New partners

UNITED STATES

Century City

Nathan Rahmanou is a member of the Global Corporate Group, where he represents private equity firms, private companies and public companies in M&A transactions, investments and restructurings. He also represents private equity sponsors in broad-based portfolio company work and advises clients on general corporate matters. His work includes taking a lead role in representing some of Reed Smith’s most significant and sophisticated clients in M&A transactions and bid processes.

Carla M. Wirtschafter, a litigator in the Global Regulatory Enforcement Group, is experienced in handling complex business disputes, including those involving securities laws and business crimes, acquisition and earn out disputes, and intellectual property, including advertising, trademark, copyright, and trade secret issues. She also represents companies and individuals in both civil and criminal government investigations. Her practice also includes substantial experience counseling clients on marketing, advertising, and employment matters, and she regularly defends clients in litigation on these issues.

Chicago

Jillian L. Burstein is a litigator in the Intellectual Property Group who handles IP matters involving complex and sophisticated brand protection disputes. She also routinely advises clients on a broad range of IP issues, including trademarks, trade dress, copyright, false advertising, and unfair competition. In addition to appearing regularly in state and federal courts, she practices before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Among her passions is advancing women and girls through mentoring, skills-based training, and pro bono legal representation.

David M. Cummings is a litigator in the Insurance Recovery Group who represents corporate policyholders in resolving complex insurance coverage disputes through litigation, mediation, and arbitration. He also advises policyholders during policy placements and renewals, as well as during commercial transactions and negotiations with respect to fulfillment of insurance requirements. Cummings has substantial experience representing clients with respect to all types of coverage, including general liability, property, directors and officers, professional liability, crime, and cyber liability, to name but a few.

Karlin E. Sangdahl is a litigator in the Global Commercial Disputes Group. She represents and counsels corporate clients, product manufacturers and sellers, and service providers in a variety of matters, including contract disputes, business torts, unfair competition, and product liability. She also defends clients in class actions featuring breach of warranty, consumer fraud, and contract-based claims, often arising from the marketing and sale of products and services. Sangdahl has substantial experience litigating and resolving cases at all stages, from pre-suit investigation all the way through trial or arbitration.

Idara E. Udofia is a member of the Entertainment & Media Industry Group, with a practice centering around data privacy and security, consumer protection, advertising and marketing law. Udofia advises clients on diverse data protection laws, including CCPA, COPPA, BIPA, and GDPR, helping them with data optimization and strategically developing privacy-forward products and services. Udofia also advises clients on advertising, marketing and consumer protection issues, including the FTC Act, CAN-SPAM Act, Lanham Act, and TCPA and negotiates complex technology transactions.

Dallas

Amanda E. Brown is in the Labor & Employment Group and represents employers in litigation, arbitration, and administrative agency actions involving federal and state labor and employment laws. She handles claims of discrimination and retaliation, violations of leave law, violations of wage and hour law, whistleblower allegations, and breach of contract claims. Brown also advises clients on proactive litigation-avoidance strategies, separation strategies, and policy and procedural issues.

Clark A. Donat, a litigator in the Global Commercial Disputes Group, counsels plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial litigation involving technology, commercial banking/mortgage lending, financial services, real estate, health care, construction, energy (oil and gas), consumer finance, securities litigation, property assessed clean energy financing, and employment disputes. He is an experienced first chair litigator in all aspects of the dispute process, including successfully handling state and federal appeals.

Houston

Michael J. Lombardino, a member of the Labor & Employment Group, serves as lead counsel in litigations involving discrimination, non-compete, contract and tort-related employment claims, and wage-and-hour claims, including wage-and-hour class actions. He also advises clients facing complex employment issues such as wage-and-hour audits, leaves of absence, and high-risk terminations. Lombardino is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Arturo Muñoz Holguin is a member of the Energy & Natural Resources Group. He has extensive experience litigating high stakes disputes before courts and arbitration tribunals in Latin America, including Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, and the United States. Muñoz Holguin is a native Spanish speaker and routinely advises clients on multijurisdictional matters in the energy, commodities, and technology sectors, including disputes concerning partnerships and joint ventures, conventional and renewable energy projects, construction, manufacturing, purchase and sale contracts, service contracts, and others. A key member of the firm’s LatAm practice in Houston as well as the international arbitration team, Muñoz Holguin recently co-authored a paper on regional arbitration centers published by Global Arbitration Review.

