Women in Law & Leadership Summit: West

Tao Zhang is Vice President & Deputy General Counsel at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where she supports HPE Networking and brings extensive experience across intellectual property, product, privacy, technology and commercial matters.

Prior to HPE’s acquisition of Juniper Networks, Tao held senior legal leadership roles at Juniper, including responsibility for product, intellectual property, privacy and procurement. Earlier in her career, she served as Associate General Counsel of IP and Technology at Ansys and Senior Director of IP Strategy at Huawei Device USA. She previously spent 23 years with Hewlett-Packard, beginning as a research and development engineer before moving into product strategy, supply chain, IP licensing and legal roles.

Tao holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Stanford University and a J.D. from Concord Law School. She is a member of the California Bar and a registered patent attorney with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and has earned the CIPP/US and Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP) credentials from the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

She is co-author of Mining Ideas for Diamonds: Comparing China and US IP Practices from Invention Selection to Patent Monetization and has written on patent claim drafting and intellectual property strategy. Her multidisciplinary background spanning physics, engineering, business and law informs her approach to innovation, IP strategy and legal leadership.

Alina Zagaytova is Deputy General Counsel at Venture Global, where she brings extensive experience in corporate governance, strategic transactions, finance, M&A and regulatory matters. She previously served as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer of Redwood Materials and as Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary of Marqeta, where she helped lead strategic transactions, including the company’s initial public offering. Earlier, she served as Chief Counsel for Business Development at First Solar and practiced law at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Hogan Lovells.

Alina holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. She has also served as a director and advisor to several companies and organizations in the clean energy sector.

Diane Rodgers is Global Head of Insurance Legal at Uber, where she leads the company’s insurance legal function and advises on complex insurance, regulatory and risk matters across global markets. She also leads Uber’s autonomous vehicle insurance program and has played a key role in developing insurance structures for rideshare and emerging mobility risks.

Prior to joining Uber in 2016, Diane served as Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of AIG Insurance Company of Canada and previously held senior legal roles at Assurant and TD Bank. She began her legal career at Blake, Cassels & Graydon. Diane holds both an LL.B. and an LL.M. in Dispute Resolution from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University.

Margaret C. McDonald is a partner in Reed Smith’s Insurance Recovery Group, where she represents policyholders in complex insurance coverage disputes involving directors and officers liability, employment practices liability, commercial general liability, property, mortgage, and other forms of insurance. An experienced litigator, she advises clients from pre-litigation negotiations and alternative dispute resolution through trial, including matters involving catastrophic losses, environmental liabilities, wildfires, and significant commercial claims. Margaret earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Notre Dame Law School and her B.A., cum laude, from the University of San Francisco. She is admitted to practice in California and before the U.S. District Courts for the Central and Eastern Districts of California. She was recognized with a 2025 Business Insurance Break Out Award and has been included in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for Insurance Law and Commercial Litigation.

Shahzia M. Rahman is the Head of Corporate Legal at Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ), the S&P 500 financial technology company behind Square, Cash App, Afterpay, and TIDAL. In her role, she advises executives and the board of directors on corporate governance, securities law, capital markets, and strategic initiatives. She also works closely with cross-functional leadership to navigate the regulatory and governance considerations that accompany the growing use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies across the business. Beyond advising on AI governance, she actively experiments with AI-driven tools to reimagine how legal work gets done.

Rahman brings more than two decades of experience spanning leading law firm and senior in-house roles in the technology sector. Her work centers on guiding organizations through periods of strategic transformation on a global scale while building resilient, high-performing teams.

She has also served as an adjunct professor at University of California Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings), where she taught a practical skills course on representing startup companies.

Bhakti Shivarekar is a technology attorney and data privacy leader with nearly two decades of experience navigating the intersection of commercial law, privacy, and AI governance. She currently serves as Assistant General Counsel at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where she leads high-stakes commercial transactions and drives revenue growth across North American telecommunications markets. Over the course of her career, she has held senior legal roles at Juniper Networks, LinkedIn, and Just Global, building privacy programs, closing complex deals, and advising C-suite executives across global markets. She holds the Fellow of Information Privacy designation, the IAPP’s highest honor, as well as certifications in European and US privacy law, privacy management, and AI governance. Admitted to the California and New York bars, she is a sought-after voice on privacy, AI governance, and the evolving role of in-house counsel in technology-driven organizations. She has an LLB from ILS Law College, Pune, LLM in corporate law from the University of Pune, and LLM in IP, Commerce, and Technology law from the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law.

Kelly Smith is a Partner at Allen Matkins in Orange County, practicing as a commercial litigator and construction lawyer. She represents developers, owners, and lenders in complex construction disputes — covering design and construction defects, project delays, and mechanics liens — while also providing strategic contract counseling to minimize risk and manage project close-out. Her construction experience spans infrastructure, commercial, hospitality, mixed-use, and residential projects, complemented by an active practice in high-stakes real estate, business, and employment disputes.

