Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, is growing its national Litigation Practice Group with partners Sarah Kroll-Rosenbaum and Sayaka Karitani in Los Angeles.

Sarah Kroll-Rosenbaum
Kroll-Rosenbaum’s practice focuses on defending companies in complex litigation. Over the last four years, she has led the defense of nearly a dozen temporary healthcare staffing companies in class, collective, and representative actions attacking the industry’s business model. In these cases, and others, Kroll-Rosenbaum has argued extensively in California state and federal courts, including the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Kroll-Rosenbaum has also contributed to significant sports litigation cases, including the defense of several antitrust and FLSA cases on behalf of the NCAA and the Pac-12 challenging bylaws that prevent college athletes from being paid to play. She has also represented Major League Baseball, including defense of its antitrust exemption through the Ninth Circuit.

Sayaka Karitani
Karitani represents companies in all aspects of litigation in state and federal courts, and in arbitration. She has a significant focus in complex class, collective, and representative actions including consumer class actions. Karitani’s practice also encompasses various other types of litigation, including misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, franchise disputes under the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act, and other franchisor/franchisee, real estate, and commercial contractual disputes. She has represented clients in a wide range of industries, including health care staffing, logistics, telecommunications, oil & gas, healthcare, higher education, construction, manufacturing, technology and entrepreneurial ventures, transportation, and hospitality.

Lowenstein Sandler is pleased to announce that Rossie E. Turman III has joined the firm as Chair of its International Finance practice. Turman will be an integral part of the firm’s Debt Financing group and The Tech Group. He joins Lowenstein’s New York office after 21 years at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where he was a partner for the last 12 years. Turman has been awarded several honors, including being named the Metropolitan Black Bar Association of New York City’s “Private Practitioner of the Year” and one of Savoy magazine’s “Most Influential Black Lawyers.”

His global practice focuses on complex business transactions and financings, including equity capital raising, debt financing, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures throughout the Americas, Asia, and the EMEA region, including in over 20 African countries. Turman has a comprehensive understanding of how to navigate and conduct business across international borders and execute transactions across language and cultural differences. For years, he has served as counsel on numerous matters in Africa, including advising public and private entities, governments, parastatals, NGOs, and individual investors. Turman will be leading Lowenstein’s efforts with respect to companies and funds located in and doing business with Africa. He has also actively engaged in civic endeavors and supported several charities on the African continent for nearly three decades.

Turman has extensive leveraged finance experience involving syndicated loans, out-of-court and Chapter 11 reorganizations, acquisition financings, leveraged buyouts, bridge loans, asset-backed loans, subscription facilities, receivables facilities, convertible debt, private placements, and equity-enhanced structures. He has served a broad range of industries, including financial services, technology, pharmaceuticals, consumer retail, insurance, hospitality, health services, and natural resources.

Turman will work closely with the firm’s market-leading Tech Group in the representation of growth companies, especially (but not exclusively) those based in emerging-market economies that have interests in the United States, as well as with the firm’s Investment Management group in its growing representation of diverse fund managers.

An active mentor for attorneys of color across the legal profession, Turman serves on the Boards of the Council of Urban Professionals and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. He has previously served on the Board of United Way of New York City, the Trustee Board of Abyssinian Baptist Church, and the Vance Center for International Justice (Africa Subcommittee). He has a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law (where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar) and a B.S. from Arizona State University (where he served as Student Body President).

Experienced Dallas attorney’s practice incorporates family wealth and business advisory services

DALLAS – Estate planning and probate attorney Jake Pollack has joined the Dallas office of Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP.

Pollack’s practice includes wills, trusts and estates, wealth planning and preservation, business succession planning, legacy planning, and probate and estate administration. His practice also includes business administration and transactions. He joins the firm from Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP.

The addition of Pollack is just the latest for Shackelford. In the past two months, the firm has added 12 entertainment, construction litigation, intellectual property, M&A, commercial litigation and transactional attorneys in Texas and Tennessee.

An Accredited Estate Planner with the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils, Pollack regularly assists clients in sophisticated estate planning, family-owned business transactions and estate and trust litigation. He works with clients to protect their assets and business interests; prepare for death, disability, and financial crisis; avoid unnecessary taxation; and maximize business and financial opportunities. He was recognized among the Best Lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine in 2018.

He is a former Chair of the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas board of directors and member of the Children’s Medical Center Foundation board of directors.

Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP is a full-service law firm with attorneys and offices in Dallas, Houston, Frisco, Fort Worth, and Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Learn more about the firm at http://www.shackelford.law.

Turner Padget is pleased to announce the addition of two new associates to its Insurance and Products Liability practice group. George “Buster” Bryan joins the Myrtle Beach office and Megan Rudd joins in Greenville.

Bryan previously clerked for the Honorable Gregory P. McGuire at the North Carolina Business Court in Raleigh, N.C. While in law school, he was a member of the Moot Court Bar and served on the school’s Pro Bono Board as a probate special visitors volunteer, and also worked as a legal writing tutor and teacher’s assistant. Bryan earned his undergraduate degree from Coastal Carolina University and his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Rudd focuses her practice on general civil litigation with an emphasis on complex products defense. She previously served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. of the United States District Court in the District of South Carolina. Rudd earned her undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina and her law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Turner Padget exceeds expectations by taking your interests, your business and our relationships personally. Our depth of knowledge, technical strength and diverse experience makes us sharp, talented business thinkers able to see our clients’ needs holistically and get to the core of the problem quickly. As one of South Carolina’s largest law firms, Turner Padget has expanded into neighboring states with offices located in Augusta, Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville and Myrtle Beach, along with strategic alliances in Florida and North Carolina.

Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce the formal launch of our Biometric Privacy Team. Composed of multidisciplinary attorneys from across our Firm’s offices, this dedicated team draws talent from our Cybersecurity & Data Privacy, Privacy Class Action Defense, Artificial Intelligence Technology, and Labor & Employment groups to help clients address and minimize the risks associated with biometric privacy regulatory compliance, enforcement, and litigation.

Recent advancements in technology and artificial intelligence have led companies to utilize biometric data—such as fingerprint scans, facial recognition, voice prints, and DNA scans—in an ever-increasingly broad number of ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. This, in turn, has brought about significant legal risk as legislatures across the country implement laws to tightly regulate the use of this technology, such as the now well-known Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act and California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. The commercial use of biometric data has also led to a wave of bet-the-company class action litigation for alleged technical statutory violations, often involving hundreds of millions of dollars in potential exposure.

Blank Rome’s biometric privacy attorneys are also thought leaders in this space, having extensively published and presented on compliance best practices, emerging legal trends involving biometric laws and technology around the country and the world, risk mitigation, and litigation strategy.

Lowenstein Sandler is pleased to announce that Matthew J. Platkin, Chief Counsel to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, will join as partner in the firm’s White Collar Criminal Defense and Business Litigation groups at the conclusion of his state service in October.

As Chief Counsel, Platkin managed a team of over 20 lawyers in drafting, reviewing, and approving all legislation and executive and administrative actions before the governor, including those taken in 2020 to slow the spread of COVID-19 across the state.

Christopher Porrino, who served as Chief Counsel to former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and as the 60th Attorney General of New Jersey and who now serves as Chair of Lowenstein’s Litigation Department, says, “Our bipartisan team is unique in its ability to serve the business community in all aspects of litigation and complex problem-solving, and Matt’s very recent and in-depth government experience further bolsters that ability.”

During his tenure as Chief Counsel, Platkin oversaw all legal matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic for the State of New Jersey. In this capacity, he managed the drafting of over 80 executive orders and numerous administrative orders pertaining to the state’s emergency response to the pandemic. Without losing a single matter, he contributed to over two dozen litigations arising from the pandemic, including cases filed in both federal and state court and before the New Jersey Supreme Court. He also oversaw reforms of state workforce policies affecting 65,000 employees in order to maintain government services during the pandemic. Experienced in public relations, Platkin appeared at more than 100 COVID-19 press conferences, handling all questions regarding the state’s legal response to the pandemic.

Platkin’s extensive experience in negotiations and crisis management has contributed to his inclusion on various influencer lists, such as those published by NJBIZ, New Jersey Globe, Insider NJ, and ROI-NJ. For his work on the COVID-19 pandemic, he was recognized with the top ranking on the 2020 NJBIZ Law Power 50 list.

