Teri Mae Rutledge joined Kennedys Law LLP as special counsel in San Francisco.

Rutledge advises clients on coverage matters, including commercial general liability, professional liability, employment practices liability, director's and officers' liability, and first-party coverages, with a focus on California law. She has litigated at the trial and appellate level in courts throughout the Ninth Circuit and nationwide. In addition, Rutledge has trained clients regarding California claims handling requirements.

Michael W. Melendez joined Kennedys Law LLP as partner in San Francisco.

As an insurance coverage attorney, Melendez focuses his practice on all types of complex insurance coverage, including construction defects, advertising injury, personal injury, professional liability, and general liability. He advises insurers on claims handling and coverage issues, defends bad faith suits, and litigates declaratory relief and contribution actions. He has designed and given several presentations to claims professionals and attorneys on insurance coverage and general legal issues, including claims practices, construction defects, additional insurance, independent counsel, ethics, and bad faith.

Frank A. McGuire joined Complex Appellate Litigation Group LLP as counsel in Newport Beach.

McGuire was the 26th clerk of the California Supreme Court and former managing attorney of the 1st District Court of Appeal. In these roles, he gained vast insight into how justices think about and decide civil and criminal petitions, briefs, and writs at all appellate levels, as well as the processes and practices of California's appellate courts. In addition to these positions, he also previously served as a chambers attorney on the California Supreme Court, a research attorney for two 1st District justices, and a law clerk on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He also worked for several private law firms.

Richard D. Schramm joined Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel as of counsel in San Jose.

Schramm represents employers in resolving class action lawsuits and PAGA actions, along with other labor, employment, and contract disputes. He routinely advises and counsels public and private enterprises as well as nonprofit groups on a variety of employment-related issues. He represents clients in state and federal courts before the California Civil Rights Department, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the California Labor Commissioner's Offices, the Employment Development Department, the U.S. Dept. of Labor, and the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. He represents clients in individual cases as well as class actions, representative actions, Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) lawsuits, trade secret disputes, and disability access discrimination claims. He also advises on independent contractor agreements and statutory compliance challenges.

Stephen D. Simpson joined Tully Rinckey PLLC as associate in Ladera Ranch.

Simpson spent nearly eight years on active duty as a Marine Corps Judge Advocate Corps., where he focused on litigation and criminal matters. He also has experience serving as a prosecutor, defense counsel, and victim's legal counsel. He still serves as a captain in the Marine Corps Reserves. His practice focuses on military law, one of the firm's core practice groups.

Ryan H. Weinstein joined Ropes & Gray LLP as counsel in Los Angeles.

Weinstein's practice focuses on complex, high-stakes civil litigation and white-collar criminal defense. Over his career, he has defended and prosecuted individuals and corporations in a wide variety of criminal, civil, and regulatory matters, spanning several industries, including health care, technology, sports, and financial services.

Margaret R. Akerblom was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in Los Angeles.

Akerblom has experience handling a broad mix of civil litigation matters in state and federal court, including actions involving 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, contracts, due process, takings, CEQA, premise liability, and writs of mandate. She is a trusted strategist for her clients, advising them as they work through federal, state, and local regulatory and entitlement processes related to their developments. She has represented clients in securing land use entitlements on a variety of commercial, residential, and mixed-use development projects in jurisdictions throughout California.

Nicholas DuBroff was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in San Francisco.

DuBroff is a land use attorney who helps clients take projects from vision to entitlement by guiding them through the state, local planning, and environmental laws that govern development in California. He enjoys collaborating with developers, planners, and architects. He has the ability to distill complex concepts and in-depth research into actionable recommendations and has worked with clients ranging from start-ups to some of the Bay Area's most prominent companies.

Emily Feder was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in Los Angeles.

Feder's practice focuses on all types of real estate transactions, from acquisition and disposition to leasing and finance. By monitoring and researching real estate trends, emerging industries, and new approaches and areas of law, she is able to provide thorough and efficient counsel to her clients. Feder began her professional career as a teacher and currently serves on the Associates' Board for Teach for America, a non-profit organization working to combat education inequality.

Peter A. Griffin was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in Los Angeles.

Griffin has represented clients in jury trials and argued before federal and state courts throughout California. His recent successes include obtaining a 12-0 jury verdict for a food manufacturer in an employment discrimination case, a judgment for an architecture firm in a bench trial over a contractual dispute, and a substantial arbitration award in a commercial landlord-tenant dispute. He previously had a successful career in technology, working for a Silicon Valley software company prior to attending law school.

Timothy R. Kelly was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in San Francisco.

Kelly regularly represents some of the San Francisco Bay Area’s largest institutional office landlords and multifamily owners in connection with their acquisition, financing, leasing, and disposition of assets located throughout the United States. He has represented the landlord on the largest office lease signed in the United States in 2021. In 2022 he was involved in the acquisition, disposition, and financing of transactions totaling more than $1 billion.

