Many law firms would like to call themselves the preferred choice of the technology industry’s leading legal departments. But few are making a stronger claim to that title than Davis Wright Tremaine, which, after adding an in-house veteran from Apple and Google, has now added the former general counsel of Japan Display Group, which makes displays for those companies and more. Ulysses Hui has joined the firm as a partner in its new Silicon Valley office.

Silicon Valley-based partner Brutoco, formerly in-house with Apple, Google, Amazon and GoPro, joined DWT in 2020 to spearhead its growth in the Bay Area. Her work will be complemented by Hui, who as the first general counsel of Japan Display Group, helped guide the company through its 2012 formation, 2014 IPO, rapid growth and trade tensions of recent years. Created through a merger of the display units of Hitachi, Sony and Toshiba, it grew to over $9B in global annualized sales.

At Japan Display Group, Hui focused on the acquisition of major customers and strategic partners to advance new display and sensor technologies in the automotive as well as smartphone, wearables and mixed reality space. In addition to creating the company’s global compliance policies, he more recently secured an exclusion to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration—a rare achievement for a Japanese company importing products from China.

Before his tenure at Japan Display Group, Hui served as an associate at multiple AmLaw 100 firms, where he focused much of his practice on the semiconductor industry.

Davis Wright Tremaine recently reported that it had another strong year in 2020, its seventh consecutive year of record performance. Revenue increased by more than 7% and net income rose by nearly 12%.

Michael Best Strategies is pleased to announce that Bob Harward, U.S. Navy (SEAL) Vice Admiral (Ret.), has joined the Michael Best Strategies Board of Advisors.

A national security and defense expert, Admiral Harward served on the National Security Council for the Bush administration, commissioned the National Counter Terrorism Center, and served on the Secretary of Defense Threat Reduction Advisory Committee (TRAC) where he chaired the Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction Task Force. His prestigious military career spanned 40 years from May 1974 to November 2013, where he rose to the rank of Vice Admiral. His extensive combat experience as a U.S. Navy SEAL saw him serve tours of duty in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, and Bosnia, as well as the rest of the Middle East.

Over the course of his career, Admiral Harward has received numerous civilian, military and government accolades, including The Donovan Award from the CIA, the Distinguished Service Award from the Department of State, the German Silver Star, the Polish Silver Star, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, four Bronze Stars with V device, two Presidential Unit Citations, and he was also recognized with the US Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award.

A U.S. Naval Academy alumnus, Admiral Harward holds a master’s degree in International Security Affairs, is a graduate of the Naval War College and the MIT Foreign Policy Program. He also served as an executive fellow at RAND and sits on several commercial boards to include Channel, USAA REALCO and Shield AI. Admiral Harward is currently Chief Executive for Lockheed Martin Middle East and was recognized by Forbes as one of the fifty most influential CEO’s in the Middle East in October 2019.

Contract Logix announced triple-digit percentage growth in usage of its products as customers rapidly digitize contracts and business processes. Organizations across all industries are adopting Contract Logix’s platform to automate and digitize their contract lifecycle management (CLM) for the purpose of mitigating legal and financial risk, while maximizing corporate and regulatory compliance.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when people were forced to work remotely, with fewer resources, and on more cross-functional teams, Contract Logix’s customers found that its data-driven tools were uniquely positioned to help them digitally and intelligently manage contracts in today’s “new normal” operating environment. One year into the pandemic, the company continues to see triple-digit percentage growth in the number of contract requests, triggered workflows, and tasks, as well as quadruple-digit percentage growth in the number of electronic signatures that customers manage with its software.

This skyrocketing adoption represents clear and convincing evidence that executing digital transformation strategies continues to be a top priority for Legal, Procurement, Sales, Finance, and IT organizations, and that CLM plays a foundational role in these efforts.

For more information: www.contractlogix.com

Washington, D.C. — Blank Rome Government Relations LLC (“BRGR”) is pleased to welcome principals Don Norden, Katie Kachel, David Tennent, and Snjezana Arthur, as well as senior advisors Keith Hartwell and Richard Sherman, to the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. Norden, Kachel, Tennent, Hartwell, and Sherman joined on April 1 and Arthur will join by early June. The prominent group notably counsels clients in the transportation industry, particularly in the railroad and public transit sector, and joins BRGR from Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell, LLC.