Kelly launched her career clerking for two federal judges in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California and went on to serve as a prosecutor, building deep courtroom experience that includes multiple jury trials. She is an Associate Fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America — an invitation-only honorary society — and a member of the National Association of Women in Construction. She has been recognized consecutively in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch from 2022 through 2026 across commercial litigation, construction law, and construction litigation. She earned her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law.

Lisa Pan is Senior Counsel, Corporate and Tax at OpenAI, where she advises on corporate and tax matters. She joined OpenAI as Senior Tax Counsel after practicing in the tax group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Lisa earned her law degree from New York University School of Law, where she served as an editor of the Tax Law Review and as a research assistant to Professor Lily Batchelder. She received NYU Law’s Harry J. Rudick Memorial Award for Excellence in Taxation and is an active member of the California Bar.

By codifying institutional knowledge and prioritizing data-driven decision-making, she builds the operational infrastructure necessary for impactful technology to thrive. Her background spans the full lifecycle of high-stakes commercial agreements—including SaaS, intellectual property licensing, and global production deals—complemented by a deep focus on navigating complex regulatory landscapes such as GDPR and CCPA.

Ashley L. Shively is a privacy and class action attorney in Holland & Knight’s San Francisco office. She also serves as the Data Strategy, Security & Privacy Practice Group Leader.

Ms. Shively counsels public and private companies on consumer protection and data privacy issues with respect to product development, sign-up and point-of-sale procedures, auto-renewals and subscription products, digital marketing, regulatory compliance, incident response, and state and federal enforcement. She regularly advises clients on operationalizing the requirements of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) and analogous state privacy statues and legislation. In addition, she counsels businesses on risk mitigation with respect to the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), Drivers Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act of 2003, Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), state privacy and unfair and deceptive practices laws, and similar legal and regulatory requirements.

Ms. Shively focuses her robust litigation practice on the defense of financial institutions and businesses in consumer class and individual actions, as well as clients facing so-called mass arbitrations. She has extensive experience defending privacy, data breach, false advertising, unfair business practices, call recording and website wiretap claims, particularly under the VPPA, Federal Wiretap Act and similar state statues like CIPA.

Gauri Manglik is Chief Legal Officer at Cyberhaven. With nearly two decades of broad legal experience—including corporate, commercial, regulatory, and product counseling—Gauri is a strategic business partner known for her pragmatic, solutions-oriented approach.

Previously at GoFundMe, Gauri oversaw legal risk management, negotiates complex commercial agreements, and drives enterprise-wide privacy and AI Governance programs. Gauri is recognized for her cross-functional leadership and ability to build scalable legal frameworks that enable innovation while safeguarding trust and transparency. Her work is grounded in a strong commitment to integrity, accountability, and empowering teams to navigate complexity with confidence.

Ali is a partner in the firm’s Financial Services Litigation Department. Ali’s practice focuses on financial services litigation, complex commercial cases and trust and estate disputes. She successfully advocates for her clients at all stages of litigation including taking and defending depositions, drafting and arguing dispositive motions, navigating complex e-discovery issues, handling high-stakes settlement negotiations, and preparing for and taking matters to trial, as well as post-trial work if necessary. Ali has defended numerous class actions and multi-district litigation, involving all phases of class action litigation including e-discovery, class certification and class settlement. Ali has litigated numerous cases which triggered application of Articles 3 and 4 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Ali also recently successfully defended against a challenge to her client’s $18 million estate plan – which persisted up until the literal eve of trial. That defense included defending against three separate lawsuits and two appeals and resulted in a $500,000+ award of fees and costs back to the client.
Ali has additional experience assisting clients in trust and estate litigation matters involving undue influence allegations, accounting disputes, life estate valuations, inter-family disputes over distribution of assets, special trustee’s fiduciary duties in administering family trust worth over $100 million, trustee’s fiduciary duties under Hawaii law in administering family trust worth over $30 million with properties in Hawaii and California. Additionally, Ali has significant pro bono experience litigating asylum and prisoner rights’ cases.
Ali served as a law clerk to the Honorable William Alsup of the U.S. District Court of Northern District of California.

Jennifer Jeffers is a partner at Allen Matkins in San Francisco, where she focuses on land use and natural resources law for residential, healthcare, renewable energy, industrial, and mixed-use development across California. She guides private, nonprofit, and public sector clients through every phase of project development — from acquisition and due diligence through CEQA/NEPA compliance, entitlement, permitting, and construction — with a proven track record on high-profile projects including large-scale residential developments and renewable energy projects, healthcare facilities, and corporate campuses. She also brings deep fluency in state housing legislation and local referenda, helping clients stay ahead of regulatory shifts.

