James R. Serritella, a commercial litigator whose practice focuses on disputes in the financial services, bankruptcy and insurance sectors, has joined Stroock as a partner in its New York office.

In a release, the firm said the addition marks Stroock’s 10th lateral partner hire in the past 12 months. Serritella is the third litigation partner in this group, following the addition of Joshua Sohn in August and Jennifer Recine in March.

The firm said Serritella has defended against billions of dollars in claims related to residential mortgage-backed securities, redemptions in funds linked to Bernie Madoff, and various other matters involving financial services. He has also litigated and counseled clients on insurance coverage issues in connection with various types of policies, including professional liability, directors and officers liability, employment practices liability, and cybersecurity.

Kevin Shepherd, a partner in Venable LLP’s Real Estate Practice Group in the Baltimore office, has been elected to serve as treasurer of the American Bar Association (ABA).

Shepherd was elected by the ABA House of Delegates during the ABA’s annual meeting on August 13. He will serve as the treasurer-elect in 2019-2020 and as treasurer for the 2020-2023 term. Shepherd currently serves as chair of the ABA Board of Governors’ Finance Committee and will continue in that role for the 2019-2020 bar year. Shepherd will be one of only a few to serve simultaneously as chair of the Finance Committee and as treasurer-elect.

The treasurer is one of the five elected officers of the ABA, along with the president, president-elect, chair of the House of Delegates, and secretary. Shepherd is the first Venable attorney to serve as an elected officer of the ABA, and is only the third Maryland attorney to serve as an elected officer of the ABA in nearly a century.

At Venable, Shepherd works with U.S. and global institutions in complex real estate transactions, the firm said. He is also managing director of finance and chair of Venable’s Finance Committee, which oversees the firm’s financial operations, policies, and procedures.

Founded in 1878, the ABA is committed to advancing the rule of law across the United States and beyond by providing practical resources for legal professionals, law school accreditation, model ethics codes, and more. The ABA has more than 400,000 members, is one of the world’s largest voluntary professional organizations, and is the world’s largest bar association.

Holland & Hart announced the addition of partner Mickell Jimenez to its Labor and Employment practice in its Salt Lake City office.

Jimenez has experience serving as outside counsel to business owners on employment and litigation issues, the firm said in a release.

The firm said Jimenez has experience serving as outside general counsel to Cafe Rio, Inc. Before joining Holland & Hart, Jimenez was a director and shareholder at Clyde Snow, where she was recently a member of the firm’s Management Committee and co-chair of the Labor & Employment group.

Barnes & Thornburg has added Tejas Shah as a partner in the firm’s Labor & Employment Department in the Chicago office. Shah is the seventh attorney to join the Chicago office this year, which just celebrated its 25th anniversary.

In a release, the firm said Shah focuses his practice on U.S. immigration law. He guides employers through the complicated process of hiring and retaining foreign national employees in temporary visa categories such as H1-B, O-1, E-2, TN and L-1, and in sponsoring employees for permanent residency. In addition, Shah counsels companies of all sizes, including emerging companies, on I-9 audits by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, compliance with DOJ regulations in the I-9 process, and H-1B audits by the Department of Labor. His work touches a number of industries, primarily the finance, banking, primary, secondary and higher education, transportation, healthcare, nonprofit, and arts sectors.

Shah also maintains an individual immigration practice with a focus on investors, family-based immigration, and helping undocumented individuals obtain lawful status. He also maintains a strong commitment to pro bono work with organizations such as the National Immigrant Justice Center and Chicago Volunteer Legal Services.

Shah has served as the chair of the Illinois State Bar Association’s International and Immigration Law Section and co-chair of the South Asian Bar Association of North America’s immigration committee. In addition, Shah was named one of the Most Influential Minority Lawyers in Chicago by Crain’s Chicago Business in 2017. He joins the firm from Franczek P.C., where he led the immigration practice.

Shah earned his J.D. from George Washington University and his B.S. from Duke University.

Akerman LLP has added two partners to its national Real Estate Practice Group. Christopher Hayes joins Akerman in Orlando from Killgore, Pearlman, Semanie, Denius & Squires, P.A., while Stephen Tilbrook joins in Fort Lauderdale from GrayRobinson, P.A..

