Marissa Alguire is deputy chair of Akerman’s national Labor & Employment Practice Group. She represents employers in all aspects of employment-related business matters and litigation in state and federal courts, and in arbitration. Her practice focuses on the defense of management in class…

Mojan Anari represents employers in all aspects of employment disputes and counseling. She focuses her practice on pre-litigation disputes, administrative claims, civil individual and class litigation, and preventative advice and counseling. She has experience handling single plaintiff FEHA matters,…

William ("Bill") Bernfeld focuses his practice on real estate and commercial law. He regularly assists clients in acquisitions and dispositions, leasing, and financing of real estate projects in a variety of sectors throughout California including office, retail, restaurant, hospitality, and…

Christopher Bouquet is an associate in the Litigation Practice Group. Christopher focuses his practice on commercial litigation, with an emphasis on litigation arising from construction, real estate, breach of contract, and commercial business disputes. He has experience representing contractor…

Ellen Castillo is a Senior Urban Planning Consultant in Akerman’s Real Estate Practice Group in Los Angeles. Her practice focuses on providing strategic real property development advice, land use diligence, planning analysis, and entitlement processing across all sectors of development. She offers…

With experience representing broadcasting and media companies, sports lifestyle brands, endurance sports companies, and other business enterprises, Kanika Corley routinely advises clients on complex transactions and litigation matters, business disputes, intellectual property matters, and related…

Michael Curley is a real estate and urban planning professional with a concentration in land use, zoning, and environmental impact review. His practice focuses on land use and zoning diligence, planning analysis, and applications for discretionary approvals with governmental agencies including the…

Daphna Davidovits represents U.S. and international clients in a wide variety of real estate and corporate matters, including purchase and sale of property and equity interests, leasing of commercial and residential properties, land use, capital raising, M&A, joint venture, and private equity…

Damien DeLaney is a seasoned employment litigator and advisor with more than 15 years of experience helping solve employment law problems for clients large and small in a wide array of industries including retail, hospitality, food and beverage, real estate, construction, engineering, manufacturing,…

As a former general counsel for a leading real estate developer, owner, and operator and decades of market experience, Bill Ellis provides his clients with a comprehensive real estate perspective. He represents private equity funds, global financial institutions, investment banks, REITs, other…

Allison Etkin is an experienced litigator with a focus on complex civil disputes in an array of practice areas, including construction, real estate, products liability, subrogation and recovery, contract and business disputes, and general liability litigation. She has represented developers, owners,…

Kevin Finley focuses his practice on representing employers in workplace law matters, including preventive advice and counsel. Kevin advises employers across a broad range of industries on the full spectrum of employment matters, including compliance and counseling, litigation, Title IX…

Jacqueline Foroutan is an associate in Akerman’s Consumer Financial Services, Data and Technology (CFS+) Practice Group. Jacqueline represents a wide array of financial services companies in state and federal litigation including class actions. She regularly defends financial services…

Evelina Gentry is a litigator, who provides clients with strategic counsel and creative solutions to complex legal problems. She focuses on high-stake complex commercial litigation, corporate disputes, and bankruptcy litigation. She has substantial private equity experience and unique bankruptcy…

Paul Ghazaryan focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation, including litigation arising from construction, real estate and land use matters, contractual disputes, mass-torts, and products liability. Paul also has experience with government contract counseling, bid protests and adversarial…

Jamel focuses his practice on representing clients in the higher education and collegiate athletics sector. His experience includes representing higher education institutions in matters involving regulatory and compliance issues at the local, state and federal level, in conducting training for board…

A former vice president and senior legal counsel for the credit card and retail services division of HSBC, Eric Gribbin possesses deep knowledge of the financial services sector. He represents banks, finance companies, securities broker-dealers, insurance brokers, investment advisors, and other…

Matthew Gurnick represents employers in single-plaintiff and collective-action employment matters, discrimination, wage and hour, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and PAGA cases before state and federal courts, administration agencies, and in arbitration and mediation. He advises employers…

Sahar Hakakian represents investors, owners, lenders, and developers in diverse real estate matters, including joint ventures, development, acquisitions and dispositions, financing, operation, and leasing of various assets. The real estate asset types covered by Sahar’s practice range from office…

Irán Hopkins is a partner in Akerman LLP’s Real Estate Practice Group, where she focuses on complex transactions, structuring tax efficient ownership and operations, and regulatory compliance for clients across a range of industries, including real estate private equity, healthcare leasing,…

Alicia represents U.S. and international companies and financial institutions in a wide variety of legal disputes. She focuses her practice on financial institution and real estate litigation, corporate governance and partnership disputes, intellectual property, trade secret, and non-compete…

Peter R. Hurm is a strategic consultant and legal advisor to companies and the people who run them. He is a partner and corporate transactional attorney with Akerman where his practice focuses on the representation of publicly traded and privately held companies in the areas of corporate finance,…

Parisa Jassim is a partner in Akerman's Consumer Financial Services, Data and Technology (CFS+) Practice Group.

