The Rebecca L. Palmer Law Group is proud to announce the appointment of attorney Cathleen M. Winter to the Greater Orlando Asian American Bar Association (GOAABA) 2020-2021 Board of Directors. Winter’s current role with GOAABA will last until July, 2021 and she has been an involved member of GOAABA prior to her appointment.

GOAABA, incorporated in 2009, is a voluntary organization that represents the interests of Asian American attorneys, law students, and other legal professionals in the Greater Orlando area.

At the Rebecca L. Palmer Law Group, Winter focuses her practice on family law, including areas concerning divorce, alimony and spousal support, child support, custody and visitation, modification proceedings, paternity, prenuptial agreements, and postnuptial agreements.

In addition to being appointed to the GOAABA Board of Directors, Winter is also member of the Florida Bar, the Orange County Bar Association, the Central Florida Family Law Inn of Court, and is a Founding Member of the American Academy for Certified Financial Litigators Orlando Chapter.

Winter has also been recognized by the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys for exceptional and outstanding client service and was listed as the 10 Best Attorneys in Florida in 2018. Winter was also selected to the 2020 Florida Rising Stars list. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

Winter also received a 2021 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch recognition for her work in Family Law. The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch is a recognition for attorneys for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States. Winter was further recently listed as one of Orlando Family Magazine’s Awesome Attorneys in Family Law for 2021.

Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Brian Morrissey, who previously served in senior roles at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Justice, has rejoined the firm’s White Collar: Government Litigation and Investigations practice as a partner in Washington, D.C. He will represent clients in high-stakes enforcement actions, regulatory disputes, and other complex litigation.

As Treasury’s Principal Deputy General Counsel — the second-highest ranking attorney in the Department — Morrissey led multiple initiatives to implement the CARES Act and other COVID-19 relief measures, including the Paycheck Protection Program. He advised the Treasury Secretary and senior officials on a wide range of legal issues, managed significant litigation and congressional oversight matters, and supervised teams of attorneys in areas including financial regulation, tax, international trade, economic sanctions, anti-money laundering, and cybersecurity.

Prior to that, Morrissey served in leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Justice, as Counselor to the Attorney General, and Deputy Associate Attorney General where he provided strategic oversight and advice on high-profile civil, antitrust, environmental, and tax matters. He is also a former law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Michael Best Strategies LLC (Strategies) announced today that Steven Rowe has joined its Government Relations team as Senior Advisor. Based in the Salt Lake City office, Rowe brings more than 35 years of experience as an attorney and corporate executive in the environmental, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors.

Before joining Strategies, Rowe held a number of high-level positions. He launched his own consultancy, SPR Consulting, which provided counsel to companies in the agriculture and natural resources sectors. He served as the founding President and Chief Executive Officer of Newtrient LLC, a national dairy industry consortium focusing on reducing the environmental footprint and economic well-being of dairy farming. He also spent 10 years as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Northwest Dairy Association and its subsidiary Darigold, Inc.

A member of the State bars of Washington, Michigan, and Utah, Rowe also advised businesses on environmental law and compliance in the mining, construction, real estate, and manufacturing industries.

Rowe’s addition comes on the heels of two other recent Strategies members – Robert (Bob) Harward and Steve Israel – to its Board of Advisors, which further solidifies the firm’s commitment to strategic growth in key markets.

Rowe received his B.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan, and his J.D. from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law.

Peter J. Rooney, a seasoned M&A and private equity lawyer with nearly 30 years of experience, has joined Stroock’s national Corporate Group as a partner in the New York Office. Peter joins Stroock from Morrison & Foerster, where he was a partner.

Stroock’s practice centers on representation of U.S. and multinational corporations, private equity firms and financial institutions in connection with leveraged buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and related financings.

Over the course of his career, Peter has represented international companies and investment funds, including sovereign wealth funds from over 20 countries, investing into the United States. In addition, Peter has also represented several financial services firms, including broker-dealers, securities exchanges, and trading venues with an emphasis on the convergence of technology and financial services.

