Jon Atzen has joined the Los Angeles/Downtown office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in the firm's Corporate practice group and member of the Emerging Companies practice.  Atzen most recently was a partner at DLA Piper in Los Angeles.  

Atzen has devoted virtually his entire career to working with leading entrepreneurs and innovators, as well as emerging and established companies, primarily in the southern California region.  He focuses his corporate practice on representing emerging growth and established companies, and venture capital and private equity funds, in such technology sectors as life sciences, semiconductors, wireless communications, internet, software and clean/alternative energy technologies.

"Jon has an impressive emerging growth company background, which includes private practice and corporate counsel for both a tech company and a venture capital firm.  His practice dovetails well with our existing emerging growth/venture capital practices throughout California, while broadening our existing corporate practice capabilities in Los Angeles," said Guy N. Halgren, chairman of the firm. 

In addition to private practice, Atzen previously held the positions of Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. 

"I am excited about joining Sheppard Mullin, a top-notch full service firm with a strong corporate practice in Los Angeles and throughout the state," Atzen commented.  "I am impressed with firm management's dedication to growing the Corporate practice group, and excited to be part of a partnership that values teamwork and fosters collegiality."  

In addition to his venture capital and private equity practice, Atzen provides corporate and strategic counsel to publicly-traded companies with respect to securities offerings including initial public offerings, secondary offerings, PIPEs and spin-offs, and reporting and compliance matters under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  He also has significant experience in public and private company mergers and acquisitions.

Atzen received a J.D. from Loyola Law School Los Angeles in 1990 and a B.A. from University of California at Santa Barbara in 1987. 

Sheppard Mullin has 200 attorneys based in its Los Angeles offices.  The firm's Corporate practice group includes 100 attorneys firmwide. 

In April, Kevin Rooney joined the firm's Silicon Valley office as a partner in the Corporate practice group.  Rooney most recently practiced at Hayden Bergman & Rooney in San Francisco, as a name partner.  Previously, Rooney was an attorney with Wilson Sonsini in Palo Alto and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineburg in Toronto.  

About Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Sheppard Mullin is a full service AmLaw 100 firm with 550 attorneys in 11 offices located in the United States and Asia.  Since 1927, companies have turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high stakes litigation and complex financial transactions.  In the U.S., the firm's clients include more than half of the Fortune 100.  For more information, please visit www.sheppardmullin.com. 

The D.C. office of law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP has relocated its headquarters to larger space downtown.

The firm said that its new location, on the top floor of 1717 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, more than doubles the size of its offices and will allow for continued expansion of its practice.

"This relocation marks an important step in Curtis’ ongoing expansion in Washington,” said D.C. Managing Partner Daniel Lenihan.

The firm said that it has added four senior lawyers to its D.C. office since December 2008.

According to its Web site, Curtis has three U.S. offices with 16 professionals working in Washington, five working in Houston and more than 100 based in New York. In addition, Curtis has 10 international offices.

Applegate & Fifer, a business and real estate law firm based in Jeffersonville, was renamed Applegate Fifer Pulliam LLC last month.

The name change was prompted by the addition of a third partner, Keith Pulliam, who joined real estate attorney Alan Applegate and municipal attorney Greg Fifer.

Pulliam previously practiced at New Albany law firm Lorch & Naville LLC.

He assists small businesses with legal issues, such as business formations and contracts.

LOS ANGELES- 200 members of the Los Angeles legal community are expected to attend the Employment Law Forum, a nonprofit legal education event in Los Angeles.

The Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators (GLA ALA) will host its Annual Employment Law Forum Saturday, January 23 from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at the Autry National Center of the American West in Griffith Park, located at 4700 Western Heritage Way in Los Angeles.

The event will offer an annual update on new 2010 employment laws with speaker Laura Petroff, managing partner of Winston & Strawn’s Los Angeles office.

Marsha Petrie Sue, MBA, CSP will present the lunch keynote  “The Reactor Factor: How to Respond Positively to Negative Situations at Work.”

Three breakout sessions following lunch will feature the speakers Marsh Petrie Sue on the topic of how to Decontaminate Toxic People, Fred Griffin, partner of Burke Williams & Sorenson, on the topic of Navigating California Leaves and John LeCrone, partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, on the topic of Social Media in the Workplace.

An exhibit hall with over 40 business partners who support the legal industry will be in attendance.

Price to attend for ALA members is $50 for the morning session or $75 for the all day seminar and for non-ALA members is $75 for the morning session and $100 for the all day seminar.

For more information, contact GLA ALA President-Elect Mary McDonnell at mmcdonnell@entertainmentpartners.com. For media requests, contact Jess Block, media relations, at JessBlockPR@gmail.com or at 909.706.8525.

ABOUT GLA ALA:

The Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators (GLA ALA) is a 385-person nonprofit membership organization that provides educational opportunities, community service, and exchange of information to improve the quality and professionalism of management in legal services organizations. For more information, visit www.glaala.org.

Photos from the GLA ALA Employment Law Forum will be available after the event.

Herzfeld & Rubin P.C. is relocating its headquarters to 125 Broad St. in New York's Financial District, after a 50-year stint at 40 Wall St.

Mack-Cali, which owns roughly 40 percent of the 40-story office tower, signed the global law firm to a 20-year, 56,322-square-foot lease. The new deal brings the REIT's 525,000-square-foot portion of the 1.3 million-square-foot high-rise to full occupancy. Mark Shapses, Joseph Messina and Jason Schwartzenberg with Studley represented Herzfeld & Rubin.

The law firm joins prominent tenants such as Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), both of which own their space. Herzfeld & Rubin's 64,736-square-foot lease at 40 Wall St., which encompasses floors 50 through 56, is up at the end of this year. The new space offers comparable size, but on less than two floors.

The new deal brings a nearly four-year search to an end. "We were hired in 2005 to find a more cost-effective, efficient occupancy solution for the firm, and periodically went out into the market looking for space," said Shapses. "The market went through extraordinary price and availability changes in that period. The right situation with the right economics hadn’t surfaced until now."

Schwartzenberg noted that the space hadn't even hit the market yet. "We knew it would soon be vacated so we moved quickly to secure it."

Mack-Cali will cover 100 percent of the modifications Herzfeld & Rubin requires. The concession package also includes free rent and furnishings.