Jennifer’s particular strength lies in complex natural resources matters — endangered species, wetlands, and aquatic resources under the federal Clean Water Act, ESA, CESA, and California Fish and Game Code — with direct experience managing permitting before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Coastal Commission, and State and Regional Water Quality Control Boards. Her technical grounding is exceptional: she holds a J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law, an M.S. in environmental science from UC Berkeley, and a B.A. with honors in environmental biology from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Prior to practicing law, Jennifer spent years as Director of Conservation International’s Regional Marine Strategies program, implementing biodiversity conservation practices for governments worldwide. She is a two-time recipient of Bisnow Northern California’s Commercial Real Estate Power Women Award (2024, 2025).

Najah Hopkins was recently appointed to serve as an Administrative Law Judge.  Her path to the role is rooted in service to others, beginning in the halls of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, where she worked as a clinical social worker supporting crime victims and witnesses through the criminal justice process.  That formative experience instilled a deep understanding of the human stakes of the law and has guided every chapter of her professional career.

She went on to earn her law degree and build a distinguished legal career spanning public service, private practice, and academia.  Her public sector experience includes an administrative law position at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and a clerkship at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.  She has litigated family law matters, served as a FINRA arbitrator presiding over securities disputes, and taught business law as an adjunct professor.

In the private sector, Najah held senior legal roles in the aerospace and defense industry at Raytheon and BAE Systems, negotiating government and commercial contracts and advising on International Trade Compliance.  Most recently, she led commercial contracting for the global rides business at Uber.

She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Southern California, an M.S.W. from New York University, and a J.D. and M.B.A. from Howard University.  She is admitted to practice in California and New York.

Bailey Langner is a skilled litigator with a focus on defending tech companies, product manufacturers, and energy sector clients in product liability and personal injury cases. She litigates in state and federal court, including multi-district litigation (MDLs) and coordinated state proceedings, and represents clients in related government investigations. Bailey has significant trial, deposition, and case management experience and has helped secure important victories for clients at all stages of litigation. Bailey recently completed a secondment at a San Francisco-based tech company and gained insight into the issues companies face.

In addition to her legal practice, Bailey is active in the community.  She mentors students through the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity and previously served as a trustee on her local school board.  She has a robust pro bono practice, including assisting students obtain and renew their DACA status.

Bailey received her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where she co-founded a clinical program helping underserved populations access public benefits and worked as a teaching assistant in the first-year legal writing program.

Katharine (Trina) Falace is the Napa Valley Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Practice Group, Co‑Chair of the Firm’s Wine, Beer & Spirits Industry Law Group, and a Partner in Buchalter’s Napa Valley office. Trina is a trusted legal strategist and seasoned business litigator known for delivering practical, business-minded solutions in high-stakes disputes. With extensive trial experience, she represents clients across diverse industries in complex commercial, real estate, and land use matters.

Trina represents clients in the wine and agricultural sectors, advising wineries, vineyard managers, and agricultural businesses on disputes involving easements, boundaries, contracts, and land use regulations. Her deep understanding of the industry allows her to blend courtroom advocacy with proactive counsel, helping clients navigate legal challenges while preserving vital business relationships.

Beyond litigation, Trina regularly counsels clients on conflict prevention and risk management, offering clear, actionable guidance to avoid costly disputes. Her transactional work includes drafting and negotiating winemaker agreements, vineyard management contracts, grape purchase deals, compliance issues, and water-sharing arrangements.

Known for her collaborative style and clear communication, Trina is a respected advisor for businesses seeking clarity, confidence, and results in a complex legal landscape.

Trina maintains an active presence in the Napa community through her service in a variety of leadership roles.

Cynthia Lopez Beverage is Vice President, Associate General Counsel – Legal (Global Procurement Transactions) & Chief Counsel at Visa, where she leads legal support for global sourcing and procurement transactions and works with risk, product, regulatory, cybersecurity and technology teams on complex commercial agreements. She has extensive experience in intellectual property, technology transactions, licensing and litigation.

Prior to joining Visa, Cynthia practiced at Morrison & Foerster, where her work included patent litigation, intellectual property licensing and appellate matters before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She also served as a judicial law clerk for the Federal Circuit. Cynthia earned her J.D. from Southern Methodist University School of Law and an LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from The George Washington University Law School. She is an active member of the California Bar.

Linda Nyberg is a Senior Product Counsel at Google and an experienced technology lawyer specializing in artificial intelligence. At Google, she provides strategic advice on generative AI product launches in Google Cloud and model serving infrastructure, navigating complex legal and regulatory issues related to data governance, ethics, copyright, and privacy. She collaborates closely with cross-functional legal and product teams and is passionate about the responsible and ethical use of AI to drive innovation and transformation across industries.

