Covington advised Tencent Holdings Limited, a leading provider of internet service in China, in connection with its acquisition of a majority stake in Supercell from SoftBank. A consortium established by Tencent will acquire up to 84% of Supercell for $8.6 billion in a transaction valuing Supercell at approximately $10.2 billion. (more…)
Cooley is expanding its patent counseling & prosecution practice with the arrival of acclaimed partner Mika Reiner Mayer, whose practice focuses on patent due diligence, strategic portfolio management and patent prosecution. Mayer joins from Morrison & Foerster, where she co-founded and led the venture intellectual property group and also led the medical device patent group. She will be based in Palo Alto. (more…)
Cooley is growing its trademark, copyright & advertising practice with the addition of Bobby Ghajar, who joins the firm as a partner in its Los Angeles office. Ghajar arrives from Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw & Pittman, where he was partner and head of the firm’s worldwide trademark practice. (more…)
Global law firm Dentons expanded its presence in the Bay Area today with the opening of an office in Oakland, located at 1999 Harrison Street. (more…)
Freeman Freeman & Smiley LLP, continues to strengthen its litigation practice in Los Angeles with the addition of Robert M. Heller as Of Counsel. (more…)
Sedgwick LLP is pleased to announce that Mitchell Kim has joined the firm as an Associate in its Los Angeles office. Kim’s practice covers multiple facets of commercial law, including labor and employment, copyright and trademark, product liability, clothing retail, complex commercial, premises liability, personal injury and general liability defense. (more…)
Fenwick & West today announced that Hanley Chew has joined the firm as of counsel in its privacy practice.
With more than two decades of privacy and information security investigative and legal experience, Chew advises companies on data breaches and cybercrimes, cybersecurity, and internal investigations. He has served as Assistant United States Attorney in both the Northern and Central Districts of California.
Chew has conducted investigations of hacks involving the theft of personally identifiable information and protected health information in both the private and public sectors, has a broad knowledge of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and understands the complex data migration laws of other countries.
“Hanley is a valuable addition to our growing privacy counseling and litigation practice,” Fenwick’s litigation chair Rodger Cole said. “His deep technical knowledge and experience will be tremendous assets to clients looking to balance complying with the rules and regulations regarding privacy laws, audits, investigations and litigation, while meeting overall business objectives.”
Co-chair of Fenwick’s privacy practice and litigation partner Tyler Newby added, “Proactive cybersecurity planning and responding to cyberattacks are important needs for both our startup and more established clients. We’re continuing to make investments in this practice area to ensure we offer top service to our clients in these areas. Hanley brings deep experience in these areas plus courtroom experience that few can match.”
“I’m thrilled to be joining Fenwick,” Chew said. “Fenwick’s focus on technology and innovation is incredibly appealing to me, given my technology work as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. Companies are starting to consider Fenwick a go-to firm for privacy work, and I’m looking forward to helping expand this fast-growing practice area.”
For ten years, Chew served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of California, in the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Unit. He was responsible for investigating and prosecuting unauthorized computer intrusions, distributed denial of service attacks, trade secret theft, trafficking in counterfeit software and hardware, criminal copyright infringement, child exploitation and online fraud.
Chew also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California in the General Crimes and Violent Crimes Units. He investigated and prosecuted a variety of federal crimes, including white collar fraud, bank robberies, narcotic and firearm offenses, and theft cases. In addition to his work in government, he has specialized in complex commercial litigation, securities litigation, and intellectual property litigation, appearing in both federal and state courts.
Chew earned his J.D. from University of Pennsylvania Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University.
Fenwick’s privacy litigation lawyers have represented clients in matters including some of the highest profile consumer privacy litigation in the country. Fenwick’s experienced former federal prosecutors, including computer crime prosecutors, have helped clients navigate data breaches and coordinate with federal law enforcement authorities. Recent representations include:
•Consumer class actions, including the FCRA and TCPA
•Violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
•Privacy rules under the Gramm Leach Bliley Act
Simpson Thacher represented Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: NUS) in connection with a $210 million strategic investment in Nu Skin from Ping An ZQ China Growth Opportunity Limited (“Ping An ZQ”), pursuant to which Ping An ZQ purchased 4.75% Convertible Senior Notes due 2020. Ping An ZQ’s investors consists of a consortium of Chinese investors led by Ping An of China Securities (Hong Kong) Company Ltd. and a group of additional investors affiliated with ZQ Capital Limited. Nu Skin will use the proceeds to repurchase common stock and invest in its China operations. (more…)
Shearman & Sterling has expanded its antitrust litigation capability with the addition of nationally-recognized practitioner John Cove, who joins the firm from Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP as a partner in the Bay Area. (more…)
Akin Gump today announced that Neal R. Marder has joined the firm in Los Angeles as a partner, adding significant depth to its West Coast litigation team. Mr. Marder, whose practice focuses on class and mass actions, bet-the-company litigation, and complex business and commercial litigation, comes to Akin Gump from Winston & Strawn, where he helped launch that firm’s Los Angeles office and chaired its national consumer class actions practice. (more…)
Norton Rose Fulbright today announced the expansion of its public finance practice by 17 lawyers, including six partners, located in New York, Washington, DC and San Francisco, which marks the global law firm’s entrance into the Northern California market. (more…)
Seong Hwan Kim and Rebecca Edelson have joined the Century City office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as partners in the firm’s Intellectual Property practice groups. Kim and Edelson join from Steptoe & Johnson, where Kim was head of the firm’s Korea Commercial Litigation practice, co-head of the Korea practice group, and a member of the firm’s executive committee; and Edelson led the firm’s Trade Secrets practice. Special counsel James Wald and Jason Zelin also join Sheppard Mullin from Steptoe & Johnson. (more…)
