Recent Placements

Selected partner and group transactions handled by Sabina Lippman, Mark Jungers, Divya Bala, Mary Copeland, and Jeff Conta in: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Chicago, New York, Washington DC, Houston, Dallas, Charlotte, Caracas, Greater China and other select legal markets.

2022 Placements:

Private Equity Funds Partner David Hong joins Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Los Angeles

David Hong joins from Munger, Tolles & Olson as a partner in Willkie’s Asset Management Department in Los Angeles. He focuses his practice on the formation and operation of private funds across the spectrum of asset classes, including private equity, credit, real estate, venture capital, growth equity, hedge and hybrid funds. David represents emerging and institutional private fund sponsors in fund formations, fund investment matters, seed capital arrangements, complex restructurings, structuring of investment management businesses and regulatory, compliance and operational issues. In addition, he represents institutional investors in connection with their investments in, and co-investments alongside, various private funds.

Craig Falls joins Orrick from Dechert in Washington, DC

Craig Falls has joined Orrick from Dechert as a partner in the Washington, DC office. Craig’s practice focuses on helping companies obtain antitrust clearances for mergers and defends companies in exclusionary conduct litigation and investigations. He has cleared the way for high-profile and highly scrutinized mergers and defended such transactions in litigation when challenged by enforcers. Complimenting his merger work, Craig also represents companies in exclusionary conduct investigations and related litigation brought by antitrust enforcers, rival companies, and classes of consumers.

2021 Placements:

Matthew Schernecke has joined Hogan Lovells

Matthew Schernecke has joined Hogan Lovells from Morgan Lewis as a partner in firm’s New York office. Matthew has a broad debt finance practice with extensive experience working with private credit funds and other non-bank lenders, as well as with borrowers, on direct lending, distressed/special situations lending, cross-border acquisition financings and ESG and impact investment financings. He works across industry sectors including financial services, life sciences and tech and telecommunications.

Lippman Jungers Bala Opens Los Angeles Office of Willkie Farr & Gallagher with Alan Epstein, Michele Mulrooney, Alex Weingarten & Team

Alan Epstein, Michele Mulrooney, and Alex Weingarten launched the opening of Willkie’s Los Angeles Office. All three partners join from Venable LLP. Alan Epstein is a highly-regarded transactions attorney in entertainment and media, Michele Mulrooney is a leading estate planning partner, and Alex Weingarten is a nationally recognized entertainment and business litigator. They will be joined by additional lawyers who will also be based in Los Angeles. Together they bring market-leading experience representing major companies, investors, individual clients in corporate and M&A transactions, private wealth, trusts and estates, and litigation.

Alan Epstein represents a vast array of clients in entertainment and media, including production companies and studios, content library owners and financiers, high profile talent, producers and influencers, technology companies, talent/management companies, bon on domestic and international matters. His practice focuses on corporate matters including M&A, joint ventures, financing transactions and executive compensation, and complex tax planning.

Michele Mulrooney focuses her practice on estate planning for high-net-worth individuals and their companies and non-profits. Michele has been recognized by several publications as a top woman lawyer in Los Angeles as well as one of the nation’s leading Trusts & Estates practitioners.

Alex Weingarten has a broad commercial litigation practice representing clients in areas of entertainment, probate, restructuring and business litigation. Alex has been recognized by multiple publications, including as one of the top 50 trial lawyers in Los Angeles and one of the top entertainment litigators in the nation.

Trial Lawyer joins BakerHostetler from Gibson Dunn on the West Coast

Victoria Weatherford has joined BakerHostetler from Gibson Dunn as a partner in the San Francisco office. She will be a member of the firm’s litigation group and its commercial litigation practice team. Victoria is an experienced trial lawyer, who has particular expertise representing companies in the technology and consumer products industries in class action and government investigation matters. Her practice also includes counseling clients on a wide range of issues related to consumer protection, unfair competition and false advertising. Victoria has been honored as a Top 40 Young Lawyer by the American Bar Association.

Alice Hsu joins Orrick from Akin Gump in New York

Alice Hsu, a capital markets partner with a SPAC focus, has joined Orrick as a partner in New York. Alice’s practice focuses on capital markets and corporate governance matters, the firm said, with a particular focus on the energy and financial services sectors. Recently, she advised Starboard Value Acquisition Corp on its 3.4B merger with Cytera Technologies and CIIG Merger Corp. on its 5.4B merger with Arrival. She acts for boards of directors, issuers, underwriters and investors on a broad range of transactions, including public offerings, private placements of equity and debt securities, and mergers and acquisitions. Alice has been recognized by The Deal under Top Women Dealmakers - Private Equity in 2021.

