“In late November 2020, EPA Assistant Administrator, David P. Ross, released a series of recommendations which encourage EPA permit writers to include PFAS monitoring, best management practices, and stormwater pollutant controls as requirements in EPA issued NPDES permits. These recommendations were developed by the recently formed PFAS NPDES Regional Coordinators Committee (‘Committee’), an EPA work group comprised of staff and other contacts from USEPA Headquarters and Regional offices. The Committee’s goal was to develop an interim strategy to address point source discharges of PFAS pending development and adoption of statutory and/or regulatory frameworks for managing PFAS under the Clean Water Act. Specifically, the Committee recommended that EPA permit writers ‘[i]nclude permit requirements for phased-in monitoring’ and ‘best management practices’ (for wastewater discharges) or ‘stormwater pollutant control’ (for stormwater discharges) in EPA-issued NPDES permits for facilities where ‘PFAS are expected to be present’ in the facility’s discharge,” posts Thompson Coburn in Publications.

“Little guidance is offered to permit writers as to when PFAS are ‘expected to be present’ in wastewater or stormwater discharges. Rather, permit writers are advised to look to the raw materials stored at the facility, products or byproducts of the facility operation or available data and information from similar facilities. These methods, however, are of little use where the discharger is a publicly owned treatment works (“POTW”) or municipal separate storm sewer systems (‘MS4’).”

Read the article.

Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce the election of nine new US partners effective January 1, 2021.

The following attorneys have been elected partner:

From our Corporate and Financial Services Practice Group:

Hill Jeffries, resident in the Atlanta office, focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, venture capital investments and governance matters. He advises clients in a diverse array of industries, including technology companies, food manufacturers, natural resources companies and Timberland Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs). Jeffries’ experience includes counselling private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies on acquisitions, divestitures and general corporate matters.

Anne Oberndorf, resident in the Washington DC office, assists investment companies, investment advisers and private funds in navigating the intricate rules and regulations of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, including counseling her clients on fund structure and compliance with, and exemptions from, those Acts.

Ray Ramirez, resident in the Washington DC office, counsels clients on derivatives regulatory and transactional matters. He assists clients in navigating regulations issued by federal agencies and the National Futures Association (NFA) and developing compliance programs and procedures to address them. Ramirez has guided market intermediaries, including commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisers, through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) registration process, has represented clients before the CFTC, the NFA and other regulators on various matters and has actively participated (on behalf of clients) in federal regulators’ rulemaking processes. He also assists clients in drafting and negotiating derivatives and other trading and financing documentation.

From our Intellectual Property Group:

Jeremy Spier, resident in the Atlanta office, counsels clients on Intellectual Property (IP) law, including international and domestic IP rights. Spier primarily focuses on patent and trademark prosecution. He also counsels clients on IP portfolio management and prepares patentability, validity, non-infringement and product clearance opinions. In addition, Spier has substantial experience in preparing IP licensing agreements and conducting IP audits and due diligence in corporate transactions..

Nash Zogaib, resident in the Austin office, drafts and prosecutes domestic and foreign patent applications and advises clients on patent portfolio management and other intellectual property needs. His technical knowledge spans software and hardware areas, including wireless standards, wireless charging devices, web security, voice over IP session management, cloud services, messaging systems, automotive technologies, semiconductors, memory devices, robotics, superconductors, printing devices, display technologies and imagining systems. Zogaib also has extensive engineering experience in cellular communications, including GSM, CDMA and LTE.

From our Litigation Practice Group:

Lee Peifer, resident in the Atlanta office, represents companies, individuals, schools and governmental entities in commercial and education litigation. He advises clients on a variety of matters — including contractual disputes, business torts, corporate governance, employment issues, school funding and constitutional law — and across a range of industries. Peifer has experience in state and federal courts and has represented clients in arbitration, at trial and on appeal. He also has defended clients in consumer, employment and education class actions.

Adam Pollet, resident in the Washington DC office, defends financial institutions, broker-dealers, investment advisers and individuals in regulatory investigations and enforcement matters involving the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and state securities regulators. He also represents his clients in complex financial services litigation, securities class action litigation and FINRA arbitrations. In addition, Pollet advises his clients in internal investigations, regulatory examinations and counsels them on various regulatory and compliance matters.