Collectively, the team represents clients before the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government. Leveraging prior experience gained on Capitol Hill, the team is well versed in legislative analysis, the appropriations process, regulatory review, and available grants for clients. As such, the group develops comprehensive government affairs strategies for clients, ranging from private corporations to municipalities, state governments, public agencies, and trade associations. In addition to helping clients navigate federal legislative and regulatory affairs, the team develops and implements grassroots lobbying strategies, such as organizing local media events and mobilizing citizen support for elected officials that are aligned with client interests.

With an emphasis on supporting clients in the transportation industry, the group is well known for working with railroad and public transit operators and trade associations and has well-established connections in Congress on related legislation and initiatives, especially with regards to reauthorization and infrastructure spending. Furthermore, the team supports maritime clients with their government affairs needs. For example, Congress just recently passed the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act, which includes maritime provisions for port infrastructure development grants—a competitive grant program that many island communities are watching closely. BRGR and Blank Rome will be following these developments closely on behalf of clients and helping them obtain these grants.

About the Team

Norden has extensive experience in transportation, governmental finance, land use, labor law, and tax issues. His accomplishments include numerous legislative language and line-item amendments in Congress, as well as working with federal agencies on interpretive issues that avoided the need for congressional action. Throughout his career, Norden has successfully worked with both parties to reach bipartisan consensus among a wide range of varied interest groups to advance client objectives. Norden received his J.D., as well as his B.A. in Political Science, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association.

Kachel brings more than a decade of experience to her clients, designing and implementing federal funding and policy strategies on matters related to economic development, freight and passenger rail, mass transit, aviation, and port development. She is a two-time awardee of the Bryce Harlow Foundation Fellowship and serves as chair of its Alumni Advisory Board. Kachel holds an M.A. in Government and an M.B.A. from Johns Hopkins University.

Tennent has more than 40 years of experience in the railroad industry beginning as a front-line supervisor in the Norfolk and Western’s locomotive shops. His career encompasses assignments with railroad companies, rolling stock manufacturers, government financial institutions, public transportation authorities, and international state-owned railways as well as owning and running his own small engineering and manufacturing firm. This has provided him with a unique understanding of technical and managerial issues as well as the role of government entities in this sector. Tennent has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Delaware and is a licensed Professional Engineer.

Arthur has an extensive background working with nonprofits and engaging in fundraising efforts with state and local government and associations. At her previous firm, she was notably responsible for managing the firm’s long-term strategic goals and day-to-day operations, harnessing her strong experience in operational and information technology management, including revenue management, finance and accounting oversight, risk management, human resources and legal matters, facilities, and outsourcing. Arthur received her B.A. in English Language and Linguistics from the University of Banja Luka, Bosnia.

Hartwell is a seasoned lobbying and public relations professional who has strong experience managing national and local grassroots political activities and legislative initiatives on behalf of corporate and industry association clients. His background notably includes writing and processing over $200 million dollars in transportation grant and loan applications as well as securing congressional approval of a short line railroad rehabilitation tax credit, which was extended six times since 2007 and was made permanent in 2020. Additionally, he led a government affairs effort related to federal regulatory approval of a leading railroad merger. Hartwell received his B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Sherman focuses on transportation and public sector government relations, project management, funding, and business analysis. He has extensive experience preparing applications for federal assistance for infrastructure capital projects, and has secured more than $69 million in grant funding for clients across 13 separate awards. He has provided compliance support for rail operators and industry suppliers, including for projects and acquisitions subject to federal domestic content requirements, such as Buy America. Sherman holds a Master of Public Policy degree from American University and a B.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University.

Duane Morris partner John S. Polzer has been appointed to the Retail Contractors Association (RCA) Advisory Board. RCA is a national organization of retail contractors united to provide a solid foundation of ethics, safety, quality and professionalism within the retail construction industry. Advisory board members are appointed by the president and serve three-year terms. During that time, they actively assist the RCA Board of Directors in identifying key industry issues and formulating policies and programs designed to positively impact those issues.

Polzer’s practice areas include commercial litigation, construction and real estate. He has worked with RCA member companies including Westwood Contractors, Elder-Jones and Shrader & Martinez. Polzer has represented numerous clients in asset purchase litigation and represented an international food company in class action litigation in California. He has represented an exploration & production (E&P) company in title litigation involving more than 200 parties and a global technology company in an antitrust suit filed by a major airline. Polzer’s experience also includes representing an international oil and gas producer in shareholder litigation filed after the announcement of a merger.