Platkin’s other accomplishments as Chief Counsel include:

• Negotiating numerous complex pieces of legislation, including three $40 billion annual state budgets
• Managing all litigation involving the Office of the Governor and approving affirmative litigation filed by the State of New Jersey
• Overseeing judicial, cabinet, and prosecutorial nominations, including the nominations or re-nominations of three Supreme Court justices and numerous Superior Court judges
• Supervising employee and labor relations, including contract negotiations and ethics issues, and managing labor negotiations that resulted in several nine-figure settlements
• Drafting executive orders, including one that established the most ambitious offshore wind energy target in the world

In January 2020, Platkin took a leave from the Office of the Governor to serve as Special Counsel to U.S. Senator Cory Booker during the impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump.

Prior to entering public service, Platkin practiced litigation with a prominent Am Law 200 firm, where he focused on internal investigations and civil and criminal matters before the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the U.S. Department of Justice, the New York Department of Financial Services, and various regulatory agencies.

Lowenstein Chairman and Managing Partner Gary M. Wingens says, “It’s an honor to welcome another brilliant lawyer to our already formidable team of litigators. Matt’s reputation for excellence extends across party lines, and our clients will greatly benefit from his range of experience in both the public and private sectors.”

Platkin’s arrival highlights the firm’s ongoing success in attracting prominent, accomplished former public servants, prosecutors, and trial lawyers whose experience enhances the team’s depth and breadth. The White Collar group, chaired by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael B. Himmel, has added other top-tier arrivals over the past several years, including partner Rachel Maimin, (former Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York); partner H. Gregory Baker (former Senior Counsel, Division of Enforcement Asset Management Unit, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission); partner Peter Slocum (former First Assistant Attorney General of New Jersey); special counsel Elie Honig (former Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York;); special counsel Anne M. Milgram (former Attorney General of New Jersey); counsel Kathleen A. McGee (former Bureau Chief of the Bureau of Internet and Technology, New York State Attorney General’s Office); associate Shontae D. Gray (former Deputy Attorney General of New Jersey); associate Kent Anderson (former Deputy Attorney General of New Jersey); and associate Ryan P. Goodwin (former Senior Policy Advisor and Assistant Counsel to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie).

Partner Scott B. McBride (former Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of New Jersey; former Deputy Chief, Economic Crimes Unit; former member, Health Care & Government Fraud Unit) joined the firm in 2016, and partner Matthew Boxer (former New Jersey State Comptroller; former Director, New Jersey’s Authorities Unit; former federal prosecutor, Terrorism Unit, Criminal Division, and Special Prosecutions Division, U.S. Attorney’s Office) joined in 2014.

About Lowenstein Sandler LLP
Lowenstein Sandler is a national law firm with over 350 lawyers based in New York, Palo Alto, New Jersey, Utah, and Washington, D.C. The firm represents leaders in virtually every sector of the global economy, with particular emphasis on investment funds, life sciences, and technology. Recognized for its entrepreneurial spirit and high standard of client service, the firm is committed to the interests of its clients, colleagues, and communities.

Barnes & Thornburg has added Andrew P. Young as a partner in its San Diego office, where he will be a member of the firm’s Litigation Department. Young brings to the firm a decade’s worth of government prosecution experience, having served as Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Major Frauds and Public Corruption Unit for the Southern District of California and as a Criminal Trial Attorney in the Department of Justice’s Tax Division.

Young focuses his practice in the areas of white collar criminal defense, compliance, internal investigations, and complex business litigation. He was in private practice before joining the U.S. Department of Justice.

Young has tried more than a dozen complex, multi-week trials throughout the United States, including in challenging arenas in California, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. As federal prosecutor he secured more than 100 convictions and seized more than $35 million in illicit gains. As a trial attorney in the DOJ’s Tax Division, he investigated and prosecuted federal tax crimes – namely, in the Southern District of New York.

Young also led the first-of-its-kind prosecution of a telecommunications CEO for providing encryption services and technology to transnational criminal organizations, an investigation that spanned the four continents and involved the FBI, DEA, the Australian Federal Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Before entering the public sector, his practice involved mass tort litigation, antitrust, and white collar criminal defense.
“We’ve grown an impressive bench of litigators in Southern California, and Andrew is the third prosecutor to join us from the U.S. Attorney’s office since 2019,” said Troy Zander, San Diego partner-in-charge. “Andrew is uniquely positioned to advise our clients and bolster our litigation practice in San Diego and beyond and I’m thrilled to welcome him.”
Young earned his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School, cum laude, and his B.A. from Georgetown University.

