Albert Valencia joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a shareholder in Los Angeles. The move was May 7, 2026.

Valencia's real estate practice is informed by his strong business foundation as a former consultant and as a co-founder of two startups. He advises clients on structuring complex real estate transactions and related business matters, serving as lead counsel to developers, operators, private equity investors and lenders in acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures and syndications, commercial leasing, financing, loan modifications, workouts and restructurings. Clients look to Albert for his experience in a wide range of real estate asset classes including multifamily, industrial, retail and office properties, as well as specialty sectors such as industrial outdoor storage, life sciences and build-to-rent communities. He regularly represents clients in joint ventures, structured finance transactions (including CMBS, mezzanine debt and preferred equity) and ongoing asset management.

Richard Shamos joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as a partner in Los Angeles. The move was May 6, 2026.

Shamos has joined the firm as a partner in its investment management practice and funds group in Los Angeles, deepening its integrated platform for sponsors raising, structuring and deploying private credit and alternative capital at a time when evergreen vehicles and insurance capital are reshaping the market.

Shamos advises sponsors building credit‑focused fund platforms, including private credit and direct lending vehicles, evergreen and hybrid structures, and insurance‑rated note feeders. He also brings significant experience advising buyout and growth capital sponsors, extending Akin's bench in an increasingly integrated market.

Bryan Ikegami joined Reed Smith as a partner in Los Angeles.

Ikegami represents numerous private equity funds and their broad range of portfolio companies, as well as other public and private companies, in complex domestic and cross-border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, financing transactions, restructurings, and recapitalizations. Additionally, he advises sponsors and their portfolio companies on corporate governance, executive compensation and equity incentive arrangements, and general corporate matters.

Sarah Tauman joined Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP as a partner in Sacramento.

Tauman counsels clients through employment issues at each stage of the corporate lifecycle, including structuring executive employment arrangements, addressing performance management and terminations, ensuring proper worker classification, managing wage-and-hour compliance, and navigating leave and ADA accommodation obligations. She also advises on reductions-in-force, employee mobility, and the development of personnel policies. Her work often intersects with complex corporate transactions, including private equity investments, capital markets activity, and mergers and acquisitions. Tauman's guidance balances legal requirements with practical business considerations, helping clients manage risk while supporting their operational goals.

Julie Zaligson joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a shareholder in Los Angeles. The move was May 7, 2026.

Zaligson focuses on real estate transactions, offering comprehensive support to property owners, sponsors, developers, and borrowers. Her clients range from national investment companies to medium-sized operators, and closely held businesses. With a focus on purchases, sales, joint ventures, and financing, Julie ensures that her clients achieve their objectives in an ever-evolving real estate landscape. Her pragmatic approach enables clients to navigate complex transactions effectively and align legal strategies with their business goals. Julie brings extensive experience across a wide range of property classes, including commercial office, retail, and mixed-use projects; development of industrial, healthcare, and charter school facilities; and multifamily projects.

Joshua Loeb joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a shareholder in Los Angeles. The move was May 7, 2026.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is pleased to announce Joshua Loeb, a partner from Ervin Cohen & Jessup, will be joining the firm as a shareholder in Brownstein's Real Estate Department in Los Angeles. 

Matthew R. Follett was promoted to partner of Fox Rothschild LLP in Los Angeles.

Follett litigates a broad cross-section of business, contract-related, and other claims in state and federal courts and before arbitration panels. His clients span a diverse crosscut of industries, ranging from early-stage entrepreneurs and the ultra-wealthy to Fortune 500 financial institutions and other multinational companies. He has been published on issues relating to repose and state borrowing statutes and has guest lectured on legal and equitable remedies at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

Meeghan H. Tirtasaputra was promoted to partner of Fox Rothschild LLP in Los Angeles.

