Manatt CEO and Managing Partner Donna Wilson, Leader of Manatt’s Real Estate Transactions and Finance practice and the Cannabis and CBD practice Anita Famili and Investigations, Compliance and White Collar Defense Partner Naeun Rim have been named to Daily Journal’s 2022 “Top Women Lawyers” list, which annually recognizes the best women lawyers in California.
In her profile, Wilson explained how Manatt’s expansion into new geographies and movement away from traditional practice groups toward an industry-focused hybridized approach has been key to the Firm’s success and recent growth. “We went into Covid with a tight firm culture and we’re coming out even better,” Wilson said. “We missed each other, but we survived and thrived.” The publication also highlighted her work with financial services and health care organizations mitigating the reputational risks associated with high-profile litigation and government enforcement actions, as well as serving as general privacy counsel.
Famili discussed how her real estate practice intersects with her work in cannabis law in her Daily Journal profile. “It affects finance, cultivation, manufacturing and retail. For each area, there are underlying real property assets,” she said. The publication noted how Famili has contributed to the growth of Manatt’s Cannabis and CBD practice, breaking into a ever-expanding industry and advising some of the largest cannabis operators in the U.S., including Ceres Acquisition Corp.’s business combination with Parallel Inc.
Rim was recognized for her extensive work as a trial attorney generalist. “My practice is essentially to become an expert in whatever problem area a particular client is facing,” she said. The publication emphasized her pro bono work, such as bringing a civil rights class action against the Federal Correctional Institution in Lompoc for mismanaging its response to the pandemic and representing a young man who Spain wants to extradite from California for his role in helping a North Korean official try to defect by faking the man’s kidnapping from the North Korean embassy in Madrid.