Jason C. Ford was promoted to partner of Gunderson Dettmer.

Ford helps venture capital and private equity firms with the formation, organization and operation of funds and their general partner and related management company entities. He advises funds in all aspects of their operations, including compliance with securities laws and ERISA requirements, and related reporting obligations. Additionally, Ford counsels firms on governance matters, including the admission and withdrawal of managers, hiring and departure of employees, and the issuance of carried interest. The promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Christopher R. Partin was promoted to partner of Gunderson Dettmer in Silicon Valley.

Partin's practice focuses on the formation and structuring of venture capital and growth equity funds and their related general partner and management company entities, as well as all aspects of their day-to-day operations. He also counsels clients on corporate governance matters, securities laws and regulations and other aspects of the regulatory framework applicable to the formation and operation of investment funds. The promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Paul Casas was promoted to partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in San Francisco.

Casas advises entrepreneurs, investors, and startup companies across a variety of industries through all stages of their life cycle, including formation, seed and venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and fund formation. Paul also advises both strategic acquirers and target companies in their mergers and acquisitions, tender offers, joint ventures, and other transactional matters. His promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Stacie O. Kisner was promoted to partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in San Francisco.

Kisner represents clients in all stages of complex commercial litigation, from early phases of discovery through trial. She also has substantial experience responding to civil enforcement actions and criminal investigations initiated by various state and federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office for Civil Rights, the Department of Justice Tax and Antitrust Divisions, and local District Attorney Offices. Her promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Colleen E. Lamarre was promoted to partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in San Francisco & Silicon Valley.

Lamarre assists clients with government audits, investigations, reporting and employer disclosure obligations. She regularly advises clients on health and welfare plan design and compliance with ERISA, EEOC requirements, and the ACA. Colleen counsels clients on fiduciary matters in connection with the investment of employee benefit plan assets and employee benefits issues arising in corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions. She also regularly advises clients in executive compensation matters, such as compensation and incentive arrangements, including compliance with Internal Revenue Code §409A. Her promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Adam J. Weaver was promoted to partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in San Francisco & Houston.

Weaver's practice focuses on all aspects of commercial real estate and real estate finance. He has experience drafting purchase and sale agreements, real estate joint ventures and related documents for office, retail, multi-family, industrial, large-scale residential and mixed-use developments. His diverse client base and experience representing both purchasers and sellers as well as borrowers and lenders enables him to provide a balanced understanding that is key to successful negotiations. His promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Brock S. Weber was promoted to partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in San Francisco.

Weber's practice focuses on intellectual property litigation, including patent litigation and trade secrets disputes. He handles matters through trial, but takes pride in developing strategies for successful early resolution. His technical background includes industry experience as a software engineer, a systems analyst and web developer. His promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Megan L. Jones was promoted to partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in Los Angeles.

Jones's practice focuses on complex tax issues, emphasizing individuals and entities owning assets and businesses in multiple jurisdictions. Her work spans income and estate tax planning and extends to family office advisory work. Megan has extensive experience advising on crypto assets, blockchain technology, NFTs, and related tax issues. Her promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Aaron S. Ralph was promoted to partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in Los Angeles.

Ralph helps government contractors and grant recipients navigate IP concerns, cost and pricing issues, internal investigations and compliance obligations, bid protests, and contract claims litigation. He also advises clients contemplating mergers and acquisitions involving government contractors. Before joining Pillsbury, Ralph served on active duty in the U.S. Army as a Judge Advocate and was an attorney for the U.S. Air Force. His promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Lauren M. De Lilly was promoted to partner of Sidley Austin LLP in Los Angeles.

De Lilly works on a variety of commercial litigation and disputes cases, with her primary focus in trademark, advertising, and copyright law, where she assists clients to defend against class actions and to protect intellectual property rights. She works with a broad range of clients, including those from the media and entertainment, consumer products and retail, real estate, private equity, and financial services industries. She has substantial experience in all stages of litigation and investigations, from initial fact investigation and drafting pleadings, through discovery and dispositive motion practice, to trial and post-trial work.

Evie Whiting was promoted to partner of Sidley Austin LLP in Century City.

Whiting counsels clients in a variety of matters related to film slate financing, single picture financing, television financing, production and distribution of motion pictures, television, and digital content, as well as a variety of financing-related issues in the sports and music businesses.

Feifei Bian was promoted to partner of Sidley Austin LLP in Century City.

Bian focuses her practice on representing private equity sponsors, their portfolio companies, venture capital investors, and strategic companies and other individual buyers, sellers, and investors in mergers and acquisitions and other strategic investments and transactions, across a wide range of industries and jurisdictions.