Tirtasaputra assists clients in resolving their litigation needs, focusing on commercial, intellectual property, entertainment, and appellate matters. With both trial and appellate experience, she is adept at protecting clients’ immediate interests while also anticipating future risks and opportunities. Entertainment industry clients count on Her for sophisticated advice on copyright, trademark and other intellectual property matters as well as deal negotiation and litigation prevention, informed by an insider perspective on the business she acquired as a former actress and musician. She also guides clients through a full range of IP transactions and prosecution matters, including trademark enforcement, such as opposing proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the USPTO; drafting and negotiating trademark and copyright agreements; and domain name and social media disputes.

Stephen P. Pfahler joined ADR Services, Inc. as a neutral in Los Angeles. The move was May 4, 2026.

Pfahler was a judge for more than 20 years and was a litigator for more than 35 years. During his judicial tenure, he presided over hundreds of trials and successfully resolved more than 500 civil cases, most recently serving for 15 years in a Civil Independent Calendar court. Widely regarded as one of the court's most effective settlement judges, his colleagues frequently referred their most difficult, impasse-bound cases to him. He is known for his thoughtful, facilitative approach, strong people skills, and ability to guide parties through challenging disputes toward resolution.

Zeeshan Ahmedani joined Proskauer as a partner in Los Angekes. The move was May 5, 2026.

Ahmedani is a highly regarded private funds lawyer with nearly 30 years of experience advising sponsors across private equity, venture capital, and real assets. His arrival expands and strengthens Proskauer's private funds capabilities and bolsters the Firm's private capital platform, including its Private Equity Transactions, Fund Finance, and Real Assets practices.

Christina S. Chang joined Barnes & Thornburg LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Chang is a go-to advisor for creators, talent, brands, and platforms building and monetizing brands and intellectual property across the creator economy, entertainment, and sports. She structures high-impact commercial deals--including advertising and endorsement partnerships, licensing, and multi-platform ventures--and advises across media, technology, consumer products, fashion, e-commerce, wellness and beauty, art, and data privacy. Drawing on deep creator economy experience and a background in licensing and intellectual property valuation, Chang helps clients turn ideas and influence into scalable, durable businesses across evolving platforms.

Carron Joan Mitchell joined Barnes & Thornburg LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

A significant focus of Mitchell's practice involves business development and strategy for talent, athletes, and founders. She works with talent to build and launch new business enterprises, including record labels, distribution companies, publishing companies, creative and marketing agencies, consumer brands, and athlete-led enterprises. She advises clients at every stage and across a range of career verticals to build a durable foundation for long-term growth, not only as creative professionals, but as brands and businesses.

Rami S. Yanni joined Jeffer Mangels & Mitchell LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Yanni has more than 30 years of experience advising multinational companies, emerging growth businesses, and individuals on intellectual property, media, entertainment, and technology matters. His practice focuses on intellectual property transactions, licensing, portfolio strategy and management, enforcement and anti-piracy matters, entertainment and digital media transactions, content acquisition, licensing and distribution, consumer products licensing, e-commerce, advertising and promotions, celebrity endorsement agreements, and M&A due diligence. Over the course of his career, he has negotiated hundreds of license, distribution, acquisition, and commercial agreements across a wide range of industries, including motion picture, television, music, software, video games, publishing, apparel, footwear, cosmetics, consumer electronics, food and beverage, toys, theme parks, and sporting goods.

 Gail I. Nevius Abbas joined Jeffer Mangels & Mitchell LLP as of counsel in San Francisco.

Nevius Abbas works closely with clients to develop and implement trademark registration and policing strategies in the United States and abroad. She manages large domestic and international trademark portfolios for companies across a wide range of industries, including apparel and other consumer goods, food and beverage, health and fitness, vitamins and dietary supplements, toy and games, educational services, venture capital and financial services, and computer software and hardware solutions for the automotive, insurance, and data security industries.

Jennifer A. Golinveaux joined Alston & Bird LLP as a partner in San Francisco and Palo Alto. The move was May 4, 2026.

Golinveaux is an intellectual property litigator representing technology, media, and consumer-brand clients in copyright, trademark, and related disputes. Her work includes defending internet service providers and online platforms in large copyright cases, obtaining rulings under the DMCA safe-harbor provisions, and handling matters involving digital media and online marketplaces. She also works on trademark enforcement, trade dress, false advertising, cybersquatting, and product design litigation, with results including dismissals, injunctions, and appellate decisions.

