John Meller was promoted to partner of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Los Angeles.

Meller's practice focuses on music transactions, including negotiating and drafting agreements in the music industry. An advocacy committee member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, he campaigns for the rights of music creators, organizing advocacy and leading meetings with members of Congress for various grassroots events. Meller graduated from UCLA School of Law.

Stephanie Roeser was promoted to partner of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Los Angeles.

Roeser represents clients in a wide variety of employment and commercial litigation matters, including litigation defense of wage-and-hour class actions as well as single-plaintiff discrimination and retaliation matters. She also represents employers before state and federal administrative agencies and advises employers on employment issues and best practices. Roeser graduated from UC Law San Francisco.

Che Salinas was promoted to partner of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Sacramento.

Salinas advises clients on complex political matters in addition to legal, legislative and fiscal issues across numerous policy areas, including health care, pharmaceutical manufacturing, transportation, public utilities, taxation and energy policy. In this capacity, he appears before state agencies, regulatory bodies and the California Legislature to advance client objectives. He also advises and collaborates with an array of business industries and trade associations in those efforts. Salinas graduated from UC Davis School of Law.

David L. McGrath was promoted to counsel of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Orange County.

McGrath's practice focuses on an extensive variety of regulatory and transactional matters involving hazardous waste, air quality and climate change, energy projects, land use and development, water quality, and related government compliance issues. He graduated from UCLA School of Law.

Benjamin E. Strauss was promoted to counsel of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Los Angeles.

Strauss' practice includes complex business litigation, class actions, and appeals involving intellectual property, technology, entertainment, unfair competition, and real estate issues. He has comprehensive experience in all phases of civil litigation in federal and California state courts. Strauss graduated from UCLA School of Law and served as a law clerk to Judge Milan D. Smith, Jr. of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Justin Romig joined Coleman & Horowitt, LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Romig represents businesses and individuals in business, complex commercial, banking, real estate, construction, probate, and employment litigation in state and federal courts, as well as arbitration and mediation. He also serves as defense counsel in high-exposure, complex commercial litigation matters.

Gary L. LaHendro was promoted to partner of Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP in Los Angeles.

LaHendro focuses his practice on insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. Gary's clients include carriers within the United States and London Markets for whom he has provided coverage advice on various lines of coverage, including commercial general liability, excess, errors and omissions, auto, and representations and warranties. Gary also monitors the defense of insureds with respect to third-party lawsuits. In addition to coverage work, Gary has over 20 years of litigation experience as lead defense counsel on cases involving soil and groundwater contamination, professional liability, construction defect and personal injury cases. He is also a skilled appellate attorney and Certified Mediator.

Melvin F. Marcia was promoted to partner of Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP in Sacramento.

Marcia is a member of the firm's Transportation Law, General Liability, Product Liability and Fire Litigation Practice Groups. His practice focuses on litigation of high value cases, ranging from catastrophic injury, wrongful death, premises liability, business disputes, product liability, uninsured/underinsured arbitrations and subrogation matters.

Caleb L.H. Marker was promoted to managing partner of Zimmerman Reed in Los Angeles.

Marker has been instrumental in the opening and growing that office since 2015. He focuses his practice on consumer protection, employment, and privacy cases. In particular, he created the firm's plaintiff arbitration practice. He brought the first merits arbitration in the United States against a ridesharing company to trial, challenging its classification of a "gig economy" worker in 2016. Since then, he has represented clients in class actions and arbitrations against various technology companies involving worker misclassification, equal pay for women, and privacy rights. With his broad experience in various legal areas and focus on the technology field, He has spearheaded various technological advancements at the firm.

Ofelia M. Olmedo joined Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP as associate in San Diego.

Olmedo has defended skilled nursing facilities and administrators in a variety of elder abuse claims and claims for vicarious liability against affiliated corporate entities. She has also represented hospital medical staff in judicial review hearings and assisted in their corrective action and peer review processes.

Roxanna Palizi joined Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP as associate in San Diego.

Palizi is a family law attorney who gained experience earlier in her career as both an intern and post-bar law clerk in the firm's Family Law Practice Group prior to becoming a lawyer. Her experience also includes drafting motions for a variety of causes of action and making court appearances on behalf of clients when she served as a certified law clerk at a boutique family law firm.