Polzer is a graduate of the University of Houston Law Center (J.D., 2005), where he was articles editor of the Houston Business and Tax Law Journal, and the University of Texas at Austin (B.S., 2002). He is an adjunct professor at Texas Christian University. Polzer’s community service includes volunteering at the YMCA and serving on the Chancellor’s Centurions for the University of Texas System.

Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that Matthew McBride has joined the firm’s Boston office as a partner in its Fund Formation & Investment Management Practice Group. McBride comes to Foley from Proskauer Rose LLP, where he was a partner in the Private Funds Group.

McBride focuses his practice on representing investment managers in all aspects of their business, with a particular emphasis on representing private equity sponsors in connection with the establishment of private investment funds, fundraising activities, structuring of management company and in-house arrangements and regulatory, compliance and governance matters. He has extensive experience advising sponsors across various strategies, including buyout, growth equity, venture capital, private credit, funds-of-funds and secondary funds. McBride has represented sponsors ranging from first-time and emerging managers to some of the largest and best-known sponsors of private equity funds. In addition, he has worked with family offices in the formation of investment vehicles, in-house agreements, incentive compensation plans and their investment activities.

In addition to a core practice of fund formation, McBride has assisted clients with a wide array of other matters, including managing company restructurings, hiring and separations, incentive compensation plans, retirement and succession planning, joint ventures and other strategic transactions. He has also represented sponsors in connection with GP-led restructuring, strip sales and affiliated recapitalizations.

DALLAS – William G. (Bill) Whitehill, a former Justice on the Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals, has joined Condon Tobin Sladek Thornton Nerenberg, a Dallas-based business law firm. 

Justice Whitehill authored more than 600 opinions covering a wide range of Texas legal issues during his six years on the bench in Texas’s largest and most active intermediate appellate court.   

Prior to being elected to the court in 2015 Justice Whitehill was a trial and appellate associate and partner for more than 32 years in Dallas. His experience in private practice includes the successful management of numerous high-profile appeals and litigation involving antitrust, commercial, banking, securities, real estate, hospitality, intellectual property, domestic and international arbitrations, and trust and estate matters.  

He also serves as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and is a frequent continuing legal education speaker for bar associations, law firms, and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. 

Arent Fox is pleased to announce the return of Copyright Partners Ross J. Charap and Matthew L. Finkelstein to the firm’s New York office. Ross and Matt previously worked at Arent Fox from 2010 – 2014. Their team includes Counsel Celeste M. Moy and Associate Jackie Robinson.

The team’s principal focus is music: buying and selling copyrighted works and royalty streams worth more than $750 Million during their time together. They represent successful and famous songwriters and recording artists in all genres: from the Rolling Stones to Jessye Norman (the famed opera singer), from Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg (of Wizard of Oz fame) to Raynard Miner (“Higher and Higher” and “Rescue Me”). They have had great success assisting their clients in recapturing copyrighted works assigned many decades ago and monetizing the recaptured rights.

The team also represents national and international independent music publishing companies for many purposes including the acquisition of music publishing catalogs and related royalty streams.

In addition, they represent non-music clients on matters concerning technology, film, digital media, and book publishing.

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added Melissa A. Cee as its first Chief Talent Officer, based in the firm’s New York office. Cee joins Littler from TIAA, a leading provider of financial services in the academic, research, medical, cultural and government fields, where she held the role of Chief Human Resources Officer for several business units over the past decade.

In her new role, Cee will further evolve Littler’s human capital management functions amid the continued expansion of the firm’s global footprint, including strategic recruiting, talent development, compensation, employee benefits and mobility across the firm. She will also focus on guiding Littler’s efforts to attract, develop and retain a talented and diverse workforce.

In her most recent role at TIAA, Cee led the HR function for the company’s financial solutions business with a workforce of approximately 7,000 employees. Prior to that, she served in similar roles spearheading HR strategy and implementation for TIAA’s Retail Financial Services and Asset Management businesses. Prior to joining TIAA, she was the Head of Human Resources and Administration for Cain Brothers LLC, an investment banking and capital advisory firm.

