John Storz has joined Stroock’s national Financial Restructuring Group as a partner in the New York office.

In a release, the firm said Storz, who has corporate and bankruptcy experience, advised clients on mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings and investment fund transactions. He also has guided creditor committees and distressed companies through a variety of restructuring scenarios. Additionally, he advises institutional investors and has worked across industries as varied as biotechnology and manufacturing.

Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. announced that associate Stephanie Giagnorio has joined the firm’s Southeast office.

In a release, the firm said Stephanie Giagnorio joins SDV with a practice previously focused on general civil litigation as well as drafting, negotiating and reviewing contracts. She was managing editor of Law Review while in law school, where she graduated 4th in her class. She was also the recipient of the St. Thomas More Full Tuition scholarship in addition to other academic awards.

Civil and criminal litigator Michael S. Bergerson Jr. has joined Barnes & Thornburg’s South Bend office as a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department. Bergerson previously was an attorney at the international law firm of Winston & Strawn LLP in Chicago.

A graduate of Notre Dame Law School and a native of Northwest Indiana, Bergerson focuses his practice on complex tort and contract litigation, as well as white collar and regulatory defense, including investigations and actions related to alleged fraud, conspiracy, and securities and commodities act violations. His civil litigation experience includes defending and pursuing claims of fraud, defamation, product disparagement, breach of contract, conversion, assault, battery, wrongful death, and negligence in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Bergerson also provides strategic guidance to clients facing unique personal and business concerns, both inside and out of court.

In a release, the firm said Bergerson has been a senior member of the legal team in several high-profile cases, including a 2017 jury trial in South Dakota involving a family-owned beef company against a major television network, reported as one of the largest defamation cases in U.S. history, and a 2018 wrongful death trial in San Diego that garnered national media attention for the unusual circumstances surrounding the plaintiff’s death.

Prior to his private law practice, Bergerson served as a legislative aide to U.S. Rep. Peter J. Visclosky, advising the Northwest Indiana congressman on issues including trade, labor, manufacturing and energy policy. He also served as staff director of the Congressional Steel Caucus, a bipartisan group of Congress members who represent regions with steel manufacturers or care about the American steel industry.

The firm said Bergerson devotes significant attention to pro bono matters in state and federal courts. He is active in the Northwest Indiana community, serving on the board of directors of One Region, a nonprofit supporting economic development and quality of life improvements across the region. He is also a board member for Citizens Concerned for the Homeless in Michigan City.

He has earned honors and awards, including as a member of Law 360’s Trial Group of the Year for 2017 and recognition as an Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star for securities litigation in 2014, 2015 and 2018 and as an Emerging Lawyer in commercial litigation for 2018 by Law Bulletin Publishing Company.

Bergerson earned his J.D., cum laude, from Notre Dame Law School, where he served South Bend residents at the Notre Dame Legal Aid Clinic and was awarded the A. Harold Weber Moot Court Award for oral argument as a member of the Moot Court Appellate National Team. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and management at DePauw University, where he was captain of the varsity golf team.

Chicago attorney Joel Brodsky, who gained national notoriety for his representation of wife killer Drew Peterson, has been indefinitely suspended from practicing law amid an investigation into a series of bizarre antics that have drawn the ire of opponents and judges alike, reports the Chicago Tribune.

A filing by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission claims a license suspension is necessary before the investigation is complete because Brodsky allegedly “engaged in conduct that threatens irreparable injury to the public and to the orderly administration of justice.”

Tribune reporter Jason Meisner writes about one example cited: “In an insult-laced letter sent to a rival attorney in a divorce case, Brodsky said the lawyer ‘appears to be learning disabled,’ implied that the rival has a drinking problem and sarcastically asked if the attorney has gay ‘feelings for his client, the filing alleged.”

Read the Tribune article.

Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP announced that Eleanor M. Lackman, an intellectual property, media and entertainment lawyer, has joined the firm as a partner in its Entertainment & IP Litigation practice group.

