Erik Swanholt, a litigator at Jones Day in Los Angeles for the past 16 years, has joined Foley & Lardner's business litigation and dispute resolution group in the city.

Swanholt, who joined Jones Day in 2001 and made partner eight years later, represents companies in product liability litigation and commercial and consumer class actions. His clients have included medical companies like Genentech Inc. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc., as well as consumer goods giants like Mattel Inc. and its educational toy subsidiary Fisher-Price.

“What I was looking for and found in Foley is a firm that is looking to grow in California generally and in terms of the practice areas where I focus, which is working for manufacturers and retailers in defense of their products,” Swanholt said. “I'm not trying to be too canned here, but I think Foley's got a great focus on client service, and that's the way it was at Jones Day as well.”