The firm said Hayes represents developers, homebuilders, and investors in the acquisition, development, and sale of real property. He has overseen numerous complex acquisitions and dispositions. As part of his transactional practice, Hayes also represents clients in. retail and office space leasing. Additionally, he works with investors and owners in acquiring and selling small and mid-market sized businesses, having worked on over 65 auto and motorcycle dealership transactions, and multiple other non-automotive asset and equity transfers.

Tilbrook has more than 25 years of experience practicing land use and environmental law, and he focuses his practice on complex land use, development, and environmental matters throughout the state of Florida. He represents property owners, expanding businesses, developers, financial institutions, and institutional clients, including hospitals, universities, regional shopping centers and real estate investment trusts.

Sean C. Griffin, a member in Dykema’s Washington, D.C., office, was named to the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel’s (FDCC) Board of Directors. The FDCC named Griffin a director on August 3 during its annual meeting.

The FDCC is composed of recognized leaders in the legal community who have achieved professional distinction, and are dedicated to promoting knowledge, fellowship, and professionalism of its members as they pursue the course of a balanced justice system and represent those in need of a defense in civil lawsuits.

Griffin focuses his practice on commercial litigation and specializes in cases involving allegations of breach of contract or fraud. His experience includes litigating cases in federal and state courts and arbitration panels around the country. Griffin also responds to subpoenas investigating violations of federal or state laws, including the False Claims Act, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and securities laws. Additionally, he assists clients with data security and responding to data breaches and is an IAPP Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US).

After graduating from Columbia University School of Law, Griffin clerked for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. After his clerkship, he worked as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, where he handled commercial litigation trials and appeals as well as government contract and construction litigation.

George R. Parker, a partner in Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP’s Montgomery office, was appointed at the 2019 Alabama State Bar (ASB) Annual Meeting to serve on President Christy Crow’s Executive Committee for 2019-2020.

Earlier this year Parker was re-elected to serve his third term as Bar Commissioner, representing Alabama’s 15th Judicial District. Also with the ASB, Parker serves on the Bar Disciplinary Panels and chairs a panel on the Character and Fitness Committee. In addition, he is a past president of the Young Lawyers Section and served on former ASB President Augusta Dowd’s Executive Committee in 2017-2018.

The firm said that Parker, a member of Bradley’s Litigation Practice Group, represents clients in a variety of matters in state and federal courts. He has represented Fortune 500 pharmaceutical manufacturers and medical device companies in individual and mass tort actions as both national and local counsel in state and federal courts across the country. He also represents clients in product liability, premises liability, insurance, and class action matters.

Parker is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Product Liability, Commercial Litigation, and Insurance Litigation. He also is included in the Mid-South Super Lawyers and Alabama Super Lawyers publications for General Litigation.

The ASB is dedicated to promoting the professional responsibility and competence of its members, improving the administration of justice and increasing the public understanding of and respect for the law.

Lindsay M. Nathan has joined Venable LLP as counsel in the Political Law Practice in the New York office. In a release, the firm said Nathan provides advice, guidance, and oversight to political groups and nonprofit organizations on all aspects of federal, state, and local political law.

The firm said Nathan has experience in campaign finance, lobbying disclosure, and government ethics and gift rules. Prior to joining Venable, Nathan was the senior corporate counsel for the nation’s largest gun violence prevention organization, Everytown for Gun Safety, where she advised its board of directors, officers, and staff on federal and state lobbying and campaign finance laws; state charitable solicitation laws; state laws regarding corporate and charitable governance; tax laws applicable to affiliated Section 501(c)(4), 501(c)(3), and 527 organizations; as well as a number of other nonprofit issues. In addition, she has direct experience working in the public sector.

Nathan has also held senior positions in the office of New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. During her tenure, she provided legal and policy advice to the governor’s staff, helped overhaul and streamline the gubernatorial appointment process, oversaw agency implementation of the governor’s initiatives, and oversaw statewide litigation strategy and progress.

Nathan received her J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, in 2008, and her B.A. in History of Art from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2004.

Stacey T. Kern has joined Eversheds Sutherland as a partner in the M&A and Private Capital teams within the firm’s Corporate Practice Group. Kern will be based in Eversheds Sutherland’s Chicago office, which opened in May.

In a release, the firm said Kern, who joins from Greenberg Traurig, has practiced for more than 20 years in such areas as mergers and acquisitions, private equity, restructurings and general corporate matters. Her clients include financial sponsors, public companies and privately held companies in connection with domestic and international transactions.

In addition to Eversheds Sutherland’s new Chicago office, the firm announced the opening of an office in San Diego on July 17.