James Moriarty joins Goodwin Procter in New York and California

James joins Goodwin’s private equity practice from Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel’s, where he served as co-chair of the Corporate practice. James represents middle-market private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, as well as buyers in acquisitions and sales, leveraged buyouts, growth equity financings, recapitalizations, joint ventures, and management equity arrangements, with a focus on education technology and financial services. Over the course of his career he has represented firms like Quad Partners, Shamrock Capital, and Stone Point Capital in a variety of transactions, including Quad’s recent investment in The Gardner School and Education Growth Partners in its recapitalization of higher ed online program manager All Campus.

Ravi Purohit joins Latham as Global Vice Chair of the firm’s Energy & Infrastructure Industry Group

Ravi will be a partner in Latham’s Houston and New York offices from Simpson Thacher. He also recently served as the General Counsel of Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, a US$14 billion open-ended global infrastructure fund. Widely recognized as a leading lawyer in the energy and infrastructure space, Ravi represents clients involved in a variety of key infrastructure sectors, including midstream, renewables, utilities, transportation, telecommunications, water, and waste. His experience encompasses more than US$100 billion worth of private equity and M&A transactions, including many of the largest infrastructure transactions as well as a number of first-of-their-kind and novel deals in the sector.

Debt Finance Duo Joins Sidley from Kirkland

Nick Schwartz and Kristen Smith join Sidley from Kirkland & Ellis in New York and San Francisco respectively. Nick and Kristen focus on debt financing and has represented private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies as well as strategic borrowers in acquisition and non-acquisition matters.

Nick also specializes in the financing and strategic elements of restructurings including complex liability management and other related capital transactions. Nick has represented Apax Partners and its portfolio companies in multiple transactions and worked with clients like Clearlake Capital, 3G Capital, Advent International and The Blackstone Group. Prior to Kirkland, Nick was formerly at Simpson Thacher.

Kristen was formerly at Uber and has also represented a number of private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, along with public and private companies in a wide array of debt financing transactions for borrowers and lenders.

O'Melveny & Myers Head of FinTech joins Paul Hastings

Eric Sibbitt joins Paul Hastings as a partner in their San Francisco Office. He is a capital markets partner who served as the Head of O’Melveny’s Financial Technology Industry Group. He structures and executes initial public offerings and other complex capital-raising transactions for companies and underwriters, including NYSE and NASDAQ listings, registered follow-on offerings, global offerings, PIPEs and other private offerings, and liability management transactions. He has particular expertise advising on transactions for financial services, life science and technology companies ranging from venture companies to multibillion dollar businesses. Eric also frequently advises on cross-border public and private company mergers, acquisitions, tender offers, and going-private transactions.

Helena Kiepura joins DLA Piper from Kirkland & Ellis

Helena Kiepura has joined the Patent Litigation subgroup of the firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology practice. She joins as a partner in the Washington, DC office. Helena focuses on complex patent litigation matters, particularly Section 337 investigations before the United States International Trade Commission (ITC). She also represents clients in US district courts, in state court antitrust disputes arising out of the settlement of Hatch-Waxman cases, and in inter partes review proceedings before the US Patent and Trademark Office. Her background includes a degree in biological sciences and litigation experience related to a broad range of technologies. Helena’s skillset will be an asset to clients that are facing the unique challenges of an ITC investigation, and her presence in the DC office will also be an ideal complement to their existing ITC team across the country.

Naeun Rim joins Manatt in Los Angeles

Naeun has joined from Bird Marella as a litigation partner in Manatt’s Los Angeles office. A seasoned trial lawyer, Naeun represents clients at the intersection of civil litigation and white collar defense matters across industries that are core to Manatt’s national platform, including health care, financial services, entertainment and technology. Recently named by Chambers as an “Up and Coming” attorney in its 2021 USA Guide, she is widely recognized as a rising star throughout the trial bar. She has over a decade of stand-up courtroom experience litigating high-profile cases through trial and works with an array of clients, including high-net-worth individuals facing white collar claims as well as companies in highly complex business disputes, across the United States. “Naeun will be a strong asset to what our clients view as a well-established litigation powerhouse,” said Donna Wilson, Manatt’s CEO and Managing Partner.

