Pavneet Singh Mac was promoted to partner of Nossaman in Irvine.

Mac is based out of the Orange County office. He specializes in all things employment law, including the various legal nuances which affect the healthcare, nonprofit, technology, manufacturing, transportation and logistics industries. He defends employers in all aspects of employment litigation, including high stakes wage and hour class, collective and representative actions, wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination and harassment disputes. Pavneet also has extensive experience conducting independent investigations of workplace harassment claims and counseling employers and their respective employees on how to proactively avoid employment-related lawsuits.

Nicholas M. Gross was promoted to partner of Foley & Lardner LLP in Los Angeles.

Gross is a commercial trial attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP. He is a member of the firm's Business Litigation & Disputes Resolution Practice Group as well as the Energy and Health Care sectors. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation with extensive experience representing real estate developers and landlords as well as private and public entities, healthcare facilities and administrators, directors, officers, financial institutions and other parties in disputes.

Adam Hepworth was promoted to partner of Foley & Lardner LLP in Los Angeles.

Hepworth's practice focuses on Medicaid, privacy, and health care fraud and abuse laws. He has represented hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and other providers in administrative appeals, overpayment investigations, and self-disclosures. He has also counseled on legal issues involving the social determinants of health, and worked on legislation addressing Medicaid, information sharing, and FQHC reimbursement.

Galen Yu

Yu is an intellectual property law attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP. He is a member of the firm's Electronics Practice Group. His practice focuses on counseling clients on effective management and protection of electronics, software, and emerging Internet technology patent portfolios, as well as providing comprehensive legal services that help clients to obtain, protect, and add value to their IP assets.

Michael P. Calabrese was promoted to partner of Foley & Lardner LLP in Los Angeles.

Michael is a member of the firm's Transactions and Labor & Employment Practice Groups. His practice focuses on providing sophisticated legal advice on the issues most important to public and private entities, including investments by institutional investors such as pension funds, fiduciary matters, public agency ethics laws, sunshine laws, and procurement and contracting.

Eric Chow was promoted to partner of Foley & Lardner LLP in Silicon Valley.

Chow is a member of Foley's Transactions Practice Group and its Innovative Technology Sector. His practice areas are public and private mergers and acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, and other corporate transactions, with a focus on the Northern California market. He is also experienced in cross-border transactions and speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese and conversational Portuguese.

Kristi Blackwell was promoted to regional managing partner of Tyson & Mendes LLP in San Diego.

Blackwell is the firm's California regional manager, overseeing San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, Fresno, and Northern California from the firm's San Diego headquarters. She is an experienced litigator who also leads the firm's Retail, Restaurant, and Hospitality practice group, representing some of the largest chain retailers and hotel companies in the country. She focuses her practice on general liability, personal injury, premises liability, and complex litigation.

Natalie Maples was promoted to partner of Nossaman in Irvine.

Maples advises clients on a wide spectrum of real estate transactions. She counsels and negotiates on behalf of clients on issues related to site acquisition and development, land use, leasing and ground leasing, and due diligence matters, including a comprehensive review of title and survey matters and title curative action. She has experience serving as lead counsel in the purchase and sale of commercial, mixed-use, industrial, and vacant land, as real estate counsel in complex mergers and acquisitions transactions, and representing landlords and tenants negotiating and drafting leases and ground leases. She has direct experience with the unique issues presented in the acquisition and leasing of medical office buildings and hospitals; national restaurant chains; ground leasing and site development for a national gas station operator and a regional car wash operator; as well as leasing and acquisitions for telecommunications providers.

EJ Kim was promoted to partner of Atheria Law in San Francisco.

Kim advises on and monitors cyber and data breaches and resulting consumer lawsuits and regulatory investigations. She represents insurers and counsels clients on initial intake, incident investigation, and incident response on data security and privacy breaches, as well as related consumer lawsuits and regulatory investigations. Kim also advises insurers and monitors litigation involving technology and media. Her significant litigation experience includes complex insurance coverage disputes, class actions, and commercial business disputes for nearly 10 years.

Megan Demshki was promoted to partner of Aitken * Aitken * Cohn in Riverside.