With more than 700 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from offices in Atlanta, California, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us online at www.btlaw.com or on Twitter @BTLawNews

Nine named to list, three others named to inaugural Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch

HOUSTON – Affirming a culture of high-end legal work, coupled with a commitment to client responsiveness and service, Hicks Thomas LLP is pleased to announce that 12 of its attorneys have earned recognition in the 27th edition of The Best Lawyers in America, one of the nation’s most respected peer-review attorney guides.

Firm partners named to Best Lawyers in America for 2021 include:

John B. Thomas – Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation
Robin Harrison – Commercial Litigation and Oil & Gas Practice
Paul Mitchell – Commercial Litigation
Jay Old – Commercial Litigation
Allen Rustay – Commercial Litigation
J. Stephen Barrick – Appellate
John Deis – Construction Litigation
Courtney Ervin – Energy Law practice
Stephen Loftin – Commercial Litigation

This is the first year Mr. Deis, Ms. Ervin and Mr. Loftin have earned an appearance on the Best Lawyers list.

New this year, Best Lawyers has named three Hicks Thomas attorneys to its “Ones to Watch” list, which recognizes professional excellence in attorneys who are rising in their careers. Those honorees include:

Kasi Chadwick – Labor and Employment Litigation
Joshua Bauer – Commercial Litigation
Liz Larson – Commercial Litigation

Buchalter is pleased to announce the welcome additions of Joseph K. Fletcher III and Laura Lamb Nichols to its Tax & Estate Planning and Corporate Law Practice Groups.

Based in Buchalter’s Los Angeles office, Fletcher has over 25 years of tax law experience. His international practice includes matters involving the taxation of mergers and acquisitions, resolution of tax controversies, and international taxation. He is also a member of the Firm’s Corporate Practice Group.

Fletcher has achieved the highest rating of “AV-Preeminent” awarded by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory for both tax law and corporate law, from 2013-present. He has also been named to the Best Lawyers in America list in from 2019 – 2021 and has been included in The Legal 500. He earned his LL.M in Taxation from Georgetown University, Law Center, and earned his J.D. at the University Of San Diego School Of Law, where he served as Senior Editor of the Journal of Contemporary Legal Issues. Fletcher earned his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Lamb Nichols, who will practice out of the Firm’s San Diego office, is one of the approximately 5% of California’s attorneys who are Certified Specialists in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. She is also certified as an Accredited Estate Planner® by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils.

Lamb Nichols has considerable experience in the areas of estate planning, trust and probate administration. She advises clients on sophisticated estate planning issues including multigenerational family business succession planning; estate, gift, generation skipping taxation planning, and property tax planning.

Lamb Nichols has been named to The Daily Transcript’s “Top 40 under 40 Award”, and recently completed her term as President of the Estate Planning Counsel of San Diego. She was also an Adjunct Professor at California Western School of Law where she taught “The California Pre-Bar Program” and “Advanced Legal Analysis.”

Duane Morris LLP has appointed Christopher M. Winter managing partner of the firm’s Wilmington office. Winter succeeds Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group partner Michael R. Lastowski, who led the office since 2010. Lastowski will be moving into an of counsel role with the firm.

Winter is co-chair of the Finance and Restructuring Transactions division of Duane Morris’ Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group and serves as a team lead for the Duane Morris Banking and Finance Industry Group.

Winter focuses his practice on commercial finance and Chapter 11 bankruptcy law and proceedings. He represents agents, lenders, borrowers and other parties in secured lending transactions, including debtor-in-possession and exit facility loans, and in workouts, restructurings and enforcement actions. He regularly advises clients on federal bankruptcy matters and represents their interests in proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, including in the District of Delaware.

Winter is a graduate of Rutgers School of Law (J.D., with honors, 2001), where he was articles editor of the Rutgers Law Journal, and Rutgers University (B.A., 1995).

About the Duane Morris Wilmington Office
Established in 1985, the Wilmington, Delaware, office is an integral part of Duane Morris’ national and international practice and is fully equipped to meet the needs of our clients in all significant areas of the law. Duane Morris Delaware attorneys are established trial and transactional attorneys experienced in handling matters in the key areas for which Delaware is nationally and internationally renowned: Delaware corporate law and governance and corporate litigation matters in Delaware’s Court of Chancery; alternative entity law and commercial law; intellectual property disputes in Delaware’s United States District Court; and bankruptcy and financial reorganizations in Delaware’s United States Bankruptcy Court.

