Frank Splendorio joined Best Best & Krieger LLP as of counsel in Sacramento.

Splendorio specializes in municipal law and provides city attorney advice and services to public agencies. He is the city attorney for Atwater and Plymouth.
He is based in Sacramento.

Kathy Bazoian Phelps joined Raines Feldman LLP as partner.

Raines Feldman has expanded its insolvency, fiduciary representation and fraud litigation practice with the addition of partner Kathy Bazoian Phelps in Los Angeles.
Phelps joined the firm from Diamond McCarthy LLP, where she practiced for more than eight years.
"I was presented with an opportunity at Raines Feldman and was attracted to the high quality of the lawyers and the work that the firm does," explained Phelps. "The high caliber of the attorneys at the firm is really in line with my practice, and I also really admire the very team-oriented approach of the firm."
Phelps said she was also drawn to the firm's breadth, which spans various practice groups and its litigation strengths.
Phelps specializes in fraud matters, specifically Ponzi schemes. Her expertise lies in maximizing recovery for investors after a fraud has been committed, and she also serves as a fiduciary and advises fiduciaries in unraveling frauds, running claims and distribution processes and recovering money for defrauded victims. Phelps also handles complex litigation matters involving fraud.
"Early on in my career I really started out as a bankruptcy lawyer, and I started finding that these fraud cases kept landing on my desk in the bankruptcy context," Phelps said. "I ended up having a little bit of a sixth sense to sniff out fraud, and as I grew as a lawyer, the nature of the cases grew in size and scope as well. And I found myself extending beyond bankruptcy into the world of federal equity receiverships in representing SEC appointed receivers."
Phelps's practice did not, however, become specialized in Ponzi Schemes until she handled a $300 million SEC fraud case, which entailed filing a sizable lawsuit against an insurance company.
"I went out looking for a resource to help me, and there really wasn't one," she added. "So I decided to write it myself."
In 2012, she co-authored "The Ponzi Book: A Legal Resource for Unraveling Ponzi Schemes." Phelps favorite aspect of her practice is, "the satisfaction of putting the pieces of the puzzle together, which are very scattered at the beginning" of fraud cases. She also enjoys recovering assets for victims.
"It's very satisfying work when you have positive results like that," she said.

Kathy Bazoian Phelps joined Raines Feldman LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Raines Feldman has expanded its insolvency, fiduciary representation and fraud litigation practice with the addition of partner Kathy Bazoian Phelps in Los Angeles.
Phelps joined the firm from Diamond McCarthy LLP, where she practiced for more than eight years.
"I was presented with an opportunity at Raines Feldman and was attracted to the high quality of the lawyers and the work that the firm does," explained Phelps. "The high caliber of the attorneys at the firm is really in line with my practice, and I also really admire the very team-oriented approach of the firm."
Phelps said she was also drawn to the firm's breadth, which spans various practice groups and its litigation strengths.
Phelps specializes in fraud matters, specifically Ponzi schemes. Her expertise lies in maximizing recovery for investors after a fraud has been committed, and she also serves as a fiduciary and advises fiduciaries in unraveling frauds, running claims and distribution processes and recovering money for defrauded victims. Phelps also handles complex litigation matters involving fraud.
"Early on in my career I really started out as a bankruptcy lawyer, and I started finding that these fraud cases kept landing on my desk in the bankruptcy context," Phelps said. "I ended up having a little bit of a sixth sense to sniff out fraud, and as I grew as a lawyer, the nature of the cases grew in size and scope as well. And I found myself extending beyond bankruptcy into the world of federal equity receiverships in representing SEC appointed receivers."
Phelps's practice did not, however, become specialized in Ponzi Schemes until she handled a $300 million SEC fraud case, which entailed filing a sizable lawsuit against an insurance company.
"I went out looking for a resource to help me, and there really wasn't one," she added. "So I decided to write it myself."
In 2012, she co-authored "The Ponzi Book: A Legal Resource for Unraveling Ponzi Schemes."
Phelps favorite aspect of her practice is, "the satisfaction of putting the pieces of the puzzle together, which are very scattered at the beginning" of fraud cases. She also enjoys recovering assets for victims.
"It's very satisfying work when you have positive results like that," she said.

Deborah M. Festa joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Festa, a transactional attorney who represents investment managers, has joined Akin Gump as a partner in Los Angeles.
She previously led the West Coast securitization and investment management practices for Milbank, where she worked for nine years.
She was drawn to the opportunity at Akin by the firm's extensive global debt finance, fund formation, policy and trade and regulatory experience, she said.
"I'm just thrilled about the platform and what it offers manager clients," she said. "It's a great fit for me. It just was an opportunity that I could not pass up."
She was also impressed by the firm's leadership and its fostering of an entrepreneurial and innovative culture, she said.
"I am looking forward to continuing to work with a lot of the same clients that I've worked with in the past, in addition to working with many other investment manager clients, and building out this practice with the firm," Festa said. "I see really significant opportunities here for growth, and I'm really looking forward to linking arms with my partners to explore and really seize those opportunities."
Festa specializes her international practice in complex finance transactions such as securitizations, financing arrangements and refinancing transactions.
What she enjoys most is the professional challenge of the work and being able to work with her clients on their growing and dynamic businesses.
Outside of her practice, she is a board member of the Phoenix House California, a rehabilitation center that provides addiction, prevention and mental health services in Southern California.

Michael Allers joined Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP as partner in San Francisco.

Allers represents growth equity and private equity funds in strategic transactions such as equity financings, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.
He is based in San Francisco.

Srinivas Hanumadass was promoted to partner of CaseyGerry in San Diego.

Hanumadass specializes in serious personal injury litigation.
He is based in San Diego.

Garrett Rice as attorney and partner

The mediation firm's new office will be led by new partner Garrett Rice, a former deputy district attorney in Kern County, where he focused on criminal cases involving child fatalities and family law.
He is based in Bakersfield.