Jackson Walker L.L.P. has added Lewis Kasner and Briggs Knight to the firm’s Houston office. Kasner and Knight join Alfie Meyerson, Thad Armstrong, David Jones, and David Robins, who moved from Thompson & Knight to Jackson Walker on April 20. In joining Jackson Walker, Kasner becomes a partner in the Real Estate group, while Mr. Knight joins as an associate.

The new additions add even further to the depth and distinction of Jackson Walker’s robust Real Estate and Finance practice groups, Jackson Walker said in a release.

“We are delighted to have Lewis and Briggs with us at Jackson Walker,” Meyerson said. “Keeping our team together was a key aspect to making this a successful move and a seamless transition for our clients.”

Real Estate practice leader Steve Martens agreed, stating, “To have such a strong, cohesive group join Jackson Walker is a boon to our firm and our clients. Lewis and Briggs are excellent lawyers whose practices are a perfect fit with ours. We couldn’t be happier to have them on board.”

With the new additions, Jackson Walker now boasts more than 50 attorneys who are dedicated to Real Estate law, making the firm’s group one of the largest and most experienced in the region.

Kasner has developed a reputation for providing clients with practical solutions based on his years of experience representing both lenders and borrowers in different types of transactions. He regularly represents financial institutions in both interim and permanent loan transactions of all sizes and complexity – ranging from $1,000,000 to $100,000,000. He also routinely represents commercial real estate owners and developers with the acquisition, disposition, and leasing of commercial property. Mr. Kasner is Board Certified in Commercial Real Estate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and was named a “Texas Rising Star” by Thomson Reuters in 2013-2015.

Knight focuses his practice on real estate and banking matters. He represents purchasers, owners, and developers in connection with a variety of types of improved and unimproved real property. Additionally, he represents lenders and borrowers in connection with loans secured by commercial real estate, such as retail, office, and multifamily projects, and middle market commercial loans. Mr. Knight’s real-world experience as an analyst in the commercial mortgage lending group at AIG Investments from 2006-2009 provides a depth of practical knowledge that is invaluable to clients. In addition, during law school, he served as a judicial intern to Judge David Hittner in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in 2011.

Kasner and Knight join a growing number of lateral attorneys who have made the move to Jackson Walker over the last few years. The firm’s competitive platform and efficient cost-structure have proven highly attractive to Texas attorneys looking to both expand their practices and provide excellent service to existing clients, the firm said in the release.

Jackson Walker L.L.P. has 125 years of experience in providing legal counsel to clients throughout Texas, the United States and internationally. The firm provides a strong regional base of more than 350 attorneys in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Angelo, San Antonio and Texarkana.

Jon Spanbauer, partner in Quarles & Brady

The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP has announced that Jon M. Spanbauer has joined the firm’s Chicago office as a partner in its Intellectual Property Practice Group.

Spanbauer’s practice focuses primarily on complex patent litigation. He has litigated significant patent disputes throughout the United States in a wide range of technologies, with a particular emphasis on pharmaceuticals (Hatch-Waxman litigation), medical devices, and biologics.

He received his law degree from the University of Wisconsin, his master’s degree in biological chemistry from the University of Michigan, and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin.

About Quarles & Brady LLP

Quarles & Brady is a full-service law firm with more than 475 attorneys offering an array of legal services to corporate and individual clients that range from small entrepreneurial businesses to Fortune 100 companies, with practice focuses in health care and life sciences, business law, data privacy and security, and complex litigation. The firm has offices in Chicago; Indianapolis; Madison; Milwaukee; Naples, Florida; Phoenix; Scottsdale; Tampa; Tucson; and Washington, D.C. Additional information can be found online at quarles.com, as well as on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Farrell Fritz associate Robert M. Harper has been elected to the Suffolk County Bar Association’s board of directors. On June 5, 2015, he will be sworn in at the Association’s Installation Dinner at The Larkfield in East Northport, NY. He will serve a three year term.

Harper focuses his practice in estate litigation. He is active in the SCBA, serving as co-chair of the Surrogate’s Court Committee and an officer of the Suffolk Academy of Law. He earned his J.D. degree from Hofstra University School of Law and his B.S. degree from Boston College.

Hogan Lovells announces that Alice Valder Curran has been named the new regional managing partner for its Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Northern Virginia, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis offices.

