Natalie Locke joined RAMO as a counsel in Culver City. The move was Aug. 1, 2026.

Locke has more than 15 years of entertainment and media legal experience, advising producers, production companies, financiers, talent and media companies on development, financing, production, rights clearance, chain of title, distribution and business affairs. She has served as counsel on more than 50 scripted and unscripted films, series and specials released through Apple TV+, HBO Max, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Prime Video and Disney/Hulu. Her recent credits include Mr. Scorsese (Presser Films) and Diane Warren: Relentless (XTR/Asteria).

Jackie Ward was promoted to partner of RAMO in Culver City. The promotion is effective Aug. 1, 2026.

Ward is a trusted advisor to producers, financiers, and production companies, guiding them through content creation, financing, and distribution. She handles complex financing, rights, production legal matters, and IP strategy. As the only attorney in RAMO's Content & Media Strategy team, she advises on legal and business strategies for content across film, TV, and emerging media. Ward works with top independent producers like Duplass Brothers, Tango Entertainment, Cold Iron Pictures, and supports RAMO clients such as Lion Forge, iGeneration, and Riff Raff.

Grant Puleo joined Greenberg Traurig, LLP as a shareholder in San Diego.

Puleo represents developers, owners, operators, investors, lenders, and financial institutions in real estate, finance, and business transactions across California and throughout the United States. He handles acquisitions, development, construction, syndications, dispositions, leasing and financing across commercial, multifamily, student housing, hospitality, data center and other product types.

Ian B. Edvalson joined Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP as a partner in San Francisco.

Edvalson advises public and private biopharmaceutical, medtech, and life sciences companies on transactions supporting the development and commercialization of their products and services, including license and collaboration agreements, IP aspects of M&A transactions, and other commercial agreements.

Alex Talarides joined Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP as a partner in San Francisco. The move was Aug. 3, 2026.

Talarides' practice focuses on defending companies and their officers and directors, as well as investment banks and underwriters, in securities class actions, shareholder derivative suits, mergers and acquisition litigation, and other shareholder-related disputes, and advising clients on corporate governance and disclosure matters. He has extensive experience representing public and private companies and their D&Os, as well as investment banks and underwriters, in securities and corporate governance-related litigation and other complex commercial litigation. He also regularly advises companies and their boards on corporate governance best practices and fiduciary and disclosure duties.

Adam G. Wentland joined Polsinelli LLP as a principal in San Francisco.

Wentland advises health care providers on disputes and operational matters involving reimbursement, medical staff governance, regulatory compliance and business litigation. He represents hospitals, medical staffs, physician groups, physicians and other providers in peer review matters, government investigations, fraud and abuse issues, privacy matters, whistleblower claims and provider-payor disputes. He also advises clients on hospital closures, payer contracting, entity formation, commercial leasing and corporate governance matters.

Raymond M. Buddie joined Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP as a partner in San Francisco.

Buddie advises clients on complex construction matters and disputes. A former surveyor and structural engineer, he also served on the project management team of a major commercial construction company, giving him experience with the legal, technical, and commercial aspects of construction projects.

David Emanuelson joined Hogan Lovells Cadwalader as a partner in San Francisco.

Emanuelson leads merger review and regulatory strategies before the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general, European Commission, and other competition authorities worldwide. He also advises on issues at the intersection of antitrust and national security, including CFIUS, outbound investment, foreign direct investment, and export control matters affecting cross-border transactions and strategic investments. He is among the few antitrust lawyers outside China with substantial experience working directly with China's State Administration for Market Regulation.

David Jargiello joined Holland & Knight as a partner in San Francisco.

Jargiello advises law firms, legal services businesses, private equity investors and legal technology companies on strategic transactions and business structures where corporate and professional responsibility issues intersect. He counsels clients on law firm mergers and combinations, lateral group transactions, private investments in law firms and legal services businesses, as well as management services organization (MSO) and alternative business structure (ABS) models, including related ownership, governance and regulatory issues.

Aubrianna Bourgault joined Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP as an associate in San Diego.

