Becky James, a former chief of criminal appeals at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, has joined business litigation boutique Greenberg Gross as head of its appellate practice.

Greenberg Gross, a 21-lawyer firm, announced this week its addition of James from her own firm, Los Angeles-based James & Associates, which she formed seven years ago after spending three years as a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, having co-chaired that firm’s appellate practice.