Los Angeles

Michael R. Kleinmann provides both substantial transactional and litigation experience in the Labor & Employment Group. Kleinmann provides employment experience in mergers and acquisitions, and executive compensation negotiations, as well as related to entertainment industry and technology start-up clients. Kleinmann is also an experienced litigator defending employers in state and federal courts. His experience extends to defending against wage and hour class actions, collective actions, and Private Attorney General Act suits, as well as claims of discrimination, retaliation, and harassment. He has successfully represented clients in all phases of litigation, including investigation, discovery, law and motion, mediation, trial, and appeal. Kleinmann also advises clients on a range of compliance issues, including reductions in force, WARN Act requirements, employee transfers and reorganizations, and winding down companies.

New York

Catherine R. Castaldo is a member of the Global Corporate Group. She supports the U.S. M&A and private equity practices and has strong technical privacy and security acumen. With 20 years of industry-agnostic privacy and security experience, Castaldo leverages her background to assist practice groups and clients in highly regulated, diverse industries including health care, technology, software, education, energy, transportation, government contracting, communications, entertainment, consumer products, and marketing. Castaldo has accepted secondments at three firm clients while at the same time maintaining her work at the firm.

Han Deng, a transactional lawyer in the Transportation Industry Group, focuses her practice on key shipping and aviation clients. She specializes in all aspects of shipping finance and connects dots in key markets in London, New York, Europe and Asia on a daily basis. A native of China, she also collaborates with the firm’s China business team and Global Regulatory Enforcement Group on China-related matters, including investments, disputes, FCPA, and U.S. sanctions matters. Deng has developed her own clients, both China and U.S.-based. A native Mandarin speaker and a global ambassador in shipping, Deng understands the culture and business dynamics and is able to provide services to clients who need both U.S. and English law capabilities in highly complex cross-border matters.

Michael S. Isselin, a member of the Entertainment & Media Group, focuses his practice on various areas of the advertising industry, including talent and influencer marketing, celebrity endorsements, digital and social media, sponsorships, and consumer promotions. His roster of high-profile clients rely on him to negotiate some of the highest paid endorsement deals with the world’s top celebrities. In addition, Isselin serves as legal counsel to The Joint Policy Committee, LLC (JPC), the multi-employer bargaining unit that negotiates the $3 billion SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract. As part of the JPC, he helps negotiate the contract every three years and educates the advertising industry on compliance, making Isselin uniquely adept at advising clients on SAG-AFTRA issues. His practice is also on the cutting edge of innovation and emerging media, representing brands in connection with NFT and metaverse deals, marrying tech with brand marketing.

Eric S. Marder is a member of the Entertainment & Media Group, with significant experience representing some of the firm’s biggest and highest profile talent clients in key transactions. He regularly advises recording artists, producers, songwriters, influencers, executives, and other talent, as well as entertainment companies. His work includes negotiating and drafting sensitive agreements with sophisticated, often difficult counterparties under complex timing and client pressures. He has negotiated and drafted numerous Super Bowl Halftime agreements for super star talent in the entertainment and music industries.

Natsayi Mawere, a litigator in the Financial Industry Group, is experienced in handling complex commercial disputes with a focus on banking and consumer finance. Her experience includes the defense of national putative class actions, lender liability, consumer fraud, violations of federal and state consumer protection statutes and regulations, and business disputes. She co-leads a garnishment practice, which evolved from counseling national bank clients in their responses to garnishments related to emergency stimulus funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, to counseling clients on a broad range of complex garnishment-related issues. She has also played a key role on a cross-practice team working to establish Reed Smith’s biometrics practice. She is dedicated to investing in the well-being and advancement of others, including volunteering with lower-income and homeless women in New York, and initiatives seeking to advance diversity, equity and inclusion.

Rose C. McClave is a member of the Real Estate Group. She represents major financial institutions, borrowers, private equity funds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), commercial landlords and tenants, and other real estate investors and owners. Her diverse practice includes handling acquisitions, dispositions, financings, and commercial leasing transactions. In particular, she has significant experience representing REITs and other institutional clients on acquisitions and dispositions and financings ranging from single asset deals to multi-state portfolio transactions for all types of commercial real estate assets, including self-storage, industrial, retail, and mixed-use properties.