Lauren C. Freeman was promoted to counsel of Sidley Austin LLP in San Francisco.

Freeman helps clients navigate complex regulatory environments in government investigations and regulatory enforcement actions. Her experience includes representing clients before agencies such as the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Food and Drug Administration. Her clients range across multiple industries with an emphasis on the technology, consumer products, energy, and healthcare sectors. Lauren has particular knowledge counseling clients on complex consumer protection issues, including marketing, advertising, and auto-renewal and subscription products.

Helen Theung was promoted to partner of Sidley Austin LLP in Palo Alto.

Theung represents clients in securities offerings and corporate governance matters, including private company financings, public offerings, general corporate advising, and SEC reporting and compliance. Her representative clients include private and public companies in the life sciences, healthcare, and technology industries.

Adriane Peralta was promoted to partner of Sidley Austin LLP in Los Angeles.

Peralta focuses her practice on defending companies in product liability, class action, and consumer fraud litigation. She has represented clients in the pharmaceutical, medical device, nutritional supplements, life sciences, and biotechnology industries. She has experience briefing and arguing successful dispositive and discovery motions in both state and federal court, and drafting appellate briefs and petitions before the Supreme Court of the United States, several Circuit Courts, and California Court of Appeal.

Jason Novak was promoted to partner-in-charge of Norton Rose Fulbright in San Francisco.

Novak will succeed Jeff Margulies, who has led both the San Francisco and Los Angeles offices for five years, and will continue his consumer products litigation practice out of both California offices while serving as the Los Angeles office partner-in-charge.

Novak advises clients on the various legal issues that can arise with emerging technologies in the healthcare, food and life sciences industries. He has a targeted focus on "convergence" technologies such as digital health and personalized/precision medicine that operate at the intersection of multiple industries. Novak also has extensive experience in intellectual property and data rights strategy. He previously served as the IP Director for Thermo Fisher Scientific. The promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Maya Campbell joined Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld as associate in San Francisco.

Campbell served as an inaugural law clerk to the Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong of the Central District of California. Previously, she was a litigation associate at Edelson P.C., where her practice included consumer protection, privacy, and mass torts matters. Maya received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2021 and a B.A. in History from Reed College in 2015.

Adrienne Spiegel joined Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld as associate in San Francisco.

Spiegel received her J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2019 and clerked for the Judge Marsha S. Berzon on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. At the East Bay Community Law Center, she representing youth involved in the criminal justice system. Prior to that, she completed a two-year fellowship at Public Justice. She received a B.A. in Philosophy with distinction from Yale University in 2012.

Mari Tanabe joined Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld as associate in San Francisco.

Tanabe received a J.D., Order of the Coif, from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2022 and a B.A. in English from Stanford University in 2013. During law school, she participated in the housing clinic at East Bay Community Law Center and provided pro bono support through the Berkeley Law Afghanistan Project.

Matthew H. Dawson was promoted to partner of King & Spalding LLP in Silicon Valley.

Dawson focuses on complex commercial litigation, including matters involving contract and technology licensing disputes, misappropriation of trade secrets, fraud, and related commercial torts. He has substantial experience defending class actions and multi-plaintiff mass actions. Dawson represents both early-stage ventures and Fortune 500 companies in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. His promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Amy L. O'Neill was promoted to partner of King & Spalding LLP in Sacramento.

O'Neill focuses on representing healthcare clients in complex litigation and arbitration, including contracted and non-contracted managed care work. Amy has significant experience preparing and presenting claim denial cases dealing with medical necessity denials, notification and authorization denials, timely filing, and rate calculation disputes. O'Neill has litigated against all the big five significant payors in the healthcare industry and many smaller ones. She also has experience negotiating revisions to contract provisions between providers and plans and working with plans to agree on compliance with contract terms. She has the experience and skills necessary to take her clients through the completion of the litigation process or to act on behalf of her clients in negotiating favorable settlements. Her promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Jenny Pelaez was promoted to partner of King & Spalding LLP in Los Angeles.

Pelaez focuses her practice on complex commercial and class action litigation at the trial and appellate levels. She has extensive experience representing a diverse group of clients in high-stakes matters involving claims under antitrust, securities and consumer protection laws, as well as a variety of contract and tort claims. She also regularly represents public companies and individuals in a wide range of industries in securities class action and derivative litigation. Her promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Blythe Golay Kochsiek was promoted to counsel of King & Spalding LLP in Los Angeles.

Kochsiek represents clients in government-facing investigations and litigation, corporate internal investigations, and related complex business litigation. Her promotion is effective Jan. 1.