Bourgault gained extensive courtroom experience as a deputy district attorney with the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, participating in nine jury trials, conducting more than 100 preliminary hearings and drafting more than 100 motions. She also gained appellate experience with the California Attorney General's Office and served as a judicial extern to Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Houston.

Brooke T. Harris joined Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP as an associate in San Diego.

Harris practiced family law with a San Jose-based firm, where she handled all phases of litigation, including case strategy, legal research, and courtroom representation.

Justina Robinson joined Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP as an associate in San Diego.

Robinson served as a deputy attorney general in the California Attorney General's Office, representing correctional healthcare professionals, including nurses and physicians, in federal civil rights litigation. She handled pleadings, depositions, discovery and settlement matters and assisted with complex healthcare class actions.

Lisa C. Hamasaki joined Nukk-Freeman & Cerra, P.C. as a partner in San Francisco.

Hamasaki represents employers in labor and employment matters throughout California. With more than 25+ years of experience, she advises employers on all aspects of California and federal employment law and defends companies in state and federal courts, arbitration, and before administrative agencies. Prior to joining NFC, Hamasaki served for more than five years as the managing shareholder of her former firm's San Francisco office, providing strategic leadership while maintaining an active employment law practice.

Cooper Ward was promoted to associate of RAMO in Culver City. The promotion is effective Aug. 1, 2026.

Ward specializes in scripted development and production legal, working with producers, writers and directors on legal matters throughout the production process. Based in Atlanta, he oversees production legal for projects including Green Bank and On a Bell and works with production companies including Hybrid. His credits also include production legal work on Baywatch and The Lincoln Lawyer. RAMO has promoted Ward to senior associate.

Stephen Johnson joined Miller Barondess, LLP as an associate in Los Angeles.

Johnson is a trial lawyer who represents clients in commercial litigation, including fraud, contract, copyright, and employment disputes.

Molly A. Karlin joined Miller Barondess, LLP as a counsel in Los Angeles.

Karlin is a trusted appellate advocate who represents clients in high stakes appeals arising from complex commercial disputes and convictions for serious crimes. Her practice spans a wide range of matters, including fraud, breach of contract, business torts, copyright, entertainment, insurance and reinsurance, securities, and class actions.

Kendall N. Onyendu joined Miller Barondess, LLP as an associate in Los Angeles.

Onyendu is a litigation associate who represents clients in a range of complex commercial litigation matters with a focus on labor and employment. She is experienced in counseling clients through all stages of litigation, including pre-suit negotiations and mediation.

Abbie Neufeld joined Armond Wilson LLP as an associate in Newport Beach. The move was July 6, 2026.

Neufeld is an intellectual property litigator who represents clients in high-stakes disputes across a wide range of industries. She earned her bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University and her J.D. from the UCLA School of Law, where she served as managing editor of the UCLA Journal of Law and Technology and co-president of the Jewish Law Students Association.

Stanley D. Blyth joined Kaufman Dolowich as a partner in Los Angeles.

Blyth brings more than 30 years of experience representing employers in California across a broad range of labor and employment matters, including discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, wage-and-hour, and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims in state and federal courts. He advises business owners, managers, and human resources professionals on employment matters, litigation strategy, risk management, and workplace compliance.

Shawn M. Christianson was promoted to office managing partner of Buchalter's in San Francisco.

Christianson is a member of the firm's Insolvency & Financial Law practice and a former member of its board of directors, Christianson advises financial institutions, technology companies and other clients on insolvency, restructuring and commercial litigation matters. She succeeds to lead one of the firm's largest and fastest-growing offices.

Francesca Crisera Ruiz was elected office managing partner of Squire Patton Boggs' San Francisco and Palo Alto offices.

Ruiz leads the firm's global technology M&A practice and regularly advises public and private companies on a broad range of transactional matters, with an emphasis on domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, venture capital-backed technology M&A transactions and joint ventures.

Michael H. Cohen joined Offit Kurman as a counsel in Los Angeles.

