Bianca Levin-Soler joined Ropes & Gray LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Levin-Soler represents private equity firms and their portfolio companies in a variety of transactions, including leveraged buyouts, public and private mergers and acquisitions, SPACs and restructurings.

Henry W. Root joined Smith Entertainment Law Group as partner in Los Angeles.

Root serves as counsel to major and independent entertainment, media companies, recording artists, songwriters, composers, producers, consumer product companies, and large purchasers of music catalogs and name imagine and likeness rights.

Ron S. Grace joined Greenberg Traurig LLP as shareholder in Los Angeles.

Grace serves as general corporate counsel and transactional counsel with respect to a wide variety of business transactions. He represents emerging and established companies, including those in the healthcare industry, on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic partnerships, private placements of equity securities, and general contract, securities, and health care law.

John David Loy joined First Amendment Coalition as legal director in San Diego.

Loy is a veteran civil liberties litigator who has defended the First Amendment rights of reporters, photographers, bloggers, students, teachers, activists, protesters, musicians, Marines, and motorcycle club members and has fought for public disclosure and governmental transparency for over 20 years.

Nikki Buffa was promoted to partner of Latham & Watkins in Costa Mesa.

Buffa is a member of the Environment, Land & Resources Practice in the Corporate Department. She provides environmental counseling in all areas of environmental law, with a particular focus on the siting of major infrastructure projects, energy transition and renewable energy, stakeholder engagement, and crisis management. She counsels clients on a wide range of relevant state and federal regulatory regimes and has previously served in senior positions in the Obama Administration at the Department of the Interior and the White House, and on the Biden-Harris transition team.

Heather B. Deixler was promoted to partner of Latham & Watkins in Bay Area.

Deixler is a member of the Healthcare & Life Sciences Practice in the Corporate Department. who counsels public and private companies operating in the healthcare industry and digital health sector on regulatory compliance, transactional matters, and data privacy and security. With a practice at the intersection of healthcare and technology, she advises a range of cutting-edge clients on emerging regulatory regimes, including innovative healthcare delivery systems, value-based payment programs, and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in healthcare.

Kristin N. Murphy was promoted to partner of Latham & Watkins in Costa Mesa.

Murphy is a member of the Securities Litigation & Professional Liability Practice in the Litigation & Trial Department. She advises clients on complex business litigation, with an emphasis on M&A, securities fraud, and class action litigation. Her recent representations include special committee engagements in controlling stockholder transactions, multi-jurisdictional litigation arising out of solicited and hostile takeover attempts, and lawsuits related to special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs).

Kevin C. Reyes was promoted to partner of Latham & Watkins in San Diego.

Reyes is a member of the mergers & acquisitions practice in the Corporate Department. He represents public and private companies on a range of corporate matters, including M&A transactions, debt and equity capital markets offerings, venture capital financings, corporate governance, and securities law compliance, particularly in the life sciences, technology, consumer products, and real estate sectors.

Andrew J. Demko as partner in Los Angeles

Demko joins the firm as a partner in the Commercial Litigation and Consumer Litigation & Class Actions practices. He has represented companies in a variety of industries, including financial services, media, entertainment, technology and securities. He also has experience with environmental and employment litigation, including ERISA lawsuits and wage and hour class actions.

Allison Mallick was promoted to partner of Baker Botts L.L.P. in San Francisco.

Mallick advises clients facing complex environmental challenges, focusing on litigation, regulatory advocacy, and compliance counseling. She represents companies and industry coalitions across multiple sectors, including energy, cement, manufacturing, chemical processing, and agricultural processing.

Robert Blamires was promoted to partner of Latham & watkins in San Francisco.

Robert Blamires is a member of the Data & Technology Transactions Practice in the Corporate Department who advises clients on data privacy practices, risks, and compliance, particularly in the context of M&A, capital markets, and other corporate transactions, as well as on proactive compliance, the use of data assets, and contracts governing data sharing and processing. He also has substantial experience with the firm's Data Privacy & Security Practice.

Nicholas J Hoffman was promoted to partner of McGuireWoods in Los Angeles.

Hoffman Joins International Association of Defense Counsel. He is a trial attorney who handles a wide range of matters, including product liability, mass tort, intellectual property, unfair competition, business tort and other complex commercial disputes. He represents clients in the technology, biotechnology, medical devices, consumer products and entertainment industries.

Emily Stephens joined Greenberg Traurig, LLP as shareholder in Los Angeles.

Emily Stephens concentrates her practice on fund formation and investment management and has a deep institutional knowledge of virtually all aspects of the investment management business.

Elinor Eizdi was promoted to partner of Nossaman.

Eizdi specializes in real estate transactional law. She represents real estate developers, government agencies and independent oil and gas companies in all phases of real estate acquisitions and dispositions.

Willis Hon was promoted to partner of Nossaman in San Francisco.

Hon focuses on serving water industry clients across California on a broad range of administrative and regulatory matters.

Frank Liu was promoted to partner of Nossaman in Los Angeles.

