Washington, D.C. – Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Sonia Barros has joined the firm as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office. Formerly the Chief Corporate Governance Counsel in the Division of Corporation Finance at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Barros will be a member of the firm’s Global Capital Markets group, where she will be the chair of the group’s newly formed Public Company Advisory subgroup focused on advising clients in corporate disclosures and governance matters.

As outgoing Chief Corporate Governance Counsel, Barros is a leading authority on corporate governance matters that involve the agency’s rules and regulations. In addition to forming the Division’s initial corporate governance function, Barros also served as the SEC’s representative to the Corporate Governance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Prior to her role as Chief Corporate Governance Counsel, Barros served as the Assistant Director in the SEC’s Office of Real Estate and Commodities, where she had oversight authority for thousands of transactions and reviews of corporate disclosures, including financial statements, under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In this capacity, Barros also led the SEC’s disclosure review of companies across numerous industries, including REITs, real estate-related finance, real estate marketplace lending, lodging, casinos, commodities, stock exchanges, consulting services, and cryptocurrencies. Her other roles during her tenure with the SEC included Legal Office Chief of the Division’s Office of Risk and Strategy, Special Counsel, Attorney-Advisor for the Office of Health Care and Insurance, and the Office of Chief Counsel’s Shareholder Proposal Task Force. Before joining the SEC, Barros spent nearly a decade in private practice, counseling clients on corporate governance and securities matters.

Ashley Hutto-Schultz, a regulatory attorney with substantial experience in the mortgage industry, has joined the national financial services practice at Davis Wright Tremaine. Hutto-Schultz, who will join as counsel and work from the firm’s Washington, DC office, previously worked at Hogan Lovells and Morrison & Foerster, as well as serving as Director of Compliance at Castle & Cooke Mortgage. She will work closely with Chava Brandriss, head of the firm’s mortgage industry practice, who joined DWT in 2020.

Hutto-Schultz will support mortgage lenders, servicers and other mortgage industry participants, such as FinTech companies, on a range of matters, including helping companies structure mortgage products and services, advising on state and federal regulatory compliance, developing or revising compliance management systems, and assisting with regulatory examinations.

Davis Wright Tremaine recently reported that it had another strong year in 2020, its seventh consecutive year of record performance. Revenue increased by more than 7% and net income rose by nearly 12%.

After more than 50 years, USS Pueblo crew members and their families are finally being recognized for what they have endured. A federal district court has awarded compensatory damages in the amount of $1.15 billion and additional punitive damages in the same amount. Today’s decision follows a 2019 default judgment that held North Korea liable for taking the crew hostage in 1968. The damages awarded today are among the largest ever awarded in a state-sponsored terrorism case.

The case, John Doe A-1 et al. v. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, was filed by Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp three years ago this month on behalf of 61 crew member plaintiffs and 110 family member plaintiffs in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It arises out of the capture of the Pueblo during an intelligence-gathering mission in international waters off the Korean Peninsula. On January 23, 1968, armed North Korean warships and fighter aircraft surrounded and fired on the ship. One crew member was killed, and the remaining crew – consisting of U.S. Navy, Marines and civilians – were held hostage by North Korea for 11 months until the United States negotiated their release. The plaintiffs, which include members of the crew and their families, sought damages for torture, hostage-taking, and personal injuries they suffered as a result.

The case was filed under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act’s terrorism exception. This exception allows victims to sue a state sponsor of terrorism for torture, hostage-taking, personal injury or death resulting from its actions or its material support for such actions. The Trump Administration re-designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism on November 20, 2017, shortly after Trump’s 2017 visit to South Korea and a speech to its Parliament in which he highlighted the USS Pueblo incident as part of North Korea’s history of terrorist acts. If deemed eligible, this would be one of the largest terrorism judgments in history to be paid by the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund.

North Korea previously was found liable by the D.C. District Court in 2008 for the capture of the Pueblo and its subsequent treatment of its Commander and three crew members during their nearly one year of captivity in Massie v. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. This case arises out of the same basic facts as Massie, but due to the nature of their claims, plaintiffs in the case decided today proceeded pseudonymously.

Edmund S. Cohen, Rachel Ingwer, and Scott Malone have joined Lowenstein Sandler’s Tax practice. Cohen and Ingwer will join as partners, and Malone will join as counsel; the team will be based in the New York office. The lawyers, who all until recently practiced at Winston & Strawn LLP, are expected to work closely with the firm’s Investment Management, Family Office, Private Equity, and Mergers & Acquisitions teams on sophisticated transactions and disputes.