Natalie Schachner joined Miller Barondess, LLP as associate in Los Angeles.

Schachner's experience spans both civil and criminal law in state and federal court. As a former deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County, she has a robust trial record, and was involved in a diverse array of criminal matters, encompassing all stages of litigation. She has experience conducting widescale internal investigations for Fortune 500 companies, as well as litigating securities class actions.

Edwin Hong was promoted to partner of The Simon Law Group in Los Angeles.

Hong's practice focuses on personal injury.

Jason Sanchez was promoted to partner of The Simon Law Group in Orange County.

Sanchez is an active member of the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association (OCTLA), and since 2012, has been a member of the Board of Governors for Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC). He is also very involved with Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire (CAOIE), where he is a member of the organization's Palm Springs Seminar Education Committee and the Board of Governors and was the organization's president from 2015-2018.

Zach Greenberg was promoted to partner of O'Melveny & Myers LLP in Century City.

Greenberg counsels private and public company clients across a wide array of industries on acquisitions and dispositions, capital markets transactions, corporate governance matters, and SEC compliance and disclosure requirements.

Lauren Kaplan was promoted to partner of O'Melveny & Myers LLP in Los Angeles.

Kaplan works with clients facing inquiries and enforcement actions by state attorneys general as well as complex civil litigation. She has represented companies and individuals at trial and appeal in both state and federal courts and in investigations by state and federal agencies. Lauren is also an active member of O’Melveny’s pro bono practice.

Adam Levine was promoted to partner of O'Melveny & Myers LLP in Los Angeles.

Levine is a highly skilled and experienced commercial litigator and trial lawyer specializing in healthcare litigation. Levine handles complex healthcare litigation matters, including payor-provider disputes, government enforcement actions, and whistleblower lawsuits under the False Claims Act. He also holds other complex commercial litigation matters relating to product liability, false advertising, all manner of breaches of contract, express and implied warranty, fiduciary duty, violations of unfair competition and consumer protection statutes, and civil fraud.

Russell McGlothlin was promoted to partner of O'Melveny & Myers LLP in Century City.

McGlothlin is an experienced water resources attorney who has spent decades advising clients on water use and management matters in California and the western United States. His expertise includes compliance with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), water rights permitting and compliance, water transfer agreements, groundwater banking, water quality, regulated water utilities, mutual water companies, and reclamation issues. He represents private companies, large agricultural producers and investors, municipalities, special districts, and landowners with transactional negotiations, litigation, and administrative agency proceedings.

Zoheb Noorani was promoted to partner of O'Melveny & Myers LLP in Los Angeles.

Noorani has defended insurance companies in all stages of coverage actions—from pre-litigation counseling to appeals. Along with the day-to-day management of cases, he has been the principal drafter of several case-winning summary judgment motions.

Jason Zarrow was promoted to partner of O'Melveny & Myers LLP in Los Angeles.

Zarrow’s practice is devoted to creating and executing legal strategies for bet-the-company litigation. He advises clients on compliance options and litigation risks, with an eye toward building legal and factual arguments if litigation ensues. Once litigation begins, he coordinates legal and appellate strategy, starting with dispositive motions before the trial court. As the case progresses, Jason oversees the development of key points in the factual record, working with trial teams to ensure that his client’s legal arguments have the best factual framing at summary judgment, class certification, trial, and on appeal. And should the case proceed to trial, Jason has extensive experience as on-the-ground appellate counsel, presenting forceful arguments for judgment, crafting jury instructions, and ensuring all appellate points are preserved.

Sanaz (Sunny) K. Soltani was promoted to managing partner of Aleshire & Wynder, LLP in Orange County.

Soltani specializes in constitutional law and complex real property negotiations, with an emphasis on environmental justice and housing issues. She routinely assists her clients with legislative solutions. She has successfully secured the passage of several important legislative bills, significantly improving the regulatory position of her clients and preserving rent control in California.

Haley A. Murphy joined Nukk-Freeman & Cerra, PC as associate in San Diego.

Murphy represents employers in a diverse range of employment litigation matters and counsels clients on a variety of employment-related issues. Her experience includes representing employers in court, arbitration, and mediation.

David Mainzer joined Buchalter as shareholder in Los Angeles.

