Hogan Lovells has elected new partners to its Board.

Ruth Grant takes on the role of London representative, Craig Hoover has been re-elected to one of the “at large” seats, and Cate Stetson has been elected as the representative for the Washington, D.C. area.

Grant replaces Emily Reid, who has stepped down. Hoover, a Litigation partner in the Washington, D.C. office, will rejoin Daniel González and Michael Silver as the other at large representatives. Stetson takes over the Washington, D.C. area post from Helen Trilling. All begin or continue their roles as of 1 May 2015.

The Hogan Lovells Board comprises 12 members in total and has supervisory responsibility for overseeing the affairs of the firm, but without executive responsibility for strategy, management, and operating decisions. It provides input to the CEO and Hogan Lovells’ International Management Committee. Membership of the Board is designed to reflect the broad scope of the business, with members representing a combination of geographic and other backgrounds.

Biographical details on the new Board members:

Ruth Grant is a Litigation partner specializing in dispute resolution work, particularly in the fields of product liability and professional negligence. She has a broad litigation background based on more than 30 years’ experience handling disputes for a variety of commercial clients in the High Court in London and working with U.S. lawyers in proceedings in the United States for UK clients. Ruth is a former London Managing Partner (2005-2009) and firm People Development Partner (2009-2015). She is co-chair of Hogan Lovells Global Diversity Committee and chair of the London Committee. Ruth is also a member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee and the City of London Law Society Training Committee.

Cate Stetson is co-head of the firm’s U.S. Supreme Court and Appellate practice group. She has more than 50 arguments to her name, including in the Supreme Court, nearly all federal courts of appeals, and multiple state appellate courts. Her experience spans appeals presenting questions of administrative law and procedure, antitrust law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the False Claims Act, class certification, civil procedure, and constitutional, contract, copyright, employment, energy, environmental, food and drug, health care, insurance, patent, telecommunications, and tort law. Before joining Hogan Lovells, Stetson served as a judicial clerk to The Honorable Stanley S. Harris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and The Honorable David S. Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

“I am proud to welcome Cate and Ruth to the Board and look forward to continuing to work with Craig,” said Hogan Lovells Chair Nicholas Cheffings. “The Board plays an important role in the governance of Hogan Lovells, in its relationship with our management team, and in listening to, and representing, the views of partners. The high level of participation in this election process is testament to that.”

From 1 May 2015, the Board will comprise:

Chair (and “at large”): Nicholas Cheffings
CEO: Steve Immelt
Asia/Middle East: Jun Wei
Continental Europe: Leopold von Gerlach
Washington, D.C. area: Cate Stetson
London: Ruth Grant
The Americas: Bill Curtin
The Americas (except D.C.): Miguel Zaldivar
45 and under: Ben Higson
“At large” representatives: Daniel González, Craig Hoover, and Michael Silver

About Hogan Lovells

Hogan Lovells is a leading global legal practice providing business-oriented legal advice and high-quality service across its exceptional breadth of practices to clients around the world.

“Hogan Lovells” or the “firm” is an international legal practice that includes Hogan Lovells US LLP and Hogan Lovells International LLP. For more information, see www.hoganlovells.com.

The Coats Rose Affordable Housing Group served as counsel to the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso for the closing on the redevelopment of 13 properties totaling 1,590 units which were converted from public housing to project based Section 8 under HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration Program, the firm reports in a release.

The project was closed as one 4 percent tax credit/bond transaction with $125,000,000 of tax exempt bonds and $80,000,000 of tax credit equity.

The release says this represents the largest single issuance of housing tax credits ever approved by the Texas Department Housing and Community Affairs and the largest RAD conversion closing to date in the country. The total development cost was approximately $250,000,000.

“This deal means more working El Paso families will have the opportunity to provide their children with a safe, stable environment,’ says Coats Rose Affordable Housing Director Barry Palmer. “We are proud to have worked with HACEP to make this possible and want to thank the staff at HUD and TDHCA who worked so hard to help expedite the necessary approvals. The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso is a national leader in this innovative program to bring substantial private capital to help develop affordable housing for those most in need”

Coats Rose attorneys Barry Palmer and Bill Walter have been at the forefront of the RAD program, having closed the first three RAD transactions in the State of Texas in 2014 and now following up with these 13 properties.

