“DLA Piper is pleased to announce it was ranked second by the Financial Times for both the Most Innovative and Most Digital law firm in the FT North America Innovative Lawyers 2020 report. The inaugural Most Digital award is based on the firm’s use of data and technology across all aspects of its client service and business. These impressive overall firm rankings are in addition to being commended in four individual categories,” posts DLA Piper in their Newsroom.

“DLA Piper’s pro bono work was included in the ‘Social justice and rule of law section’ of the report. The Financial Times editors noted that the case studies included in the report ‘…reflect some of the best practice emerging’ from law firms that ‘have harnessed the law to overturn inequities.'”

“DLA Piper was cited in this section for its: ‘1,400 hours of pro bono support to food banks and food distribution organisations since January.’ This work included helping with employee safety, supply chains, food storage, applications to the Paycheck Protection Program and advising related to the use of National Guard troops in food distribution. The Financial Times also noted that the firm provides pro bono legal counsel to the UN’s World Food Programme.”

Read the article.

Michael Best is pleased to announce six attorneys have been promoted to the firm’s partnership. The newly named partners are as follows: David E. Cline, David M. DiGiacomo, Daniel J. Gawronski, Nicholas J. Herdrich, Tanya M. Salman, and Kevin J.T. Terry.

David E. Cline (Broomfield) is a member of the Corporate Practice Group and Venture Best® team. Cline focuses on counseling high-growth companies and investment entities in a variety of industries on mergers and acquisitions, raising or investing capital, structuring and restructuring, governance, and succession and intergenerational planning. Cline earned his J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law and his B.A. from Loyola Marymount University.

David M. DiGiacomo (Broomfield) is a member of the Corporate Practice Group, co-leader of the firm’s Cannabis Industry Team, and a member of the Venture Best® team. DiGiacomo helps start-up and early growth companies navigate entity formation, corporate finance, contract negotiations, compliance, investment and capital, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and other transactional matters. DiGiacomo earned his J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law and both his M.B.A and B.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Daniel J. Gawronski (Milwaukee) is member of the Corporate Practice Group and Venture Best® team who advises corporate clients of all sizes and brings a broad range of experience to his practice in corporate law, including early-stage planning and formation, venture capital and angel fundraising, commercial licensing and contracting, and mergers and acquisitions. Gawronski earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin Law School and his B.A., cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Nicholas J. Herdrich (Madison) is a member of the firm’s Corporate Practice Group and Venture Best® team. Herdrich advises clients on a variety of corporate issues including mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financings, securities, and other transactional matters involving start-up, emerging businesses, and investment funds. Herdrich earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Tanya M. Salman (Madison) is a member of Michael Best’s Litigation Practice Group. She counsels clients on a wide array of complex business litigation matters, including disputes over contracts, business torts, real estate, and trademark infringement. Salman earned her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School and her B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Kevin J.T. Terry (Milwaukee) is a member of the Labor & Employment Relations Practice Group. Terry litigates and provides counsel on all aspects of employer-employee relationships, with expertise in issues related to the National Labor Relations Act, including union organizing and unfair labor practices brought by or against labor organizations, NLRB proceedings, and arbitrations. Terry earned his J.D. from Marquette University Law School and his B.A. from the University of Minnesota.

Article Link: https://www.michaelbest.com/Newsroom/242004/Michael-Best-Elects-Six-Attorneys-to-Partnership

The D’Amore Law Group, P.C. is proud to announce that managing partner and owner Tom D’Amore is a finalist for the 2020 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award presented by the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association (SFTLA). Tom was named along with co-counsel Steve Brady of the Brady Law Group. A winner will be recognized at a gala on August 27, 2020.

The SFTLA board of directors annually honors an attorney or team of attorneys for an exceptional trial victory of the last year based on the size of the verdict, stakes in controversy, diligence and determination shown by counsel, and the rights and interests of society that were vindicated through the verdict.

D’Amore is nominated along with Steve Brady for their co-representation of a husband, Matthew Allison, and the estate of his wife, Sara Allison, against transportation companies Horizon Transport and Smoot Enterprises and their drivers. The case was Allison et al. v. Smoot Enterprises Inc. et al., case number 2:17-cv-01598, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.

