Leadership from Dallas-based FBFK law firm today announced that the firm will be opening an Austin office and bringing on board well-known Intellectual Property (IP) attorney Kirby Cronin of Cronin PLLC to lead market efforts and bolster FBFK’s strong IP practice. Also joining FBFK from Cronin PLLC are long-standing IP attorneys Allison Copeland and Jill Cronin.
“We’ve been looking for the right Austin-based partner to expand our already strong IP and technology practice and found that partner in Kirby,” said FBFK CEO and Founder Kyle Ferguson. “He’s the whole package – well-respected, entrepreneurial, and committed to relationships and service, which is evident in his strong relationships with corporate leaders and the attorney team he brings with him.”
Cronin, a 25-year attorney with expertise in intellectual property transactions, litigation, and counseling as well as extensive experience representing financial institutions’ technology-related matters, will join FBFK as a shareholder. He brings with him long-term IP clients Whataburger, Frost Bank, C.H. Guenther & Son, and many others.
He also maintains an active trademark practice and has expertise with a variety of copyright, trade secret, domain name, social media, and other intellectual property needs. Cronin also has significant legal experience in a variety of other areas, such as commercial litigation, commercial and business transactions, and employment matters.
“Coupling Cronin PLLC’s highly successful intellectual property and technology transaction specialties with FBFK’s full-service capabilities will allow us to ensure that our clients continue to receive the highest quality representation possible and with lawyers that they trust as much as their own in-house team,” said Cronin. “I look forward to growing FBFK’s IP practice and enhancing the services provided to my existing clients.”
Cronin’s legal background includes both private law firm and in-house counsel experience, most notably serving as in-house counsel for Computer Sciences Corporation. He also has led – and routinely leads – in negotiations opposite Fortune 100 U.S. companies, such as ExxonMobil, AT&T, Dell, HP, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, J.P. Morgan Chase, IBM, Capital One, Microsoft and Dow Chemical.
Cronin has both bachelor’s and juris doctorate degrees from the University of Texas and continues to teach Transactional Drafting within the University of Texas School of Law.
Austin IP Attorney Team
Also joining Cronin as part of the new FBFK Austin team are fellow IP attorneys Allison Copeland and Jill Cronin. They will collaborate with FBFK’s existing IP team in Dallas and Houston.

Allison Copeland
Copeland, a veteran intellectual property attorney with more than 20 years of experience in private law firms and as in-house corporate counsel, focuses on intellectual property transactions and counseling, including software licensing, open-source compliance, joint marketing, reseller and OEM agreements, and other intellectual property needs. Copeland received her bachelor’s and juris doctorate degrees from the University of Texas.

Jill Cronin
Cronin, who is also a tenured commercial litigation and insurance coverage law attorney, brings a wide range of IP experience to FBFK – from trademark prosecution, clearance, and enforcement matters to social media issues and matters involving contests and promotions. She also touts extensive experience with insurance coverage law and assists clients with crisis response and insurance coverage reviews. Cronin has served on the governing council of the Insurance Law Section of the State Bar of Texas and as a Co-Chair of both the Ethics and Advertising Injury/Intellectual Property Subcommittees of the ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Section. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and juris doctorate degree (with honors) from the University of Houston Law Center.

FBFK’s current intellectual property and technology practice is comprised of 14 attorneys in Dallas, Houston and Silicon Valley with deep expertise in patent infringement, copyright infringement, trademark infringement and unfair competition, technology contract disputes, domain name disputes, e-commerce disputes and license disputes. With the new additions, the team will now total 17 attorneys.

“We’re thrilled to increase our existing IP bench strength with Kirby, Allison and Jill and to bring our expertise to Austin,” added Ferguson.

The FBFK Austin office will be located at: 4301 Westbank Drive, Building B, Ste. 270, Austin, TX 78746.
Phone: 512.703.1400.

Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that Sonia Kaur Bain has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in the Real Estate practice group, which continues to strategically expand its team and enhance its capabilities across key U.S. markets and sectors. Sonia is well-known in the real estate industry and represents developers, retail companies, hotel groups, landlords and tenants, and family offices in New York and across the country in the acquisition and development of numerous types of commercial real estate assets. Prior to joining Blank Rome, Sonia was a real estate partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.

“Sonia’s well-established practice and decades of experience in the real estate market will be invaluable to our firm as we continue to strategically grow our real estate service offerings to meet increasing market demands,” said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Rome’s Managing Partner and CEO. “Sonia is a versatile and well-respected practitioner, recognized for her holistic approach to client service. We are excited to welcome her to the firm.”

Sonia’s transactional commercial real estate work includes counseling clients on acquisitions, dispositions, development, ground and spaces leases, and financing and leasing across commercial real estate assets, including mixed-use, residential, retail, hotel, and industrial properties. Additionally, she advises her clients on strategically determining where real estate investment opportunities may fit into their overarching business models.

“The real estate and hospitality sectors have faced numerous, complex challenges amid the pandemic,” said Samantha Wallack, Partner and Co-Chair of the Real Estate practice group. “Sonia will play an integral role in helping our clients to bounce back from these difficulties and navigate any hurdles that lie ahead. We are thrilled to welcome her to our growing team in New York, which recently welcomed our new partner Christy L. Reuter, another leader in the global hospitality sector.”

“I am excited to join the firm and its growing Real Estate group,” said Sonia. “Blank Rome’s continued investment in the burgeoning New York real estate market provides a tremendous amount of opportunity to continue to evolve my practice and service my clients’ needs while also building strong cross-marketing relationships across all of the firm’s practices.”

In addition to her practice, Sonia currently serves as the president of New York Women Executives in Real Estate (WX), where she has been a board member and officer for five years. WX is an invite-only membership of women in commercial real estate whose mission is to support and enhance the profile and success of women in the industry, dovetailing into Sonia’s passion for mentoring women—particularly those entering their careers in law and the real estate industry at large.

