Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright today announced Sameer Ghaznavi as the new Co-Partner-in-Charge of its Chicago office. He will work alongside Chicago Co-Partner-in-Charge Daniel Farris, who has overseen the office since its opening in April 2022.

Ghaznavi is a projects lawyer who represents private and public companies, developers, utilities and sponsors concerning the development, strategic acquisition and sale of energy and infrastructure projects in the US and globally. His prior experience includes legal and corporate counsel positions with several energy and power companies.

Ghaznavi and Farris both joined Norton Rose Fulbright in 2022 as part of the Chicago office’s initial 11-lawyer team. Since then, the firm’s presence in Chicago has nearly tripled to 32 lawyers serving tech and tech-enabled businesses in transformative sectors across a range of practices, including corporate, M&A and securities, cybersecurity and data privacy, employment and labor, energy, healthcare, intellectual property, litigation, projects, real estate and technology transactions.

Norton Rose Fulbright was the first major law firm to base itself in Chicago’s vibrant Fulton Market District, which is home to some of the country’s most innovative companies. Last fall, the firm unveiled its modern and progressive Chicago office space located on the top two floors of 1045 on Fulton—the newest and tallest building in the district.

Jeff Cody, Norton Rose Fulbright’s US Managing Partner, said:

“Expanding our Midwest presence and client offering is an important component of Norton Rose Fulbright’s strategic growth plan, and the success of our Chicago office has been paramount. Sameer is a dynamic lawyer who shares our firm’s focus on innovation and inclusion. I am delighted for him to join Daniel in leading our Chicago team.”

Ghaznavi, who was named a Trailblazer in Energy/Environmental Law by the National Law Journal in 2021 and a recommended lawyer for renewable and alternative power by The Legal 500 United States in 2023, commented:

“Chicago is the third-largest legal market in the US and a hot spot for technology, energy, and innovation. I look forward to collaborating with Daniel and our team of talented lawyers and business services personnel, as we continue our mission to provide superior service to our Midwest and global clients.”

Licensed in Illinois and New York, Ghaznavi earned his law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Alberta.

Norton Rose Fulbright
Norton Rose Fulbright provides a full scope of legal services to the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions. The global law firm has more than 3,000 lawyers advising clients across more than 50 locations worldwide, including Houston, New York, London, Toronto, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Sydney and Johannesburg, covering the United States, Europe, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Middle East. With its global business principles of quality, unity and integrity, Norton Rose Fulbright is recognized for its client service in key industries, including financial institutions; energy, infrastructure and resources; technology; transport; life sciences and healthcare; and consumer markets. For more information, visit nortonrosefulbright.com.

AUSTIN, Texas and NEW YORK —January 30 DISCO (NYSE: LAW), a leader in AI-enabled legal technology, announced today the launch of Cecilia Deposition Summaries (“Depo Summaries”), which will be made available for select customers in private access. Depo Summaries is a generative AI-driven solution that is designed to let legal professionals automatically create deposition summaries, easily navigate to key points, and reduce the need for multiple team members to review numerous lengthy deposition transcripts.

For lawyers, the process of creating witness deposition summaries is often tedious, time-consuming and costly, and can take focus away from other more strategic tasks. Depo Summaries is a solution that leverages generative AI to give lawyers the ability quickly to make sense of important deposition transcriptions and provide client-ready summaries. These summaries are automatically produced both chronologically and by key topic, and then linked to relevant deposition testimony. Users are able to seamlessly search through annotated transcripts, thus enabling better case preparation.

Depo Summaries lets legal professionals understand testimony faster and eliminates the need for associates to produce secondary summaries from scratch. The solution is designed to let users upload deposition transcripts and then receive key-topic summaries within a matter of minutes, with links and full citations. Users can copy summarized testimony directly into motion drafts with proper formatting and citations, and summaries can also be exported from the tool for sharing with the case team or client.

“Generative AI is allowing us to improve legal workflows by giving lawyers a way to quickly understand and process long transcripts, eliminate cumbersome manual review, and enable legal teams to get to critical insights in depositions faster,” said Kevin Smith, DISCO’s Chief Product Officer. “We believe DISCO is well positioned to continue developing best-in-class AI products that can alleviate pain points and better equip lawyers to win their cases.”

Depo Summaries is an offering within the Cecilia platform, DISCO’s industry-first solution that combines natural language processing with the latest advances in LLM technology. DISCO will be showcasing its generative AI products at Legalweek in New York. To learn more, visit booth #2113 or schedule a private meeting with the team www.csdisco.com/legalweek.

About DISCO
DISCO (NYSE: LAW) provides cloud-native, artificial intelligence-powered legal solutions that simplify legal hold, legal request, ediscovery, legal document review and case management for enterprises, law firms, legal services providers, and governments. Our scalable, integrated solutions enable legal departments to easily collect, process and review enterprise data that is relevant or potentially relevant to legal matters. For more information, visit www.csdisco.com.