In May 2019, an Oregon federal jury returned a record personal injury $26.4 million verdict against the two transportation companies and their drivers for their prolonged bout of “road rage” with one another that caused a head-on accident with a car, killing 30-year-old Mrs. Allison and severely injuring then 27-year-old Mr. Allison.

The jury deliberated for nearly six hours following a nine-day trial and found that the concerted negligence of the defendants caused the fatal June 2016 crash. The jury found that Mr. Allison suffered $600,000 in economic damages and $7 million in noneconomic damages, and his wife’s estate suffered $2.38 million in economic damages and $10 million in noneconomic damages. The jury also found for the Allisons against the transportation companies in the amount of 6.5 million in punitive damages against Smoot and Horizon.

An attorney for more than 29 years, D’Amore is licensed to practice law in Oregon, Washington and California, and is a board-certified civil trial attorney with the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA). He is also one of a few attorneys in the United States board-certified in trucking injury law by the NBTA.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Rich Sharff has rejoined the firm’s Birmingham office as counsel in the Healthcare Practice Group.

Mr. Sharff has represented a variety of healthcare providers in his career, in a range of transactional, compliance and litigation matters.

“We are pleased to welcome Rich back to our Birmingham office,” said Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Jonathan M. Skeeters. “Rich brings nearly three decades of diverse experience and insights that will further enhance our firm’s healthcare practice.”

Mr. Sharff was an attorney at Bradley from 1994-2007 before leaving to join Surgical Care Affiliates (SCA), a nationwide owner and operator of outpatient surgery centers, as its executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary in 2007. After SCA’s acquisition by Optum, he was also named general counsel of OptumHealth, which is one of the three primary business segments within Optum and includes care delivery businesses such as SCA, physician groups/IPAs and urgent care centers, and numerous other major platforms serving behavioral health, population health, complex care and consumer offerings at Optum.

Mr. Sharff earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia.

Bradley’s Healthcare Practice Group is a nationally recognized, interdisciplinary team of attorneys and advisors who provide a comprehensive suite of services to virtually the entire range of health industry participants. The Healthcare Practice Group is routinely relied on to guide major transactions, advise on complex regulatory matters, and handle high-stakes litigation. Many of the group’s attorneys have served in high-profile industry leadership positions, including as president of the American Health Lawyers Association, and many have been recognized by leading legal industry referral guides, including Chambers, Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers.

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.

Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, welcomes Mauricio Rivero in Miami, expanding the national presence of the Tax Practice Group and widening the firm’s expertise in international taxation. Rivero resolves domestic and international tax matters, representing foreign trusts and estates, investors, and businesses in cross-border transactions throughout the U.S. and Latin America.

Rivero focuses his practice on international tax planning, business succession planning, U.S. tax compliance, and tax controversy work. He has experience servicing high-net-worth international families with U.S. tax planning, expatriation, pre-immigration and succession planning, including the use of Private Trust Companies (PTCs), and U.S. income and transfer tax aspects of foreign trusts and estates. He has also assisted U.S. and foreign investors and businesses with both inbound and outbound U.S. tax planning, income tax treaty planning, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate and partnership tax matters, and has assisted clients with REIT structuring, particularly involving foreign investors.

Rivero follows the arrival of Robert Lowey to Akerman’s Tax Practice Group in New York. He focuses his practice on U.S. and international tax planning.

Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, announced that Charles Critchlow has joined the firm’s national Litigation Practice Group in New York. Critchlow brings a four-decade legal practice resolving matters related to antitrust and trade. His experience extends to Latin America, India, and Africa, representing international enterprises in the transportation and logistics, fertilizer, natural resources, and electrical sectors.

Critchlow focuses his practice on export antitrust matters. He counsels clients on competition law applicable to joint venture export corporations. Additionally, he advises on antitrust exemptions and a broad range of corporate-related matters, including joint venture agreements, corporate procedures and compliance, and export sales and distribution contracts. With a focus on antitrust and commercial litigation, he also advises on joint ventures, merger clearance, cartel investigations, class actions, and general business litigation. He has worked on matters relating to industrial chemicals, fertilizers, oil, electrical contracting, gasoline, moving and storage, and paper industries.

