Christopher Franich was promoted to partner of Snell & Wilmer LLP in San Diego.

Franich was promoted to partner effective March 1. Franich concentrates his practice in patent prosecution, intellectual property portfolio counseling and transactions, and USPTO proceedings. During his more than 10 years of practice, he has developed and executed intellectual property strategies for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies. Franich also has experience developing and managing domestic and international patent portfolios.

Jason Mills joined Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP as a partner in Los Angeles. The move was Dec. 5, 2025.

Mills litigates the full spectrum of employment claims across all levels of the workforce, representing clients in state and federal jury trials, bench trials, arbitrations, and administrative proceedings. He has tried numerous significant employment cases to verdict, including claims alleging wrongful termination, discrimination, and other complex workplace disputes. Mills also regularly defends employers in wage-and-hour putative class actions and has argued before the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals and California Courts of Appeal. In addition to his employment litigation practice, he represents employers in defending federal and state OSHA citations, including workplace incident investigations and whistleblower matters. Mills served as the management-side chair of the American Bar Association's Workplace Occupational Safety & Health Committee from 2022 to 2024.

Thomas Tuon joined Murphy, Pearson, Bradley & Feeney P.C. as an associate in Murphy, Pearson, Bradley & Feeney (San Francisco). The move was Dec. 2, 2025.

Tuon focuses on intellectual property transactions, data privacy counseling, and professional liability and taxation litigation. Combining experience in both transactional and controversy matters, Tuon helps clients navigate licensing, compliance, and corporate structuring issues that arise at the intersection of innovation and regulation. He assists individuals, startups, and established companies in protecting their intangible assets, managing risk, and ensuring compliance with evolving state and federal frameworks.

Ashley E. Dang joined Kent| Pincin as an associate in Redondo Beach. The move was Nov. 17, 2025.

Dang has worked alongside some of the top plaintiff's attorneys in California and has extensive experience in employment, personal injury, and mass tort matters. She has assisted in obtaining several notable seven-figure settlements against global defense corporations, public entities, trucking companies, and ride share companies, to name a few.

Michèle Bissada joined Signature Resolution as a neutral in San Francisco. The move was Dec. 3, 2025.

Bissada will serve as a mediator, arbitrator, private judge (JPT/PCTJ), and parenting plan coordinator. With more than 30 years of experience in California family law, Bissada has earned a reputation for her integrity, discernment, and calm command of even the most emotionally charged disputes. Her ability to balance clarity and compassion with legal precision has made her a trusted resource for families, attorneys, and business partners seeking lasting resolution.

Thomas M. Hadid joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in Los Angeles.

Hadid is a nationally recognized trademark attorney with extensive experience managing global trademark portfolios for clients across a range of industries, including consumer products, fashion and technology. His practice focuses on designing comprehensive brand-protection programs and advising clients on every stage of brand protection--from clearance and selection of new marks to prosecution, enforcement and anti-counterfeiting strategies. He also represents clients in contentious trademark matters before the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board and in federal courts.

Morgan Donoian MacBride was promoted to partner of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in Silicon Valley.

MacBride's practice focuses on representing corporate clients in complex commercial litigation and high-stakes business disputes in federal and state courts, including in matters involving transactional disputes, business torts, commercial fraud, consumer protection, antitrust, and greenwashing claims. He has successfully defended clients in a range of industries, including financial services, consumer products, media, and tech. MacBride has extensive experience defeating nationwide class actions. He has served as counsel in many putative class actions, most involving high-profile claims of false advertising, unfair business practices, consumer deception, and corporate fraud.

Maureen Bogue joined Ogletree Deakins as a shareholder in San Francisco. The move was Nov. 24, 2025.

As a distinguished employment law counselor and litigator, Bogue advises employers on a wide range of workplace issues, including leaves of absence, disability accommodations, wage and hour compliance, performance management, and workforce restructuring. She also has significant experience defending employers in wage and hour disputes, discrimination and harassment claims, failure-to-accommodate cases, and other employment-related matters. Additionally, Bogue has over 20 years of experience conducting workplace investigations addressing a wide range of issues, including harassment, discrimination, retaliation, pay equity, conflicts of interest, and fraud.