Cee’s appointment comes on the heels of Littler naming shareholder Paul Bateman as Chief Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Officer in January and Webber beginning as Managing Director and President that same month.

Coming off the firm’s sixth consecutive record-setting year, the partnership of Davis Wright Tremaine voted to confirm Scott MacCormack as the firm’s new managing partner and elected a diverse slate of new members to its Executive Committee, which will continue to be chaired by Sarah Tune. MacCormack will assume the Managing Partner position this summer. The new Executive Committee members begin their terms effective today.

MacCormack, who joined the firm in 2008, has significant leadership experience, having served on the Executive Committee for six years, chaired the firm’s Compensation Committee, and served as co-chair of the firm’s energy practice. He also currently serves on the firm’s Diversity Executive Council.

MacCormack succeeds Jeff Gray, who has served as managing partner since 2015. During Gray’s tenure, the firm saw a 54% growth in revenue and outperformed the vast majority of the Am Law 100 in growth rates for revenue, revenue per lawyer, profits per lawyer, and profits per partner. Additionally, in that time the firm expanded its presence in California, substantially strengthened its industry practices in technology, healthcare, financial services, food and beverage, and restaurants, and continued to be recognized for its award-winning media and litigation practices. The firm also achieved Mansfield 3.0 Certification Plus and recently received U.S. Bank’s Invested in Diversity Award and Discover Financial Services Legal Organization’s Excellence in Diversity Award.

Based in Seattle, MacCormack is a partner in the business & tax practice, where he focuses on business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, project development, and finance for medium to large enterprises. He also serves as principal outside counsel to several Northwest-based businesses. Prior to joining Davis Wright Tremaine, he was a shareholder at Heller Ehrman. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, magna cum laude, and his B.A. from Columbia University.

In addition to MacCormack’s selection, the partnership elected four new members to its Executive Committee. The new slate of members includes:
Jaime Drozd Allen, Seattle
Camilo Echavarria, Los Angeles
Wendy Kearns, Seattle
Jean Tom, San Francisco

They join the following returning members: Sarah Tune (Chair), Tom Burke, Claude Goetz, Pete Johnson, Jesse Lyon, Bill Miner, and Portia Moore.

Hanzo, a company known for its pioneering technology in dynamic web content preservation from enterprise collaboration applications and complex websites, today announced the appointment of Paul Suh to the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Suh is based in New York and is responsible for driving Hanzo’s financial strategy, operational rigor, and overall performance.

Suh is a seasoned finance and operations executive with expertise in SaaS platforms, fintech, digital media,  gaming, and payments. His well-rounded experience includes leading finance departments, operations, product, marketing, HR, legal and corporate development for rapidly growing startups.

About Paul Suh

Before joining Hanzo, Suh previously served as the CFO of BackOffice.co an artificial intelligence and machine learning fintech start-up and recent graduate of the 500 Startups Accelerator Program.  Prior to that, Paul served as the CFO for coolmath.com, an edutainment casual gaming company owned by private equity sponsor H.I.G. Capital and sold to London-based Sandbox & Co.  Suh also served as CFO/COO of various other companies including Sandow, Optimal, Inc. (sold to Brand Networks), Crispy Gamer, Inc (sold to LiveGamer), and Flexplay Technologies (sold to The Convex Group). He loves building transparent, data-driven cultures in quickly scaling businesses. Suh holds a B.S. in Finance, Operations, and Information Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that eight attorneys in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office were named to the 2020 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll. Anna M. Lashley and Jessica L. Zurlo each received High Honors for performing 100 or more hours of pro bono service. In addition, Connor M. Blair, Lee-Ann C. Brown, Joshua Dhyani, Andrea J. Kotrosits, Patrick R. Quigley and John Parker Sweeney received Honors for completing 50 or more hours of pro bono service.

The Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll recognizes lawyers who donated 50 hours or more of pro bono service during the last calendar year to those who cannot afford legal counsel. The 2020 Honor Roll recognizes all sectors of Washington’s diverse legal community, including honorees from 168 law firms and individual practices, as well as federal and local government agencies, corporations, associations, law schools and public interest organizations.

Through Bradley’s pro bono program, attorneys from across all 10 of the firm’s offices devote a significant amount of time each year to pro bono work and community service. In 2020, Bradley’s attorneys and staff performed more than 13,000 hours of pro bono service, valued at more than $5.3 million.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Carol R. Van Cleef, counsel in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, has been appointed as an independent director to the BTCS Board of Directors.

