Kristin Rizzo as neutral in San Diego

Based in San Diego, Rizzo is available as a mediator for matters statewide. With nearly two decades of legal experience, Rizzo has represented clients in litigation and mediation across a wide range of civil matters, with an emphasis on employment law matters. Beyond employment law, Rizzo has handled business and contractual, housing discrimination, disability access, internal workplace, personal injury and medical malpractice disputes.

Jerry A. Katz joined Blank Rome LLP as senior counsel in Los Angeles.

Katz has more than three decades of experience handling virtually every aspect of real estate-related transactions, including real estate acquisitions and dispositions, development, real estate secured and asset-based financing, loan workouts, tax-deferred exchanges, complex title insurance matters, ground leases, and commercial leasing.

Sangeetha M. Raghunathan joined Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP as partner in Silicon Valley (Redwood City).

Raghunathan will focus on regulatory and compliance support for companies in the fintech, web3 and modern finance sector. Prior to joining Gunderson Dettmer, Raghunathan was general counsel and chief eompliance officer at fintech company Earnin.

Jason Lee joined K&L Gates LLP as partner in Orange County.

Lee focuses his practice on corporate transactions such as mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions, as well as general corporate matters. This includes advising public and private clients in the middle-market and emerging growth sectors on company formation, SEC reporting requirements and registrations, federal and state securities laws and compliance, corporate governance matters, joint ventures and executive employment agreements.

SeoJung Park joined Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP as partner in Silicon Valley.

Park represents private equity funds in all phases of their operations, including formation, acquisition, financing, restructuring and existing portfolio investments. She also counsels private and public companies, banks and financial institutions on the U.S. tax aspects of various financings, capital markets, cross-border mergers and other transactions.

William K. Wetmore joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Wetmore's practice includes crafting strategies for compliance with Sections 13(d) and 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, assisting with litigation strategy and providing guidance on pleadings for Section 16 short-swing trading liability cases, structuring takeovers and private placements to reduce Section 16 exposure, and reviewing client corporate governance policies and advising on governance best practices.

Kevin T. Collins was promoted to shareholder of Buchalter, A Professional Corporation in Sacramento.

Collins represents clients in a wide variety of areas including, misappropriation of trade secrets, false advertising, unfair competition, trade dress infringement, securities, class actions, multi‐district litigation, and antitrust.

Brian Adkins was promoted to shareholder of Buchalter, A Professional Corporation in San Diego.

Adkins specializes in housing discrimination investigations conducted by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He also regularly provides employment advice and counsel, as well as prepares employment agreements for his clients. He has also represented clients in California Labor Commission and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission matters.

Stephanie S. Downer was promoted to shareholder of Buchalter, A Professional Corporation in San Diego.

Downer focuses her practice in the areas of estate planning, wealth transfer planning, transfer tax minimization, trust administration, and probate law.

Philip Nulud was promoted to shareholder of Buchalter, A Professional Corporation in Los Angeles.

Nulud assists clients in developing, protecting, and licensing their valuable ideas by providing critical freedom to use clearance and infringement opinions for patents and trademarks, while also preparing, prosecuting, and enforcing their patents, trademarks, and copyrights.

Valerie Bantner Peo was promoted to shareholder of Buchalter, A Professional Corporation in San Francisco.

Bantner Peo focuses her practice on creditors’ rights, real estate, finance, and commercial litigation with significant experience at the trial and appellate levels in bankruptcy, federal, and state court.

Pooya E. Sohi

Sohi represents public and private companies in a variety of state and federal court cases involving contract disputes, commercial litigation, and business torts, including tortious interference, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty.

Ima E Nsien joined Squire Patton Boggs as principal in Los Angeles.

Nsien is a healthcare trial and licensing lawyer, specializing in complex disputes. She advises commercial, Medicare and Medicaid managed care entities in a variety of legal disputes in state and federal court, including bad faith, breach of health plan contracts, ERISA and mental health parity claims and also has experience in handling skilled nursing facility enforcement action appeals before state and federal regulators. She assists clients through the Knox-Keene health plan licensing application process and represents healthcare clients in government investigations.