Press Contact
media@csdisco.com

(January 24, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has elected five new members to its 2024 board of directors: William Anthony (New York), Kristine Grady Derewicz (Philadelphia), Danielle Herring (Houston), Charlotte Main (Atlanta) and Stephan Swinkels (Amsterdam). Additionally, Michael Wilder has been reelected as board chair.

“I am excited to welcome this talented group to the firm’s board,” said Erin Webber, Littler’s managing director and president. “Each of these individuals brings a range of leadership experience to the table and will be integral to furthering our strategic vision and ensuring that Littler maintains its position as the world’s leading employment and labor law firm.”

“I am again honored to serve alongside such an impressive group of colleagues,” Wilder added. “We will undoubtedly benefit from their collective insights and perspectives as we continue to focus on Littler’s path for the future.”

The 2024 board is reflective of Littler’s unwavering dedication to fostering a culture of inclusion, equity and diversity. Its diverse members – attorneys who identify as women, of color and/or LGBTQIA+ – make up nearly 60% of the board. Littler’s entire board slate, along with member bios, can be found on Littler.com.

About Littler

With more than 1,800 labor and employment attorneys in offices around the world, Littler provides workplace solutions that are local, everywhere. Our diverse global team and proprietary technology foster a culture that celebrates original thinking, delivering groundbreaking innovation that prepares employers for what’s happening today, and what’s likely to happen tomorrow. For more information, visit www.littler.com.

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NEW YORK – Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that Kay Gordon has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in its Fund Formation & Investment Management (FFIM) Practice Group. Her arrival marks a streak of impressive growth for the FFIM Practice and comes directly on the heels of several recent additions to the group on the East Coast, including David Makso, a tax partner in the New York office supporting FFIM, and funds partner Gustavo (Gus) Resendiz and associate Robert Linnoila, who joined the firm’s FFIM Practice in Boston.

For over two decades, Gordon has counseled clients on the formation and management of private equity funds, real estate funds, funds-of-funds, hedge funds, credit funds, and venture funds, as well as compliance-related matters involving registered advisers and broker-dealers. She advises clients on a broad range of securities and regulatory matters in addition to a variety of financial instruments and transactions, including managed accounts, credit facilities, joint ventures, and derivative instruments. Gordon also works closely with strategic, institutional, and seed investors and represents clients in investigations led by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulators.

“We’re excited to have Kay join at such a pivotal point in the group’s expansion, and her capabilities will enhance the wide array of services we already provide our clients,” said Andrew Kurzon and Stephen Meli, co-chairs of Foley’s FFIM Practice. “Her extensive experience across multiple asset classes and vehicle types will strengthen FFIM’s existing depth and capabilities, particularly with respect to real estate funds, open-ended funds, fund-related derivatives, and other bespoke areas.”

“Kay has represented countless private funds pursuing a wide variety of investment strategies – and we’re confident that her wealth of experience will be put to good use in one of the world’s leading financial centers,” said Anne Sekel, managing partner of the firm’s New York office. “Her reputation precedes her, especially her successful representation of prominent private funds, sponsors, and other clients before the SEC and other financial regulatory agencies. We’re delighted to have her onboard.”

“As I look to expand my practice, Foley’s robust infrastructure and national presence will be invaluable assets,” said Gordon. “I look forward to working alongside the collegial team of lawyers comprising the firm’s FFIM Practice and collaborating with team members across complementary practices, including Tax, Transactions, Insurance, and Finance, amongst others.”

Gordon joins the firm from Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, where she served as partner and co-head of the firm’s Investment Management Group. She is a frequent speaker and author, as well as a chartered financial analyst.

About Foley & Lardner LLP
Foley & Lardner LLP is a preeminent law firm that stands at the nexus of the Energy, Health Care & Life Sciences, Innovative Technology, and Manufacturing Sectors. We look beyond the law to focus on the constantly evolving demands facing our clients and act as trusted business advisors to deliver creative, practical, and effective solutions. Our 1,100 lawyers across 25 offices worldwide partner on the full range of engagements from corporate counsel to intellectual property work and litigation support, providing our clients with a one-team solution to all their needs. For nearly two centuries, Foley has maintained its commitment to the highest level of innovative legal services and to the stewardship of our people, firm, clients, and the communities we serve.

DISCO Announces C-Suite Elevations For Key Customer and People-Focused Roles

Legal technology leader promotes Melanie Antoon, Chief Customer Officer, and Karen Herckis, Chief HR Officer, to improve customer experience and enhance company culture

AUSTIN, Texas – January 23, 2024 – DISCO (NYSE: LAW), a leader in AI-enabled legal technology, announced today the promotion of two senior leaders to C-level roles. Melanie Antoon will serve as DISCO’s first Chief Customer Officer (CCO) and Karen Herckis has been appointed Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).

In this new role, Antoon will have leadership over the Customer Success team in addition to the Professional Services and Review organizations that she previously led while serving as DISCO’s SVP of Professional Services. Antoon’s newly created Customer Experience team will deliver enhanced methods of engagement to drive better customer outcomes.

As a long-time customer advocate, Antoon will continue to innovate and improve the customer experience at DISCO. Prior to joining the company, Antoon held multiple executive positions across legal, software and business consulting at companies including Inventus, Huron Consulting, Catalyst, and Winston & Strawn.

