Hogan Lovells announced today that Raj Panasar will be joining the firm as a capital markets partner in the Corporate practice in the London office. Panasar will be joining from Cleary Gottlieb on Jan. 1, 2020.

In a release, the firm said Panasar has experience representing multiple issuers, including major emerging market and blue chip international companies, on their IPOs and London listings, as well as representing investment banks as underwriters of high-profile capital markets transactions.

He has also led Cleary Gottlieb’s pro bono efforts in Europe, according to the release.

Ryan Fayhee has been identified as one of the 25 most respected sanctions lawyers in Washington, D.C. by Global Investigations Review (GIR).

The firm said GIR surveyed dozens of practitioners and reviewed publicly available information to discern which individuals are working on the most significant cases. The list was trimmed down to 25 DC-based practitioners at the top of the field, with a maximum of one lawyer per firm.

Fayhee leads the Sanctions, Export Controls & Anti-Money Laundering practice group at Hughes Hubbard and is a former official and senior prosecutor with the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ). Fayhee’s practice focuses on government and congressional investigations, crisis management, cross-border compliance, corporate governance, and white collar criminal defense.

Forbes reports that the national average annual wage of an lawyer is $144,230, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, which is not far from being three-times the average annual salary for all occupations, $51,960.

But Forbes contributor Andrew DePietro explains that average salary is for the U.S. overall, which hides significant differences depending on geography, from state to state.

For example, the average lawyer salary in California, $171,550, is about double the salary in Montana, which is $88,600.

The report lists average salaries for all states.

Read the article.

Lawyers have long been a reliable source of campaign funds for Democratic presidential hopefuls. But the legal set’s political contributions haven’t been this blue since at least 2004, according to a report by Bloomberg Law, citing a study by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Lawyers and employees of the nation’s law firms have contributed nearly $17 million to presidential campaigns so far this election cycle, and 95 percent of the total has gone to Democrats, the study found.

President Trump’s campaign raised slightly more than $785,000 from lawyers and law firms.

The report quotes Maya Sen, a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School who co-authored a paper, “The Political Ideologies of American Lawyers”:

“Well-educated professions are very left-leaning at the moment. It’s a new dynamic in American politics. We really haven’t seen this before.”

Read the Bloomberg article.

Frank D. Ballantine has joined Dykema in its Corporate Finance Practice Group as a member in the Chicago office.

Ballantine joins Dykema from Clark Hill PLC’s Chicago office.

In his corporate finance practice, Ballantine serves as an advisor and counselor to senior management, boards of directors, and investors in public and private companies across a range of industries, such as information technology, food, life sciences, business services, manufacturers, distributors and lenders, the firm said in a release.

Ballantine is outside general counsel and strategic advisor to numerous businesses. He also serves as lead transaction counsel for investors and management in venture and private equity investments, mergers and acquisitions, and debt financings. Ballantine also works in joint ventures, marketing alliances and licensing. He has served or is serving ex officio on the Boards of 26 clients, as well as the advisory boards of two venture funds.

Ballantine earned a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, after which he clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He worked toward an MFA in Film from the Columbia University Graduate School of Fine Arts, which he left to become an industrial film producer. Frank received his B.A. in English, with honors, from Haverford College. He has been recognized by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers and an Illinois Super Lawyer.

Venable LLP announced that Lisa A. Tavares, partner in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice, will join Robert L. Waldman as a co-chair of the firm’s Business Division. As co-chair, Tavares will be a member of the firm’s Management Committee and the Board.

The firm said Tavares advises both private and public employers on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and her practice includes the administration of pension and welfare plans. Tavares also has regulatory experience in representing clients on compliance issues with the Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Department of Labor (DOL), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Prior to joining Venable, she spent five years as an attorney with the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, National Office, where she concentrated on qualified plan issues under examination and in litigation.

Tavares co-chairs Venable’s Diversity & Inclusion Initiative, and chairs the Venable Success Network, an internal affinity group for African-American lawyers. In 2017, she was selected as a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. Tavares is also a former chair of the Subcommittee on Self-Correction, Determination Letters and Other Administrative Practices of the ABA Tax Section, Employee Benefits Committee, on behalf of which she interfaced directly with IRS and DOL officials on issues related to retirement plan administration, regulatory compliance, and government enforcement initiatives.

Brian P. Corrigan of Farrell Fritz has been named a Fellow of The New York Bar Foundation.

