Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added Jacqueline A. Mrachek as a shareholder in its Minneapolis office. Mrachek joins from Faegre Baker Daniels, where she co-led the firm’s employment litigation practice.

Mrachek counsels and defends companies in a wide range of employment law matters, including harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour compliance, drug and alcohol testing, and disability and medical leave requirements. She also regularly conducts workplace investigations and counsels on the enforcement of noncompetes, restrictive covenants and other employment contracts. Mrachek has represented employers before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, and has extensive experience in such sectors as automotive, retail, financial services, health care, insurance, manufacturing and medical devices.

Mrachek received her J.D. from Mitchell Hamline School of Law and her B.A. from College of Saint Benedict. She is a former president of Minnesota Women Lawyers and serves on its advisory board.

Farrell Fritz is pleased to welcome Christopher J. Clarke to its Uniondale office as a commercial litigation associate.

Chris is a South Huntington, NY, resident. Prior to joining Farrell Fritz, he was an associate at Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone, LLP in Mineola. Chris earned his J.D. from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center and his B.A. from Skidmore College. He is admitted in New York State; the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York; and the United States District Court, Southern District of New York.

Hanzo, the company known for its pioneering technology in dynamic web archiving for compliance and ediscovery, announced that Hanzo Hold has been named one of six finalists in the LegalLaunch: Product Innovation Competition at Legaltech during Legalweek 2020.

The competition brings together the best in legal technology, new products, and services (no older than twelve months) and gives Legaltech attendees a sneak peek of the future of legal technology.

Business communications have changed dramatically. Today, communications including chats, messages, comments, reactions, attachments, and a myriad of other data types associated with collaboration tools like Slack, have created new challenges for corporate legal teams. The data that these tools generate has barely any relationship to email, much less to the familiar world of paper.

Hanzo launched Hanzo Hold to solve these collaborative data management challenges. Hanzo Hold empowers organizations to apply a legal hold to enterprise Slack data and to adhere to data retention policies while meeting the duty to preserve and discover data for litigation and regulatory use cases.

As a collaboration tool becomes commonplace within an organization, even a small number of users can generate vast volumes of data. Hanzo has invested in its capability to scale ingestion for greater speed and resilience in the face of such data magnitude. Additionally, Hanzo works closely with the team at Slack, regularly evolving the solution to fully utilize the latest updates to Slack’s Discovery API.

Today, companies using Hanzo Hold for Slack can preserve precisely the data needed with targeted preservation, search and view messages in context to efficiently cull data volumes, and easily export data for further review. Hanzo Hold gives corporate legal teams more flexibility in scoping and greater control for a targeted approach to Slack data management.

Dykema, a leading national law firm, today announced that San Antonio-based attorneys Danielle Rushing and Melanie Fry were each elected to hold leadership positions for Bexar County Women’s Bar Foundation (BCWB). Rushing was elected to serve as Vice President, while Fry was re-elected for her position as a Director with the Foundation.

Rushing takes the Vice President role after serving as the Foundation’s Secretary in 2019 and after being selected as a member of the 2019 class of its LEAD (Lead. Empower. Advance. Develop.) Academy. Fry, who is a 2018 graduate of the BCWB Foundation’s LEAD Academy, returns to her role as a Director after being elected for the second consecutive time.

In her practice, Rushing focuses on bankruptcy and restructuring matters. She currently represents several multi-million dollar businesses, particularly in the oil and gas/energy, retail, and transportation industries. Rushing has drafted and argued various motions in state and federal courts. She is involved in several professional and industry organizations, having been recently elected as a Member of the San Antonio Bar Foundation’s Fellows Program and serving as a Director for the San Antonio Young Lawyers Association and Foundation.

Fry leads Dykema’s appellate practice in San Antonio. She has briefed and won cases in the Texas Courts of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Fry’s experience includes high-stakes matters such as personal injury and product defects, contract and business tort claims, consumer financial services disputes, and oil and gas law. Outside of her practice, Fry has served at all leadership levels of the Federal Bar Association’s San Antonio Chapter (including as President in 2015-16) and is a member of Leadership San Antonio Class 45.

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added Dane Steffenson as Special Counsel in its Atlanta office where he will focus on Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), wage hour and Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) litigation. For more than 17 years, Steffenson was a Senior Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) representing its various enforcement agencies in the Atlanta Solicitor’s Office. In this role, he received the DOL’s top national award for litigation excellence.