Demshki has a reputation for being detail-oriented and able to communicate complex legal concepts to clients and colleagues effectively. In addition to her technical skills, she also possesses strong leadership qualities and the ability to motivate and mentor other members of the firm's litigation team.

Patrick J. Ferguson joined Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Ferguson helps clients develop, sell, and operate renewable energy, storage, and transmission projects throughout the United States. Recognized as a market-leading authority in energy regulatory law, Ferguson guides clients through the transition of the electric power grid to renewable resources. He advises solar, wind, geothermal, and energy storage project sponsors on site acquisition, transmission, and power purchase agreement negotiations. He also assists producers of new technologies that combat climate change, including renewable fuels, carbon capture, and carbon offset credits, in drafting and negotiating key commercial transactions.

P. Dustin Bodaghi was promoted to shareholder of Littler Mendelson P.C. in Irvine.

Bodaghi represents employers in all areas of labor and employment law. His practice focuses on the defense of class and PAGA lawsuits under wage and hour laws. He has also defended clients against claims of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, failure to accommodate, wrongful termination, and unfair competition. Bodaghi has significant trial experience, having participated in multiple trials and arbitrations.

Shahram Samie was promoted to shareholder of Littler Mendelson P.C. in Century City.

Samie represents and counsels employers in a wide variety of employment law matters arising under both federal and state laws. In addition to litigation, he counsels clients on numerous issues, including engaging in the interactive process with employees who have work restrictions.

Krystal N. Weaver was promoted to shareholder of Littler Mendelson P.C. in San Diego.

Weaver focuses her practice on Federal and State Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) law and regularly assists employers with a wide range of complex situations in the workplace. With focusing on workplace safety and health, Weaver supports employers with pre-injury/illness preventative practices, including site inspections and policy development, which includes managing catastrophic workplace accidents or fatalities. She also helps employers who have experienced workplace injuries and accidents or are subject to a federal or state OSHA inspection. Weaver frequently represents employers in OSHA appeals, settlement conferences and hearings, and is well-versed in responding to written complaints and requests for information, including by the Bureau of Investigations (BOI).

Jannine E. Kranz was promoted to shareholder of Littler Mendelson P.C. in Century City.

Kranz represents employers in a broad range of employment litigation matters, including defending against discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, whistleblower retaliation and wage and hour claims. She has also defended Private Attorneys General Act claims and wage and hour class action cases. In addition, Kranz provides advice and counsel to clients on various personnel issues, including payroll, termination, medical leave and employee handbooks.

Denise Tran-Nguyen was promoted to shareholder of Littler Mendelson P.C. in San Diego.

Tran-Nguyen represents and counsels clients on all aspects of workplace privacy and information security, including the California Privacy Rights Act. She is also an experienced litigator who represents employers in all types of employment-related litigation before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. Her experience includes defense of employment discrimination, retaliation and harassment claims, as well as wage and hour class actions, and private attorney general representative actions.

Mariah S. Cooks joined Murphy, Pearson, Bradley & Feeney P.C. as associate in San Francisco.

Cooks counsels clients in a variety of matters relating to business law, professional liability and all forms of civil litigation. She served as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County assigned to the Juvenile Unit. She has a keen interest in advocating for social justice issues, and in her spare time, volunteers as both a mentor and basketball coach.

Marina R. Pacheco was promoted to partner of Kabateck LLP in Los Angeles.

Pacheco has risen quickly during her three-year tenure at KBK to secure impactful settlements in cases involving sexual abuse, insurance bad faith, complex litigation, and class-action matters. Over the past year, Pacheco recovered $5.7 million in an insurance bad faith case against two insurance companies that refused to cover extensive property damage following a hurricane. Marina is also a member of the KBK litigation team, helping restaurant owners across the state recoup wrongfully collected operational fees incurred during the government-mandated closures and reduction in services due to the pandemic.

Stephanie Charlin was promoted to partner of Kabateck LLP in Los Angeles.