Gerry Cichon, Executive Director of HACEP stated, “We have been working on this transaction for over a year now. When HUD made this program available as a demonstration program in 2013 we recognized immediately that this is the future of public housing. This allows the Housing Authority to do renovations of over $65,000 a unit on these 13 properties. It results in a substantial investment in the El Paso community with the creation of countless construction jobs and vastly improved housing conditions for 1,590 families.”

Also playing key roles in the transaction were attorneys from Reno & Cavanaugh PLLC, Ballard Spahr LLP, Nixon Peabody LLP and Bracewell & Giuliani LLP.

The federal Housing Tax Credit Program is the state’s primary means of incentivizing the investment of private capital in the development of affordable rental housing. Developers and their investment partners use the credits to offset their federal tax liability on a dollar-for-dollar basis in exchange for the construction or rehabilitation of rental units offering a reduced rent over an extended period of time.

Coats Rose is a business transaction and litigation law firm based in Houston, Texas. For more than 25 years, Coats Rose attorneys have worked with clients in construction/surety law, real estate law, commercial litigation of all types, municipal law, public finance, affordable housing, insurance law, labor and employment law, and governmental relations. Coats Rose is comprised of over 90 attorneys, with offices in Houston, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and New Orleans.

Rachel A. Scelfo, counsel with Farrell Fritz

Farrell Fritz announces that Rachel A. Scelfo, counsel in the firm’s land use and municipal department, has recently been elected to the West Babylon Public Library’s board of trustees. She will serve a five-year term.

Rachel, a Babylon, NY, resident, also serves on The Art League of Long Island’s board of directors. She is a frequent contributor to the firm’s Long Island Land Use & Zoning blog. She earned her J.D. degree from Hofstra University School of Law and her M.P.P. and B.A. degrees from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP has announced that the firm has been ranked by Law360 among the top U.S. law firms for women.

This is the first ranking of its kind from Law360. The ranking is based on the firm’s female representation at the partner and nonpartner levels and its total number of female attorneys. “We are truly humbled that we have been named a best law firm for female attorneys,” said firm chair Kimberly Leach Johnson. “Being ranked in the very first such list by Law360 is an honor, especially being ranked 12th nationally.”

About Quarles & Brady LLP
Quarles & Brady is a full-service law firm with more than 475 attorneys offering an array of legal services to corporate and individual clients that range from small entrepreneurial businesses to Fortune 100 companies, with practice focuses in health care and life sciences, business law, data privacy and security, and complex litigation. The firm has offices in Chicago; Indianapolis; Madison; Milwaukee; Naples, Florida; Phoenix; Scottsdale; Tampa; Tucson; and Washington, D.C. Additional information can be found online at quarles.com, as well as on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Guilford F. Thornton, Jr. of Adams and Reese

Adams and Reese announces that governmental relations and legislative counsel Guilford F. “Gif” Thornton, Jr., a partner in the firm’s Nashville office, has been elected Managing Partner.

Thornton, who has previously served as Chairman of the firm’s Executive Committee and held numerous management roles, joined the firm in 2005 when then Nashville’s Stokes Bartholomew merged with larger regional firm, Adams and Reese.

Thornton succeeds Charles P. Adams, Jr., who held the role of managing partner since 2001 until his term ended recently. Adams led the 300 lawyer firm through a volatile period in the economy and the legal industry, through natural catastrophes like Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as the firm’s successful expansion into Birmingham, Alabama, three offices in Tennessee, five offices in Florida, and the firm’s newest office in Columbia, South Carolina

Read details about the appointment.

Dykema, a leading national law firm, will combine with Texas-based Cox Smith.

On its website, Dykema said the combination will give the firm a significantly expanded presence in Texas, where Cox Smith is a leading firm with deep history.