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.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Phil Wells has joined Bradley’s Charlotte office as a senior attorney in the Real Estate Practice Group.

Wells has more than 15 years of experience serving clients in multiple industries. He brings analytical and problem-solving skills to complex commercial transactions, contracts, and compliance. His experience includes providing legal support to one of the nation’s largest financial institutions in all phases of retail and office lease preparation, from drafting letters of intent to final lease execution, as well as other commercial real estate matters.

Wells previously served as corporate counsel for The Mitchell Gold Co., where he provided legal counsel to ensure maximum protection of the company’s legal rights, mitigate legal risks, and maintain legal compliance for company operations. He spearheaded the negotiation, preparation, and drafting of all major tenant leases and ancillary documents, and successfully negotiated the purchase, sale, and management of company real estate.

Wells earned his J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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.

Global law firm Hogan Lovells is pleased to announce that Richard Aftanas has joined the firm as a partner in the Corporate practice in New York and as a member of the Firm’s global Capital Markets leadership team with a focus on expanding the New York and US capital markets practice. Aftanas joins from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he was a partner in the Capital Markets group for six years.

Aftanas has worked on numerous initial public offerings and other public and private equity securities offerings, as well as high-yield and investment-grade debt offerings for companies in a wide range of industries. He also advises U.S. and international clients with respect to corporate and securities law matters, as well as spin-offs, debt tender offers, exchange offers and other refinancing transactions. In addition, Aftanas regularly advises publicly-traded corporations and their executive officers and directors on corporate governance, SEC compliance and disclosure matters. Before joining Kirkland, Aftanas was a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

Over the past year, the firm has made several high-profile additions to the New York office, including former Bristol Myers Squibb vice president Jonathan Wasserman, Latin America finance partner Ben Garcia, leading sports transactions lawyer Michael Kuh, and Peter Marta, former global head of the legal cybersecurity team at JPMorgan Chase.

Aftanas earned his B.A. from the University of Manitoba and his LL.B. from McGill University Faculty of Law. He also is a member of McGill University Leaders’ Advisory Board and was the Secretary of the Securities Regulation Committee for the Association of the Bar of the City of New York from 2003–2006.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., is pleased to announce that its Chicago Officers Kara Cenar, Beata Krakus, and Susan Meyer have been selected for the 2020 edition of Crain’s Chicago Business’ “Notable Women in Law.”

Published annually, the “Notable Women in Law” recognizes “women who have a track record of setting legal precedents, winning big cases for their clients and mentoring the next wave of women in law – all while finding ways to give back to their communities,” according to Crain’s. The honorees serve in senior-level roles at a law firm and have practiced for at least 10 years.

According to Crain’s, the “Notable Women in Law” also must have shown the ability to effect change in their roles or practice areas … “expanding the role of the women’s resource group to make sure that young associates get the skills and confidence they need to succeed. … They are pushing their firms to do more to promote racial justice and equality.”

A member of Greensfelder’s Intellectual Property practice group, Cenar leads the firm’s IP Litigation team, handling important and complex intellectual property (IP) matters for domestic and international companies of all sizes, as well as individuals. Her practice also involves the enforcement of IP rights and the defense of alleged violations of the IP rights of others.

Krakus is a member of the firm’s Franchising & Distribution and Business Services groups. She works with clients across the United States and around the globe preparing franchise programs for concepts including real estate brokerages, hotels, restaurants, and fitness and personal health systems, among others. Her practice also encompasses other distribution models, and she assists clients in managing their distribution networks.

Also a member of Greensfelder’s Franchising & Distribution and Intellectual Property groups, Meyer advises businesses in the areas of IP, franchising and distribution, and corporate law. She represents companies in the United States and internationally in every stage of development. She also serves as Norway’s Honorary Consul for Illinois.

The complete 2020 list of Crain’s “Notable Women in Law” honorees can be viewed at https://www.chicagobusiness.com/awards/crains-2020-notable-women-law.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., founded in 1895, is a full-service law firm with offices in St. Louis, Chicago and Southern Illinois. Greensfelder offers comprehensive legal solutions for clients locally, nationally and internationally. Areas of practice include business services; communications and media; construction; educational, religious and tax-exempt organizations; employee benefits; employment and labor; energy; franchising and distribution; health care; intellectual property; litigation; real estate; securities and financial services; and trusts and estates. Find out more at www.greensfelder.com.