BTCS is an early entrant in the digital asset market and one of the first U.S. publicly traded companies focused on digital assets and blockchain technologies. Through its transaction verification services business, the company actively verifies and validates blockchain transactions and is primarily focused on disruptive, non-security protocol layer assets such as bitcoin and ethereum.

Van Cleef is an internationally recognized authority and pioneer in legal issues involving cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. As chair of Bradley’s Blockchain and Digital Assets practice, she leads the firm’s virtual currencies and blockchain work, helping clients navigate the complex, dynamic and rapidly evolving issues in these areas.

With a focus on regulatory, compliance, and enforcement matters, Van Cleef has built a global reputation as a leading attorney and problem solver in financial services industry and cryptocurrency and blockchain communities. She represents virtual currency exchanges, blockchain developers, NFT creators and platforms, and various types of financial services and fintech companies.

In addition, Van Cleef serves as CEO of Luminous Group, a blockchain technology, growth advisory and risk management solutions company that develops and delivers anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance training through the AML Training Institute. She also serves as an advisor to a number of early-stage companies in fintech and blockchain-related technologies.

Lansing – April 1, 2021 – Dykema, a leading national law firm, announced today that Lansing-based Member W. Alan Wilk has been appointed as Practice Group Leader of the firm’s Government Policy & Practice Group. Wilk steps into this leadership position already serving as Leader of Dykema’s Political Compliance Team and Co-Leader of the firm’s Public Retirement Team.

In his practice, Wilk focuses on election, campaign finance and lobby law compliance matters. He also focuses on public retirement and health care projects, and for the last 25 years has developed vast experience drafting and implementing several innovative retirement programs for large public retirement systems.

Additionally, as a member of the firm’s Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Organizations practice, Wilk has incorporated hundreds of nonprofit entities, including charities, civic organizations, trade associations, and political groups. He regularly advises these organizations on a wide range of issues, including corporate, tax and regulatory matters. Wilk has coordinated and conducted internal investigations regarding potential civil and criminal activity for nonprofit and education clients.

Wilk has been involved in politics since 1984. Before passing the Michigan Bar, he served as campaign manager, co-campaign manager or campaign volunteer for Gubernatorial, Congressional, State Senate, State Representative and various local races. He has served as counsel for Gubernatorial, Secretary of State and Attorney General political funds. Wilk currently represents political funds for several state elected officials and has been involved in several election litigation cases, as well as regulatory matters concerning political parties, PACs, candidates and numerous ballot question campaigns.

Wilk earned his J.D. from Boston College, and a B.A., with honors, from James Madison College at Michigan State University.

New York– Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Anthony Norris and Christopher Rile are joining the firm in New York as partners in its global M&A and Private Equity practice. They join from Ropes & Gray LLP, where they have been longtime partners in the firm’s private equity transaction group.

Norris and Rile represent leading private equity sponsors on mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, preferred equity investments, securities offerings, and other significant transactions. Norris focuses on industries such as healthcare, software, and technology. Rile will focus his practice on representing private equity sponsors and public and private businesses in a wide range of industries such as healthcare and life sciences, software and technology, consumer and distribution, financial services, industrials, business services, and professional sports.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLPis pleased to announce that Kent Jones has joined the Charlotte office as a partner in the firm’s real estate and finance practices along with attorney Josh Stone.

Jones practices in the areas of commercial real estate development, finance, commercial leasing, loan workouts and general corporate law. He assists developers, public/private partnerships, investors, and lenders in managing and closing commercial real estate transactions, including land use, financing and development matters, and drafting and negotiating purchase contracts, commercial leases, loan documentation, development agreements and related agreements. Jones also advises businesses and business owners in entity choice and formation issues, equity structures, and the negotiation and preparation of shareholder agreements, operating agreements, service contracts, manufacturing and consulting agreements, and franchising and licensing agreements.

Jones earned his J.D. from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University and his B.A. from Sewanee: The University of the South.

As an associate in the Real Estate Practice Group, Stone assists clients with commercial real estate transactions. Prior to practicing law, he worked as a financial advisor for Wells Fargo Advisors. Stone received his J.D. from the West Virginia University College of Law and his B.S. in Economics from West Virginia University.