Curran joined Hogan Lovells in 1998, and is a Health partner in the firm’s Government Regulatory practice. She is a nationally recognized expert on the Medicare and Medicaid price reporting programs that are a key compliance obligation for pharmaceutical manufacturers in the United States.

Curran succeeds Emily Yinger, who has been in the role since 2010. Yinger has been integral in improving professional development programs for associates, counsel, and partners. Yinger also has been instrumental in the ReVision project, which is a major undertaking to improve and update the work environment in the Washington office.

“Emily’s leadership has been central to our growth in the region during her five years at the helm,” said Hogan Lovells CEO Stephen J. Immelt. “We are excited to have Alice continue in this pivotal role, ensuring the continued success of the firm.”

Hogan Lovells’ Washington, D.C. office is one of the city’s largest and most established law practices, leveraging impressive regulatory capabilities to serve clients at the intersection of business and government. While Washington is one of Hogan Lovells’ two international “hubs,” all of the offices Curran will oversee bring unique strengths to the firm, including: M&A and intellectual property capabilities in Northern Virginia, life sciences industry expertise in Baltimore, deep FDA regulatory experience in Philadelphia, and outstanding litigation capabilities in Minneapolis.

“I have been with the firm for more than 17 years and have worked with each of these offices to leverage all these areas of expertise. I personally understand the region’s considerable impact on the overall success of our firm,” said Curran. “We see a number of opportunities for growth in several key practice and industry areas where the firm already has a strong national and international presence.”

About Hogan Lovells

Hogan Lovells is a leading global legal practice providing business-oriented legal advice and high-quality service across its exceptional breadth of practices to clients around the world.

“Hogan Lovells” or the “firm” is an international legal practice that includes Hogan Lovells US LLP and Hogan Lovells International LLP. For more information, see www.hoganlovells.com.

Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP partners Jeffrey J. Ansley and Karen-Lee Pollak have been selected by their peers for inclusion on D Magazine’s “Best Lawyers in Dallas 2015” list.

The “Best Lawyers in Dallas 2015” features attorneys across more than 35 practice areas chosen by fellow Texas attorneys who answered the publication-posed question: “Which Dallas lawyers, of those whose work you have witnessed firsthand, would you rank among the current best?” Respondents were asked to provide two lawyers from outside their firm and one within their firm across all voting categories. After tallying the votes, nominees were evaluated by the magazine’s editors in concert with a panel of attorneys selected by the publication.

“It is an honor for the firm to have attorneys selected to this list. The respect their peers have shown Jeff and Karen is a testament to their fine client work and one more barometer of the high caliber of firm we have worked hard to build,” said James Skochdopole, managing partner of Bell Nunnally.

Ansley leads the firm’s White Collar Criminal Defense and Internal Investigations practice. A former federal criminal prosecutor and enforcement attorney, he focuses his practice on white collar criminal and regulatory defense and has represented numerous corporate and individual clients in high stakes litigation before federal courts, the SEC and other federal and state agencies. Ansley has also conducted internal investigations involving alleged securities fraud, tax fraud and health care violations. In addition, he develops compliance and ethics programs for corporations and other business entities. He is a graduate of Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law (J.D., 1994) and Texas A&M University (B.A., 1991).

Pollak leads the firm’s Immigration practice and provides full-service legal immigration counsel to large corporations, small businesses and individuals. Her docket routinely includes representing businesses and families in obtaining immigrant and non-immigrant visas to live and work in the United States. Pollak also assists corporations in compliance audits and immigration-related corporate policy formulation. Her immigration litigation practice focuses on federal court litigation under the Administrative Procedure Act and removal defense. Pollak is a graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, where she earned both her undergraduate and law degrees (B.A., 1989; LLB, 1993).

About Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP

With more than 50 attorneys and three decades of doing business, Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP is among the most respected business law firms in Texas, one of the 25 largest in North Texas and one of the state’s fastest-growing firms. The depth of the firm’s knowledge and breadth of its expertise sets Bell Nunnally apart. The firm provides a full range of services, including litigation, appellate law, commercial finance, corporate and securities, creditors’ rights, bankruptcy, health law, intellectual property, labor and employment, immigration, real estate, entertainment, mergers and acquisitions, estate planning, tax and white collar criminal defense. Bell Nunnally is regularly singled out as a “Go-To” firm by America’s largest companies each year in Corporate Counsel magazine. For more information, please visit www.bellnunnally.com.