Winston and Strawn's Chair of Tax Controversy and Litigation Group Joins Steptoe & Johnson

First-Chair Trial lawyer Larry Hill, one of the nation’s preeminent tax litigators, has joined Steptoe & Johnson in New York from Winston & Strawn. He joins the firm as a partner and co-head of its tax controversy practice. Hill focuses his practice on the resolution of complex domestic and cross-border civil tax disputes through the IRS administrative process and litigation. He has represented numerous major banks, other federal financial service companies, multinational corporations and high net-worth individuals in tax-related disputes. Hill, who has tried more than 20 tax cases, also represents clients in high-profile white-collar investigations and criminal cases. He has led the national and global tax controversy practices at several Am Law 100 firms. Earlier in his career, he served at the IRS, where he was a trial lawyer and national tax shelter project attorney with the Office of Chief Counsel and a special assistant US attorney in Washington, DC. His career also includes service as assistant general counsel to a "Big Four" accounting firm.

Craig Godshall joins Winston & Strawn from Dechert

Craig Godshall has joined Winston & Strawn’s New York office as a partner in their Corporate practice. He is a private equity partner with expertise in a wide range of industries, including healthcare, industrial and utilities. He has deep experience structuring complex domestic and international transactions on behalf of leading private equity fund sponsors with a focus on executing successful exits. Craig also represents the portfolio companies of fund sponsor clients to assist in their navigation of add-on acquisitions, divestitures, and financings. Craig has provided strategic counsel on the development of SPAC transactions and has advised potential sellers to SPACs on the dynamics inherent to this vehicle. Since 2007, Craig has been designated a top lawyer in corporate/M&A and private equity transactions by Chambers USA.

Kirsten Jackson joins Latham & Watkins in Los Angeles

Kirsten Jackson has joined Latham’s Los Angeles office as a partner in the Litigation & Trial Department, and as a member of the Complex Commercial Litigation Practice, from Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP. Jackson regularly represents clients in a variety of business and contractual disputes, commercial general liability, business interruption, directors’ and officers’ liability, cyber liability, professional liability, and property insurance, as well as captive insurance and reinsurance. Kirsten is actively engaged in promoting diversity in the legal profession. She is consistently recognized as a Southern California "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers and was named as a "Top 40 under 40" Lawyer by the National Bar Association. Kirsten frequently speaks on various issues with presentations including “Data Privacy Class Actions: Navigating Latest Legal Theories, Leveraging Defense Strategies, Evaluating Insurance Coverage,” at the Strafford Seminar; “Coverage Across Borders: International Insurance Claims,” at the ABA Women in Insurance Conference; “Interactive Leadership, Career Development and Networking,” at the California Minority Counsel Program Annual Business Conference; and “Cyber Insurance 101: Coverage Issues Related to Cyber Attacks and Cyber Insurance,” at the ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Seminar.

Carlton Fleming Joins Sidley Austin in San Francisco

Carlton Fleming joins Sidley Austin in San Francisco as a partner in their Corporate and Capital Markets practices. Carlton joins from Cooley, where he has developed a public-company focused corporate practice. He represents high-growth private and public companies on a range of matters, and also represents investment banks and venture capital firms in public offerings and private placements. Carlton has successfully done 60+ IPOs since 2012, and helped raise over $8 billion. He focuses on industries in biotech, life sciences and emerging markets. Carlton’s addition continues the expansion of Sidley’s market-leading life sciences and technology transactional practices and will substantially strengthen their capital markets and public company practice in Northern California.

Angela Russo Joins Winston

Angela Russo, previously a Principal at KPMG and a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, joins Winston & Strawn as a partner in the firm’s Chicago office and as a member of the firm’s Tax Practice. Angela is an experienced tax attorney with particular expertise in advising on leveraged buyouts and other complex transactions ranging from several million dollars to several billion dollars for private equity firms. Angela has represented clients on domestic and cross-border mergers, acquisitions and leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, recapitalizations, and debt and equity restructurings.

