Katten announced today that Dilen Kumar has joined the firm as a partner in its award-winning Mergers and Acquisitions/Private Equity practice in its Dallas office, which has seen major growth and success since opening three years ago.

“Dilen’s unique experience working at the White House and at the country’s premier law firms combined with his passionate commitment to diversity and civic involvement, particularly in the Dallas community, aligns with what we seek and value in our attorneys at Katten, making Dilen a perfect addition to our team,” said Mark S. Solomon, managing partner of the Dallas office.

Kumar, who served as an assistant counsel in the White House Counsel’s Office during the Obama administration, represents private equity firms and public and private companies in connection with mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, carve-outs and investment transactions across a variety of industries from health care and technology to energy and consumer goods. He also advises on general corporate governance matters. During his career, he has represented some of the world’s largest organizations and counseled the region’s leading private equity firms on some of their most important transactions.

Kumar currently serves as co-chair of the Texas Minority Counsel Program, an affiliate of the State Bar of Texas that seeks to increase opportunities for diverse attorneys in Texas. He is a recognized leader on diversity, equity and inclusion matters in the legal profession in Texas.

“Dilen’s depth of skill as an M&A lawyer and steadfast focus on smart, commercial advice fits in perfectly with the culture of the firm. His impressive business acumen across a variety of industries will further enhance Katten’s reputation as the go-to leader for dealmaking,” said J. David Washburn, co-chair of the firm’s M&A/PE practice.

Prior to joining Katten, Kumar was a corporate partner at Kirkland and Ellis in the firm’s private equity and M&A practice, where he also served as a diversity and pro bono coordinator for the Dallas office and on the firm’s Pro Bono Management Committee and Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Kumar has been recognized by D Magazine as one of the “Best Lawyers in Dallas” and “Best Lawyers Under 40” and by Texas Lawyer as one of 20 “Extraordinary Minorities in Texas Law,” — the youngest to receive the recognition. He is a graduate of the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce’s prestigious Leadership Dallas program and has served on the boards of numerous charitable and civic organizations in Dallas.

Katten is a full-service law firm with nearly 650 attorneys in locations across the United States and in London and Shanghai. Clients seeking sophisticated, high-value legal services turn to Katten for counsel locally, nationally and internationally. The firm’s core areas of practice include corporate, financial markets and funds, insolvency and restructuring, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, structured finance and securitization, transactional tax planning, private credit and private wealth. Katten represents public and private companies in numerous industries, as well as a number of government and nonprofit organizations and individuals. For more information, visit katten.com.

John D. Huh has joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner in the firm’s Trial Practice Group in its Philadelphia office. Prior to joining Duane Morris, Huh was a partner at DLA Piper.

“John’s extensive background in litigation, government investigations and compliance, and client relationships are an exciting addition to our Trial practice in Philadelphia and for the firm overall,” said Duane Morris Chairman and CEO Matthew A. Taylor. “We’re pleased to be deepening the strength of our firm’s largest practice group with attorneys of the highest caliber. I look forward to the continued and strategic growth of our litigation practice, especially as trial activity ramps up.”

“John is a highly skilled business lawyer who will be a staunch ally and resource for our clients, especially in this environment of increased investigations,” said Wayne A. Mack, co-chair of Duane Morris’ Trial Practice Group. “In addition to his broad and dynamic practice, John brings a positive, entrepreneurial attitude that will be a great fit for the firm’s collegial and collaborative culture,” added Sharon L. Caffrey, co-chair of Duane Morris’ Trial Practice Group.

Huh focuses his practice on litigation, arbitrations, government investigations and compliance, concentrating in the fields of competition law and consumer protection. Huh has more than 15 years of litigation and arbitration experience that includes successfully representing clients dealing with antitrust claims, class action lawsuits, business/economic torts and commercial claims, as well as False Claims Act and other fraud claims. He also has substantial experience litigating the enforcement of noncompetition and nonsolicitation provisions, as well as other competition related restrictive covenants, in various types of business agreements.