During his tenure with the DOL, Steffenson served as lead counsel on hundreds of employment law cases, including more than 25 trials and several mediations that involved complex matters under ERISA, Fair Labor Standards Act, OSHA, Service Contract Act, H1-B and various whistleblower statutes. He advised top officials and local managers at the Department’s enforcement agencies on local and national policies and procedures, investigation and pre-litigation issues, and enforcement, litigation and settlement strategies. Steffenson also has extensive experience in all aspects of case preparation, such as developing and executing litigation strategy; drafting effective discovery documents, motions, and briefs; and negotiating settlements.

Steffenson received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the Georgia State University College of Law, his M.A. in International Relations from Baylor University and his B.S., cum laude, from California State University. Additional information on Steffenson’s background is available here.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Richard E. Graves has joined the firm’s Nashville office as an associate in the Real Estate Practice Group.

Graves focuses his practice on real estate law and zoning and land use. His experience includes preparing and reviewing purchase and sales agreements, as well as closing documents, on behalf of purchasers and sellers. He also reviews environmental site assessment proposals and reports to ensure compliance with all appropriate inquiry requirements and ASTM standards. In addition, he reviews title commitments, surveys and plats, and private and public property restrictions and regulations on behalf of clients. His litigation experience includes prosecuting and defending easement and title disputes, as well as common law writ of certiorari appeals of decisions of local land use administrative bodies.

Prior to joining Bradley, Graves was an attorney at Frantz, McConnell & Seymour, LLP. He clerked for Judge Sharon G. Lee of the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Graves received his J.D. (magna cum laude) from the University of Tennessee College of Law and his Bachelor of Arts (magna cum laude) from the University of Tennessee.

Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce that Stanley Freeman has joined the firm in Washington DC as partner. With more than 25 years of experience,  Freeman’s arrival expands the firm’s education service offering with a practice focused on the representation of postsecondary institutions and adjacent clients in higher education. Before joining Eversheds Sutherland, Freeman was a partner at Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville.

Freeman counsels public and private colleges and universities, allied educational companies, and investors in higher education on administrative, transactional, regulatory and litigation matters. He regularly advises educational institutions on strategic issues pertaining to their participation in federal student financial assistance programs, accreditation, licensure and related regulatory concerns.

Freeman also assists clients concerning regulatory and compliance matters arising under the Higher Education Act of 1965, including program reviews, audits, substantive changes, changes in ownership and control, and other oversight matters.

Freeman has represented numerous schools before the US Department of Education and before other federal agencies, state educational oversight agencies, and accreditors on compliance matters, financial responsibility concerns, legislative issues, and investigative matters. He has also litigated cases in the state and federal courts.

Freeman is a sought-after speaker for college official and student aid administrative audiences and has authored numerous articles on federal student financial aid issues for higher education publications.

Dykema, a leading national law firm, today announced that Danielle Rushing, San Antonio-based attorney in Dykema’s Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Creditors’ Rights Practice Group, was selected by the San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) as one of 25 newly elected members to the SABF Fellows Program.

According to the SABF, its Fellows are a group of friends who serves as patron of the charitable heart of the legal community. These elected members make a difference in expanding civics education, filling the gap for access to justice and supporting the pipeline of future leaders in the San Antonio legal family. Fellows are selected for their professional achievements and their commitment to the legal community.

In her practice, Rushing focuses on bankruptcy and restructuring matters. She currently represents several multi-million dollar businesses, particularly in the oil and gas/energy, retail, and transportation industries. Rushing has drafted and argued various motions in state and federal courts.

She is involved in several professional and industry organizations. Rushing currently serves as Vice President of the Bexar County Women’s Bar (BCWB) Association and Foundation and a Board Member for the San Antonio Young Lawyers Association and Foundation. She also previously serves as both Secretary and as a Board Member of the BCWB and was a member of the 2019 class of its LEAD Academy.

She earned a J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law and a B.S. from Louisiana State University.

On Jan. 21, the Chicago office of Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., celebrated the opening of the new Norwegian Honorary Consulate for Illinois – located at Greensfelder – and introduced Greensfelder Officer Susan Meyer as the newly appointed Norwegian Honorary Consul.

In conjunction with Meyer’s appointment late last year, Greensfelder’s Chicago office was designated by Norway’s Foreign Ministry as the Norwegian Honorary Consulate. Norway’s Honorary Consul assists with consular affairs and helps to facilitate development of business, cultural and educational relations between Norway and the United States.