Critchlow has appeared before federal agencies and in state and federal courts throughout the United States. He has handled antitrust and trade matters in Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, India, and South Africa, and coordinated antitrust legal compliance matters in over two dozen overseas jurisdictions. His experience includes general commercial litigation, antitrust litigation, and representation of companies in government and grand jury investigations. Critchlow has counseled on antitrust merger clearances, at home and abroad, in connection with acquisitions in the coal, industrial gases, household and agricultural insecticides, and fertilizer industries.

Critchlow helps build upon Akerman’s national bench of more than 350 litigators and trial lawyers across the United States. Most recently, complex commercial litigator Grasford Smith joined Akerman’s office in West Palm Beach, and Joel Forman, Philip Touitou, and Joseph Silver joined in New York, growing the firm’s experience in securities litigation and professional liability. The Honorable Ruben Castillo joined Akerman’s White Collar Crime and Government Investigations Practice in Chicago, following his retirement from the bench. Akerman’s recently acquired litigation skills expand to Atlanta, where Robin Johnson and Anthony Morris handle commercial litigation matters.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Nathaniel J. Greeson has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C., office as an associate in the Government Contracts Practice Group.

Greeson represents clients in a range of government procurement issues, including bid protests, claims, disputes, audits, and investigations. He has extensive experience with Government Accounting Office (GAO) bid protests, agency-level protests, Court of Federal Claims (COFC) bid protests, and appeals before the Small Business Administration Office of Hearings and Appeals. He also is experienced with agency-level requests for equitable adjustments (REA) and claims, and Boards of Contract Appeals claims.

“We are very pleased to welcome Nathaniel as the newest member of our highly regarded team of government contracts attorneys,” said Bradley Washington, D.C., Office Managing Partner Douglas L. Patin. “With his experience in private practice, and as a government attorney with DHS/FEMA, Nathaniel brings valuable knowledge and expertise that will help our clients navigate highly complex government contracts legal matters.”

Prior to joining Bradley, Greeson was a government contracts associate at an AmLaw 100 firm in D.C., as well as senior litigation advisor for the Procurement and Fiscal Law Division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Management Agency (FEMA) Office of Chief Counsel. For the agency, he litigated bid protests before the GAO and COFC, and appeals at the CBCA. In addition, he advised FEMA on a variety of legal issues related to solicitation structures, technical evaluations, source selection decisions, debriefings, cure notices, and terminations.

Greeson received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and his Bachelor of Arts from Belmont University.

Bradley is recognized as having one of the nation’s leading government contracts practices with work that covers all aspects of federal, state and local contracting and a particular focus on bid protests and claims matters. The group’s attorneys represent contractors of all sizes, including more than 30 of the 200 largest government contractors in the United States. The firm’s government contracts work extends to a wide variety of industries that includes defense, aerospace, construction, engineering, information technology, consulting, energy, manufacturing, electronics, professional services, communications, and healthcare.

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.

Allison Miller, a seasoned and well recognized corporate lawyer with wide-ranging experience in all aspects of corporate law and restructuring and special situations transactions, has joined Stroock’s national Financial Restructuring Group as a partner in the New York office.

Miller has spent nearly two decades advising companies, boards, investment funds and other investors regarding the unique and complex legal issues raised by distressed and special situations transactions. She also has significant experience advising boards and special committees as outside general counsel for companies assessing and moving through liability management exercises and advising creditors as part of the same process, including in their post-reorganization role as owners of reorganized companies.

Miller was the leading transactional attorney on a number of recent landmark restructurings, including Sears, Avaya, iHeart Communications, SunEdison, American Tire Distributors and Seadrill. She is also listed as a 2019 “Notable Practitioner” in restructuring in the IFLR1000 legal directory.

Miller joins Stroock from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where she was also a partner.

Buchalter is pleased to welcome Bradley Hoff as Chair of the firm’s Insurance Coverage Practice Group. Mr. Hoff, who is based in Seattle, joins from Foster Garvey PC.

Hoff has 25 years of experience representing insurance policyholders, including litigating and negotiating the resolution of disputes arising under third-party policies such as general liability, employment practices liability, pollution liability, directors & officers liability and errors & omissions/professional liability policies. He also has litigated many first-party policies such as commercial property, condominium, apartment, homeowners, business interruption and employee dishonesty/theft policies. Additionally, he counsels clients regarding risk management.