Rike Connelly is the managing partner of the McGuireWoods Seattle office and co-leader of the firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group. Rike helps businesses navigate commercial disputes of every scale, tailoring strategy to align legal outcomes with broader business objectives and the most efficient path to resolution.

Rike represents clients in a wide array of commercial matters in state and federal courts, with distinct experience in Washington State and within the Ninth Circuit. She has particular experience with large Multidistrict Litigation and class action matters, including antitrust and Lanham Act cases, among others. Rike brings a sophisticated approach to discovery, deploying advanced e‑discovery tools, including custom multimodel continuous active learning systems and other artificial intelligence solutions, to drive down review costs while maintaining defensibility and rigor.

Beyond her commercial practice, Rike maintains an active pro bono docket, assisting individuals in immigration proceedings and supporting systemic civil rights litigation. She also serves as an editor of the annual Court Rules Annotated (Washington), covering the Superior and General Court Rules of Washington State.

Kelly Mandish is Vice President, Legal (Global Employment) at Zendesk, where she leads the company’s global employment legal function and advises on employment law, workplace compliance and workforce matters across international operations. Prior to joining Zendesk, she served as Vice President, Labor & Employment (Global Legal) at NetEase Games and as Director of Global Employment Law at Netflix, where she advised on employment matters across more than 25 countries and led an international employment legal team.

Kelly earned her J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (now UC Law San Francisco) and her undergraduate degree from Connecticut College. She is an active member of the California Bar and has been admitted to practice since 2004.

Kelly Wentzel is Senior Director of Legal at OpenTable, where she brings more than 20 years of experience advising technology and consumer-facing companies on commercial, product, employment, compliance and corporate legal matters. Prior to joining OpenTable, she served as Deputy General Counsel at Culture Amp and previously held senior legal roles at Embark Trucks, Scoop Technologies, StubHub and Levi Strauss & Co.  Kelly earned her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law and her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Irvine. She has been a member of the California Bar since 2004.

Sarah Kelly-Kilgore is the Executive Partner of Holland & Knight’s Newport Beach office and a member of the firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group. Her practice centers on high-stakes litigation and complex business disputes across a wide range of industries.

Ms. Kelly-Kilgore has extensive experience litigating matters involving fraud, business torts, defamation, contract disputes, federal agency enforcement actions, unfair competition, and corporate governance issues. She has served as lead counsel in numerous high-profile cases that have drawn significant national and international attention, including coverage in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe.

In addition to her litigation practice, Ms. Kelly-Kilgore regularly advises business clients on compliance and regulatory matters, as well as employment law issues, including sexual harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination.

Khadeeja is a seasoned legal counsel with over a decade of international experience. Currently, as Associate General Counsel (Director), Technology Transactions at Rivian Automotive, she specializes in complex technology & strategic partnership agreements and provides legal counsel across business teams. Her expertise spans diverse sectors, from startups to publicly traded companies, encompassing roles in commercial & technology transactions, intellectual property, mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures & various product launches. Holding a master’s in law (Intellectual Property and Technology Law), Khadeeja has been honored as one of 100 inspiring women by Rising Beyond the Ceiling, highlighting her dedication to professional excellence and community upliftment.

Pooja Elhance is Vice President, Compliance at Bluevine, where she leads compliance initiatives for the financial technology company and advises on regulatory, risk and operational compliance matters. During her tenure at Bluevine, she has progressed through increasingly senior compliance leadership roles, including Senior Manager, Compliance and Head of Compliance Strategy and Operations.

Her work has included compliance strategy for small-business financial products and emerging issues at the intersection of financial services, technology and regulation. She has also participated in industry discussions on AI-driven compliance and risk management in small-business lending. Pooja received her legal education at St. John’s University School of Law.

Aroma Sharma focuses her practice on a wide range of corporate and transactional matters, acting predominantly for private and emerging companies. Aroma has advised clients on mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, corporate and equity restructuring and recapitalizations and joint ventures in various industries, including technology and health and life sciences. She also advises clients regularly on general corporate and corporate governance matters. Aroma also has experience working on cross-border transactions, including business’ international expansion into new territories.

Janeé Weaver is a seasoned legal executive with more than 15 years of experience advising executive leadership on complex legal, regulatory, governance, and enterprise risk matters across the transportation, technology, healthcare, and public sectors. She currently serves as Senior Counsel, Regulatory Compliance at Lyft, where she provides strategic legal counsel on U.S. and international matters, including autonomous vehicle initiatives, product launches, commercial agreements, safety programs, enterprise compliance, litigation strategy, and emerging transportation technologies.