Alex R. Hernandez focuses on trials and appeals and has worked on constitutional challenges, environmental, energy, and securities cases. A University of Texas School of Law graduate and former Baker Botts associate, he clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Steve Jugle focuses on intellectual property litigation with experience in all stages of the litigation. A former Baker Botts associate, he has prosecuted patents involving wireless and telecommunications technologies, petrochemicals, and more.  A Harvard Law graduate, he has inter partes review experience.

Omar Marawi is an electrical engineer and a graduate of the University of Houston Law Center. His focus is intellectual property and analyzing the merits of patent and design infringement suits, aiding in claim construction and patent prosecution. He is not yet licensed to practice law in Texas.

Monica Moussighi focuses on intellectual property matters including patents, trademark, and copyright. An engineer, she received her law degree from University of Houston Law Center. On the Texas Rising Star list, she previously worked at several prestigious national law firms.

Colin B. Phillips focuses on patent litigation, patent licensing and transactions, inter partes reviews, trademark matters, commercial litigation and financial restructuring.  He has a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center and an aerospace engineering degree from Texas A&M University.

Read more here.

Fears Nachawati attorneys Bryan Fears, Majed Nachawati, Jonathan Novak and Brice Burris have each been selected to the 2021 edition of Best Lawyers in America.

Best Lawyers is the oldest and among the most respected peer reviewed attorney guides in the country. Selection is based on a peer-review survey that includes confidential evaluations by peer lawyers in the same and related specialties, followed by a rigorous vetting process by the Best Lawyers’ research staff. Honorees represent the top four percent of practicing attorneys in the United States.

Bryan and Majed previously earned Best Lawyers recognition for their litigation experience. Jonathan and Brice, each recognized for their work on behalf of personal injury victims, are listed among Best Lawyers’ inaugural “Ones to Watch” list recognizing attorneys early in their careers.

Fears Nachawati represents clients in a range of areas and has emerged as a leader in high stakes litigation across the country. The firm currently represents groups and individuals in matters related to the opioid crisis, environmental contamination, as well as dangerous and defective products.

Learn more about this honor.

Brent Weisenberg has joined Lowenstein Sandler as senior counsel in the firm’s Bankruptcy, Financial Reorganization & Creditors’ Rights Department.

Weisenberg’s practice focuses on advising businesses and their stakeholder constituencies during periods of financial challenge and special situations, including in the negotiation and implementation of complex commercial transactions, the acquisition and disposition of distressed assets, and the prosecution and defense of commercial litigation. He has extensive experience counseling official and unofficial committees across a wide array of industries, including retail, real estate, construction, hospitality, telecommunications, manufacturing, and technology.

Weisenberg also has particular experience in the wind-down of private equity and hedge fund vehicles. Prior to joining Lowenstein, he was selected by a court-appointed receiver to serve as General Counsel to the Platinum Partners family of hedge funds, where he worked extensively with the receiver’s outside counsel and financial advisors, as well as with Platinum’s portfolio managers, to unwind what was asserted to be a fund valued at more than $500 million.

Jeffrey Cohen, Vice Chair of the department, says, “It feels fantastic to be reuniting with Brent. Having previously been colleagues with him for more than a decade, I know the positive impact he will have on our practice. I look forward to integrating Brent into the Lowenstein platform and our white-hot debtor and committee practices.”

Kenneth A. Rosen, Chair of Lowenstein’s bankruptcy department, says, “Brent’s unique experience serving as general counsel to Platinum Partners and its receiver, the former chief judge of the Eastern District of New York’s bankruptcy court, not only helped him solidify his ability to solve the business and financial issues facing entities today but allowed him to gain an unmatched perspective on the wind-down of private equity and hedge fund vehicles, a sector where we are seeing increasing volatility.”

Lowenstein’s Bankruptcy, Financial Reorganization & Creditors’ Rights has been recognized by The Wall Street Journal as one of the country’s top 10 power players in large corporate bankruptcy matters, and it was ranked in the top five in Debtwire’s “1H19 Restructuring Advisory Mandates Report” in the category of Lead Counsel: UCC.

About Lowenstein Sandler LLP
Lowenstein Sandler is a national law firm with over 350 lawyers based in New York, Palo Alto, New Jersey, Utah, and Washington, D.C. The firm represents leaders in virtually every sector of the global economy, with particular emphasis on investment funds, life sciences, and technology. Recognized for its entrepreneurial spirit and high standard of client service, the firm is committed to the interests of its clients, colleagues, and communities.

Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, is pleased to announce a three-lawyer team has joined the firm’s Franchise and Licensing Practice in Denver. Kevin Hein, Trish MacAskill, and Leilani Argersinger provide strategic guidance to franchisors, licensors, subfranchisors, and dealers regarding a range of legal and strategic business needs impacting their distribution models. The team’s experience extends to restaurant and retail development, franchise sales compliance, mergers and acquisitions, compliance with state and federal laws, corporate counseling, and dispute resolution. In his new role with Akerman, Hein will co-chair the firm’s Franchise and Licensing Practice.

Kevin Hein, Partner
For more than two decades, Hein has focused his practice on counseling companies that rely on franchising as part of their distribution models on a wide range of legal issues, including state and federal disclosure requirements, compliance with state relationship laws, franchise sales compliance, restaurant and retail development, franchising in the health and wellness industries, mergers and acquisitions, corporate counseling, bankruptcy and reorganization, and dispute resolution. Hein’s experience in the restaurant industry includes advising clients regarding corporate formation, real estate acquisition and development, leasing issues, corporate financing activities, mergers and acquisitions, dispute resolution, general corporate matters, and franchise relationship issues. In addition, he regularly counsels established and emerging healthcare and wellness clients to ensure their franchise systems and licensing programs are structured to comply with federal and state laws regarding corporate practice of medicine, fee-splitting, Stark and physician self-referral regulations, HIPAA compliance, and other healthcare related compliance issues.

Trish Barrett MacAskill, Special Counsel
MacAskill focuses her practice on franchise and business transactions. MacAskill applies her in-house experience when counseling clients on business, franchising, and licensing issues. She has experience counseling clients on franchise regulatory compliance and negotiating commercial leases and contracts in a broad range of industries, products, and services.

Leilani Argersinger, Associate
Argersinger focuses her practice on corporate transactional law, with an emphasis on U.S. and international franchising and distribution law. She represents emerging and established franchisors in corporate transactions, including M&A, corporate formation, lease negotiation, intellectual property, and capital raising. Argersinger regularly counsels clients on franchise and multi-unit development agreements, franchise registration and disclosure documents, corporate governance and formation documents, purchase, sale, and investment transactions, and franchise law and regulatory compliance matters.

About Akerman
Akerman LLP is a top 100 U.S. law firm recognized among the most forward thinking firms in the industry by Financial Times. Its more than 700 lawyers and business professionals collaborate with the world’s most successful enterprises and entrepreneurs to navigate change, seize opportunities, and help drive innovation and growth. Akerman is known for its results in middle market M&A and complex disputes, and for helping clients achieve their most important business objectives in the financial services, real estate and other dynamic sectors across the United States and Latin America.

The Akerman Corporate Practice Group advises public and private companies, including private equity funds, on M&A, capital markets transactions, financings, and other transactional matters, with a strong focus on the middle market. Akerman is top-ranked nationally for mergers, acquisitions and buyouts: middle market by The Legal 500, is recognized as a leading U.S. law firm by U.S. News – Best Lawyers for corporate, M&A, private equity, securities/capital markets, securities regulation and banking and finance law, and is listed in PitchBook league tables as among the most active law firms in the United States for M&A deals.

Farrell Fritz is pleased to announce that John (Jack) Barnosky has joined the Maurer Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Barnosky, a partner in the firm’s Uniondale office, practices trust and estate law, concentrating on estate planning, probate and administration of estates and trusts, and taxation. He also represents clients in litigated trust and estate matters, including will contests, disputes over the validity of trusts, contested accounting proceedings, and tax disputes before the Surrogate’s Courts and other courts throughout New York. In addition to his work at Farrell Fritz, he is a frequent lecturer at New York State Bar Association seminars on trust and estate practice and has written articles published in the New York Law Journal, The Nassau Lawyer, and the Journal of the Suffolk Academy of Law. Barnosky is a past chair of the trust and estate committee of the Nassau County Bar Association as well as Chair of the Trust and Estate section of the New York State Bar association.

Barnosky, a Halesite resident, earned his LL.M. from New York University School of Law, his J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law and his A.B. from Assumption College.

The Maurer Foundation, established in 1995, is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit based in Melville, NY. The Foundation’s mission is to save lives through breast health education that focuses on breast cancer prevention, early detection, risk reduction and healthy lifestyle choices.