Kern is the fifteenth U.S. lateral addition across six offices since January 2019, including Austin, Chicago, Houston, New York, Sacramento and San Diego.

Barbara E. Rosenblatt has joined Freeborn & Peters LLP in Richmond, Va., as an associate in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group and as a member of the Insurance and Reinsurance Industry Team.

Last month, Freeborn’s Richmond office relocated to larger, renovated space in the Riverfront Plaza’s west tower downtown to accommodate ongoing expansion.

In a release, the firm said Rosenblatt focuses her practice on auto insurance defense litigation.

Prior to joining Freeborn, Rosenblatt served as a public defender for 10 years in Richmond and Newport News, Va. During her tenure, she ran the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Office, supervised junior attorneys preparing for cases, and tried cases in courts including the Circuit Court, General District Court and Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. She also appeared before the Virginia Court of Appeals.

Rosenblatt received her J.D. from William and Mary School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University.

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Sean D. Jordan of Jackson Walker as a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas. On January 16, 2019, President Donald Trump nominated Sean to succeed Senior District Judge Richard Schell, filling the final vacancy on the court.

Jordan joined Jackson Walker in 2000 and was elected to partnership in 2002, prior to serving as Principal Deputy Solicitor General in the Office of the Solicitor General of Texas. In that role, he represented the state, its agencies and officials in numerous appeals and led a team of appellate lawyers in supervising the federal and state court appeals handled by the Texas Attorney General’s Office. He also coordinated the amicus curiae practice of the State of Texas in the U.S. Supreme Court, and federal circuit and state appellate courts.

He later rejoined the firm in 2015 with Kent Sullivan, who had previously served as a justice on Texas’ Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston, as a state district judge, and as First Assistant Attorney General under Greg Abbott. Together, Jordan and Sullivan co-chaired Jackson Walker’s Appellate practice group before Sullivan was named the state’s Commissioner of Insurance in 2017.

“Sean Jordan is an excellent appellate lawyer with an outstanding record,” said C. Wade Cooper, Jackson Walker managing partner. “His prior experiences as Texas’ deputy solicitor general, and as a trial lawyer, have prepared him to be an exceedingly effective federal judge. Sean will serve with great distinction.”

In a release, the firm said Jordan  has handled complex civil litigation and appellate cases in both government service and private practice. He has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and has written numerous Supreme Court briefs, twice winning the “Best Brief Award” from the National Association of Attorneys General for outstanding brief-writing before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jordan is a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. From 2016 to 2018, he was named a “Texas Super Lawyer” by Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters). In 2015, he was recognized by The Legal 500 United States in the area of Commercial Litigation.

He received his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Texas at Austin and his J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law. Prior to attending UT Austin, he served in the U.S. Army as an infantryman and paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division.

Scott D. Samlin has joined Blank Rome LLP as a partner in the Consumer Financial Services group in the New York office.

In a release, the firm said Samlin represents financial institutions, corporations, and other entities, providing regulatory counsel related to mortgage banking and consumer financial services matters. He joins Blank Rome from Pepper Hamilton LLP, where he was a partner in the firm’s financial services practice group and leader of the consumer financial services and bank regulatory practice.

The firm said Samlin’s regulatory compliance advice extends to state and federal laws affecting mortgage lending and servicing activities, including the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Ac, Truth in Lending Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Samlin works with the American Bar Association’s Consumer Financial Services, Banking Law, and Corporate Counsel committees; the Mortgage Bankers Association’s State Legislative and Regulatory, and Servicer Best Practices committees; the Conference on Consumer Finance Law’s Governing Committee; and the Structured Finance Association’s TPR/RA Compliance Review Scope (TRID Grid) Task Force, among others.

He received his J.D. from New York Law School and his B.A. in Political Science and Government from Rutgers University – New Brunswick.

Anne Murphy has joined Arent Fox LLP as a partner in the firm’s Health Care practice.

In a release, the firm said Murphy joins the Boston office, where she will work as an advisor on mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, and significant strategic projects for health care systems, academic medical centers, and health care service organizations.

The firm said Murphy manages transactional, regulatory, litigation, risk, compliance, and accreditation issues. Additionally, she counsels clients on Enterprise Risk Management, joint ventures, and emerging health care delivery models in areas such as value-based purchasing, behavioral health, aging in place, health information and technology, and telemedicine.