“The additional depth in key practices, coupled with the combined firm’s broader geographic reach, will enhance the range of services available to both firms’ clients.” the firm said in a release. “The addition of Cox Smith’s 118 lawyers will give the combined firm more than 450 attorneys in 15 offices. In Texas, the firm will initially operate under the name Dykema Cox Smith. The combination, which takes effect May 1, will double the size of each firm’s Dallas presence, and San Antonio will become one of Dykema’s largest offices.”

Read the story.

PayPal announced two new leaders will be joining the company as it prepares to separate from eBay Inc. and become an independent, publicly-traded company later this year. StreetInsider.comn reports that both will report to PayPal president and CEO designee Dan Schulman and serve on the company’s leadership team.

Louise Pentland will become PayPal’s new General Counsel, effective April 27. Pentland is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Nokia Corporation, the report says.

Jonathan Auerbach will become PayPal’s new Senior Vice President of Strategy and Growth.

Read the story.

The National Labor Relations Board urged a federal district court in Kentucky to invalidate a county ordinance that prohibits the use of union-security provisions in collective bargaining agreements and regulates other practices that are either permitted or prohibited by federal law, reports Bloomberg BNA.

“Hardin County’s Ordinance 300 is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act, the board argued in a proposed amicus brief it submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The court is considering a lawsuit the United Auto Workers and other unions filed in January to challenge the ordinance,” the report says.

Read the story.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling provides states a greater role in regulating the energy sector, reports Cozen O’Connor.

“In ONEOK, the Court held that states can regulate activities that affect both wholesale and retail transactions to the extent that the regulations do not conflict with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulations. In so doing, wide swaths of conduct continue to be subject to both state energy regulations and generally applicable state laws,” wrote Jonathan M. Grossman and Thomas Ingalls. “While the ruling ensures retail customers a remedy for business practices that are proscribed by state law, it may also subject conduct otherwise permitted by FERC to civil liability if that conduct affects retail transactions. This decision may also hold implications for similar regulatory regimes, such as the Federal Power Act (FPA).”

The decision upheld a lower court decision that allowed a greater role for state courts in regulating the energy sectorfinding that state laws may apply to conduct that affects both wholesale and retail transactions provided those laws do not conflict with FERC regulations. The Court rejected a bid by FERC and natural gas wholesalers to exempt from all state regulation activities that affect both types of sales, the report says.

Read the report.

L to R: A. Washelesky, S. Macaulay, P. Krasny

Culhane Meadows PLLC, one of the nation’s largest cloud-based law firms, announces its expansion into Chicago with the addition of three lateral partners: Angela Washelesky (formerly at Reed Smith), Susan Macaulay (formerly at Skadden Arps) and Paula Jill Krasny (formerly at Baker & McKenzie).

“Given the number of global companies headquartered in Chicago and its exciting start up community, Chicago has been a strategic priority of our firm since its inception,” says Jim Meadows, one of the firm’s founding partners. “Chicago also has an unenviable reputation among corporate clients for harboring some of the highest billable rates in the country—making it the perfect expansion market for our innovative and cost-cutting business model.”

Started by a group of former Big Law attorneys, some of whom had worked together for more than 15 years, the firm now has attorneys based in New York, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas, Austin and Chicago. Unlike traditional law firms, every Culhane-Meadows lawyer is a partner-level attorney with substantial experience with large national and international law firms or in-house legal departments of respected companies. The Firm also utilizes a platform that leverages modern technology and cloud-based commuting, resulting in significantly lower overhead and therefore lower hourly rates to clients – not to mention happier lawyers.

Culhane Meadows also bucks the trend of male-dominated national law firms. Currently, more than half of its partners, and sixty percent of its managers, are women. “We are proud to be one of the few national law firms to enter a major market like Chicago with an all-star team comprised entirely of leading female lawyers,” boasts Mr. Meadows. “It’s just one more example of how we are shaking up the legal marketplace and delivering a genuine alternative to traditional firms.”

Each new partner in Chicago is highly accomplished and brings decades of legal experience to serve the firm’s impressive roster of global business clients, including multiple Fortune 100 and 500 companies.