The Jan. 21 event also featured an address from Harriet E. Berg, Norwegian Consul General in New York, and a medal ceremony honoring Eirik Seim for his overseas service.

In addition to her new consulate role, Meyer is a past president and current member of the Chicago Chapter of the Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce. She frequently advises companies on matters related to commerce between the United States and Scandinavia. She is also actively involved with the Norwegian-American Defense and Homeland Security Industry Council and the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce. In addition, she is on the board of Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women-owned businesses expand internationally.

As leader of Greensfelder’s Trademark, Copyright, Media, and Advertising group and a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property and Franchising & Distribution groups, Meyer advises businesses in the areas of intellectual property, franchising, and distribution. She represents companies in the United States and internationally in every stage of development. In addition to her work involving intellectual property transactions, licensing, and dispute resolution, Ms. Meyer has extensive experience in trademark law, representing clients before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and federal courts. She also works with franchisors on compliance issues and serves as outside general counsel for businesses on general business matters.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Andrew Tuggle has joined the firm’s Huntsville office as an associate in the Intellectual Property Practice Group.

Tuggle focuses his practice on technology and intellectual property law.

Prior to law school, Tuggle worked for a large multinational hardware manufacturer and for a small engineering-design startup. He also worked in academic DARPA- and G8-funded research. His R&D experience includes magnetic devices and materials, nanoscale electronics, computer modeling and simulation, Barker codes, and sensors.

Tuggle worked as a summer associate at Bradley in 2017 and 2018. He received his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law and his Bachelor of Science from the University of Alabama.

Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that William “Bill” E. Lawler has joined the Firm’s Washington, D.C., office as a Partner in the White Collar Defense & Investigations group. Lawler joins from Vinson & Elkins LLP where he was co-head of the firm’s government investigations and white collar practice group. Prior to his tenure at Vinson & Elkins, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia (1989–1996).

Lawler represents corporations, organizations, government entities, and individuals in high-stakes, high-profile matters in federal and state courts and before regulatory agencies and Congress. He brings extensive experience counseling clients on various types of government enforcement actions—enduring numerous administrations in the United States and abroad—on matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), criminal antitrust, healthcare fraud, government and public corruption, campaign finance, and other white collar crime issues.

Lawler’s comprehensive and geographically diverse experience gives him insight into the nuances and developments in international enforcement approaches and actions. Throughout his career, Lawler has tried more than 70 jury cases to verdict, has argued 15 appellate cases, and has conducted hundreds of grand jury and motions proceedings across 37 U.S. states and more than 30 countries.

He is active in the legal community, serving as a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel’s White Collar Committee and previously serving on the board of directors of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia where he formerly served as president and as chair of the Young Lawyers Section. Additionally, he has been repeatedly recognized by Chambers USA for his white collar defense and FCPA practices.

Lawler was previously a leading member of the Catholic Charities Legal Network, and in keeping with Blank Rome’s dedication to pro bono work, plans to continue his commitment to providing pro bono counsel at the Firm. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown Law, and his B.A. in English and Government, cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame.

Brouse McDowell is pleased to announce the addition of two new partners – Lori R. Kilpeck and Heather Allred – adding to our bench strength in Cleveland and Toledo, respectively.

Lori R. Kilpeck joins Brouse McDowell’s Cleveland Office as a partner in the Estate, Succession Planning and Probate Administration Practice Group. Prior to joining Brouse, she was a partner with a Cleveland estate planning boutique firm and has also previously served as acting Magistrate for Judge Lawrence Allen of the Willoughby Municipal Court. She has counseled her clients in complex probate and trust administration as well as contested estates that result in litigation due to undue influence, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and elder abuse. Additionally, Kilpeck serves as a court appointed guardian.

Kilpeck received her BA from Cleveland State University and her JD from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

Heather Lee Allred joins Brouse McDowell’s Toledo Office as a partner in the Health Care Practice Group. Prior to joining Brouse, she was Vice President of Risk Management and Senior Counsel at ProMedica. She has comprehensive legal experience in the health care industry. As Senior Counsel she addressed legal challenges including, but not limited to, HIPAA, fraud and abuse, CMS conditions of participation, EMTALA, academic affiliations, residency and fellowships, research, GME issues, contract negotiations, patient care and risk management issues. She also has experience in business litigation, insurance recovery and tort litigation.

