Diane Jebb Hvolka joined Cozen O'Connor as partner in Los Angeles.

Cozen O'Connor has announced that Diane Jebb Hvolka has joined the firm as a partner in Los Angeles. Hvolka has more than 15 years of experience handling complex real estate transactions, and represents clients in commercial real estate and business transactions. She has negotiated and drafted hundreds of leases, amendments, and option agreements on behalf of office, industrial, and retail landlords and tenants, both large and small, including leases for social media companies and other creative office users, restaurants, and high-end retailers, law firms, and financial institutions, entertainment companies, and fitness facilities.

Thomas Wright Casparian joined Cozen O'Connor as partner in Los Angeles.

Cozen O'Connor has announced that Thomas Wright Casparian has joined the firm as a partner in Los Angeles. His trial and appellate practice focuses on commercial, real estate, environmental and employment litigation. Casparian represents clients in land use and real estate development, providing counsel on entitlement strategies and protecting projects from litigation challenges.

Jonathan Sterling Gross joined Cozen O'Connor as partner in Los Angeles.

Cozen O'Connor has announced that Jonathan Sterling Gross has joined the firm as a partner in Los Angeles. Gross' practice focuses on commercial real estate, including entity formation, major office and retail leasing, construction, and design agreements; service, engineering, consulting, and management agreements; brokerage agreements; title insurance; real estate secured lending; purchase and sale of developed and undeveloped property; reciprocal easement agreements and covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs); ground leases; and fine art commission agreements.

Steven Edward Swaney joined Schiff Hardin LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Schiff Hardin LLP has announced that Steven Edward Swaney has joined the firm's product liability and mass torts practice as a partner in San Francisco. He represents companies in product liability, class action, and multidistrict matters arising out of product defect, breach of warranty, toxic tort, and consumer fraud claims. As former assistant U.S. attorney, Swaney also advises on commercial and white collar criminal matters.

Jeeyoung Kim joined Baker & Hostetler LLP as counsel in Los Angeles.

Baker & Hostetler LLP has announced that Jeeyoung Kim has joined the firm as counsel in Los Angeles. Her practice focuses on healthcare-related issues, including federal and state licensing and regulatory compliance, peer review and credentialing, medical staff governance, medical staff bylaws and policies, hospital operations, fraud and abuse, contracting, patient privacy and telemedicine. Kim represents hospitals, medical staffs, managed care organizations, medical groups, and other healthcare entities and providers in these matters.

Mark Anthony Kadzielski joined Baker & Hostetler LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Baker & Hostetler LLP has announced that Mark Anthony Kadzielski has joined the firms national healthcare industry team as a partner in Los Angeles. Kadzielski focuses his practice on representing hospitals, medical staffs, managed care enterprises, and institutional and individual healthcare providers through government regulatory and licensing matters, peer review, joint commission accreditations, credentialing, compliance and corporate governance oversight, and Medicare certification.

Duane Michael Montgomery joined Cozen O'Connor as partner in Los Angeles.

Cozen O'Connor has announced that Duane Michael Montgomery has joined the firm as a partner in Los Angeles. Montgomery focuses his practice on real estate and business transactions. He represents real estate clients in secured financing matters, acquisitions and dispositions, title reviews, foreclosures, loan workouts, commercial leasing, finance lender licensing, joint venture matters, and manufactured housing transactions.

Peter Eric Swain joined Cozen O'Connor as partner in Los Angeles.

Cozen O'Connor has announced that Peter Eric Swain has joined the firm as a partner in Los Angeles. Swain represents entrepreneurs and private equity funds throughout the United States. His practice primarily involves business and commercial real estate transactions such as joint ventures, purchases, sales, financings, and workouts.

Paul Stuart Rutter joined Cozen O'Connor as partner in Los Angeles.

Cozen O'Connor has announced that Paul Stuart Rutter has joined the firm as a partner in Los Angeles. Rutter represents clients on both real estate and general business transactions, including development, financing, leasing, acquisition, and disposition of office, hotel, retail, mixed-use, and industrial properties as well as business formation, private equity investments, and general business transactions.

Richard Howard Close joined Cozen O'Connor as partner in Los Angeles.

Cozen O'Connor has announced that Richard Howard Close has joined the firm as a partner in Los Angeles. Close's practice focuses on all aspects of land use entitlements, administrative and regulatory law, project development and financing, manufactured housing communities, and governmental relations and advocacy.

Frank Gooch III joined Cozen O'Connor as partner in Los Angeles.

Cozen O'Connor has announced that Frank Gooch III has joined the firm as a partner in Los Angeles. Gooch's practice focuses on business, civil, real estate and insurance litigation. He has represented clients involved in a full range of real estate disputes, including partnership and lease disputes, title and boundary disputes, cases involving defamation, right of privacy and First Amendment rights, antitrust, construction defect, insurance and representation of a life insurance company in bad faith law suits.

Richard Conant Giller joined Reed Smith LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Reed Smith LLP has announced that Richard Conant Giller has joined the firm's insurance recovery practice as a partner in Los Angeles. Giller's practice focuses on insurance disputes and insurance recovery with an emphasis on sports and entertainment insurance recovery. He also has a complex litigation and appellate practice. In addition to a focus on insurance recovery dispute resolution, Giller counsels clients about their insurance needs and claims; analyzes and advises complex insurance coverage issues; deals with insolvent insurance carriers, retrospective premium disputes, and captive insurance programs; as well as prosecuting and defending insurance coverage and bad faith cases. His general litigation background includes defending complex products liability, environmental and toxic tort cases.