Dechert Life Sciences Leader Joins Orrick

Premier life sciences transactional partner David Schulman joins Orrick as a partner in Washington, D.C. David is a trusted advisor to numerous public and privately-held pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, their financial sponsors and other technology-based companies on complex global transactions involving mergers, acquisitions, collaborations, strategic alliances, licenses, capital markets, royalty and revenue-sharing and other financings. He joins from Dechert, where he formerly served as co-head of the Life Sciences Group and practiced for several years in London. David is highly ranked for his life sciences work by Chambers USA and Chambers Global, with clients recognizing him as "one of the best business and corporate lawyers in the life sciences sector" with "a deep knowledge of the industry, which he successfully combines with great legal skills."

Top Private Equity Team Joins Sidley in New York

Anthony Norris and Christopher Rile are joining Sidley Austin in New York as partners in its global M&A and Private Equity practice. They join from Ropes & Gray LLP, where they have been longtime partners in the firm’s private equity transaction group. Chris and Anthony represent leading private equity sponsors on mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, preferred equity investments, securities offerings, and other significant transactions. Anthony focuses on industries such as healthcare, software, and technology. Chris represents private equity sponsors and public and private businesses in a wide range of industries such as healthcare and life sciences, software and technology, consumer and distribution, financial services, industrials, business services, and professional sports.

Asher Rubin and Adriana Tibbitts join Sidley Austin

Asher Rubin, co-leader of the life sciences practice at Hogan Lovells joins Sidley Austin in Washington, D.C. He is joined by Adriana Tibbitts. Asher and Adriana represent both private and publicly traded businesses, academic medical centers, inventors, and venture capital and private equity funds in a wide variety of transactions. Asher has comprehensive knowledge of the full spectrum of the life sciences sector: pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, medical technology, digital health, and health services. Throughout his career he has worked with clients on some of the most exciting new technologies in the life sciences industry, such as CAR-T therapies, checkpoint inhibitors, co-stimulatory proteins, companion diagnostics, digital health technologies, ultra-orphan drugs, and gene therapies.

Media & Entertainment Litigation Partner Tammy Godley joins Paul Hastings

Tammy Godley has joined Paul Hastings as a partner in their Los Angeles office from Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP. She joins the firm’s Entertainment and Media Litigation practice group. Tammy serves as counsel to the major studios, television networks and record companies and music publishers, including Warner Bros., NBC Universal, and Turner Broadcasting. She handles complex business litigation disputes, and excels at handling sensitive company investigation. Tammy has been highlighted for her work leading high-profile, non-public investigations for various entertainment clients arising out of the #MeToo movement.

She is regularly recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA for her work in Media & Entertainment Litigation and was most recently recognized among the Most Influential Intellectual Property Lawyers by the Los Angeles Business Journal. She was also named among the top attorneys in the entertainment business in Variety’s Legal Impact Report.

Idan Netser and Andrew Harper join Sidley Austin in Palo Alto

Idan joins as a partner in the Emerging Companies and Venture Capital, and Tax practices while Andrew will be a member of the Emerging Companies and Venture Capital practice. Both lawyers join from Fenwick & West LLP and are an important milestone in Sidley’s strategic expansion in the emerging company technology practice.

Idan advises both emerging and large international companies on a range of transactional work, including cross-border transactions, funding and investments, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, international tax, tax planning, tax controversy, and transfer pricing. He also counsels emerging companies on technology investments and mergers and acquisitions. His clients are in the software, security, and life sciences market and is also a leading international tax counselor for many of the technology sector’s best known brands. He is also the relationship partner for a wide range of technology companies from Israel.

Andrew provides strategic counseling to emerging and high-growth companies at every stage across a variety of sectors. He has extensive experience in a broad array of complex business and financing issues, including equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance matters.

Leah Recht joins Orrick from Kirkland & Ellis

Leah joins Orrick as a partner in their San Francisco office. Her practice is focused on advising private equity funds and their portfolio companies in all aspects of their businesses, including structuring and negotiating various strategic and leveraged acquisitions of public and private targets, divestures, carveouts, mergers and acquisitions, equity financings, minority investments, restructurings, executive compensation matters, corporate governance, and other general corporate matters.

She was formerly at Kirkland & Ellis, where she made partner in 2015 and brings to Orrick an expertise in private equity with a focus in technology. She was recently part of a Kirkland team that acted for HGGC on its investment alongside Bain Capital in a cloud-based construction project software provider called Buildertrend.