Stroock’s growing Corporate practice of nearly 20 lawyers is at home in the fast-moving, high stakes world of corporate deal-making, and goes beyond solving legal problems. The group is composed of trusted business advisors whom leading hedge funds, multinational corporations, fund managers and startups call on for customized solutions that meet their unique challenges – across a wide range of industries and transactions. Stroock’s Corporate team further supports the firm’s work in financial restructuring, commercial real estate and a broad range of complex matters in support of clients.

Stroock provides strategic transactional, regulatory and litigation advice to advance the business objectives of leading financial institutions, multinational corporations and entrepreneurial businesses in the U.S. and globally. With a rich history dating back 145 years, the firm has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, D.C. For more, visit www.stroock.com.

Venable LLP is pleased to announce that Jamie Danker has joined the firm as a senior director of cybersecurity services in the Washington, DC office. Danker combines her federal government and private sector experience to help clients build more trustworthy systems, products, and services through adoption of cybersecurity and privacy risk management practices.

Danker brings deep privacy, identity, and cybersecurity knowledge along with diverse perspectives from oversight, operational, and guidance organizations based on her prior roles in government and industry. Prior to joining Venable, she served as the vice president of privacy at Easy Dynamics Corporation, where she led a practice delivering privacy risk management, privacy engineering, and privacy program services. In that role she supported the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in developing the NIST Privacy Framework, released in January 2020, serving as the only contractor member of the framework’s core drafting team. She also advised the General Services Administration (GSA) in establishing a privacy-preserving attribute validation service.

Danker previously spent 10 years at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in various privacy roles, advocating for building privacy into the earliest stages of systems and program development. She served as the director and senior privacy officer for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), now known as the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and was a privacy officer for the E-Verify Program and associate director for privacy compliance at the DHS Privacy Office. She is a co-author of the privacy requirements and considerations in NIST Special Publication 800-63-3, Digital Identity Guidelines. Danker began her career at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), where she led and contributed to numerous government-wide and agency-specific reviews of privacy and cybersecurity issues.

Danker received her in M.S. in Information Systems Technology and her B.A. in Information Systems from the George Washington University.

Matthew Stirneman recently joined the Houston office of the national law firm, Chamberlain Hrdlicka, as senior counsel in the Corporate, Securities & Finance practice.

At Chamberlain Hrdlicka, Stirneman will focus on corporate finance, securities, real estate, energy, and other general business matters, including representing borrowers, financial institutions, private equity firms, and others in structuring, negotiating and documenting financing transactions. He also has experience handling a broad range of business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, and related corporate matters.

Prior to joining the firm, Stirneman was an attorney at a large law firm in Houston, where he represented lead agents, lenders, private equity firms and borrowers in various industries in connection with a broad range of secured and unsecured bilateral and syndicated financing transactions including asset-based facilities, reserved based facilities, project financings, debtor-in-possession financings, letters of credit, and hedging transactions.

Stirneman graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing and earned an MBA from Texas A&M University. He obtained his law degree from South Texas College of Law. He is an active member of the American Bar Association, the Houston Bar Association, the Houston Young Lawyers Association as well as the State Bar of Texas: Oil, Gas and Energy Resource Law Section.

Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce that Jonathan A. Sambur has joined the Tax Practice Group as a partner, expanding the firm’s tax practice with a focus on advising global financial institutions. Prior to joining Eversheds Sutherland, Sambur served as a partner in Mayer Brown’s tax transaction practice.

Based in the firm’s Washington DC office, Sambur helps financial institutions, investment funds and multinational companies achieve success in their cross-border activities by providing comprehensive US tax and regulatory advice. He regularly counsels clients with respect to US information reporting and withholding tax obligations, US federal tax issues affecting foreign businesses and individuals operating in the United States, as well as, US federal tax issues affecting US businesses operating outside the United States.

Exceeding 150 tax practitioners in more than 20 countries, the firm’s international tax team is devoted to the increasingly complicated field of international tax. Sambur’s arrival to the US-based team signals another step in the firm’s efforts to provide clients with the most comprehensive international tax guidance on a global scale.