Corrigan, a resident of Garden City, NY, is a partner in the firm’s estate litigation practice group. He earned his J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law and his B.A., cum laude, from Providence College.

Fellows are nominated by peers and recognized for distinguished achievement, dedication to the legal profession, and commitment to the organized bar and service to the public.

As Foundation ambassadors, Fellows exemplify the spirit of caring and sharing by demonstrating their belief that the practice of law is a helping profession, the firm said in a release.

Hannah D. Vanderlaan has joined Freeborn & Peters LLP’s Chicago office as an associate in the Litigation and Environment and Energy Law practice groups.

In a release, the firm said Vanderlaan focuses her practice primarily on environmental-based litigation and regulatory counseling.

Most recently, Vanderlaan worked as a law clerk at Freeborn. Prior to that, she served as a legal extern at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and with the Environmental Division of the Office of Illinois Attorney General, where she worked on a variety of federal and state environmental enforcement actions.

Vanderlaan received her J.D. (cum laude) from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Chicago-Kent Environmental and Energy Law Journal and was actively involved in the Chicago Environmental Law Clinic. She also holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin.

An attorney who was brought on at the appellate state to represent a pro se litigant who claimed she was discriminated against by her former employer filed a brief that the Seventh Circuit found to be so bad that it ordered him to show cause why he shouldn’t be sanctioned.

Above the Law reports on the case, with a copy of the court’s opinion included. That opinion includes a stinging rebuke, including this passage:

“The patently frivolous nature of this appeal isn’t the only thing that troubles us. The hopelessness of [the plaintiff-appellant’s] cause didn’t deter her lawyer, Jordan Hoffman, from signing and submitting a bizarre appellate brief laden with assertions that have no basis in the record and arguments that have no basis in the law. In so doing, Hoffman violated Rule 28 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.”

The court also found the brief to be “chock-full of impenetrable arguments and unsupported assertions, and it is organized in ways that escape our understanding.”

Read the Above the Law article.

Anne M. O’Brien, partner and member of Quarles & Brady LLP’s Health Law Practice Group, has been named president of the American Society for Pharmacy Law (ASPL). O’Brien officially began her duties as president at the ASPL annual meeting in San Diego, November 7-10.

In a release, the firm said O’Brien has participated in multiple committees, including the sub-committee for Education, serving as ASPL treasurer and, most recently, president-elect. As president, one of her key initiatives will be to continue expansion of the organization’s content and educational programming for members. O’Brien said she also hopes to continue the steady growth in membership ASPL has experienced over the past several years.

In her practice, O’Brien advises pharmacies, wholesale distributors, and manufacturers regarding regulatory compliance and licensing issues. She represents pharmacists, pharmacies, and other entities in civil and administrative venues in matters related to discipline and licensure, actions filed by Medicaid to recoup payments and terminate provider status, audits by public and private payers, petitioning for reinstatement of eligibility to participate in Medicare, and the defense of medical negligence claims.

Redgrave LLP partners Mathea K.E. Bulander, and Christine P. Payne, and managing director Staci D. Kaliner were named to the 2019 “Women Worth Watching” list published by Profiles in Diversity Journal.

Now in its 18th edition, “Women Worth Watching” recognizes women executives who are leading the way to excellence in the workplace, marketplace, and the world. The award winners were profiled in the summer 2019 edition of Profiles in Diversity Journal, which is dedicated to promoting and advancing diversity and inclusion in the corporate, government, nonprofit, higher education, and military sectors.

To read the “Women Worth Watching” summer 2019 edition, visit http://www.womenworthwatching.com/.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. announced that Randall F. Scherck, Jessica L. Curtis and Jared S. Manse have joined the firm’s St. Louis office as attorneys in the Business Services, Employee Benefits and Intellectual Property practice groups, respectively.

In a release, the firm said Scherck serves as of counsel, with more than 35 years of experience representing businesses, banks and financial institutions in corporate matters, as well as experience litigating and negotiating actions in bankruptcy and state court. He represents primarily creditors in bankruptcy proceedings, including Chapter 7, 11, 12 and 13. He has represented secured creditors in obtaining lift stay, reclamation actions, and objecting to and litigating disputes involving plans of reorganization, the firm said.

Scherck’s practice also involves assisting leading financial institutions in connection with loan enforcement actions including foreclosures of commercial and residential real property in Missouri and Southern Illinois. He has served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association, Commercial Section, and as an arbitrator in commercial disputes involving individuals, businesses and financial institutions. In addition, he represents clients in corporate and real estate matters, including litigation relating to these areas.