Angela Washelesky was the first Chicago-based lawyer to join Culhane Meadows, direct from her role as trademark chair of Reed Smith’s Chicago office.  For almost 25 years her practice has focused on trademark prosecution and marketing law. Prior to joining Reed Smith, Ms. Washelesky worked as in-house marketing counsel for Sears, Roebuck & Co. She was also an in-house advertising attorney for Leo Burnett where she worked on the legal aspects of marketing campaigns for companies such as Maytag, Procter & Gamble, Reebok and United Airlines. She earned her B.A. and J.D. from DePaul University and received an LL.M in Intellectual Property from John Marshall Law School. Angela explains that she joined CM so she could again practice law at a reasonable rate, have more client contact and be more like a business owner. “And working in jeans with my dogs nearby doesn’t hurt,” she laughs.

Susan J. Macaulay has more than 30 years’ experience advising clients on a wide range of sophisticated corporate and transactional matters with special emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, corporate, finance and banking.  She has spent more than half of her legal career as in-house counsel to a variety of companies, including roles as VP and Corporate Counsel for Caremark and Associate General Counsel for Heller Financial. She also practiced at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom before moving to Gardner Carton & Douglas (which later merged into Drinker Biddle Reath), where she served as head of the financial institutions group. Ms. Macaulay received her JD from Loyola University Chicago School of Law her LL.M in financial services law from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she now serves as an adjunct professor of law. She is the author of a number of publications addressing various topics involving transactional and finance law, and has spoken at many conferences on both a local and a national level.

Paula Jill Krasny is an internationally recognized branding lawyer. For nearly three decades, Ms. Krasny has worked with corporate executives to build, monetize and protect global brands. At Baker & McKenzie, Ms. Krasny was the lead IP strategist on numerous brand-driven cross-border transactions, and she built up global trademark portfolios for some of the world’s leading brands. Ms. Krasny also was a former Chair of the firm’s Chicago Intellectual Property Practice Group. Prior to joining Baker & McKenzie, Ms. Krasny was a partner at the international firm of McDermott Will & Emery. Over the course of her career, she has advised companies, ranging from start-ups to multi-nationals, in numerous industries, including consumer products, apparel, food and beverage, financial and business services, insurance, technology, hospitality and nonprofits. A graduate of Vassar College, Ms. Krasny also studied at Harvard University and earned her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. She has received numerous professional honors and served on various nonprofit boards. In 2011, the Anti-Defamation League’s Chicago chapter honored Ms. Krasny as a “Woman of Achievement,” an award given to female business leaders with strong civic contributions. She notes that Culhane Meadows’ flexible business model allows her to have more fun practicing law. “The platform allows me to partner with clients in creative ways. In addition to being able to help companies solve their problems and achieve value, I get to work with amazing and highly experienced lawyers.”

Kelly Rittenberry Culhane, another co-founder of the firm, says that “an increasing number of Fortune-ranked clients are embracing the firm’s game-changing business model because it delivers responsive and exceptional partner-level counsel and experience at a fraction of the cost for identical services from traditional firms.” She continues: “General Counsels are under constant internal pressure to reduce outside legal expenses and they are discovering they can rely on us to provide top-notch services within a budget that benefits their entire organization.”

“Companies are demanding more value from their law firms, and our rapid growth demonstrates that clients and lawyers alike recognize the value proposition of our cloud-based platform,” adds Mr. Meadows. “Simply put, we are causing a wave of positive disruption to the legal markets we’ve already entered and now we are excited to introduce clients in the Windy City to our better way of practicing law.”

The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP announced that partners John F. Dienelt and Scott McIntosh have been named by Washington D.C. Super Lawyers magazine as among the top attorneys in Washington, D.C. for 2015.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service that recognizes outstanding lawyers who have gained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual, statewide selections are made using a multi-phased process that includes independent peer nominations, peer evaluations, and research. No more than five percent of total lawyers in a state are selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers.

• John F. Dienelt – Franchise / Dealership

Dienelt is a litigator with 30 years of trial and appellate experience, particularly in franchising, antitrust, intellectual property, and other commercial cases. He concentrates on complex and enterprise-threatening litigation, including class actions. He speaks regularly at programs on franchising and teaches franchise law as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and at the University of Virginia Law School. He received his law degree from Yale Law School, his master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.