Alya Sulaiman joined McDermott Will & Emery as partner in Los Angeles.

Sulaiman works with clients to navigate complex healthcare regulatory, privacy and transactional matters, with a focus on digital health and data use strategy. She also advises on the legal and business frameworks for innovative technologies, including predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, electronic health records, interoperability tools, health data platforms and digital therapeutics.

V. Sathienmars joined Tucker Ellis LLP as counsel in San Francisco.

Sathienmars defends high-profile and high-net-worth clients in "bet the company" lawsuits and routinely oversees civil litigation matters from pre-suit through trial. His experience includes coordinating with defense liaison counsel on case management strategy, court filings, and discovery efforts in federal multidistrict litigation, as well as Judicial Council Coordinated Proceedings in California state courts. He has also represented clients in appeals in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and California appellate courts.

Zachary Elsea joined Eisner, LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Elsea has extensive experience representing companies and individuals in the entertainment, technology, financial services, and real estate industries. He also has particular expertise in intellectual property litigation and counseling, including copyright, trademark, right of publicity, and related issues along with significant experience representing both employers and employees in high-stakes trade secret, non-compete, employment, and partnership disputes.

David J. Edwards joined San Diego County Water Authority as general counsel in San Diego.

Edwards has served as deputy city attorney and lead counsel for the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power since 2011, defending the city's water rights in the Eastern Sierra and the Los Angeles Aqueduct. He brings nearly 17 years of public service at LADWP, the past 12 of which directly relate to water, natural resources, power, and public utility/agency issues. His current practice focuses on water rights/resource development, the Endangered Species Act, Native American issues, sustainability, legislative/regulatory affairs, and other environmental considerations related to public power/alternative energy development, CEQA and compliance with open government laws, including the Brown Act. He also brings significant experience working on issues related to the Colorado River, the Imperial Irrigation District, and the Salton Sea.

Ellie S. Ruth joined Miller Barondess LLP as associate in Los Angeles.

Ellie specializes in appeals, writs, and dispositive pre- and post-trial motions on a broad range of legal issues, including premises liability, attorneys fees, contracts, family law/complex divorces, evidence, insurance (bad faith, Cumis counsel), products liability, employment and civil procedure.

Jason Rabbitt-Tomita joined Baker Botts L.L.P. as partner in Palo Alto.

Rabbitt-Tomita represents clients in a wide variety of M&A transactions, joint ventures, and financings. He has represented clients in the technology, finance, retail, and energy industries in both U.S. and cross-border deals, with a deal value of $100 billion.

Courtney Cahill joined The University of California, Irvine School of Law as professor of law in Irvine.

Cahill is a scholar of constitutional law, anti-discrimination law, sex equality, reproductive rights, and LGBTQ equality. Her work examines the role of disgust in lawmaking, the synergies between sex equality and LGBTQ equality, and the mutually constitutive relationship between marginal practices (same-sex marriage, alternative reproduction) and mainstream norms.

Christopher Chiou joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as partner in Los Angeles.

Chiou represents clients in high-stakes complex commercial litigation and investigations, with an emphasis on business disputes. He is experienced in all stages of litigation, from counseling clients before lawsuits are filed through trying cases before juries. He also leads internal investigations on behalf of corporations and advises them on compliance issues, including providing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act training to executives at multinational companies.

Ryan T. Moore joined Fox Rothschild LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Moore defends businesses against personal injury, product liability, toxic tort, property damage and other claims at trial and on appeal in state and federal courts. He has particular experience representing businesses in the manufacturing and rail transportation industries in complex commercial litigation.

Chanel Di Blasi joined Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson LLP as associate in San Diego.