The new group has extensive experience representing funds, corporations, and family offices and high net worth individuals with investments and philanthropic initiatives around the world. They advise on tax issues and controversies involving fund formation across asset classes, cross-border M&A, and a wide range of financial products.

Cohen has over 40 years of experience providing tax advice to multinational corporations, many of the largest investment funds, and numerous ultra-high net worth individuals. He has provided tax advice in connection with investment and cross-border corporate matters, as well as PFICs, Subpart F issues, the application of the GILTI tax, derivatives, and other financial product transactions, including life insurance investments. Cohen also has extensive experience in structuring foreign investment in U.S. real estate and tax planning for family offices and international families with U.S. family members. He is consistently ranked as a leading tax law practitioner in numerous independent surveys, including Who’s Who in America, Chambers USA, The Legal 500, Super Lawyers, and Best Lawyers in America. Prior to Winston & Strawn he was Chair of Coudert Brothers LLP’s tax practice for nearly 20 years.

Ingwer counsels both corporate clients and high net worth individuals on a variety of domestic and cross-border tax issues. She focuses a significant portion of her practice on tax matters relating to private equity transactions and other transactional tax matters, including business formations, taxable and tax-free mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, financings, and restructurings and recapitalizations. She also counsels on debt and equity offerings and fund formation issues, including fund structuring and partnership tax matters.

For her private clients, Ingwer advises on a variety of individual and private foundation tax matters, as well as tax matters relating to their business interests. She has extensive experience advising both high net worth individuals and charitable foundations on structuring investments both into and out of the United States.

Scott Malone’s practice focuses on tax controversies. He represents investment funds, multinational corporations, trusts, family offices, and high net worth individuals in disputes with the IRS and state and local taxing authorities at the examination and administrative appeals levels. Malone also advises on the tax aspects of domestic and cross-border structuring and planning matters, such as trust restructuring, business formation and exit planning, debt and non-debt financial instruments, investments in controlled foreign corporations and passive foreign investment companies, family investment companies, residency planning, charitable giving, application of tax treaties, and compliance with FATCA and Chapter 3 withholding tax provisions.

In the past 18 months, Lowenstein has significantly grown its capabilities in the areas of domestic and cross-border structuring and planning matters for multinational corporations, trusts, family offices, and high net worth individuals with the addition of partners Max Karpel, Co-chair of the Family Office Practice, Boris Liberman in Investment Management, and Michael P. Vito in Trusts & Estates.

“An appeals court panel on Wednesday refused to overturn the majority of a visiting judge’s decisions in a civil case involving former Mahoning County Judge Diane Vettori-Caraballo and a client in her private practice, from whom she stole money,” reports Ed Runyan in The Vindicator’s News.

“Vettori-Caraballo, who formerly served as Mahoning County Sebring Area Court judge, was sent to federal prison in September 2019 for 2 1/2 years and ordered to pay $328,000 in restitution and after being convicted in federal court for her actions. She was removed as a judge in 2018 during an investigation.”

“The case went to trial in December 2018, and visiting judge Thomas Swift ruled in March 2019 that Vettori-Caraballo concealed $110,200 in cash assets from Falgiani’s estate and filed false statements to the Mahoning County Probate Court regarding estate assets. He ruled she should repay the the money, plus legal fees she received, interest and other costs totaling $185,678.”

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Apria, Inc. has appointed Michael-Bryant Hicks as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. “Hicks will be based in Apria’s corporate headquarters in Indianapolis,” released Apria in their Press Releases.

“Hicks joins Apria from Elanco Animal Health, where he was Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary. Prior to Elanco, he served in public company general counsel roles at Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals and The Providence Service Corporation, overseeing all legal functions with both companies.”

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“Two property titans’ real estate development firms, MV Ventures and Turnberry Associates, have picked up a pair of law firm partners to be their top lawyers,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“Eagan, Minn.-based MV Ventures, owned by the family of shopping mall billionaire and Minnesota Vikings owner Zygmunt “Zygi” Wilf, hired Matthew Slaven to be its general counsel as of Feb. 15. Slaven was a real estate, environmental, and construction law partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister in Minneapolis.”

“Turnberry Associates, an Aventura, Fla.-based real estate developer controlled by the family of billionaire Donald Soffer, brought on Julian Chung to serve as its general counsel. Chung was a Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson real estate finance partner in New York.”

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“Stepping into his role as global co-chair of 4,500-lawyer DLA Piper, Frank Ryan says the best path forward is to get even bigger,” reports Roy Strom in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“The law firm wants to compete, Ryan said, for high-end, global projects while also providing “full-service” to clients, a strategy many of the country’s most profitable firms have shied away from to focus on the highest-rate practices. Growing revenue by taking market share is how Ryan said he will measure the firm’s success.”

