A number of Los Angeles County law firms and offices have recently announced their new partner classes.
Gibson Dunn
Gibson Dunn, based in downtown, announced six promotions at its downtown office and one in Century City.
Sarah Graham, a graduate of Columbia Law School, works in the mergers and acquisitions practice at the downtown office, representing media, entertainment, tech, gaming and private equity clients.
Taylor Hathaway-Zepeda, a graduate of Harvard Law School, works with clients on public and private mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, equity investments, restructurings and corporate governance out of the downtown office.
Tiaunia Henry, a graduate of Duke University School of Law, works in the litigation department in the downtown office, representing clients in high-stakes business suits such as antitrust, breach of contract and transactional cases.
Angelique Kaounis, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, works on litigation and intellectual property at the Century City office, focusing on trade-secret misappropriation, business torts and contract disputes.
Daniel Landy, a graduate of Fordham University School of Law, represents real estate funds, lenders and investors at the downtown office’s real estate practice.
Benjamin Saltsman, a graduate of Loyola Law School, works in the land-use and development practice at the downtown office, helping clients obtain land use entitlements for real estate development projects.
Jeremy Smith, who graduated from Cornell Law School, works in the litigation and class action practices at the downtown office, handling cases of privacy, consumer fraud, constitutional law and insurance law.
O’Melveny & Myers
Downtown-based O’Melveny & Myers announced 11 promotions to partnership, including three at its hometown Los Angeles office.
Matt Cowan, a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Law, represents clients in internal investigations, federal and state inquiries and litigation in a variety of industries. Cowan also handles pro bono work, including a recent case that resulted in the Nevada legislature enacting “sweeping” changes to its public defender system.
Tim Heafner, a graduate of Loyola Law School, works with clients in the sports and entertainment industries, helping film studios, media conglomerates and athletes navigate contract and copyright issues, licensing, content valuation and profit participation litigation.
Esteban Rodriguez, a graduate of Stanford Law School, defends life science companies under government investigation and multi-jurisdictional claims about product liability, false advertisement, unfair competition and other consumer fraud suits. He received the Warren Christopher Values Award from O’Melveny in 2019.
Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell
Century City-based Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP had three partner promotions, all at the flagship office.
Trevor Countryman, a graduate of the USC Gould School of Law, represents funds, developers and investors in property acquisition and disposition, financing, leasing, development and construction.
Megan Ferkel Earhart, who earned her law degree from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law and master of laws degree from Loyola Law School, works with clients in estate planning, tax planning, trust administration and other related matters.
Lara Leitner, a graduate of the UCLA School of Law, handles litigation in commercial matters, including for land-use disputes as well as planning and zoning issues.
Sidley Austin
Sidley Austin, based in Chicago, announced 44 promotions to partner — its largest ever — three of whom work at the Century City office and one in the downtown office of the firm.
Luke Ashworth, a graduate of Washington and Lee University School of Law, represents private equity sponsors and portfolio companies out of Century City. His clients are typically involved in tech, media and entertainment.
Daniel Belke, a Columbia Law School graduate, handles mergers and acquisitions from Century City across industries such as consumer and retail, energy, health care and tech.
Eric Geffner, who graduated from Columbia Law School, represents public and private companies and their investors out of Century City. His focus is on sports, entertainment and media. His clients include professional sports teams.
Genevieve Weiner, a Pepperdine University School of Law graduate, handles restructuring and bankruptcy matters from the downtown office. Her clients include those in the health care, retail, hospitality and real estate industries.
Seyfarth Shaw
Chicago-based Seyfarth Shaw made 22 promotions this year, including two at its downtown office and two at its Century City location.
Christopher Crosman, a graduate of the UCLA School of Law, handles labor and employment law at the Century City office representing companies in cases of wrongful termination, workplace discrimination, contract breaches and related issues.
Angelina Evans, a graduate of Whittier Law School, works in labor and employment law at the downtown office, assisting clients with regulatory issues, employment disputes, trade secrets and customer complaints.
Meagan O’Dell, who graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology, handles labor and employment law at the downtown office. She assists clients in regulatory law compliance.
Shardé Skahan, a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School, handles labor and employment law at the Century City location, representing clients in disability discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims, among other areas.
Venable LLP
Washington, D.C. firm Venable LLP had 12 partners elected recently, including two from its Century City location.
Shannon Beamer, a graduate of the University of Baltimore School of Law, represents pharmaceutical and medical device companies involved in state and federal litigation.
Max Wellman, who graduated from the Southwestern University School of Law, provides strategic counseling to clients in the entertainment and tech industries.
Hanson Bridgett
San Francisco-based Hanson Bridgett announced six promotions, including one for its downtown office.
Kate Bowles, who earned her law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law, works with Hanson’s health care practice in L.A., working in litigation and transactional deals for hospitals, group practices, labs, pharmacies and other aspects of health care. Formerly a practicing registered nurse, Bowles also represents clients establishing health care-related corporations and partnerships.
BakerHostetler
Cleveland-based BakerHostetler promoted 21 attorneys nationwide to partner, including one at its Brentwood office.
Justin Yedor, a graduate of the Duke University School of Law, is part of the firm’s digital assets and data management practice. He works with retail, consumer, entertainment, communications, financial and manufacturing businesses on privacy-law compliance.
Hogan Lovells
Washington, D.C.- and London-based Hogan Lovells announced 38 new partners worldwide, including one at its Century City office.
Vassi Illiadis, a graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Law, handles litigation, arbitration, and employment law.
Greenberg Glusker
Greenberg Glusker, based in Century City, announced three partner promotions.
Joshua Geller, a graduate of Harvard Law School, has significant experience in the entertainment space representing studios, production companies, video game publishers, musicians, graphic artists and independent content creators, as well as litigation practice that includes corporate partnership disputes and real estate.
James Hill, a graduate of UCLA School of Law, is a commercial litigator focusing on disputes among business partners, including actions involving alleged breaches of fiduciary duties and fraud. He frequently litigates disputes regarding real property transactions and the ownership of real property and also has experience with commercial and regulatory disputes involving commercial cannabis businesses.
Elizabeth Sbardellati, a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law, is the head of Greenberg Glusker’s Trademark Protection & Enforcement Group. She assists brands and individuals with developing and executing strategies for brand adoption and enforcement, litigating and resolving IP disputes, and monetizing brands through acquisition, sale and licensing.