Throughout her career, Janeé has partnered with C-suite executives, boards of directors, policymakers, and cross-functional leadership teams to navigate government investigations, regulatory inquiries, litigation, and evolving legal frameworks. She is known for developing practical, business-oriented legal strategies that reduce enterprise risk while enabling innovation and growth. Her experience includes supporting complex litigation, negotiating and advising on commercial contracts, leading internal investigations, implementing enterprise compliance programs, strengthening governance and internal controls, supporting internal audit functions and Audit Committee initiatives, and presenting legal and compliance matters to executive leadership and boards of directors. Janeé has successfully implemented cost-effective compliance solutions that integrate seamlessly into business operations, minimizing disruption, reducing organizational exposure, and contributing to favorable regulatory outcomes while advancing strategic business objectives.

Prior to Lyft, Janeé led enterprise compliance and governance initiatives for public transportation agencies and government organizations, where she built comprehensive compliance and ethics programs, advised executive leadership on governance and enterprise risk management, managed high-profile regulatory matters, and developed sustainable frameworks for organizational accountability.

Janeé is also the co-founder of CRWN Network, an executive leadership community dedicated to accelerating the advancement of women through strategic relationships, executive development, and access to leadership opportunities.

Carolyn Herzog is a Board Director and C-Suite executive with over 25 years of broad technology experience in multinational companies, having worked across the U.S. and in other countries.  Currently, Carolyn is Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary of Elastic (ESTC). For Elastic, Carolyn is responsible globally for all legal, regulatory, compliance and public affairs matters and provides strategic counsel to the CEO, Board and leadership team on a broad range of corporate, commercial and regulatory issues. Elastic is headquartered in the Netherlands and is traded on the NYSE.

Prior to Elastic, Carolyn was the EVP, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer for Arm Ltd. Before Arm, Carolyn was the VP, Deputy GC and CCO for Symantec Corporation (SYMC), which she joined through the acquisition of AXENT Technologies, Inc. (AXNT), where she led the transaction as GC.  Prior to her legal career, Carolyn worked in the Africa Department of The World Bank in Washington, D.C.

Carolyn has served on a number of non-profit, advisory and subsidiary boards.  She has been recognized numerous times for her business leadership, most recently as an NACD Directorship 100, by 50 Women to Watch for Boardsand as a Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology by the National Diversity Awards.

Dara Poliskin represents institutional investors, developers, real estate funds, sovereign wealth funds, and property owners in commercial real estate transactions. She advises clients on acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, financings, leasing, and development matters across asset classes including data centers, office, mixed-use, industrial, retail, hospitality, multifamily, senior living, student housing, and life sciences properties. She also advises both landlords and tenants on leasing and asset management, including headquarters and single-tenant leases as well as multistate portfolios.

A frequent speaker at continuing legal education programs and industry seminars on real estate transactions, Dara is recognized for her practical, business-minded perspective on complex issues. Clients count on her to navigate sophisticated transactions efficiently, delivering pragmatic outcomes that support their long-term business goals. She earned her J.D. from UCLA School of Law and her B.S. from Cornell University. She is admitted to practice in California and is a member of the American Bar Association and Commercial Real Estate Women Network.

Camille Brooks is a partner in Katten’s Los Angeles office, where she focuses on class action defense and complex commercial litigation. She represents banks, credit unions, commercial landlords and other major companies in federal and state courts nationwide, with particular experience defending consumer claims involving overdraft and nonsufficient-funds fees, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, discriminatory lending and privacy.

Camille also advises clients on reducing class action and regulatory risk, including strengthening consumer contracts and disclosures and implementing arbitration provisions and class action waivers. She earned her J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and her B.A., with honors, from the University of California, Berkeley. She has been recognized by Chambers USA, The Legal 500 United States and Best Lawyers.

Rachel Jari Feldman is a litigation partner in the Los Angeles office of White & Case, where she focuses on complex national and international business disputes. She represents global companies in high-stakes civil litigation, regulatory investigations and product counseling matters, particularly in the technology, internet and social media sectors. Her experience includes matters involving data protection, privacy, intellectual property, defamation, content liability, e-commerce and advertising regulations before courts and regulatory authorities around the world.

Rachel also represents clients in commercial disputes and consumer class actions involving unfair competition, false advertising, product labeling and contractual claims. She has been recognized by The Legal 500 USA as a Next Generation Partner in International Litigation and by Lawdragon as one of the Leading Litigators in America. Rachel earned her JD from the University of Southern California and her BA and BSBA from Washington University in St. Louis.

Minna C. Yang is a Director in Fennemore’s Sacramento office and a member of the firm’s tax practice. With more than 30 years of experience as both a CPA and attorney, she advises businesses, families and real estate owners on federal and state income tax planning, business transactions, restructurings, estate and succession planning, and tax-efficient wealth transfers.

