David S. Canter was promoted to partner of Nicolson Law Group PC in Los Angeles.

Canter is a civil litigator and trail lawyer. He has been with the firm since 2019.
He is based in Los Angeles.

Hazel Ocampo joined Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP as senior counsel in San Diego.

Ocampo joined Allen Matkins as senior counsel in the land use, environmental and natural resources group. She joined the firm from Procopio, where she practiced the last 7 years.
"Allen Matkins has a wonderful reputation and an excellent real estate practice and a really robust environmental group, as well, and that was very attractive to me," said Ocampo. "There are a lot of environmental attorneys who are really skilled at Allen Matkins, so to be part of a really dynamic and robust team was attractive."
The land use, environmental and natural resources group's approach to working as a team made her feel Allen Matkins was a good place to advance her career, she said.
Ocampo specializes in representing private companies who are subject to enforcement actions by government agencies such as the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Department of Environmental Health, the Air Pollution Control District and the Environmental Protection Agency. She also works with developers in real estate due diligence.
She is a former law clerk for The Council on Environmental Quality and The California Environmental Protection Agency, which she says prepared her for the work she does today.
"Because I am involved in resolving actions with government agencies, the fact that I've been on that side, working with government agencies, helps me see the problem on both sides so that I can understand where they're coming from and I can understand what their goals are," she added. "It helps me navigate those processes more efficiently just because I know that we need to get to a resolution and both parties need to get to a solution that makes sense. I'm able to kind of see the problem from the eyes of the regulators to find solutions that are sensible."

Frederick M. Heiser was promoted to managing shareholder of Klinedinst PC in Irvine.

Heiser focuses on business and commercial litigation, commercial general liability and employment. He represents entrepreneurs, small family businesses and fortune 500 companies. He is based in Irvine.

Edward A. Meyer joined Nossaman LLP as of counsel in Sacramento.

Meyer relocated to Sacramento and joined Nossaman as of counsel in its healthcare practice group.
"It's a tremendous opportunity, especially to be back in Sacramento. I'm actually a fifth-generation Californian. Believe it or not, my great great grandfather was a 49er and actually walked these streets, so it's in my heart to be out here," he said "And when the opportunity arose, I got a call from an old friend who I practiced twice with in my career, I immediately jumped at [the opportunity]."
He joined Nossaman after five years at MEDNAX Services Inc., where he most recently served as the assistant general counsel of anesthesia and prior to that, he was senior regional counsel for the Midwest region. He was based out of Texas.
"Nossaman goes way back historically in the healthcare sector so that's something that was very attractive
to me," he added.
Meyer has dedicated the last 11 years of his career to the physician sector of healthcare, focusing on the business and regulatory side. He has held in-house roles at Pediatrix Medical Group, Dignity Health, Marshall Medical Center and Sutter Health over the course of his career.
He is also a former government official, having served as a special assistant within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President Ronald Reagan from 1987 to 1989 and was a founding partner of his own boutique healthcare firm, McDonald & Meyer, from 2000 to 2002 in North Carolina.
With the move to Nossaman, Meyer said he looks forward to reconnecting with old friends and colleagues in Sacramento's legal community and further developing his practice.

John Zaimes joined Arent Fox as partner in Los Angeles.

Zaimes focuses on labor and employment litigation. He represents clients in wage and hour class actions, PAGA claims, wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, National Labor Relations Act, Railway Labor Act and Occupational Safety and Health Administration issues. He is based in Los Angeles.

Roxanne M. Wilson joined Arent Fox as counsel in Los Angeles.

Wilson's focus is defending and advising clients on employment related class actions, PAGA claims and various issues including wage and hour, exempt employees and reductions in force. She is based in Los Angeles.

Karen Hart joined Atheria Law as associate in Los Angeles.

Hart specializes in the representation of insurers in connection with complex third-party claims and insurance coverage litigation. She has litigation experience handling insurance coverage actions in state and federal courts from initial pleading to case resolution.

Natalie A. Pierce joined Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian LLP as partner and chair of the labor and employment practice in San Francisco.

Pierce joined Gunderson Dettmer as partner and chair of the labor and employment practice on Aug. 17 after nearly 15 years with Littler Mendelson PC.
At Littler, she served as the co-chair of the robotics, artificial intelligence and automation practice group in addition to her role as co-chair of the firm's diversity and inclusion council.
"I'm just really excited to support entrepreneurs and those who are investing in them. Gunderson has such a collaborative culture, a global reach and an appreciation for the benefits of transformative technology," said Pierce. "It's really an opportunity to merge my two passions, which is labor and employment law and looking at the way workplaces and the world are changing. It's just really a perfect combination."
Pierce advises technology and life sciences companies on employment related matters and focuses on the needs of emerging growth companies.
"I love acting as a trusted advisor to my clients on all employment related matters and working with them to avoid future problems," she added.
In the past, she has worked with companies of all sizes on workforce aspects of business transactions and has advised clients on incorporating technology into the workplace.
What drew Pierce to Gunderson was it's culture and people. "It's just day three, but it already feels like home," she added.
Pierce is an active member of the Hispanic National Bar Association, having served as regional president from 2013 to 2018. She is also active in the Association of Corporate Counsel's Cybersecurity Advisory Board, the American Bar Association's Center for Innovation, the Union Internationale des Avocats and various organizations in the startup space including Declare.

David M. Stein joined Brown Rudnick LLP as partner in Irvine.

Stein focuses on intellectual property litigation and complex commercial litigation. He is based in Irvine.

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.

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.

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.