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Baker & Hostetler's San Francisco office grew with the addition of Jeewon Kim Serrato, the former U.S. head of data protection, privacy and cybersecurity at Norton Rose Fulbright. Serrato will co-lead Baker & Hostetler's new digital transformation and data economy practice, which operates as part of the firm's digital assets and data management practice. Her past experience includes working as chief privacy officer for Fannie Mae and head privacy executive of RELX Group. Serrato advises clients on consumer privacy, cybersecurity, data monetization and data science.

Retired Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Reva G. Goetz joined JAMS in its Los Angeles Resolution Center. She began working as a full-time alternative dispute resolution practitioner in 2015, focusing on estate, probate, trust and family law matters. Earlier in her career, Goetz worked as a judicial law officer.

A group of three Kirkland & Ellis lawyers moved to Dechert's Los Angeles-based products liability and mass torts practice. Kimberly Branscome and Jay Bhimani join as partners, and Benjamin Sadun joins as counsel. Branscome will also serve as the Los Angeles office managing partner.

Judicate West added retired Judge David W. Abbott of the Sacramento County Superior Court as a neutral in its Sacramento office. Abbott will assist with mediations, arbitrations and private judging related to products liability, professional negligence, wrongful death, insurance bad faith, personal injury and complex litigation and coordinated actions. He served as a judge for 18 years.

Melody Lembke, a retired associate librarian for collection services at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, was one of four recipients of the American Association of Law Libraries' Marian Gould Gallagher Distinguished Service Award. The award is presented to legal information professionals who serve law librarianship, support the AALL and contribute to significant professional literature. Lembke worked in the UC Irvine Law Library for 10 years before retiring in 2019.

Atheria Law brought on Christopher Wong as an associate in its San Francisco office. Wong focuses his practice on professional liability insurance, primarily representing insurers in matters related to errors and omissions policies. He was previously an associate at Hayes Scott Bonino Ellingson Guslani Simonson & Clause.

Palo Alto-based Pamela Martinson, a partner with Sidley Austin, was elected president of the  American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers. She will serve for the 2020-21 term. She joined the college in 2007 and began serving on its executive committee in 2016. At Sidley, Martinson handles matters related to global finance, emerging companies and venture capital.

Four California attorneys were promoted to partner at DLA Piper—Patrick O'Malley and Melissa A. Reinckens in San Diego and Jennifer Kristen Lee and Erik R. Fuehrer in Silicon Valley. O'Malley is a corporate litigator, Reinckens focuses on intellectual property and technology, Lee handles corporate and securities law, and Fuehrer handles intellectual property and technology.

Los Angeles boutique Sauer & Wagner promoted attorneys Gregory Barchie, Amir Torkamani and Sonya Goodwin to partnership. Barchie and Torkamani litigate commercial, entertainment, real estate, employment and intellectual property cases. Goodwin advises employers and employees on wage-and-hour issues, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and breach of contract.

Former Dykema Gossett member Gregory K. Jones took on the role of shareholder at Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth. He will work in the firm's bankruptcy and restructuring practice, where he will primarily focus on preference and fraudulent transfer lawsuits. He will be based in the firm's Los Angeles office.