“Ryan, whose intellectual property and litigation practice focuses on clients in the sports and entertainment industries, was elected in May 2019 to begin this year a four-year term as chair of DLA Piper, the third largest U.S. firm by revenue, according to American Lawyer data. Last year, he said the firm’s U.S. business grew revenue and profits per equity partner in the high single digits.”

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“Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has set aside $3.9 billion for talc-related litigation, according to a regulatory filing this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington D.C.” reports Tim Povtak in Asbestos.com’s Legislation & Litigation.

“The company said it’s now facing more than 25,000 lawsuits related to various talc products that have allegedly caused cancers, primarily from asbestos fiber contamination.”

“The $3.9 billion is almost double the amount that Johnson & Johnson reported being set aside for litigation expenses in its 2020 fiscal year-end results.”

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Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that Michael (Mike) Lappin has joined the firm’s Transactions Practice Group as of counsel in its Milwaukee office. A proven and trusted C-suite leader and attorney with extensive experience helping to lead multibillion-dollar organizations through growth and complex business matters, Lappin brings additional expertise, depth and in-house perspective in support of Foley’s public and private company clients.

Lappin comes to Foley with nearly 30 years of legal experience and after more than a decade serving in senior executive roles with Advocate Aurora Health, Inc. and Aurora Health Care, Inc., one of Advocate Aurora’s predecessor organizations. His long tenure with the health care system began in 2009 when Aurora hired Lappin as the not-for-profit’s first general counsel. In that role, Lappin established the legal department, which handled numerous significant matters, including acquisitions and divestitures, governmental investigations, regulatory issues and major contracts. More specifically, Lappin served as the co-executive lead on all significant Aurora mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic partnerships, including the formation of Aurora Health Care Medical Group. He later took on additional duties as Chief Administrative Officer, overseeing legal and several other administrative departments.

Then, in 2018, when Aurora combined with Advocate Health Care to form Advocate Aurora Health, Lappin – known for his significant experience in mergers and acquisitions – was tapped to establish and lead a 60-person team that developed and implemented a merger integration plan, which unified the two organizations and resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in annual synergies. Following the merger, he returned to his Chief Administrative Officer role.

In addition to his professional background, Lappin is deeply involved in several nonprofit organizations. He currently sits on the board of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee and Jewish Family Services and has been involved with many other youth, health and education-focused nonprofits over the years.

DALLAS – Jackson Walker is pleased to announce the addition of Patrick Knapp as a partner in the Dallas office. Joining the Energy practice, Knapp brings a wealth of experience handling corporate transactions and energy litigation as in-house and outside counsel to domestic and international upstream, midstream, and downstream energy companies.

In addition to building a strong private practice focused on corporate transactions and litigation in the energy industry, Knapp served as managing counsel of Bridger Logistics, the former midstream division of Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. In his role, he led and managed a series of high-profile M&A transactions and litigation—including the sale of its saltwater disposal, crude oil truck transportation, and midstream logistics businesses, which Jackson Walker handled on Bridger’s behalf in 2018.

In his practice at Jackson Walker, Knapp will focus on mergers and acquisitions, financings, complex commercial transactions, and litigation strategies for midstream, downstream, and commodity financial services companies. He has represented producers, marketers, logistics providers, and refiners in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. His experience extends to virtually all forms of petroleum commodity marketing and transportation, including pipelines, gathering systems, terminals, rail, Jones Act and VLCC charters, truck transportation, and a variety of capital-intense, multimodal blending and processing facilities.

Knapp received his J.D. from Southern Methodist University and his B.B.A. in economics and marketing from the University of Notre Dame.

Venable LLP is pleased to announce that Michael R. Klein has joined the firm as counsel in the Environmental and Natural Resources Group in the Washington, D.C., office. Klein advises clients with infrastructure, mining, trade, or energy projects on environmental issues and opportunities that arise at the intersection of business, law, and government.

Prior to joining Venable, Klein served as the vice president and general counsel to an infrastructure and resource management company facilitating trade between the western U.S. and foreign markets. His in-house experience and entrepreneurial mindset enable him to design creative compliance strategies, effectively represent clients’ interests before the executive branch and federal agencies, and unlock new opportunities for economic development. Klein has experience overseeing budgetary matters and performance metrics, identifying new client targets, attracting international investors, and managing infrastructure projects, including ports and connections to trade corridors. In addition to his background in deal structuring and business plan execution, Klein is well practiced in developing federal strategies to seek executive, legislative, and judicial action on matters of importance to his clients. He has testified before Congress in support of a more efficient permitting process.