In addition to overseeing and conducting internal investigations, Huh has extensive experience representing individuals and companies in government investigations and enforcement actions conducted by state and federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice and state attorneys general. He has successfully secured closures of federal and state investigations, without any penalty or concession, involving allegations of deceptive marketing practices, collusion, monopolization, anticompetitive information sharing, violations of telemarketing regulations and unfair business practices. Huh frequently assists companies in developing and implementing global antitrust and competition law compliance policies and practices. He also routinely oversees and conducts legal risk assessments of clients’ business practices and strategies, and subsequently provides legal advice that advances the clients’ business objectives in a strategic yet efficient manner. Huh additionally counsels clients by providing analyses on the competitive effects of potential mergers and acquisitions, as well as other business decisions. He also regularly navigates clients through the process of reporting proposed transactions to the federal antitrust agencies under the HSR Act.

“I’m very excited to start the next chapter of my career at Duane Morris,” said Huh. “I look forward to accelerating the growth of my practice with the firm’s robust platform and providing our existing clients the benefit of my previous experience. Also, pushing forward on the diversity and inclusion front is something that is very important to me. And the firm’s commitment and efforts on that front impressed me, and I really look forward to contributing to those efforts.”

Huh is a graduate of Temple University School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 2006), where he was note-comment editor of Temple Law Review, and Dickinson College (B.A., cum laude, 2003).

About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to today’s multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 800 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients, spanning all major practices and industries. Duane Morris has been recognized by BTI Consulting as both a client service leader and a highly recommended law firm.

The International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) has announced that Karen D. Walker, a partner at Holland & Knight LLP in Tallahassee, Florida, and Washington, D.C., and leader of the firm’s Government Section, has accepted an invitation to join the IADC, the preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests.

“I am honored to be invited to join the International Association of Defense Counsel,” Ms. Walker said. “I look forward to the educational and professional development opportunities that membership will provide, as well as to networking with other IADC members who represent corporate and insurance interests.”

Ms. Walker represents corporations and insurance companies in government contract matters and disputes with state and local governmental entities, as well as in related administrative and civil litigation and appellate proceedings.

For the American Bar Association (ABA), Ms. Walker currently serves as a vice-chair of the State and Local Procurement Committee of the ABA’s Section of Public Contract Law. She also serves on the Florida Bar’s Special Committee on Opportunity in the Practice of Law in Florida.

Ms. Walker received her J.D. (with honors) from the University of Florida College of Law and her Bachelor of Science (magna cum laude) from Florida State University.

About the International Association of Defense Counsel
The IADC is the preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests. Founded in 1920, the IADC has members who hail from six continents, 51 countries and territories, and all 50 U.S. states. The core purposes of the IADC are to enhance the development of skills, promote professionalism, and facilitate camaraderie among its members and their clients, as well as the broader civil justice community. For more information, visit www.iadclaw.org.

The intersection of social media and the law is a spotlight focus of the third-quarter 2021 edition of the Defense Counsel Journal (DCJ), published by the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC). The latest issue of the IADC’s quarterly publication also features in-depth analysis articles about the Canadian courts’ approach to the challenge of multi-jurisdictional class actions, as well as the U.S. Circuit Courts’ differing approaches to discovery orders from “foreign and international tribunals.”

In the current issue, IADC member and DCJ editor Christopher B. Parkerson also addresses the intersection of science and the law that is so prevalent in contemporary legal matters involving disciplines ranging from engineering, chemistry and biology to physics and economics.

“It is critical that lawyers be able to understand and advocate on the part of science,” Mr. Parkerson writes. “It is also important that judges, jurors, and administrative decision makers be able to accept the importance of the role of science in these disputes.”

He added that Americans’ faith in experts and science is important to monitor as it may fundamentally change the way lawyers advocate for their clients: “It will also be interesting to see how the law adapts to these potential changes.”

In his dedicated page in the current DCJ issue, IADC President Andrew S. Chamberlin wrote, “If we are to live together in peace and prosperity, it is essential that the rule of law remains central to our lives. … A commitment to the pursuit of scientific endeavor, and the application of scientific evidence to our actions, unaffected by partisan politics, is equally important to the rule of law.”

Frequently and favorably cited by courts and other legal scholarship, the DCJ is a quarterly forum for topical and scholarly writings on the law, including its development and reform, as well as on the practice of law in general. DCJ articles are written by members of the IADC, which is a 2,500-member, invitation-only, worldwide organization that serves its members and their clients, as well as the civil justice system and the legal profession.

The IADC’s third-quarter 2021 DCJ is available for free and without a subscription via the IADC’s website at https://www.iadclaw.org/documents/?CategoryId=4.

