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…

Thea Alli focuses her practice on defending employers in all aspects of employment litigation, including wage and hour class actions and single plaintiff lawsuits involving claims of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination. She has experience conducting internal…

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,…

Zoe Bekas defends and counsels employers in the full range of California and federal employment law issues including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, disability accommodation, and wage and hour disputes. She represents clients in state and federal courts, in…

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, and industrial. Bill…

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 more than 20 years of experience, Kanika Corley has developed a thriving practice in broad-based, complex commercial and intellectual property litigation with a focus on the sports, entertainment, and media industries. She has worked with and provided legal assistance for a wide array of…

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 accomplished litigator with extensive experience handling a broad range of complex civil disputes. Her practice spans various areas, including construction, real estate, products liability, subrogation and recovery, contract and business disputes, professional liability,…

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 an accomplished commercial and bankruptcy litigator, known for her strategic counsel and innovative solutions to complex legal challenges. She specializes in high-stakes commercial litigation, corporate disputes, bankruptcy litigation, antitrust matters, and Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR)…

Felipe Gomez focuses his practice on representing employers in wage and hour class actions and Private Attorneys General Act matters. Felipe also represents employers against single plaintiff actions in federal and state court, including racial, sex, and disability discrimination, unpaid wage…

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…

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 counsels and represents U.S. and international companies in major litigation in a wide variety of areas, including financial services, real estate, competition, business torts, securities, and intellectual property. On behalf of her clients, she both defends against claims and analyzes…

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.

Judy Kang represents employers in all aspects of employment disputes and counseling. She focuses her practice on defending clients in individual and class litigation, pre-litigation disputes, as well as administrative claims. Judy has experience defending single plaintiff FEHA claims, including…

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 partners to navigate challenges and opportunities alike. Sarah is a national expert in the staffing industry and leads Akerman’s Staffing Law Sector team, which assists staffing firms across sectors in avoiding and…

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 is a versatile and skilled litigator, trial lawyer, trusted counselor, and problem solver. Josh devotes his practice to all aspects of business litigation, including breach of contract matters, fraud claims, and…

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; investors, sponsors, owners, and operators in connection with the…

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.

Heather Preston focuses her practice on transactional and business tax matters. She has significant experience in tax matters associated with mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, restructurings, investment fund formation, qualified opportunity funds, cross-border transactions, partnerships and…

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…

Anthony Sbardellati serves as a trusted strategist to his clients and focuses his practice on defending commercial, 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…

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.

Focused primarily on the staffing industry, Nancy Sotomayor represents employers in complex litigation matters involving class actions, FLSA collectives, and PAGA lawsuits. Nancy regularly advises clients on compliance with wage and hour law, as well as other related laws. She handles matters in…

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 disputes. Jonathan represents clients in all stages of litigation, from early phases of case assessment and discovery through final dispute…

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.

Perry Zirpoli focuses his practice on commercial litigation matters, including matters of general equity, business disputes and dissolutions, probate, products liability, and class action litigation, among others. Perry also represents clients in the staffing industry, including avoiding and…