Philadelphia

Susan K. Nieto, a member of the Global Corporate Group, has built a diverse practice focused on mergers and acquisitions involving public and private companies, private equity, SPACs, joint ventures and cross-border transactions across multiple industries, including consumer goods, digital media, professional services, health care, and transportation. She also advises clients in connection with general corporate and commercial matters. Capitalizing on her experiences as in-house counsel and her prior law firm work, Nieto is sought out to lead complex transactions for both private and public company clients.

Vicki J. Tankle is a member of the Life Sciences & Health Industry Group, practicing in the area of health care regulatory law. Her practice focuses on the intersection of health care and technology, supporting health industry clients in advancing digital health innovation and counseling clients on compliance with Medicare and Medicaid standards, provider licensing requirements, fraud and abuse laws, HIPAA and other health information privacy frameworks, and interoperability and information blocking regulations. She also has extensive experience advising a range of health care providers and manufacturing entities (including health systems, independent diagnostic testing facilities, telehealth providers, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, pharmacies, and other related companies in the life sciences and health care space), along with technology companies on transactional matters, collaboration agreements, strategic data partnerships, telehealth, mobile health solutions and applications, smart medical devices, and data breach incident response.

Pittsburgh

Ryan A. Haddad is a member of the Energy & Natural Resources Group who has built a multidisciplinary energy transactional practice on the foundational elements of natural resource development and operations, primarily in the oil and gas and related energy sectors. He regularly advises energy industry clients on complex matters involving acquisitions and divestitures, including distressed asset acquisitions, strategic mergers, joint ventures, project development, debt and structured finance, private equity investment, title matters and mineral conveyancing, transportation and marketing, and operational and service transactions. He has considerable experience in energy sector insolvency and restructuring, management services, and corporate governance, and has a burgeoning practice representing project developers in the emerging carbon capture and sequestration industry.

Max Louik, a litigator in the Insurance Recovery Group, counsels policyholders on their insurance placements and renewals and advocates for their interests through mediation, arbitration, and litigation. Louik has represented policyholders under various types of coverages, including general liability, cyber, directors and officers, employment practices liability, professional liability, and first-party property and business interruption. He has also worked on insurance recovery matters related to COVID-19 which are among the most litigated coverage issues since asbestos.

Mariah H. McGrogan is a litigator in the Labor & Employment Group with extensive experience representing clients in employment-related disputes, including litigation involving claims of harassment, retaliation, discrimination, wrongful discharge, and breach of contract. She is frequently tapped as an internal investigator related to workplace concerns. McGrogan also maintains an active higher education practice, providing advice and counsel on the full range of legal issues impacting colleges and universities.

Princeton

Cheryl A. Lagay is a member of the Financial Industry Group, with a transactional practice concentrated on commercial lending transactions. She has extensive experience representing institutional lenders in domestic and cross-border leveraged finance transactions, including acquisition financings, cash flow and asset-based lending transactions, and other secured and unsecured lending matters. She is a member of the firm’s Fund Finance team and regularly represents clients in subscription line and NAV facilities, as well as hybrid, co-invest and general partner facilities. Lagay is also a member of On-Chain, the firm’s Crypto Digital Assets Group, and represents lenders in the cryptocurrency space.

Gregory D. Speier, a litigator in the Transportation Industry Group, has a practice focused on the defense of aviation, industrial, and recreational manufacturers in complex and high-stakes product liability litigation throughout the United States. He has substantial experience in defending product manufacturers in claims involving catastrophic injuries and wrongful death, as well as in defending commercial airlines in various passenger claim lawsuits. A frequent industry blogger on aviation, Speier is a leader on the ABA’s Aviation and Space Law Committee.

San Francisco

James F. Hennessy, an attorney in the firm’s Life Sciences & Health Industry Group, possesses significant health care regulatory experience that combines traditional health care industry knowledge with capabilities in key industry growth areas, including telehealth and digital health. He advises a wide range of health care providers and life science companies across the country, including providing guidance on structuring transactions in compliance with fraud and abuse laws, payment and coverage rules, licensing requirements, and privacy and security laws.

Tysons

Ehsan Sanaie, a member of the Real Estate Group, focuses his practice on transactional work, including borrower and lender representation, development, acquisitions, dispositions, and commercial leasing. He has served as lead attorney on numerous multi-family apartment complex purchases, large leasing transactions, and loan transactions. He also has significant experience in opinion letter work.