Andrea Lucan joined Sidley Austin LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

A partner in Sidley's Energy, Transportation, and Infrastructure group, Lucan has garnered substantial praise for her transactional work in the renewable energy space. Lucan advises clients in project development and financing, mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financing, equipment purchase and sale agreements, and power purchase agreements. Her practice focuses on companies engaged in the development, construction, and operation of solar power, wind power, energy storage, and alternative energy projects.

Lorie Soares Lazarus joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as partner in Silicon Valley.

Lazarus is a transactional real estate attorney with significant experience representing real estate investors of all types, including institutional lenders, borrowers, domestic and international commercial banks, investment funds, REITs, other private equity investors and their advisors, and other investors and property owners, in connection with a wide variety of commercial real estate transactional matters nationwide. She handles all aspects of the transactional real estate life cycle and represents all sides in real estate deals, including secured and unsecured lending and borrowing, inter-creditor and lender-group arrangements, post-closing asset management, workouts, loan restructurings, loan settlements, deeds-in-lieu, foreclosures, ownership, management and disposition of property, including REO, acquisitions, build-to-suit and forward purchases and ground leasing.

Peter David Ballance joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as partner in Century City.

Ballance represents lenders, borrowers, developers, and property owners in various commercial real estate transactions nationwide. He provides clients with significant experience in commercial real estate financing, including loan workouts and purchasing and selling improved and unimproved real property. Representing institutional lenders, financial institutions, developers, and other property owners, he is familiar with many forms of financing and acquisition, as well as acquisition and disposition transactions and related matters. He is fluent in securitized lending, mezzanine loans, and construction loans, and his transactions have touched on a wide range of property types, including office, industrial, residential, multifamily, retail, and mixed-use. Ballance possesses real-time, in-depth market knowledge and extensive national experience advising lenders and borrowers throughout the loan life cycle. A significant part of his practice is the representation of institutional lenders in loan restructurings and workouts, foreclosures, deed-in-lieu and deed-in-the-box transactions, and positioning REO assets for sale. He advises clients on nonperforming loans and distressed real estate in all asset classes.

Joel A. Osman was promoted to partner of Parker Shaffie LLP in Los Angeles.

Throughout his career, Osman has represented clients in cases involving professional liability, general liability, product liability, construction defect and commercial litigation, trying numerous jury trials to verdict. At various points throughout his career, including his tenure with Parker Shaffie, much of his work has focused on the law of lawyering including representing plaintiffs and defendants in legal malpractice actions, representing lawyers who are the object of complaints made to the State Bar and providing advice on legal ethics.

Daniel Lifschitz was promoted to partner of Johnson & Johnson LLP in Beverly Hills.

Johnson & Johnson LLP promotes Daniel B. Lifschitz to partner in Los Angeles.

Lifschitz focuses his practice on entertainment and intellectual property litigation, where he has gained a reputation for his comprehensive knowledge of copyright law. He has also led many individual and class actions successfully challenging improper royalty accounting practices in the music, film, and television industries. In addition to his litigation work, Lifschitz serves as an adjunct professor of copyright law at Southwestern Law School and instructor for UCLA Extension's Entertainment Studies program.

Jose L. Patiño joined Buchalter as shareholder in San Diego.

Patiño has successfully argued cases before the courts in 20 different states. His expertise also extends to patent litigation-specific proceedings, including appearances before the International Trade Commission, where he has consistently demonstrated his prowess as special intellectual property counsel in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Throughout his career, Patiño has represented an array of prominent companies in various industries, including Atos, Dassault Systèmes Simulia Corporation, ESET, General Motors, Kyocera Corporation, and Lumen Technologies, Inc.

Craig D. Nickerson joined Buchalter as shareholder in San Diego.

Nickerson's practice primarily centers around litigation, with a strong focus on representing and defending employers in cases related to wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour matters, breach of contract, and other employment-related claims. His expertise extends to advising and counseling employers on various employment-related issues, including personnel matters, termination, reductions in force, accommodations, and wage & hour compliance. He is also known for his work in conducting internal and external investigations, preparing employee handbooks, arbitration agreements, and company policies, as well as delivering training on a range of employment-related topics.

Michael A. Rome joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP as partner in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Rome focuses his practice on government investigations, enforcement, and complex commercial litigation with a particular emphasis on privacy and consumer protection matters. He has represented clients in investigations, enforcement actions, and litigations with several government agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, attorneys general of several U.S. states, and the Irish Data Protection Commission, among others.

Robert J. Sunderland joined Signature Resolution as neutral in San Diego.