Di Blasi has concentrated her practice on representing landlords' property rights and successfully navigating the regulations that govern their properties - with a particular focus on residential and commercial landlord-tenant disputes, leasing, contracts, affordable housing and compliance.

Scott Leipzig was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP. in Los Angeles, CA.

Leipzig has been named chair of the firm's global Litigation Department. Leipzig has experience handling complex real estate, partnership, finance, insurance, entertainment, and commercial disputes in state and federal courts, as well as domestic and international arbitration. He is a go-to lawyer for some of the most hotly contested and difficult litigation matters that Allen Matkins handles.

Kate Kraus was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP. in Los Angeles, CA.

Kraus was named co-chair of the firm's Tax & Joint Ventures Group. Kraus has extensive experience in tax planning and structuring for partnerships, REITs, Opportunity Zone funds, and other types of investments and taxpayers, including formations, financing transactions, acquisitions, restructurings, debt workouts, liquidations, and bankruptcies. Her clients include real estate funds, private equity funds, hedge funds, Fortune 100 companies, REITs, mid-market companies, high net worth individuals, and Opportunity Zone funds.

Jessica Chu was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP. in Los Angeles, CA.

Chu was named co-chair of the firm's Tax & Joint Ventures Group. Chu's practice focuses on structuring, negotiating and documenting complex joint ventures and business transactions for equity investors, financial institutions, developers, and others. She has counseled clients regarding joint ventures and transactions covering a broad range of real property types, including undeveloped land, industrial, master-planned communities, hotels and resorts, commercial office, retail projects, shopping centers, and mixed-use projects.

Kamran Javandel was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP. in San Francisco, CA.

Javandel has been named co-chair of the firm's Land Use, Environmental & Natural Resources Group. Javandel's practice focuses on litigating environmental contamination disputes; advising on compliance with environmental laws and regulations; resolving government agency investigations; obtaining project entitlements, permits, and other approvals; and advising on environmental aspects of real estate and business transactions.

Chris Grogan joined Perkins Coie LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Grogan has counseled startups and emerging companies from formation to exit and has advised investors in financing transactions to support companies in their growth process. As a general counsel and attorney, he has worked on equity financing and M&A transactions and has experience leading a legal team as a company increased its workforce, expanded its geographic footprint, diversified its product base, and scaled its revenue.

Randall Jackson was promoted to executive vice president and associate general counsel of Lionsgate in Los Angeles.

Jackson leads Lionsgate's risk management function, directs the company's IP enforcement strategy, oversees responses to governmental inquiries, manages bankruptcy matters, and advises the c-suite and the company's business units on a wide range of critical strategic issues. Jackson will also oversee Lionsgate's content protection and contract compliance/third-party audit groups, and extend his involvement in corporate transactions and compliance matters.

Donna Tobar joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP as partner in Irvine.

Tobar provides a full range of litigation and counseling services in the areas of construction and suretyship, with experience in government contracting as well. She has successfully represented contractor and surety clients in various legal settings, including litigation (state and federal), mediation, arbitration, and various informal settings including counseling services during contract performance.

Cynthia J. Cole joined Baker Mckenzie LLP as partner in Palo Alto.

Cole focuses her practice on IP, strategic, and technology transactions; data privacy and cybersecurity. She advises clients across industries including technology, retail, communications, social media, energy and healthcare / life sciences. Cynthia has deep experience in complex cross-border, IP and data-driven transactions. A former general counsel and CEO, she also acts as outside general counsel to a number of executive teams and boards of directors.

Clayton S. Friedman joined Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP as partner in Orange County.

Friedman represents clients in attorney general regulatory actions and handles regulatory matters involving the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and other local, state, and federal agencies.

Michael Yaghi joined Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP as partner in Orange County.

Yaghi represents high-profile clients in regulatory enforcement investigations spanning numerous areas, including advertising campaigns, promotional materials, marketing and sales practices, marketing through emerging media, telemarketing campaigns, email marketing, and other regulatory issues affecting consumer marketing and sales.