Washington, D.C.

Edwin J. Nazario is a member of the Energy & Natural Resources Group, where his practice focuses on representing clients in connection with energy and commodity trading transactions, derivatives and futures transactions, corporate transactions and CFTC compliance matters in the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asia. Nazario regularly serves as the lead attorney handling commodities, transactional and derivatives matters. His practice continues to be in high demand as a result of market and regulatory developments in the energy, commodity and finance industry sectors.

Manasi Venkatesh is a member of the International Trade and National Security team within the Global Regulatory Enforcement Group. Her practice focuses on international trade compliance in the areas of customs and trade remedies, as well as export controls, sanctions, and foreign investment. Venkatesh represents clients in significant enforcement and regulatory matters before the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of Treasury. Venkatesh has a well-regarded customs and trade remedy practice that bolsters her experience in the practice group’s broader regulatory space.

UNITED KINGDOM

London

Alexander M. Brandt is a litigator assisting shipping, commodity and insurance clients with sanctions related issues, and is recognized as a thought leader in the transportation and commodities sanctions space. Brandt advises insurers, owners, charterers, brokers and traders on all aspects of sanctions-related challenges, providing analysis of applicable legislation, assistance with crucial due diligence work and training. He has extensive experience in regulatory engagement, investigations, disclosures and enforcement actions and has been centrally involved in many of the most high-profile designations, seizures and enforcement actions brought against members of the maritime community by the U.S. government. Brandt also has wide-ranging experience drafting protective language for transportation contracts and financing arrangements, including assisting BIMCO and Intertanko in developing industry standard compliance language. He has worked with major lenders and other organizations across the sector to develop best-in-class compliance programs.

Maccailein Campbell is a member of the Financial Industry Group, where his practice includes advising clients on fund financings (including NAV, subscription line, hybrid, end-of-life and GP support facilities), project finance, private credit and leveraged finance, corporate finance, real estate finance and other bespoke or complex financings. He is experienced in providing clients with guidance on finance transactions throughout their capital structures and is one of only a few finance lawyers in the European market who act for private equity and private credit funds in asset level acquisition financings, and net asset value and subscription line fund financings. He is a member of the firm’s private credit team and has been key to the banking and finance practice’s ESG and renewable offerings.

Daryl Cue is a member of the Global Corporate Group, where his practice focuses on private mergers and acquisitions, general corporate, and commercial matters. Working with clients across Reed Smith’s core practice and industry groups, he has particular experience leading international transactions spanning entertainment and media, financial industries, real estate and energy and natural resources. With leading involvement in a number of the Global Corporate Group’s highest-profile private M&A transactions in recent years, Cue regularly acts on UK inward investment from U.S. clients and general corporate matters within Central Asia, particularly the Republic of Kazakhstan and associated territories.

Katie Grace is a member of the Financial Industry Group, where she works across a range of rapidly evolving practice areas related to structured finance and digital assets. She has an extensive range of debt capital market experience, including RMBS, CMBS, CLO, ETFs, high-yield bond, and receivable securitization specialisms. With an entrepreneurial mindset, she handles matters in new asset classes as the debt capital markets evolve and has experience advising on traditional asset classes as well as new and innovative yield generating assets. Grace’s practice also covers digital assets – she has significant experience in this space having worked on cryptocurrency ETPs from their inception. Her clients include institutional ETP sponsors and asset managers, together with new digital asset market participants and disrupters.

Daniel Kyriakides is a member of the Real Estate Group and has significant experience in a wide range of commercial real estate work. Kyriakides has extensive experience in the prime London real estate market and advises on both single assets and portfolios. Kyriakides has also worked extensively on major lettings for corporate occupiers as well as on the real estate aspects of both finance and corporate transactions. Acting for both domestic and international clients, Kyriakides works with a broad range of businesses to assist with their property needs.

Ravi Pattani, a member of the Global Corporate Group, works on a broad range of international corporate matters, with particular experience in private mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, private equity (acting for both private equity firms and management on investments, portfolio management and exits) and general corporate advisory matters. His experience includes leading and advising on all aspects of transactions for clients from across the firm’s key practice and industry groups, including entertainment and media, energy and natural resources and transportation.