Outside of his practice, Hoff serves on the Board of Directors for the Alliance for Education, Board of Commissioners for the Seattle Sports Commission, and is a member of the of 101 Club (Washington Athletic Club).

Hoff earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, cum laude, and his B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from the University of Washington, cum laude.

Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC is pleased to announce the growth of its Wilmington office with the addition of Sally J. Daugherty as senior counsel in the Commercial Litigation, Construction and Labor & Employment Groups, Stephen A. Venzie as senior counsel in the Construction Group, and Brionna L. Denby as an associate in the Government Law & Regulatory Affairs, Internal Investigations, Title IX, and Scientific Misconduct Groups.

About Sally J. Daugherty

Daugherty, a seasoned litigator, represents small and medium-sized businesses in a variety of industries in business disputes, employment and labor matters, finance and securitization, and business best practices. She brings more than three decades of experience representing businesses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, and her clients come from a wide range of industries, including construction, manufacturing, real estate and development, hospitality, and technology.

In addition, Daugherty has significant experience handling complex cases from inception through trials and appeals in state and federal courts in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Penn State Dickinson Law, and her B.S. from Elizabethtown College, and is licensed to practice in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. Prior to joining Cohen, Seglias, Daugherty was the managing attorney for the Delaware office of Salmon, Ricchezza, Singer & Turchi, LLP.

About Stephen A. Venzie

As an experienced construction litigator, Venzie counsels public and private owners, engineers, general contractors, construction managers, subcontractors, suppliers, and sureties through all stages of public, private, and federal projects. He represents clients on projects such as commercial and retail buildings, casinos, libraries, schools and universities, student housing, restaurants, condominiums, courthouses, airports, rail lines, hospitals, roads, sewers, wastewater treatment plants, fire stations, process piping plants, and military-owned facilities.

Further, Venzie assists clients through the various disputes that can occur on a construction project. When a dispute is not resolved during the course of the project, he represents clients in the prosecution and defense of claims in all phases of post-completion litigation in both federal and state court.

In addition to his construction litigation practice, Venzie counsels clients through ancillary commercial disputes and issues such as shareholder redemption and operating agreement disputes, non-compete clauses, employee wage disputes, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) levies, and corporate formation and dissolution.

Prior to joining Cohen Seglias, Venzie served as the managing attorney for Venzie, Phillips & Warshawer’s Delaware office and its New Jersey practice. He earned his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law and his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin, and is licensed to practice in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

About Brionna L. Denby

Denby counsels corporations, educational institutions, non-profit groups, and other entities that are faced with allegations of wrongdoing. Before joining Cohen Seglias, Denby served as a Deputy Attorney General for the Delaware Department of Justice in the Civil Division, Defensive Litigation Unit, and in the Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust. As a Deputy Attorney General, she handled complex, long term investigations into government corruption, financial fraud, voter fraud, and campaign finance violations from the initial allegation through resolution.

Denby also served as a trust compliance officer for a large financial services company where she managed legal and regulatory compliance of various trust business lines, operations, and sales groups. She earned her J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law and her B.A. from Spelman College, and is licensed to practice in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New York.

A native of Wilmington, Denby is active in the community and serves in various leadership roles, including as a trustee for the Delaware Historical Society and Vice President of the Delaware Barristers Association.

GittingsLegal – NE72568

Freeborn & Peters LLP is pleased to announce that Beth Gould has joined the Firm as an Associate in the Litigation Practice Group and a member of the Insurance/Reinsurance Industry team.

We are very pleased to welcome Beth to Freeborn as an attorney in the Richmond office,” said Theodore I. Brenner, the Firm’s Richmond Office Managing Partner. “We believe Beth’s background and extensive trial experience will be a valuable asset to our acclaimed Litigation Practice Group and Insurance/Reinsurance team.”

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Gould was an Associate at Kalbaugh, Pfund & Messersmith, P.C. She focuses her practice on insurance defense for personal lines, trucking, commercial general liability, and restaurants and retail. Ms. Gould has vast trial experience, working in partnership with her clients to craft a litigation strategy in order to ensure their needs are met and the desired outcome is achieved.