Grayson "Trey" W. Marshall III was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in San Francisco.

Marshall's litigation practice focuses on complex commercial, technology, and real estate litigation in both state and federal court.

Nathaniel Touboul was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in San Francisco.

Touboul's recent successes include representing a landlord in connection with a single-tenant 802,836 square-foot office lease for a property in California and subsequently representing the same landlord in connection with a $515 million construction loan secured by the subject property.

Andrew A. Wood was promoted to partner of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in Orange County.

Wood's litigation experience ranges from negligence claims, fraud, breach of contract, construction contract disputes, alleged wrongful non-judicial foreclosure practices, unfair business practices, violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and management of e-discovery.

Jessica L. Grant joined Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Grant has significant first-chair experience in high-stakes matters. This includes successfully trying three cases over $100 million and two cases over half a billion dollars. Her ability to handle trials across disciplines at a moment's notice makes her a highly sought-after litigation lawyer. Grant also handles mediation and pre-suit attempts to resolve cases without litigation.

Robert Bard Smith was promoted to partner of MLG Attorneys at Law in Costa Mesa.

With 18 years of experience in California and Nevada, Smith spent 15 years representing hospitals and medical providers. He then shifted his focus to cases against automotive manufacturers. Smith has taken more than twenty cases to trial, and most recently obtained a $1.5 million settlement in a motorcycle accident case.

Michael P. Reiter joined Cole Huber LLP as partner in Ontario.

Reiter serves as the assistant city attorney for Yucaipa. His practice focuses on municipal law and litigation. Previously, Reiter was an in-house deputy city attorney for San Bernardino, assistant city attorney for Redlands, and advised cities and private parties regarding municipal law, particularly code enforcement. Reiter has criminally prosecuted hundreds of code enforcement defendants, reviewed dozens of administrative warrants, been involved with about 10 Health & Safety Code receiverships, participated in revocations of conditional use permits, revised and drafted ordinances, written extensively regarding code enforcement on the internet, lectured to community groups and legal organizations, and has been quoted in the media.

Jillian Martins joined Cole Huber LLP as partner in Ontario.

Martins serves as the assistant city attorney for Indio and advises on all aspects of municipal law issues involving zoning and land use, open government, and ethics (the Brown Act, the Public Records Act), contract formation and negotiation, drafting and amending ordinances, resolutions, parliamentary procedure, code interpretation, and employment policies. Her practice focuses on municipal law. Before joining Cole Huber, Martins had devoted her entire professional career to public service.

Patrick Albasha joined Everett Dorey LLP as associate in Orange County.

Albasha specializes in defending clients in general liability matters. He represents individuals and businesses in tax controversy and collection matters. He transitioned to consulting some of the largest companies in the world in mergers and acquisitions tax matters. He uses his past experience and continuous desire to learn to develop his skills in defense litigation.

Melanie Tomanov joined Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC as partner in Los Angeles.

Tomanov represents production companies, animation studios, toy companies, video game companies, and technology companies. She also works with individual creators, writers, animation designers, producers, and directors. Her clients include Matt Groening (The Simpsons), United Plankton Pictures (SpongeBob), and Legendary Entertainment. She is regularly listed in industry and trade publications like Variety's Legal Impact Report.

Joseph F. Hasegawa was promoted to partner of Knox Ricksen LLP in Los Angeles.

Hasegawa, a seasoned attorney with experience handling all facets of litigation, litigates healthcare fraud matters. He is a member of the Anti-Fraud Alliance and the Southern California Fraud Investigators' Association.

Tanya M. Schierling was promoted to managing partner of Solomon Ward Seidenwurm Smith, LLP in San Diego.

Schierling represents a wide range of clients, from large public corporations to small start-up companies to individuals, with the wisdom forged from significant trial and arbitration experience. After graduating with honors from both Dartmouth College and George Washington University Law School, Schierling began her legal career as a military prosecutor serving in the U.S. Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps, where she advised tank and infantry commanders and tried felony cases to court-martial. After honorably serving four years in the army, she began her life in private practice in San Diego in 2000. She would go on to join Solomon Ward in 2003 and become a partner in 2006. She focuses on business litigation and employment matters, including partnership and corporate disputes, real estate litigation, labor code, wage, and discrimination and harassment claims, and distribution and franchise matters.

Robert A. Bleicher joined Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel as of counsel in San Mateo.

Bleicher has helped his clients successfully resolve complicated and critical issues over the course of his 30-plus years as a business litigation and trial lawyer. As lead trial counsel in complex disputes, he has tried and litigated matters involving intellectual property, licensing, business transactions, employment claims, product liability, insurance, construction, transportation, and financial investments. Having served as the lead trial attorney in various "bet the company" cases, Bleicher is a formidable advocate for his clients.