Prior to joining Greensfelder, Scherck was of counsel at Frankel, Rubin, Klein, Siegel, Payne, & Pudlowski, P.C.

Scherck received his J.D. from Washington University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College.

Curtis is an associate who assists in designing, implementing and advising on benefits plans for employers of all sizes. She works with businesses and tax-exempt organizations on a variety of plans including qualified and non-qualified deferred compensation plans, health and welfare benefit plans, and executive compensation programs. Her experience includes transactional, litigation, compliance and risk-management projects.

Prior to joining Greensfelder, Curtis served as the Michael R. Cannon Fellow in Higher Education and Health Law at the Washington University in St. Louis Office of the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel. As a fellow, she collaborated on issues related to employee benefits and executive compensation, taxation, education law, health law and other areas. During law school, she interned for Judge James M. Dowd of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.

Curtis received her J.D. (magna cum laude) from Saint Louis University School of Law. She also holds a Master of Arts and is completing work for a Ph.D., both in political science from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She also has a Bachelor of Arts (magna cum laude) from Webster University.

Also an associate, Manse focuses his practice on patent prosecution, IP litigation, and strategic planning regarding patent infringement and validity. With a background in the life sciences, including a Ph.D. in molecular microbiology, he assists clients in the biochemical, pharmaceutical and material sciences areas with patent prosecution and licensing, as well as patent and trademark freedom-to-operate analyses and enforcement. He is experienced in inter partes reviews, post-grant reviews and appeals, and anticipatory IP litigation planning and strategy.

The firm said Manse’s technical experience includes molecular cloning, site-directed mutagenesis, nucleic acid purification, cell culture, heterologous protein expression and purification, immunocytochemistry, and confocal microscopy.

Prior to joining Greensfelder, Manse was an associate at Thompson Coburn LLP.

Mr. Manse received his J.D. from Duke University School of Law and his Ph.D. in molecular microbiology-medicine from the University of Missouri School of Medicine. He also holds a Bachelor of Science (magna cum laude) from Wake Forest University.

Arent Fox LLP announced the expansion of its Government Relations group with the addition of Senior Government Relations Director Oliver Spurgeon III.

Spurgeon joins the firm’s Washington, DC office.

Prior to joining Arent Fox, Spurgeon was the deputy director of federal affairs at the National Association of Community Health Centers. At NACHC, Spurgeon advised the c-suite, board of directors, and 11,000 health centers on strategy, policy analysis, and advocacy issues to help secure $7.9 billion in federal funding that reached 28 million people, the firm said in a release.

Before joining NACHC, Spurgeon was the manager of government affairs at the National Recreation and Park Association. In that role, he also supported the c-suite and board of directors in executing an $18 million budget to serve 50,000 members, evaluated federal and state health care regulations and legislation, and led NRPA in finding solutions to reduce hunger and improve health, the firm said.

Prior to his association lobbying experiences, Spurgeon served for five years on the Washington, DC staff of Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), where he covered health policy, tax, education, and other issues. He spent two years in the congressman’s Atlanta-area office, where he was the liaison to municipal governments, colleges and universities, the business community, and other stakeholders.

Spurgeon serves on the board of directors and human resources committee for the United Planning Organization, the board of directors and as acting treasurer for the DC Strings Workshop, the board of directors and as acting secretary for the Historic Anacostia Block Association, and executive committee member and acting legislative committee chairman for the Ward 8 Democratic Party. He earned his MBA from Howard University and his BA in International Studies from Georgia Southern University.

Mishka Woodley has joined Farrell Fritz as a healthcare and government relations associate in the firm’s Albany office.

In a release, the firm said Woodley facilitates negotiations with government agencies and legislative leaders regarding complex issues, such as the corporate practice of medicine, health insurance reimbursements, cannabis legislation, telehealth, for-profit referrals and health care service and provider challenges. She has a health and human services background, working in various roles at healthcare industry associations and organizations and has held internship roles at the United States Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of New York and in the Health Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s Office.

Woodley serves as a member of the board of directors at the Albany County Bar Association and is the chair of the ACBA Diversity Internship Program. She also serves on the board of directors of the Empire Justice Center and participates in other leadership roles in the Capital Region.

Woodley earned her J.D from Albany Law School and her Masters of Law in health law, with a Compliance Studies Certification from the University of Loyola, Chicago. She holds an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Bioethics, with a specialization in Health Policy and Law, from Clarkson University/Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai. Mishka received her B.A with a dual concentration in Biology and Bioethics from the University of Virginia.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP announced that Anne Marie Seibel, a partner in the firm’s Birmingham office, is among the recipients of Corporate Counsel and InsideCounsel magazines’ 2019 Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) Awards.