Prior to joining Arent Fox, Murphy was a partner in the Boston office of a New England law firm and a senior vice president and general counsel at a large academic medical center in Chicago. She also previously served in both private and public sector positions, including as chief counsel to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Akerman LLP announced the the addition of Sul Kim, Erica Mason, Anthony Morris and Peter Spanos in its Atlanta office.

In a release, the firm said the four new partners raise the headcount to 11 lawyers in the 10 months since the office opened.

Kim, Mason and Spanos practice in labor and employment, while Morris works in commercial litigation.

Kim joins from Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete LLP. The firm said she represents employers in matters involving union organizing campaigns, National Labor Relations Board proceedings, workplace safety and health issues, race, national origin, age, disability, religion and sex discrimination and harassment claims, and wage and hour claims. Kim has experience with foreign-based international companies, especially those in the automotive and manufacturing sectors.

Erica Mason, Partner, Labor and Employment Practice Group
Mason joins from Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete LLP. As national and regional employment counsel for her clients, she routinely defends employment claims before state and federal courts and agencies across the country, including successfully litigating five sexual harassment class actions against the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and dozens of class and collective actions against privately represented individuals and groups.

Anthony Morris, Partner, Litigation Practice Group
Morris joins from Dentons US LLP. He focuses his practice on business litigation, in addition to professional ethics and entertainment. He represents some of the world’s largest companies, with an emphasis on multinational insurance companies, in complex litigation matters, including class actions. Morris litigates high dollar coverage claims with insureds and handles all types of coverage disputes, with a particular focus on those alleging bad faith, and has experience in the substantive law regarding first-party property loss. He also defends corporate directors and officers in negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and securities fraud claims, attorneys in malpractice claims, and entities in sexual misconduct claims involving their personnel. He also routinely represents clients in appellate courts.

Peter Spanos, Partner, Labor and Employment Practice Group
Spanos joins from Barnes & Thornburg LLP. He has decades of experience representing clients in all major areas of labor and employment law, including federal and state employment law guidance and litigation, wage and hour law compliance and claims, trade secrets, unfair competition, and non-competition matters. In addition, Spanos provides legal counsel pertaining to collective bargaining, union organizing, elections, unfair labor practices, grievances and strikes.

Associate Ana Dowell also joined the Atlanta office from Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart. She represents employers in a variety of employment law matters, including alleged violations of Title VII, ADA, FMLA, and FLSA.

Perkins Coie announced that former JCPenney director April Goff has joined the firm as a partner in its Tax, Benefits & Compensation practice. Goff joins the firm in Dallas after serving as senior counsel at J. C. Penney Corporation, Inc. where she oversaw all employee and executive compensation matters as well as cybersecurity and data privacy issues.

Goff’s move to Perkins Coie follows that of three labor and employment partners – Richard B. Hankins, Seth H. Borden and Brennan W. Bolt. Richard and Brennan are also based in Dallas, while Seth is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.

In a release, the firm said Goff has advised executive leadership teams on issues relating to employee benefits, corporate restructuring, executive and associate compensation, cybersecurity risk, financials, and budgeting and cost containment strategies. She is also routinely involved in executive employment agreements and counsels clients on complex labor and employment matters.

Goff served at JCPenney for three years after holding prior roles as an employee benefits attorney with several AmLaw 100 firms. She has been recognized by the Association of Corporate Counsel as one of the “Top 10 30 Something In-House Lawyers for 2019”, is actively involved in the legal community, and holds leadership positions within local and national professional organizations.

She serves as chair of the Fiduciary Responsibility, Administration and Litigation Committee for the American Bar Association Section of Real Property Trusts and Estate Law and will be taking over as vice chair of the Employee Plans and Executive Compensation Group with the new bar year. She also serves as chair of the ACC Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter’s Women’s Leadership Committee and is vice chair of the ACC Employment and Labor Law Network.

Goff was also recently appointed to the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council to represent the interests of employer plans under the Tax Exempt/Government Entities division.

Goff earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from St. Thomas University School of Law B.A. and her M.B.A. from Baylor University. She graduated with a B.A., magna cum laude, from Tarleton State University.

Karen Hayes

Partner Karen A. Hayes and attorney Asama L. Itseumah have joined Freeborn & Peters LLP in its Corporate Practice Group in Chicago.

Hayes also joins the firm’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Industry Group.