In a release, the firm said Lackman has a focus in litigation and licensing matters involving emerging technologies, music, motion pictures, sports, fashion and luxury goods, including intellectual property, media and entertainment litigation, along with comprehensive trademark services in prosecution, counseling and enforcement.

Lackman is a trustee and past co-chair of the New York Chapter of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A., serves on the Board of Advisors to the Fordham Center on Law and Information Policy, and is a member of the International Amicus Committee of the International Trademark Association (INTA). Lackman earned her A.B. from Rollins College and her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law.

Buchalter announced the promotion of Masahisa “Masa” Mitsunaga and Mercedes O. Martin to shareholders.

Based in the Firm’s Los Angeles office, Masa Mitsunaga is a member of the firm’s Corporate Practice Group and Chair of the Japan Practice Group. Mitsunaga has participated in media-related mergers and acquisitions and debt and equity finance transactions, and advised clients on the development of intellectual property. He has deep knowledge of the business practices in the Hollywood and Media Entertainment industries. Mitsunaga also supports a variety of Japanese companies in conducting or expanding business in the U.S. by advising them on potential legal matters.

Mitsunaga earned his LL.M. at USC Gould School of Law and his LL.B. from Keio University in Tokyo, Japan.

Mercedes O. Martin is a member of the Real Estate and Real Estate Finance Practice Groups in Los Angeles. She specializes in real estate transactions, with an emphasis on secured lending and tax credit finance. Ms. Martin is also a member of both the American Bar and the Philippine American Bar Associations.

Martin earned her J.D. at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law where she was a member of the Cardozo Journal of Law and Gender and her B.A., cum laude, from the University of Southern California.

Brown Rudnick LLP announced that G. Derek Andreson has joined the firm as a partner in the Washington, D.C. office. He joins as a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense & Government Investigations Practice Group.

His addition comes on the heels of white collar partner Rachel Wolkinson, who joined the D.C. office earlier this year.

In a release, the firm said Andreson’s practice is focused on representing companies and individuals on white collar matters, including fraud and corruption, Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance and enforcement matters, and internal investigations for privately held and public companies. He is also an experienced criminal and civil trial attorney.

Before joining Brown Rudnick, Andreson was a partner and co-chair of Winston & Strawn’s Global Anti-Corruption & FCPA Practice Group. Andreson also served as a Navy SEAL for six years before embarking on his legal career.

Andreson earned his J.D. from Williams & Mary Law School and his B.A. from Old Dominion University.

Timothy J. McCarthy has joined Dykema in its Commercial Litigation Practice Group as a senior counsel in the firm’s Dallas office. He joins Dykema after two decades of practicing at various firms in New York City, including Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, White & Case, and most recently, Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP.

In a release, the firm said McCarthy contests disputes across a broad range of subject matter areas and jurisdictions and focuses on international disputes before American courts and international arbitral tribunals. He has represented U.S. and international multinationals and middle-market companies, banks, funds and investment managers, closely-held concerns, and individual investors and executives, in commercial cases, financial and investment disputes, securities and accounting fraud matters, bankruptcy proceedings, and executive employment disputes.

The firm said McCarthy’s clients and cases have spanned more than 25 countries, common and civil law jurisdictions, and a broad range of arbitral rule sets. He has acted in some of the highest-profile and highest-value cases of this century, including the Bush v. Gore 2000 election litigation, the Enron bankruptcy, and the civil litigations arising out the terrorist attacks of September 11t He has also represented and defended U.S. and international corporate clients, as well as individual clients, in white-collar criminal proceedings, internal investigations, and regulatory enforcement matters. McCarthy has experience as a corporate transactional attorney, including Islamic finance, and ongoing experience with innovative dispute funding strategies.

McCarthy received a J.D. and LL.M. from the Duke University School of Law and a B.A. in Political Science and Russian from the University of Notre Dame. He served as law clerk to Gerald Bard Tjoflat at the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Charles A. Ognibene, Michael T. Grant, Robert J. Brener and William B. Dubon have joined Duane Morris LLP’s Boston, Newark and New York offices as partners in the firm’s Corporate and Trial Practice the firm announced. In addition, Michael R. Garcia has joined the Boston office as a trial associate. The lawyers join the firm from LeClairRyan PLLC.