Formerly known as the National Women in Law Awards, the WIPL awards honor general counsel, in-house leaders and law firm partners who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing the empowerment of women in law. The honorees were recognized at an awards dinner Oct. 16 as part of the Women, Influence & Power in Law Conference in Washington, D.C. Profiles of the honorees will appear in the December issue of Corporate Counsel.

Ms. Seibel is an award recipient in the Women’s Legal Awards Category among WIPL law firm honorees. According to Corporate Counsel and InsideCounsel Editor-in-Chief Heather Nevitt, the award honorees are “business strategists, complex problem-solvers, and of course, great lawyers. But what particularly makes these women stand out is their personal dedication to the promotion of diversity in the legal industry.”

A member of Bradley’s Litigation Practice Group and co-chair of the firm’s Inclusion and Diversity Committee, Seibel is involved with multi-forum and multi-plaintiff high-stakes litigation. Her experience includes trials in Alabama state and federal courts and New Hampshire state court, as well AAA arbitrations and matters in the Tribal Court of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

Seibel currently serves as managing director of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Litigation. Previously, she was co-chair of the Section of Litigation’s Membership and Marketing Committee. Her other prior national leadership roles with the Section of Litigation have included co-chair of the Regional Meeting Committee, liaison to the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, and co-chair of the Woman Advocate Committee. In addition, Ms. Seibel is a founder of Bradley’s Women’s Initiative and is a former chair of the firm’s Associate Committee.

Barnes & Thornburg has added Alec J. Beck as a partner in the Labor and Employment Department in the Minneapolis office.

In a release, the firm said he is the eighth labor and employment partner to join the firm this year, following additions in Chicago, Atlanta, South Bend and the newly opened Detroit Metro office.

the firm said Beck has more than 30 years of labor and employment experience and represents clients in a variety of industries, including construction, manufacturing, transportation and agribusiness. He provides guidance on a wide range of employment law and labor relations matters including union avoidance, collective bargaining, harassment and discrimination, workers compensation, unfair labor practice proceedings and arbitration. Beck has tried cases, including jury trials, in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies, including the U.S. Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board.

Beck is certified by the Minnesota State Bar Association as a specialist in labor and employment law and by the Human Resource Certification Institute as a senior professional in human resources (SPHR). He previously served as chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section and currently serves as legal counsel to the Minnesota state chapter of the Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM).

Beck earned his J.D. from the William Mitchell College of Law and his B.A. from the University of Minnesota.

Neal Gerber Eisenberg announced the addition of Timothy M. Nitsch as a partner in the Intellectual Property practice group. Nitsch was recently a partner at Freeborn & Peters LLP, where he served as co-chair of the intellectual property litigation practice group.

In a release, the firm said Nitsch advises clients and prosecutes patent applications for products such as internet-based software, cellular and telecommunications devices, electronic medical devices, automation hardware and software, cellular charging devices, and database analytic software. Nitsch’s experience also extends to filing and prosecuting patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, procedural actions before the Patent Trial and Appeals Board and appellate proceedings at the Federal Circuit.

After beginning his career as an engineer working on building automation and the access control industry, Nitsch spent more than 15 years working in technical fields, including computer software and networking, telecommunications, electrical circuits, and mechanical systems. He is a named inventor on six utility patents for electrical systems and mechanical devices.

Nitsch received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and his B.S.M.E. in mechanical engineering from Southern Illinois University.

Stroock has tapped partners Michele Jacobson and Jennifer S. Recine to lead its New York General Litigation and firmwide Real Estate Litigation practices, respectively, the firm announced in a release.

Recine is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and a co-chair of its Insurance and Reinsurance Group.

The firm said Recine is a first-chair trial lawyer and strategic advisor who has handled complex real estate cases and other high-stakes and high-profile matters across industries. She joined Stroock’s New York office in March 2019 after 14 years with a litigation boutique.

The firm said Jacobson is highly ranked in a number of legal directories including Chambers USA and The Legal 500, and she has been recognized as one of the top women lawyers in New York state by the New York Times Magazine. She recently was named one of 14 “Women to Watch” by Business Insurance magazine.