2020 Placements:

Rick Kline and Sarah Axtell join Latham in Silicon Valley

Rick and Sarah join Latham as partners in the Corporate Department and members of the Capital Markets and Public Company Representation Practices. They formerly practiced at Goodwin, where Rick was co-head of capital markets. Rick and Sarah bring formidable experience in the tech sector, representing a full range of corporate clients on a wide variety of matters, including company formations, venture financings, M&A transactions, capital markets deals, and corporate governance matters, as well as significant experience advising boards of directors. They have also represented a number of banks in securities transactions.

Hogan Lovells Licensing and Collaborations Partner Adam Bellack joins Goodwin

Adam Bellack has joined Goodwin as a partner in their Washington, D.C. office. Adam has consistently been recognized by Law360 as Life Sciences "Rising Star" and one of the nation’s top Life Science lawyers under 40. He focuses on licensing, collaborations, and other strategic and commercial transactions for clients engaged in all aspects of the life sciences and healthcare industries. He represents a wide range of clients from startups and early-stage pharmaceutical and biotech companies to global pharmaceutical and medical device companies. He has also represented founders, venture funds, universities, and technology companies entering the life sciences and healthcare space.

von Briesen & Roper launches Chicago office with nine intellectual property lawyers from Miller, Matthias & Hull

von Briesen & Roper, a 190 lawyer firm headquartered in Milwaukee, has launched a new Chicago office with the addition of nine lawyers, including partners Thomas Miller, Brent Matthias and Nicole Bulman. All join from the former Miller, Matthias & Hull, a boutique IP firm that had focused exclusively on patent prosecution and counseling services, and named a “Go-To Law Firm®” by Corporate Counsel Magazine when conducting a survey of the Chief Patent Counsel of the Fortune 500.

Rick Kline joins Latham & Watkins as a partner

Rick Kline, co-chair of Goodwin Procter's capital markets practice, joins Latham & Watkins as a partner in Northern California. Rick has led on some of the most recent high-profile tech IPOs. He and his team represented JP Morgan as an underwriter in Lyft’s $2.6 billion IPO in 2019 and Morgan Stanley in Snap Inc.'s $3.4 billion IPO in 2017. He also led the legal team handling Slack Technologies Inc.'s direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2019. Kline has also represented public company clients like Atlassian, Control4, Guidewire Software, Health Catalyst, NetSuite, Okta, Opower, and The Trade Desk.

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has added IP and data privacy lawyer Sarah Schaedler

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has added IP and data privacy lawyer Sarah Schaedler from Kirkland & Ellis as a partner in its San Francisco office, the latest in the firm’s expansion of its technology transactions team. Sarah focuses her practice on IP and data privacy aspects of complex corporate transactions, and also advises clients on the collection, sharing, and monetization of data.

Neil Whoriskey, Co-Chair of M&A Practice at Cleary Gottlieb, joins Milbank

Neil Whoriskey, who co-led the M&A practice and the corporate advisory practice at Cleary Gottlieb, joins Milbank in New York. His practice focuses primarily on mergers, acquisitions, and corporate governance matters. "He has a stellar reputation in the market," Scott Edelman, the Chairman of Milbank said, and Neil is "very experienced in both private equity and in public company and strategic transactions." Neil has advised on a number of high-profile transactions, such as Western Digital's $19 billion acquisition of SanDisk. He's also advised on a variety of matters for Carlyle Global Partners and spearheaded transactions for ABB, América Móvil, American Tower, and OpenText.

Matthew McKim joins Loeb & Loeb as a Partner

Matthew McKim joins Loeb & Loeb as a partner in the Trusts and Estates department in the firm’s Chicago office. McKim advises clients on a wide range of U.S. tax planning matters, with a particular emphasis on income tax structuring for inbound U.S. investments. His clients include high net worth global families, international trust companies and non-U.S. citizens with U.S. contacts. McKim’s practice truly spans the globe. He has counseled clients based in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, PRC, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. McKim brings more than 15 years of experience as a tax and trust lawyer and has extensive experience with a wide range of global family structures. He regularly assists clients (most often multinationals and their families) in navigating the U.S. tax system and with other considerations that arise when families move to or invest in the United States. Prior to joining Loeb & Loeb, McKim led the International Private Client Group at Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, LLP.