Her experience includes like-kind exchanges, Qualified Opportunity Zone Funds, pass-through entity taxation, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, trusts and estates, and general counsel services. She also serves as outside general counsel to closely held and multi-generation businesses, advising owners and executives on governance, contracts, operational matters and risk while bringing an integrated legal, tax and financial perspective to business decisions.

Minna is a frequent author and speaker on tax and business issues, including business succession planning, real estate and agricultural estate planning, and complex tax matters. She is admitted to practice in California and before the U.S. Tax Court and is a Certified Public Accountant. She earned her J.D. from Lincoln Law School, an M.S. in Taxation from Golden Gate University, and a B.S. from California State University, Sacramento.

Sri Kuehnlenz is the managing partner of Cohen & Gresser’s Palo Alto office, and a member of the firm’s Litigation and White Collar practice groups. She has experience in matters involving contract claims, securities laws, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, consumer protection laws, the UCC, and executive employment issues, among others, with a particular focus on cases involving complex financial and accounting issues. On the criminal and regulatory side, Sri has represented senior executives and companies in complex financial investigations at every stage, from the initial regulatory inquiry to negotiations of a potential resolution and through trial, if necessary. Sri also provides pre-litigation counsel, routinely advising clients in contract disputes and employment negotiations, among other matters.

In recognition of her work, Sri was named a “Lawyer on the Fast Track” in Law.com’s 2026 California Legal Awards and to Benchmark Litigation’s 2026 “40 & Under” list of top litigators for her work in White Collar Crime, Commercial Litigation, and Criminal Defense. She was also named a Rising Star by Law360 in the White Collar category in 2024 and one of New York’s Rising Stars by Super Lawyers since 2019. She is also recognized by Lawdragon in both its 500 X – The Next Generation list for excellence in Litigation and White Collar and its 500 Leading Global Investigations Lawyers list.

Prior to joining Cohen & Gresser, Sri was an associate at a leading international law firm.

Sri is a graduate of Yale Law School, where she served as submissions editor of the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, and community & outreach chair of Yale Law Women. She received her B.A., summa cum laude, from Brandeis University.

Evelina Gentry is a Partner in Akerman’s Litigation Practice, where she represents clients in high-stakes commercial disputes, bankruptcy litigation, corporate matters, antitrust issues, and Hart-Scott-Rodino pre-merger compliance.

Her practice includes representing private equity firms, financial institutions, corporate clients, creditors, trustees, and debtors in complex litigation involving breach of contract, fraud, fiduciary duty claims, distressed transactions, fraudulent transfers, preference actions, and other business disputes. She also advises clients on federal and state antitrust compliance and guides companies through the HSR pre-merger notification process.

Evelina previously served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Alan M. Ahart of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. She has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America as “One to Watch” in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law and was named among the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2024 “Leaders of Influence: Thriving in Their 40s.”

She earned her J.D. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, where she received the Lloyd Tevis Award for Excellence in Commercial Law and the American Bankruptcy Institute Medal of Excellence. She is also fluent in Polish and Russian.

Allison B. Etkin is a Partner in Akerman’s Litigation Practice, where she represents clients in complex commercial disputes involving construction, real estate, professional liability, employment, products liability, contracts, and business torts.

Allison has significant experience guiding clients through all stages of litigation, from early case assessment and strategic risk management through dispositive motions, trial, and arbitration. Her construction practice includes representing developers, owners, contractors, subcontractors, and design professionals in disputes involving defects, delays, payment claims, defaults, terminations, liens, bonds, insurance, and related labor issues. She also drafts and negotiates construction agreements and advises clients on managing risk throughout the project lifecycle.

Beyond construction matters, Allison represents both plaintiffs and defendants in complex business disputes, including breach of contract, fraud, and multi-party litigation. She also advises lawyers and law firms on professional responsibility, ethics, compliance, and risk management.

Allison has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for Construction Law and by Super Lawyers as a California Rising Star in Construction Litigation. She earned her J.D. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, and her B.A. from Michigan State University.

Marlena Schultz is Managing Partner at Clean Energy Counsel, where she focuses her practice on clean energy, sustainable development, project finance, and corporate transactions.

Marlena represents developers and investors across a wide range of renewable energy and cleantech projects, including solar and wind, carbon capture, anaerobic digestion, sustainable materials, electric transportation, and emerging environmental technologies. She advises clients on complex financings, joint ventures, debt and equity investments, and strategic transactions, bringing experience from both the developer and investor sides of the market.

Her work has included advising emerging companies as they structure financings and partnerships to support growth, as well as investors pursuing opportunities across the clean energy and sustainability sectors. Prior to joining Clean Energy Counsel, Marlena was Special Counsel in the San Francisco office of Cooley LLP.