From our Real Estate Group:

Jenny Worthy, a resident in the Atlanta office, counsels clients on an array of commercial real estate matters, including the acquisition, construction and development, financing and disposition of commercial real estate projects. She advises commercial banks, investment banks, pension funds, real estate investment trusts, insurance companies and borrowers in financing transactions, including origination, workouts and distressed asset transactions. She works with lending clients on the origination of loans with diverse debt stack structures, including single asset, mezzanine and financings intended for securitization. She is also a member of the Firm’s timber and forest products team.

From our Tax Practice Group:

Ted Friedman, a resident in the New York office, focuses his practice on state and local tax matters. Friedman counsels clients on a wide range of state and local tax issues involving income and franchise taxes, sales and use taxes, gross receipts taxes and telecommunication taxes. Friedman represents clients in tax controversy, planning, policy and compliance matters.

DALLAS – The Dallas-based trial firm Lyons & Simmons has filed a negligence lawsuit against San Antonio-based Sapphire Aviation on behalf of the estate of Houston resident Paul David Cobb, one of five people killed in a 2018 crash of a Bell UH-1H helicopter in rural northern New Mexico.

According to reports, the group flew by private jet from Houston on Jan. 17, 2018, to Raton, New Mexico, where they transferred to the Huey helicopter for a short flight to Emery Gap Ranch for a birthday party. Lifting off just after sunset, the helicopter crashed into a plateau in a mountainous rural area 11 miles from Raton. Mr. Cobb, a 67-year-old veteran of the Pasadena, Texas, Police Department, survived the initial impact but sustained skull and rib fractures and internal hemorrhaging that left him unable to flee the fire caused by the crash. He ultimately died from his injuries.

In addition to Mr. Cobb, the crash claimed the lives of Charles Ryland Burnett III, owner of Sapphire Aviation and the helicopter; Roy Bennett, a founding member of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party and his wife Heather; and pilot Jamie Coleman Dodd. The sole survivor was Mr. Cobb’s daughter and Mr. Burnett’s longtime partner, Andra Cobb, who was injured in the crash.

Because of the remote location, it took nearly two hours for emergency responders to arrive at the scene, during which time a hunting guide came upon the wreckage. While he rendered aid, Mr. Dodd told the guide that “it was all my fault. I flew into the terrain. … This is all my fault,” according the lawsuit. A National Transportation Safety Board investigation listed pilot error as the likely cause of the crash.

The lawsuit is Martha Nell Cobb, Paula Donell O’Leary, and David Cobb v. Sapphire Aviation, LLC, the Estate of Jamie Coleman Dodd and the Estate of Charles Ryland Burnett III. (Case No. D-101-CV-2020-02630, First Judicial District Court, Santa Fe County.)

“American Tire Distributors (ATD), one of the largest independent tire distributors in the U.S., has named Carol Genis, formerly with Twentieth Century Fox Television, as its new chief legal officer and general counsel executive,” released ATD in aftermarketNews’ Personnel.

“Genis brings more than 25 years of experience in successfully managing legal and business affairs, corporate transactions, mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, financings, operations, compliance, corporate governance matters, intellectual property and complex litigation for public and privately held companies across a range of industries.”

Read the article.

“DLA Piper is pleased to announce it was ranked second by the Financial Times for both the Most Innovative and Most Digital law firm in the FT North America Innovative Lawyers 2020 report. The inaugural Most Digital award is based on the firm’s use of data and technology across all aspects of its client service and business. These impressive overall firm rankings are in addition to being commended in four individual categories,” posts DLA Piper in their Newsroom.

“DLA Piper’s pro bono work was included in the ‘Social justice and rule of law section’ of the report. The Financial Times editors noted that the case studies included in the report ‘…reflect some of the best practice emerging’ from law firms that ‘have harnessed the law to overturn inequities.'”

“DLA Piper was cited in this section for its: ‘1,400 hours of pro bono support to food banks and food distribution organisations since January.’ This work included helping with employee safety, supply chains, food storage, applications to the Paycheck Protection Program and advising related to the use of National Guard troops in food distribution. The Financial Times also noted that the firm provides pro bono legal counsel to the UN’s World Food Programme.”