Frederic Levy, until recently the chair of McKenna’s government contracts practice, will serve as co-chair of Covington’s government contracts group with Jennifer Plitsch and Alan Pemberton. (PRNewsFoto/Covington & Burling LLP)

Covington is significantly expanding its government contracts practice with 19 lawyers from one of the nation’s top government contracts groups, including its former chair and leaders in contractor tort liability, bid protests, procurement fraud, trade secrets and employment, according to a release from Covington.

The group of five partners and 14 other lawyers from McKenna, Long & Aldridge expands and deepens Covington’s capabilities across a range of government contracts matters. Frederic Levy, until recently the chair of McKenna’s government contracts practice, will serve as co-chair of Covington’s government contracts group with Alan Pemberton and Jennifer Plitsch.

These additions double the size of Covington’s government contracts group and place it among the nation’s largest. The work of the new lawyers runs the gamut from contract formation to bid protests to claims and internal investigations to tort litigation to False Claims Act litigation. Chambers has consistently ranked McKenna’s government contracts practice in its highest band, and the group that joined Covington includes most of that firm’s Chambers-rated lawyers in government contracts.

Read the story.

Eric N. Assouline

Attorney at Law Magazine has named Eric N. Assouline of Florida Attorney of the Month in its greater Miami edition.

Assouline is co-founder of Assouline & Berlowe, P.A., a business litigation and transactional boutique law firm. The firm’s main practice areas are patent and intellectual property law; commercial litigation and appeals; real estate; labor and employment; international law and arbitration; creditors’ rights and bankruptcy. The firm has three South Florida offices, and has served as counsel of record on many complex cases outside of Florida, the magazine article says.

The magazine tracks Assouline’s career from when he worked on the University of Miami Law Review, then in the Miami office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and eventually opening a modest office in Coral Gables as Assouline & Berlowe, with partner Peter Berlowe.

“From those humble beginnings, Assouline & Berlowe expanded with an office in Broward, and later another office in Boca Raton,” the article says.

Read the article.

Agiloft Inc., a leading provider of Contract Management services, has been named the Most Popular Contract Management Software by Capterra, an online service that connects buyers and sellers of business software.

The rankings for Capterra’s Top Contract Management Software infographic are based on a combination of total number of customers, number of active users, and online presence, the company said in a release.

“Agiloft’s Contract Management application has skyrocketed in popularity thanks to its comprehensive feature set, which includes everything needed to manage the complete contract lifecycle right out of the box,” the release said.

“Available as a SaaS application or in-house deployment, Agiloft’s 100% web-based Contract Management solution is accessible anytime, anywhere, so users can manage contracts with vendors, partners, and customers on the go.”

Read the story.

Hogan Lovells has elected new partners to its Board.

Ruth Grant takes on the role of London representative, Craig Hoover has been re-elected to one of the “at large” seats, and Cate Stetson has been elected as the representative for the Washington, D.C. area.

Grant replaces Emily Reid, who has stepped down. Hoover, a Litigation partner in the Washington, D.C. office, will rejoin Daniel González and Michael Silver as the other at large representatives. Stetson takes over the Washington, D.C. area post from Helen Trilling. All begin or continue their roles as of 1 May 2015.

The Hogan Lovells Board comprises 12 members in total and has supervisory responsibility for overseeing the affairs of the firm, but without executive responsibility for strategy, management, and operating decisions. It provides input to the CEO and Hogan Lovells’ International Management Committee. Membership of the Board is designed to reflect the broad scope of the business, with members representing a combination of geographic and other backgrounds.

Biographical details on the new Board members:

Ruth Grant is a Litigation partner specializing in dispute resolution work, particularly in the fields of product liability and professional negligence. She has a broad litigation background based on more than 30 years’ experience handling disputes for a variety of commercial clients in the High Court in London and working with U.S. lawyers in proceedings in the United States for UK clients. Ruth is a former London Managing Partner (2005-2009) and firm People Development Partner (2009-2015). She is co-chair of Hogan Lovells Global Diversity Committee and chair of the London Committee. Ruth is also a member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee and the City of London Law Society Training Committee.

Cate Stetson is co-head of the firm’s U.S. Supreme Court and Appellate practice group. She has more than 50 arguments to her name, including in the Supreme Court, nearly all federal courts of appeals, and multiple state appellate courts. Her experience spans appeals presenting questions of administrative law and procedure, antitrust law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the False Claims Act, class certification, civil procedure, and constitutional, contract, copyright, employment, energy, environmental, food and drug, health care, insurance, patent, telecommunications, and tort law. Before joining Hogan Lovells, Stetson served as a judicial clerk to The Honorable Stanley S. Harris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and The Honorable David S. Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

“I am proud to welcome Cate and Ruth to the Board and look forward to continuing to work with Craig,” said Hogan Lovells Chair Nicholas Cheffings. “The Board plays an important role in the governance of Hogan Lovells, in its relationship with our management team, and in listening to, and representing, the views of partners. The high level of participation in this election process is testament to that.”

From 1 May 2015, the Board will comprise:

Chair (and “at large”): Nicholas Cheffings
CEO: Steve Immelt
Asia/Middle East: Jun Wei
Continental Europe: Leopold von Gerlach
Washington, D.C. area: Cate Stetson
London: Ruth Grant
The Americas: Bill Curtin
The Americas (except D.C.): Miguel Zaldivar
45 and under: Ben Higson
“At large” representatives: Daniel González, Craig Hoover, and Michael Silver

About Hogan Lovells

Hogan Lovells is a leading global legal practice providing business-oriented legal advice and high-quality service across its exceptional breadth of practices to clients around the world.

“Hogan Lovells” or the “firm” is an international legal practice that includes Hogan Lovells US LLP and Hogan Lovells International LLP. For more information, see www.hoganlovells.com.

Rachel A. Scelfo, counsel with Farrell Fritz

Farrell Fritz announces that Rachel A. Scelfo, counsel in the firm’s land use and municipal department, has recently been elected to the West Babylon Public Library’s board of trustees. She will serve a five-year term.

Rachel, a Babylon, NY, resident, also serves on The Art League of Long Island’s board of directors. She is a frequent contributor to the firm’s Long Island Land Use & Zoning blog. She earned her J.D. degree from Hofstra University School of Law and her M.P.P. and B.A. degrees from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP has announced that the firm has been ranked by Law360 among the top U.S. law firms for women.

This is the first ranking of its kind from Law360. The ranking is based on the firm’s female representation at the partner and nonpartner levels and its total number of female attorneys. “We are truly humbled that we have been named a best law firm for female attorneys,” said firm chair Kimberly Leach Johnson. “Being ranked in the very first such list by Law360 is an honor, especially being ranked 12th nationally.”

About Quarles & Brady LLP
Quarles & Brady is a full-service law firm with more than 475 attorneys offering an array of legal services to corporate and individual clients that range from small entrepreneurial businesses to Fortune 100 companies, with practice focuses in health care and life sciences, business law, data privacy and security, and complex litigation. The firm has offices in Chicago; Indianapolis; Madison; Milwaukee; Naples, Florida; Phoenix; Scottsdale; Tampa; Tucson; and Washington, D.C. Additional information can be found online at quarles.com, as well as on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Guilford F. Thornton, Jr. of Adams and Reese

Adams and Reese announces that governmental relations and legislative counsel Guilford F. “Gif” Thornton, Jr., a partner in the firm’s Nashville office, has been elected Managing Partner.

Thornton, who has previously served as Chairman of the firm’s Executive Committee and held numerous management roles, joined the firm in 2005 when then Nashville’s Stokes Bartholomew merged with larger regional firm, Adams and Reese.

Thornton succeeds Charles P. Adams, Jr., who held the role of managing partner since 2001 until his term ended recently. Adams led the 300 lawyer firm through a volatile period in the economy and the legal industry, through natural catastrophes like Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as the firm’s successful expansion into Birmingham, Alabama, three offices in Tennessee, five offices in Florida, and the firm’s newest office in Columbia, South Carolina

Read details about the appointment.

Dykema, a leading national law firm, will combine with Texas-based Cox Smith.

On its website, Dykema said the combination will give the firm a significantly expanded presence in Texas, where Cox Smith is a leading firm with deep history.

“The additional depth in key practices, coupled with the combined firm’s broader geographic reach, will enhance the range of services available to both firms’ clients.” the firm said in a release. “The addition of Cox Smith’s 118 lawyers will give the combined firm more than 450 attorneys in 15 offices. In Texas, the firm will initially operate under the name Dykema Cox Smith. The combination, which takes effect May 1, will double the size of each firm’s Dallas presence, and San Antonio will become one of Dykema’s largest offices.”

Read the story.

PayPal announced two new leaders will be joining the company as it prepares to separate from eBay Inc. and become an independent, publicly-traded company later this year. StreetInsider.comn reports that both will report to PayPal president and CEO designee Dan Schulman and serve on the company’s leadership team.

Louise Pentland will become PayPal’s new General Counsel, effective April 27. Pentland is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Nokia Corporation, the report says.

Jonathan Auerbach will become PayPal’s new Senior Vice President of Strategy and Growth.

Read the story.

L to R: A. Washelesky, S. Macaulay, P. Krasny

Culhane Meadows PLLC, one of the nation’s largest cloud-based law firms, announces its expansion into Chicago with the addition of three lateral partners: Angela Washelesky (formerly at Reed Smith), Susan Macaulay (formerly at Skadden Arps) and Paula Jill Krasny (formerly at Baker & McKenzie).

“Given the number of global companies headquartered in Chicago and its exciting start up community, Chicago has been a strategic priority of our firm since its inception,” says Jim Meadows, one of the firm’s founding partners. “Chicago also has an unenviable reputation among corporate clients for harboring some of the highest billable rates in the country—making it the perfect expansion market for our innovative and cost-cutting business model.”

Started by a group of former Big Law attorneys, some of whom had worked together for more than 15 years, the firm now has attorneys based in New York, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas, Austin and Chicago. Unlike traditional law firms, every Culhane-Meadows lawyer is a partner-level attorney with substantial experience with large national and international law firms or in-house legal departments of respected companies. The Firm also utilizes a platform that leverages modern technology and cloud-based commuting, resulting in significantly lower overhead and therefore lower hourly rates to clients – not to mention happier lawyers.

Culhane Meadows also bucks the trend of male-dominated national law firms. Currently, more than half of its partners, and sixty percent of its managers, are women. “We are proud to be one of the few national law firms to enter a major market like Chicago with an all-star team comprised entirely of leading female lawyers,” boasts Mr. Meadows. “It’s just one more example of how we are shaking up the legal marketplace and delivering a genuine alternative to traditional firms.”

Each new partner in Chicago is highly accomplished and brings decades of legal experience to serve the firm’s impressive roster of global business clients, including multiple Fortune 100 and 500 companies.

Angela Washelesky was the first Chicago-based lawyer to join Culhane Meadows, direct from her role as trademark chair of Reed Smith’s Chicago office.  For almost 25 years her practice has focused on trademark prosecution and marketing law. Prior to joining Reed Smith, Ms. Washelesky worked as in-house marketing counsel for Sears, Roebuck & Co. She was also an in-house advertising attorney for Leo Burnett where she worked on the legal aspects of marketing campaigns for companies such as Maytag, Procter & Gamble, Reebok and United Airlines. She earned her B.A. and J.D. from DePaul University and received an LL.M in Intellectual Property from John Marshall Law School. Angela explains that she joined CM so she could again practice law at a reasonable rate, have more client contact and be more like a business owner. “And working in jeans with my dogs nearby doesn’t hurt,” she laughs.

Susan J. Macaulay has more than 30 years’ experience advising clients on a wide range of sophisticated corporate and transactional matters with special emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, corporate, finance and banking.  She has spent more than half of her legal career as in-house counsel to a variety of companies, including roles as VP and Corporate Counsel for Caremark and Associate General Counsel for Heller Financial. She also practiced at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom before moving to Gardner Carton & Douglas (which later merged into Drinker Biddle Reath), where she served as head of the financial institutions group. Ms. Macaulay received her JD from Loyola University Chicago School of Law her LL.M in financial services law from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she now serves as an adjunct professor of law. She is the author of a number of publications addressing various topics involving transactional and finance law, and has spoken at many conferences on both a local and a national level.

Paula Jill Krasny is an internationally recognized branding lawyer. For nearly three decades, Ms. Krasny has worked with corporate executives to build, monetize and protect global brands. At Baker & McKenzie, Ms. Krasny was the lead IP strategist on numerous brand-driven cross-border transactions, and she built up global trademark portfolios for some of the world’s leading brands. Ms. Krasny also was a former Chair of the firm’s Chicago Intellectual Property Practice Group. Prior to joining Baker & McKenzie, Ms. Krasny was a partner at the international firm of McDermott Will & Emery. Over the course of her career, she has advised companies, ranging from start-ups to multi-nationals, in numerous industries, including consumer products, apparel, food and beverage, financial and business services, insurance, technology, hospitality and nonprofits. A graduate of Vassar College, Ms. Krasny also studied at Harvard University and earned her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. She has received numerous professional honors and served on various nonprofit boards. In 2011, the Anti-Defamation League’s Chicago chapter honored Ms. Krasny as a “Woman of Achievement,” an award given to female business leaders with strong civic contributions. She notes that Culhane Meadows’ flexible business model allows her to have more fun practicing law. “The platform allows me to partner with clients in creative ways. In addition to being able to help companies solve their problems and achieve value, I get to work with amazing and highly experienced lawyers.”

Kelly Rittenberry Culhane, another co-founder of the firm, says that “an increasing number of Fortune-ranked clients are embracing the firm’s game-changing business model because it delivers responsive and exceptional partner-level counsel and experience at a fraction of the cost for identical services from traditional firms.” She continues: “General Counsels are under constant internal pressure to reduce outside legal expenses and they are discovering they can rely on us to provide top-notch services within a budget that benefits their entire organization.”

“Companies are demanding more value from their law firms, and our rapid growth demonstrates that clients and lawyers alike recognize the value proposition of our cloud-based platform,” adds Mr. Meadows. “Simply put, we are causing a wave of positive disruption to the legal markets we’ve already entered and now we are excited to introduce clients in the Windy City to our better way of practicing law.”

The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP announced that partners John F. Dienelt and Scott McIntosh have been named by Washington D.C. Super Lawyers magazine as among the top attorneys in Washington, D.C. for 2015.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service that recognizes outstanding lawyers who have gained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual, statewide selections are made using a multi-phased process that includes independent peer nominations, peer evaluations, and research. No more than five percent of total lawyers in a state are selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers.

• John F. Dienelt – Franchise / Dealership

Dienelt is a litigator with 30 years of trial and appellate experience, particularly in franchising, antitrust, intellectual property, and other commercial cases. He concentrates on complex and enterprise-threatening litigation, including class actions. He speaks regularly at programs on franchising and teaches franchise law as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and at the University of Virginia Law School. He received his law degree from Yale Law School, his master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.

• Scott McIntosh – Franchise / Dealership

McIntosh serves as the Washington, D.C. office chair of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group. He is a franchise law attorney possessing significant experience dealing with the most complex cases among the business, litigation, and regulatory issues that confront franchising companies. Scott has practiced in state and federal courts, at both the trial court and appellate levels, and has arbitrated cases before various arbitral bodies, including the American Arbitration Association, JAMS, and United States Arbitration & Mediation. He earned his law degree, cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center, his master’s degree from Georgetown University, his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his certificate of executive management from the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business.

About Quarles & Brady LLP
Quarles & Brady is a full-service law firm with more than 475 attorneys offering an array of legal services to corporate and individual clients that range from small entrepreneurial businesses to Fortune 100 companies, with practice focuses in health care and life sciences, business law, data privacy and security, and complex litigation. The firm has offices in Chicago; Indianapolis; Madison; Milwaukee; Naples, Florida; Phoenix; Scottsdale; Tampa; Tucson; and Washington, D.C. Additional information can be found online at quarles.com, as well as on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Jackson Walker L.L.P. has named Alfie Meyerson, Thad Armstrong, David Jones, and David Robins as partners in the firm’s Houston office. The four partners, who join the firm from Thompson & Knight LLP, work in Jackson Walker’s Real Estate and Finance practice groups.

“The addition of this excellent group of lawyers, along with other high-profile lateral partners who have joined us recently, truly gives us the premier real estate practice group in the Southwest,” said Jackson Walker managing partner Wade Cooper. “We anticipate great synergies from having a large, efficient, and cost-effective real estate team that is as good as any in this part of the world.”