Marlena earned her J.D., with honors, from The George Washington University Law School and her B.A., with distinction, from Duke University. She is admitted to practice in California and New York.

Genevieve Dong is Associate General Counsel and Executive Director at Wells Fargo, where her work sits at the intersection of law, technology and business transformation. She has extensive experience leading contract lifecycle management and legal technology initiatives, including the use of AI and machine learning for contract analytics, workflow automation and compliance. Previously, Genevieve led Wells Fargo’s Product Solutions group, overseeing the development and implementation of enterprise contract management solutions. She earned her J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law and has been a member of the California Bar since 2006.

Shoshannah D. Katz is Practice Area Leader for Corporate at K&L Gates, where she focuses on helping early-stage and growing businesses assess, plan for, and manage their legal needs throughout the corporate lifecycle. She serves as a trusted advisor to founders, management teams, and boards of both privately held and public companies, providing counsel on capital raising and securities matters, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures, and a broad range of corporate and commercial transactions.

Shoshannah frequently advises on cross-border transactions, working with U.S. companies expanding internationally as well as foreign companies investing and conducting business in the United States. She also represents investors in financing and commercial matters, giving her perspective from both the company and investor sides of transactions. Her practice spans a variety of industries, with particular experience in technology, media, alternative energy, fintech, and food and beverage.

She is also a founding faculty member of K&L Gates’ mini-MBA program, which helps attorneys develop a deeper understanding of the business concepts central to their clients’ success.

Christina N. Goodrich is Managing Partner of K&L Gates’ Los Angeles office and an experienced intellectual property litigator who represents clients in high-stakes disputes across trial and appellate courts nationwide, as well as before the International Trade Commission. Her practice focuses on trade secrets, patents, trademarks, copyrights, commercial disputes, and related appellate matters.

Christina has represented companies across a broad range of industries, including technology, entertainment, biotechnology, financial services, social media, electronic payments, retail, sports and apparel, manufacturing, food and beverage, and hospitality. She has handled matters involving the theft and misuse of confidential and proprietary information, trade secret disputes, trademark and trade dress claims, patent and copyright litigation, and rights of publicity, among other complex commercial issues.

Before entering private practice, Christina served as a judicial law clerk to two judges in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and later to Judge Arthur L. Alarcón of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She has also been recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal, IAM Patent 1000, and The Legal 500 for her work in litigation and intellectual property.

Laura Bushnell is a partner in our Corporate, Finance and Investments practice who specializes in counseling management and Boards of Directors of private and public companies, particularly in the life sciences and technology sectors, on capital raising matters, strategic transactions and corporate governance.

Laura has represented issuers, investors and financial institutions in numerous capital-raising transactions, including venture capital and seed financings, crossover rounds, strategic investments, initial public offerings, follow-on and secondary offerings, recapitalizations and PIPE financings.

In addition, Laura frequently serves as primary outside counsel to emerging growth companies. In this capacity, she advises management on such matters as corporate governance, disclosure and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting obligations, employment and equity compensation, fiduciary duties, strategic transactions and acquisitions, commercial agreements, and compliance with securities laws.

She is a regular speaker on a range of transactional and governance topics.

She serves on the Board of Trustees of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation and the Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County.  She is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Jack Baskin School of Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz.

Dominika Korytek focuses her practice on international tax planning, with an emphasis on technology companies. She advises clients on tax strategies for international expansion, domestic and international acquisitions, reorganizations and dispositions.

Dominika also advises clients related to international tax planning in mergers and acquisitions, dual consolidated loss issues, permanent establishment risk analysis, withholding tax and indirect (VAT/GST) tax planning. She also works closely with policy teams to obtain tax rulings and exemptions outside of the US.

She is a frequent author and speaker on topics pertaining to international taxation.

Catherine Zinn is Chief Client Officer at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, bringing 30 years of experience in law firm strategy, business development, and leadership across the legal, technology, energy, and financial services industries. She works at the intersection of business strategy, client relationships, and organizational growth, connecting executives, entrepreneurs, and investors to develop strategic partnerships and new opportunities.

Prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Catherine served as the inaugural Chief Client Officer at Baker Botts, where she worked closely with firm leadership on strategy, talent, growth, marketing, and business development. She previously held leadership positions at Orrick, DLA Piper, and JAMS.

Catherine serves on the boards of several organizations, including Legal Momentum, the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, and Silicon Valley Directors’ Exchange. Her honors include recognition in the NACD Directorship 100, Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Women of Influence, and Legal Momentum’s Women of Achievement. She holds a B.A. in Economics and Public Policy from Hamilton College.

