Luma Khabbaz joined Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld as legal fellow in San Francisco.

Khabbaz received a J.D., cum laude, from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in 2023. Prior to attending law school, she worked at the United Nations Population Fund, working to advance global sexual and reproductive health and rights. She received a B.A. in International Studies and a B.A.J. in Journalism from Indiana University in 2019.

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.

Jennifer L. Spaletta joined Stoel Rives LLP as partner in Sacramento.

Spaletta is a seasoned water law attorney who offers clients more than two decades of experience. A member of the Stoel Rives' Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources team, she has extensive experience litigating commercial contract disputes and water, environmental, and constitutional law matters. Her experience also includes handling California Proposition 218 cases. She has been a lead trial counsel in court and jury trials throughout California and the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C.

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.

Jason C. Ford was promoted to partner of Gunderson Dettmer.

Ford helps venture capital and private equity firms with the formation, organization and operation of funds and their general partner and related management company entities. He advises funds in all aspects of their operations, including compliance with securities laws and ERISA requirements, and related reporting obligations. Additionally, Ford counsels firms on governance matters, including the admission and withdrawal of managers, hiring and departure of employees, and the issuance of carried interest. The promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Jon Walter Gurka joined Crowell & Moring LLP as partner in Orange County.

Gurka's intellectual property practice spans patent, trademark, trade dress, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, and breach of contract matters. He handles cases that involve complex technologies, including blockchain, semiconductor processing and manufacturing, computer hardware and software systems, microprocessor control systems, electro-mechanical control systems, complex digital signal processing techniques, computer numerical control machines and systems, telecommunications, medical devices and surgical procedures, and thermodynamic systems and processes.

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.

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.

Joseph J. Boylan was promoted to partner of Jones Day in Los Angeles.

Boylan is an experienced litigator who represents corporations and financial institutions in a variety of complex civil disputes and regulatory matters. He regularly advises corporate clients regarding both affirmative claims and civil defenses in connection with multijurisdictional litigation, securities class actions, and private arbitrations. His promotion becomes effective Jan. 1.

David J. Feder was promoted to partner of Jones Day in Los Angeles.

Feder focuses on legal issues in whatever tribunal they arise. He has particular experience in areas such as products liability (especially public nuisance law), tort law more generally, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California Unfair Competition Law (UCL), Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), federal preemption, and many others. His promotion becomes effective Jan. 1.

Benjamin Chouka was promoted to partner of Jones Day in Orange County.

Chouka has advised a variety of clients in M&A and private equity transactions as well as venture capital and growth equity financings. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, cross-border transactions, restructurings, and corporate governance matters. He represents public companies, middle-market private companies, and start-up companies alike and is most active in the technology (including software, semiconductor, and fintech), health care, life sciences, and energy industries. His promotion becomes effective Jan. 1.

Caroline O. Van Wagoner was promoted to partner of Jones Day in San Diego.

Van Wagoner represents companies in complex civil litigation and government and internal investigations. She has experience in all stages of litigation and in a variety of matters, including antitrust and unfair competition, class actions, fraud, commercial disputes, and intellectual property. She also regularly defends clients in investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Her promotion becomes effective Jan. 1.

Jennifer F. Scharre joined Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Scharre's practice focuses on sophisticated wealth transfer strategies for high-net-worth clients, including founders, individuals at startups, and clients with large real estate portfolios. Her estate planning practice includes working with clients to develop and execute their legacy goals, including drafting estate planning and entity documents. She also represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in all aspects of trust and estate administration, including preparation of trust accountings and estate and gift tax returns.

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.

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.

Lauren C. Freeman was promoted to counsel of Sidley Austin LLP in San Francisco.

Freeman helps clients navigate complex regulatory environments in government investigations and regulatory enforcement actions. Her experience includes representing clients before agencies such as the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Food and Drug Administration. Her clients range across multiple industries with an emphasis on the technology, consumer products, energy, and healthcare sectors. Lauren has particular knowledge counseling clients on complex consumer protection issues, including marketing, advertising, and auto-renewal and subscription products.

Helen Theung was promoted to partner of Sidley Austin LLP in Palo Alto.

Theung represents clients in securities offerings and corporate governance matters, including private company financings, public offerings, general corporate advising, and SEC reporting and compliance. Her representative clients include private and public companies in the life sciences, healthcare, and technology industries.

Evie Whiting was promoted to partner of Sidley Austin LLP in Century City.

Whiting counsels clients in a variety of matters related to film slate financing, single picture financing, television financing, production and distribution of motion pictures, television, and digital content, as well as a variety of financing-related issues in the sports and music businesses.

Lauren M. De Lilly was promoted to partner of Sidley Austin LLP in Los Angeles.

De Lilly works on a variety of commercial litigation and disputes cases, with her primary focus in trademark, advertising, and copyright law, where she assists clients to defend against class actions and to protect intellectual property rights. She works with a broad range of clients, including those from the media and entertainment, consumer products and retail, real estate, private equity, and financial services industries. She has substantial experience in all stages of litigation and investigations, from initial fact investigation and drafting pleadings, through discovery and dispositive motion practice, to trial and post-trial work.