Sonia is also an accomplished industry thought leader, often invited to participate as a speaker, moderator, and panelist at real estate industry events. She has been celebrated among the top women in real estate by business publications and legal directories in New York and beyond, including Best Lawyers in America, Crain’s New York Business, and Bisnow. Sonia earned her J.D. from New York Law School and her B.A. from Stony Brook University.

About Blank Rome

Blank Rome is an Am Law 100 firm with 13 offices and more than 600 attorneys and principals who provide comprehensive legal and advocacy services to clients operating in the United States and around the world. Our professionals have built a reputation for their leading knowledge and experience across a spectrum of industries and are recognized for their commitment to pro bono work in their communities. Since our inception in 1946, Blank Rome’s culture has been dedicated to providing top-level service to all of our clients and has been rooted in the strength of our diversity and inclusion initiatives. For more information, please visit blankrome.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 4, 2021 – Brown Rudnick LLP announced the addition of Barbara Klepper as a Partner in the Tax Practice Group, within the Corporate and Capital Markets Department, adding to the deep bench of lawyers with experience handling highly complex transactions.

Klepper joins from McAfee & Taft where she was a shareholder in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation group. Her practice encompasses all aspects of executive compensation, employee benefits planning, and related tax matters. She counsels clients navigating such issues related to mergers and acquisitions and regularly advises on post-closing benefits structuring, Section 409A and 280G issues, deferred compensation plans, severance and executive employment contracts.

“Barbara’s strong track record dealing with nuanced executive compensation and benefits matters complements our team, and our clients will benefit greatly from her insight” said Vince Guglielmotti, Managing Director of the Corporate and Capital Markets Department. “Her experience counseling public and private clients in transactions across a broad range of industries further enhances the service we offer. We’re thrilled to welcome Barbara to the firm.”

Klepper has experience representing clients of all types and sizes. She has worked across a variety of industries, including energy, food, healthcare, private equity, and technology, and represents both owners and entities in negotiating terms of complex transactions. She also assists charitable organizations and private foundations in handling regulatory requirements necessary to maintain tax-exempt status. She has represented clients before the U.S. Department of Labor and the IRS on benefits and tax matters.

“Barbara will be a tremendous asset to our robust Tax Practice and will further propel Brown Rudnick in servicing our clients in an ever-changing business and regulatory environment,” said Nicole Bouchard, Practice Group Leader of the Tax Practice Group.

Brown Rudnick’s Tax Practice Group consists of committed lawyers who deeply understand the industries they serve and their market realities. The team views complex tax issues as key opportunities to position clients for success. Klepper will join a deep roster of experienced professionals with diverse backgrounds.

About Brown Rudnick LLP

Brown Rudnick combines ingenuity with experience to achieve great outcomes for our clients. We deliver partner-driven services, with a focus on collaboration in the client’s best interest. Brown Rudnick is an international law firm, serving clients around the globe. With more than 250 lawyers and government relations professionals, the Firm has offices in key financial centers across the United States and Europe. We are recognized for our market-leading practices covering several targeted industries, including bankruptcy and corporate restructuring, life sciences, technology, litigation and arbitration, white-collar defense and government investigations, civil fraud, special situations, corporate finance, strategic capital, distressed debt, intellectual property, real estate, M&A, and cross-border deals and disputes.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Richard A. Sayles, managing partner of the firm’s Dallas office, was recognized by Benchmark Litigation as among the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America” in the publication’s 2022 edition.

“Our firm is very proud of Dick’s selection as one of the top trial attorneys in America,” said Bradley’s Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Jonathan M. Skeeters. “Dick is a trailblazer and has achieved tremendous successes on behalf of clients throughout his storied career.”

Mr. Sayles has more than four decades of experience trying cases in both state and federal courts. His experience includes defending clients in cases involving defense of and claims against corporate directors and officers, securities claims, product liability and patent infringement suits, and high-stakes commercial litigation.

Benchmark Litigation is the only directory to focus exclusively on the U.S. litigation market. The publication’s identification of the leading U.S. trial attorneys is based on extensive interviews with litigators, dispute resolution specialists and their clients as well as analysis of the market’s most important cases and firm developments.

About Bradley
Bradley combines skilled legal counsel with exceptional client service and unwavering integrity to assist a diverse range of corporate and individual clients in achieving their business goals. With offices in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and the District of Columbia, the firm’s nearly 550 lawyers represent regional, national and international clients in various industries, including banking and financial services, construction, energy, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, real estate, and technology, among many others.

Thomson Reuters today announced integrations with key Practical Law and 3E features, as well as Microsoft Teams®, on its industry-leading legal workflow platform HighQ. The integrations, along with more than 50 customer-driven enhancements, are part of ongoing improvements to help legal professionals strengthen collaboration, boost productivity and streamline work processes.

“We are continually working with customers to further evolve HighQ as a hub for legal workflows,” said Chris Kitchener, vice president, Product Management for Thomson Reuters HighQ. “Our latest additions combine customer-requested components with strategic upgrades to help legal professionals work more efficiently and productively, and ultimately, deliver improved client satisfaction with our content-driven technology solutions.”

Integrating Practical Law allows users to visualize and customize the Corporate and Litigation Matter Maps within HighQ to better plan and execute legal work. By linking to relevant and up-to-date Practical Law content within each task, this feature helps legal professionals standardize processes, enabling better project planning and management and, in turn, improving service delivery.

Kitchener added, “Allowing HighQ users to create customizable Matter Maps from Practical Law with one click provides the task support that law firms and corporate legal teams need to execute effectively as well as the guidance within those tasks. We’re applying technology to combine the power of Thomson Reuters editorial leadership with our workflow expertise – all to support our customers in strengthening their client service.”

Another strategic integration seamlessly incorporates key client data from 3E into HighQ’s visualization and workflow automation tools. This allows users to provide clients with real-time access to their work-in-progress and current spend, making it easier to monitor activity and stay informed on project status.

In addition, the Microsoft Teams integration allows users to share content from HighQ within Teams private chat or group channels, and upload files from Teams to HighQ. Users also can see the Teams presence of other users and message or call them from within HighQ, fostering better collaboration and communication between colleagues.

Also notable among the HighQ improvements are features that streamline contract management work. HighQ users can now share Contract Express questionnaires with external users, allowing anyone to generate documents in HighQ. Providing public access to questionnaires extends automated document creation to those outside of a user’s organization, further streamlining workflows and approval processes. Additional new features simplify users’ transaction workflows, including the ability to bulk send documents to DocuSign® for signing and a site proxy login for better permission management.

The more than 50 enhancements and key integrations in HighQ 5.6 provide new ways for legal professionals to improve client satisfaction. These upgrades follow the launch of HighQ Contract Analysis, a contract review and analysis tool that uses machine learning and pre-trained models, as well as enhancements to legal project management and contract lifecycle management tools.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka is pleased to announce that Philadelphia-based Shareholder Jennifer Karpchuk was appointed to the Philadelphia Tax Reform Working Group by Mayor Jim Kenney and City Council. In this capacity, Karpchuk will join other business and community stakeholders to build on the efforts of previous tax reform committees by studying and recommending changes to the city’s tax code to support Philadelphia’s equitable and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, this group’s is charged with the creation of an action plan for tax reform that will serve as the foundation of the Fiscal 2023 Budget and Five-Year Financial Plan to be released early next year. The full announcement from the Office of the Mayor can be found here.

“I am honored and grateful to have been appointed to this working group along with other business and community leaders in Philadelphia,” said Karpchuk. “We have an opportunity to help our businesses in Philadelphia grow and effectively navigate their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and increase jobs within our great city. I am eager to use my knowledge of state and local tax law to identify ways the city can avoid tax pitfalls and move tax reform forward.”

Karpchuk’s practice focuses on all aspects of state and local tax controversy and planning. She is a nationally sought-after speaker and writer on topics related to state and local tax (SALT). Karpchuk is the current chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s State and Local Tax Committee. She is a regular contributor to Tax Notes, Bloomberg Tax, Law360, and The Legal Intelligencer on SALT related topics. Additionally, she is a regular contributor to the Legal Intelligencer with a column that aims to help young partners and those aspiring to be shareholders to thrive in both the practice and business of law– addressing tough topics from work/life balance to building a practice to office politics. Karpchuk also co-authors the Pennsylvania Tax Handbook and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Bar Association’s Property Tax Deskbook. Karpchuk founded a professional networking and affinity group called Philly Women in SALT, which helps women connect with other women within the SALT community, gain equitable positions in the industry and advance their careers. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware and her law degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law.
Members of the Tax Reform Working Group:
• Council President Darrell L. Clarke
• Councilmember Quinones-Sanchez (7th District)
• Councilmember Green (At Large)
• Councilmember Domb (At Large)
• James Engler, Chief of Staff, Mayor Kenney
• Rob Dubow, Finance Director
• Frank Breslin, Chief Collections Officer/Revenue Commissioner
• Michael Rashid, Commerce Director
• Christina Hernandez, First Deputy Chief of Staff (alternate)
• Ryan Boyer, Business Manager, Laborers’ District Council of the Metropolitan Area of Philadelphia and Vicinity
• Kia Buckner, CPA, CGMA, Managing Partner, Horsey, Buckner & Heffler, LLP
• Patrick J. Burns, President and CEO, Metro Philly Management
• Lee Huang, President and Principal, Econsult Solutions
• Susan Jacobson, President, Jacobson Strategic Communications
• Jabari Jones, President, West Philadelphia Corridor Collaborative
• Jennifer W. Karpchuk, Esq., State and Local Tax Practice Co-Chair and Shareholder, Chamberlain Hrdlicka
• Matthew Melinson, Partner, Grant Thornton LLP
• Folasade (Sade) Olanipekun-Lewis, Regional Director, Government and Airport Affairs, American Airlines
• Wayne W. Williams, Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting, Temple University

About Chamberlain Hrdlicka
Chamberlain Hrdlicka is a diversified business law firm with offices in Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia and San Antonio. The firm represents both public and private companies, as well as individuals and family-owned businesses across the nation. The firm offers counsel in appellate law, bankruptcy, commercial and probate litigation, construction law, corporate, employee benefits, energy and maritime law, ERISA, estate planning and administration, intellectual property, international and immigration law, labor and employment, privacy and data security, real estate, securities and finance, tax controversy and tax planning.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 4, 2021 – Brown Rudnick LLP announced the addition of Barbara Klepper as a Partner in the Tax Practice Group, within the Corporate and Capital Markets Department, adding to the deep bench of lawyers with experience handling highly complex transactions.

Klepper joins from McAfee & Taft where she was a shareholder in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation group. Her practice encompasses all aspects of executive compensation, employee benefits planning, and related tax matters. She counsels clients navigating such issues related to mergers and acquisitions and regularly advises on post-closing benefits structuring, Section 409A and 280G issues, deferred compensation plans, severance and executive employment contracts.

“Barbara’s strong track record dealing with nuanced executive compensation and benefits matters complements our team, and our clients will benefit greatly from her insight” said Vince Guglielmotti, Managing Director of the Corporate and Capital Markets Department. “Her experience counseling public and private clients in transactions across a broad range of industries further enhances the service we offer. We’re thrilled to welcome Barbara to the firm.”

Klepper has experience representing clients of all types and sizes. She has worked across a variety of industries, including energy, food, healthcare, private equity, and technology, and represents both owners and entities in negotiating terms of complex transactions. She also assists charitable organizations and private foundations in handling regulatory requirements necessary to maintain tax-exempt status. She has represented clients before the U.S. Department of Labor and the IRS on benefits and tax matters.

“Barbara will be a tremendous asset to our robust Tax Practice and will further propel Brown Rudnick in servicing our clients in an ever-changing business and regulatory environment,” said Nicole Bouchard, Practice Group Leader of the Tax Practice Group.

Brown Rudnick’s Tax Practice Group consists of committed lawyers who deeply understand the industries they serve and their market realities. The team views complex tax issues as key opportunities to position clients for success. Klepper will join a deep roster of experienced professionals with diverse backgrounds.

About Brown Rudnick LLP

Brown Rudnick combines ingenuity with experience to achieve great outcomes for our clients. We deliver partner-driven services, with a focus on collaboration in the client’s best interest. Brown Rudnick is an international law firm, serving clients around the globe. With more than 250 lawyers and government relations professionals, the Firm has offices in key financial centers across the United States and Europe. We are recognized for our market-leading practices covering several targeted industries, including bankruptcy and corporate restructuring, life sciences, technology, litigation and arbitration, white-collar defense and government investigations, civil fraud, special situations, corporate finance, strategic capital, distressed debt, intellectual property, real estate, M&A, and cross-border deals and disputes.

Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Anthony Grossi has joined the firm’s Global Restructuring group in the New York and Washington D.C. offices. Previously, Mr. Grossi was a partner in the Restructuring Practice Group at Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

Mr. Grossi primarily advises distressed companies in Chapter 11 reorganizations and out-of-court restructurings. His experience includes representing debtors and significant creditor groups in large and complex Chapter 11 cases. Prior to his most recent position, he served as the bankruptcy counsel for several years to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary.

“Anthony has represented debtors in some of the most complicated and high-profile Chapter 11 cases in recent years,” said Jennifer Hagle, a member of Sidley’s Executive Committee and Global Restructuring group. “That extensive experience will immediately contribute to the growth of our company-side restructuring practice and along with his creditor experience, significantly increase our bench strength in the global restructuring market.”

The Global Restructuring group has over 50 full-time lawyers in North America, Europe, and Asia representing key constituents in the restructuring of large and mid-size companies.

The addition of Mr. Grossi follows the firm’s recent addition of partner Tom Califano to the Global Restructuring group in New York and Dallas.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 4, 2021 – Brown Rudnick LLP announced the addition of Barbara Klepper as a Partner in the Tax Practice Group, within the Corporate and Capital Markets Department, adding to the deep bench of lawyers with experience handling highly complex transactions.

Klepper joins from McAfee & Taft where she was a shareholder in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation group. Her practice encompasses all aspects of executive compensation, employee benefits planning, and related tax matters. She counsels clients navigating such issues related to mergers and acquisitions and regularly advises on post-closing benefits structuring, Section 409A and 280G issues, deferred compensation plans, severance and executive employment contracts.

“Barbara’s strong track record dealing with nuanced executive compensation and benefits matters complements our team, and our clients will benefit greatly from her insight” said Vince Guglielmotti, Managing Director of the Corporate and Capital Markets Department. “Her experience counseling public and private clients in transactions across a broad range of industries further enhances the service we offer. We’re thrilled to welcome Barbara to the firm.”

Klepper has experience representing clients of all types and sizes. She has worked across a variety of industries, including energy, food, healthcare, private equity, and technology, and represents both owners and entities in negotiating terms of complex transactions. She also assists charitable organizations and private foundations in handling regulatory requirements necessary to maintain tax-exempt status. She has represented clients before the U.S. Department of Labor and the IRS on benefits and tax matters.

“Barbara will be a tremendous asset to our robust Tax Practice and will further propel Brown Rudnick in servicing our clients in an ever-changing business and regulatory environment,” said Nicole Bouchard, Practice Group Leader of the Tax Practice Group.

Brown Rudnick’s Tax Practice Group consists of committed lawyers who deeply understand the industries they serve and their market realities. The team views complex tax issues as key opportunities to position clients for success. Klepper will join a deep roster of experienced professionals with diverse backgrounds.

About Brown Rudnick LLP

Brown Rudnick combines ingenuity with experience to achieve great outcomes for our clients. We deliver partner-driven services, with a focus on collaboration in the client’s best interest. Brown Rudnick is an international law firm, serving clients around the globe. With more than 250 lawyers and government relations professionals, the Firm has offices in key financial centers across the United States and Europe. We are recognized for our market-leading practices covering several targeted industries, including bankruptcy and corporate restructuring, life sciences, technology, litigation and arbitration, white-collar defense and government investigations, civil fraud, special situations, corporate finance, strategic capital, distressed debt, intellectual property, real estate, M&A, and cross-border deals and disputes.

Houston, September 22, 2021 – Eleven attorneys with national law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka have been selected to the 2021 Texas Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

The Chamberlain Hrdlicka attorneys selected for the 2020 Thomson Reuters’ list of Super Lawyers are:
• Brett T. Berly, Estate Planning & Probate Law
• David N. Calvillo, Business Litigation
• Ryan O. Cantrell – Estate & Trust Litigation
• Larry A. Campagna, Tax
• C. Larry Carbo III, Employment Litigation: Defense
• Diana Perez Gomez, Employment & Labor
• F. Daniel Knight, Transportation/Maritime Law
• Steven J. Knight – Appellate Law
• Charles J. “Chad” Muller, Tax
• Julie Offerman, Employment & Labor
• Juan F. Vasquez Jr., Tax

This June, Chamberlain Hrdlicka attorneys were also named to the 2021 Texas Rising Star list by Super Lawyers Magazine, including Jarrod B. Martin, Kathryn “Kelly” Shields and Justin E. VandenBout in Houston as well as F. Matthew “Matt” Flores and Jaime Vasquez in San Antonio. Part of the national Super Lawyers rating service, Texas Rising Stars recognizes the best attorneys age 40 or younger, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state receive this honor.