Saul Rostamian joins Sheppard Mullin from Winston & Strawn

Saul Rostamian has joined Sheppard Mullin in Los Angles as a partner in the litigation practice group. Saul serves his clients as a litigation trained outside counsel. He focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation and strategic counseling across various sectors including real estate, banking, private equity, public-private partnerships, and manufacturing. His role centers on risk management and providing creative solutions in a wide variety of matters ranging from deals to disputes, drawing on the firm’s broad base of specialists. He has strategically resolved complex disputes short of litigation, and, where necessary, litigated high stakes matters through trial and appeal. He has also guided his clients through complex corporate matters at the core of the companies he represents. Saul has been selected by the Southern California Super Lawyers as a "Rising Star" for Business Litigation (2014-2019).

Erik Wallace, Laurence Ho and team join Loeb & Loeb in Hong Kong

Highly regarded trusts & estates and private client partners Erik Wallace and Laurence Ho, together with Letao Tao and Sarah Lai, have joined Loeb & Loeb in Hong Kong, from Stephenson Harwood. Erik and Laurence will lead the newly formed Hong Kong Trusts & Estates Team, joining Loeb's top ranked Trusts & Estates Department. Erik has been a practicing trusts and estates lawyer for more than 20 years and has spent the past eight years in Hong Kong, and most recently established the U.S. private client practice for Stephenson Harwood. He assists high net worth individuals and families with succession planning, structuring or restructuring trusts, and establishing private trust companies and charitable foundations. Laurence brings more than a decade of experience advising clients on U.S. tax, trust and estate planning matters as well as reporting compliance issues, and also counsels individuals, multinational families, family offices, estates and fiduciaries.

Alex Jacobs joins Goodwin Procter from Pircher Nicols & Meeks

Alex Jacobs has joined Goodwin Procter in Los Angeles as a partner in the real estate practice. Previously on the executive committee at Pircher, where he practiced for 17 years, Alex built out a practice representing commercial owners and developers. He advises private and institutional investors, owners, and developers in connection with the acquisition, disposition, development and financing of commercial real estate properties. He also negotiates and structures complex joint venture agreements between sponsors and capital providers and represents clients for residential development, multifamily residential projects, office buildings, and hotels and resorts. “Alex’s practice complements the skillsets of our existing real estate and hospitality industry team on the West Coast and having him on board further positions us as one of the dominant real estate industry practices in the United States and Europe,” said Dean Pappas, chair of Goodwin’s Los Angeles office, in a statement.

Karen Ubell joins Goodwin Procter

Karen, former attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as former co-chair of the blockchain technology group at Cooley, has joined Goodwin Procter as a partner in the San Francisco office. Her practice focuses on advising digital currency and blockchain clients on interactions with regulators, compliance and the implementation and adoption of novel technologies. "Karen's deep private and public-sector expertise in this space brings tremendous value to our clients and it is a perfect fit for Goodwin's platform at the intersection of capital and innovation in California and globally," Mitzi Chang, co-chair of Goodwin’s digital currency and blockchain technology practice said in a statement.

Katherine Cheung joins Dorsey & Whitney in Hong Kong

Katherine Cheung has joined Dorsey & Whitney in Hong Kong in the Firm's Commercial Litigation Group. Previously with King & Wood Mallesons, Katherine specializes in general commercial disputes and financial services regulatory matters, with an emphasis on cross-border disputes. Her commercial litigation and arbitration experience covers general contractual disputes, shareholder disputes, regulatory investigations, contentious insolvency matters and professional services matters.

Jessica Nall joins Baker McKenzie

Jess, chair of Farella Braun & Martel’s white-collar crime and internal corporate investigations practice, has joined Baker McKenzie as a partner in its San Francisco office, aiding its Northern California expansion. She has for nearly two decades defended companies and individuals in cases involving the Justice Department and other government agencies, including representing executives and employees in the Yahoo! cyber breach investigation, one of the largest in the internet’s history, as well as officials at Samsung and Hitachi.

Frank Rahmani Joins Sidley from Cooley

Frank Rahmani has joined Sidley Austin in San Francisco as a partner in emerging companies and life sciences. Frank advises emerging growth and public companies in the life sciences and technology industries. Working closely with founders, CEO’s, boards of directors and investors, he serves as a trusted advisor in a broad range of matters, from formation and spin-off transactions to financings and public offerings. Frank has completed over 200 institutional and venture financings, over 30 strategic partnerships, and various forms of mergers and acquisitions ranging from 20M to over $3 billion in per deal value. Frank joins the firm from Cooley LLP where he practiced for 23 years.