Ephraim T. Hintz was promoted to principal of Polsinelli in Los Angeles. The promotion is effective Nov. 1, 2025.

Hintz focuses his practice on technology transactions, data privacy, intellectual property licensing and advising clients on the legal aspects of emerging technologies. He counsels clients across a wide range of industries, including artificial intelligence, SaaS, cloud services, public transit, defense technology, health care and e-commerce.

Garrick P. Vanderfin was promoted to principal of Polsinelli in Los Angeles. The promotion is effective Nov. 1, 2025.

Vanderfin provides legal counsel to clients in the financial services industry, including assisting businesses in structuring, documenting and negotiating financial transactions. Vanderfin has handled a wide variety of diverse matters involving civil litigation relating to real estate, contract and business disputes in both state and federal courts.

Mary T. Vu was promoted to principal of Polsinelli in Los Angeles. The promotion is effective Nov. 1, 2025.

Vu focuses her practice on labor, employment and benefits law. She represents employers in high-stakes litigation and regulatory matters across a range of industries, including luxury fashion, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, health care and construction. Drawing on her experience advising some of the world's leading global brands, Vu has cultivated a practice at the intersection of luxury law and employment compliance.

David Rutan was promoted to partner of Troutman Pepper Locke in Los Angeles. The promotion is effective Jan. 1, 2026.

Rutan represents clients in labor and employment disputes, class actions, unfair competition, and entertainment disputes. He handles all phases of litigation, including trials and appeals. focuses his labor and employment practice on defending clients in a variety of disputes, including cases involving alleged independent contractor misclassification; wrongful termination; harassment; discrimination; wage and hour violations, including single-plaintiff cases, class actions, Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) representative actions, and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective actions; and whistleblower cases. He also advises employers on personnel matters, wage and hour issues, and other compliance issues. He also litigates entertainment industry disputes. He has represented clients in several high-profile, reputation-defining disputes, including matters involving investigations, public relations crises, fraud, and corporate governance issues.

Nick Schuchert was promoted to partner of Troutman Pepper Locke in Orange County. The promotion is effective Jan. 1, 2026.

Schuchert focuses his practice on business litigation, including claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, product liability, and unfair competition. He also represents businesses in a wide variety of class action matters in state and federal courts across the U.S. Schuchert has significant experience defending companies in employment disputes concerning wrongful termination, harassment, wage and hour claims, and trade secrets misappropriation. His clients range from large publicly traded companies to small businesses across industries such as financial services, software, real estate, hospitality, and consumer products manufacturing.

Matthew C. Donahue joined Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP as an associate in Burlingame. The move was Nov. 12, 2025.

Donahue focuses on personal injury, wrongful death, mass torts, and other complex civil litigation. Before joining the firm, Donahue worked as an assistant district attorney in San Francisco where he prosecuted complex felony and domestic violence cases. He has tried nine cases to verdict. He also teaches Trial Advocacy at UC Law San Francisco (formerly Hastings).

Donahue received his J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law and his B.A. from George Washington University. After law school, he clerked for Judge Sally D. Adkins on the Maryland Supreme Court.

Greg Erickson joined Goldberg Segalla as a partner in San Francisco.

Erickson is an accomplished trial and appellate attorney with a wealth of experience representing maritime transportation companies throughout the United States. He has been responsible for legal matters impacting the day-to-day operations of maritime companies from litigation to complex transactional matters, and served as outside general counsel for a maritime operator doing business in the U.S., the Caribbean and South America. For more than 25 years, He has been providing insightful, well-reasoned counsel to individuals and corporations to minimize their legal exposure, building a track record of resolving disputes through negotiation, mediation and litigation.

Bria Myles joined Goldberg Segalla as an associate in Los Angeles.

Myles counsels and defends regional and national retailers, hotels and resorts, restaurants and other businesses in the retail and hospitality industries on a variety of litigated matters, including general liability, premises liability, negligent security, and other claims. She is engaged in all aspects of litigation, preparing cases for filing, conducting depositions, drafting pleadings, motions and briefs, and participating in trials, arbitration and mediation.