Following are brief summaries of the articles included in the third-quarter 2021 issue of the DCJ:

“Social Media Immunity in 2021 and Beyond: Will Platforms Continue to Avoid Litigation Exposure Faced by Offline Counterparts” by Peter J. Pizzi, a partner at Walsh Pizzi O’Reilly Falanga LLP – The article examines Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 and how the law has been interpreted in the face of the growing influence of social media.

“Canada’s Evolving Response to Overlapping Multi-Jurisdictional Class Actions” by Gordon McKee, a senior partner, and Justin Manoryk, an associate, both at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP – The article explores increasingly prevalent national and multi-jurisdictional class proceedings in Canadian courts and the challenges posed by parallel and overlapping class actions in a number of provinces or territories.

“Discovering the Widening U.S. Circuit Split on Discovery Orders from ‘Foreign and International Tribunals’ Under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1782” by Mica Nguyen Worthy, a partner, and Melanie Huffines, an associate, both at Cranfill Sumner LLP, and Savannah Putnam, a current law student at Campbell Law School – This article provides analysis regarding the different approaches taken by the Circuit Courts and sets the stage for future U.S. Supreme Court action to address the split.

The IADC is the preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests. Founded in 1920, the IADC has members who hail from six continents, 51 countries and territories, and all 50 U.S. states. The core purposes of the IADC are to enhance the development of skills, promote professionalism, and facilitate camaraderie among its members and their clients, as well as the broader civil justice community. For more information, visit www.iadclaw.org.

Turner Padget is pleased to announce that Hannah Stetson, associate in the firm’s Columbia office, has been named as one of Columbia Business Monthly’s 2021 Best & Brightest 35 and Under – an elite group of young professionals who are making a difference in their workplace and community. Now in its sixth year, the annual Best & Brightest 35 and Under award celebrates the men and women who are rising stars in the Columbia business community. Stetson will be honored at an event on September 30 at Segra Park and is profiled in the September issue of Columbia Business Monthly. The full list of award recipients can be found here.

Stetson is a member of the firm’s Workplace Litigation Team. She dedicates her practice to counseling, training and defending businesses and employers, including startups and small to mid-size businesses. In addition to advising and defending employers throughout the Carolinas, Stetson has leveraged her employment law experience to champion Columbia’s small business community. She was part of a team of Turner Padget lawyers who developed the firm’s Palmetto Propeller initiative to provide pro bono assistance to startups and small businesses in the Southeast. Since its implementation, Stetson has counseled startup and small business owners on policies and best practices that help their companies grow and thrive in Columbia’s marketplace. Within the firm, she cultivates the development of young lawyers’ careers as co-chair of the firm’s Associate Committee.

Stetson earned her undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina and her law degree from Wake Forrest University School of Law.

Turner Padget exceeds expectations by taking your interests, your business and our relationships personally. Our depth of knowledge, technical strength and diverse experience makes us sharp, talented business thinkers able to see our clients’ needs holistically and get to the core of the problem quickly. As one of South Carolina’s largest law firms, Turner Padget has expanded into neighboring states with offices located in Augusta, Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville and Myrtle Beach, along with strategic alliances in Florida and North Carolina. http://www.turnerpadget.com/

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ROANOKE, Va. (September 7, 2021) – The Virginia law firm Gentry Locke is pleased to announce the addition of associate Jessiah Hulle to its Criminal & Government Investigations Group in Roanoke. Hulle will work with clients on white-collar criminal defense matters in federal courts.

Prior to joining the firm, Hulle served as a law clerk to the Honorable Mary Grace O’Brien of the Court of Appeals of Virginia. During law school he served as a student attorney with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for Augusta County and as an intern for both the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the Honorable Maria Vazquez-Doles, New York Supreme Court, Orange County.

Hulle graduated with his B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Valley Forge and then earned his J.D. magna cum laude from the Washington and Lee University School of Law. During law school, Hulle served as a John W. Davis Appellate Advocacy Competition chair on the Moot Court Executive Board, as a moot court director of the Black Law Students Association, and as a research assistant for Professor Joshua A. T. Fairfield.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka is pleased to announce that Gina Vitiello is the new national chair of the Construction Law Section. In this capacity, Vitiello will lead the 15-attorney section to counsel clients during all phases of the construction litigation process to help them accomplish their goals and objectives.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to lead the Construction Law Section,” said, Vitiello. “The construction industry is experiencing a surge in new work, but also some new and unexpected risks. We have an opportunity to help our clients navigate through the risks in the current market and make the most of this period of growth.