Prior to joining private practice, Sambur began his career serving as an attorney at the IRS Office of Associate Chief Counsel (International). During his time with the IRS, Sambur was the principal author of several Treasury regulations and other international tax guidance, and managed a diverse caseload involving international, corporate and partnership tax issues.

Sambur is the third lateral partner added to Eversheds Sutherland’s Tax Practice Group in the last six months, following the recent additions of SALT-focused Partners Breen Schiller and Nikki Dobay. This continued growth underscores the firm’s goal to provide clients with the most skilled and talented practitioners across the tax field.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Jennifer Morrison Ersin has joined the firm as counsel in the Construction Practice Group.

Ersin represents clients in arbitrations in all sectors, including construction, natural resources and agribusiness. She focuses on managing disputes arising from large-scale infrastructure projects and has assisted with environmental land loss and contamination litigations. Her experience includes determining case strategy, preparing substantive filings, liaising with arbitral institutions, assisting witnesses and experts with testimony, cross-examining witnesses and experts, and giving oral arguments at arbitration hearings in cases arising from sovereign states’ breaches of investment treaties and infrastructure agreements.

Ersin earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School and her A.B. from Georgetown University.

Bradley was named the nation’s “Law Firm of the Year” for Construction Law in the 2020 and 2018 editions of U.S. News & World Report – Best Lawyers “Best Law firms.” The award is particularly significant since only one law firm in the United States per legal practice area receives this recognition each year. The Construction Practice Group was also named a 2020 Practice Group of the Year by Law360. Attorneys in the firm’s Construction Practice Group counsel clients on projects in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as more than 35 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and South America. Many of the firm’s construction attorneys have degrees in engineering, building science or architecture and have previous practical experience working in the construction industry.

We are delighted to welcome Emoke Starr as our new Vice President of People. As a member of our Executive Team, Emoke will oversee Onna’s Human Resources function. She will relocate from San Francisco to join the Onna team in Barcelona.

Emoke joins us from Workday, where she was most recently Senior People and Purpose Partner with overall responsibility for HR within her aligned business units globally. During her time at Workday, Emoke partnered with a variety of businesses, including Global Expansions, Enterprise Business Technology, Enterprise Program Portfolio Office, and Emerging Services. Before Workday, Emoke was VP of People at Benchling, where she built the HR function from scratch during a period of hyper-growth for the company. Previous roles have included senior HR positions at Prezi, and Cisco Systems.

Originally from Romania, Emoke has a license in Psychology and started her career working for non-profit organizations, before pivoting to HR and leading the function for Financial Services companies in Romania. When not at work, Emoke enjoys staying physically active, cooking, and attempting DIY projects that involve power tools.

By Rebecca L. Palmer, Esq.

As a Family and Marital Law attorney with more than 25 years of experience, I work with families during the most difficult time of their lives. During a divorce proceeding, the custody of minor children is a complex, and emotional process that takes a toll on everyone involved. The introduction of the Florida House Bill 1559 and Senate Bill 1922, providing a presumption 50-50 timesharing provision, proposes a far too basic formula for this complex issue.

Creating or modifying a parental plan as part of the divorce should always center around what is in the best interest of the child. Every divorce case that I have worked on has had its own unique set of circumstances, and in partnership with my clients, we work to navigate the legal and personal requirements throughout the process. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, nor would I apply such an uncaring and unprofessional strategy in support of my client. I take the same approach to family law matters. The parties involved are not case numbers but human beings with feelings, worries, and obligations that require customized solutions that will be mutually agreeable to both parties resulting in a long-term positive outcome.

An argument supporting the new bills suggests that the structure of the current law helps fuel an acrimonious fire to the dissolution of marriage proceedings and extends the litigation process. As legal professionals, we look at facts, and there is no evidence to support that a presumptive 50-50 timeshare benefits minors, their guardians, or has any impact on the litigation process.

If the intention of these bills is to reduce the strain on the interested parties, their families, and the legal system, it is a bit naïve to think that a generic plan, when it comes to the welfare of children, is the solution. House Bill 1559 and Senate Bill 1992 will not solve any of the complex problems that arise in custody proceedings and should not be seen as a viable solution by lawmakers to do so.