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

About Chamberlain Hrdlicka
Chamberlain Hrdlicka is a diversified business law firm with offices in Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia and San Antonio. The firm represents both public and private companies, as well as individuals and family-owned businesses across the nation. The firm offers counsel in civil appeals; bankruptcy, restructuring, & creditor rights; commercial litigation; condemnation and eminent domain law; construction & real estate law; corporate, securities and finance; employee benefits & executive compensation; energy and maritime law; ERISA; estate & income tax planning & estate administration; exempt organizations; federal white collar criminal defense; immigration & international law; insurance law; intellectual property; labor & employment; paycheck protection program audits & investigations; privacy & data security; probate & fiduciary litigation; state & local tax; tax controversy; tax planning & business transactions; and technology & IP transactions. For more information, visit: www.chamberlainlaw.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 4, 2021 – Brown Rudnick LLP announced the addition of Barbara Klepper as a Partner in the Tax Practice Group, within the Corporate and Capital Markets Department, adding to the deep bench of lawyers with experience handling highly complex transactions.

Klepper joins from McAfee & Taft where she was a shareholder in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation group. Her practice encompasses all aspects of executive compensation, employee benefits planning, and related tax matters. She counsels clients navigating such issues related to mergers and acquisitions and regularly advises on post-closing benefits structuring, Section 409A and 280G issues, deferred compensation plans, severance and executive employment contracts.

“Barbara’s strong track record dealing with nuanced executive compensation and benefits matters complements our team, and our clients will benefit greatly from her insight” said Vince Guglielmotti, Managing Director of the Corporate and Capital Markets Department. “Her experience counseling public and private clients in transactions across a broad range of industries further enhances the service we offer. We’re thrilled to welcome Barbara to the firm.”

Klepper has experience representing clients of all types and sizes. She has worked across a variety of industries, including energy, food, healthcare, private equity, and technology, and represents both owners and entities in negotiating terms of complex transactions. She also assists charitable organizations and private foundations in handling regulatory requirements necessary to maintain tax-exempt status. She has represented clients before the U.S. Department of Labor and the IRS on benefits and tax matters.

“Barbara will be a tremendous asset to our robust Tax Practice and will further propel Brown Rudnick in servicing our clients in an ever-changing business and regulatory environment,” said Nicole Bouchard, Practice Group Leader of the Tax Practice Group.

Brown Rudnick’s Tax Practice Group consists of committed lawyers who deeply understand the industries they serve and their market realities. The team views complex tax issues as key opportunities to position clients for success. Klepper will join a deep roster of experienced professionals with diverse backgrounds.

About Brown Rudnick LLP

Brown Rudnick combines ingenuity with experience to achieve great outcomes for our clients. We deliver partner-driven services, with a focus on collaboration in the client’s best interest. Brown Rudnick is an international law firm, serving clients around the globe. With more than 250 lawyers and government relations professionals, the Firm has offices in key financial centers across the United States and Europe. We are recognized for our market-leading practices covering several targeted industries, including bankruptcy and corporate restructuring, life sciences, technology, litigation and arbitration, white-collar defense and government investigations, civil fraud, special situations, corporate finance, strategic capital, distressed debt, intellectual property, real estate, M&A, and cross-border deals and disputes.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Charles A. “Chuck” Stewart III, a partner in the firm’s Montgomery office, has been inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. The induction ceremony was held at the Annual Meeting of the College in Chicago.

“Chuck is a respected practitioner with an impressive legal career and is deserving of this honor recognizing his contributions to the practice of law and his high level of professionalism,” said Bradley Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Jonathan Skeeters.

Mr. Stewart has more than 35 years of experience with complex trials involving business disputes, product liability, intellectual property, construction, employment, and catastrophic personal injuries in multiple states. He has defended several class actions to defense verdicts, including matters involving antitrust claims, racial steering in the sale of real estate, and group health insurance. Mr. Stewart has also represented clients faced with government investigations and qui tam matters. He regularly defends clients faced with bet-the-company multidistrict litigation.

Founded in 1950, the American College of Trial Lawyers is one of the premier legal associations in North America and is dedicated to improving the standards of trial practice, professionalism, ethics, and the administration of justice. Fellowship is extended by invitation only and after an extensive process to determine that the individual has mastered the art of advocacy and achieved the highest standards of ethical conduct. Inductees must have a minimum of fifteen years of trial experience for consideration.

About Bradley
Bradley combines skilled legal counsel with exceptional client service and unwavering integrity to assist a diverse range of corporate and individual clients in achieving their business goals. With offices in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and the District of Columbia, the firm’s nearly 550 lawyers represent regional, national and international clients in various industries, including banking and financial services, construction, energy, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, real estate, and technology, among many others.

DALLAS – Five partners with Family Law firm Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson have earned recognition among the Top 100 attorneys in Texas in the Super Lawyers guide for 2021. A total of 13 lawyers with the firm made this year’s listing of leading attorneys in the state.

No more than 5 percent of the more than 100,000 attorneys practicing in Texas are chosen by Super Lawyers, the Thomson Reuters-owned peer-review guide. The Top 100 represent the most elite practitioners.

Name partners Keith Nelson, Scott Downing, Jeff Anderson, were selected for the Top 100 attorneys in the state and also made the Top 100 list for the Dallas-Fort Worth area as did partners Brad LaMorgese and Lon Loveless. San Antonio-based name partner Richard Orsinger was recognized among the Top 50 attorneys in Central/West Texas along with partner Amber Liddell Alwais.