Read the article.

“Google faced its third major lawsuit in two months on Thursday as 38 U.S. states and territories accused the $1 trillion company of abusing its market power to try to make its search engine as dominant inside cars, TVs and speakers as it is in phones,” report Diane Bartz and Paresh Dave in Reuters’ U.S. Legal News.

“The lawsuit against the company’s parent Alphabet Inc follows years of complaints that it and other big tech firms including Facebook and Amazon use their massive market power to smite competitors in pursuit of profits.”

“The states asked the court to find Google guilty of breaking antitrust law and to order an end to any agreements or other behavior that it finds to be exclusionary. It raised the possibility of requiring asset sales but did not go into detail.”

Read the article.

“Bonuses to the third power (i.e., bonuses on top of bonuses on top of bonuses), and that’s exactly what Orrick — a firm that brought in $1,158,537,000 in 2019 gross revenue, placing in at No. 31 in the most recent Am Law 100 rankings — is offering to its associates this year,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“First and foremost, the firm will be matching the year-end bonus scale offered by Cravath and the special bonus scale offered by Davis Polk. What’s needed for associates to get a full market bonus? At the beginning of the year, the firm lowered its billable hours threshold to 1,950, including 100 hours of time spent on areas like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), innovation, and business development (BD), plus unlimited pro bono hours.”

Read the article.

Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, is pleased to announce that William Sentell has joined the firm’s Litigation Practice Group as a partner in the firm’s Houston office. Sentell focuses his practice on franchise dispute resolution and related corporate, regulatory, and compliance matters. He brings experience representing franchise clients, including franchisors, brand owners, distributors, licensors, manufacturers, and other industry stakeholders.

Sentell’s addition in Texas further strengthens the firm’s capabilities in the franchise space. He follows the arrival of a three-person lawyer team led by Kevin Hein, who serves as co-chair of the firm’s Franchise and Licensing Practice, a highly experienced team that handles U.S. and international franchise and distribution matters.

With more than a decade of complex commercial litigation experience, including first- and second-chair trial and arbitration experience, Sentell provides support and clear risk assessment in all phases of litigation and arbitration. Avoiding risk in the area of franchise sales, and managing relationships throughout the franchise lifecycle, are a practice focus for Sentell.

In addition to helping clients anticipate and avoid costly disputes, he also advises on a variety of corporate and regulatory matters, including franchise disclosures, sales and acquisitions. His combination of litigation and transactional experience allows him to provide practical advice to clients.

Dykema, a leading national law firm, today announced the addition of Basil A. Umari and Nicholas Zugaro as senior counsel to the firm’s Bankruptcy Practice Group in Texas. Both attorneys join Dykema from the boutique law firm they co-founded, Umari Zugaro, PLLC. Additionally, Dykema expects to expand its Bankruptcy Practice Group by adding more talent in the near future.

In their respective practices, both Umari and Zugaro have experience representing debtors, liquidating trustees, official creditors’ committees, secured creditors, unsecured creditors, equity holders, officers and directors, patent holders, landlords, tenants, and asset purchasers in numerous corporate bankruptcy cases in New York, Delaware, Texas and other venues. Each has a background working in a variety of industries, including oil & gas, healthcare, construction, food service, retail, and manufacturing.

Both Umari and Zugaro also have extensive bankruptcy litigation experience defending numerous companies in preference actions and claims objections brought by trustees. They’ve also tried numerous complex commercial cases to juries and the bench in state and federal court.

Umari earned a J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law and a B.A., cum laude, in Mathematics, Philosophy from Amherst College. Zugaro earned a J.D., cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center and a B.S. in Economics from Texas A&M University.

Houston, December 14, 2020 – Two attorneys with national law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka have been selected to the Texas Super Lawyers 2020 Top Women list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. The Up-and-Coming 50: 2020 Women Texas Rising Stars list is comprised of women who ranked in the top 50 of Texas Rising Stars nomination, research and blue-ribbon review process.