While the 50-50 custody agreement may work in some cases, we should continue the conversation about how we, as legal professionals, can make the custody process less taxing and emotionally draining for all parties involved. It is imperative that we preserve the well-being of all children during these challenging life events, and a one-size-fits-all approach to custody is not the answer. We are #hereforyou.

Rebecca L. Palmer, Esq. is a Family & Marital Law attorney practicing in Orlando, FL. She is the Managing Partner of the Rebecca L. Palmer Law Group, and she can be reached at rebecca@rlplawgroup.com.

ORLANDO, Fla., – RumbergerKirk has launched a new podcast, Legally Qualified, providing strategic legal insight and analysis for the business community. Each episode will lean on the depth of knowledge and practice areas from RumbergerKirk’s more than 100 attorneys, sharing personal experiences and advice on trending topics relevant to business leaders.

When faced with today’s complex business challenges, executive leaders need hyper-focused, easily accessible and actionable legal insights on topics like commercial litigation, product liability, employment law, insurance coverage and bad faith, casualty litigation, professional liability claims, bankruptcy amid COVID-19 and diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

The first three Legally Qualified episodes are available now and cover topics including employment law and diversity, equity and inclusion. Each features an in-depth discussion between experienced attorneys addressing hot topics, trends, and the important challenges businesses are facing.

Episode 1: “Women in Law: How We Got Here, Why We Stay and Tips for the Next Gen”
RumbergerKirk attorneys Carie Hall and Rebecca Arends talk about lessons learned along their journeys of becoming successful lawyers, challenges they’ve faced and advice for those looking to pursue a legal career.

Episode 2: “Can Employers Require Workers to Get Vaccinated?”
RumbergerKirk attorneys Sally Culley and Chase Hattaway discuss legal implications of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for employees and share key considerations in helping employers decide the best option for their workforce.

Episode 3: “Breaking Down Barriers: Increasing Diversity of the Legal Profession by Creating Opportunities for the Next Generation of Black Lawyers”
RumbergerKirk associate Shenele Pettis Bright talks with LaShawnda Jackson, a partner at RumbergerKirk and the first Black president of the Orange County Bar Association and Judge Alicia Latimore, the first Black female Circuit Judge in the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida about their inspirational paths to success and what others can learn from their journeys.

New episodes are in production and will be released as they are completed. Future topics include the state of bankruptcy in the wake of COVID-19, challenges and concerns facing school boards, restaurants and other industries and what businesses need to know about TCPA, digital communications and data collection and privacy issues.

Legally Qualified can be found on the firm’s website and is playing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Libsyn and Spotify.

RumbergerKirk provides litigation and counseling services in a wide range of civil practice areas including product liability, commercial litigation, construction, real estate, intellectual property litigation, securities litigation, labor and employment law, bankruptcy, insurance coverage, professional liability and administrative law. Offices are located in Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Tallahassee and Birmingham, Alabama. For more information, visit www.rumberger.com.

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Davis Wright Tremaine LLP announced today it has added cybersecurity pro Michael T. Borgia as a partner in its Washington, D.C., office to lead the information security group in the firm’s Technology + Communications + Privacy & Security practice.

Borgia has worked in and around information security as outside counsel, in-house counsel and strategic advisor. He joins DWT from cybersecurity and digital risk consulting firm Stroz Friedberg, a part of Aon’s Cyber Solutions division, where he was a vice president. At Stroz Friedberg, Borgia advised clients on incident response, proactive cybersecurity, digital forensic investigations, electronic discovery and other areas. In his various roles, Borgia has advised global companies and startups alike, including those operating in the information technology, finance, energy, health care and other sectors. In addition to cybersecurity, Borgia also is an experienced practitioner in the areas of privacy, intellectual property and financial services regulation.

Before his work at Stroz Friedberg, Borgia was global cybersecurity counsel at Accenture. He also was an attorney at Jenner & Block LLP, where he practiced in the areas of privacy and security, intellectual property and financial services. He joined Jenner & Block following a federal district court clerkship. Borgia received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, magna cum laude, and his law degree, cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added Lisa M. Kathumbi as a shareholder in its Columbus office. An attorney with Littler from 2013 to 2016, Kathumbi rejoins the firm from Bricker & Eckler LLP where she was a partner in the labor and employment group.