She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond School of Law, and her Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College. Ms. Gould is licensed in the state of Virginia.

Known as a Litigation Powerhouse® with a Big Law-caliber reputation in litigation in federal and state courts throughout the United States and internationally, Freeborn has a team of litigators that includes former federal and state prosecutors with decades of trial experience handling all areas of complex disputes and litigation. Freeborn’s Insurance/Reinsurance group serves all areas of the global insurance and reinsurance marketplace, and has immersed themselves in the intricacies of reinsurance custom and practice and the commercial relationships upon which participants in the industry depend. The Freeborn Insurance/Reinsurance practice has been recommended by the 2019 Legal 500 United States Guide for Insurance.

ABOUT FREEBORN & PETERS
Freeborn & Peters LLP is a full-service law firm with international capabilities and offices in Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.; Richmond, Va.; Springfield, Ill.; and Tampa, Fla. Freeborn is always looking ahead and seeking to find better ways to serve its clients. It takes a proactive approach to ensure its clients are more informed, prepared and able to achieve greater success – not just now, but also in the future. While the firm serves clients across a very broad range of sectors, it has also pioneered an interdisciplinary approach that serves the specific needs of targeted industries.

Freeborn’s major achievements in litigation are reflective of the firm’s significant growth over the last several years and its established reputation as a Litigation Powerhouse®. Freeborn has one of the largest litigation departments among full-service firms of its size – currently with more than 90 litigators, which represents about two-thirds of the firm’s lawyers.

Freeborn is a firm that genuinely lives up to its core values of integrity, effectiveness, teamwork, caring and commitment, and embodies them through high standards of client service and responsive action. Its lawyers build close and lasting relationships with clients and are driven to help them achieve their legal and business objectives. For more information, please visit www.freeborn.com.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Nancy Williams Ball has joined the firm’s Birmingham office as a partner in the Trusts and Estates Practice Group.

Ball focuses her practice in areas that include estate planning and estate administration, taxation, real estate, and corporate law. She also speaks regularly on estate planning topics.

Ball is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Birmingham, Inc., and the Alabama Planned Giving Council. In addition, she currently serves as secretary of the Birmingham Bar Association’s Probate Section and is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

Prior to joining Bradley, Ball was a partner at Cabaniss, Johnston, Gardner, Dumas & O’Neal LLP.

Ball received her J.D. (summa cum laude) from the University of Mississippi School of Law. She also holds a Master of Laws in taxation (magna cum laude) from the University of Alabama and a Bachelor of Science (cum laude) from Birmingham-Southern College.

Bradley’s Trusts and Estates Practice Group attorneys represent a wide range of clients, including business executives, owners of closely held businesses, highly compensated employees, and many other individuals and families. In the area of probate law, Bradley represents the personal representatives and beneficiaries of estates.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., is pleased to announce that Scott Cruz has joined the firm’s Chicago office as an Officer in the Employment and Labor practice group.

“We are thrilled to welcome Scott to our growing team of attorneys in Chicago,” said Thadford A. Felton, Managing Officer of Greensfelder’s Chicago office. “Scott is a leader in employment and labor law and is actively involved in the city’s business and civic communities.”

Mr. Cruz represents public and private sector employers in all aspects of labor and employment law, including civil litigation and preventative counseling. His practice includes representing employers in state and federal courts and administrative agencies involving claims brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, retaliatory discharge, breach of contract, labor arbitration, and class actions. He is particularly versed in all aspects of state and federal law relating to minimum wages, overtime, exemptions, and wage payment issues. He also trains management and employees on workplace legal issues and conducts workplace investigations and legal audits.

Mr. Cruz serves on the board of directors of Alivio Medical Center, a not-for-profit health center dedicated to increasing access to comprehensive, affordable quality health care for Chicago’s Hispanic community.

Prior to joining Greensfelder, Mr. Cruz was a labor and employment attorney at Clark Hill PLC.

Licensed to practice in Illinois and Missouri, Mr. Cruz received his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law and his Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) from Marquette University.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., founded in 1895, is a full-service law firm with offices in St. Louis, Chicago and Belleville, Ill. 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.