Mainzer joins the corporate practice group, bringing over 25 years of experience in advising investment management firms and funds. His expertise extends to industry participants on portfolio investments, M&A transactions, securities regulations, tax implications, and employment-related matters. A recognized authority in federal and state laws governing investment management and securities transactions, Mainzer provides comprehensive counsel on an array of domestic and offshore private funds and investment vehicles.

Mainzer previously served as the general counsel and chief operating officer of Amerindo Investment Advisors Inc. He oversaw legal affairs, risk management, regulatory compliance, and fund structuring for the firm's hedge funds, mutual funds, and separately managed accounts. Before his legal career, Mainzer served in the U.S. Army.

Deborah H. Petito was promoted to l&e practice group leader of Offit Kurman in Los Angeles.

With more than 35 years of experience and a leader of the firm's Los Angeles office, Petito has handled all types of employment counseling and litigation matters and acts as an outside employment counsel to several companies in various industries providing advice on an ongoing basis.

Sahar Malek joined Arias Sanguinetti as partner in Los Angeles.

Malek is a litigation and trial attorney who founded a boutique law firm in Beverly Hills. She represents clients in personal injury and lemon law cases. She is on the board of directors of the Consumer Attorneys of California and the Iranian American Lawyers Association and is an active member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, the American Association for Justice, and various other attorney associations.

Brittani A. Jackson was promoted to partner of Hueston Hennigan in Los Angeles.

Jackson represents clients in a broad range of matters, including commercial contract disputes, trade secret misappropriation, shareholder activism, issues of corporate governance, antitrust, and securities litigation. She has experience litigating cases throughout every process stage--from writing pre- and post-trial briefs to conducting witness interviews, taking and defending depositions, leading discovery efforts, including representing client's interests in court hearings, and leading trial teams to favorable resolutions. The promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Sourabh Mishra was promoted to partner of Hueston Hennigan in Orange County.

Mishra focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation, intellectual property litigation, white-collar criminal defense, and investigations. He represents individuals and companies in complex commercial litigation matters across a wide array of industries, including medical devices, information analytics, food and beverage, telecommunications, biopharmaceuticals, and technology hardware and equipment. In addition, he regularly represents individuals and corporations in connection with complex and sensitive internal investigations and governmental inquiries. The promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Rajan Trehan was promoted to partner of Hueston Hennigan in Los Angeles.

Trehan focuses his practice on high-stakes matters oriented toward trial. He has experience litigating contract, fraud, intellectual property, and class action disputes on behalf of a diverse array of corporate and individual clients, including several in the entertainment and media space. Trehan has earned clients' trust by achieving noteworthy results in tough cases. The promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Christine Woodin was promoted to partner of Hueston Hennigan in Los Angeles.

Woodin focuses her practice on intellectual property and complex commercial litigation, including patent, antitrust, and breach of contract disputes. She has experience in all these cases, including counseling on pre-suit strategy, conducting effective offensive and defensive discovery, deposing witnesses and defending depositions, drafting dispositive and pre-trial motions, preparing for trial, presenting witnesses at trial, and handling appeals. She has managed and developed the strategy for cases of all sizes in various industries-from global licensing disputes to single patent assertions. The promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Filemon ("Phil") Carrillo joined Mortenson Taggart Adams LLP as partner in Irvine.

Carrillo has handled various business disputes nationwide in state, federal, administrative, and arbitration forums. He has litigated cases involving fraud, trade secrets, statutory violations, trademark, competition, and contract disputes in various industries, including fitness, quick service restaurants (QSR), real estate, construction, and manufacturing equipment, to name a few. He also represents manufacturers, franchisors, licensors, and distributors in government investigations and administrative proceedings.

Debbie Y. Chin joined Fox Rothschild LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Chin provides advice on estate and trust planning, implementation, and administration. This includes working with individuals and families to design sophisticated tax and estate plans using a combination of wealth preservation and transfer strategies. She also represents individuals and professional entities in all post-death trust and estate administration aspects. She also serves on the board of directors of the East Bay Trusts and Estates Lawyers and is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Diablo Valley.

Michael Adamson was promoted to partner of Susman Godfrey in Los Angeles.