In a release, the firm said Charles Ognibene, who led his previous firm’s Business Law Department from 2017 through earlier this year, has experience closing deals, including capital market transactions, loan originations and workouts, as well as helping banks in product development and portfolio projects. He has worked on wholesale and retail finance matters across the country. He provides strategic counsel to banks, finance companies and captives on related matters. He advises on commercial and consumer pool sales, as well as loan origination and dealer loan workouts.

Ognibene graduated from Boston College Law School (J.D., cum laude) and University of Massachusetts (B.A., summa cum laude).

The firm said Michael Grant has experience in consumer finance and banking litigation. He represents banks, servicers, auto finance companies and commercial lenders in state and federal courts. He works on individual claims as well as defending mortgage lenders and servicers in complex class action suits involving statutory consumer lending violations, usury and other contract claims. He also represents lenders in complex commercial loan workouts, foreclosures, negotiable instrument litigation and bankruptcy matters. Grant represents clients in wage and hour class actions and employment law matters involving discrimination, harassment, non-compete and contract issues.

Grant graduated from Emory University School of Law (J.D.) and Dickinson College (B.A., cum laude).

Robert Brener has more than two decades of litigation experience in complex and commercial matters. He appears as lead counsel before state and federal courts, as well as arbitration panels, representing corporations and banks in contract, fraud, RICO, lender liability, employment, real estate and unfair competition disputes. He also counsels clients in the auto finance industry, representing lenders in numerous auto dealer bankruptcies, workouts, class action suits, RICO, consumer fraud, UCC and other litigation proceedings.

Brener graduated from American University Law School (J.D.) and Northwestern University (B.A.).

The firm said William Dubon is a counselor to clients in the auto finance industry on corporate and commercial matters. With a background in commercial banking, he previously worked with national banks on multiple long-term secondments and automotive floorplan lending.

Dubon graduated from the University of Notre Dame (J.D., cum laude, and B.S.).

Michael R. Garcia focuses on commercial litigation, representing automotive finance companies, commercial lenders and other financial institutions in consumer financial services litigation ranging from individual claims to complex class action suits. He also has experience advising automotive finance companies on state regulatory compliance matters.

Garcia graduated from the University of Michigan School of Law (J.D.) and Boston College (B.A.).

Gabriella E. Alonso has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP’s Houston office as an associate in the Banking and Financial Services Practice Group.

The firm said Alonso advises clients on financial services matters and corporate disputes. She prepares submissions for state and federal courts and helps clients as they progress through each stage of litigation.

Prior to joining Bradley, Alonso was an associate at Lightfoot, Franklin & White. While attending law school, she was a student case worker for the Advanced Administrative Litigation Clinic, helping coal miners and surviving family members to pursue claims through the federal Black Lung Benefits Act.

Alonso received her J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Idaho.

Selman Breitman LLP announced that Ryan M. Sellers and Hee Sung Yoon have been elected to the firm’s partnership.

In a release, the firm said Sellers, who practices in the firm’s Orange County office, represents clients in insurance coverage disputes, personal injury lawsuits, and complex business litigation, including cases involving alleged bad faith, failure to defend and/or indemnify, violations of the Labor Code, consumer fraud, and unfair competition law. His clients include insurance carriers, rental car companies, and a variety of small businesses. He also represents creditors in disputes that involve complex bankruptcy issues.

Sellers earned his J.D. from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law and his B.S. from San Diego State University.

Hee Sung Yoon, who practices in the firm’s Los Angeles office, represents insurance companies in coverage disputes with their insureds, or co-insurers in the areas of commercial general liability, commercial automobile, professional liability, excess, and umbrella coverage. He has represented clients in bad faith, contribution, declaratory relief lawsuits, and class action lawsuits.

Prior to joining Selman Breitman, Yoon worked as a law clerk to Elizabeth Allen White and Debre Katz Weintraub, both of the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County. In 2014, Yoon was named to the Lawyers of Color Hot List. He earned his J.D. from Loyola Law School, and his B.A. and B.S. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Barnes & Thornburg has added Peter Wozniak as partner and Mark Wallin as of counsel in the firm’s Labor and Employment Department in the Chicago office.