Lowenstein Sandler’s Global Trade & Policy group adds to its ranks Christian C. Contardo, who joins the firm’s Washington, D.C., office after over a decade of experience in federal agencies such as Treasury, the Department of Homeland Security, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Christian most recently served as Attorney Advisor in various Treasury offices, including the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), where he counseled on economic sanctions, Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) matters, counterintelligence/insider threat programs, anti-money laundering, security clearance investigations, information security, and data privacy.

Why it matters:
The United States is both the largest recipient of foreign direct investment and the world’s largest investor in overseas businesses. In the last few years, the Treasury Department and the Department of Justice have responded to this trend by strengthening their enforcement teams and announcing more stringent compliance best practices. CFIUS has dramatically increased its review of deals involving both foreign investment and foreign investors, with a growing number of transactions at risk of being suspended or blocked.

As government scrutiny of global transactions rises, tech startups, private equity firms, hedge funds, C-suite executives, and other stakeholders engaged in international business must comply with ever-tougher CFIUS and OFAC regulations to avoid potentially devastating impacts on their investments and operations abroad. They need guidance in order to navigate the complex world of sanctions, tariffs, and investment restrictions under the Treasury Department’s evolving regulatory regime.

What:
Lowenstein Sandler’s Global Trade & Policy practice is expanding to meet this burgeoning need. In 2019 alone, Lowenstein completed over 500 venture-backed deals involving some of today’s most innovative companies. Its private equity and M&A teams handled a record-breaking number of deals, including numerous large-scale cross-border matters worth billions of dollars both for strategic acquirers and investment funds.

The firm’s global trade lawyers support these transactions by ensuring that clients and portfolio companies understand tariff engineering, country of origin requirements, OFAC sanctions, export restrictions, and CFIUS to minimize risks and maximize current and future profits. They help them to implement consistent and forward-thinking compliance programs and to anticipate supply chain issues and foreign investment requirements so that clients can plan for the future.

How:
The firm’s ranks are growing with experienced professionals deeply immersed in the ever-changing policies and laws governing CFIUS foreign investment national security reviews, OFAC economic sanctions, export and import transactions, cyber security, and data privacy. Doreen M. Edelman, chair of the firm’s Global Trade & Policy practice, says, “Our corporate lawyers understand that clients need this expertise to initially analyze a proposed transaction. National security concerns can actually cause an entire transaction to unravel. And national security now includes technology companies and those with access to personal data. We need more lawyers to advise not only our venture clients, but also our hedge fund and private equity companies. CFIUS alone is becoming a routine pre-deal concern.”

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Margaret Oertling Cupples, managing partner of the firm’s Jackson office, has been named by the Mississippi Business Journal (MBJ) as one of the winners of its 2020 CEO Awards of Mississippi.

“We congratulate Margaret on being recognized by the Mississippi Business Journal as among the top organization leaders in Mississippi,” said Bradley Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Jonathan M. Skeeters. “Margaret is an outstanding attorney and a tremendous asset to our firm.”

The CEO Awards of Mississippi recognize leaders around the state who demonstrate excellence among the top executives in their field. The honorees have helped their companies achieve strong growth and success and have made a profound impact on their company and community. Ms. Cupples was recognized in the Medium Companies category.

A member of Bradley’s Appellate Practice Group, Ms. Cupples focuses her practice on civil appeals and commercial litigation, including asbestos, benzene and silica mass-tort and products liability cases, as well as litigation involving insurance sales practices, consumer finance, and other general commercial matters. She has participated in more than two dozen appeals in Mississippi’s Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, and in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Cupples is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the field of Appellate Law and Products Liability Litigation, and in Benchmark Litigation as a Litigation Star and as one of the Top 250 Business Women in Litigation.

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.

Freeborn & Peters LLP is pleased to announce that Christine E. Hollis has joined the Firm as Director of Attorney Recruiting, Development and Diversity.

“We are thrilled to welcome Christine to Freeborn as Director of Attorney Recruiting, Development and Diversity,” said William E. Russell, the Firm’s Co-Managing Partner. “We believe Christine’s background perfectly aligns with Freeborn’s goals for continued advancement in hiring, development, and diversity.”