Adamson represents and has secured victories for his clients in various commercial disputes, including class action, patent, trade secret, unfair competition, environmental torts, and breach of contract suits. He is counsel in several different class actions against life insurance companies, alleging hundreds of millions in damages on behalf of thousands of policyholders. His promotion to partner is effective Jan. 1.

Heejoong Kim joined McGlinchey Stafford PLLC as associate in Orange County.

Kim is a multi-faceted litigator who represents clients in a wide array of commercial disputes. With experience ranging from premises liability, habitability, and motor vehicle accidents to claims involving false advertising, unfair competition, and employment disputes, he prides himself on building strong relationships with clients. He also litigates contractual, partnership, fraud, and fiduciary disputes.

Adam B Van Korlaar joined McGlinchey Stafford PLLC as associate in Orange County.

Van Korlaar represents clients ranging from small businesses and homeowners associations (HOAs) to international corporations in business disputes, landlord/tenant issues, employment disputes, trade secrets, and other litigation. He has considerable experience defending client interests in matters involving serious personal injuries, premises liability, toxic torts, and “lemon law”/warranty disputes, and he has exposure to several elements of insurance defense and litigation.

Steve Christianson joined McGlinchey Stafford PLLC as associate in Orange County.

Christianson represents clients in matters ranging from personal injury to professional liability to business disputes. He has handled every element of case management, from e-discovery, legal research, and strategy development to pleadings, motions, and trial documentation. For clients in the real estate and transportation industries, he employs a well-rounded approach to risk evaluation and litigation strategy.

Christopher R. Partin was promoted to partner of Gunderson Dettmer in Silicon Valley.

Partin's practice focuses on the formation and structuring of venture capital and growth equity funds and their related general partner and management company entities, as well as all aspects of their day-to-day operations. He also counsels clients on corporate governance matters, securities laws and regulations and other aspects of the regulatory framework applicable to the formation and operation of investment funds. The promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Devin H. Black joined Goldberg Segalla as associate in Orange County.

Black focuses his practice on workers' compensation matters, counseling and defending employers, insurers, and third-party administrators. His experience includes managing workers' compensation claims from referral through closure, including in-depth claim reviews and valuation analyses, conducting depositions and cross-examinations of claimants and medical professionals, drafting pleadings, motions, and settlements, and representing clients before the WCAB.

Paul Casas was promoted to partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in San Francisco.

Casas advises entrepreneurs, investors, and startup companies across a variety of industries through all stages of their life cycle, including formation, seed and venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and fund formation. Paul also advises both strategic acquirers and target companies in their mergers and acquisitions, tender offers, joint ventures, and other transactional matters. His promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Stacie O. Kisner was promoted to partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in San Francisco.

Kisner represents clients in all stages of complex commercial litigation, from early phases of discovery through trial. She also has substantial experience responding to civil enforcement actions and criminal investigations initiated by various state and federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office for Civil Rights, the Department of Justice Tax and Antitrust Divisions, and local District Attorney Offices. Her promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Colleen E. Lamarre was promoted to partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in San Francisco & Silicon Valley.

Lamarre assists clients with government audits, investigations, reporting and employer disclosure obligations. She regularly advises clients on health and welfare plan design and compliance with ERISA, EEOC requirements, and the ACA. Colleen counsels clients on fiduciary matters in connection with the investment of employee benefit plan assets and employee benefits issues arising in corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions. She also regularly advises clients in executive compensation matters, such as compensation and incentive arrangements, including compliance with Internal Revenue Code §409A. Her promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Adam J. Weaver was promoted to partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in San Francisco & Houston.

Weaver's practice focuses on all aspects of commercial real estate and real estate finance. He has experience drafting purchase and sale agreements, real estate joint ventures and related documents for office, retail, multi-family, industrial, large-scale residential and mixed-use developments. His diverse client base and experience representing both purchasers and sellers as well as borrowers and lenders enables him to provide a balanced understanding that is key to successful negotiations. His promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Brock S. Weber was promoted to partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in San Francisco.

Weber's practice focuses on intellectual property litigation, including patent litigation and trade secrets disputes. He handles matters through trial, but takes pride in developing strategies for successful early resolution. His technical background includes industry experience as a software engineer, a systems analyst and web developer. His promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Megan L. Jones was promoted to partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in Los Angeles.