“We are excited for Gina to step into this role and grateful for her continued dedication to our clients,” said Larry Campagna, Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s managing shareholder. “Last year, through Gina’s and outgoing section chair Seth Price’s work guiding construction clients through the COVID-19 pandemic, the firm was listed as one of the Top 50 Construction Law Firms in the field by Construction Executive magazine. We look forward to the team’s continued success under her leadership.”

Vitiello focuses her practice on construction contract law and litigation. She represents owners, contractors, designers and suppliers in the construction industry in contract negotiations and dispute resolution. Vitiello’s practice spans across the country and internationally. She specializes in handling complex construction claims involving delay and impact damages, as well as design and construction defect issues. Additionally, Vitiello has served as outside regional construction counsel to one of the largest specialty subcontractors in the country, for which she provided daily counsel on virtually all construction-related issues, from disputed change orders to termination of defaulted subcontractors.

“Gina is an accomplished construction law attorney and well respected within the legal field,” said Seth Price, Chamberlain Hrdlicka shareholder. “She continues to achieve great results for her clients. I am grateful to have been able to work alongside her for more than 20 years and look forward to her further successes as she leads the Construction Law Section.”

Vitiello earned her undergraduate degree from St. Lawrence University and her law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law.

“Orange County will get $1.3 million to $3 million from Johnson & Johnson through a partial settlement of the statewide lawsuit counties have waged against opioid makers for the deadly and costly epidemic their addictive painkillers unleashed.County officials announced Orange’s cut of,” reports Chris McKenna in Times Herald Record.

“State negotiated deal on Friday, saying the amount depends on how many other counties accept the terms and end their parts in the litigation. The more that do, the higher the amount.The first payment from Johnson & Johnson is expected to come in February. Much of the funding must be used to combat the continued addiction toll through.”

Read the article.

“Karen Garner and the City of Loveland have agreed to settle her claim against the city for $3 million, the city announced Wednesday. The City of Loveland said once finalized, the settlement will end Garner’s pending federal lawsuit stemming from her June 2020 arrest by officers of the Loveland Police,” reports Alexander Kirk and Janet Oravetz in 9 News.

“Garner, an elderly woman with dementia, was arrested after she was accused of stealing from a Walmart store. The incident was not publicly reported until April 2021 after attorney Sarah Schielke filed a lawsuit. It was at that time that Loveland Police Chief Bob Ticer said they were made aware of the excessive force allegations.”

Read the article.

“A former chief counsel to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee has joined Covington & Burling as a special counsel, marking his first stint in private practice and positioning him to work on technology matters, antitrust issues and other policy areas for U.S. corporate clients,” reports Mike Scarcella in Reuters.

“Nicholas Xenakis will be a member of Covington’s public policy team in Washington, D.C., the firm said Tuesday. Xenakis has served as chief counsel and staff director for Feinstein, a California Democrat, since January. Earlier, he was general counsel to the judiciary committee under Feinstein’s leadership as the ranking Democrat.”

Read the article.

“U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission SEC Chair Gary Gensler will lean on corporate disclosures as the Biden administration sets its eyes on curbing anti-competitive behavior. In a meeting of the newly formed White House Competition Council set to take place later this week, Gensler will also,” reports Brian Cheung in Yahoo Finance.

“The SEC is one of six independent agencies scheduled to meet with eight cabinet secretaries in the council’s first-ever meeting on Friday at 10 a.m. ET, according to sources familiar with the matter. The White House announced the formation of the council in July, aspiring to address overconcentration, monopolization, and unfair competition.”

Read the article.

“Recently announced legislation that would expand solar tax credits to include integrated solar roofs for homeowners in another push towards renewable energy as the earth’s climate hurtles toward dangerous tipping points. With 5 million roofs replaced each year in the United States,” reports Grace O’Donnell in Yahoo Finance.

“The opportunity to upsell someone from a regular roof to a solar roof represents not only a good business opportunity, but a tremendous opportunity to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels,” Martin DeBono, president of GAF Energy, told Yahoo Finance. DeBono added that “with all the attention that solar energy and renewable fuels are.”

Read the article.

“Nat Phillips is staying at Liverpool after agreeing a new four-year contract. The popular centre-back had been expected to leave Anfield on deadline day in search of regular first-team football.However, in the absence of a suitable offer, Liverpool have now decided to keep him,” reports James Pearce and Caoimhe O’Neill in The Athletic.