IP Transactional lawyer Marcela Robledo to join Baker McKenzie

Marcela Robledo has joined Baker McKenzie in their San Francisco office and will serve as a Partner in the firms Intellectual Property & Technology practice group. Marcela has significant experience handling all intellectual property, data and technology aspects in a wide range of corporate and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, licensing, collaboration agreements and joint ventures. Her practice focuses on technology transactions, and routinely advises public and private clients from all types of industries on the intellectual property, privacy and cybersecurity aspects of a wide range of corporate matters. She joins the firm from Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP, where she led the IP aspects of some of their largest technology M&A transactions.

Joshua Thompson, head of Shearman & Sterling's Global Leveraged Finance Group and head of Private Capital, has joined Sidley & Austin in New York

Josh is a widely recognized finance lawyer who has built a deep practice in leveraged finance. He has advised many of the world’s most prestigious financial institutions and borrowers on complex financing matters. He focuses his practice on acquisition financings and other leveraged lending, which includes leveraged buyouts, tender offers and other going private transactions.

Seasoned data protection partner Jeewon Kim Serrato joins Baker Hostetler in San Francisco

Jeewon Kim Serrato , Norton Rose Fulbright's U.S. Head of Data Protection, Privacy and Cybersecuity has left to join Baker Hostetler in their San Francisco office. She wills serve as a partner and co-head of the Digital Transformation and Data Economy group. She advises global companies, financial services institutions and public entities on cutting edge issues at the intersection of technology and law. Globally recognized for her unique background having served in both government and business positions, Jeewon is regularly called upon by her clients to assist in the design and execution of complex global compliance programs, negotiation of cross-border M&A deals, and advice in high-stakes investigation and dispute matters. Jeewon helps companies create enterprise-wide privacy programs from the ground up, assists in testing critical vulnerabilities and performs risk assessments. Having handled and managed hundreds of data breach incidents and internal investigations, she also works with companies to prepare crisis management policies and data breach response plans.

In addition to her product, regulatory compliance and transactional experience, Jeewon has handled over 600 data security incidents over the course of her career and has experience designing and implementing consumer disputes processes for companies globally. She has extensive experience helping her clients with proactive cyber risk management, drafting crisis management plans, and testing incident response protocols.

Brad Newman Joins Baker McKenzie

Brad joins Baker McKenzie in Palo Alto as a litigation partner and Chair of the North American Trade Secrets Practice. Brad joins from Paul Hastings where he founded and served as the chair of the firm’s International Employee Mobility and Trade Secret practice. He regularly serves as lead trial counsel in cases with eight and nine figure liability and has successfully litigated trade secrets cases in state and federal courts throughout the country. He routinely advises and represents the world’s leading technology, gaming, banking, professional service, commerce, and manufacturing companies in connection with their most significant data protection and trade secrets matters. He is recognized by Chambers USA as an “authority on trade secrets cases” and specializes in matters related to trade secrets and Artificial Intelligence.

Greg Chin Joins Duane Morris from Mintz Levin

Greg, who joins Duane Morris as a partner, focuses his practice on representing emerging growth industries, including life sciences, digital health, technology and cleantech, in complex transactional and general corporate matters. He also represents venture capital firms and investment banks that support emerging growth companies. He has represented public and private targets and acquirers in mergers and acquisitions, issuers and investors in venture capital financings, and issuers and underwriters in public and private offerings.

James Kelly, Ilya Bubel and Peter Alfano join DLA Piper

James Kelly, Ilya Bubel and Peter Alfano have joined DLA Piper in New York. The three partners came from the Private Equity and Finance Practices of Winston & Strawn. James will lead DLA's New York private equity group, which revolves around representing private equity funds in LBO's, M&A, equity investments, divestitures and restructurings. Ilya's practice will similarly focus on representing private equity funds and other financial investors in transactional matters. Peter's practice focuses on representing PE sponsors, corporations and other entities in domestic and cross-border finance transactions. Representative clients of the group include The Wicks Group of Companies and Bregal Investments Inc.