With clients that range from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies, Kathumbi represents employers in state and federal courts against allegations of discrimination and harassment, accommodation and leave violations, breach of non-compete agreements, wrongful termination, and whistleblower violations, among other matters. With extensive experience in employee benefits litigation, she also advises clients on denial of benefits claims arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In addition to her litigation work, Kathumbi provides training and counsel to employers on a wide range of employment issues and conducts high-stakes workplace investigations. Early in her career, Kathumbi was senior legal counsel to the Ohio Department of Health.

Recognized in the legal industry and the Columbus business community as a leading employment attorney, Kathumbi has earned a number of accolades, including being named Columbus Lawyer of the Year for employment law management by Best Lawyers of America in 2021, a Client Service All-Star by BTI Consulting Group in 2020 and receiving the Barrister’s Salute Award from the John Mercer Langston Bar Association in 2018. Active in the legal and business communities, she is an alumna of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s fellowship program, has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations and was elected the first Black president of the Ohio Women’s Bar Association (OWBA) in 2016. Kathumbi also received the OWBA’s President’s Choice Award in 2015 and was recognized by the Women for Economic and Leadership Development’s Ohio chapter for “WELDing the Way” in 2017.

Kathumbi received her J.D. and B.A. from the University of Cincinnati and her M.A. from the University of Chicago.

On Friday, April 9, New York Supreme Court Justice Susan Kushner delivered a resounding win for the state’s residential real estate brokerage industry in declaring the Department of State’s guidance banning the collection of brokerage commission from tenants “an error of law” and “an abuse of discretion.” The case involved the Department of State’s guidance memo that incorrectly interpreted the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (the “Act”), and which stated the Act prohibited tenants from having to pay broker fees when the broker was also retained by the landlord. Representing the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the New York State Association of Realtors, Corcoran, Douglas Elliman, Sotheby’s International Realty, Brown Harris Stevens, Bond, Bohemia Realty and many of New York State’s other prominent real estate brokerage firms, Stroock’s Litigation team convinced the court that the Act’s failure to mention brokers’ commissions or landlord agents made it clear that the Act was not intended to apply to them.

Justice Kushner’s decision bans the DOS from applying any rule that would prevent brokers from receiving compensation that they lawfully earned in bringing about a meeting of the minds. It also permanently prevents the DOS from taking disciplinary action against brokers for collecting such fees.

REBNY president James Whelan applauded the decision stating that it “ensures that thousands of hardworking, honest real estate agents across New York State can earn commissions without fear of unwarranted discipline by the Department of State based on its erroneous interpretation of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act.”

Led by Claude Szyfer, Stroock’s litigation team included attorneys Daniel Bertaccini, Kerry Cooperman, Nate Benfield and TaLona Holbert; paralegals Nicole Fiore, Christine Stygar, and Ellen Brier; and docketing team members Victor Rivera and Steve Wattenberg.

Brightflag, the AI-powered legal spend management and matter management software, today announced the launch of its Microsoft Outlook integration, limiting the need to transition between tools and keeping essential context within easy reach. This latest product development will be followed by several releases throughout 2021 focused on applying Brightflag’s machine learning leadership and modern design principles to more elements of the platform.

With the new integration, Outlook users can now sync emails, attachments, and notes directly into a legal matter managed in Brightflag without leaving their inbox. Once in Brightflag, they can also search through this information by keyword without switching back to Outlook.

Security and compliance remained top priorities for Brightflag while developing this convenient new solution. Outlook assets uploaded to Brightflag are protected with SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001:2013 compliant controls that safeguard the entire platform. Centralizing all relevant matter materials also helps customers preserve clear and simple audit trails.

The Microsoft Outlook integration is available to all Brightflag customers at no extra charge and can be configured in less than an hour.

For more information, please visit: brightflag.com/product/matter-management/

Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm, today announced the expansion of its New York office with the addition of partners Craig Weiner and Lisa Coyle, and associates Frederick Braunstein, Reena Jain, and Alexander Newman. They join as members of firm’s Litigation Practice Group, deepening the firm’s experience in high-stakes commercial, financial, fraud, business tort, employment, and intellectual property litigation.

Weiner counsels corporations, high-net-worth individuals, celebrities, investment banks, private equity/hedge funds, and venture companies in litigation and strategic planning. Often called upon to manage emergency situations, Weiner guides clients through high-stakes litigation and contentious negotiations, as well as helping to facilitate joint ventures, strategic alliances, government grants, and conducting online commerce. His practice includes complex financial and investment cases, high-stakes employment litigation, professional malpractice, and bankruptcy and reorganization, having previously served as debtor’s authorized representative and lead counsel in adversary proceedings. In addition to a national practice, Weiner serves international clients, including private equity funds, high-net-worth families, and investors in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, and Vietnam.

Coyle has more than 15 years of experience representing large and small domestic and international corporations, entrepreneurs and other individuals, celebrities, financial institutions, and foreign sovereigns in complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters. She has represented clients in shareholder disputes, derivative actions, business divorces, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, business tort cases, stock options disputes, and cases arising under federal securities laws and anti-discrimination, harassment, and retaliation laws. Some of her proudest accomplishments have been winning highly favorable resolutions for a victim of domestic violence, a women who was fired in retaliation for her complaints about discrimination and harassment, and a man who suffered racial and age discrimination. Coyle also has experience helping boards through difficult and complex disputes among directors and activist shareholders. She also regularly represents clients in litigation arising out of failed corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions.

A passionate advocate for advancing equality and justice, Coyle is very active in women’s causes and diversity initiatives. She volunteers her time with multiple local organizations and serves on Akerman’s Women’s Initiative Network. In addition, she is committed to her pro bono work, through which she has assisted several transgender individuals through the often confusing process of obtaining a name change. She also hosted a panel discussion with Land O’Lakes regarding their first openly LGBTQ+ CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Braunstein focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts. He represents clients ranging from individuals to large corporations in a wide array of matters, including appellate strategy and advocacy. Deeply devoted to pro bono and civil rights work, Braunstein has a particular interest in issues of social and economic justice and has advocated on behalf of transgender clients in several precedent-setting civil rights cases.

Jain focuses her practice on business, entertainment and media, and intellectual property litigation, representing a broad range of clients, including individuals, start-ups, and large corporations. She regularly guides clients through every stage of litigation and arbitration, from performing pre-suit evaluations, initiating suits, and aggressively pursuing discovery, to summary judgment, mediation, and trial on the merits. Her experience includes breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, copyright, defamation, RICO, right of publicity, trademark, trade secret, and unfair competition litigation. Reena has represented clients in a wide range of industries, such as alcohol, apparel, CBD, music, and pharmaceuticals. She also is committed to pro bono work and volunteers with both Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and the New York Legal Assistance Group.

Newman focuses his practice on commercial litigation in state and federal courts. He represents clients ranging from individuals to large corporations in complex business disputes. In addition to prosecuting and defending numerous actions, he has experience in arbitration and mediation. Newman maintains an active and diverse pro bono practice, representing immigrants seeking asylum, artists in disputes over their work, and employees in litigation with their employers, among others.

The new team brings a diverse mix of backgrounds, talents and experiences to Akerman, reflecting the firm’s commitment to recruit and retain an inclusive group of people. Their joining the firm follows the recent addition of veteran trial lawyer Joel Mohrman and Andy Cao to the Litigation Practice Group in Houston. They joined as partners and grow the firm’s experience in intellectual property litigation, class actions, and complex commercial litigation, particularly in the healthcare and maritime sectors. Akerman also welcomed litigation partner William Sentell to its Houston office, where he brings experience in franchise dispute resolution and related corporate, regulatory, and compliance matters.

Lansing – April 7, 2021 – Dykema, a leading national law firm, announced today that Lansing-based Member Jarrod Smith has been selected as Leader of the firm’s Public Finance Practice Group.