Feifei Bian was promoted to partner of Sidley Austin LLP in Century City.

Bian focuses her practice on representing private equity sponsors, their portfolio companies, venture capital investors, and strategic companies and other individual buyers, sellers, and investors in mergers and acquisitions and other strategic investments and transactions, across a wide range of industries and jurisdictions.

Adriane Peralta was promoted to partner of Sidley Austin LLP in Los Angeles.

Peralta focuses her practice on defending companies in product liability, class action, and consumer fraud litigation. She has represented clients in the pharmaceutical, medical device, nutritional supplements, life sciences, and biotechnology industries. She has experience briefing and arguing successful dispositive and discovery motions in both state and federal court, and drafting appellate briefs and petitions before the Supreme Court of the United States, several Circuit Courts, and California Court of Appeal.

Jason Novak was promoted to partner-in-charge of Norton Rose Fulbright in San Francisco.

Novak will succeed Jeff Margulies, who has led both the San Francisco and Los Angeles offices for five years, and will continue his consumer products litigation practice out of both California offices while serving as the Los Angeles office partner-in-charge.

Novak advises clients on the various legal issues that can arise with emerging technologies in the healthcare, food and life sciences industries. He has a targeted focus on "convergence" technologies such as digital health and personalized/precision medicine that operate at the intersection of multiple industries. Novak also has extensive experience in intellectual property and data rights strategy. He previously served as the IP Director for Thermo Fisher Scientific. The promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Lorie Soares Lazarus joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as partner in Silicon Valley.

Lazarus is a transactional real estate attorney with significant experience representing real estate investors of all types, including institutional lenders, borrowers, domestic and international commercial banks, investment funds, REITs, other private equity investors and their advisors, and other investors and property owners, in connection with a wide variety of commercial real estate transactional matters nationwide. She handles all aspects of the transactional real estate life cycle and represents all sides in real estate deals, including secured and unsecured lending and borrowing, inter-creditor and lender-group arrangements, post-closing asset management, workouts, loan restructurings, loan settlements, deeds-in-lieu, foreclosures, ownership, management and disposition of property, including REO, acquisitions, build-to-suit and forward purchases and ground leasing.

Peter David Ballance joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as partner in Century City.

Ballance represents lenders, borrowers, developers, and property owners in various commercial real estate transactions nationwide. He provides clients with significant experience in commercial real estate financing, including loan workouts and purchasing and selling improved and unimproved real property. Representing institutional lenders, financial institutions, developers, and other property owners, he is familiar with many forms of financing and acquisition, as well as acquisition and disposition transactions and related matters. He is fluent in securitized lending, mezzanine loans, and construction loans, and his transactions have touched on a wide range of property types, including office, industrial, residential, multifamily, retail, and mixed-use. Ballance possesses real-time, in-depth market knowledge and extensive national experience advising lenders and borrowers throughout the loan life cycle. A significant part of his practice is the representation of institutional lenders in loan restructurings and workouts, foreclosures, deed-in-lieu and deed-in-the-box transactions, and positioning REO assets for sale. He advises clients on nonperforming loans and distressed real estate in all asset classes.

Maya Campbell joined Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld as associate in San Francisco.

Campbell served as an inaugural law clerk to the Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong of the Central District of California. Previously, she was a litigation associate at Edelson P.C., where her practice included consumer protection, privacy, and mass torts matters. Maya received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2021 and a B.A. in History from Reed College in 2015.

Adrienne Spiegel joined Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld as associate in San Francisco.

Spiegel received her J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2019 and clerked for the Judge Marsha S. Berzon on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. At the East Bay Community Law Center, she representing youth involved in the criminal justice system. Prior to that, she completed a two-year fellowship at Public Justice. She received a B.A. in Philosophy with distinction from Yale University in 2012.

Mari Tanabe joined Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld as associate in San Francisco.

Tanabe received a J.D., Order of the Coif, from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2022 and a B.A. in English from Stanford University in 2013. During law school, she participated in the housing clinic at East Bay Community Law Center and provided pro bono support through the Berkeley Law Afghanistan Project.

Joel A. Osman was promoted to partner of Parker Shaffie LLP in Los Angeles.

Throughout his career, Osman has represented clients in cases involving professional liability, general liability, product liability, construction defect and commercial litigation, trying numerous jury trials to verdict. At various points throughout his career, including his tenure with Parker Shaffie, much of his work has focused on the law of lawyering including representing plaintiffs and defendants in legal malpractice actions, representing lawyers who are the object of complaints made to the State Bar and providing advice on legal ethics.

Andrea Lucan joined Sidley Austin LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

A partner in Sidley's Energy, Transportation, and Infrastructure group, Lucan has garnered substantial praise for her transactional work in the renewable energy space. Lucan advises clients in project development and financing, mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financing, equipment purchase and sale agreements, and power purchase agreements. Her practice focuses on companies engaged in the development, construction, and operation of solar power, wind power, energy storage, and alternative energy projects.