Named as one of Top Women in Texas by SuperLawyers, Diana Perez Gomez is a shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s and Vice Chair of Houston’s labor and employment practice, where she focuses on complex labor and employment disputes in state and federal courts. She has more than 15 years of experience in a wide range civil litigation matters as well as managing EEOC and TWC matters and investigations for public and private employers. Gomez also serves on Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s management committee and is National Chair for the firm’s Pro Bono Committee.

Gomez holds bachelor’s degree in political science from the Texas A&M University and received her law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Very involved in the legal community, she currently serves as the Second Vice President for the Houston Bar Association (HBA) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Houston Zoo Development Corporation and the Hispanic Bar Association of Houston. Gomez is also a co-chair for District Four of the Texas Bar Foundation and Chair of the HBA’s Law and the Media Committee. Recipient of many accolades, Gomez was named to the Texas Super Lawyers list by Super Lawyers® consecutively since 2013; was selected as a Top Lawyer in 2017, 2019 and 2020 by Houstonia Magazine, received Latina Lawyer Under 40 Award from the Mexican American Bar Association of Texas Foundation in 2012; was the recipient of the Houston Bar Association’s President’s Award in 2016 and 2019; was a recipient of the Hispanic Bar Association of Houston’s President’s Award in 2007, 2009, and 2015; was awarded the Local Heroes Recognition by the Houston Lawyer Magazine in 2009 for her work as a Presidential Appointee in the U.S. Department of Education serving as Deputy Director for the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans and then as Chief of Staff for the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development in 2008 and 2009, and the Woodrow B. Seals Outstanding Young Lawyer of Houston Award from Houston Young Lawyers Association in 2008. She is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, Texas Bar Foundation and the Houston Bar Foundation.

Named among the Up-and-Coming 50: 2020 Texas Women Rising Stars, Julie Offerman is an experienced litigation attorney in Chamberlain’s Houston labor & employment practice. She has substantial experience defending employers nationwide in wage and hour class and collective action lawsuits, including matters involving allegations of misclassification of employees and failure to pay overtime. Offerman graduated from University of Texas at Austin, with a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, and received her law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law, summa cum laude as well. While there, she was an articles editor for the Texas Tech Law Review. Prior to joining Chamberlain Hrdlicka, she clerked for Justice Phil Johnson of the Texas Supreme Court. She has been named to Texas Super Lawyers in 2020 after being named Texas Rising Star in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019. She has also been named among Houstonia Magazine Top Lawyers in 2019 and 2020.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

Hanzo, a company known for its pioneering technology in dynamic web content preservation from enterprise collaboration applications and complex websites, today announced the appointment of Kathleen Roberge to the position of Chief Revenue Officer. Roberge’s appointment complements Hanzo’s expanding coverage of collaboration data sources in the market, including Google Workspace.

Roberge joins Hanzo with over 20 years of experience in sales leadership and go-to-market strategy development. She’s been instrumental in scaling multiple Enterprise SaaS companies from startup to more than $75m annual recurring revenue (ARR). Roberge will lead Hanzo’s Sales and Marketing teams to optimize the company’s commercial strategy and enterprise growth.

An accomplished enterprise software and technology executive, Roberge is known for leading and motivating high-performing sales and marketing teams. Previously, Roberge served in senior sales leadership roles at Rocketrip, Aventri, Compushare, and Perimeter, all of which she was responsible for exponentially growing revenue.

“Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: KPTI), a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company pioneering novel cancer therapies, today announced the appointment of Michael Mano as Senior Vice President, General Counsel. Mr. Mano brings over 15 years of legal experience and previously served as Counsel, Business Development at Biogen Inc.,” was posted on Karyopharm Therapeutics’ Press Releases.

“Prior to Biogen, Mr. Mano served as Senior Counsel at Proskauer Rose LLP. Mr. Mano holds a Bachelor’s degree from Saint Michael’s College and a Juris Doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.”

Read the article.

“The Texas attorney general’s office has named The Lanier Law Firm and the law firm Keller Lenkner to the litigation team that would face off against Alphabet’s Google in an expected antitrust lawsuit, the office said on Tuesday,” reports Diane Bartz in Reuters’ Technology News.