The firm said Wozniak and Wallin represent employers in complex litigation matters, including wage and hour class and collective actions and single plaintiff litigation, employment discrimination class actions and single plaintiff litigation, and EEOC pattern or practice lawsuits. Previously, Wozniak and Wallin practiced at Seyfarth Shaw LLP.

Wozniak has worked with class and collective actions as well as single plaintiff employment litigation and arbitration, including pretrial investigation, settlement negotiation, fact and expert discovery, trial, and post-trial appeals.

Wozniak earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Indiana University School of Law, and his B.A. from Binghamton University.

Wallin has experience defending clients against complex discrimination matters as well as class and collective actions brought under state and federal wage and hour laws across the country. The firm said he has successfully litigated cases of all sizes, including cases initiated by the EEOC as well as private plaintiffs, ranging from those seeking damages in the tens of thousands to damages in the tens of millions. Mark also provides advice on compliance with the FLSA, ADA, EPA, ADEA, and Title VII and their state law equivalents.

Wallin earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from DePaul University College of Law, and his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Perkins Coie announced that Danielle M. Ryman has been named managing partner of the firm’s Anchorage office. Danielle succeeds Eric Fjelstad, who served in the role since 2007.

In a release, the firm said Ryman, a partner in the firm’s Labor & Employment practice, works with clients on workplace issues, including executive employment agreements, pay equity, restrictive covenants and enforcements, privacy, and internal investigations. She has experience with the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Pay Act and equivalent state laws.

As a trial lawyer, she has defended cases to verdict in state and federal courts, the firm said. She also serves as management-side labor counsel in collective bargaining, representation before the NLRB, and counseling on strategic union relationships.

Michael J.W. Rennock

Michael J.W. Rennock has joined Freeborn & Peters LLP as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group and John P. McConnell has joined as senior counsel in the Litigation Practice Group, both in the firm’s New York City office.

In a release, the firm said Rennock, as a member of Freeborn’s Private Equity and Venture Capital and Emerging Industries teams, focuses on mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, corporate governance and various private equity and venture capital transactions. He represents acquirers, sellers, boards of directors, and board committees, as well as issuers and investors. Rennock advises buyers and sellers in both public and private mergers and acquisitions, asset sales, and other dispositions. He has represented both issuers and underwriters in IPOs and secondary offerings, high-yield and convertible debt financings, and Rule 144A and Reg S offerings. He also has experience with recapitalizations, joint ventures, spinoffs, secured and unsecured borrowings and project financings.

Rennock represents public and private companies in a wide variety of industries, including telecommunications, healthcare, wireless communications, electronic data transmission, defense, retail, child care, banking, energy, and transportation.

Prior to joining Freeborn, Rennock was a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP.

Rennock received his J.D. (with honors) from Duke University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts (with honors) from Harvard University.

The firm said McConnell, a member of the firm’s nationally acclaimed Insurance and Reinsurance Industry Team, has experience resolving complex reinsurance and insurance-related disputes. His practice involves insurance law and regulation, proportional and non-proportional reinsurance, reinsurance treaties and facultative certificates, and insurance contracts.

McConnell previously was a principal at Hargraves, McConnell & Costigan, P.C., which combined with Freeborn in 2017.

McConnell received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his Bachelor of Arts (with high distinction) from the University of Virginia.

Ariel S. Wolf has rejoined Venable LLP as counsel in the eCommerce, Privacy, and Cybersecurity Practice in the Washington, DC office, and will lead the firm’s Mobility and Transportation Technology Group.

The firm said Wolf most recently served on U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Elaine L. Chao’s leadership team as counselor to the deputy secretary, where he advised the secretary and deputy secretary on all matters pending before the DOT. Wolf launched and directed the DOT’s new Non-traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology (NETT) Council, oversaw the DOT’s efforts on spectrum and connected vehicles, and developed policies and regulations governing automated vehicles, drones, hyperloop, commercial space launch and licensing, and other innovative technologies.

