Loeb & Loeb LLP has hired a Land Use and Regulatory Affairs senior counsel. Nicole Kuklok-Waldman has joined the firm in Los Angeles. Kuklok-Waldman focus her environmental law practice on land use and real estate development.

Brian R. Michael has joined Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in Los Angeles. Michael was most recently an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2003 to 2010. He joins as counsel.

Source:

Robert McFarlane has joined the San Francisco office of Carroll, Burdick & McDonough LLP. McFarlane specializes in intellectual property litigation. He leaves Townsend and Townsend and Crew, where he has practiced for more than 12 years.

Source:

Littler Mendelson has hired Robert Conti for its office in Orange County. Previously, Conti was a partner at Goldman, Magdalin & Krikes. He specializes in industrial injuries which result in disability discrimination claims.

Source:

White & Case has lost yet another partner from its Palo Alto office: Jennifer L. Yokoyama. Yokoyama, who specializes in patent litigation, left the firm for Nike. She takes the position of Assistant General Counsel

Sonnenschein Rosenthal LLP has boosted its Los Angeles office with the hire of Duccio Mortillaro as counsel. He joins the public law & policy strategies practice. Mortillaro was most recently of counsel with Ropers Majeski Kohn Bentley PC.

Source:

Another partner has fled White & Case. Steve Betensky, the firm’s global IT practice chair. Betensky specializes in trademark and patent licensing agreements. Before moving to White & Case’s New York office, he worked in the Palo Alto and Prague offices.

Source:

Arent Fox LLP has just hired Harry Johnson III as a partner in its Los Angeles office. Johnson focuses his practice on employment litigation, specifically wage-hour complex litigation and traditional labor. He joins from Jones Day.

Source:

Novak Druce + Quigg LLP has hired Katherine Basile for its San Francisco office.

Although Los Angeles has picked up some steam within the past few weeks, the lateral movement there still does not compare to the markets in Silicon Valley, New York and Chicago. LA has never been a hot spot for lateral movement and the state of the economy does not help matters. But not all is lost! There has been more activity there as of late in such practice fields as labor and employment, patent litigation and white collar defense. There has also been some movement with attorneys specializing in bankruptcy and commercial finance, banking, energy and entertainment. In LA, firms are hiring one or two experienced attorneys at a time, as opposed to large groups.

Source: