Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing announced the addition of five new hires to the Houston-based law firm.

Edward Goolsby is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Houston Law Center, Mr. Goolsby was editor-in-chief of the Houston Law Review. Mr. Goolsby is also a summa cum laude graduate of Northwestern University where he earned a B.S. in journalism and political science.

Ryan Hackney is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University and a graduate with highest honors from the University of Texas School of Law. He was associate editor of the Texas Law Review. He has a B.A. and M.A. in History of Science.

Mark Holden is cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, Mr. Holden was managing editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. He is also a cum laude graduate of Columbia University where he received a B.A. in political science.

E. Phileda Tennant is a magna cum laude graduate of Brown University, Ms. Tennant is also a graduate of Harvard Law School. She was a line editor on the Harvard Journal on Legislation. Her undergraduate degree is a B.A. in political science.

Kenneth Young is a graduate with honors of The University of Chicago Law School, Mr. Young was managing editor of The University of Chicago Law Review. He also graduated magna cum laude from Brigham Young University where he received a B.S. in molecular biology and Japanese.

The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP has announced that the firm’s Franchise & Distribution Team has launched Franchise Law Insider, a blog that provides news and legal developments in franchise law. This blog will keep franchisors and franchisees aware of current news and events in this area.

“Our clients look to us regarding representation and litigation involving their franchise operations,” said Daniel M. Janssen, chair of the Franchise & Distribution Team. “Our Quarles & Brady attorneys provide counsel regarding transactional and regulatory matters, to franchisors of all sizes and in all industries. This blog will serve as another way by which we can help businesses flourish.”

Andy Beilfuss, partner and regular contributor to the blog said, “Franchise Law Insider will discuss trending industry news and topics that will be helpful to franchisors and franchisees. We are very excited about this opportunity to keep our clients abreast of contemporary business issues in the field.”

The franchise team is engaged in domestic and international franchising and distribution matters. This blog, housed on LexBlog, will allow clients to get a quick snapshot of what they need to know and what questions they should ask their legal counsel. To subscribe to the blog and get the latest information, visit http://franchiselawinsider.quarles.com/.

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.

National law firm Wilson Elser announced the opening of its 27th U.S. office located in Edwardsville, Illinois, Madison County, expanding the firm’s national footprint and its presence in the Midwest.

Edwardsville is the seventh office the firm has opened in the past four years. It serves Southern Illinois, St. Louis and clients throughout the Midwest region.

Brian Huelsmann, formerly with HeplerBroom LLC, joined the Am Law 200 firm to open the new office and serve as its regional managing partner.

“Brian’s trial and litigation skills, and his success managing large dockets provide Wilson Elser’s clients with an invaluable counselor,” said Daniel J. McMahon, Wilson Elser chairman. “He brings a wealth of experience, having served as counsel for a wide variety of insurance carriers and insureds in the Midwest and elsewhere, and adheres to Wilson Elser’s tenets of excellent lawyering and a focus on client service.”

“With 27 U.S. offices and four in the Midwest in Chicago, Michigan, Milwaukee and now Edwardsville, Wilson Elser is strategically positioned to serve clients in more jurisdictions throughout the country,” added Mr. McMahon.

Mr. Huelsmann’s practice encompasses toxic tort, personal injury, product liability and commercial litigation matters. He represents Fortune 500 companies, insurers, insureds and self-insureds.

Named for inclusion in Super Lawyers, Mr. Huelsmann is admitted to practice in Illinois, Missouri and Pennsylvania. He has presented and published on asbestos and personal injury–related topics and is an active member of DRI: The Voice of the Defense Bar, serving on its annual toxic tort conference planning committee.

Mr. Huelsmann earned his J.D. degree from Southern University School of Law (2001) and his B.A. degree from Rockhurst University (1997).

About Wilson Elser
Wilson Elser, a full-service and leading defense litigation law firm (www.wilsonelser.com), serves its clients with nearly 800 attorneys in 27 offices in the United States and one in London and through a network of affiliates in key regions globally. Founded in 1978, it ranks among the top 200 law firms identified by The American Lawyer and is included in the top 50 of The National Law Journal’s survey of the nation’s largest law firms. Wilson Elser serves a growing, loyal base of clients with innovative thinking and an in-depth understanding of their respective businesses.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. announced Dec. 17 the election of Craig W. Murray as group senior vice president and general counsel, Harry Paul “Hap” Weitzel as senior vice president and deputy general counsel and Vijay A. D’Cruz as vice president, litigation. Each of the appointments is effective Jan. 5, 2015.

The company is based in Houston.

Most recently, Murray was a senior partner at Vinson & Elkins LLP in Houston where he focused primarily on corporate and energy-related finance, including pipeline financing. His energy finance experience has involved oil and gas properties in all major producing states, as well as the Gulf of Mexico. Murray earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and a JD from the Louisiana State University Law Center.

Murray will succeed Stephanie Hildebrandt as general counsel, who will join the Houston office of the global business law firm Norton Rose Fulbright as a partner in February.

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Verizon Communications Inc. has announced that Craig Silliman, senior vice president, public policy, has been named executive vice president – public policy and general counsel.

His appointment will be effective Jan. 1, 2015.

He will succeed Randal S. Milch, who has been appointed to a new position as strategic policy adviser to Lowell C. McAdam, Verizon’s chairman and CEO. Milch will oversee strategic policy initiatives.

In his new role, Silliman will also report to McAdam and lead the company’s public policy, legal, regulatory, government affairs and security groups.

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Brinker International, Inc. announced Dec. 8 that Scarlett May has been named Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of the company, effective Dec. 15, 2014.

May is a restaurant industry veteran with an extensive background in the casual dining space, the company said in a news release. She most recently served as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary for Ruby Tuesday, Inc., which owns or franchises 749 Ruby Tuesday brand restaurants and 27 Lime Fresh brand restaurants.

Brinker International, Inc. is one of the world’s leading casual dining restaurant companies. Founded in 1975 and based in Dallas, as of Sept. 24, 2014, Brinker owned, operated or franchised 1,622 restaurants under the names Chili’s Grill & Bar (1,574 restaurants) and Maggiano’s Little Italy (48 restaurants).

The Houston commercial litigation firm Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA, is being recognized as one of the country’s Best Law Firms for the third time by U.S. News & World Report and The Best Lawyers in America.

AZA, renowned for its courtroom success, earned a place among the top tier of Houston civil litigation firms on the national list for 2015.

The Best Law Firms recognition is one of the most prestigious national rankings in the legal profession. The list is compiled by researchers with U.S. News and Best Lawyers who survey thousands of attorneys and clients. The full listing is available at http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/.

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Noted Dallas business litigator Melanie Okon has been named one of the top North Texas energy attorneys in the Dallas Business Journal’s 2014 listing of Who’s Who in Energy.

Ms. Okon, a name partner in Dallas-based Estes Okon Thorne & Carr PLLC, will be featured among the 17 key lawyers who represent companies in the energy industry in the Who’s Who in Energy section, which will be published in the Nov. 28 edition of the Dallas Business Journal.

“This recognition for Melanie reinforces what we’ve known for years,” says firm founding partner Dawn Estes. “Her work for energy companies in disputes involving pipeline construction, nuisance complaints, contract litigation and other matters has been consistently exceptional, and we’re proud to work with her. It is a significant accomplishment to earn a place on this list in one of the country’s top states for energy production.”

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SanDisk Corp.. a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, has announced that it has appointed Mark Brazeal as senior vice president and chief legal officer. Brazeal is responsible for SanDisk’s intellectual property portfolio and licensing as well as all other legal areas, including commercial agreements, M&A transactions, litigation, corporate securities law and governance.

Brazeal spent the past 14 years at Broadcom where he most recently served as senior vice president and senior deputy general counsel with responsibilities including a wide variety of IP matters and litigation for the company.

Prior to Broadcom, Brazeal focused on IP licensing and litigation at law firms Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, CA, Yuasa and Hara in Tokyo, Japan, and Howrey & Simon in Washington, D.C.

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Shipman & Goodwin LLP, a full-service law firm with offices throughout Connecticut and in Washington, DC, recently made its website content accessible for clients and other visitors who have sight or hearing limitations. This move puts the firm among a small percentage of law firms nationally to have a website in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The firm ranks among the nation’s largest law firms on both the National Law Journal’s annual NLJ 350 survey and the Law360 400.

Firm leadership identified website accessibility as a priority in response to increased efforts by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to ensure that certain business and organization websites comply with the ADA, which requires that communication from public accommodations and commercial facilities must be accessible and usable to individuals with disabilities. While the broad definition of public accommodations does not include some types of private-sector businesses, recent actions brought by the DOJ signal that it might be prudent for companies such as law firms to make preparations for compliance.

For Shipman & Goodwin, “it wasn’t a question of whether or not the firm was required to make the website ADA compliant,” said Scott Murphy, the firm’s Managing Partner. “It was a natural step to take. Many of our clients either have sight and hearing limitations, or are in the business of helping those who do,” he said. All content on Shipman & Goodwin’s website is now readable by ADA screen readers that are able to re-represent content to either text to speech, sound icons, or braille output devices. And although the firm recognizes that many clients and visitors will not be impacted by the change, it was important to provide access to those who do require special assistance.

“As we approach the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act it is great to see a business so thoroughly embrace the principles of accessibility, effective communication and equality in the provision of its services,” said Michelle Duprey, Director, Department of Services for Persons with Disabilities, City of New Haven in Connecticut.

Client of the firm Jeff Bravin, Executive Director of the American School for the Deaf (ASD), agrees, and wishes more people would take the initiative to make their websites ADA compliant. “For nearly 200 years, ASD has strived to provide accessibility to information for our students and clients. We need more people to help level the playing field for people of all abilities,” he said.

“Every little step makes our community a better place,” added Ms. Duprey.

Shipman & Goodwin LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 160 attorneys and offices in Hartford, Stamford, Greenwich and Lakeville, Conn. and in Washington, DC. Founded in 1919, the firm serves the needs of local, regional, national and international clients, which include public and private companies, institutions, government entities and non-profit organizations. The firm also actively supports pro bono service and community involvement on both a firm-wide basis and among attorneys at all levels. For more information, visit www.shipmangoodwin.com.