Rounding out the list of honorees in Family Law are partners William Reppeto, Paula Bennett, Paul Hewett, Holly Rampy Baird, R. Porter Corrigan and Of Counsel James Loveless.

“We always appreciate when our peers in the legal world recognize our hard work and expertise in Family Law,” said Mr. Downing. “But we take the most pride in finding workable solutions for our clients.”

The 2021 guide is based on independent research, surveys, peer nominations and evaluations by leading lawyers in the same practice areas. The complete 2021 listing will be published in October in Texas Monthly and the Texas edition of Super Lawyers magazine. It can be found online at http://www.superlawyers.com.

Nationally recognized for more Top 100 Super Lawyers in Texas than any other law firm in 2017-2020, Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson, LLP, has a significant track record of handling complex family law matters, including divorce, child custody and international custody disputes, property division and appellate issues. All firm partners have been recognized by Super Lawyers.

With offices in Dallas, Frisco, Fort Worth and San Antonio, Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson, LLP, is one of Texas’ largest Family Law firms. Each partner is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, as well as a member of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists. To learn more, visit https://www.ondafamilylaw.com/.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. is pleased to announce that Kurt J.H. Mueller has joined the firm as counsel in its Business Services practice group, based in Greensfelder’s Chicago office.

With more than 25 years of corporate law experience, Mueller provides a distinct perspective through his advising of private equity and venture capital funds, businesses of all sizes from start-ups to large multinational companies, hedge funds and individual investors.

Mueller’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity investments, fund formations and sophisticated joint venture transactions. His experience also includes corporate governance, credit facilities, employment agreements, leases, intellectual property agreements and all manner of other agreements documenting business transactions.

Before joining Greensfelder, Mueller practiced as a partner and senior counsel at several prominent national firms. He has also worked as in-house counsel for a large bank’s private equity and strategic investing business, where he advised investment professionals on portfolio company acquisitions and dispositions, including applicable banking regulatory matters. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Boston University and his B.B.A. in Accounting and Finance from the University of Wisconsin.

Kevin P. Allen, Daniel B. McLane and Michael P. Pest have joined as partners, and Thomas E. Sanchez as special counsel, in Duane Morris LLP’s Pittsburgh office as part of the firm’s Trial Practice Group.

Allen has also been appointed co-managing partner of the firm’s Pittsburgh office. The attorneys join the firm from Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC.

“With a robust market for trial activity, we’re excited to welcome this talented team of litigators to the firm. We are always looking for marquee talent and Kevin, Dan, Mike and Tom certainly represent that strategic goal,” said Matthew A. Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Duane Morris. “Our firm is well-known for the ability to deliver results for our clients, and this group’s contributions to Duane Morris will be a growth accelerator for our Pittsburgh office.”

“Kevin, Dan, Mike and Tom offer us an exciting opportunity to expand our Pittsburgh office and do so with a group of highly skilled lawyers dedicated to serving the firm’s clients” said Sharon L. Caffrey, co-chair of Duane Morris’ Trial Practice Group. “That group will hit the ground running and add value to our Pittsburgh office and the firm as a whole from day one,” added Wayne A. Mack, co-chair of Duane Morris’ Trial Practice Group.

“Our organization will be enhanced by this team of marquee talent; their reputations in the Pittsburgh legal community as top-notch litigators precede them,” said Kenneth M. Argentieri, co-managing partner of Duane Morris’ Pittsburgh office. “I also look forward to working with Kevin to continue to grow and enhance our office.”

“We look forward to joining with our Duane Morris colleagues in Pittsburgh and throughout the firm to serve existing clients, and to demonstrate focus, dedication, and the depth and breadth of Duane Morris’ capabilities to new clients in western Pennsylvania and beyond,” said Allen. “We’re ready to get to work. We want like-minded lawyers in Pittsburgh to join us in the weeks and months to come.”

Kevin P. Allen concentrates his trial practice on commercial litigation with an emphasis on contract disputes, business torts and the defense of class actions and consumer protection actions. A member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, Allen’s first-chair experience includes state and federal jury and nonjury trials, injunction proceedings and binding arbitrations. Allen also has argued appellate cases before the Third Circuit, the Federal Circuit, and Pennsylvania’s Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth Courts. Allen also serves in an outside general counsel capacity for clients from diverse industries when legal questions intersect with clients’ business issues. He is the author of the treatise “The Attorney-Client Privilege and Work-Product Doctrine in Pennsylvania,” now in its sixth edition, and he has served as a court-appointed special discovery master to address privilege and work-product issues.

Allen is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (J.D., 1995) and Yale University (B.A., 1992).

Daniel B. McLane serves as lead trial counsel in commercial litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts and before the American Arbitration Association. Recently, McLane was lead counsel, teaming with Sanchez, before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in a landmark decision declaring that a “no-hire”/”no-poach” contract provision constituted an unreasonable restraint in Pennsylvania. McLane represents corporations in complex litigation including closely held shareholder disputes and custodian proceedings. He also represents oil and gas exploration companies in litigation throughout Pennsylvania.

McLane is a graduate of Syracuse University College of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1995) and Roanoke College (B.A., 1992).

Michael P. Pest represents clients from diverse industries in complex commercial litigation. Pest’s litigation practice includes matters involving contracts, business torts, trade secrets, real estate transactions and closely held shareholder disputes. He also defends clients in the financial and energy sectors against claims arising under federal and state consumer protection laws. Prior to entering private practice, Pest clerked for the Honorable Dan R. Pellegrini, former president judge of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.

Pest is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (J.D., 2011) and Northwestern University (B.A., 2006).