Jones's practice focuses on complex tax issues, emphasizing individuals and entities owning assets and businesses in multiple jurisdictions. Her work spans income and estate tax planning and extends to family office advisory work. Megan has extensive experience advising on crypto assets, blockchain technology, NFTs, and related tax issues. Her promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Aaron S. Ralph was promoted to partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in Los Angeles.

Ralph helps government contractors and grant recipients navigate IP concerns, cost and pricing issues, internal investigations and compliance obligations, bid protests, and contract claims litigation. He also advises clients contemplating mergers and acquisitions involving government contractors. Before joining Pillsbury, Ralph served on active duty in the U.S. Army as a Judge Advocate and was an attorney for the U.S. Air Force. His promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Sogoal A. Salari was promoted to partner of Gunderson Dettmer in Silicon Valley.

Salari represents emerging growth companies in various sectors, including consumer internet, software, health care and financial technology. She provides corporate and governance advice to founders throughout the growth lifecycle, including managing venture capital financings and M&A and other transactions. She also represents several leading venture capital firms. The promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Jenny Hill Bratt joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as partner in Del Mar, San Diego.

Bratt is in the Tax practice group and Estate Planning and Wealth Transfer team. She focuses on U.S. and international estate and income tax planning, trusts and estates administration, family and closely held business planning and charitable planning and exempt organizations. She advises U.S.-based individuals who own foreign assets on the manner in which such assets should be structured as well as their tax compliance obligations, routinely employing transfer tax mitigation techniques. Bratt also advises clients in planning and implementing charitable gifts and assists with the formation of private foundations and private operating foundations. Bratt is a fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.

Matthew R. Owens joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as partner in Del Mar, San Diego.

Owens is in the Business Trial practice group and Private Wealth and Fiduciary Litigation team. He focuses on trust, estate and inheritance disputes, having prosecuted and defended a wide range of matters in probate court including trust contests, elder abuse actions, accountings, contested conservatorships and claims involving breach of fiduciary duty. His clients include high net worth individuals and families, corporate trustees and private professional fiduciaries. He has handled numerous trials and arbitrations of trusts and estates disputes as well as appeals, including two cases that resulted in published opinions. Owens is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.

Allison M. Hirsch joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as special counsel in Del Mar, San Diego.

Hirsh is in the Tax practice group and Estate Planning and Wealth Transfer team. She works with high-net-worth individuals in estate planning, estate and trust administration, estate and gift taxation, business succession planning and charitable giving.

Mariah Lohse joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as associate in Del Mar, San Diego.

Lohse is in the Tax practice group and Estate Planning and Wealth Transfer team. She focuses her practice on a variety of private client capacities, including estate planning and family office structuring and transfers.

Austin S. Prewitt joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as associate in Del Mar, San Diego.

Prewitt is in the firm's Business Trial practice group, Tax practice group and Estate Planning and Wealth Transfer team. He focuses his practice on trust, estate and inheritance disputes, including trust contests, contested accountings and breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims. He also assists with estate and tax planning for individuals and families, estate and trust administration and charitable planning. Prewitt helps clients understand the tax consequences of their transactions as well as various estate planning and gifting techniques to help achieve their goals.

David S. Moore was promoted to partner of Gunderson Dettmer in Los Angeles.

Moore represents technology and other companies in mergers and acquisitions. He advises sellers, buyers and investors in mergers, stock purchases, asset sales and other strategic transactions. His clients have included consumer internet, software, defense technology, telecommunications and entertainment companies, as well as venture capital firms, financial institutions and industrial companies. The promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Dakota Hickingbottom joined Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek as associate in San Diego.

Hickingbottom brings litigation experience and a unique vantage point of the judicial system from her two-year judicial clerkship with the Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro of the Southern District of California.

Maisie C. Sokolove was promoted to managing partner of Knox Ricksen LLP in Walnut Creek.

Sokolove assumes the role from long-time managing partner Thomas E. Fraysse. Sokolove focuses on insurance fraud litigation, with an emphasis in healthcare. She represents insurers and other payors in affirmative civil actions to redress false, fraudulent, or misleading insurance and benefits claims. The promotion is effective Jan. 1.