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Marcus Woo has rejoined the firm in New York as a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property practice and will be reassigned to the Taipei office once local registration documents are completed. Woo was most recently Vice President & General Counsel of HTC Corporation, a global consumer electronics company.

In returning to Perkins Coie, Woo will focus his practice on representing clients in Taiwan and beyond on intellectual property and corporate matters, including U.S. IP litigation work for Taiwanese companies.

As HTC Vice President & General Counsel, Woo oversaw HTC litigation and transactions and managed a legal team of more than 50 staff across the company’s corporate and M&A, litigation and licensing, and patent prosecution and management areas. He also oversaw global legal affairs for HTC Europe, HTC America and subsidiaries in China. During his career, Woo has represented telecommunications, information technology and electronics, entertainment software, airlines and aerospace, and industrial and consumer product clients in intellectual property protection and management and technology licensing matters. He is a former Perkins Coie partner.

Woo earned his J.D. from Indiana University Bloomington’s Maurer School of Law and his B.A. from Oberlin College. He started his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in New York. Woo attended the Chinese Language School at Middlebury College and is bilingual in English and Chinese.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Benchmark Litigation has named the firm its 2021 Tennessee Litigation Firm of the Year, which marks the second consecutive year the firm has received the award. Bradley was honored March 31 during a virtual awards ceremony.

Bradley was one of three finalists for the award, which recognizes litigation firms in each state based on the significance of their representations. The firm also was a finalist for Litigation Firm of the Year in Alabama and Mississippi. The state honors are part of the ninth annual Benchmark Litigation U.S. Awards, with nominees chosen based upon research conducted between March and November 2020. Benchmark Litigation determines its annual rankings through peer reviews and case examinations.

It was announced in October 2020 that 53 Bradley partners across all the firm’s offices were recognized in the 2021 edition of Benchmark Litigation, which also listed Bradley as a “Tier 1” firm for Product Liability and Recall in the United States. A leading guide to litigation firms and attorneys in the United States and Canada and the only publication that exclusively covers the litigation and disputes market in the U.S., Benchmark Litigation “highly recommended” Bradley in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee, and “recommended” the firm in North Carolina.

Nearly half of Bradley’s nearly 550 attorneys are litigators who represent clients in litigation and arbitration in every U.S. state and in every federal district and appellate court across the country, as well as internationally. The attorneys handle matters in nearly every substantive area of business law and in a wide range of industries, including high-stakes and complex cases.

Venable LLP announced today that it has promoted 24 attorneys to counsel effective April 1, 2021. The new counsels, from Venable’s Baltimore, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Towson, and Washington, DC offices, represent a broad cross section from the firm’s four divisions—Business, Government, Intellectual Property, and Litigation.

The following attorneys were promoted to counsel.

Baltimore Office

Gueter Aurelien focuses her practice on a broad range of corporate law matters, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, commercial financing, equity investments, securities offerings, commercial contracts, public finance, and general business transactions. She advises start-up, emerging growth, and later-stage companies in a variety of industries, financial institutions, specialty lenders, banks, investors, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations and serves as bond counsel or borrower’s counsel to municipalities and conduit issuers and borrowers.

JaMar S. Mancano represents clients in complex commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts nationwide, with a focus on defending pharmaceutical and medical device companies in product liability cases. He has been a member of several trial teams in national products liability litigation and has experience coordinating overall case strategy and the day-to-day handling of individual cases.

Daniel R.H. Mendelsohn concentrates his practice on a wide range of corporate law matters, including corporate governance, securities transactions, corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions, with a particular focus on Maryland corporation law as it relates to real estate investment trusts and registered investment companies.

Elizabeth Fialkowski Stieff is a member of Venable’s tax practice. She advises clients on a variety of transactional tax issues, including corporate advisory matters, such as mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures, as well as tax controversies.

Los Angeles Office

Theresa R. Clardy focuses on domestic and international income tax planning and tax controversy for talent, entertainment executives, high-net-worth individuals, and entrepreneurs, including for their businesses. She has substantial experience with fiduciary income tax matters for domestic and foreign trusts, and provides advice regarding choice of entity, business formation, and character of income for clients living within and outside of the U.S.

Amir Kaltgrad represents businesses and individuals in shareholder and partnership disputes, professional malpractice, complex business torts, and contract disputes. He has experience representing clients from pre-filing of litigation all the way through trial and appeal in both state and federal courts.