Michael C. Douglass joined Parker Shaffie LLP as senior counsel in Los Angeles.

Douglass brings extensive experience representing corporate and municipal clients in complex commercial, professional liability, trucking, employment, insurance bad faith, consumer finance, and product liability matters. He has defended clients in arbitration, tried cases to verdict, and successfully argued before the California Court of Appeal, resulting in reported decisions. He is pragmatic, seasoned, and well-versed in providing his clients with strategic counsel to help them make better-informed decisions to assist in managing their legal risks and protecting their brands.

Michael Rosenblum joined Thompson Coburn LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Rosenblum focuses his practice on advising public and private companies on regulatory and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, commercial real estate, and financing transactions.

Malhar Oza was promoted to counsel of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP in San Francisco.

Oza assists clients on various operational, transactional, and regulatory matters related to digital assets, including fund formation (domestic and offshore). He also counsels crypto managers, investment advisers, digital asset fund managers, and other members of the digital asset investment management industry on complex compliance matters related to state and federal securities laws.

Gina M. Cavalier joined Arnold & Porter as partner in Los Angeles.

Cavalier is a leading fraud and abuse lawyer who dedicates her practice to guiding life sciences entities through complex healthcare laws and regulations. She has particular experience advising clients on issues arising under the Anti-Kickback Statute and other federal and state anti-fraud authorities. She also helps clients successfully navigate related data sharing and privacy issues.

Allison M. Whitmore was promoted to partner of Withersworldwide in San Diego.

Whitmore focuses her practice on estate planning, estate and trust administration, estate and gift taxation, business succession planning, and charitable giving. She advises clients on advanced estate planning techniques to mitigate income, gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. She works with high net-worth individuals and families to implement sophisticated wealth transfer strategies, including the creation of intentionally defective grantor trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, annual exclusion gift trusts, and irrevocable life insurance trusts, among others. In addition, Whitmore counsels fiduciaries and beneficiaries with respect to complex estate and trust administration matters.

Ankush R. Israni joined Jones Day as partner in Los Angeles.

Israni advises on a broad range of commercial real estate matters, including senior debt and mezzanine financing, joint ventures, purchase and sale, loan sale agreements, fintech issues, and leases. His clients, which include both institutional and noninstitutional investors, consist of private equity funds, real estate investment companies, and REITs.

Tracy B. Rane joined Kibler Fowler & Cave LLP as counsel in Los Angeles.

Rane is an intellectual property and entertainment litigator with two decades of experience counseling clients in complex entertainment, intellectual property, and business disputes. Her practice focuses on matters involving copyright infringement, trademark infringement, defamation, right of publicity, right of privacy, breach of contract, insurance coverage, and general business and commercial litigation. Rane has successfully represented clients from the pre-litigation stage through trial and arbitration in various forums in California and other states. She also has substantial appellate experience and has appeared on behalf of her clients before the California Courts of Appeal and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Gina Stassi joined Knox Ricksen LLP as counsel in Walnut Creek.

Stassi represents clients in qui tam actions for insurance fraud and unfair business practices against healthcare providers, clinics, management services organizations, and their conspirators. She has a proven track record representing clients in complex disputes, including in litigation. During her 15-year career, she has represented clients in sophisticated legal matters ranging from venture capital fund investments, management, and trademark disputes to litigation involving commercial, contractual, and employment matters.

A. Jeanne Grove joined Nixon Peabody as partner in San Francisco.

Grove is a real estate attorney with nearly 20 years of experience in both litigation and transactions. Jeanne represents homeowner associations (HOAs), real estate brokers/agents, developers, private lenders, property owners, and business owners.

Ashley E. Klein joined Nixon Peabody as partner in San Francisco.

Klein is a commercial and residential real estate litigator with extensive trial, arbitration, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) experience. She represents real estate developers, real estate investment trusts (REITs), property management companies, landlords, and homeowners.

Tanya L. Greene was promoted to office managing partner of McGuireWoods LLP in Downtown Los Angeles.

Greene handles high-profile litigation for some of the world's most prominent corporations. A partner in the firm's Complex Commercial Litigation Department, she serves on McGuireWoods' national recruiting committee and is the former pro bono leader for the firm's downtown Los Angeles and Century City offices.

Rachael Lamkin joined Baker Botts LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Lamkin litigates across all IP categories, and from both sides of the V but has a focus on patent litigation defense. Passionate about strategy and leverage in litigation, she shifts the asymmetries that traditionally hamper the defense side, e.g., asymmetries in information, cost, financing, and damages. In so doing, Lamkin has been able to obtain multiple attorney's fees awards and game-changing settlements.