Golinveaux was one of three new partners who joined Alston & Bird's IP Litigation Group. The other two, Michael Elkin and Sean Anderson, are in New York.

Sydne N. Alexander joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP as a partner in Sacramento.

Alexander is an attorney with more than 14 years of experience, focusing on representing employers in workplace law matters, including preventive advice and counseling, and has demonstrated strengths in advocacy, legal writing and research, and client relations.

Dr. Maria-Vittoria Carminati joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP as a partner in Sacramento.

Carminati is a litigation attorney with more than 17 years of experience handling complex commercial and contract disputes in federal and state courts, with experience in large-scale discovery, trial preparation, litigation strategy, and first- and second-chair federal trials, and is admitted in California, New York, Texas, the District of Columbia, Colorado, and Oregon.

Yelitza V. Dunham joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP as a partner in Walnut Creek.

Dunham has more than 20 years of experience advising on insurance coverage matters, including cybersecurity, privacy, and intellectual property risks, and litigating disputes involving D&O, E&O, property, general liability, fiduciary, professional liability, and life insurance in arbitration and state and federal courts, with experience in trials, appeals, and resolving complex disputes, and is admitted in California and the U.S. District Courts for all four California districts.

Whitnee P. Goins joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP as a partner in Sacramento.

Goins is a trial attorney with federal and state court experience representing employers in litigation involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and wage-and-hour disputes, and is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and state prosecutor with trial and supervisory experience, admitted in California and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Jonathan K. Ross joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP as a partner in Sacramento.

Ross is a trial attorney focused on complex federal litigation, including class actions and regulatory disputes, and previously spent more than a decade with the U.S. Department of Justice as senior litigation counsel, with experience in district courts and courts of appeals, and is admitted in North Carolina, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jason Russell joined Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Russell is the head of the newly opened Los Angeles office. He represents a wide variety of clients in commercial litigation in federal and state courts throughout the country, as well as in international forums. He has earned a reputation as an adept litigator with particular experience in some of the most high-profile cases in the sports and entertainment field, as well as in complex class actions. He has extensive experience and takes an innovative approach to all aspects of complex litigation, ranging from jury trials and appellate arguments to mediation and arbitration.

Robert L. Uriarte joined Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Uriarte focuses on software, security technologies, and internet and digital crime law, advising companies on intellectual property, security, incident response, anti-piracy and licensing compliance programs, and digital enforcement matters.

Suparna Datta joined Buchalter as a partner in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The move was April 29, 2026.

Dr. Datta is a patent litigator and registered patent attorney with extensive experience representing clients in complex, high‑tech disputes before the International Trade Commission, federal district courts, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In addition to her litigation practice, Dr. Datta advises clients on intellectual property issues in complex mergers and acquisitions, including leading open‑source software audits, advising on representations and warranties insurance claims, and conducting IP asset valuation and risk analyses.

Nathaniel Haas joined Watstein Terepka LLP as a partner

Haas brings significant experience representing clients in high-stakes class actions and other complex disputes in federal and state courts and arbitrations nationwide. His subject matter experience includes class actions, breach of contract, fraud, intellectual property, mass tort, securities, and related appeals. He also maintains an active pro bono practice, specializing in Section 1983 litigation against local and state governments.

David S. Cohn joined JAMS as a neutral in Los Angeles. The move was April 28, 2026.

Judge Cohn brings decades of judicial and litigation experience, including 23 years as a San Bernardino County Superior Court judge. He founded and presided over the court's Complex Civil Division, overseeing employment and consumer class actions, PAGA cases, and complex multiparty business disputes. Earlier in his tenure, he handled a broad civil docket, including personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful termination cases, and also presided over felony jury trials, treatment courts, and juvenile dependency matters. Based in the Los Angeles Resolution Center, Judge Cohn will serve as a mediator and arbitrator in employment, family law, class action and mass tort, business and commercial, health care, personal injury, and real estate disputes.

Marissa M. Grabowski joined Miller Barondess, LLP as an associate in Los Angeles.