Liu helps public agencies use innovative procurement methods to deliver highly complex and large-scale airport, highway, bridge, tunnel, transit and social infrastructure projects. His work spans every step of the procurement process.

Maxwell A. Blum was promoted to partner of Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP in Oakland CA.

Max Blum is a member of the firm's Litigation and Public Law practices.

Eli Jacob Flushman was promoted to partner of Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP in San Rafael.

Eli Flushman is a member of the firm's Public Law practice.

Kristin E. Charbonnier was promoted to partner of Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP in San Francisco.

Kristin Charbonnier is a member of the firm's Litigation and Real Estate practices.

Temitayo Opeoluwa Peters was promoted to partner of Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP in Oakland.

Temitayo ("Ope") Peters is a member of the firm's Constitutional Law, Employment Law & Litigation, Litigation, and Public Law practices.

Martin S. McMahan was promoted to partner of Yoka & Smith LLP in Los Angeles.

McMahan worked in business for several years before getting a law degree from Loyola Law School. His practice includes catastrophic injury/wrongful death defense, class-action and complex tort actions, commercial litigation, premises liability and product liability.

John D. Cooke was promoted to partner of Bergeson LLP in Silicon Valley.

Cooke represents clients in civil litigation, criminal and regulatory matters, and corporate investigations. Prior to joining the Bergeson firm, Cooke was an assistant U.S. attorney for 12 years in the Northern District of Illinois as well as in the Northern Districts of California and New York. He led complex investigations, prosecutions, and trials in a range of matters, including fraud, money laundering, cybercrime, public corruption, violent crime, and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. As a result of his prosecution and trial of leaders of a violent street gang for RICO violations, John was tapped to coordinate the U.S. Attorney's Office's racketeering investigations amid an upswell in violent crime in Chicago. In addition to his experience in federal criminal litigation, Cooke represented the United States in civil litigation, including fraud matters under the False Claims Act and employment disputes.

Jesse Levin was promoted to partner of Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro LLP - Los Angeles, CA in Century City.

Jesse Levin is a problem solver. For clients that face high-stakes disputes in corporate, entertainment, employment, real estate, and general commercial litigation, he is an aggressive advocate and a dedicated advisor. Mr. Levin takes pride in being responsive to his clients' unique concerns, and understanding the impacts litigation can have on his clients' attention and bottom lines. With that understanding, he helps each of his clients identify and pursue their objectives in litigation efficiently, and when necessary, relentlessly.

Mr. Levin's maintains a diverse practice built upon his extensive experience in both defending and prosecuting claims for breaches of contract and fiduciary duties; profit participation and royalty disputes; employment claims and wage & hour violations; class actions; intellectual property infringement and trade secret violations. Mr. Levin also routinely represents and advises partners and corporate officers and directors in matters of business divorce, internal investigations, and professional liability.

Recently, Mr. Levin prevailed on behalf of a management company suing for seven figures in unpaid royalties and defeated counter-claims for alleged violations of the Talent Agencies Act after a two-week arbitration. In a recent real estate matter before the Los Angeles Superior Court, Mr. Levin won a motion for summary judgment of contract claims that alleged over $150,000,000 in damages.


A life-long Angeleno, Mr. Levin received his bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California, and his law degree from UCLA Law. Year after year, he is repeatedly selected as a "Rising Star" by Southern California Super Lawyers.

Elias Dabaie was promoted to partner of Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro LLP - Los Angeles, CA in Century City.

Elias Dabaie focuses on complex commercial litigation and advises clients in a wide range of high-stakes disputes, with particular emphasis on claims involving breach of contract, business torts, consumer fraud and products liability. His clients span a diverse array of industries, including real estate finance, professional sports and multinational retail.

With expertise in all aspects of litigation-including serving as lead counsel in several trials and obtaining lucrative settlements-Mr. Dabaie's commitment to his clients' success has earned him a reputation for fierce advocacy and imaginative litigation strategies.

Matthew Jann was promoted to partner of Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro LLP - Los Angeles, CA in Century City.

Jann, a member of Glaser Weil's Corporate Department, maintains a broad corporate transactional practice with a focus on the purchase and sale of businesses and securities. He is experienced in all aspects of the purchase and sale process beginning with due diligence and the preparation of letters of intent, to the negotiation and documentation of purchase agreements and ancillary transaction documents, to the review and preparation of fairness opinions, and finally to post-closing dispute resolution. He has represented clients in the successful purchase and sale of businesses in a wide range of industries, including medical practices, construction, traditional and green energy, manufacturing, environmental systems, IT services, real estate holdings, food and liquor manufacturing and wholesaling, e-commerce, and ad-tech and marketing services. In addition to his M&A practice, Jann acts as outside corporate counsel assisting clients with the negotiation and documentation of key business agreements and governance matters, including agreements detailing partner and shareholder rights, loans and security interests, employment, non-competition, confidentiality, and commercial terms and conditions.

Alla Shabun Policastro was promoted to partner of Tyson & Mendes LLP in Los Angeles.

