Venable announced that Adrienne Gurley has joined the firm as a partner in the investigations and white collar defense practice in the Los Angeles office. Gurley most recently served as senior counsel for Silicon Valley Bank, where she was the head of litigation for the private bank. She focused on conducting internal investigations and advising the enterprise on fraud, regulatory, ethics, compliance, Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), data and privacy governance, and global employee relations matters. Prior to this, she was senior counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where she investigated and prosecuted federal securities law violations, including market manipulation, EB-5 visa program fraud, cryptocurrency, financial fraud, cybersecurity and data breach, offering fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and insider trading.

Dhillon Law Group announced the addition of a new partner, Shawn Cowles, to join its Newport Beach office. Cowles has worked for 26 years as a commercial litigator specializing in complex commercial litigation, construction defect and real estate litigation, and insurance coverage matters on behalf of policy holders. His business clients include companies and executives related to corporate governance matters, manufacturers, automotive related companies, computer products companies, aircraft parts companies, packaging businesses, premises liability, media companies, restaurants and an assortment of other companies. Cowles’ commercial lawsuits typically include claims for fraud, breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair business practices.