Arianna R. Berg is Senior Counsel at Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP, where she focuses on complex litigation, corporate investigations, regulatory compliance, and white-collar matters. A former federal prosecutor and in-house counsel at Meta, she brings extensive experience navigating high-stakes investigations, cybersecurity, privacy, and corporate risk.

Before joining Shook, Arianna served as Associate General Counsel, Special Investigations at Meta Platforms, where she led complex global internal investigations involving regulatory compliance, cybersecurity, privacy, financial fraud, whistleblower allegations, and employment retaliation. Previously, she served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in both the Southern District of New York and Northern District of California, prosecuting complex federal criminal cases, including fraud and cybercrime, and handling federal trials and appellate matters.

Arianna earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a member of the American Criminal Law Review, and her B.A., cum laude, from Northwestern University. She served as a federal judicial law clerk in the Eastern District of New York and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in Budapest, Hungary. She is admitted to practice in California and New York.

Francesca Ginexi is an Associate General Counsel at Meta. In her role, she focuses on emerging AI regulation, advising the company on new requirements, their impact and their implementation. Prior to this role, she served on various legal and policy teams at both Meta and Google, covering topics spanning privacy, content and trust-and-safety. Originally from Italy, she holds a law degree from Bocconi University (Milan) and an LL.M. from Stanford Law School.

Bio

Katie Sluss is a partner in Pillsbury’s Washington, D.C. office and co-head of the firm’s Technology – Emerging Laws & Litigation practice. She advises technology companies on high-stakes litigation, regulatory matters, and complex legal challenges involving artificial intelligence, online platforms, privacy, digital advertising, content moderation, and emerging technologies.

Drawing on senior in-house leadership experience at TikTok and Twitter, Katie helps companies anticipate legal risks, respond to government scrutiny, and navigate rapidly evolving regulatory frameworks. At TikTok, she developed and led strategies addressing emerging technology regulation across the United States, coordinated litigation challenging new regulatory frameworks, and established cross-functional governance structures connecting legal, product, policy, and business teams. Her experience also includes managing significant legal and regulatory matters across more than 30 countries.

Katie was recognized by Corporate Counsel as a 2024 Women, Influence & Power in Law Award honoree for Collaborative Leadership. She earned her J.D. and B.A. in Communications from Seattle University.

Anne Voigts is a partner in Pillsbury’s Silicon Valley office and leader of the firm’s Appellate practice. An accomplished appellate litigator, she has argued more than 80 cases in federal and state appellate courts and represented clients before the U.S. Supreme Court, California Supreme Court, and other appellate and trial courts.

A former federal prosecutor, Anne previously clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Her practice focuses on high-stakes appeals, complex litigation, class actions, cybersecurity, and privacy matters. She is a California-certified appellate specialist and holds the CIPP/US privacy certification.

Anne serves on the Advisory Board to the Ninth Circuit and is a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. She has been recognized by Chambers USA for Appellate Litigation in California (2020–2026) and named among California’s Top 100 Women Lawyers by the Daily Journal.

Anne earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School and her B.A. from Yale University.

Simone L. White is Senior Counsel at Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP, where she represents national and multinational clients in complex, high-stakes litigation. She advises corporate leadership and risk management teams on litigation strategy, risk mitigation, and dispute resolution, with experience spanning class actions, mass torts, employment disputes, personal injury, and defamation claims.

Licensed in California and Texas, Simone brings experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants. She manages complex, multi-party litigation from discovery and depositions through dispositive motions, mediation, and trial preparation. Her practice emphasizes strategic advocacy, effective case management, and achieving favorable outcomes for clients.

Simone was recognized among The National Black Lawyers’ Top 40 Under 40 for 2025–2026. She earned her J.D. from Texas A&M University School of Law, where she served as Executive Articles Editor of the Journal of Property Law, and holds a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Texas at Austin.

Karleen Stern is Managing Partner at Clean Energy Counsel, where she serves as a senior legal and business adviser to companies, investors, developers, and independent power producers across the renewable and sustainable energy industries. She advises clients on business strategy, project development, joint ventures, financing, construction and operations, and commercial contracting.

Over the course of her career, Karleen has provided legal and strategic guidance on the development, construction, and operation of more than 10 gigawatts of utility-scale solar and wind projects, as well as more than 2 gigawatts of commercial, industrial, behind-the-meter solar, and solar-plus-storage projects. She has extensive experience negotiating and drafting project agreements for utility-scale and C&I solar, wind, and battery storage projects.

Prior to joining Clean Energy Counsel, Karleen served as in-house counsel at Fotowatio Renewable Ventures and SunEdison and practiced at Winston & Strawn and Stoel Rives. She earned her J.D. from George Washington University and her B.S. from Duke University. Karleen was named 2026 Lawyer of the Year by the Women in Business Law Awards.