Partners Timothy Gondek and Christy Jachimowski have been named Co-Managing Partners of the firm's Hartford office and will succeed outgoing Managing Partner Angeline Ioannou, who has been nominated to a seat on the Connecticut Superior Court.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has nominated Hartford Managing Partner Angeline Ioannou to serve as a judge on the Connecticut Superior Court. 

The California Legislature was busy on the labor and employment front. in 2024. Set forth below is a quick overview of what California employers need to know for 2025.

On December 3, 2024, the U.S. Department of The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $15,550,000 settlement with Aiotec GmbH (Aiotec), a German company that is a supplier of used plants and equipment for refineries, petrochemical plans, gas plants, and similar systems.

Atlanta Partner Candis R. Jones has been named to Atlanta Magazine’s 2025 “Atlanta 500” list of the most powerful law professionals in Atlanta. This is the fifth year in a row she has received this recognition.

Phoenix Associate Rosa Leon will moderate a panel on the legal landscape of professional sports at the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) Corporate Counsel Conference in Atlanta on March 20 at 3:00 p.m. ET. 

Dallas Partner Mark Cronenwett and Associate Vivian Lopez of the firm's Financial Services Litigation Team recently secured a win in a bench trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, for a national mortgage servicer client. 

Phoenix Partners Kevin Nicholas and Jay Rademacher recently obtained a decision from the Arizona Court of Appeals that affirmed the dismissal of a wrongful death lawsuit against their senior living facility client.  
 

Last month, a cross-office team of attorneys led by Atlanta Partner Jonathan Goins obtained a dismissal in federal court on behalf of a streaming network client just a day before a scheduled jury trial. Litigated before Judge Mark Scarsi of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the case involved trademark naming rights over the use of a reality television series. Mr. Goins’ team included Los Angeles Partners Robert M. Collins, San Diego Partner Anastasiya Menshikova, and Atlanta Associate Gabriella Stroude. Los Angeles Partners Eric Castro and Alexis Crump provide general counsel services to this long-term entertainment client. 

Los Angeles Co-Managing Partner Kathleen Walker will join a webinar on arbitration agreements, presented by Munich Re Specialty on February 20 at 9:30 a.m. PT.

On November 21, 2024 the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury published a new Russia-related alert (the "Alert"), "Sanctions Risk for Foreign Financial Institutions that Join Russian Financial Messaging System, System for Transfer of Financial Messages." The purpose of the Alert is to warn foreign jurisdictions and financial institutions about the sanctions risks of joining the Russian financial messaging system Sistema Peredachi Finansovykh Soobscheniy or “System for Transfer of Financial Messages” (SPFS).

2024 was a modestly impactful year in Florida employment law. The Employment Regulations Bill continued a yearslong trend of preempting municipal ordinances and regulations that exceeded similar state laws, children were afforded greater opportunities to engage in the workplace and with new job responsibilities, and a decade-long conflict between District Courts of Appeal on whistleblower standards came one step closer to Florida Supreme Court clarification.

In significant appellate victories, in both Jane Doe Two v. KIPP Academy Charter School, ___ A.D.3d ___ (1st Dep’t 2025), and Jane Doe Three v. KIPP Academy Charter School, ___ A.D.3d ___ (1st Dep’t 2025), Partner Dean Pillarella, a member of the Appellate Practice, obtained the pre-answer dismissal of two Child Victims Act matters for the Firm’s not-for-profit client.

The New Jersey Trial Team of Partners Afsha Noran and Colin Hackett began 2025 picking two juries on back-to-back wrongful death and toxic tort matters.  The trials were estimated to last four and five weeks, respectively. However, after juries were selected, openings were held and the plaintiffs began their respective cases in chief, the two matters each settled on the fourth day of trial for fractions of the plaintiffs' demands on the day the trials started.

The legal landscape around the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) has been shifting at a rapid pace. In the latest development, the Department of Justice appealed a Texas federal court's issuance of an injunction temporarily halting enforcement of the CTA and its reporting requirements.