Terry Dugan and Chris Owens join O'Melveny

Terry and Chris join O'Melveny's New York office as partners in the entertainment finance practice. They specialize in representing major lenders and investors. These include banks and investment funds in credit and M&A transactions involving entertainment industry players ranging from film studios to record labels.

Abtin Jalali and Chris Harding have joined Gibson Dunn as Partners

Abtin Jalali and Chris Harding have joined Gibson Dunn in San Francisco as partners in its private equity practice. The two joined from Kirkland & Ellis where they were partners in its private equity practice. Their practice focuses on representing private equity firms and their portfolio companies in all aspects of their businesses, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, growth equity investments, minority investments and general corporate matters. Their representative clients include Vista Equity Partners, GI Partners, Vector Capital, Swander Pace Capital, Serent Capital, True Wind Capital, Tower Arch Capital, HGGC, FTV Capital and Spectrum Equity.

M&A Partner Derek Liu leaves Wilson Sonsini to join Baker McKenzie

Derek Liu has joined Baker McKenzie from Wilson Sonsini in their San Francisco office as a Partner in the firms mergers and acquisitions practice. He focuses primarily on the technology and life science industries, where since 2013, he has signed transactions with an aggregate value of more than $60 billion. Derek has worked on some of the most transformative M&A transactions in the tech sector, with completed transactions in pharmaceuticals (Pharmacyclics' sale to AbbVie, Aragon Pharmaceutical's sale to Johnson & Johnson and spinoff of Seragon Pharmaceuticals, Astex Pharmaceutical's sale to Otsuka), software (Advent's sale to SS&C, Salesforce's acquisition of EdgeSpring) and hardware (Riverbed's sale to Thoma Bravo, Aruba Networks' sale to HP, Google's acquisition of Nest). His transaction experiences includes public and private company mergers, acquisition, and divestitures; tender and exchange offers; joint ventures; minority investments; and other strategic corporate transactions, representing both strategic and private equity clients. Derek’s experience also includes capital markets and financing, having assisted clients with initial and secondary offerings, debt offerings, leverage recapitalizations, and exchange offers.

Lead Trial Partner Amar Thakaur to join Manatt

Amar Thakur, a seasoned trial partner joins Manatt Phelps in the Los Angeles office from Quinn Emanuel. Amar is an experienced lead trial lawyer who has tried several significant patent cases to a jury verdict for Plaintiffs and Defendants. His jury trial successes as lead trial counsel for Defendants includes a complete defense jury verdict of no-infringement on all asserted claims from four patents on behalf of his clients Verizon Wireless and Novatel Wireless in 2017. He has litigated across industries including litigation wireless communications, medical devices, software, life technologies, chemicals and semiconductors in patent and commercial disputes. With substantial experience in acquisition of intellectual property and monetization of such assets, Amar’s practice focuses on the development and enforcement of patent portfolios, as well as creating partnerships between IP clients and private investors who can help to monetize promising patent portfolios. He is considered a pioneer in the development of new alternative fee strategies for patent litigation. Patent litigator Bruce Zisser, will join Amar at Manatt as a partner.

Bill Oxley and Meghan Kelly Join Baker Hostetler in Los Angeles and Philadelphia Respectively

Bill Oxley joins Baker Hostetler from Dechert, where he was a trial partner and served as the firm’s Managing Partner of the Los Angeles office. He joins Baker Hostetler Los Angeles as the Head of Litigation. Bill has extensive experience in litigating class actions, false advertising, breach of contract, real estate, and defending nutritional and health product manufacturers and distributors against Proposition 65 claims. Since 2012, he has been ranked as a leading litigator by Chambers USA. He has also been recognized since 2013 for his products liability and mass tort defense work in the toxic torts field by The Legal 500. Bill is also a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has tried many cases to verdict including products liability cases for Union Carbide Corporation and contract and business tort cases for DHL Express (USA). He has also represented The Dow Chemical Company in environmental litigation, DOW AgroSciences in products liability litigation and many other pharmaceutical, manufacturing, entertainment, and environmental companies.

Meghan Kelly has routinely acted as litigation and trial counsel for chemical, pharmaceutical, automotive, manufacturing, and food companies in their most important products liability, mass tort, and environmental cases. She has been recognized by the Legal 500 for her product liability and mass tort defense work and was named by the Philadelphia Business Journal to the 40 under 40 class of 2017.

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