Klein received his J.D., magna cum laude; his MBA, with honors; and his B.A. in International Relations from Brigham Young University.

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Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., is pleased to announce that Christopher A. Pickett, an Officer, member of the board of directors, and chief diversity officer at the firm, has been selected as an inaugural leader for a new initiative by global law firms network Meritas to further its commitment to racial equality.

Pickett is one of six attorneys from across the United States who will serve on the Leadership Council for the newly formed Meritas Black Lawyers Forum. The forum will facilitate connections and mentorship and provide a discussion platform for Black lawyers within the Meritas network to share their experiences. Meritas’ goal for the forum is help create business development opportunities for members and enhance the ability of member firms to hire and retain Black and other diverse lawyers.

Greensfelder is a longtime member of Meritas and the exclusive member firm in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Meritas is the premier global network of independent business law firms with nearly 200 firms in 90 countries worldwide as members.

Greensfelder’s efforts to foster an inclusive, diverse workplace, led by Pickett, share common ground with the mission of the Meritas forum, with a focus on creating an environment that is equitable and people-focused and that welcomes diverse perspectives and experiences. For more information about Greensfelder’s diversity initiatives, visit: https://www.greensfelder.com/about-diversity.html.

In addition to his work as Greensfelder’s chief diversity officer and leader of Greensfelder’s Equity, Retention and Advancement Committee, Pickett is a frequent presenter to businesses, bar groups and other organizations on topics related to equity and inclusion, including dismantling assimilation and increasing diversity in the legal profession.

In 2013, Pickett was named a fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, participating in a national leadership program for high-performing attorneys with diverse backgrounds. He also has received numerous awards and recognition for his work on diversity issues and in business law.

In his law practice, Pickett represent clients from across the country in an array of business litigation matters, particularly in the areas of securities and higher education.

Dykema, a leading national law firm, announced that Christopher D. Kratovil has been appointed as the firm’s National Recruiting Partner. Kratovil, who has served as Managing Member of Dykema’s Dallas office for the past five years, has a proven track record of finding talented attorneys who thrive in Dykema’s highly collaborative culture. Since Kratovil himself joined Dykema as its 11th attorney in Texas a decade ago, the firm has more than quadrupled the number of lawyers in Dallas, and has grown in other offices nationwide, with plans to continue.

Lateral attorneys joining Dykema will benefit from the experience of Steve Gistenson, Lateral Integration Partner, overseeing a structured integration process proven to lead to success.

In his practice, Kratovil, who is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, focuses on appellate matters. He represents clients in complex commercial disputes before tribunals ranging from small-town Texas trial courts to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Texas Supreme Court. Kratovil has presented more than 35 appellate oral arguments to all levels of courts in the appellate system. In addition to his extensive appellate work, he regularly handles case dispositive briefing and argument, jury charges, complex motions, research-intensive legal issues, emergency injunctions, and error preservation in the trial courts.

Kratovil earned a J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law and a B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame. He has been recognized as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers in Texas” as well as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers in Dallas/Fort Worth” each year since 2016 by Texas Super Lawyers. In addition to his new role as National Recruiting Partner, Kratovil will continue to lead Dykema’s Dallas office.

Venable LLP’s Trademark Prosecution and Counseling Group is pleased to announce the launch of the Wellbrand service, an innovative naming solution that leverages Venable’s trademark-law intelligence to accelerate the process of finding effective brand names.

By teaming with our clients in the early stages of name development, Venable can develop already-cleared naming options that help clients “get to yes” faster when selecting names. With team leaders who have worked together for more than 20 years clearing and protecting brands worldwide, Venable attorneys draw on a deep well of experience to develop names that are more likely to avoid refusal by the Trademark Office (USPTO) and challenge by third parties*.

Venable can provide already-cleared naming options at key moments: the moment of brand name creation; when outside-developed names do not clear; and when a naming alternative is needed to resolve a dispute quickly. Currently available only to established clients of Venable’s widely respected Trademark Prosecution and Counseling Group, the Wellbrand service bridges the gap between marketing needs and legal know-how to avoid product launch and dispute-related interruptions.

Andrew D. Price, co-chair of Venable’s Trademark Prosecution and Counseling Group, said, “Choosing the right name not only yields meaningful marketing opportunities, but also the power to mitigate potential legal risks. Over the past two decades, our team has amassed the knowledge and experience clients rely on to establish, protect, and profit from their brands. The Wellbrand service is yet another manifestation of this experience. We are excited to watch as our clients benefit from this proactive, cost-saving, and solution-oriented service.”