Charlin has earned a stellar reputation during the past seven years at Kabateck LLP for obtaining verdicts and settlements for clients in matters involving insurance bad faith, property damage, personal injury, and mass torts. Over the last few years, Charlin led the KBK litigation team that recovered over $169 million dollars on behalf of homeowners and small business owners who suffered property damage from California's most devastating wildfires.

An Nguyen Ruda was promoted to co-managing principal of Bartko Zankel Bunzel & Miller APC in San Francisco.

Ruda is co-chair of the Labor and Employment practice group. She takes a problem-solving approach to personnel issues brought by her clients whether it be advice, counseling, collective bargaining, or litigation. She has and seeks long-term legal and business relationships with her clients. She would much rather provide compliance review and strategic advice on the front end, rather than have clients pay for litigation on the back end.

Mary Childs was promoted to partner of YOKA SMITH LLP in Los Angeles.

Childs' area of practice focuses on civil litigation, including premises liability, product liability and catastrophic injury/wrongful death defense. Her practice also includes the representation and defense of fraternities as well as construction defect litigation.

Erica A. Swensson was promoted to of counsel of Blank Rome LLP in Los Angeles.

Swensson has focused her career on helping individuals face their matrimonial matters with dignity. She concentrates her practice on complex matrimonial issues, including pre- and post-nuptial agreements, inter-state jurisdictional disputes, move-away cases, division of intricate financial estates, privacy and protective orders, contentious custody cases, spousal support, and attorneys' fees.

Caitlin I. Sanders was promoted to partner of Blank Rome LLP in Los Angeles.

Sanders concentrates her practice on all aspects of employment law, compliance, and litigation, with an emphasis on wage and hour compliance and litigation. She represents public and private employers in state and federal court litigation, in arbitration, and before administrative agencies, and provides strategic advice and defense counsel to human resources professionals and other stakeholders on employee-related issues.

Shauna W. Avrith was promoted to partner of YOKA SMITH, LLP in Los Angeles.

Avrith's practice includes catastrophic injury/wrongful death defense, class-action and complex tort actions, commercial and contracts litigation, premises liability and product liability defense.

Christine C DeMetruis was promoted to partner of YOKA SMITH, LLP in Los Angeles.

DeMetruis' practice includes general civil litigation in state and federal court, including insurance defense, insurance coverage, bad faith, and appeals. She helped develop a federal civil rights class action against the California Department of Education and a local school district for violation of state and federal special education laws.

Ellis E. Herington joined BraunHagey & Borden LLP as associate in San Francisco.

Herington has substantial experience with securities litigation, shareholder derivative suits, and other complex commercial disputes. She has served as a strategic corporate advisor to companies and worked on internal investigations. She has a dedicated pro bono practice where she has represented clients in civil rights litigation and housing and domestic violence disputes.

Harrison Brown was promoted to partner of Blank Rome LLP in Los Angeles.

Brown's practice encompasses a wide range of complex litigation and class action defense, with an emphasis on fraud, consumer protection, and privacy disputes. His strong business acumen, courtroom skills, and appellate experience make Harrison a trusted advocate for his clients.

Gerald Agnew joined Judicate West as neutral in Los Angeles.

With nearly five decades of litigation experience, Agnew has successfully tried more than 100 civil trials to verdict or judgment, including catastrophic injury and wrongful death actions involving defective products; construction, premises and vehicular accidents; medical malpractice; elder abuse and other acts of negligence. In 1984, Agnew co-founded Agnew Brusavich where he focused on representing seriously injured plaintiffs in various personal injury matters.

Scott D. Tenley was promoted to partner of ZFZ LLP in Los Angeles.

An experienced trial lawyer and former federal prosecutor, Tenley regularly represents individuals and businesses faced with high-stakes criminal, civil, and regulatory challenges. His practice focuses on criminal and regulatory enforcement defense, complex civil litigation in state and federal courts, and compliance counseling.

Andrew M. Silver was promoted to principal of Much Shelist in Newport Beach, CA.

Silver is a corporate attorney who represents privately held businesses and private equity firms. He often serves as outside general counsel, advising owners, investors, and C-suite executives. In his transactional work, Andrew manages mergers, acquisitions, and restructurings.