Matthew Busch was promoted to partner of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in Los Angeles.

Busch has substantial experience representing clients in complex business litigation, including commercial, intellectual property, and trust and estate disputes. Busch has handled all aspects of litigation in state and federal courts for individuals and national and international companies, including pre-trial and trial practice, motion practice, fact and expert discovery, witness preparation, and mediation. During law school, he served as a judicial extern to Judge Dolly M. Gee of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Rodney S. Diggs was elected president & managing partner of the Los Angeles office of Ivie McNeill Wyatt Purcell & Diggs. His tenure was effective Aug. 21, 2025.

Diggs joined Ivie McNeill Wyatt Purcell & Diggs, California's oldest Black-owned law firm, as partner in 2016, became a named partner in 2019, and was appointed president & managing partner in 2025. His leadership reflects more than 15 years of distinguished legal practice, national recognition, and a proven track record of extraordinary results. Diggs has secured more than $250 million in verdicts and settlements over his career. His practice encompasses civil rights, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, employment law, sports and entertainment, municipal liability, high-stakes commercial litigation, and international matters. He is known for his strategic insight, courtroom skill, and ability to prevail in cases involving complex facts, public scrutiny, institutional defendants, and substantial damages exposure.

Andrew Radsch joined Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP as a partner in San Francisco.

Radsch specializes in complex patent and trade secret disputes in federal courts across the country, at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and at the International Trade Commission. He regularly advises plaintiffs and defendants on litigation matters across a range of industries and technologies, including network security, wireless communications, cloud computing, streaming media and semiconductors.

Justin Hassani joined Cummins & White, LLP as an associate in Newport Beach. The move was Nov. 3, 2025.

Hassani returns to his home state of California after building a legal career in Florida. He began his legal journey clerking for a county court judge in Coral Gables, Miami, before passing the Florida Bar in 2015. He then joined a prominent firm in the Fort Myers area, where he focused on real property litigation. Following the pandemic, Hassani continued to expand his civil litigation practice on Florida's east coast, honing his expertise in real property, intellectual property, and judgment enforcement matters.

Brent Lehman was promoted to chair of West Coast Litigation at Munck Wilson Mandala. The promotion was effective Nov. 7, 2025.

Lehman has been named West Coast litigation chair. A recognized leader in business disputes, Lehman focuses his practice on entertainment and commercial litigation, representing clients across the entertainment industry and emerging technology sectors. In his new role, Lehman will lead litigation matters in MWM's Los Angeles office--the firm's second largest--and help expand its award-winning litigation team serving clients throughout California and the West Coast. Lehman represents clients from the music, film, technology, and video game industries in matters involving intellectual property disputes, business breakups, unpaid contingent compensation, breach of fiduciary duty, white-collar defense, and fraud. He frequently publishes commentary on copyright law, emerging technology, and how new case law and rulings will impact creators in the entertainment industry.

Joseph A Ferrentino joined JAMS as a neutral in Orange County. The move was Nov. 13, 2025.

Ferrentino served as a partner at Newmeyer Dillion for 24 years. He led the firm's construction department and handled disputes in areas including real estate, business, insurance coverage, and complex, multiparty matters. He tried and arbitrated cases in nine counties, from San Diego to Sacramento, on behalf of claimants and defendants. Throughout his practice, Ferrentino managed extensive pretrial discovery, tried high-stakes cases to verdict, briefed and argued matters before courts of appeal and obtained hundreds of favorable settlements. Based in the Orange County Resolution Center, Ferrentino will serve as a mediator, court-appointed neutral (referee/special master) and neutral evaluator, handling business and commercial, construction defect, insurance and real estate matters. He is available to conduct sessions in person, as well as virtually, for clients in the western U.S.

Alessandro Nolfo joined Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP as an associate.