This service complements and enables the work of marketing professionals, in-house counsel, and advertising agencies by helping them understand and implement name selection strategies that are more likely to succeed. When marketing departments seek strategic trademarks to fit existing campaigns, the Wellbrand team can also step in and help to position clients against competitive threats.

Rebecca Liebowitz, co-chair of Venable’s Trademark Prosecution and Counseling Group, said, “The Wellbrand service is a natural outgrowth of our group’s commitment to providing comprehensive counsel from product inception onward. Clients who utilize this innovative service will enjoy peace of mind, knowing that their chosen name is not only well suited to the product, but also more likely to withstand the legal challenges that frequently threaten trademarks.”

About Venable’s Trademark Prosecution and Counseling Group
Venable sets the “gold standard” when it comes to serving clients’ trademark and brand-related needs on a global basis throughout the trademark lifecycle, from clearance and filing/prosecution to enforcement, licensing, and beyond. For 10 consecutive years, Venable’s Trademark Prosecution and Counseling Group has been recognized among the elite in the Washington, DC metro area – a central hub in global and national trademark law – by World Trademark Review 1000: The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals. The Group currently ranks in the highest Gold Tier for Prosecution and Strategy, in part for its role as a global thought leader and innovator. For example, Venable was one of the first to develop a now-imitated staffing model that features a number of non-partner-track attorneys with deep trademark experience, allowing us to provide clients with a rare combination of competitive pricing and best-in-class quality. Functioning uniquely like a boutique trademark firm within an Am Law 100 general-practice firm, the firm’s other nationally ranked practices give our trademark attorneys constant exposure to a broad array of complex problems. In this way, clients get the best of both worlds: a thought-leading, innovative approach to trademark practice coupled with big-firm experience and strength.

*Names provided will clear a preliminary U.S. registry search, with no more than low-to-moderate risk of USPTO refusal or third-party challenge. A full search is needed to more fully assess risk. Venable does not warrant that the name is definitively available.

“Frost Brown Todd (FBT) is formally consolidating its federal public policy and regulatory practices into a Washington D.C. office. The Mid-American firm now has 15 offices across nine states and Washington D.C. In addition to recruiting new members, a roster of nearly a dozen well-networked and experienced attorneys who represent their client’s needs in their home markets, including Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky and on the federal level, will support the office. It will operate virtually due to the pandemic and move into a permanent address later when quarantines are lifted,” released Frost Brown Todd in their Press Releases.

“FBT’s bi-partisan government service counsel has held high-ranking government positions at the national, state, or local levels. Others have served in an advisory capacity to prominent lawmakers, cabinet members, and federal commissions, and advocated for clients before federal regulatory authorities.”

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“Husch Blackwell is pleased to announce that the firm reported revenue of $417,056,000 in 2020. This figure represents the highest single-year revenue total in the firm’s 104-year history,” released Husch Blackwell in their News Releases.

“Complementing the total revenue record, the firm also posted year-over-year growth in revenue of 9.7 percent, which represents the firm’s fastest pace of organic revenue growth—growth unrelated to a merger or business combination—in well over a decade.”

“On March 18, 2020, Husch Blackwell’s leadership team sent all employees home, except for a small contingent of essential onsite workers in select offices, and quickly adopted a work-from-home protocol that enabled the vast majority of the firm’s 1,500 employees to service clients from a remote location. The firm remains in its work-from-home protocol nearly one year later.”

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“Brian D. Short—a securities and M&A attorney with more than 20 years of experience advising companies in corporate transactions—has joined Ballard Spahr as a Partner, firm Chair Mark Stewart announced today. Mr. Short will be Co-Leader of the firm’s Securities and Capital Markets practice, along with Gerald G. Guarcini,” posted Ballard Spahr in their Press Releases.

“Mr. Short represents companies, private equity firms, and investment banks in a range of corporate transactions, such as negotiating and executing public and private securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, and joint ventures. He has worked with clients in a range of industries, including life sciences, technology, aerospace and defense, business and financial services, and consumer products.”

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“Big Law continues to report large ‘pandemic profit’ growth, as Cooleys and White & Case report double digit growth in 2020, while Hogan Lovells reports profits per partner (PPP) jumping 30 per cent from 2019 to 2020,” posts LawFuel in their Big Law.

“The pandemic has seen revenues remain steady while expenses have been reduced and more firms are investing in technology and legal talent.”

“Global turnover for White & Case managed to grow 6.6 [per cent to $2.18bn, while profit per equity partner (PEP) was up over eight per cent to $2.59m, albeit against a drop of 10 equity partners to 332 worldwide.”

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