Allred received her BA from Brigham Young University, her MPH in Health Care Administration from Bowling Green State University and The University of Toledo, and her JD from University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Holland & Hart announced the addition of Karen Dean as Of Counsel joining the firm’s Denver office. Dean strengthens Holland & Hart’s Tax Controversy practice by bringing experience as a former senior in-house tax counsel for multiple global Fortune 500 companies.

Dean understands the complex business challenges multinational corporations face to evaluate and solve tax matters. She represents clients in high-stakes tax controversies and litigation and advises clients on a broad range of tax issues, helping them untangle complex tax matters. Dean has represented large public companies in audits and controversies before the IRS and state and local taxing authorities. She has extensive experience negotiating favorable resolutions of audits and appeals.

Prior to joining Holland & Hart, Karen served as in-house tax counsel for more than 10 years for several publicly traded multinationals. She also practiced as a tax attorney at McDermott Will & Emery in New York and at Ivins, Phillips & Barker in Washington, D.C. Dean is admitted to practice in Colorado, the District of Columbia, and New York.

Michael Best is pleased to announce the addition of Amy Kiiskila as a partner in the Wealth Planning Practice Group. She will be based primarily in the firm’s Waukesha office, but will act as a valuable resource to clients throughout all firm offices.

A returning attorney to Michael Best, Kiiskila began her legal career with the firm more than 20 years ago. For the past decade, she has been with the Advanced Planning team at The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, where she consulted with and trained financial advisors, attorneys, and accountants on estate planning, business planning, complex financial planning and product matters. Most recently, she led the team of highly specialized attorneys as Vice President of Advanced Planning.

She counsels clients on all aspects of wealth planning matters, focusing her practice in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, tax planning, charitable planning, and business succession planning. She works closely with businesses and individuals to craft customized plans that preserve and grow their assets.

Kiiskila received her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also earned her B.B.A., summa cum laude, from St. Norbert College.

Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Vincent Brophy has joined the firm as a partner in its global Antitrust/Competition practice. Brophy will be based in London and split his time between the firm’s London and Brussels offices. He joins Sidley from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP.

Brophy is a recognized authority on EU antitrust and competition matters. He is an experienced adviser and litigator with a successful track record in defending clients in high-stakes matters in front of European competition authorities, notably the European Commission and UK Competition and Markets Authority, as well as in antitrust litigation. He regularly counsels clients in the financial services sector, manufacturing and other industry sectors on high-profile mergers and antitrust investigations, cartel matters, regulations related to joint ventures and other EU regulatory matters. Brophy is fluent and works in both English and French.

Harrity & Harrity, a leading patent law firm based in the Washington, D.C., metro area, is pleased to announce the promotion of three top patent attorneys into partner roles, effective Jan. 1, 2020.

Neil Kardos, Eli Mazour, and Elaine Spector have consistently demonstrated excellence in their practices while going above and beyond to contribute to the firm’s accomplishments in the intellectual property sector. The announcement comes at a time when Harrity is on track to be national leaders in innovation, automation, analytics, charity, and diversity initiatives in the legal field. The transition of Neil, Eli, and Elaine into partnership roles will be a driving force in the continued growth and advancement of the firm.

Kardos, a former Primary Patent Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and active member of the Intellectual Property Owner’s Association (IPO) and Corporate IP Institute, specializes in preparing and prosecuting patent applications. His practice focuses on electrical, computer, and mechanical technologies, including telecommunications, 5G, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, financial technologies, computer hardware and software systems, computer networking, search engines, optical systems, internet hardware and software systems, machinery, sensors, control systems, e-commerce, and business methods. Neil is a graduate of The George Washington University National Law Center and has been with Harrity since April of 2012.

Mazour joined Harrity in 2010 and currently leads the firm’s patent prosecution team with a focus on helping Patent 300® companies build valuable, high-quality patent portfolios in an efficient manner. In this role, he develops and implements best practices for managing workflow and innovative patent prosecution strategies for reaching favorable results at the USPTO. Mazour is also the creator and host of the Clause 8 podcast, which features interviews with prominent members of the IP community, and has written and presented about various patent-related trends. As a result, he is sought out by clients and other professionals for his insights on various patent policy developments, including legislative proposals and changes at the USPTO.

Spector has over 20 years of experience in intellectual property law. Her extensive experience in the IP field includes patent application drafting and prosecution, trademark prosecution and enforcement, as well as litigating complex patent cases in federal courts. Spector’s current practice consists primarily of prosecuting patent applications with a focus on electromechanical technologies. She is a driving force in legal service quality, diversity programs, and charity involvement at the firm, and currently serves as Chair of the Harrity Diversity Committee and Chair of the AIPLA Women in IP Law Committee’s Global Networking Event and Outreach Subcommittees. She is also on the IPO Diversity Committee’s Management Team and is a Board Member at the non-profit No More Stolen Childhoods. Spector has been with Harrity since 2017 and is the firm’s first female partner.