• Scott McIntosh – Franchise / Dealership

McIntosh serves as the Washington, D.C. office chair of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group. He is a franchise law attorney possessing significant experience dealing with the most complex cases among the business, litigation, and regulatory issues that confront franchising companies. Scott has practiced in state and federal courts, at both the trial court and appellate levels, and has arbitrated cases before various arbitral bodies, including the American Arbitration Association, JAMS, and United States Arbitration & Mediation. He earned his law degree, cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center, his master’s degree from Georgetown University, his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his certificate of executive management from the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business.

About Quarles & Brady LLP
Quarles & Brady is a full-service law firm with more than 475 attorneys offering an array of legal services to corporate and individual clients that range from small entrepreneurial businesses to Fortune 100 companies, with practice focuses in health care and life sciences, business law, data privacy and security, and complex litigation. The firm has offices in Chicago; Indianapolis; Madison; Milwaukee; Naples, Florida; Phoenix; Scottsdale; Tampa; Tucson; and Washington, D.C. Additional information can be found online at quarles.com, as well as on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Jackson Walker L.L.P. has named Alfie Meyerson, Thad Armstrong, David Jones, and David Robins as partners in the firm’s Houston office. The four partners, who join the firm from Thompson & Knight LLP, work in Jackson Walker’s Real Estate and Finance practice groups.

“The addition of this excellent group of lawyers, along with other high-profile lateral partners who have joined us recently, truly gives us the premier real estate practice group in the Southwest,” said Jackson Walker managing partner Wade Cooper. “We anticipate great synergies from having a large, efficient, and cost-effective real estate team that is as good as any in this part of the world.”

Houston managing partner Kurt Nondorf added, “We are thrilled and honored that this group has chosen to join Jackson Walker. Their practices align perfectly with our own and will add significantly to our deep bench here in Houston.”

Mr. Meyerson has served in key leadership roles at Thompson & Knight, including as managing partner of the Houston office, chairman of the firm’s Real Estate and Banking Practice Group and a member of the firm’s management committee. Mr. Meyerson’s legal practice spans more than 30 years and encompasses all aspects of commercial real estate transactions, and his clients have included some of the most significant players in the Houston real estate development and banking market.

In making the move to Jackson Walker, Mr. Meyerson said he was drawn to the firm’s competitive platform and efficient business model. “This is a firm that is firmly rooted in Texas and meshes well with our practice,” he said. “It’s a great fit for me and my clients.”

On a more personal note, Mr. Meyerson said he was looking forward to working with longtime friends and colleagues at Jackson Walker, including Mr. Nondorf, Real Estate practice group chair Steve Martens, and Dallas managing partner David Moran.

“These are friends I’ve known my entire adult life,” Mr. Meyerson said. “Steve and I went to law school together. Kurt and I have known each other for over 25 years, and David and I were high school classmates. I like the quality of the practice, and I like the quality of the people.”

Also joining Jackson Walker’s Real Estate practice group is Thad Armstrong, who advises and represents buyers and sellers, developers, landlords and tenants, and sublandlords and subtenants in all facets of their real estate, development, construction, and leasing and subleasing deals and projects. He also advises lenders and borrowers in foreclosures and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure. Some of Mr. Armstrong’s recent transactions include having represented owners and developers in major construction projects totaling over $1 billion.

Mr. Jones and Mr. Robins will practice in the Real Estate and Finance groups at Jackson Walker.

Mr. Jones represents banks and other lending institutions in all aspects of commercial lending, with an emphasis on real estate secured lending. His experience includes representing lenders in middle market, private banking, energy and syndicated transactions. He also represents both purchasers and sellers of loan portfolios (both performing and distressed assets). Mr. Jones has represented numerous borrowers in connection with commercial loans, including providing applicable legal opinions concerning the enforceability of loan documents and qualifications of borrowers and guarantors. Mr. Jones also represents both landlords and tenants in lease negotiations concerning retail, office, and industrial space. And he has represented both purchasers and sellers in negotiating and closing sales of commercial real estate.