New York Office

Michael M. Agosta is a litigation attorney with a broad-based practice focused on complex commercial disputes. His work includes mortgage-backed securities matters, corporate governance disputes, indemnification claims, and contract actions in state and federal courts.

Daniel A. Apgar practices intellectual property law, specializing in complex patent litigation. He has broad experience representing electronics and software companies in all aspects of litigation.

Gianna E. Cricco-Lizza focuses on patent and trademark litigation in the federal courts and monitors intellectual property enforcement efforts for clients in the telecommunications, luxury goods, and consumer products industries.

Zachary L. Garrett practices intellectual property law, with an emphasis on complex patent litigation. He has experience in all stages of litigation, including pre-lawsuit investigation, pleadings, claim construction, discovery, motion practice, and trial.

Sean C. McDonagh focuses on biopharmaceutical IP diligence and counseling. He is proud to support clients in their mission-critical deals.

Prajakta A. Sonalker, Ph.D., focuses her practice on complex intellectual property litigation, including patent and trade secret disputes, with an emphasis on biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. She has experience in all stages of litigation, from pre-suit investigations through trial and appeals, and proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

George Soumalevris focuses on high-stakes bankruptcy and complex structured finance litigation, representing clients in the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and collateralized debt obligation (CDO) industries.

John C. Vazquez focuses his practice on a broad spectrum of complex commercial and class action litigation, including civil antitrust actions, securities and financial products litigation, bankruptcy litigation, and intellectual property disputes.

San Francisco Office

Emily Foehr advises high-net-worth individuals and families on all aspects of wealth planning and assists with wealth preservation through strategies that mitigate income, estate, and generation-skipping transfer taxes, limiting risk to family assets.

Towson, Maryland, Office

Christine C. Carey represents businesses and individuals in civil litigation and arbitration proceedings involving mortgage-backed securities and other complex financial instruments, conflicts over trust management, corporate governance disputes, shareholder and member litigation, securities fraud, labor and employment disputes, and claims arising from breach of contract and other business torts.

Washington, DC Office

Jean Yin Crews focuses her practice on commercial real estate finance, acquisition, disposition, development, and leasing. She regularly represents commercial developers, institutional lenders, individuals, landlords, tenants, and owners and operators of real property in a variety of transactions spanning office, retail, multi-family, industrial, and mixed-use properties.

Mary M. Gardner represents clients in government investigations and enforcement actions, insurance litigation, and complex consumer class actions. She also regularly advises corporate clients and their directors and officers regarding complex insurance coverage issues and advertising- and marketing-related issues, including telemarketing compliance and claim substantiation.

Joseph R. Hicks focuses on energy and administrative law, with an emphasis on crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas, and electric utility matters. His practice involves providing advice on developments in energy regulation, corporate compliance, energy infrastructure development, and administrative rulemakings, as well as representing clients in litigation before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), state public utilities commissions, and federal courts.

Benjamin E. Horowitz is a litigator who represents clients in a wide array of civil matters, including partnership disputes, government investigations and enforcement actions, construction defect cases, and various other breach of contract and business tort cases.

Leslie A. Lee is a registered patent attorney with experience litigating intellectual property matters and prosecuting patents involving various technological fields, including mechanical devices, medical devices, semiconductor manufacture and design, computer software, telecommunications, and automotive technologies. She has represented clients in numerous district courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, obtaining victories on summary judgment, at trial, and on appeal.

Meredith K. McCoy provides experienced guidance to businesses, tax-exempt organizations, individuals, and political groups in their efforts to impact public policy and the political process. She helps clients comply with a range of laws that may impact political activities, including tax, campaign finance, lobbying disclosure, gift and ethics, and pay-to-play laws.

Shahin O. Rothermel counsels clients on issues involving advertising, marketing, e-commerce, privacy, social media, promotions, sweepstakes, and subscription programs. She regularly defends clients in investigations and litigation involving the Federal Trade Commission and other state and federal regulatory agencies in addition to handling consumer class actions, competitor disputes, and matters before the National Advertising Division.

William W. Weaver advises on a range of commercial real estate matters, with a focus on the acquisition, disposition, development, and leasing of retail, office, residential, and industrial property.

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.