Thomas E. Sanchez represents corporate clients from various industries in complex commercial litigation. He has experience handling complex single-plaintiff and class actions from inception through trial and appeal, including in cases involving contract disputes, business torts, product liability, patent infringement, unfair competition, business dissolution matters, noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements, and oil and gas energy litigation. In addition to his trial court appearances, Sanchez also has had lead responsibility for appellate briefing before the Third Circuit and Pennsylvania’s Supreme and Superior Courts. Previously, he clerked for the Honorable Yvette Kane of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. While in law school, he worked as an intern for the Honorable Joseph N. Laplante of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire.

Sanchez is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 2011), where he was chief articles editor of the University of New Hampshire Law Review and a Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program student. He is also a graduate of Allegheny College (B.A., magna cum laude, 2007).

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.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka is pleased to welcome Senior Counsel John Coughlin to the firm’s Atlanta office. He will join the Real Estate Practice adding to their strong real estate background advising clients on many different aspects of commercial real estate transactions from land acquisition to leasing, construction, financing and disposition. Coughlin is the latest addition to Chamberlain’s Atlanta office, which has been experiencing rapid expansion in 2021, adding eight additional lawyers to its headcount since January.

“We are thrilled to add John to our roster of real estate attorneys in Atlanta,” said Stephanie Friese, managing co-shareholder of the firm’s Atlanta office and chair of the Real Estate Practice. “His depth of experience is an asset to our flourishing Real Estate Practice and will enhance our ability to serve our clients.”

Coughlin is an accomplished zoning and land use attorney. Prior to joining Chamberlain Hrdlicka, he was a managing partner at New York-based firm Ré, Nielsen & Coughlin, concentrating on sophisticated land use, zoning and related litigation matters on Long Island. He has experience advising and assisting a diverse client base, including national and local businesses and individuals on entitlements, zoning and permitting, as well as environmental review, for commercial development projects. Coughlin handles leasing matters for landlords and tenants and commercial real estate transactions for buyers and sellers. He has also represented clients in real estate litigation matters. Additionally, Coughlin has assisted clients in obtaining hundreds of approvals, permits and other entitlements.

Coughlin earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and his law degree from William and Mary School of Law.

CHICAGO (September 29, 2021) – Neal Gerber Eisenberg (NGE) is pleased to announce the return of Elaine Taussig as partner in the Corporate & Securities practice group. She was previously a partner at the firm until her departure in 2009.

Taussig counsels executives, boards of directors, and investors on corporate and commercial transactions, financings, mergers and acquisitions, public and private securities compliance and offerings and strategic relationships and joint ventures. She also regularly advises her clients on complex commercial contracting and corporate governance matters.

“Elaine brings a unique perspective to the firm with her time spent as both in-house and outside counsel,” said Bobby Gerber, Managing Partner of NGE. “Her ability to evaluate opportunities and provide counsel from both perspectives will greatly benefit our clients as they look to achieve their goals in a dynamic business environment.”

Taussig previously served as general counsel for several companies including a print and digital media holding company and, most recently, for a health care data technology company. As general counsel, Taussig advised company leaders and board directors on a wide range of issues, including strategic transactions and initiatives, financings, data privacy, regulatory compliance and corporate, securities and contractual matters.

“With her experience in various industries and past experience at the firm, Elaine is making an immediate impact both internally at NGE and externally with our clients,” said John Koenigsknecht, chair of the firm’s Corporate & Securities practice group. “I’m thrilled to have her back.”

Taussig received her J.D. from Northwestern University and her B.A. from Barnard College of Columbia University, cum laude.

About NGE
Neal Gerber Eisenberg is a leading law firm dedicated to handling sophisticated matters for entrepreneurs, public companies, and private businesses and their owners. More than one-third of the lawyers at Neal Gerber Eisenberg were recognized in 2021 in Best Lawyers, and the firm represents scores of the Fortune 100 and many of the best known private companies. The firm also acts as the trusted advisers to nonprofits, startups, growth companies and entrepreneurs. The firm has built over thirty years of trusted partnerships with clients that span the globe, and we meet each unique client need with the same personalized service and collaboration that provide the most practical solutions for every matter.

Contacts
John Albrighton
Marketing and Business Development Director
p: (312) 269-8065
e: jalbrighton@nge.com

Today, Hanzo, a technology pioneer in preserving, collecting, reviewing, and exporting dynamic, complex collaboration, messaging, and SaaS data sources, announced a significant enhancement to Hanzo Hold. The new Visual Analyzer capability helps organizations gain rapid insights from massive volumes of Slack conversations during discovery or internal investigations.

Hanzo Hold brings simplicity and control to legal and HR teams who need easy and rapid access to information. Visual Analyzer builds upon Hanzo’s robust search capabilities using a heat map to display keyword hits across time, who is conversing about a specific topic, and which channels or direct messages these conversations exist. From this visual analysis, organizations can identify other custodians and rule out extraneous and irrelevant data for narrowing the scope.

With the Visual Analyzer, it’s quick work to see the volume distribution of messages over time and filter by the highest volume of channels or by the highest volume users to rapidly make sense of Slack content. This addition makes it easy to drill down into specific conversations from the filter set and use the heat map to cull data and export what you need quickly. Individually select or click and drag to select multiple dates for a quick inspection. No expert boolean search parameters are required.

Hanzo’s Visual Analyzer creates a visualization of total message volume across time while providing easy-to-use, interactive filters based on channels and users. Visual Analyzer allows users to rapidly understand the breadth of their data with quick-view results based on timeframes, custodians, and channels. Users may also select individual heatmap tiles or draw timeboxes to view the relevant message results. At any step in the process, users can export their data in review-platform-ready formats. Best of all, no expert boolean search parameters are required.

“This new feature is Hanzo’s first entry into visual analytics born from the work we did with The Sustainable Innovation Fund with Innovate UK grant. We’ve been building models to take complex data sets and extract value and meaning with visual context,” said Brad Harris, VP of Product, Hanzo. “When you have massive amounts of data, results in a simple grid view are tough to parse through to gain meaningful insights. From this foundational work, we’re looking forward to adding toolsets to help enterprises gain more intelligence about the content of their data, whether it’s PII or sentiment analysis.”