Mr. Robins practices in commercial real estate and real estate finance, with an emphasis on the lender-borrower relationship. He has worked on hundreds of significant transactions including office buildings, shopping centers, industrial buildings and warehouses, land and residential development, apartments and condos. Mr. Robins regularly handles multi-state, multi-property transactions, as well as loan portfolio acquisitions and dispositions. In addition, he represents clients in oil and gas, timber, and water transactions and in PACE lending.

Over the past few years, Jackson Walker has expanded its skilled and dynamic Real Estate team to serve the needs of clients in an active Texas market. Recent additions to the practice group include Steve Jenkins, a 40-year commercial real estate veteran from Haynes and Boone, LLP; Andrew Baumgardner, also from Haynes and Boone; Brad Lowry from Haynie Rake Repass & Lowry; and Drew Darby, who founded his own successful practice in San Angelo and currently serves as a member of the Texas House of Representatives. The firm has also added partner Ashley Martzen, Senior Counsel Cassie Ross, and associates Amit Patel and Frank Morphis to its Real Estate team.

Firmwide, a large number of high-profile attorneys have made the move to Jackson Walker in the last year, many of whom served in key leadership roles at their previous firms.

“The fact that we continue to attract strong leaders from other law firms shows that there’s something good going on here,” said Mr. Cooper. “For Texas attorneys whose clients require an efficiently managed law firm with first-class resources, Jackson Walker is the place to be.”

Jackson Walker L.L.P. has 125 years of experience in providing legal counsel to clients throughout Texas, the United States and internationally. The firm provides a strong regional base of more than 350 attorneys in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Angelo, San Antonio and Texarkana.

Jennie D.G. Azoulai

Jennie D.G. Azoulai has been named to the General Counsel News team as Chief Marketing and Business Development Consultant.

In this role, Jennie will shape the direction and extend the reach of GCN’s growing brand and embark upon new marketing and PR initiatives. As well, she will serve as the main point of contact for new clients and prospects.

Jennie states, “This is a fantastic opportunity for me to work with GCN — a relatively new company and invest in its growth. I very much look forward to the opportunities to increase GCN’s brand awareness, direct it’s brand messaging and grow and sustain our presence in the marketplace.”

Jennie has had more than 15 years’ experience in business-to-business marketing, branding and event planning. She has assisted companies with their marketing endeavors through her own entrepreneurial initiatives along with as a marketing consultant and even as a direct hire.

Most recently, Jennie served as a Marketing Consultant for e-Discovery provider, UBIC North America, Inc. and previously, the Marketing Manager for the market research firm, Scarborough Research (now Nielsen Local). She also filled the first role of Marketing Manager at the e-Discovery outfit, RVM Enterprises, Inc.

Jennie’s combined interests in the arts, world politics and public policy along with her professional ambitions led her to graduate from the University of Michigan, followed by the University of Illinois College of Law. She then became an attorney, licensed in New York and practiced Government Contract Law at boutique law firm, Petrillo & Powell, PLLC followed by McDermott Will & Emery.

Scott. H. DeBroff, shareholder in Tucker Arensberg

The law firm of Tucker Arensberg, P.C. announces that Scott H. DeBroff has joined the firm as a shareholder and member of the Energy Group. DeBroff was previously with Rhoads & Sinon, LLP.

Debroff provides energy and telecommunications market participants with strategic legal, government and regulatory analysis and representation in state and federal jurisdictions across the country. He represents clients in the energy and telecommunications sectors and provides them with targeted advocacy, issue analysis and information services.

DeBroff focuses his practice on national energy and energy technology issues facing clients by providing focused representation across the entire retail and wholesale market spectrum.

“Scott DeBroff brings a wide range of experience and expertise in the Energy area including Smart Grid development, Advanced Metering and the implementation of Renewable Energy projects via the Pennsylvania Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act,” said Dennis R. Sheaffer, the managing shareholder of the Harrisburg Office of Tucker Arensberg. “He also has advised clients on Energy Procurement strategies, Power Purchase Agreements for Renewable Projects and Oil & Gas concerns. Scott is a welcome addition to our Harrisburg Office.”

