From left to right: Tamera Weisser, Erin Burke, Steve Geise, Karen Hewitt and David DiMeglio

Jones Day announced Tuesday that Karen Hewitt, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California, has taken on the role of regional partner-in-charge in California, where the global law firm has nearly 270 lawyers spread across five offices.

Hewitt, who joined the firm after leaving the Justice Department in 2010, has served as a partner in the firm's business and tort litigation practice, and, since 2012, has been the partner-in-charge of the firm's San Diego office. Hewitt succeeds Los Angeles partner Christopher Lovrien as the regional partner-in-charge, a role where he's overseen the firm's lawyers in Los Angeles, Irvine, Silicon Valley, San Francisco and San Diego offices since 2015.

"Karen's wealth of experience, which crosses industries and sectors, along with her proven strategic vision and leadership qualities, make her the ideal person to guide Jones Day to continued success in California," said firm managing partner Stephen Brogan, in a release announcing Hewitt's appointment.

Also on Tuesday, the firm announced four other partners had taken on leadership roles across the state. Succeeding Hewitt as partner-in-charge of the San Diego office is Steve Geise, a business and tort litigation partner, who previously had served as administrative partner in the office since 2012 and who currently serves as the head of litigation for the office. Geise, in turn, will be succeeded as administrative partner in San Diego by Tamera Weisser. Weisser, who holds a Ph.D. in immunology and virology, joined the San Diego office when it opened in 2004. She recently served a seven-year stint as co-chair of the firm's global patent prosecution group.

In Los Angeles, David DiMeglio will assume the role of partner-in-charge. DiMeglio, a partner in the firm's global disputes practice focuses on matters arising out of Latin America, succeeds partner Brian Sun who has held the post since 2015. Erin Burke, a partner in the firm's business and tort litigation practice, was named administrative partner for California. She previously has served as the administrative partner in the firm's Los Angeles office since 2011 and its Irvine office since 2019. Burke has also served as the firm's hiring partner in Los Angeles.

All appointments were effective Jan. 1.