Jacobson was recently named as one of Benchmark Litigation’s “Top 250 Women in Litigation,” the second time she has received this honor. She has also been named a “Trailblazer in Litigation” by The National Law Journal and shortlisted as a “Next Generation Lawyer” for Commercial Disputes by The Legal 500.

Ana Lazo Tenzer has joined Hogan Lovells as a partner in the Corporate practice in Denver. Tenzer, who focuses on real estate finance, will be a member of the firm’s national real estate team.

Tenzer previously was with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where she served as chair of the firm’s Finance & Lending Group, and before that as co-chair of the firm’s Real Estate Department. She began her legal career at Paul Hastings in New York.

Inn a release, the firm said Tenzer represents lenders and borrowers, including investment banks, private equity firms and their portfolio companies, institutional investors and insurance companies. She represents major companies in their mortgage and asset portfolios, structured loan and credit facilities, single and multi-property commercial mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, preferred equity and EB-5 equity and debt transactions.

Tenzer earned her JD from the New York University School of Law, and her undergraduate degree, with the highest honors, from Barnard College at Columbia University.

The Duane Morris Women’s Impact Network for Success (WINS) has honored two attorneys for their efforts to advance women in the legal profession. Susan A. Laws, co-managing partner of the firm’s London office, received the Cheryl Bryson Leadership Award. Cyndie M. Chang, managing partner of the firm’s Los Angeles office, received the Margery Reed Professional Excellence Award.

Laws and Chang received the awards at a ceremony at Duane Morris’ annual firmwide meeting.

The Cheryl Bryson Leadership Award recognizes significant contributions, including professional development, leadership and mentoring, made by a lawyer to women in the legal profession. The award is named in honor of the late Cheryl Blackwell Bryson, a Duane Morris partner in Chicago who died in January 2012 after a long battle with cancer. Bryson was a leader in many significant civic and community causes, and she was repeatedly honored throughout her career as a major pioneer, both as a female lawyer and as a lawyer of color.

Likewise, Margery Reed spent her entire professional career as an attorney at Duane Morris, including 24 years as a partner of the firm. As demonstrated by her numerous awards, including her admission as a fellow in the prestigious American College of Bankruptcy, Reed was repeatedly recognized as one of the best commercial bankruptcy lawyers in the country. A consummate partner, Reed was incomparably selfless in giving of her time and talents to assist her colleagues and mentor junior lawyers. She was a true professional in every sense, and her unwavering commitment to her clients and colleagues, the firm and the profession of law is the reason this award for professional excellence is given in her name.

Susan A. Laws was one of the founders of the Duane Morris London Office in 2000. In the two decades that followed, she has been instrumental in recruiting and developing the firm’s London talent, including its women lawyers. Laws focuses her practice on business law and finance, mergers and acquisitions and venture capital financings—with an emphasis on cross border transactions. She has worked in-house in the engineering, automotive and insurance sectors as well as in private practice. Laws also serves on Duane Morris’ governing Partners Board and its Executive Committee. A frequent lecturer on the topic of mergers and acquisitions, she holds a master’s degree in business administration.
Laws is a graduate of Nottingham Law School (MBA, with distinction, 1997) and Southampton University (LLB, with honors, 1977) and was admitted to practice in England & Wales in 1980.

The firm said Cyndie M. Chang manages the firm’s Los Angeles office, maintains an active practice, is a community leader (including serving as a board member for the National Association of Women Lawyers, Duane Morris’ Partners Board, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, and as past president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association) and still finds time to be a strong mentor to young lawyers. She litigates complex business, class action and commercial disputes involving contracts, products liability, product safety and recall, business torts and fraud, unfair competition, trademarks, trade secrets, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), California Proposition 65, entertainment and real estate. Chang litigates insurance-coverage issues on behalf of carriers, including significant environmental, asbestos, toxic tort, and commercial claims, as well as contribution and bad faith disputes. She also serves as one of 12 commissioners on the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession.

Chang was president of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association, which awarded her its inaugural Trailblazer award. Loyola Law School, Los Angeles recognized her with the Board of Governors Grand Reunion alumni award. She’s received the “Super Lawyers” distinction, including Top 50 Women of Southern California and the Daily Journal’s Top 100 California Women Lawyers. Chang was selected as one of the “Most Influential Minority Lawyers” and “Leader in Law” by the Los Angeles Business Journal and honored with the inaugural Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) EDGE Greater Equality Award.

Chang is a graduate of Loyola Law School, Los Angeles (J.D., 2003), and Johns Hopkins University (B.A., with honors, 2000).