DeBroff received his JD from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School and his BA from Emory University.

Tucker Arensberg is a 90-attorney law firm headquartered in Pittsburgh with offices in Harrisburg and Lewistown. It is a full service regional firm providing service to its clients in the areas of general business law, banking, insolvency and creditors’ rights, estates and trusts, school and municipal law, health care, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, energy, technology and intellectual property, environmental, labor and employment, immigration, real estate, workers’ compensation, employee benefits, and investment management and fiduciary services.

Eric Goldberg, a partner in DLA Piper

DLA Piper has announced today that Eric Goldberg has joined the firm’s Restructuring practice as a partner in the Los Angeles office.

Goldberg represents debtors both in and out of court, as well as creditors and other stakeholders, including lenders and funds, in a variety of transactions. His practice involves complex bankruptcy-related litigation, including contested confirmations, adversary proceedings, and working with hedge funds, bondholders and buyers of distressed assets.

“Eric has deep relationships with a number of lenders and investors, as well as funds that are active in distressed markets across the country,” said Gregg Galardi, co-chair of DLA Piper’s global and US Restructuring practices. “He will be instrumental in helping clients avoid pitfalls when buying distressed companies or their assets, as well as handling bankruptcy litigation and out-of-court restructurings.”

Goldberg is the firm’s most recent addition in Los Angeles, following on the heels of litigation partners Mike Piazza, Linda Smith and Mark Riera, and employment partner Phyllis Cheng.

“We have experienced significant growth in Los Angeles in recent months, and the addition of Eric will complement our increasing capabilities and further strengthen our strategic practice areas in Southern California,” said Perrie Weiner, international co-chair of DLA Piper’s Securities Litigation practice and co-managing partner of the firm’s Los Angeles offices.

Goldberg joins DLA Piper from Gordon Silver, and was previously a senior partner with Los Angeles-based bankruptcy boutique Stutman, Treister & Glatt. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and his B.S. from Cornell University.

About DLA Piper (www.dlapiper.com)
DLA Piper is a global law firm located in more than 30 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, positioning it to help companies with their legal needs around the world. In certain jurisdictions, this information may be considered attorney advertising.

Lawrence Waks, of counsel at Wilson Elser

To bolster its intellectual property practice, national law firm Wilson Elser hired premier IP/entertainment attorney Lawrence Waks, formerly of Jackson Walker LLP, as of counsel in its Dallas office.

Waks’s practice of more than 30 years has focused primarily on IP litigation and transactional matters, serving a national and international client base that hails from industries such as entertainment, music, sports, electronic gaming, publishing, fashion, consumer goods, media and more.

Fluent in Spanish, French and Russian, Waks, who has lived in Argentina and Bolivia, uses his multilingual skills to represent U.S. clients abroad as well as global clients in the United States.

“We are fortunate to have such a formidable, well-respected IP attorney join our ranks,” said E. Stratton Horres, regional managing partner of the Dallas office and the partner in charge of lateral hires. “Larry has built a thriving entertainment/IP practice with an impressive list of clients and accomplishments, including contributing to Austin’s emergence as the “Live Music Capital of the World” and helping to foster Texas’s reputation as a “Third Coast” entertainment destination. His outstanding capabilities support the firm’s ongoing diversification and expansion of services we offer our clients to better serve them locally and nationally.”

“We are excited about the new dimension Larry’s practice adds to the firm,” Horres added.

In addition to intellectual property, Waks, who has degrees in geology and engineering, practices in the areas of environmental, energy and admiralty and marine law.

Recognized as a leader in the legal community, Waks is a fellow of the American Bar Association Foundation and the Texas Bar Foundation, and a member of the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association Forum on Entertainment and Sports Industries and chair of its Litigation Division. He is also chair of the Texas State Bar Copyright Section.

Waks is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (LARAS), best known for the Grammy Awards and the Latin Grammy Awards, respectively, and the Texas chapter of NARAS. Waks also serves on the board of the Dallas Film Society and the Advisory Board of the Austin Theater Alliance.

Waks has earned an AV® Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell and has been named to the Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America lists, and the Who’s Who Legal (International) in the entertainment and media law categories.