Daniel Lifschitz was promoted to partner of Johnson & Johnson LLP in Beverly Hills.

Johnson & Johnson LLP promotes Daniel B. Lifschitz to partner in Los Angeles.

Lifschitz focuses his practice on entertainment and intellectual property litigation, where he has gained a reputation for his comprehensive knowledge of copyright law. He has also led many individual and class actions successfully challenging improper royalty accounting practices in the music, film, and television industries. In addition to his litigation work, Lifschitz serves as an adjunct professor of copyright law at Southwestern Law School and instructor for UCLA Extension's Entertainment Studies program.

Matthew H. Dawson was promoted to partner of King & Spalding LLP in Silicon Valley.

Dawson focuses on complex commercial litigation, including matters involving contract and technology licensing disputes, misappropriation of trade secrets, fraud, and related commercial torts. He has substantial experience defending class actions and multi-plaintiff mass actions. Dawson represents both early-stage ventures and Fortune 500 companies in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. His promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Amy L. O'Neill was promoted to partner of King & Spalding LLP in Sacramento.

O'Neill focuses on representing healthcare clients in complex litigation and arbitration, including contracted and non-contracted managed care work. Amy has significant experience preparing and presenting claim denial cases dealing with medical necessity denials, notification and authorization denials, timely filing, and rate calculation disputes. O'Neill has litigated against all the big five significant payors in the healthcare industry and many smaller ones. She also has experience negotiating revisions to contract provisions between providers and plans and working with plans to agree on compliance with contract terms. She has the experience and skills necessary to take her clients through the completion of the litigation process or to act on behalf of her clients in negotiating favorable settlements. Her promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Jenny Pelaez was promoted to partner of King & Spalding LLP in Los Angeles.

Pelaez focuses her practice on complex commercial and class action litigation at the trial and appellate levels. She has extensive experience representing a diverse group of clients in high-stakes matters involving claims under antitrust, securities and consumer protection laws, as well as a variety of contract and tort claims. She also regularly represents public companies and individuals in a wide range of industries in securities class action and derivative litigation. Her promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Blythe Golay Kochsiek was promoted to counsel of King & Spalding LLP in Los Angeles.

Kochsiek represents clients in government-facing investigations and litigation, corporate internal investigations, and related complex business litigation. Her promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Jose L. Patiño joined Buchalter as shareholder in San Diego.

Patiño has successfully argued cases before the courts in 20 different states. His expertise also extends to patent litigation-specific proceedings, including appearances before the International Trade Commission, where he has consistently demonstrated his prowess as special intellectual property counsel in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Throughout his career, Patiño has represented an array of prominent companies in various industries, including Atos, Dassault Systèmes Simulia Corporation, ESET, General Motors, Kyocera Corporation, and Lumen Technologies, Inc.

Craig D. Nickerson joined Buchalter as shareholder in San Diego.

Nickerson's practice primarily centers around litigation, with a strong focus on representing and defending employers in cases related to wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour matters, breach of contract, and other employment-related claims. His expertise extends to advising and counseling employers on various employment-related issues, including personnel matters, termination, reductions in force, accommodations, and wage & hour compliance. He is also known for his work in conducting internal and external investigations, preparing employee handbooks, arbitration agreements, and company policies, as well as delivering training on a range of employment-related topics.

Najeh Baharun was promoted to partner of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in Los Angeles.

Baharun's practice focuses on representing private equity sponsors, companies and lenders in connection with the structuring, documentation and resolution of a wide variety of financing transactions, including unsecured financings, first and second-lien financings, ABL facilities, bridge facilities, and DIPs. His practice encompasses the full spectrum of credit - from investment grade to distressed debt. The promotion is effective Jan. 1

Joshua Anderson was promoted to partner of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in San Francisco.

Anderson represents both business and individual clients in arbitration and court litigation at both the trial and appellate levels, and in both individual and class actions. His experience with a wide range of industries and legal issues gives him a creative and innovative perspective on the issues his clients face. The promotion is effective Jan. 1

Marisa Kovacs joined Miller Barondess, LLP as associate in Los Angeles.

Kovacs is a litigation associate with experience representing clients in state and federal court in diverse matters, including contract, information privacy, product liability, and white-collar criminal defense.

Robert J. Sunderland joined Signature Resolution as neutral in San Diego.

Sunderland started as a home builder specializing in custom homes in Los Angeles. He began attending Southwestern University School of Law, graduating and joining the State Bar in 1997. He built a firm specializing in real estate law, focusing on defending professionals and advocating for over 3,000 real estate licensees. As a full-time neutral at Signature Resolution, Sunderland eagerly looks forward to contributing to the firm's growth and success. His success as a mediator stems from his unwavering commitment to diligent work and quick thinking. He proactively addresses potential obstacles during pre-mediation calls. Drawing from his diverse background and experiences as a participant, he approaches real estate mediation with a balance of evaluative insight, sensitivity, and a unique perspective.