Sixteen Coblentz partners have been recognized in the Legal 500 US Elite: San Francisco rankings, which spotlight leading lawyers across key practice areas that are shaping the legal landscape.

The following partners are recognized: 

• Duff Beach – Commercial Disputes
• Matt Bove – Real Estate
• Todd Brody – Corporate and M&A
• Sean Coyle – Commercial Disputes
• Gregg Ficks – Finance and Restructuring
• Sara Finigan – Corporate and M&A
• Alan Gennis – Real Estate
• Scott Hall – Data Protection
• Thomas Harvey – Intellectual Property
• Miles Imwalle – Real Estate
• Danna Kozerski – Real Estate
• Sabrina Larson – Intellectual Property
• Richard Patch – Commercial Disputes
• Peter Wang – Corporate and M&A
• Ashley Weinstein-Carnes – Real Estate
• Christopher Westman – Corporate and M&A

Legal 500’s Elite City Rankings provide region-specific, data-driven insight into local legal markets. The rankings are based on extensive research, including peer and client feedback and an assessment of recent matters. Additional information about the methodology and rankings is available on the Legal 500 website linked here.

Coblentz partner Tay Via will be participating as a mentor during the San Francisco Business Times’ annual Bizwomen Mentoring Monday event. This marks Tay’s sixth year of mentoring. More details are available at the San Francisco Business Times’ website linked here.

Join Barbara Barath on Thursday, February 12 for the Northern District Practice Program’s Civil Law Symposium. Barbara will be a panelist on “Practicum: Seeking of Defending a Preliminary Injunction.” The practicum will include a panel discussion with practical tips and a mock hearing on a preliminary injunction sought in the Northern District of California against a social-media network called “We Talk.”

For more details and to register, please click here.

Join Coblentz partner Scott Greenwood-Meinert on February 10, 2026 for the Napa Valley Grapegrowers’ webinar, “Business of Vineyards: Legal Resiliency.” Scott will share insights on navigating grape sales agreements, addressing common challenges, and strategies for protecting your vineyard’s legal interests in an evolving marketplace. For more details and to register, please click here.

San Francisco (January 13, 2026) – San Francisco-based law firm Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP is pleased to announce that Chris Boyd has joined the Firm as Chief Operating Officer. Chris will lead the Firm’s business operations and work alongside the Firm’s Managing Partner, Sara Finigan, on strategic growth initiatives.

Chris comes to Coblentz from Wilson Sonsini, where he had worked since 2001, and had served as COO since 2020. At Coblentz, Chris will oversee all business and administrative operations of the firm, including finance and accounting, business development and marketing, professional development, human resources, recruiting, innovation, pricing, project management, technology and information systems, and facilities.

Chris is a recognized thought leader in the legal profession. He is President of the College of Law Practice Management and previously served on the boards of directors of the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) and the Professional Development Consortium (PDC).

“The Firm is delighted to have Chris joining our leadership team,” says Managing Partner Sara Finigan. “He brings a wealth of experience and the demonstrated ability to apply it. He is also warm, personable, thoughtful and smart, a perfect fit for Coblentz.”

Chris has deep roots in San Francisco, volunteering on the San Francisco Advisory Board of 10,000 Degrees, as well as the West Region Advisory Board of The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). “His devotion of time and talent to these organizations mirrors our Firm’s longstanding commitments to our community,” Ms. Finigan said.

Chris joins Coblentz as Maggie Callicrate, the Firm’s CEO, heads toward retirement in early 2026 after twelve years with the Firm. “The Firm has been fortunate to have had Maggie at our helm for the past decade. She is a law firm visionary, and the Firm has benefited tremendously from her leadership,” Ms. Finigan said.

Coblentz partner Fred Alvarez will speak on the panel “50 Years of Labor and Employment Law” during the Labor & Employment Section of The Bar Association of San Francisco’s 2026 Labor and Employment Law Conference. Fred and his co-panelists will share experiences about how employment and labor law and the practice of law have changed over the past 50 years. Topics will include the history of discrimination law, DEI, pay disparity, labor law, and professional civility. For more details, please visit the BASF website linked here.

Coblentz partner Scott Hall and members of the Coblentz Data Privacy Team presented “2025 Privacy Overview: How to Ensure Compliance and Reduce Business Risk” on October 21, 2025. The team discussed the global and U.S. AI legal landscape, provided an overview of U.S. state privacy laws, updates related to children’s privacy and health data privacy, 2025 privacy litigation trends related to the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), and California’s SB 690, and summarized regulatory enforcement actions.

Key Takeaways

Proactive Privacy Governance Is Now a Legal Imperative

Businesses should develop a unified privacy governance framework that harmonizes obligations across state, federal, and international laws. Fragmented compliance efforts create operational risk and regulatory exposure, especially as new state privacy laws (now in 20 states) expand enforcement. Embedding privacy impact assessments into product and vendor workflows is essential.

Contracts Are the Front Line for Risk Allocation

Businesses should tighten data processing agreements, vendor clauses, and cross-border transfer mechanisms. In-house teams should review indemnity and liability provisions related to data breaches, confirm that vendors meet equivalent security standards, and ensure ongoing audit rights. “Paper compliance” can be a recurring pitfall as documentation must reflect actual practice.

Incident Response Readiness and Documentation Drive Defensibility

Businesses should ensure that incident response plans are legally defensible and not just operationally sound. This includes maintaining privileged documentation, conducting post-incident reviews, and aligning notification procedures with each jurisdiction’s timing requirements. Regulators are now assessing whether response documentation shows “reasonable security practices” in action.

If your company needs assistance with any privacy issues, Coblentz Data Privacy & Cybersecurity attorneys can help. Please contact Scott Hall at shall@coblentzlaw.com for further information or assistance.

To view the recording of our 2025 Privacy Overview webinar, please click here.

To view our 2025 Privacy Developments Action Item Checklist, please click here.