Waks earned his J.D. degree from St. Mary’s University and his B.A. degree, with honors, from Trinity University.

The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP has announced that the firm’s website, quarles.com, won first place at the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) Annual Conference in the category of “Total Website.”

The firm partnered with Great Jakes, a leading developer of attorney websites, creating a tech-savvy experience for anyone that visits the website via a desktop, mobile device, or tablet. “We launched our website in September 2014 and it’s truly remarkable,” said firm chair Kimberly Leach Johnson. “We hope our clients and visitors continue to find value in what we have created.”

The 2015 winners of the prestigious LMA Your Honor Awards were recognized at the 2015 LMA Annual Conference in San Diego. The winners will also be featured in a special issue of LMA Weekly, in the legal marketing publication Strategies, and via a dedicated section of the LMA website. This year, there were 10 Your Honor Awards categories, covering every area of legal marketing, including advertising, events, media relations, and websites.

About Quarles & Brady LLP
Quarles & Brady is a full-service law firm with more than 475 attorneys offering an array of legal services to corporate and individual clients that range from small entrepreneurial businesses to Fortune 100 companies, with practice focuses in health care and life sciences, business law, data privacy and security, and complex litigation. The firm has offices in Chicago; Indianapolis; Madison; Milwaukee; Naples, Florida; Phoenix; Scottsdale; Tampa; Tucson; and Washington, D.C. Additional information can be found online at quarles.com, as well as on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

James M. Wicks, a parter in Farrell Fritz

Farrell Fritz announces that James M. Wicks, a partner in the firm’s commercial litigation department, will be an honoree at the 2015 Jewels and Jeans Dinner to be held on Thursday, June 11, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. at Flowerfield in St. James, NY. Other honorees include Douglas C. Manditch, Chairman & CEO, Empire National Bank; Dr. Yusuf Hannun, Director, Stony Brook Cancer Center; and Dr. Lina Obeid, Professor of Medicine & Dean for Research, Stony Brook School of Medicine.

Wicks has been actively involved in the Three Village community for several years. He enjoys volunteering with the WMHO’s Youth Corps and served as chair of the Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages in Stony Brook from 2011 to 2014.

Wicks, an East Setauket, NY resident, contributes to the firm’s New York Commercial Division Case Compendium blog. He serves on several professional/legal committees and charitable organization boards. He is an Adjunct Professor at St. John’s University School of Law, where he teaches pretrial advocacy. He earned his J.D. degree from St. John’s University School if Law and his undergraduate degree from Wheeling College.

About Farrell Fritz

Farrell Fritz is a full-service law firm that has earned a strong reputation in the New York business community. The firm handles legal matters in the areas of bankruptcy & creditors’ rights; commercial litigation; condemnation & eminent domain; construction; corporate & finance; distressed assets; eDiscovery; emerging companies & venture capital; environmental law; estate litigation; health law; labor & employment; land use, municipal & zoning; real estate; tax planning & controversy; tax certiorari and trusts & estates for corporations, not-for-profit organizations and individuals.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced the results of a 2014 enforcement initiative that focused on the oil and gas industry in New Mexico and west Texas, an effort that recovered more than $1.3 million owed to some 1,300 employees as a result of this investigation.

On its website, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease said this is not the first DOL foray into wage-and-hour practices within the oil and gas industry. In December 2014, the DOL announced that employers engaged in natural gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania and West Virginia agreed to pay $4,498,547 in back wages to 5,310 employees.

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Recent intellectual property transactions through the first wuarter of 2015 indicate there are at least some signs that the patent marketplace is becoming more active, writes Gene Quinn at IPWatchdog.

“There have been a number of high profile acquisitions in the pharmaceutical space over the last four months, and last week Sony acquired OnLive’s patent portfolio,” he writes. And Akamai Technologies Inc. announced that it had acquired Octoshape, which will give Akamai access to Octoshape technologies that optimize the quality of video streams for over-the-top content and to enable Internet Protocol television solutions.

And over the last several months there have been a number of blockbuster deals in the pharmaceutical sector.

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