Smith has more than 16 years of experience in public finance. In his practice, he serves as bond counsel to the State of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Treasury, the Michigan Department of Transportation, the State Building Authority, the Michigan Finance Authority, the Michigan Strategic Fund, and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, as well as various municipal clients including the Detroit Downtown Development Authority and the City of Lansing. Smith also frequently serves as underwriter’s or bank counsel to numerous national underwriting and financial institutions. Smith’s experience includes some of the most complex public finance transactions in Michigan over the past several years—including the $3 billion Unemployment Obligation Assessment Revenue Bonds transaction, and a $288+ million transaction that funded the completion of a large county criminal justice complex, each of which received “Deals of the Year” recognition by The Bond Buyer.

Smith also provided counsel for various transactions involving the construction of Little Caesar’s Arena, home to the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons. He also was a key player in the Michigan Finance Authority’s refunding bond transaction to restructure and fix out the debt of the Detroit Public Schools and he assisted in the State’s restructuring of its School Bond Qualification and Loan Fund program through the creation of a School Loan Revolving Fund program.

Prior to joining Dykema, Smith was an Assistant Attorney General with the Michigan Department of Attorney General for more than a decade. During that time, he acted as issuer’s counsel to the State of Michigan and its various authorities for numerous transactions representing billions of dollars in public finance transactions.

Smith earned a J.D., cum laude, and a B.S. from Michigan State University.

Neal Gerber Eisenberg (NGE) is pleased to announce that Corporate & Securities Group Chair Robert G. Gerber has been named the third managing partner in the firm’s 35-year history. Gerber, who began his career with NGE as a summer associate in 1997, is the first managing partner to rise through the firm’s associate ranks. He will assume his new role on June 1, 2021, and he will continue to serve on the firm’s Executive Committee. He succeeds Scott J. Fisher, who led the firm as managing partner for five years.

Fisher will remain a partner and resume his active trial practice. Under his leadership, NGE’s performance improved significantly by every relevant measure and the firm has been an industry leader in focusing on the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and employee engagement.

Gerber is focused on the firm’s role as a values-driven business and an active corporate citizen.

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.

Washington, DC (April 1, 2021) – Venable LLP announced today that it has elected 16 attorneys to the firm partnership. The new partners, from Venable’s Baltimore, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, DC offices, are emerging leaders from a broad cross section of the firm’s practice groups, including Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights, Commercial Litigation, Corporate, Environmental, Financial Services, Intellectual Property, International Trade, Labor and Employment, Political Law, and Privacy.

Stu Ingis, chairman of Venable, said, “The new partners were elected based on their exceptional legal abilities, contributions to the firm, commitment to client service, and demonstration of the firm’s values. Their promotion to the partnership recognizes both their accomplishments to date and the confidence of the partnership in their future contributions to the firm.”

The following attorneys are joining Venable’s partnership effective April 1, 2021.

Baltimore Office

Laura S. Bouyea advises clients across industries with respect to a wide range of bankruptcy matters and complex commercial disputes. She has extensive experience representing lenders and special servicers in the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) industry, both in court and in the workout context.

Lindsay McCrory Monti is a corporate attorney who focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, and equity financings. She guides clients as they close on financing, negotiate business points, work through intellectual property issues, and successfully complete transactions.

John V. Sunder’s practice encompasses a wide range of business law matters, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions and equity/debt financing, including structuring secured and unsecured credit facilities. His clients include operating businesses, private equity funds, family offices, agent banks and financial institutions, and specialty lenders.

Los Angeles Office

Ryan M. Andrews first-chairs the defense of employment lawsuits and arbitrations, counsels employers and executives on navigating restrictive covenants, and advises clients on employment law compliance and best practices.

Logan M. Elliott is an experienced trial and appellate litigator who represents companies and individuals in a variety of high-stakes business litigation matters. He has substantial experience handling a wide range of matters, including entertainment, trust and estate, real estate, finance, and general commercial litigation.