Dykema, a leading national law firm, is proud to announce that James Azadian, Member in the firm’s Litigation Department and nationwide Appellate Practice, was presented with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s Distinguished Service and Leadership Award. Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas presented the award to Azadian on January 13 at the Ninth Circuit courthouse in Pasadena, Calif.

Throughout his legal career, Azadian has served and significantly contributed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in numerous capacities, including serving a three-year term as the court-appointed Chair of its Appellate Lawyer Representatives (a term which recently concluded), as a court-appointed appellate mentor to civil practitioners through the Court’s Mentorship Program, serving two terms as a court-appointed member of the Ninth Circuit’s Advisory Committee on Rules of Practice and Internal Operating Procedures, and being appointed to serve on the Ninth Circuit Law Clerks Resource Group. In addition, Azadian has now commenced his service to the Court as a newly-appointed member to its Advisory Board.
Azadian’s practice focuses on complex federal and state court litigation raising cutting-edge and core business and constitutional issues. He has served as counsel in more than 200 appeals and writ proceedings covering a wide variety of industries and subjects. Throughout his career, Azadian has been responsible for arguing cases that have had an immense impact on the law, including securing a favorable Ninth Circuit en banc decision this past year that clarifies the standards for nationwide class actions and the requirements imposed on a trial court when accepting a nationwide class action settlement.

Buchalter is pleased to announce and welcome its newest Shareholder, Roxana K. Chamouillé to its Orange County office. Chamouillé handles sophisticated commercial real estate transactions on behalf of property owners, purchasers, and local, regional and nationwide institutional lenders. Her emphasis is on financing, acquisitions and dispositions.

Chamouillé’s extensive real estate experience includes negotiating, reviewing and closing loan and purchase and sale documentation for the acquisition, disposition, refinancing, and development of a wide range of commercial real estate projects. She has also been a lead and supervising attorney for highly complex litigation matters involving construction defects, insurance coverage, and failed commercial real estate transactions. Chamouillé has represented developers, insurance carriers, and business owners in all stages of litigation, successfully negotiating favorable settlements for her clients.

Chamouillé earned her J.D. at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and her B.S. from the University of California Los Angeles.

Glaser Weil is pleased to announce that Partner Robert Allen has joined the firm.

Allen’s litigation practice focuses on representing creators and copyright owners in the protection of their works, including recording artists, songwriters, actors, photographers and authors.
His transactional practice focuses on providing counsel on both domestic and international acquisitions, negotiating licenses and agreements relating to music, film, television, digital media, production, television exploitation, on-demand media delivery, gaming and software.

Prior to returning to private practice, Allen was the senior vice president, head of business and legal affairs for Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) and led its New Media Business Development. He represented Quincy Jones against Michael Jackson’s company, MJJ Productions regarding Quincy’s masters on the albums Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad.

On behalf of a major music company, he has handled negotiations with Apple, YouTube, Google and Amazon for song digital distribution. Additionally, he has represented high-profile, major writers, including Prince, Eminem, U2, Justin Bieber, Chris Daughtry, R Kelly, Mariah Carey, the Foo Fighters, Bon Jovi, Jack Johnson, Gloria Estefan, Chris Brown, 50 Cent, 3 Doors Down, Babyface and Diane Warren, among many others.

Allen earned his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. He attended the University of California, Berkeley where he received his B.A.

Meg Hobbins was promoted from Senior Attorney to Partner, making her the first attorney in GYH history to make Partner. Hobbins’ practice focuses on humanitarian and family-based immigration matters before U.S. consulates abroad, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the U.S. immigration courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the federal courts. She also represents clients before INTERPOL to challenge politically-motivated Red Notices. She has proven herself as an outstanding advocate and litigator with well over a decade of experience in the field. In addition to her extensive experience with consular processing, inadmissibility waivers and family-based immigration, Hobbins spends considerable time seeking a variety of humanitarian forms of relief for her clients, including Asylum, Violence Against Women Act protection, visas for victims of trafficking and more. As part of her dedication to the humanitarian aspects of immigration, she dedicates substantial time to providing pro bono legal services to the most at-risk immigrants.