News

02.06.2007

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is pleased to announce that the firm has elevated six of its attorneys to partner. The six new partners are Gregory P. Barbee (Los Angeles), Erik S. Bliss (San Diego), Randall J. Clement (Orange County), Ella Foley-Gannon (San Francisco), Samantha D. Hardy (San Diego) and Daniel N. Yannuzzi (Del Mar Heights).

"We are proud to welcome these outstanding attorneys into the partnership," said Guy Halgren, chairman of the firm. "Our new partners represent the very best of Sheppard Mullin and have shown a strong commitment to the firm's core values and client service standards."

Greg Barbee is in the firm's Government Contracts and Regulated Industries practice group in the Los Angeles office. Barbee specializes in commercial litigation, with an emphasis on general business disputes and intellectual property. He has represented businesses and individuals in litigation and arbitrations related to contractual disputes, business torts, real estate and the entertainment industry. Barbee's intellectual property expertise includes patent, trademark, trade dress, trade secret, unfair competition, computer, Internet and domain name litigation and arbitrations. He received his J.D., order of the coif, from University of Southern California in 1996 and his undergraduate degree from University of California, Los Angeles in 1991.

Erik Bliss is in the Business Trial practice group and based in San Diego. Bliss’ practice focuses on complex business litigation, with an emphasis on consumer fraud and trade regulation, antitrust, commercial contract and business tort matters. He has handled numerous cases in state and federal trial courts involving consumer fraud, antitrust, breach of contract, and interference claims. Bliss has briefed and argued several appeals of cases involving these issues. He received his law degree, order of the coif, from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1995 and his undergraduate degree, with honors, from Dartmouth College in 1992.

Randy Clement, in the firm's Business Trial practice group in the Orange County office, has significant experience in a broad range of complex business disputes and class actions filed in federal and state courts, including securities, fiduciary duties, insurance, unfair competition, the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, trade secrets, and RICO. For example, Clement represented the directors and executive officers of a leading technology company in a class action arising out of a going private acquisition. He has also defended companies and insurance carriers in other class actions, including an IPO case that was included in the multidistrict litigation pending in the Southern District of New York. He received his J.D. from University of California, Los Angeles in 1997 and his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from University of California, Santa Barbara in 1993.

Ella Foley-Gannon is a member of the firm's Real Estate, Land Use and Environmental practice group and based in the San Francisco office. Foley-Gannon specializes in counseling clients undertaking complex development projects in California. She has represented clients in preparing land use plans, multi-phased development plans, and large residential, commercial and mixed used development projects. Foley-Gannon's practice focuses on providing legal and strategic advice to land development companies on wide range of federal and state regulatory matters. These include the Clean Water Act, the Federal Endangered Species Act, the California Endangered Species Act, the Porter-Cologne Act, and California Department of Fish and Game Stream Alteration Agreements. She received her law degree, magna cum laude, order of the coif, from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in 1998 and her undergraduate degree from University of Michigan in 1989.

Samantha Hardy is in the firm's Labor and Employment practice group in the San Diego office. Hardy practices labor and employment law, with an emphasis on California and national wage and hour issues. She has a significant amount of experience representing employers in wage and hour class actions, as well as representing employers before administrative agencies, advising management on wage and hour matters, and conducting wage and hour audits to identify potential issues. Hardy also handles a variety of other types of labor and employment matters, including immigration matters. She received her J.D. from University of Chicago in 1998 and her undergraduate degree from Columbia University in 1995.

Dan Yannuzzi, in the Intellectual Property practice group and based in the firm's Del Mar Heights office, has experience in all areas of IP law with an emphasis in strategic portfolio development, technology licensing, patent litigation, and transactional matters. Yannuzzi provides client counseling on portfolio development and other intellectual property strategies in a wide range of high technology fields, including computer architecture, electronic circuits, optics, data coding, medical devices, business methods, semiconductor processes, wireless communications, network technologies, computer graphics, and computer software. He has served as primary outside patent counsel to numerous electronics, software, telecommunications, and medical device companies. Yannuzzi received his law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1993, his graduate degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1986 and his undergraduate degree from University of Delaware in 1982.

About Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is a full service AmLaw 100 firm with 490 attorneys in nine offices located throughout California and in New York and Washington, D.C. The firm's California offices are located in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Century City, Orange County, Del Mar Heights and San Diego. Sheppard Mullin provides legal expertise and counsel to U.S. and international clients in a wide range of practice areas, including Antitrust, Corporate; Entertainment, Media and Communications; Finance and Bankruptcy; Government Contracts; Intellectual Property; Labor and Employment; Litigation; Real Estate/Land Use; Tax/Employee Benefits/Trusts & Estates; and White Collar Defense. The firm was founded in 1927.