“Texas, backed by other states, has long been expected to follow the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Google but unrelated allegations against Attorney General Ken Paxton of bribery and abuse of office led to the departure of several lawyers who were key to the Google investigation.”

“With the new hires, the Texas lawsuit could come as early as this month, according to a source familiar with the office’s planning.”

Read the article.

“An Ohio judge has been removed from two upcoming criminal trials after a lawyer for the defendants alleged that the judge was failing to implement COVID-19 precautions,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s Daily News.

“Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor removed Judge Mark Fleegle of Muskingum County, Ohio, from the trials last week.”

“Columbus, Ohio, lawyer Harry Reinhart, 69, had alleged in a November affidavit that Fleegle conducts all hearings in person and does not require facial coverings. Reinhart said he is at higher risk if he contracts COVID-19, and his clients fear that he will be distracted at trial by his own health concerns, O’Connor said in her disqualification order.”

Read the article.

“2021 will see a sharp rise in climate change litigation against companies and their executives around the world as cases begin to impact more individuals across a broader range of sectors,” writes Emma Ager in Clyde & Co’s Insights.

“Underpinning the rising concern around climate change are a range of cases – in the US more filings by cities and states seeking remediation from companies considered to be contributing to climate change impacts such as rising sea levels or increasing flood risks. In the UK, European, Canadian and Australian courts, by contrast, we are seeing more human rights cases typically brought by young people seeking to hold businesses and governments to account for failing to protect and preserve the environment for their and future generations.”

Read the article.

Sidley Austin LLP has promoted three Texas lawyers to partner. The newly elected Texas lawyers are Tara Lancaster and Charles Persons in the firm’s Dallas office and Katy L. Lukaszewski in the Houston office. Lancaster is in the firm’s tax group, Persons is in Sidley’s restructuring practice group, and Lukaszewski is in the firm’s energy group. The three join 28 Sidley lawyers elected firmwide effective January 1, 2021.

“We could not be prouder of the talented lawyers that make up our 2021 partnership class,” said Mike Schmidtberger, chair of Sidley’s Executive Committee. “They are a diverse group that represent a broad mix of practices and offices across geographies. Their many accomplishments to date and dedication to client service have earned them this prestigious recognition. We wish them all the best as they embark on this exciting adventure.”

PHILADELPHIA – December 16, 2020) — Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC is pleased to announce that Anthony H. Chwastyk has joined the firm as senior counsel in the Philadelphia office. He is a member of the Business Transactions Group and chair of the firm’s new Trademark & Copyright Law Group.

Chwastyk serves as counsel to companies in highly regulated and growing industries such as healthcare and e-commerce. He previously served as corporate counsel for a large New Jersey-based nonprofit healthcare system, and as general counsel to a mid-sized New Jersey industrial supplier.

Chwastyk helps clients navigate compliance and regulatory challenges, drawing on his in-house experience to help clients avoid potential liabilities. He reviews, negotiates, and implements high-value software agreements, vendor contracts, real estate transactions, and financing arrangements. His practice also involves advising clients on the process of applying for and protecting their trademark and copyright rights.

Chwastyk interned for The Honorable Mark I. Bernstein of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Drexel University and his B.A., summa cum laude, from La Salle University.

Washington, DC (December 16, 2020) – Venable LLP is pleased to announce that Nora E. Garrote, co-chair of the Intellectual Property Transactions Group, has been appointed to the newly created role of partner in charge of diversity and inclusion. Garrote will develop and implement programs, outreach, and mentoring opportunities that foster diversity, equity, and inclusion within the firm.

Venable knows that the key to understanding the full spectrum of business and legal options lies in approaching a situation from a diverse set of viewpoints. The firm recruits, develops, and promotes highly skilled lawyers, paraprofessionals, and support staff with varied perspectives, from a wide range of racial, ethnic, cultural, and social backgrounds. While the firm is proud of its progress, recent events have once again highlighted that there is still much work to be done to advance diversity and inclusion. The appointment of  Garrote reaffirms Venable’s ongoing commitment to this endeavor.