“Upon signing his new deal, Phillips said, Obviously after last year, it’s really nice to get that reward from the club. I’m happy to be sticking around and being available if the club need to call on me again. I’m excited for the next chapter and just to see what that brings. Phillips, whose previous deal ran until 2023, played an integral part.”

Read the article.

“The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association is encouraging farmers and grain companies to work together to find co-operative solutions in cases where producers don’t have enough grain to fill production contracts. WCWGA president Gunter Jochum, who farms west of Winnipeg, said his,” reports Brian Cross in Glacier Farm Media.

“Grain buyers in his area have been reasonable and have shown some flexibility in cases where the amount of grain harvested by farmers has fallen short of contracted grain volumes. Jochum urged growers to talk with their grain companies, be up front and see if a deal can be reached. What we’re saying to farmers is you need to talk to your.”

Read the article.

“D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) declared a state of emergency this week to extend the city’s lucrative contract with MedStar an additional nine months, a move that city leaders hope will end a simmering conflict that could have disrupted care for hundreds of thousands of the city’s low,” reports Julie Zauzmer Weil in The Washington Post.

“The massive MedStar hospital system said last month that it planned to end its agreements with the two other insurers that cover most of the D.C. residents enrolled in Medicaid, according to Deputy Mayor Wayne Turnage, after a judge last year found that the city violated procurement rules, which meant it should not have awarded.”

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“COVID-19’s Delta variant has really changed what the legal landscape will look like this fall. Dozens of large law firms were hoping for a safe reopening of their offices, but now their proposed restart dates are being pushed back and vaccine mandates are on the table at firms across the country to stop,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Some firms have taken longer than others to make a move on the vaccination front. It was just last week that Dentons, the world’s largest law firm,` decided to announce a mandatory vaccination policy for all U.S. employees. Now, it looks like another Biglaw heavyweight has officially opted in for vaccination for all employees.”

Read the article.

“Hachette UK has appointed Jane Dale from Springer Nature as its new general counsel, succeeding Alex Hardy who will return to Australia with her family later this year. Dale will take up the role in January 2022, based at Hachette UK’s headquarters in Carmelite House. Currently deputy general counsel at,” reports The Bookseller in their blog.

“Having joined the company in 2012 as divisional counsel, Dale oversees the legal teams in the UK, China and South Africa, editorial rights and the legal operations function. She is also the legal support partner for Macmillan Education. Before joining Springer Nature, she was assistant regional counsel at Disney UK for more than nine.”

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“Wawa and a group of consumers have reached a settlement of litigation stemming from a data security incident that occurred in 2019 across its 860 locations. As part of the settlement, Wawa will have to give up to $8 million in gift cards, and cash reimbursements of out-of-pocket costs capped at $1 million,” reports Petrol Plaza in their blog.

“The case emerged from malware being discovered on Wawa payment processing servers. The malware affected customer payment card information used at most Wawa locations beginning at different points in time after March 4, 2019 and until it was contained on December 12, 2019.The settlement also requires Wawa to implement.”

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“The City Council is poised to approve a $1.4 million settlement with a man who got shot in the stomach in 2012 by a then-city police detective. The tentative agreement, on the council’s Tuesday agenda, would end costly litigation in a high-profile case that’s been winding its way through the state court,” reports Tony Gallotto in Tap Into Camden.

“Under the proposed settlement, the city would pay 29-year-old Bryheim Jamar Baskin $750,000 and the city’s insurance carrier would pay the $650,000 remainder. Council approval would not be an admission of liability by the city, the agreement says. A resolution on the council’s agenda says this settlement would avoid the continued.”

Read the article.

UNIONDALE, NY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2021 – Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP is pleased to announce that Stephanie M. Alberts was appointed Co-Chair of the NCBA’s Surrogate’s Court Estates and Trusts Committee. She will serve a two-year term.

This Committee deals with estate planning, administration and litigation; reviews pending relevant NYS legislation; and maintains an interchange of ideas with the Nassau County Surrogate and staff.

Ms. Alberts, an East Rockaway, NY resident, earned her J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law and her B.A. from SUNY Binghamton.

ABOUT FORCHELLI DEEGAN TERRANA LLP
Founded in 1976, Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP (“FDT”) is one of Long Island’s largest and most distinguished law firms. Headquartered in Uniondale, NY, the firm employs 65 attorneys across more than a dozen practice groups. FDT is committed to providing exceptional service to a broad range of national, regional and local clients.