Sunderland started as a home builder specializing in custom homes in Los Angeles. He began attending Southwestern University School of Law, graduating and joining the State Bar in 1997. He built a firm specializing in real estate law, focusing on defending professionals and advocating for over 3,000 real estate licensees. As a full-time neutral at Signature Resolution, Sunderland eagerly looks forward to contributing to the firm's growth and success. His success as a mediator stems from his unwavering commitment to diligent work and quick thinking. He proactively addresses potential obstacles during pre-mediation calls. Drawing from his diverse background and experiences as a participant, he approaches real estate mediation with a balance of evaluative insight, sensitivity, and a unique perspective.

Alon Lagstein joined Carlton Fields as of counsel in Los Angeles.

Lagstein represents owners, operators, tenants, landlords, borrowers, lenders, investors, and developers in commercial and residential real estate matters, focusing his practice on acquisition and disposition, leasing, financing, and joint ventures. He represents a wide range of clients, including high-net-worth individuals and family offices, startups, private equity firms, financial institutions, and project sponsors.

Najeh Baharun was promoted to partner of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in Los Angeles.

Baharun's practice focuses on representing private equity sponsors, companies and lenders in connection with the structuring, documentation and resolution of a wide variety of financing transactions, including unsecured financings, first and second-lien financings, ABL facilities, bridge facilities, and DIPs. His practice encompasses the full spectrum of credit - from investment grade to distressed debt. The promotion is effective Jan. 1

Joshua Anderson was promoted to partner of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in San Francisco.

Anderson represents both business and individual clients in arbitration and court litigation at both the trial and appellate levels, and in both individual and class actions. His experience with a wide range of industries and legal issues gives him a creative and innovative perspective on the issues his clients face. The promotion is effective Jan. 1

Marisa Kovacs joined Miller Barondess, LLP as associate in Los Angeles.

Kovacs is a litigation associate with experience representing clients in state and federal court in diverse matters, including contract, information privacy, product liability, and white-collar criminal defense.

Peter J. Woo was promoted to litigation committee co-chair of the national asian pacific american bar association of Jackson Lewis P.C. in Orange County.

Woo is the litigation manager of Jackson Lewis' Riverside, California, office and a principal in the firm's Orange County office. He has been appointed as Litigation Committee co-chair of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). He has been involved with the Association for seven years, and will conclude his term in October 2029.

Vivek K. Chavan joined Greenberg Traurig, LLP as shareholder in Silicon Valley.

Chavan is a Real Estate Shareholder in the firm's Silicon Valley office. He represents clients across a broad range of real estate transactional needs, at two separate levels of investment for clients: (i) fund and joint venture investments and (ii) real estate investments. He has represented numerous clients with the formation of their real estate funds and with their investment or sponsorship in real estate joint ventures. He also represents clients in the acquisition, disposition, financing, development, construction, operation and leasing of real properties throughout the United States, with a particular focus on the industrial, retail, office, forestry, hotel and multi-tenant property sectors. His practice includes a variety of business and transactional real estate matters, including equity, debt and construction financing, partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, fund formation, contributions, OP units, and tax driven structures.

Jonathan J. O'Brien joined Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel as associate in San Jose.

O'Brien's practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, assisting clients with forming business entities, and corporate governance. O'Brien also drafts and negotiates Purchase and Sale Agreements for Commercial Real Estate, produces transaction timelines, and drafts lease agreements.

Paul L. Navarro joined Perkins Coie LLP as partner in Los Angeles.

Navarro represents emerging companies in both the United States and Latin America on day-to-day business counseling at every stage of the startup lifecycle, from incorporating new startup companies to advising in connection with financings and fielding emergency "first calls" from founders to guiding companies through exits. His clients include founders, directors, and investors who rely on him to help strategize on and execute high-value transactions.

David Poitras joined BG Law as partner in Los Angeles.

Poitras is a seasoned corporate, bankruptcy, and real estate attorney with over 30 years of diversified experience at private practice law firms and as an in-house general counsel. He joins from Wedgewood, LLC, a large vertically integrated network of companies specializing in real estate and real estate loans, where he served as general counsel and corporate secretary. In this role, he managed contract negotiations and transactional and financing documents and advised on various corporate issues, such as compliance, human resources, regulatory matters, and corporate governance. He also supervised a litigation portfolio of approximately 75 cases, leading a team of ten attorneys and paralegals across two Los Angeles and Las Vegas offices, covering a more than 20-state footprint.

Morgan Donoian MacBride was promoted to counsel 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. The promotion is effective Jan. 1

Jonathan Conigliari was promoted to counsel of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in Los Angeles.

Conigliari has been elevated to Counsel, effective Jan. 1.

Loryn Dunn Arkow joined Hogan Lovells as partner in Los Angeles.

Arkow is a partner in the Real Estate Practice Group. She has extensive experience handling acquisition, disposition and development transactions; joint ventures and preferred equity, capital raises, and debt finance transactions; recapitalizations and workouts.