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Hollis worked in attorney recruiting at both Barnes & Thornburg LLP and McGuireWoods LLP. With a background in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, she utilizes these skills to create, develop and implement effective and innovative processes for the recruiting life cycle. Her role at Freeborn includes working with leaders of the firm to execute the strategic initiatives of the Recruiting, Management and Executive Committees with respect to the hiring of associates and lateral partners across all offices. She also manages the integration of lateral hires, attorney training programs and initiatives, and oversees the firm’s CLE programs.

Ms. Hollis received her Master of Science (magna cum laude) from DePaul University, and her Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) from Spelman College.

Ms. Hollis also volunteers for several organizations focused on enriching and improving the youth on the south side of Chicago, and is passionate about mentoring young women to achieve both professional and personal success.

ABOUT FREEBORN & PETERS
Freeborn & Peters LLP is a full-service law firm with international capabilities and offices in Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.; Richmond, Va.; Springfield, Ill.; and Tampa, Fla. Freeborn is always looking ahead and seeking to find better ways to serve its clients. It takes a proactive approach to ensure its clients are more informed, prepared and able to achieve greater success – not just now, but also in the future. While the firm serves clients across a very broad range of sectors, it has also pioneered an interdisciplinary approach that serves the specific needs of targeted industries.

Freeborn’s major achievements in litigation are reflective of the firm’s significant growth over the last several years and its established reputation as a Litigation Powerhouse®. Freeborn has one of the largest litigation departments among full-service firms of its size – currently with more than 90 litigators, which represents about two-thirds of the firm’s lawyers.

Freeborn is a firm that genuinely lives up to its core values of integrity, effectiveness, teamwork, caring and commitment, and embodies them through high standards of client service and responsive action. Its lawyers build close and lasting relationships with clients and are driven to help them achieve their legal and business objectives. For more information, please visit www.freeborn.com.

Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, today announced Theodore Wern has joined the firm, bringing 20 years of vast experience advising investor groups and businesses in acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, sell-side mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and investment management. In his new role at Akerman, Wern will lead Corporate Practice Group efforts in Chicago. He joins the firm from Perkins Coie LLP where he served as firmwide vice-chair of the Private Equity Practice. Wern’s skillset builds upon Akerman’s core strengths in corporate, private equity, and middle-market mergers and acquisitions.

Wern focuses his practice on representing public and private companies, private equity funds, family offices, and other investor groups in a variety of complex transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth equity financings, private placements, joint ventures, and fund formation. In addition, he acts as outside counsel to a variety of private company clients with respect to general corporate and strategic matters and has represented family business owners in sell-side M&A transactions with enterprise values from $10 million to $1 billion.

Several lateral partners have joined Akerman in the last year, further strengthening the Corporate Practice Group nationally. Otavio Carneiro, dual-licensed in Brazil and the U.S., expanded Akerman’s cross-border transactional experience with significant experience in Latin America. Bill Ide and Amanda Leech joined Akerman’s Atlanta office with robust transactional and governance experience, having represented numerous large corporations, Fortune 100 companies, and boards of directors in M&A transactions, general corporate governance and compliance, and board risk management reviews. Paul Foley, now serving as chair of the Investment Management Practice, joined Akerman in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with substantial experience in investment fund formation and fund offerings. Extensively experienced in institutional investments and fund formation, Ricardo Hollingsworth joined Akerman in New York.

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has named Cheri Husney as its new Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer (CMBDO), based in the firm’s Atlanta office. Husney, a seasoned marketing executive with nearly two decades of experience across multiple industries, will be responsible for developing and overseeing Littler’s marketing and business development strategy and operations.

Prior to joining Littler, Husney spent a majority of her career with KPMG. Most recently, she served as the Executive Director of Clients and Markets, fulfilling a dual position of regional director while managing all marketing directors and teams. In this position, she drove marketing strategy, developed relationship-nurturing initiatives, enabled account-based marketing programs and established an overall strategic vision. In addition to these senior-level responsibilities, she played a leadership role in women and diversity initiatives.

Husney began her career in the greater Atlanta area and worked with premier textiles, manufacturing and telecommunications companies, including Alsco and Cogent Communications. She earned her MBA from Mercer University and her B.A. from Florida State University.

