Sheppard is pleased to announce that 21 attorneys have been promoted to partner, effective March 1, 2026. This year’s new partners are based in nine Sheppard offices and work across nine practice areas.
“Each member of this year’s partner class reflects the excellence, integrity and collaborative spirit at the heart of Sheppard,” said Luca Salvi, chair of Sheppard. “Their remarkable achievements and steadfast commitment to our clients have already made a meaningful impact, and we are confident their leadership will help shape the future of our firm. We are delighted to welcome them to the partnership.”
Sheppard’s 2026 Partner Class:
Segun Aluko (Century City) is a member of the Entertainment, Technology and Advertising and Corporate practice groups. He represents major entertainment clients—including Amazon MGM Studios, Disney Television Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studios and Skydance Sports—across the full value chain of audiovisual content, from development and rights acquisition through production, financing, distribution and licensing, and also counsels entertainment and technology clients on corporate matters including M&A, joint ventures and venture capital transactions.
Nirav Bhatt (New York) is a member of the Finance and Bankruptcy practice group and the Private Equity industry team. He represents private equity sponsors, portfolio companies, banks and private credit funds in financing transactions across diverse industries. His practice focuses on general corporate credit facilities, acquisition financings including leveraged buyouts, refinancings, recapitalizations and seller financing arrangements.
Christopher Bosch (New York) is a member of the Governmental practice group with a practice focused on financial industry compliance and enforcement, complex civil litigation, internal investigations and white-collar defense. He frequently represents financial institutions and professionals, directors and corporate officers in connection with regulatory inquiries and advises clients on emerging technologies including litigation, enforcement and compliance in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.
Jeffery Bowling (Washington, DC) is a member of the firm’s Corporate practice group and the Private Equity and Aerospace, Defense & Government Services industry teams. He represents private equity firms and their portfolio companies as well as strategic clients in a range of industries including aerospace and defense, national security, technology and manufacturing on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, private equity leveraged buyouts and general corporate law matters.
Anne-Marie Dao (Del Mar) is a member of the Intellectual Property and Business Trial practice groups and the Privacy and Cybersecurity industry team. She defends clients in individual, class and enforcement actions relating to privacy, data breaches and data processing practices in state and federal courts nationwide. She also litigates claims alleging violations of privacy-adjacent consumer protection statutes, including state and federal laws concerning false advertising and unfair competition.
Daniel De La Cruz (San Diego) is a member of the Labor and Employment practice group. He represents employers in wage and hour class actions, as well as discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation and harassment lawsuits. He also advises management teams on wage-and-hour issues, leave laws, workplace violence prevention, the disability accommodation process and discipline and termination.
Kendal Fletcher (Silicon Valley) is a member of the Business Trial practice group and Private Wealth and Fiduciary Litigation industry team. She represents individuals, families, professional fiduciaries, trustees, beneficiaries, heirs, executors, administrators, creditors, corporations, non-profit organizations, conservators and guardians in a wide range of disputes at both the superior court and appellate court levels.
Gal Gressel (San Francisco) is a member of the Labor and Employment practice group. He handles noncompete, trade secret and employment disputes, from single-plaintiff litigation to the defense of multiple, overlapping class and PAGA actions.
Allison Hirsh (Del Mar) is a member of the Tax, Employee Benefits and Trusts and Estates practice group. Her practice focuses on estate planning, gift and estate taxation, business succession planning, trust administration, charitable giving and other complex trust and estate matters.
James Hurt (Del Mar) is a member of the Intellectual Property practice group. He is a seasoned attorney specializing in high-tech patent litigation matters related to internet technologies, wireless communications, integrated circuits and mobile device technologies. A registered patent attorney, he also prosecutes patents and represents clients across the online gambling, fintech and wireless industries.
Nazia Khan (New York and Washington, DC) is a member of the Corporate practice group and co-chair of the firm’s Canada Desk. She represents U.S. issuers and investment banks in a wide range of capital markets transactions including initial public offerings and follow-on offerings and has extensive experience advising foreign issuers and investment banks on cross-border corporate matters.
Michael Krill (Houston) is a member of the Intellectual Property practice group. He represents clients in complex litigation matters across a variety of technology-driven industries including energy, oil and gas (downstream and midstream), software, banking, transportation and electronics.
Lyle LeBlang (Del Mar) is a member of the Corporate practice group, focusing on U.S. and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. He advises clients across a wide range of industries, from startups to well-established public and private companies, on joint ventures, the establishment of corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships, business restructurings, corporate governance and commercial contracts.
Betsy Luxenberg (Washington, DC) is a member of the Tax, Employee Benefits and Trusts and Estates practice group. She advises public and private companies, as well as private equity funds and their portfolio companies, on executive compensation and employee benefits matters for both M&A transactions and ongoing matters, including equity incentive programs, nonqualified deferred compensation, qualified retirement plans and health and welfare plans. She also negotiates employment, severance, retention and change of control arrangements.
Meghan McCormick (Century City) is a member of the Business Trial practice group and Private Wealth and Fiduciary Litigation team. She represents clients in high-profile celebrity and trust and estate disputes, including trust and will contests, breach of fiduciary cases, elder abuse cases, conservatorships, guardianships and other fiduciary matters.
Brooke Miller (San Diego) is a member of the Real Estate practice group. Her practice centers on land use and entitlements, where she represents developers seeking government approvals for complex, large-scale projects including housing developments, mixed-use communities and energy infrastructure.
Rabia Paracha (Orange County) is a member of the Real Estate practice group. She leads complex, multi-jurisdictional real estate transactions nationwide, representing institutional investors, developers, owners, landlords and corporate clients in acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, sale-leasebacks, portfolio transactions and development matters across all major asset classes including retail, office, industrial, storage and multifamily.
Fred Qiu (Silicon Valley) is a member of the Intellectual Property practice group. He represents high-tech companies on patent litigation and strategic patent portfolio development.
Joshua Schlenger (New York) is a member of the Business Trial practice group. His practice focuses on commercial, corporate, bankruptcy, trade secrets and business divorce litigation and arbitration across a wide range of industries including financial services, commercial real estate, pharmaceuticals, entertainment, aerospace and manufacturing.
Hannah Wigger (Washington, DC) is a member of the Business Trial practice group. She is a first-chair litigator representing clients in business disputes involving issues of breach of contract, fraud, trade secrets, statutory compliance and administrative and international law.
Bryan Wittlin (Century City) is a member of the Business Trial practice group and Private Wealth and Fiduciary Litigation industry team. He represents trustees, beneficiaries, heirs, creditors and others in matters involving probate, trust and will contests, breach of fiduciary duty and financial elder abuse claims, disputed accountings, conservatorships and other litigated matters.
About Sheppard
Businesses turn to Sheppard to deliver sophisticated counsel to help clients move ahead. With more than 1,200 lawyers located in 16 offices worldwide, our client-centered approach is grounded in nearly a century of building enduring relationships on trust and collaboration. Our broad and diversified practices serve global clients—from startups to Fortune 500 companies—at every stage of the business cycle, including high-stakes litigation, complex transactions, sophisticated financings and regulatory issues. With leading-edge technologies and innovation behind our team, we pride ourselves on being a strategic partner to our clients.