“As we continue to evolve our customer engagement strategy, I’m eager to tackle this new role and ensure DISCO remains at the forefront of delivering exceptional value to clients through our integrated solutions,” said Melanie Antoon, Chief Customer Officer. “Our approach to customer relationships is more than just a typical vendor relationship; it’s a deep partnership that sets us apart in helping clients realize the maximum benefits of our technology.”

As CHRO, Herckis will continue to lead DISCO’s People team and be instrumental in evolving the company’s culture. Herckis will continue to focus on attracting and retaining top talent and strengthening leadership capabilities throughout the organization. In her previous role as SVP of Human Resources Herckis also helped lead DISCO’s successful globalization efforts. Herckis previously held leadership positions at Stova (formerly Aventri) and Epiq prior to joining the company.

“Stepping up to this role is an exciting opportunity to lead this incredible journey we’ve embarked on at DISCO,” said Karen Herckis, Chief Human Resources Officer. “This past year was filled with significant milestones, including DISCO opening its first office in India. I am committed to helping establish a high functioning culture and building an environment where people want to grow their careers”

“Karen and Melanie have played pivotal roles in our company’s success, and these promotions reflect their outstanding leadership in enhancing our customers’ experience and strengthening our culture,” said Scott Hill, Chief Executive Officer. “We are confident that they will both continue to exert a positive influence on our company and contribute significantly to our strategic goals and future growth.”

Later this month, both will be in attendance alongside other DISCO executives at Legalweek in New York. Visit booth #2113 to explore DISCO’s Generative AI offering Cecilia and other solutions, or to schedule a private meeting, visit www.csdisco.com/legalweek.

About DISCO
DISCO (NYSE: LAW) provides cloud-native, artificial intelligence-powered legal solutions that simplify legal hold, legal request, ediscovery, legal document review and case management for enterprises, law firms, legal services providers, and governments. Our scalable, integrated solutions enable legal departments to easily collect, process and review enterprise data that is relevant or potentially relevant to legal matters. For more information, visit www.csdisco.com.

Press Contact
media@csdisco.com

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce the selection of Brian P. Waldman as Firmwide Managing Partner, effective January 1, 2024. Based in the Washington, DC office, Waldman succeeds Firmwide Co-Managing Partners Cristina A. Carvalho and Joseph J. Krasovec, III, who completed their terms following the successful merger in March 2022 of Arent Fox and Schiff Hardin. Both will remain on ArentFox Schiff’s Executive Committee, and Krasovec will now serve as Managing Partner of the firm’s Chicago office.

Waldman will lead the firm together with Chairman Anthony V. Lupo to advance ArentFox Schiff’s commitment to exceptional legal work and industry-focused approach to client service, promote an inclusive environment where diverse talents can succeed, and maintain the firm’s position as a leader in public service.

“Cristina and Joe have made incredible contributions, both in leading their respective firms prior to our transformative merger and in guiding the successful integration,” said Lupo. “Having worked alongside Brian on the Executive Committee for more than 10 years, I am confident that Brian can help us build upon our recent success as we take the firm to new heights.”

Waldman brings extensive leadership experience to the role, having served on the firm’s Executive Committee for more than a decade; led the Food, Drug, Medical Device & Cosmetic group; and co-managed the Regulatory Department. In his practice, Waldman advises companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device, food, dietary supplement, and cosmetic sectors on a broad range of legal and regulatory issues throughout all phases of a product’s life cycle.

As a trusted advisor on intellectual property strategy for global companies, Carvalho has brought astute judgment and deep experience in business counseling to her leadership role over the past eight years, including taking Arent Fox through two mergers. Likewise, Krasovec’s background as a highly accomplished product liability litigator with a focus on clients’ business objectives proved invaluable as the firm navigated the merger integration and COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s been incredibly gratifying working with people across ArentFox Schiff to create a truly integrated firm that is known as forward-thinking, entrepreneurial, and consistently able to deliver exceptional legal work,” said Krasovec.

“Brian shares our leadership team’s passion for innovation in the delivery of legal services, creating an environment that attracts and retains top diverse talent, and spurring continuous growth,” added Carvalho. “Working with him during this transition period only reinforced that he is the right leader to guide the firm through this next chapter.”

“It is a great honor to be named Firmwide Managing Partner at such a pivotal moment in the firm’s storied growth trajectory,” said Waldman. “Whether it’s capitalizing on the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence, expanding our capabilities to stay ahead of client needs, or nurturing a strong firm culture, I’m excited to build on the tremendous success of my predecessors and help shape ArentFox Schiff’s path forward in 2024 and beyond.”

About ArentFox Schiff
Your goals define our mission. Whether an immediate need or a long-term objective, ArentFox Schiff helps you reach your full potential. As industry insiders, we partner with you to develop practical business strategies and sophisticated legal solutions to achieve today’s targets and anticipate tomorrow’s problems. We get you across the finish line. Learn more at www.afslaw.com.