Jeffery McFarland joined McDermott Will & Emery LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

McFarland, the former co-chair of the national media entertainment practice group at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, joined McDermott Will & Emery's litigation practice group in Los Angeles.
"After 20 years at an all litigation firm I really wanted to be able to offer my clients more than litigation only and it seemed like the right time to do that," said McFarland.
The quality of McDermott's lawyers and the quality of its practices were what drew McFarland to the opportunity, he said.
McFarland focuses on litigation specializing in media, entertainment and gaming. His clients include video game companies, agents, actors and small to medium production companies.
The move, according to McFarland, gives him the opportunity to provide his clients with access to a broad base of services beyond litigation.
"I think particularly in this time where everybody is working at home and somewhat distant it helps to have everything available at one stop for [clients]," he added. McFarland is the firm's third partner to join the firm from Quinn Emanuel in the last month, according to McDermott.
"I've been looking for a number of years now to expand our L.A. litigation group, and really our trial footprint, so Jeff is a significant hire," said Gary B. Gertler, managing partner of the firm's Los Angeles office.
"He provides a new practice segment to our trial attorneys, expertise in the entertainment and media industry, something that we've been working on here in LA to acquire for several years."
The recruitment deal was brokered by Larry Watanabe and Ken Schwartz with Watanabe LLC.
McFarland joined McDermott Will & Emery Aug. 3.

Ben Fackler joined Arnold & Porter as arnold & porter partner in San Francisco.

Fackler advises companies and financial sponsors on complex mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings and capital raising transactions. He is based in San Francisco.

Brent M. Douglas joined Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP as partner in San Diego.

Douglas focuses his practice on advising employers on employment compliance and disputes related to wrongful termination, harassment, wage-and-hour claims and breach-of-contract. He is based in San Diego.

Joseph M. Doloboff joined Glaser Weil LLP as partner in Century City.

Doloboff focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions with an emphasis on tax law. He is based in Century City.

Joshua T. Chu was promoted to office managing partner of Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie in Los Angeles.

Chu focuses his practice on patent prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications. He joined the firm in 2007 and is a member of its Strategic Study Group and Associate Compensation and Review Committee. He is based in Los Angeles.

Richard L. Gallagher joined Kaufhold Gaskin Gallagher LLP as name partner in San Francisco.

Gallagher joined corporate and business litigation boutique Kaufhold Gaskin Gallagher in San Francisco as a name partner on Aug. 3.
With two decades of experience in securities and corporate litigation, Gallagher joined the firm formerly known as Kaufhold Gaskin LLP after nearly seven years at Ropes & Gray, where he most recently served as co-managing partner of the firm's California offices.
Gallagher said his familiarity with the firm's lawyers, the market opportunities for boutique firms and the chance to take ownership and control over his practice are what attracted him to Kaufhold Gaskin.
"After 20 years of practice and having gotten pretty incredible opportunities at Ropes & Gray to lead the type of litigation matters that I just never dreamed I would have the opportunity to lead -- federal class actions and very sophisticated cases, trials, major arbitrations -- I got to a point in my career where I thought that I really am capable of doing a lot of things for sophisticated clients and I have, kind of, the back half of my career in which I can really have control and ownership in a real way over my practice," said Gallagher.
He represents clients in litigation related to investment, general business, commercial matters and class actions. Public companies, mature private companies as well as private equity funds and mutual funds make up his clientele. His clients have included LPL Financial Holdings Inc. and TriNet.
Gallagher said he knew he would dedicate his career to corporate and business litigation since he worked as a clerk in the basement of a corporate litigation firm as a teenager.
"I really never dreamed when I was stapling papers and making copies and running over to the courthouse that I would ever be able to do this to the extent that I've done and get the opportunities that I've had. It was definitely the only thing I was ever going to do," he added.

Amy B. Briggs joined Farella Braun + Martel LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Briggs advises clients on complex business litigation matters related to insurance coverage and bad faith disputes. She represents policyholders in the real estate, construction and healthcare sectors.
Briggs, an insurance recovery litigator, joined Farella Braun + Martel as partner in San Francisco from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. She joined Manatt in 2008, when it merged with Steefel Levitt & Weiss PC.
Her move comes after Manatt decided to move away from policyholder representation in favor of insurance companies, she said.
"That presented a conflict with my clients and so, I moved to a firm that I knew would be dedicated to maintaining an insurance recovery practice on behalf of policyholders," she added.
What attracted her to Farella was its status as a regional firm with a national reputation.
"Notwithstanding that they are regional, they have a national reputation particularly in the area of insurance recovery. A number of their lawyers are routinely ranked at the top of their field and that really spoke volumes to me," she said.
Briggs represents clients in the real estate, construction and healthcare sectors. Her recent work includes the representation of San Francisco construction contractor Webcor Builders in connection with the Millennium Tower litigation.
"I have always thought that this was a really interesting area of practice because it generally involves two layers of the law. You have the coverage issues that are involved in your dispute with an insurance company over what the policy covers, but then you also have to understand the underlying claim that is giving rise to the insurance claim," she added. "I've always felt like it was a two for one deal and I've always found that intellectually challenging and fun to work on."
Her first day with Farella was July 1. Farella announced the move Wednesday.