Andrea Khoury focuses her practice on commercial litigation in both state and federal courts. She has experience defending public and private clients in the construction industry, including contractors, owners, and other construction professionals, in disputes involving government liability, general…

Lisa Kolieb focuses her practice on land use and real estate development matters, guiding clients through the land use entitlement process from initial site diligence to ultimate project approval, construction and operation, and advising clients on the government and regulatory aspects of real…

Sarah Kroll-Rosenbaum is a trusted strategic advisor to her clients, with whom she collaborates closely to design and execute litigation strategies through the lens of their business priorities. Sarah is the Team Leader of Akerman's Staffing Law sector team which offers staffing companies…

Chenxi Li focuses her practice on California transaction matters, including commercial real estate purchase and sale, financing, healthcare leasing, property development, change of use, M&A, and cannabis regulatory compliance. Chenxi has a strong interest in tax and finance, and enjoys…

中文 Mark has a diverse corporate practice representing U.S. and international corporations and financial institutions. His experience includes a variety of capital markets transactions involving issuance of equity, convertible bonds, and debt securities, as well as initial public offerings (IPOs) and…

With broad litigation experience in business and real estate disputes, Josh Mandell devotes his practice to all aspects of commercial litigation, including breach of contract matters, fraud claims, lender liability issues, and business torts. He represents financial institutions, secured lenders,…

Caroline Mankey is a seasoned trial lawyer representing diverse clients in the entertainment, arts, fashion, retail, and technology sectors, including motion picture studios and production companies, major media companies, film libraries, actors, comedians, television personalities, musicians,…

Christopher McAndrew focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation, including copyright and trademark infringement, trademark prosecution, trade secret litigation, and general contract disputes. Christopher also has extensive experience representing clients in proceedings in front of the…

Rachel McRoskey represents clients in a wide range of local and national real estate transactions, including the representation of lenders and borrowers in complex financing transactions, including workouts and restructurings; institutional and non-institutional investors, sponsors, owners, and…

Brian Noh focuses his practice on labor and employment counseling and litigation. He represents clients through all stages of litigation and has experience handling discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and wage and hour actions in state and federal court, as well as…

Alex Pacheco is an associate in Akerman’s Consumer Financial Services, Data and Technology (CFS+) Practice Group. Alex represents a wide array of financial services companies in state and federal litigation, class actions, litigation involving homeowners’ association lien priority, and…

Steven Paletz represents local, regional, and national developers throughout the lifecycle of a commercial real estate transaction. His clients represent a diversity of real estate sectors including residential, industrial, retail, office, mixed use, and hospitality projects. His…

Emily Patajo focuses her practice on employment litigation matters in state and federal courts and in binding arbitration. Emily represents employers in various industries, including grocery, retail, technology, and healthcare, among others. She is routinely involved in the risk assessment and…

Laura Premi assists the General Counsel with legal, ethical, and internal risk management matters.

Brenda Radmacher focuses her practice on construction law, working as a counselor, litigator, and noted speaker on issues involving landowners, developers, general contractors, and design professionals. She has a multi-faceted practice handling litigation and providing advice and transactional…

Ellen S. Robbins is Akerman's senior go-to trial lawyer on the West Coast, with extensive experience litigating disputes in both state and federal court on behalf of public and private companies all over the world. She focuses her practice on a wide variety of complex commercial disputes and…

Rukayat Salaam focuses her practice on labor and employment-related disputes and litigation avoidance. She represents businesses in employment law matters, including discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation and harassment disputes, wage and hour class actions, PAGA actions, and claims…

Anthony Sbardellati focuses his practice on defending class action, FLSA collective, and PAGA lawsuits, while also regularly advising clients on compliance with wage, hour, and related laws and regulations. Anthony’s practice is particularly focused on the staffing industry, which has given…

Donald Scotten is Of Counsel in the Consumer Financial Services, Data and Technology (CFS+) Practice Group, where he has represented numerous mortgage loan originators, servicers, and investors. Donald also is a professor of the practice of law at the University of Southern California’s Law…

Max Sonnenberg is an associate in the Real Estate Practice Group. Max focuses his practice on commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, and leasing.

Nancy Sotomayor represents employers in complex employment litigation matters, involving class actions and single-plaintiff suits. Her practice is focused on employment issues, including wage and hour, harassment, wrongful termination, and discrimination. Nancy also has trial experience in state and…

Erin Swick represents private equity firms and public and private companies in a variety of both buy and sell side business transactions. Her experience includes mergers, acquisitions, private equity investments, joint ventures, recapitalizations, and debt and equity financings in a range of…

Mishell Parreno Taylor focuses her practice on employment litigation in federal and state courts and administrative agencies across the country. Mishell partners with stakeholders in organizations of all sizes, ranging from local to global corporations on a broad spectrum of employment law issues,…

Jonathan Turner is an associate in Akerman's Litigation Practice Group, where he represents and advises clients regarding a wide array of complex commercial litigation matters. Jonathan has also defended and counseled employers regarding state and federal employment law issues, including those…

Michael Weiss guides clients through complex disputes, including real estate litigation, commercial and business disputes, and complex insurance insolvency matters. His real estate litigation experience includes multimillion dollar easement, entitlement, and contract disputes on behalf of Fortune…

Jade T. White has broad commercial litigation experience. He has successfully represented clients across a variety of industries in business disputes and real estate matters.