Jennifer M. Lantz and Philip W. Woo have joined Duane Morris LLP’s Silicon Valley office as partners in the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. Lantz and Woo are Silicon Valley veterans with decades of experience, including at global law firms such as Hogan Lovells and Sidley Austin.

Philip W. Woo has been in practice for 25 years, working in all areas of patent law including litigation, prosecution and contested proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. He has represented a wide spectrum of innovation-driven high-tech companies, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 corporations. With a degree in electrical engineering and substantial real-world experience in industry, Woo works on the deep technical issues in intellectual property matters of commercial significance for the clients he serves. He was counsel in the first inter partes review proceeding resulting in a successful final determination invalidating claims of the patent at issue. Woo has been recognized in the 2013-2020 editions of Best Lawyers in America, and as a leading patent litigator by IAM Patent 1000.

Woo is a graduate of the University of Southern California Gould School of Law (J.D., with honors, 1994) and the Southern Methodist University (B.S.E.E., cum laude, 1990).

Jennifer M. Lantz advises innovators at all stages on managing and protecting their valuable brands and other IP. She focuses on helping companies develop brands through enforcement policies, clearing marks for use, registering marks in the United States and abroad, commercializing marks through licenses and merchandising agreements, assessing infringement risks and defending against allegations of infringement. Lantz has been recognized in the 2020 World Trademark Review 100 as “An excellent hybrid lawyer … Lantz delivers crisp results whether securing trademark protections, enforcing rights or negotiating deals.” She represents clients of all sizes—from new startups to multinationals. In addition to her prosecution and counseling practice, Lantz has an active trademark litigation practice in federal courts around the country. She has obtained preliminary injunctions on behalf of a number of trademark clients and has also successfully defended against preliminary injunctions. Lantz has litigated other significant and complex intellectual property and business disputes for clients, including patents, trade secrets, rights of publicity, copyrights, licensing, contract disputes and numerous section 337 matters in the International Trade Commission. She handles opposition and cancellation proceedings in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, oversees multijurisdictional disputes and regularly counsels clients regarding domain name issues and trademark issues in social media. Lantz has also spearheaded enforcement campaigns in the United States and overseas for clients in industries where counterfeiting and knockoffs are prevalent.

Lantz is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1994) and the University of Michigan (B.A., with honors, 1991).

Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that Lynn Gandhi has joined the firm’s Detroit office as a partner in its Business Law Department and Tax, Benefits & Estate Planning Practice Group. Gandhi comes to Foley from Honigman LLP, where she led the State and Local Tax Practice Group.

With more than 30 years of experience counseling on complex multistate taxation issues – including 18 years serving as in-house tax counsel for major corporations – Gandhi is widely recognized as a leading state and local tax attorney. She advises clients on tax planning matters, audits, appeals and litigation, and has led legislative and administrative changes in tax laws that benefit business entities and their owners. In addition, Gandhi provides transactional support on the multistate tax implications of merger and acquisition transactions, and defense of post-closing indemnity and escrow claims related to pre-closing liabilities.

Gandhi’s clients include foreign-based companies with U.S. operations and national Fortune 500 companies, as well as Michigan-based businesses of all sizes. She has successfully represented clients in obtaining tax exemptions and incentive packages, contesting audit findings and resolving tax disputes, navigating unclaimed property issues, and successful submission of multistate voluntary disclosure agreements, among other matters. Gandhi is also a registered lobbyist in Michigan, representing clients on legislative tax initiatives.

In addition to her client work, Gandhi is a prominent member of her professional community, both at the state and national levels. Among other roles, she is a board member of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, serves on Bloomberg Industry Group’s State Tax Advisory Board, and is an adjunct professor at Wayne State University Law School, her alma mater. A prolific writer and speaker on state tax matters, Gandhi has published more than 60 articles and spoken or presented at over 75 events. She is a certified public accountant in Michigan and Illinois and received an LL.M degree in taxation from New York University School of Law.

Gandhi is the latest high-profile addition to Foley in recent weeks, following the arrival of a team of four IP Electronics attorneys, a securities enforcement attorney who previously served as associate regional director for enforcement for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Denver office, and a prominent sports attorney and former general counsel to the New York Jets.