Oliver Rawkins is a litigator in the Global Commercial Disputes Group whose practice focuses on banking, financial services, and diverse commercial disputes. He has extensive experience acting for UK and international investment and retail banks in disputes involving structured products, trade finance, derivatives, and general banking and regulatory issues. He also acts in high value commercial disputes across a range of legal issues, including complex contractual interpretation issues, conspiracy, and fraud claims.

Laura Riddeck, a member of the Real Estate Group, is a transactional construction lawyer. Her core practice comprises advising on construction and engineering projects in the UK and internationally across numerous industry sectors, including renewable energy, infrastructure and transportation projects and commercial developments. She advises a broad range of international and domestic clients including developers, funders, engineering companies and corporate end users. She has developed strong relationships with many of the firm’s key clients and was seconded to a key energy client for whom she continues to handle matters.

CONTINENTAL EUROPE

Paris

Benoît Bernard, a member of the Global Corporate Group, provides tax advice on sophisticated and high-value transactions. An accomplished tax lawyer, Bernard brings deep experience representing domestic and global corporations, investment funds and high net worth individuals in all of the tax aspects of their inbound investments, restructuring and M&A transactions, including tax structuring, conducting due diligence and handling post-acquisition advice. His practice also focuses on tax litigation.

New counsel

Reed Smith’s 2023 new counsel cohort includes 22 lawyers from its U.S. offices, and 12 from its offices in the UK, Continental Europe and Asia. The group comprises seven lawyers from London; five from Chicago; three from Pittsburgh; two each from New York, Philadelphia, Princeton, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., and one each from Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Miami, Munich, Paris, Richmond, Singapore and Wilmington.

In the U.S., new counsel include Andrew M. Barrios (Insurance Recovery); Claudia L. Cortes (Global Commercial Disputes); John D. Kendzior (Life Sciences Health Industry Group); Molly E. Nehring (Global Commercial Disputes), and Anthony R. Todd (Global Regulatory Enforcement) in Chicago; Brian P. Cadigan (Life Sciences Health Industry Group) in Los Angeles; and Garrett S. Nemeroff (Insurance Recovery) in Miami.

Other new counsel are Andrea Dinamarco (Financial Industry Group) and Alexandra C. Manfredi (Labor & Employment) in New York; Nicholas R. Rodriguez (Global Commercial Disputes) and Sebastian C. Watt (State Tax) in Philadelphia; and Courtney B. Averbach (Global Regulatory Enforcement), Victoria Becker (Real Estate), and Alex G. Mahfood (Global Commercial Disputes) in Pittsburgh.

Additional new counsel in the U.S. are Daniel V. Madrid (Financial Industry Group) and Saranne E. Weimer (Labor & Employment) in Princeton; Nicole L. Brenner (Global Regulatory Enforcement) in Richmond; Yoni Fix (State Tax) and Katrina M. Kershner (Intellectual Property) in San Francisco; Jamie L. Lanphear (Life Sciences Health Industry Group) and Sung W. Park (Life Sciences Health Industry Group) in Washington, D.C.; and Jason D. Angelo (Financial Industry Group) in Wilmington.

Reed Smith’s new counsel in the UK include Andrew Harper (Transportation Industry Group), Josh Hughes (Financial Industry Group), Asélle Ibraimova (Global Corporate Group), Kelly Knight (Financial Industry Group), Rebecca C. Naylor (Pro Bono/Community Service), Chu Ting Ng (Financial Industry Group), and Harrison J. Stimson (Global Corporate Group) in London.

In Continental Europe, new counsel include Cihangir Agdemir (Real Estate) in Frankfurt; Christoph Mikyska (Intellectual Property) in Munich; and Olivier Rivoal (Global Commercial Disputes) in Paris.

New counsel in the firm’s Asia offices are Letty Luk (Global Corporate Group) in Hong Kong and Joyce S. Fong (Energy & Natural Resources) in Singapore.

About Reed Smith

Reed Smith is a dynamic international law firm dedicated to helping clients move their businesses forward. With an inclusive culture and innovative mindset, we deliver smarter, more creative legal services that drive better outcomes for our clients. Our deep industry knowledge, long-standing relationships and collaborative structure make us the go-to partner for complex disputes, transactions, and regulatory matters. Now celebrating more than 140 years of service, our firm spans 30 offices with 3,000 people, including 1,700 lawyers.

For more information, please visit reedsmith.com.