In this role, she will advise firm management on diversity and inclusion strategies and the firm’s progress for both attorneys and business professionals. Garrote will collaborate closely in the furtherance of diversity and inclusion with the firm’s division chairs, practice group leaders, attorneys, and professional staff responsible for recruiting and hiring, professional development and training, work assignments, and human resources. She will also continue to build external partnerships that support our goals and raise awareness within the firm of diversity and inclusion issues and best practices.

Garrote’s practice focuses on technology and intellectual property transactions and counseling, internet and new media law, technology transfers, and entertainment. With more than 30 years of experience and deep familiarity with the full range of established and evolving technologies, she assists companies with comprehensive technology, intellectual property, and contracting matters. She previously chaired Venable’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and has played an instrumental role in growing the firm’s partnership with the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), the premier organization fostering equality in the legal profession.

NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 16, 2020)—Perkins Coie announced today the addition of 17 white collar and financial services litigation attorneys from the prominent firm of Richards Kibbe & Orbe (RKO), marking the largest such practice expansion in the country in recent years. The addition of the Chambers-ranked group, which serves a range of financial institutions, significantly expands Perkins Coie’s New York office and its national White Collar & Investigations and Securities Litigation practices.

The RKO group has decades of experience representing institutional and individual clients in significant government investigations and enforcement actions and in securities and business litigations. These cases involve allegations of financial fraud, antitrust, securities and commodities law violations, insider trading, bribery, money laundering, OFAC violations, and FCPA violations, among others. The RKO group also brings extensive prosecutorial and regulatory litigation experience; partners Lee Richards and David Massey are both former Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the Southern District of New York.

In addition to Richards and Massey, other veteran partners joining Perkins Coie’s New York office from RKO include Shari Brandt, Paul Devlin, Rowan Gaither, Arthur Greenspan, Margaret Meyers, Matthew Riccardi, James Walker, and Daniel Zinman. Joining Perkins Coie’s Washington, D.C., office will be partners David Daniels and Jamie Schafer. The partners will be joined by counsels Rachel Mechanic and Andrew Podolin, and associates Rebecca Salk, Jacob Taber, and Hellen Park.

Perkins Coie launched its New York office just nine years ago in the aftermath of the 2008-2010 global financial crisis. Today, New York is a cornerstone of Perkins Coie’s growth initiatives. In 2019, the firm relocated to a 66,000-square-foot midtown office space at 1155 Avenue of the Americas.

Along with notable growth in both revenue and lawyer headcount over the past five years, Perkins Coie has one of the highest lateral retention rates in the legal industry. In addition to being named to Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For®” list for the past 18 years, the firm has been widely recognized for its diverse and inclusive culture, earning recognition from (among others) Microsoft and Intel for the diversity of its legal teams and from the Human Rights Campaign as a best place to work.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., is pleased to announce that Scott Cruz, an Officer in the firm’s Employment & Labor practice group, is listed in the 2020 edition of Crain’s Chicago’s Notable Minorities in Accounting, Consulting and Law.

The list recognizes Chicago-area professionals in accounting, consulting and law who have overcome challenges and bias to rise to the top of their professions. Crain’s says the honorees – many of whom have stepped up to more visible roles in diversity and inclusion initiatives – have “shown the ability or power to effect change in their role or area of practice, serve as a role model or mentor, and have assumed a leadership position outside their organization.” Crain’s also notes that the honorees have risen to challenges in an “extraordinary year” to help their clients, colleagues and communities.

Cruz represents public and private sector employers in Chicago, Southern Illinois, and throughout the Midwest in all aspects of labor and employment law, including civil litigation and preventative counseling. He represents employers in state and federal courts and administrative agencies involving claims brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, retaliatory discharge, breach of contract, labor arbitration, and class actions. He is particularly versed in all aspects of state and federal law relating to minimum wages, overtime, exemptions, and wage payment issues. His work also involves training management and employees on workplace legal issues and conducting workplace investigations and legal audits.

Cruz is a board member with Alivio Medical Center, a not-for-profit whose mission is to increase Hispanic access to comprehensive, affordable quality health care.

The complete list of the 2020 Crain’s Chicago Notable Minorities in Accounting, Consulting and Law can be viewed at: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/awards/crains-2020-notable-minority-executives-accounting-consulting-law.