During his tenure at Venable from September 2011 to June 2018, Wolf was involved with complex legal and policy issues at the intersection of privacy, cybersecurity, transportation, consumer protection, and emerging technology, according to a release from the firm. He represented clients before Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Department of Commerce, and other federal and state agencies, and worked with clients facing investigations and enforcement actions at both the federal and state levels. For clients facing security incidents and data breaches, Wolf provided crisis management counseling that considered legal and regulatory obligations, public relations issues, potential congressional and state attorney general scrutiny, brand reputation, and other key factors that affected businesses.

The firm said Wolf also worked closely with manufacturers, suppliers, and technology providers to navigate the emerging legal and policy landscape being transformed by connected cars, transportation mobility technology, and the Internet of Things. His work included supporting a leading coalition of companies to advance federal and state policy priorities related to fully automated vehicles, and provided legal counsel in such areas as automobile recalls, drones, general transportation law, and enforcement actions by NHTSA and related agencies.

Wolf received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2011 and his B.A. from Harvard College in 2005.

Andrea G. Lovell has joined Littler as a shareholder in its Phoenix office. Lovell joins from Ryley Carlock & Applewhite where she led the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group.

In a release, the firm said Lovell has experience counseling and defending employers in matters involving harassment in the workplace and in discrimination claims related to disability, gender, age, race, national origin and religion. She also represents clients in matters involving wrongful termination and various employment-related torts, as well as against unfair labor practice charges and in labor arbitrations under collective bargaining agreements. Lovell defends companies in state, federal and appellate courts and before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Arizona Civil Rights Division and other administrative agencies, the firm said.

The firm said Lovell has conducted numerous training sessions focused on harassment avoidance and disability discrimination in the workplace, and regularly helps clients develop comprehensive workplace policies and employee handbooks. A prolific speaker and writer, Lovell has authored several articles on labor, employment and litigation-related topics and regularly delivers presentations to legal and human resources professionals on workplace issues.

Lovell received her J.D., with honors, from the University of Washington and her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Puget Sound.

Sidley Austin LLP announced that Samuel (Sam) Newman has joined its global Restructuring group as a partner in the Los Angeles office.

Newman was previously a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. announced that associates Larissa A. Branes and Sarah M. Borrelli have joined the firm’s SDV West Coast office.

In a release, the firm said Branes has focused on complex commercial and residential real estate matters and complex secured nonconventional lending. She also has experience in discovery and motion practice as well as settlement negotiations, mediations and arbitrations, trials and appellate practice.

Borrelli was an elementary school teacher in Arizona, having earned a Master of Education, before switching careers and attending law school, where she served on California Western Law Review and was the Executive Editor of Notes and Comments for the International Law Journal.

The Arizona Capitol Times is reporting that an applicant for the Arizona Court of Appeals plagiarized multiple memorable passages from confirmation hearings for two U.S. Supreme Court justices.

Kristina Reeves, an attorney in private practice and former assistant attorney general, is one of 11 applicants hoping to fill a vacancy on the Court of Appeals, reports the Capitol Times‘ Dillon Rosenblatt.

The alleged plagiarism involved copied-and-pasted passages from speeches by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito, including multiple passages of Gorsuch’s confirmation speech to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017, altering it minimally to suit her gender, according to Rosenblatt.

Read the Capitol Times article.

Trial lawyer James “Jim” Nye has joined Winston & Strawn LLP. Nye, formerly with Baker Hostetler, will be a partner in Winston’s Houston office and focus on complex commercial litigation with a concentration in the energy industry.

The firm said Nye’s practice focuses on several areas of litigation, including commercial, real estate, environmental, and trade secrets. He has counseled clients with high-exposure investigations and industrial emergencies and has successfully taken numerous cases through to a jury verdict. Most recently, he won a $62 million verdict in a jury trial in Texas. In addition to his extensive track record in trial work, Jim has substantial experience with arbitration.

Nye is an honors graduate of the University of Houston Law Center and earned a B.B.A degree from the University of Texas at Austin.