Matthew M. Gurvitz focuses on complex litigation in state and federal courts across the United States. His broad range of experience, including consumer product litigation, entertainment litigation, general business litigation, employment litigation, and probate litigation, provides a multidisciplinary wealth of knowledge that he can draw on to creatively approach any complex dispute.

Marjorie W. Norman helps clients obtain and protect their intellectual property through domestic and international trademark preparation and prosecution, portfolio strategy, licensing, clearance, and intellectual property transaction counseling.

New York Office

Evan R. Minsberg counsels fintech companies, banks, and other financial service providers on regulatory, product development, and transactional issues in the payments, consumer and commercial credit, and data analytics industries.

Lindsay M. Nathan provides strategic advice, guidance, and oversight to political groups and nonprofit organizations on all aspects of federal, state, and local political law. She has experience in campaign finance, lobbying disclosure, government ethics and gift rules, and procurement and pay-to-play laws.

Erica L. Norey is an intellectual property attorney whose practice focuses on complex patent litigation under the Hatch-Waxman Act, contested proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and patent diligence, acquisition, and licensing for high-profile clients in multiple technical fields. She is admitted to the state bars of New York and New Jersey and is registered to practice before the USPTO.

James R. Tyminski practices intellectual property law, with a focus on Hatch-Waxman patent litigation. He has extensive experience litigating various types of pharmaceutical patents, including patents covering novel pharmaceutical formulations and polymorphic forms of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Washington, DC Office

Margaret K. Fawal represents clients in a wide array of environmental regulatory and litigation matters, with a focus on issues impacting rail and surface transportation, mining, electric utility companies, and trade associations. She regularly advises clients on chemical regulation and waste management issues and assists clients through the regulatory and environmental review processes for complex infrastructure development projects.

Jay C. Johnson serves clients in a variety of infrastructure and natural resource contexts, guiding them past regulatory and environmental review obstacles to win agency approvals, then defending those approvals in court.

Elizabeth K. Lowe advises U.S. and non-U.S. companies on a variety of cross-border and international trade regulatory, commercial, and policy matters, with a focus on global logistics, economic sanctions, Customs laws, and export controls rules. Her work includes internal compliance reviews and investigations, due diligence activities, voluntary self-disclosures, responses to inquiries from federal agencies, compliance training, and licensing.

Calvin R. Nelson’s practice covers a wide range of intellectual property matters, including patent litigation, trademark and brand protection, and anti-counterfeiting. He has extensive experience litigating disputes in federal courts and before the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Ariel S. Wolf leads the firm’s Mobility and Transportation Technology team. He counsels clients facing complex legal and policy issues at the intersection of automation, connectivity, safety, privacy, and cybersecurity.

Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce that Jeffrey W. Guise has joined the Intellectual Property (IP) Practice Group as a partner, resident in the San Diego office, further strengthening the firm’s IP Biotechnology and Life Sciences team in both the patent prosecution and patent litigation areas.

Dr. Guise brings nearly 30 years of extensive experience to the firm, and while resident on the West Coast, serves a client base that is multinational, including clients based in Europe and throughout the US. Previously, Dr. Guise practiced for 17 years at Wilson Sonsini.

Dr. Guise joins the firm’s growing IP team in San Diego, as well as a growing global IP team with more than 150 dedicated IP lawyers spread across Africa, Asia, Europe, Russia, the UAE and the US. His arrival signals another significant milestone in Eversheds Sutherland’s strategic plan to have an unparalleled global IP practice.

Dr. Guise, a Ph.D. with a degree in molecular biology and immunology, helps start-up and middle-market pharmaceutical, biotech and medical technology companies build, enforce, and monetize their patent portfolios. He also provides IP consulting and litigation services. Global IP strategies he constructs with clients include areas such as patent portfolios, patent opinions, patent licensing, patent litigation, patent office contested proceedings, and corporate work including finance, M&A and joint venture matters.

Specific global industries include biotechnology, pharmaceutical, immunology, medical diagnostics, genetic engineering, agricultural biotechnology and genomics.

Dr. Guise is the 11th IP focused lawyer to join the San Diego office and is the latest step in Eversheds Sutherland’s strategic plan to globally expand the IP Practice Group.