases for clients such as Varian Medical Systems, Dell EMC, eBay, Baidu, and Brocade, and has represented a variety of Asia-based clients in U.S. litigation arising out of troubled business relationships.
Address
2479 E Bayshore Rd, Ste 185 , Palo Alto 94303-3245 United States
T:
(650) 233-7133
Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP

Katherine Jeanine Brinson
was promoted to senior counsel of Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP in Los Angeles.
In a rare mid-year promotion, Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP (WSHB) promoted Katherine Brinson to Senior Counsel, effective July 1, 2017. Senior Counsel is a promotion given to select associates who have consistently demonstrated strong legal skills and case handling ability, maintain excellent client relationships, and serve as contributing members of the WSHB team. Katherine's practice is focused on the defense of general negligence, premises liability, intellectual property, insurance, and product liability matters, including complex tort litigation and business and commercial litigation. She is an experienced litigator who has secured favorable outcomes for all types of clients, from individuals to large corporations, including successful mediation and/or settlement, summary judgment awards.
Greentarget Global Group
Ying Genève DuBois
joined Greentarget Global Group as partner in Miami.
DLA Piper has announced that Ying Genève DuBois has joined the firm’s Real Estate practic as a partner in the Miami office. DuBois focuses her practice primarily on representing US and global investors in their US real estate investments. She has extensive experience in complex transactional matters, particularly in regard to investors from China and other Asia-Pacific countries. Prior to joining DLA Piper, DuBois was a partner with Holland & Knight LLP. She received her J.D., cum laude, from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and earned her B.B.A., summa cum laude, from Texas Christian University.
Address
141 W. Jackson, Suite 3100 , Chicago 60604 USA
T:
(312) 253-7290
Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth
Ian D. Smith
joined Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth as shareholder in Santa Barbara.
Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth has hired Ian Smith as a shareholder in the firm's Santa Barbara office. He will be a part of the firm’s venture capital, emerging companies and M&A deal teams. Smith has extensive experience in private and public securities, venture capital, and mergers and acquisitions. Smith’s more notable deals include SingTel’s acquisition of the US operations of Adconion Media, LegalZoom’s equity sale to Permira, Fidelity National Financial’s sale of One Digital to New Mountain Capital and TrackR’s Preferred Stock financing transactions.
King & Spalding LLP
Travis F. Jackson
joined King & Spalding LLP as partner in Los Angeles.
King & Spalding LLP has hired Travis F. Jackson as a partner in its Los Angeles office. Jackson represents clients — including health systems and hospitals — on transactional issues in the healthcare sector, including commercial, M&A, tax, executive compensation, corporate governance and financial matters.
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Address
1 Market Street, Steuart Tower, Suite 1800 , San Francisco, CA 94105
T:
(415) 365-6700
F:
(415) 365-6699
Holland & Knight LLP
Danielle V. Garcia
joined Holland & Knight LLP as partner in Los Angeles.
Holland & Knight LLP has hired Danielle V. Garcia as a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office. She will be part of Holland & Knight's financial services practice group. Garcia focuses her practice on representing lenders in secured finance transactions, including senior, second lien and mezzanine financings, on an asset-based, recurring revenue, cash-flow and leveraged basis.