Cohen has advised healthcare providers, entrepreneurs, and organizations on navigating complex regulatory frameworks, structuring compliant business models, and managing legal risk in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape. His practice focuses on helping clients align innovation with regulatory requirements across a wide range of healthcare and life sciences sectors.

S. Waqar Hasib joined Eversheds Sutherland as a counsel in Silicon Valley.

Hasib joins the firm from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, where he spent more than two decades handling national security matters. A veteran first-chair trial lawyer who has tried 12 federal cases, he also served as the U.S. Department of Justice's resident legal advisor for North Africa, advising U.S. and foreign government agencies and regulators on anti-money laundering issues. Most recently, he led the Northern District's Transnational Organized Crime Unit, overseeing complex cross-border investigations and high-stakes litigation. During his career, he directed investigations and prosecutions involving tariff evasion, violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, export controls, trafficking, online child exploitation, dual-use technology smuggling, RICO, public corruption and national security.

Christina Lewis joined Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Lewis' practice pairs estate planning and trust administration with hands-on transactional business experience, including asset and share purchases, joint ventures, and licensing arrangements. That combination positions her to help business owners align personal wealth-transfer strategies with their companies' long-term direction, coordinating succession and exit planning alongside traditional estate planning.

Theodore J. Griswold joined Cox, Castle & Nicholson as a partner in San Diego. The move was July 11, 2026.

Griswold advises tribal governments, developers, landowners, and private clients on a broad range of complex legal matters involving Native American governance, tribal land issues, environmental permitting, natural and cultural resources, tribal consultations, habitat conservation, water resources, and land use. His practice includes fee-to-trust actions, tribal governance and code development, self-determination compacts and contracts, intergovernmental agreements, tribal leasing, tribal water settlements, infrastructure development, and state and federal permitting.

Christophe H. Burusco joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Burusco has extensive multi-state experience advising insurers, brokers, captive insurers, and their affiliates on complex regulatory compliance matters involving insurance company transactions. He represents companies in regulatory aspects of the formation of new insurance companies, ownership structure, acquisitions, restructurings, and investments, filings, diligence, contracts, and purchase agreements.

Michael E. Rosenberg joined Kibler Fowler & Cave LLP as a counsel in Los Angeles. The move was April 28, 2026.

Rosenberg represents companies and individuals in complex civil litigation, government investigations, internal investigations, and high-stakes commercial disputes in both state and federal court. He has defended clients against securities enforcement actions, class action lawsuits, and trade secret claims, and has guided companies through investigations by the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission. Rosenberg's practice spans a diverse range of industries--including construction, shipping, pharmaceutical, insurance, health care services, technology, cryptocurrency, electric vehicle, and financial services--advising clients through every stage of litigation, from pre-suit counseling and early case assessment through trial and appeal.

Benjamin Marsh joined Kibler Fowler & Cave LLP as a counsel in Los Angeles.

Marsh is a seasoned litigator who represents clients in complex media, entertainment, employment, real estate, and business disputes. With nearly two decades of experience, he has developed a reputation for achieving favorable outcomes through strategic thinking and meticulous preparation. Marsh handles all phases of litigation--from case development and discovery through trial and arbitration--and has co-chaired bench trials and arbitrations resulting in multimillion-dollar judgments and settlements. He is equally adept at resolving disputes outside the courtroom, having negotiated numerous favorable settlements and provided pre-litigation counseling that helps clients avoid costly litigation altogether. His work spans First Amendment and defamation matters, intellectual property disputes, insurance coverage litigation, and complex commercial contracts.

Rowley J. Rice joined Kibler Fowler & Cave LLP as a counsel in Los Angeles.

Rowley J. Rice is a litigator at Kibler Fowler & Cave LLP, where he represents clients in complex commercial litigation and intellectual property disputes in state and federal court. His practice focuses on matters in the media, entertainment, and technology industries. Rowley has substantial experience litigating cases through all stages of litigation, including dispositive motion practice, trial, and appeal. He has achieved significant summary judgment and trial victories, including a $62.4 million statutory damages awards in a copyright infringement case and a preliminary injunction for which he received the Daily Journal’s California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) Award.