Murchison Cumming Adds Eight in Orange County

October 1, 2009

California Lawyer

Sonnenschein Loses Bankruptcy Partner to K&L Gates

Bankruptcy partner Michael Lubic left Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal to join K&L Gates in Los Angeles. Lubic, who leaves his former firm after seven years, previously served as head of Sonnenschein's West Coast bankruptcy practice. K&L Gates has 1,800 lawyers in 33 offices.

Murchison & Cumming Adds Eight in Orange County

Eight attorneys from the firm formerly known as Cotkin & Collins jumped to Murchison & Cumming in the Los Angeles-based firm's Orange County office. The new hires include James Phil Collins, a founding partner of what is now the Cotkin Law Group, and William D. Naeve, David A. Winkle and Ellen M. Tipping, all of whom join the firm as partners. The group brings business and commercial litigation experience. Cotkin Law Group reformed after last year's death of founding partner Ray Cotkin. Murchison & Cumming has five offices in California and Nevada.

Public Counsel Hires Top Litigator From ACLU

Catherine Lhamon, a 10-year veteran of the ACLU of Southern California, joined public interest law firm Public Counsel as the newly created director of impact litigation. In her role, Lhamon will supervise impact litigation for the 41 attorneys at the Los Angeles-based organization. She served as the assistant legal director during her time at the ACLU.

Paul Hastings Nabs Technology Lawyer in Tokyo

Matthew Berger, formerly a partner in Morrison & Foerster's Tokyo office, jumped to Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker as a partner in the Palo Alto and Tokyo offices. Berger's practice focuses on complex technology transactions and intellectual property. His recent clients include Atmel Corp., Fujitsu, Goldman Sachs and Seiko Epson Corp. Los Angeles-origin Paul Hastings has 18 offices in Asia, Europe and the U.S.

Cox Castle Grabs Real Estate Partner

The Irvine office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson gained John W. Kittleson as a real estate partner. Kittleson formerly practiced at Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis. He has worked on financing, joint ventures, acquisitions, dispositions and leasing, among other commercial real estate matters. Cox Castle, largely known for real estate and construction work, has other offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

VMware Hires GC From Morrison & Foerster

Dawn Smith, formerly a partner at Morrison & Foerster in the firm's Palo Alto office, became the general counsel of VMware Inc., a growing virtualization software company in Silicon Valley. At her former firm, where she had been a partner since January 2008, Smith focused on corporate and securities law including mergers and acquisitions.

Los Angeles Deputy DA Joins Munger Tolles

Truc T. Do, formerly a deputy with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's major crimes division, will join Munger, Tolles & Olson as of counsel on Dec. 1. In April, Do helped obtain the conviction of music producer Phil Spector for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson. She joined the district attorney's office in 1999.

Farella Braun + Martel Adds Special Counsel in Bankruptcy

Gary M. Kaplan, a bankruptcy attorney, jumped to Farella Braun + Martel in San Francisco as special counsel. Kaplan was formerly with Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin. He served as co-lead counsel for debtors in the Chapter 11 cases of Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Pacific Lumber Company.

Construction Pro Joins Sedgwick in Los Angeles

Robert H. Shaffer joined Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold in Los Angeles as special counsel in the firm's construction practice. Shaffer jumped from Zetlin and De Chiara, a construction law boutique in Los Angeles. He represents public and private owners, developers, contractors, subcontractors, design professionals and construction managers. San Francisco-based Sedgwick has more than 350 attorneys in 14 offices worldwide.

DLA Piper Names Equity Compensation Head

Corporate and securities lawyer Dean Fealk, an of counsel in DLA Piper's San Francisco office, became the head of the firm's global equity compensation practice. Fealk advises multinational companies in cross-border equity-based compensation programs, international employment matters and other issues. DLA Piper's global equity compensation practice advises companies on their global compensation programs to address legal requirements around the world. DLA Piper has 3,500 lawyers in 29 countries.

Appellate Advisory Committee Reappoints L.A. Lawyer

Rita Gunasekaran, a partner at Haight Brown & Bonesteel in Los Angeles, gained reappointment to the Judicial Council Appellate Advisory Committee of California for a three-year term. Gunasekaran is chair of her firm's appellate practice. The committee works to improve the administration of justice in appellate proceedings.

Kirkland Names Five New California Partners

Kirkland & Ellis promoted five attorneys to partner in California. In San Francisco, they are Ryan J. Casamiquela in intellectual property and corporate attorneys Patrick D. Huard and Leah J. Palmer. In Los Angeles, corporate attorneys Hamed Meshki and Tana M. Ryan became partners. Firmwide, Kirkland elevated 51 attorneys to partner.

Chicago-Based National Law Firm Shortens Name

Tressler Soderstrom Maloney & Priess, a Chicago-origin law firm with an office in Century City, changed its name to simply Tressler. The 130-attorney firm has seven offices in the U.S.