Grabowski is an experienced trial attorney who has handled complex, high-stakes litigation at the intersection of science, regulation, and industry. Her multi-jurisdictional background enables her to anticipate regulatory developments shaping emerging markets across state and federal landscapes.

Julia M. Staudinger joined Miller Barondess, LLP as an associate in Los Angeles.

Staudinger is a litigator with experience representing clients across a range of employment, labor, and complex civil matters, including defending employers in single-plaintiff, class action, and PAGA cases.

Jeffrey V. Rocha joined Knox Ricksen LLP as a counsel. The move was April 6, 2026.

Rocha has more than a decade of experience involving commercial and securities litigation matters, as well as complex, multimillion-dollar healthcare fraud qui tam actions. He has handled matters from initial pleadings through discovery and trial or settlement. Rocha also has experience advising businesses and their leaders on contract interpretation, fiduciary duties, governance disputes and statutory compliance. Before law school, he worked for a national brokerage firm as a series 7 and 63 licensed stockbroker. Rocha began his legal career as an associate with Knox Ricksen

Andrew A. Chan joined McGuireWoods LLP as a partner in San Francisco.

Chan guides clients through fund formation and structuring, sponsor liquidity transactions and sponsor-level economic planning. He also advises on tax considerations arising from M&A deals, credit facilities and a wide variety of other business transactions. In addition, he represents investors in connection with private investment funds.

Nicole Lopez joined Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP as a partner in San Francisco. The move was Apr. 23, 2026.

Lopez joins from Meta Platforms, where she was global director of youth safety policy and led global youth litigation strategy. At Orrick, she will advise clients on child safety and policy issues as part of the firm's Public Policy and Online Safety teams. Her work will focus on: (1) legal and regulatory compliance at the state, federal, and international levels; (2) advocacy for pro-competitive, innovation-friendly laws and regulations; (3) representation in investigations and inquiries before state attorneys general and federal agencies; and (4) strategy for high-stakes litigation and appeals.

At Meta, Lopez developed compliance strategy and product implementation across the company's apps. She oversaw youth safety and well-being policy and led a team shaping product strategy and launches, including Teen Accounts, 13+ content experiences, VR for users under 13, generative AI initiatives, and cross-platform well-being features. She testified before U.S. state legislatures and the European Parliament, and worked with lawmakers, regulators, and attorneys general in the U.S., EU, Middle East, and Asia.

Lopez also led Meta's global youth litigation strategy. Earlier, she spent eight years as a California prosecutor, handling joint state and federal investigations, trying more than 50 misdemeanor and felony cases, and prosecuting child abuse, exploitation, and endangerment. She began her career in private practice.

Christopher Foster joined Jones Day as a partner in San Francisco.

Foster advises leading companies on a broad range of labor and employment matters, with a focus on traditional labor law, union organizing and decertification campaigns, collective bargaining negotiations and unfair labor practice proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). He protects brands and operations across industries, especially in technology, manufacturing, media and entertainment, and healthcare. In addition, Foster advises clients on labor and employment issues arising in corporate transactions and workforce restructurings.

Jason Galaif joined Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves and Savitch LLP as a partner in Irvine. The move was April 20, 2026.

Jason advises high-net-worth individuals, families, and business owners on private wealth planning, with a focus on tax-efficient estate planning, trust structuring, and succession strategies across industries including closely held businesses, real estate, and investment holdings. He brings nearly a decade of experience, along with an LLM in Taxation and experience as a certified public accountant (CPA), enabling him to develop sophisticated, tax-driven strategies that integrate legal, financial, and business considerations. His clients include entrepreneurs; private equity, hedge fund, and venture capital principals; real estate investors; business owners; and executives. He also works with trustees, executors, and beneficiaries on the administration of trusts and estates.

Eurie Hwang joined Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson LLP (CGS3) as an associate in San Diego. The move was April 16, 2026.

Hwang has a deep familiarity with both the litigation and transactional sides of commercial real estate law. Her practice includes title review, corporate governance and commercial leasing, as well as strategic advocacy and risk management in leasing matters across all asset classes.