Policastro's practice focuses on defense of general liability and personal injury matters on behalf of individuals and businesses. Over the course of the past thirteen years, her litigation experience has included high exposure and catastrophic personal injury cases in the insurance and hospitality industries. Policastro also has significant experience in risk assessment and mitigation for her clients and handling all aspects of litigation to trial. She has an exceptional track record for resolving high exposure cases through negotiations and mediation even in the most adverse of circumstances

Justin A. Santarosa was promoted to partner of Duane Morris LLP in Los Angeles.

Justin A. Santarosa, of Duane Morris' Los Angeles office, has been promoted to the firm partnership.

Kenneth Tze was promoted to partner of Duane Morris LLP in San Francisco.

Kenneth Tze, of Duane Morris' San Francisco office, has been promoted to the firm partnership.

Misty Ann Murray was promoted to partner of Maynard Cooper & Gale, LLP in Los Angeles.

Murray counsels and defends insurers in matters involving coverage disputes, unfair competition, welfare benefits plans concerning ERISA benefit claims and breach of fiduciary duty, as well as insurance bad faith.

Robert Edward Hess was promoted to partner of Maynard Cooper & Gale, LLP in Los Angeles.

Hess focuses his practice on a wide range of disability, life, and health insurance litigation. Practicing at both the trial and appellate levels, Mr. Hess has litigated hundreds of cases, primarily defending insurers in cases involving insurance breach of contract and bad faith claims and ERISA‐governed cases involving employee welfare benefit plans.

Vivian Orlando was promoted to partner of Maynard Cooper & Gale, LLP in Los Angeles.

Orlando's practice focuses on life, health and disability insurance, and she routinely handles insurance bad faith litigation, and litigation involving the defense of unfair competition claims, fraud/misrepresentation claims, elder abuse claims, STOLI and IOLI claims, claims concerning insurance-related investment products, coverage disputes, long term care related disputes, customer complaints, suitability related disputes, and general business matters.

Ophir Johna was promoted to partner of Maynard Cooper & Gale, LLP in Los Angeles.

Johna focuses his practice in the areas of life, health, disability, and long-term care disputes ranging from matters involving bad faith and punitive damage exposure to ERISA-governed litigation. He also has experience representing health insurers and health care plans in payor-provider disputes and litigating matters involving agent and broker sales practices as well as insurance and annuity suitability.

Richard Bryan Hopkins II was promoted to partner of Maynard Cooper & Gale, LLP in Los Angeles.

Hopkins focuses his practice on complex litigation and regulatory matters, with particular emphasis on health care payor/provider disputes, life insurance fraud actions, business practices, claims handling practices, reinsurance, trade secrets, insolvency, and inter-company disputes. He regularly represents business entities, including insurers, health plans, underwriters and holding companies in a variety of contexts, such as federal and state class actions, arbitrations, administrative hearings, regulatory investigations and market conduct examinations.

Alison Jaroch Shilling was promoted to associate of Maynard Cooper & Gale, LLP in Los Angeles.

Shilling defends the interests of businesses and individuals in litigation and has extensive experience advising on matters involving reinsurance and insurance treaties and contracts, both domestically and internationally.

David Kwasniewski was promoted to partner of BraunHagey & Borden LLP in San Francisco.

David Kwasniewski is a partner at BraunHagey & Borden. David has extensive experience on both plaintiff and defense sides of complex commercial and intellectual property disputes. He has served as lead counsel in federal and state court trials, and has obtained multiple federal and state appellate victories.

David has successfully defended a number of food, beverage, and supplement manufacturers in Proposition 65, false advertising, and CLRA disputes, including obtaining dismissals of a Proposition 65 challenge to TerraSoul Superfoods' raw cacao powder and a false advertising claim against RiteAid's house-brand body wash and hand lotion. Additionally, David conducted expert discovery and served as trial counsel to Broadcom in an ITC Investigation brought against some of the largest television manufacturers in the world, which resulted in a favorable settlement. David obtained a precedential opinion from the Federal Circuit reversing the dismissal of his client's trade secret claim, brought against Goodyear for their theft of self-inflating tire technology.

David is also committed to serving clients in need on a pro bono basis. David has obtained multiple favorable Ninth Circuit rulings for former inmates whose civil rights were violated, including a precedential opinion confirming that prison officials are not due any deference when they violate rights without any security-based justification.

Sherry-Maria Safchuk was promoted to partner of Buckley LLP in Los Angeles.

Sherry-Maria Safchuk represents clients in regulatory and compliance matters and provides support for complex litigation and government investigations involving the mortgage, consumer, and commercial lending industries. She also has a focus on federal and state privacy and cybersecurity issues, including those related to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the California Consumer Privacy Act.

Ali Abugheida was promoted to partner of Buckley LLP in San Francisco.

Ali Abugheida represents corporate and individual clients in complex civil litigation and government enforcement actions, with a focus on matters involving the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and unfair and deceptive trade-practice statutes.