Nolfo's practice includes representing clients in complex business and franchise disputes. Nolfo's extensive experience in business litigation encompasses a wide array of essential skills for effectively navigating the complexities of corporate and franchise disputes. He is adept at representing clients in state and federal court proceedings, including mediation, arbitration, and trials. His experience includes resolving issues related to breach of contract, fraud, intellectual property disputes, and employment law matters. In addition, Nolfo possesses in-depth expertise in drafting and negotiating contracts, ensuring compliance with regulatory frameworks, and managing risk assessments for various business transactions.

Dana Alden Fox joins BD&J, PC. as a partner in Los Angeles. The move is effective Jan. 5, 2026.

Fox is managing partner of BD&J's Police Use of Force and Police Shooting practice. He works primarily in high-profile catastrophic injury, wrongful death, police use of force, premises liability, sexual assault, and product defect cases. While he has spent most of his career defending individuals and entities in personal injury matters, he now brings his expertise to BD&J to champion plaintiffs in their pursuit of fair compensation.

Sarah E. Diamond joined Miller Barondess, LLP as a counsel in Los Angeles. The move was Oct. 27, 2025.

Diamond is a trial lawyer and business litigator with broad experience in civil litigation, including the entertainment and financial services industries, breach of contract cases, privacy class actions, IP disputes, securities class actions, and derivative cases.

C.B. Rome joined Bienert Katzman Littrell Williams LLP as an associate in Los Angeles. The move was Nov. 10, 2025.

C.B. focuses her practice on representing companies and executives in internal and government-facing investigations, white collar defense and regulatory enforcement matters, and complex commercial litigation. She has conducted internal investigations and defended inquiries led by a range of criminal and regulatory authorities, including the U.S. Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Internal Revenue Service, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

She has also worked on complex commercial litigation matters involving breach of contract, consumer protection, and intellectual property disputes. Her representative matters include advising a global auction house on an internal investigation of senior executive misconduct, representing a global manufacturer and distributor in connection with a criminal investigation by the DOJ pertaining to alleged consumer product safety violations, and defending a senior executive against a federal investigation regarding alleged conspiracy to circumvent FDA regulations.

C.B. earned her J.D., cum laude, from Loyola Law School, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif and recognized as a Sayre Macneil Scholar. She served as chief note and comment editor of the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, co-vice chair of Loyola's LGBTQ student organization, OUTlaw, participated in Loyola's Project for the Innocent, and was a research assistant to Professor Laurie Levenson. Before joining BKLW, C.B. practiced in the Investigations & White Collar Defense Group at Morrison Foerster.

Kimberly Carter joined Fisher Phillips as a partner in Woodland Hills. The move was Nov. 3, 2025.

Kimberly defends employers in all types and sizes of employment-related lawsuits, including wage and hour class and collective actions, Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims, employee misclassification, trade secret disputes, retaliation, whistleblower, workplace safety (OSHA), discrimination, harassment, data privacy, and other complex employment matters.

Kari Krusmark joined Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP as a partner in Los Angeles. The move was Nov. 12, 2025.

Krusmark joined the firm's global technology transactions, outsourcing, and commercial contracts team with nearly 20 years of experience counseling clients on complex commercial and technology-driven deals. She has led clients through the structuring and negotiation of strategic, cutting-edge transactions involving digital transformation, outsourcing, cloud services, robotic automation, artificial intelligence solutions, platform modernization, strategic alliances, and other technology-related matters.

She advises clients across a wide range of industries, including apparel, automotive, consumer products, energy, engineering and construction, entertainment, financial services, foodservice, healthcare, insurance, hospitality, logistics, marketing, semiconductors, technology, and utilities. Krusmark is recognized for her leadership in an evolving market, guiding clients through every stage of the outsourcing lifecycle--from RFP development to renegotiations and dispute resolution.

Bryan Corbaz joined Knox Ricksen LLP as an associate in Walnut Creek. The move was Nov. 10, 2025.

Corbaz has managed a diverse caseload of insurance defense litigation and appeals cases, including construction liability, product liability, construction defect, and complex property claims. He has drafted and responded to discovery requests, defended depositions and engaged in extensive motion practice across various jurisdictions.