News

Five Klinedinst Attorneys Promoted to Shareholder

Five of Klinedinst’s California attorneys have been promoted to Shareholder. The new Shareholders include Kristin N. Blake of Sacramento, Emily J. Atherton of Los Angeles, Dan Lawton of San Diego, James D. Snyder of San Diego, and W. Jason Scott of Sacramento.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – Klinedinst PC is pleased to announce the promotion of Kristin N. Blake, Emily J. Atherton, Dan Lawton, James D. Snyder, and W. Jason Scott to Shareholder. The firm’s newest Shareholders are located throughout California and handle a wide array of practice areas, including transactional and M&A, corporate securities, financial services, intellectual property, product liability, professional liability, construction, appellate, and employment matters.

Photo of Kristin N. Blake
Kristin N. Blake

Kristin N. Blake is a member of the firm’s Real Estate, Construction, Land Use, Employment, and Environmental practice groups. Based in Sacramento, Ms. Blake regularly represents corporate and insurance clients in litigation involving land use, real estate, professional liability, and construction. She has worked with a wide-range of regulatory agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board of Central Valley, the California Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Ms. Blake contributes to the legal community as a member of the California Lawyers Association, the Sacramento County Bar Association, and Women Lawyers of Sacramento.

Emily J. Atherton

Emily J. Atherton is a Shareholder based out of Los Angeles who helps clients in a variety of practice areas, including employment litigation, product liability, premises liability, asbestos litigation, construction defect litigation, and general liability matters. She has worked on cases involving allegations of design, manufacturing, and warning defects, as well as class action litigation and PAGA claims. She works tirelessly for her clients in matters concerning harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation, and wage and hour issues. Ms. Atherton is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section.

Dan Lawton

Dan Lawton brings over 30 years of experience in civil trial work, complex commercial and intellectual property litigation, as well as civil appeals. He is a Certified Legal Specialist in Appellate Law by the State Bar of California’s Board of Legal Specialization. From his office in San Diego, Mr. Lawton works regularly with both corporate and individual clients, including pharmaceutical companies, life sciences companies, landowners and property developers, bankers, politicians, professional athletes and coaches, attorneys, accountants, entrepreneurs, and entertainers. He helps counsel clients on cases involving patent infringement, copyright infringement, trade secret theft, unfair competition, defamation, and business torts. Mr. Lawton has been recognized since 2009 by San Diego Super Lawyers in the primary practice area of intellectual property litigation. He is a member of San Diego County Bar Association’s Appellate Courts Committee and the Editorial Board for California Litigation, the official publication for California Lawyer’s Association.

James D. Snyder

James D. Snyder is the lead Shareholder of Klinedinst’s Corporate Transactional and Securities, Privacy and Data Security, and Mergers and Acquisitions practice groups. He and his team advise business clients, from startups to large multinational business enterprises, on legal and regulatory business matters, in many instances as Outside General Counsel. James represents clients on U.S. and cross border M&A, data privacy and security, business financing and investment portfolios, corporate structuring, SaaS and software licensing matters, and intellectual property transactions. Mr. Snyder has been at the forefront of data privacy, advising clients on the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as well as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

W. Jason Scott

W. Jason Scott practices in the areas of business and commercial litigation, as well as financial products and services. He works with the firm’s corporate clients, focusing primarily on business, professional liability, and land use/environmental issues. Located in Sacramento, Mr. Scott represents professionals and entities in a wide array of liability, contract, and appellate matters. He has tremendous experience defending contractors and utilities in construction defect litigation, including premises liability, construction site injury, and general litigation matters. He also has involvement litigating disputes concerning land use and environmental issues, such as eminent domain, inverse condemnation, and soil and ground water contamination. Mr. Scott served in the United States Navy as a diver from 1992-1996, earning several medals, awards, and honors.

To learn more about each of our newest Shareholders, please visit:

www.klinedinstlaw.com/about/shareholders

About Klinedinst

Klinedinst is the go-to firm for clients looking for litigation, trial experience, transactional representation, and legal counsel.  The firm’s offices in IrvineLos AngelesSacramentoSan Diego, and Seattle service clients across the West, handling matters in California, Washington, Nevada, and Arizona. What sets Klinedinst apart is the relationship our attorneys foster with each and every client. Klinedinst lawyers are indispensable strategic partners to business leaders, helping to achieve business objectives and create proactive solutions to resolve the many legal challenges that businesses are confronted with every day.  Whether vigorously advocating for business clients in court, or guiding business transactions and negotiations, Klinedinst is the trusted legal advisor to have by your side.