Houston managing partner Kurt Nondorf added, “We are thrilled and honored that this group has chosen to join Jackson Walker. Their practices align perfectly with our own and will add significantly to our deep bench here in Houston.”

Mr. Meyerson has served in key leadership roles at Thompson & Knight, including as managing partner of the Houston office, chairman of the firm’s Real Estate and Banking Practice Group and a member of the firm’s management committee. Mr. Meyerson’s legal practice spans more than 30 years and encompasses all aspects of commercial real estate transactions, and his clients have included some of the most significant players in the Houston real estate development and banking market.

In making the move to Jackson Walker, Mr. Meyerson said he was drawn to the firm’s competitive platform and efficient business model. “This is a firm that is firmly rooted in Texas and meshes well with our practice,” he said. “It’s a great fit for me and my clients.”

On a more personal note, Mr. Meyerson said he was looking forward to working with longtime friends and colleagues at Jackson Walker, including Mr. Nondorf, Real Estate practice group chair Steve Martens, and Dallas managing partner David Moran.

“These are friends I’ve known my entire adult life,” Mr. Meyerson said. “Steve and I went to law school together. Kurt and I have known each other for over 25 years, and David and I were high school classmates. I like the quality of the practice, and I like the quality of the people.”

Also joining Jackson Walker’s Real Estate practice group is Thad Armstrong, who advises and represents buyers and sellers, developers, landlords and tenants, and sublandlords and subtenants in all facets of their real estate, development, construction, and leasing and subleasing deals and projects. He also advises lenders and borrowers in foreclosures and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure. Some of Mr. Armstrong’s recent transactions include having represented owners and developers in major construction projects totaling over $1 billion.

Mr. Jones and Mr. Robins will practice in the Real Estate and Finance groups at Jackson Walker.

Mr. Jones represents banks and other lending institutions in all aspects of commercial lending, with an emphasis on real estate secured lending. His experience includes representing lenders in middle market, private banking, energy and syndicated transactions. He also represents both purchasers and sellers of loan portfolios (both performing and distressed assets). Mr. Jones has represented numerous borrowers in connection with commercial loans, including providing applicable legal opinions concerning the enforceability of loan documents and qualifications of borrowers and guarantors. Mr. Jones also represents both landlords and tenants in lease negotiations concerning retail, office, and industrial space. And he has represented both purchasers and sellers in negotiating and closing sales of commercial real estate.

Mr. Robins practices in commercial real estate and real estate finance, with an emphasis on the lender-borrower relationship. He has worked on hundreds of significant transactions including office buildings, shopping centers, industrial buildings and warehouses, land and residential development, apartments and condos. Mr. Robins regularly handles multi-state, multi-property transactions, as well as loan portfolio acquisitions and dispositions. In addition, he represents clients in oil and gas, timber, and water transactions and in PACE lending.

Over the past few years, Jackson Walker has expanded its skilled and dynamic Real Estate team to serve the needs of clients in an active Texas market. Recent additions to the practice group include Steve Jenkins, a 40-year commercial real estate veteran from Haynes and Boone, LLP; Andrew Baumgardner, also from Haynes and Boone; Brad Lowry from Haynie Rake Repass & Lowry; and Drew Darby, who founded his own successful practice in San Angelo and currently serves as a member of the Texas House of Representatives. The firm has also added partner Ashley Martzen, Senior Counsel Cassie Ross, and associates Amit Patel and Frank Morphis to its Real Estate team.

Firmwide, a large number of high-profile attorneys have made the move to Jackson Walker in the last year, many of whom served in key leadership roles at their previous firms.

“The fact that we continue to attract strong leaders from other law firms shows that there’s something good going on here,” said Mr. Cooper. “For Texas attorneys whose clients require an efficiently managed law firm with first-class resources, Jackson Walker is the place to be.”

Jackson Walker L.L.P. has 125 years of experience in providing legal counsel to clients throughout Texas, the United States and internationally. The firm provides a strong regional base of more than 350 attorneys in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Angelo, San Antonio and Texarkana.

Jennie D.G. Azoulai

Jennie D.G. Azoulai has been named to the General Counsel News team as Chief Marketing and Business Development Consultant.

In this role, Jennie will shape the direction and extend the reach of GCN’s growing brand and embark upon new marketing and PR initiatives. As well, she will serve as the main point of contact for new clients and prospects.