About Hanzo
Hanzo brings context and a greater understanding of enterprise data to corporate legal and compliance teams by providing in-house control over dynamic and collaborative data sources. This control allows organizations to reduce billions of dollars in risk, litigation, and compliance costs and elevate corporate legal and regulatory compliance responses. Hanzo’s software empowers defensible preservation, targeted collection, and efficient review of dynamic content from enterprise collaboration applications and complex websites. Hanzo is SOC 2® Type 2 certified, demonstrating its data security commitment and serving large corporations worldwide. Learn more at https://www.hanzo.co and follow updates on Twitter: @gethanzo or on LinkedIn.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Henry C. Su has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C., office as partner. Mr. Su will practice as part of the Antitrust and Intellectual Property teams.

“Henry is an exceptional attorney with a unique background in antitrust matters, intellectual property, emerging technologies, and government agencies,” said Bradley Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Jonathan Skeeters. “In particular, his extensive knowledge of antitrust law and emerging technologies coupled with his experience at the Federal Trade Commission, both as a trial lawyer and as an advisor to the Chair of the Commission, will provide a tremendous benefit to our clients. We are extremely pleased to welcome him to the firm.”

“Henry deepens the expertise of Bradley’s nationally recognized group of antitrust attorneys and broadens the reach of our antitrust and competition practice,” added Mike Denniston, chair of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group.

Bradley announced a major expansion of its national healthcare practice in early 2020 with the addition of four highly regarded antitrust attorneys from Womble Bond Dickinson, led by Mark Horoschak and Brian Hayles. The addition of Mr. Su to Bradley’s extensive team reflects Bradley’s commitment to assisting clients across highly regulated industries and matters.

“I am excited to join such an accomplished team and to be part of the continued growth of Bradley’s nationwide practice, which has an unmatched reputation in the industry,” said Mr. Su.

Mr. Su has more than 20 years of litigation experience, focusing his practice on trial and appellate matters involving antitrust, intellectual property, and technology disputes. He spent 10 years in Silicon Valley litigating patent infringement and antitrust cases for clients in the software, hardware, medical device, and biotechnology industries. Mr. Su is a registered patent attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Additionally, Mr. Su counsels and represents clients in matters involving government agencies, drawing on his experience working with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for more than six years, where he served as a trial lawyer in the Bureau of Competition’s Litigation Group, which was responsible for litigating anticompetitive merger and conduct cases, as well as an attorney advisor to two sitting commissioners.

Mr. Su utilizes his experience with companies, entrepreneurs, and investors in Silicon Valley, along with his background working with enforcers, regulators, and policymakers in D.C. to provide his clients with a unique perspective into the intersection of government, business, and technology interests.

A frequent author and speaker, Mr. Su is a member of the faculty for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. He has held numerous leadership positions with national bar associations, including the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section, the National Asian Pacific Bar Association, and the Federal Circuit Bar Association. Mr. Su is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and California.

Mr. Su graduated cum laude from Yale University with a B.S. in Biology and earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is an active member of his community, volunteering his time with organizations including A Wider Circle and the C&O Canal Trust and tutoring students on writing and composition.

About Bradley
Bradley combines skilled legal counsel with exceptional client service and unwavering integrity to assist a diverse range of corporate and individual clients in achieving their business goals. With offices in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and the District of Columbia, the firm’s nearly 550 lawyers represent regional, national and international clients in various industries, including banking and financial services, construction, energy, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, real estate, and technology, among many others.

HOUSTON – Texas Super Lawyers, a widely respected peer-review lawyer guide, has selected three Bissinger, Oshman, Williams & Strasburger LLP partners among the state’s leading business litigators for 2021.

Name partners David Bissinger, Jason Williams and John B. Strasburger of the Houston-based trial firm were selected for their business litigation expertise through a rigorous process honoring no more than 5 percent of the state’s lawyers.

The Texas Super Lawyers list will appear in the October issues of Texas Monthly and Super Lawyers magazines. Owned by Thomson Reuters, Super Lawyers makes its selections based on lawyer surveys, careful research and extensive review by a blue-ribbon panel of top lawyers in the same practice areas.

“Our firm was founded on the premise that we will always protect our clients’ business interests as if they are our own,” said Mr. Bissinger. “We take that responsibility seriously. Achieving honors from a peer-review, competitive process like this one is an indication that we are delivering on that promise.”

Mr. Bissinger represents clients in disputes involving energy and technology matters, securities, trade secrets and employment covenants, executive compensation, corporate fiduciary, banking, and real estate. He also serves as an arbitrator in commercial disputes.

Mr. Williams’ practice focuses on energy, corporate fiduciary, securities, and construction litigation. A former chairman of the Houston Bar Association’s Securities Litigation and Arbitration Section and co-chair of the LegalLine Committee, he also serves on the board of Houston Achievement Place.

Mr. Strasburger has extensive experience in complex litigation involving private equity, energy, trade secrets and employment covenants, hedge funds, financial derivatives, corporate-governance disputes, and has tried international banking, real estate, and construction disputes.

The commercial litigation work of Messrs. Bissinger, Williams and Strasburger was also recently recognized in the annual Best Lawyers in America legal guide.

Earlier this year, firm associate Erin Bullard was selected to the companion Texas Super Lawyers Rising Stars listing of the state’s top attorneys under the age of 40 based on her civil litigation work.

About Bissinger, Oshman, Williams & Strasburger
Bissinger, Oshman, Williams & Strasburger LLP is a Houston-based business trial and transaction law firm focused on providing impactful, cost-effective solutions to complex disputes and transactions requiring careful attention, extensive experience, and a high level of sophistication. For more information, visit https://www.bowslaw.com.