Jonathan Hawk was promoted to partner of White & Case LLP in Los Angeles.

Jonathan Hawk has been named a partner in our Global Commercial Litigation Practice. Jon is based in Los Angeles, and focuses on providing compliance and regulatory counsel in complex business disputes, including matters involving domestic and international data protection and privacy laws.

Robert Morrison was promoted to partner of White & Case LLP in Los Angeles.

Robert Morrison has been named a partner in our Global Banking Practice. Based in Los Angeles, he represents agent banks, lead arrangers, investors and private equity funds in domestic and global secured and unsecured syndicated credit facilities, private placements and leveraged acquisition financings.

Ronald Anthony Valenzuela joined Lathrop Gage LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Lathrop Gage LLP has announced that Ronald Anthony Valenzuela has joined the firm's policyholder and insurance coverage practice as a partner in Los Angeles. Valenzuela represents policyholders in disputes with insurers involving a wide range of coverages and has extensive experience in other complex litigation matters including products liability, mass tort, environmental and consumer cases.

Nancy Sher Cohen joined Lathrop Gage LLP as partner-in-charge in Los Angeles.

Lathrop Gage LLP has announced that Nancy Sher Cohen has joined the firm's policyholder and insurance coverage practice as partner-in-charge in Los Angeles. Cohen has been lead counsel in the prosecution of many insurance coverage lawsuits related to life insurance claims and environmental and product liabilities.

Benjamin Allen Herbert was promoted to partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Los Angeles.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has announced that Benjamin A. Hebert has been promoted to partner in the firm's Los Angeles office. Herbert, whose practice focuses on patent infringement litigation, has worked on complex cases involving diverse technologies, including medical devices, and computer software and hardware, and satellite technology.

Sarah Schaedler Beach was promoted to partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in San Francisco.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has announced that Sarah Schaedler has been promoted to partner in San Francisco. Schaedler represents clients in a broad range of industry sectors, with a focus on software and technology driven products and consumer products. She also regularly advises clients on intellectual property related transactions, including licensing, software and other intellectual property development arrangements, and intellectual property transfer agreements, as well as commercial agreements.

Jane Wu was promoted to partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in San Francisco.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has announced that Jane Wu has been promoted to partner in San Francisco. Wu's practice focuses on all aspects of debt financing transactions, including the representation of private equity sponsors, hedge funds, and public and private companies in secured and unsecured financings, leveraged buy-outs, recapitalizations, cross-border transactions, first lien-second lien and unitranche financings, and workouts and restructurings.

Normal Benjamin Cramer was promoted to shareholder of La Follette, Johnson, DeHaas, Fesler & Ames in San Diego.

La Follette, Johnson, DeHaas, Fesler & Ames has announced that Norman Benjamin Cramer has been selected to be a shareholder in San Diego. Cramer has been with the firm since 2011 and works exclusively on civil litigation defense, with an emphasis on medical malpractice, professional liability, general liability and premises liability.

Aditi Iyer was promoted to partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in San Francisco.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has announced that Aditi Iyer has been promoted to partner in San Francisco. Iyer's practice focuses on representing private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in a range of corporate financing transactions, including acquisition financings for leveraged buyouts, dividend recapitalizations, asset-based credit facilities, subscription facilities and refinancing facilities, both domestically and cross-border.

Ashley Elizabeth Littlefield was promoted to partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in San Francisco.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has announced that Ashley E. Littlefield has been promoted to partner in San Francisco. Littlefield has represented clients in arbitrations, regulatory and governmental investigations, and in state and federal courts, in matters including securities and shareholder litigation, commercial contracts, and consumer class actions.

Candace Marie Harrison joined Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. as shareholder in Orange County.

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. has announced that Candace Gomez Harrison has joined as a shareholder in the firm's Orange County office. Harrison's clients cover a wide range of industries, such as finance, healthcare, real estate, retail, technology, and others. She has represented her clients in matters involving wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, workplace violence, and more. She also provides on-site trainings and counsels her clients on litigation avoidance and workplace investigations.

Kristen Elaine Kane joined California Department of Tax and Fee Administration as chief counsel in Sacramento.

Governor Jerry Brown has announced that Kristen Elaine Kane has been appointed chief counsel in the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration's Office of Tax Appeals. Kane will serve as acting director. Prior to being appointed to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, Kane served as deputy director of the California Competes Tax Credit Program at the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development.

Kristen Leigh Derhaag was promoted to partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in San Francisco.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has announced that Kristen L. Derhaag has been promoted to partner. Derhaag is a corporate partner in the firm’s San Francisco office.

James Warren Beard was promoted to partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in San Francisco.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has announced that James W. Beard has been promoted to partner in San Francisco. Beard is an intellectual property partner whose practice focuses on patent litigation. Beard's experience includes representations involving a wide range of technologies, including computer science and signal processing, biotechnology and medical devices, and consumer products. He has represented clients in numerous Federal forums, from district courts and the International Trade Commission, to the Court of International Trade and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

James W. M. Beach was promoted to partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in San Francisco.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has announced that James W. Beach has been promoted to partner in San Francisco. Beach's practice focuses primarily on the representation of private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in all aspects of their businesses, including structuring and negotiating strategic and leveraged acquisitions of private and public targets, sale transactions, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, equity financings, minority and growth equity investments and restructurings and workouts. He also represents private equity portfolio companies in routine corporate, executive compensation and governance matters.

Anjna R. Mehta was promoted to partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Palo Alto.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has announced that Anjna R. Mehta has been promoted to partner. Mehta is a corporate partner in the firm's Palo Alto office.