The Washington, D.C., office of global law firm K&L Gates LLP welcomes former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) deputy enforcement director for litigation Ori Lev as a partner in the firm’s consumer financial services practice. More >>

Van Ness Feldman is pleased to announce that Mona Tandon has rejoined the Firm as a partner.

Ms. Tandon advises clients that own and operate crude oil and products pipelines, natural gas pipelines, and electric utilities on federal and state regulatory matters, transactional issues, general corporate matters, and legislative issues. She also represents clients in federal and state administrative litigation, and counsels energy companies on compliance with federal and state requirements, including corporate governance, infrastructure security, and risk management. She also assists clients with issues regarding project development and acquisitions. Ms. Tandon is an active participant in the firm’s pro bono practice and a member of the diversity committee. More >>

Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp welcomes new partner, Jay Rosenthal, to the Washington, D.C. office and the Entertainment and Intellectual Property practice groups. Jay is the former Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA). In Washington, D.C., Jay has been involved in significant policy initiatives relating to Copyright reform, net neutrality, internet governance and data privacy issues, media consolidation, cell phone regulation, international treaty obligations, satellite radio, FCC matters, piracy (domestic and international), and other federal legislative and regulatory matters. More >>

Arnold & Porter LLP recently obtained a definitive victory on behalf of the Republic of Colombia in a US$17 billion U.S. federal court dispute originally filed in 2010 by the U.S.-based maritime salvage company Sea Search Armada (SSA). The litigation, which involved two separate federal cases, related to alleged rights to the treasure aboard a Spanish galleon, the San José, which sank more than 300 years ago off the coast of present-day Colombia. SSA claimed that it had a contractual right to salvage the vessel and to a part of the gold and silver coins and bullion aboard the ship, and assessed at US$17 billion the value of its alleged stake. More >>

International law firm McDermott Will & Emery today announced that Leigh-Alexandra Basha, one of the nation’s most prominent private client lawyers, has joined the Firm as a partner based in Washington, D.C. in the Private Client Practice Group. With the addition of Ms. Basha, the Firm will establish a Private Client practice in the nation’s capital with Ms. Basha as the head of the practice in that office. Ms. Basha formerly chaired Holland & Knight’s International Private Client Practice for the past decade. She was recently elected to Council of the International Bar Association’s Legal Practice Division and is past Chair of the IBA’s Individual Tax and Private Client Committee. More >>

The Washington, D.C., office of global law firm K&L Gates LLP welcomes Grace Parke Fremlin and Joon Ro Yoon as partners in the corporate/M&A practice and IP Litigation practice, respectively. Fremlin joins K&L Gates from Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where she was founder and co-chair of the Korea practice, while Yoon arrives from Reitler, Kailas & Rosenblatt LLC, having also served as an adjunct professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

Fremlin has decades of experience representing clients on cross-border technology and M&A transactions; IP asset utilization and protection strategies in the United States and China; and global distribution, procurement, and supply contracts. She also advises in such areas as corporate governance, global regulatory compliance, international trade policy, treaties, and U.S. government relations.

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nternational law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP continues to grow its Washington, D.C. office with the return of David Catania as a shareholder in the Health & FDA Business Practice. Catania focuses his practice on health care, government law and strategy, and public policy.

“Greenberg Traurig is committed to growing locally, nationally, and internationally, and that is why we’re so pleased to welcome David Catania back to our Washington, D.C. office,” said Laura Klaus, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s Washington, D.C. office. “Having worked for the betterment of the District and its business community, David has had his finger on the pulse of health care issues of critical concern. His experience with regard to not only health care but also education, tax, and workforce development issues will be invaluable to our clients.”

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Sidley Austin LLP announced today that James M. Cole has joined the firm in Washington, D.C. as a partner in its White Collar: Government Litigation & Investigations practice. Mr. Cole recently served as the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, a role he held from January 2011 until January 2015. At Sidley, Mr. Cole will focus his practice on the full range of federal enforcement and internal investigation matters, with a particular emphasis on cross-border and multi-jurisdictional matters. More >>

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Fabricio Vayra has joined the firm’s Intellectual Property practice as a partner in the Washington, D. C. office. He focuses on trademark, Internet policy issues, and domain name counseling and enforcement. He was most recently Assistant General Counsel-Intellectual Property with Time Warner Inc. where he spent nearly a decade advising upper management on intellectual property and Internet policy issues as applied to emerging business models, new technologies, digital media and enforcement strategies. More >>