The firm said Hayes advises clients on federal income tax. She represents corporations, partnerships and private equity funds involved in a variety of taxable and non-taxable transactions, domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, investments, reorganizations, partnerships, and joint ventures. In addition, she has represented tax credit syndicators, banks and other institutional investors with respect to investments in affordable housing projects that generate low-income housing tax credits under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code. Hayes also has experience advising real estate investment trusts with respect to tax matters.

Prior to joining Freeborn, Hayes was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her Bachelor of Arts from St. Cloud State University.

The firm said Itseumah concentrates his practice on the creation of organizational and corporate governance documents for corporations, limited liability companies, and nonprofit corporations. He also assists clients on matters involving mergers and acquisitions and commercial contracting.

Prior to joining Freeborn, Itseumah was an attorney at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP. He received his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from Northern Illinois University.

Justin R. Pollak has joined Davis & Gilbert LLP as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group.

The firm said Pollak’s practice focuses on seed and venture capital financing transactions as well advising emerging and high-growth companies in transactions through all stages of their development. Over the past decade, he has represented businesses in their investments across a broad range of industries, including fintech, blockchain, fashion, social and digital media, enterprise software, network security, and biotechnology. Pollak is currently representing the founders of a cryptocurrency trading fund in the formation and governance of the fund and an e-commerce solution company in its Series Seed financing.

Prior to joining the firm, Pollak was a partner at Hand Baldachin & Associates LLP. He earned his undergraduate degree at Cornell University, M.B.A. at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and J.D. at Emory University School of Law.

Elizabeth “Beth” Odian and Carrie Ziegler Thomas have joined Michael Best’s Labor & Employment Relations Practice Group in Milwaukee as senior counsel.

In a release, the firm said Odian defends and advises employers in matters arising under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act, Title VII, the American with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act. She represents employers in front of state and federal agencies including the Equal Rights Division, Unemployment Division, and Worker’s Compensation Divisions of Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development. She also counsels clients on a wide range of employment matters including, policies, contracts, terminations, leaves of absence and disciplinary actions.

Ziegler Thomas is an immigration attorney and counsels employers throughout all aspects of hiring a foreign employee. This encompasses drafting immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions, including H-1B visas, and permanent resident petitions, including EB-5 investor green cards. She also assists clients in developing strategies and solutions surrounding their global mobility issues.

Odian and Ziegler Thomas’ moves follows the addition of two associates to the Labor & Employment Relations Practice Group earlier this month. Kurt Ellison joined in Madison and Michael Chropowicz joined in Chicago.

Odian was most recently a partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLP. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Marquette University Law School and her B.S., magna cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

Ziegler Thomas was previously a partner at Grzeca Law Group, a boutique family and corporate immigration firm. She earned her J.D. from Marquette University Law School and her B.S. from Ferris State University.

The law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP announced that George Humphrey has joined the firm’s Houston office as a partner in the Finance Practice Group.

The firm said Humphrey’s practice focuses on U.S. and international project finance and development and mergers and acquisitions, particularly in the energy industry. He has overseen the development, financing, and closing of billions of dollars in energy projects. His ongoing work includes advising on an EPC contract and project financing for a petrochemical facility, a power purchase agreement for a Texas solar facility, and an energy scheduling agreement for a Mexican renewable project. His prior work includes helping a client sell its South American renewable business, including operating wind and solar projects, and the refinancing of project debt following the commercial operation of a methanol facility.

Humphrey has been named a Recommended Attorney in The Legal 500 US by Legalease in the Renewable and Alternative Energy category (2019) and listed as a Notable Practitioner for banking & finance, energy, project development, and project finance by IFLR1000 (2019). Humphrey has also been recognized by Euromoney’s Expert Guides as one of the world’s leading practitioners chosen by their peers in energy (2018).

Humphrey received his J.D. from the University of Florida’s Fredric G. Levin College of Law and B.A., with honors, also from the University of Florida. Immediately prior to joining the firm, Humphrey was a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

Oren Gertner has joined Sidley Austin LLP in New York as a partner in its Investment Funds practice. Gertner joins from Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, where he was in the firm’s Corporate department, practicing in the Investment Management group.

The firm said Gertner focuses his practice on the forming, structuring and offering of domestic and international large and mid-market private equity funds, hedge funds, sector-specific funds, secondary funds and funds of funds. He advises on structuring and negotiating a broad range of transactions in the secondary market, including GP-led secondary transactions, as well as drafting operating agreements and carry plans in connection with the formation of new investment management companies and spin-outs. Gertner also counsels clients on state and federal securities laws related to fund formations and offerings.