Jennie states, “This is a fantastic opportunity for me to work with GCN — a relatively new company and invest in its growth. I very much look forward to the opportunities to increase GCN’s brand awareness, direct it’s brand messaging and grow and sustain our presence in the marketplace.”

Jennie has had more than 15 years’ experience in business-to-business marketing, branding and event planning. She has assisted companies with their marketing endeavors through her own entrepreneurial initiatives along with as a marketing consultant and even as a direct hire.

Most recently, Jennie served as a Marketing Consultant for e-Discovery provider, UBIC North America, Inc. and previously, the Marketing Manager for the market research firm, Scarborough Research (now Nielsen Local). She also filled the first role of Marketing Manager at the e-Discovery outfit, RVM Enterprises, Inc.

Jennie’s combined interests in the arts, world politics and public policy along with her professional ambitions led her to graduate from the University of Michigan, followed by the University of Illinois College of Law. She then became an attorney, licensed in New York and practiced Government Contract Law at boutique law firm, Petrillo & Powell, PLLC followed by McDermott Will & Emery.

Scott. H. DeBroff, shareholder in Tucker Arensberg

The law firm of Tucker Arensberg, P.C. announces that Scott H. DeBroff has joined the firm as a shareholder and member of the Energy Group. DeBroff was previously with Rhoads & Sinon, LLP.

Debroff provides energy and telecommunications market participants with strategic legal, government and regulatory analysis and representation in state and federal jurisdictions across the country. He represents clients in the energy and telecommunications sectors and provides them with targeted advocacy, issue analysis and information services.

DeBroff focuses his practice on national energy and energy technology issues facing clients by providing focused representation across the entire retail and wholesale market spectrum.

“Scott DeBroff brings a wide range of experience and expertise in the Energy area including Smart Grid development, Advanced Metering and the implementation of Renewable Energy projects via the Pennsylvania Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act,” said Dennis R. Sheaffer, the managing shareholder of the Harrisburg Office of Tucker Arensberg. “He also has advised clients on Energy Procurement strategies, Power Purchase Agreements for Renewable Projects and Oil & Gas concerns. Scott is a welcome addition to our Harrisburg Office.”

DeBroff received his JD from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School and his BA from Emory University.

Tucker Arensberg is a 90-attorney law firm headquartered in Pittsburgh with offices in Harrisburg and Lewistown. It is a full service regional firm providing service to its clients in the areas of general business law, banking, insolvency and creditors’ rights, estates and trusts, school and municipal law, health care, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, energy, technology and intellectual property, environmental, labor and employment, immigration, real estate, workers’ compensation, employee benefits, and investment management and fiduciary services.

Eric Goldberg, a partner in DLA Piper

DLA Piper has announced today that Eric Goldberg has joined the firm’s Restructuring practice as a partner in the Los Angeles office.

Goldberg represents debtors both in and out of court, as well as creditors and other stakeholders, including lenders and funds, in a variety of transactions. His practice involves complex bankruptcy-related litigation, including contested confirmations, adversary proceedings, and working with hedge funds, bondholders and buyers of distressed assets.

“Eric has deep relationships with a number of lenders and investors, as well as funds that are active in distressed markets across the country,” said Gregg Galardi, co-chair of DLA Piper’s global and US Restructuring practices. “He will be instrumental in helping clients avoid pitfalls when buying distressed companies or their assets, as well as handling bankruptcy litigation and out-of-court restructurings.”

Goldberg is the firm’s most recent addition in Los Angeles, following on the heels of litigation partners Mike Piazza, Linda Smith and Mark Riera, and employment partner Phyllis Cheng.

“We have experienced significant growth in Los Angeles in recent months, and the addition of Eric will complement our increasing capabilities and further strengthen our strategic practice areas in Southern California,” said Perrie Weiner, international co-chair of DLA Piper’s Securities Litigation practice and co-managing partner of the firm’s Los Angeles offices.

Goldberg joins DLA Piper from Gordon Silver, and was previously a senior partner with Los Angeles-based bankruptcy boutique Stutman, Treister & Glatt. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and his B.S. from Cornell University.

About DLA Piper (www.dlapiper.com)
DLA Piper is a global law firm located in more than 30 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, positioning it to help companies with their legal needs around the world. In certain jurisdictions, this information may be considered attorney advertising.