GLOBAL (12 January 2017) – Reed Smith LLP announced that 25 associates and counsel have been promoted to partner. The partner promotions for 2017 include:
Daja Apetz-Dreier (Munich) is a member of the firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice group. Her practice focuses on litigation, international arbitration, and alternative dispute litigation, in particular in cross-border conflicts regarding real estate and finance. She has worked with clients in a variety of complex commercial and corporate disputes, and also handles post-M&A and IP disputes, as well as negotiating and drafting commercial contracts. Clients value her broad experience and tailored solution-oriented advice when handling their most complex or time-critical matters. Daja is also the Munich Chair of Reed Smith’s Women's Initiative Network (WINRS).
Susan Ormand Berry (Houston) is a member of the firm’s Financial Industry Group. Her practice focuses on structured finance, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters. She has worked with clients in a variety of complex domestic and international financing transactions involving reserve-based lending; asset-based loans secured by diverse types of collateral; and many forms of term, revolving, and letter-of-credit facilities, including syndicated facilities with multiple lien priorities, unsecured loans, and acquisition loans. Susan has routinely advised energy companies on mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, project financing and general corporate matters.
Kelly L. Bley (Pittsburgh) is a member of the firm’s Corporate & Transactional Advisory Group. She has extensive experience in all aspects of employee benefits law, with her primary focus on the legal issues associated with tax-qualified retirement plans. She represents domestic and international employers of all sizes with regard to compliance with the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA, as well as with benefit plan design and strategy. Kelly routinely represents employers before the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor and the PBGC. Prior to joining Reed Smith, Kelly was in-house counsel for a bank holding company where she served as the head of the Compensation and Benefits Practice Group for the legal department.
Keri S. Bruce (New York) is a member of the firm’s Entertainment & Media Industry Group. She represents national and multi-national clients and trade organizations in matters relating to advertising, marketing, social media, promotions, trade practices, intellectual property and technology. Her practice includes providing clients with transactional support, practical advice, training, and dispute resolution relating to talent agreements and celebrity endorsements; media and advertising agency, technology, sponsorship, licensing, and strategic alliance agreements; social media compliance; commercial co-ventures and other charitable sales promotions; loyalty programs; claim substantiation; sweepstakes; contests; promotional incentives, such as gift cards, rebates and coupons; and general advertising review.
Therese Craparo (New York) is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property, Information & Innovation Group. She focuses her practice on data privacy and security, enterprise data and technology risk management, records and information governance, and eDiscovery. Therese represents clients in the financial services, pharmaceutical, and technology industries in complex litigation and regulatory investigations relating to privacy, data risk, and eDiscovery. She routinely advises clients on strategies for managing the legal and regulatory issues relating to both traditional and innovative technologies, and counsels clients on all aspects of the data risk, including: data privacy, cybersecurity, data analytics, cross-border data transfers, data migrations and remediation, technology implementation, and eDiscovery.
Morley Fortier (Chicago) is a member of the firm's Corporate & Transactional Advisory Group. He concentrates his practice on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, equity financing matters, corporate governance issues, and general corporate law matters for private equity funds, their portfolio companies, and other public and privately held businesses. His transaction experience spans a wide range of industries and deal sizes. Morley is also a member of the firm’s Emerging Growth/Venture Capital team, and has worked with private companies in all stages of growth, advising each on capital structure, fundraising, acquisitions, divestitures, and eventually exit transactions.
Oliver Harker (London) is a member of the firm’s EME Corporate Group. He has a broad range of international corporate experience and advises clients on a wide variety of transactions, including cross-border mergers and acquisitions, private equity, joint ventures and capital markets. He has significant experience advising on strategic public and private M&A. Oliver’s practice spans a number of industries, including energy, trade and commodities, financial services, and media and entertainment.
Kathy J. Huang (Los Angeles) is a member of the firm’s Complex Litigation Group. She focuses her practice on class action defense and high-stakes business litigation. Her clients are life insurance and financial services companies, nutrition and product supplement companies, and major sports apparel retailers and manufacturers, as well as other Fortune 500 corporations. She also serves on the Recruiting Committee and as co-chair of the Pro Bono Committee for the Los Angeles office.
Simon Hugo (London) is a member of the firm’s Financial Industry Group. His areas of practice include structured finance, securitization, debt restructuring, structured real estate finance, and loan portfolio acquisitions and sales. Simon is described by Legal 500 as “a responsive and technically able rising star”.
Jessica Kenworthy (Singapore) is a member of the firm’s Energy & Natural Resources Group. Jessica’s practice covers a broad range of financing, and she specializes in complex trade and commodity financings and ship financings. She has been involved in a wide range of commodity finance-related transactions, in particular acting for lenders, trading houses and multilaterals. Recent transactions include international structured trade financings, and pre-export, prepayment and limited recourse structures in emerging markets, with a particular focus on transactions in Southeast Asia, China, India and Mongolia. Jessica’s practice also covers ship finance, and she has handled a number of ship sale/purchase transactions, and the financing of new buildings and secondhand vessels (both debt and sale and leaseback structures).
Jean F. Kuei (Washington, D.C./Los Angeles) is a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Group. Jean has exclusively represented management in all aspects of employment law, from single-plaintiff discrimination and harassment lawsuits, to multi-plaintiff wage and hour class actions. Jean routinely advises and represents Fortune 50 financial and retail institutions on both the East and West Coasts. Jean also served as the firm’s 2016 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity fellow, and is a member of the Leadership Advisory Board of the National Women’s Law Center.
Kevin M. Madagan (Washington, D.C.) is member of the firm’s Life Sciences Health Industry Group. He focuses on providing legal and strategic advice regarding supply chain security (e.g., global product sourcing and distribution), advertising and promotion (Rx and OTC), and FDA enforcement. Kevin's clients span the life sciences and health care spectrum, including consumer health care, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device manufacturers; suppliers; distributors; pharmacies; and health care providers. Kevin also routinely advises private equity funds, their portfolio companies, and other private and publicly held businesses seeking specialized support in connection with health care financing, securities filings, and mergers and acquisitions.
Elizabeth McGovern (London) is a member of the firm’s Financial Industry Group. Her practice focuses on insolvency, formal and informal restructuring, and bankruptcy. She is dual-qualified in both the United States and England and Wales, and regularly advises clients on cross-border insolvency and enforcement issues, with a particular focus on shipping and the travel industry. Elizabeth is a fellow of INSOL International, the International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals.
Jonathan Moyer (Philadelphia) is a member of the firm's Corporate & Transactional Advisory Group. Jonathan concentrates his practice on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity, venture capital and growth equity transactions, public and private equity and debt offerings, corporate governance issues, and general corporate law. In his practice, Jonathan regularly counsels funds and companies focused in the health care, financial services, energy, and media and entertainment industries, among others.
Keyonn L. Pope (Chicago) is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property (IP) Group. His practice focuses on all aspects of complex IP litigation matters, with an emphasis on patents, trademarks, unfair competition, trade secrets, trade dress, and copyrights. Keyonn has extensive experience handling matters before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, namely trademark and patent prosecution, inter partes review petitions, and trademark oppositions and cancellations. He also devotes a substantial portion of his practice to media and entertainment matters, including counseling clients on matters related to music and product licensing, distribution, and management. Keyonn has held various leadership roles within the firm and is active in pro bono and community activities.
Sachin Premnath (London) is a member of the firm’s Entertainment & Media Industry Group. Sachin focuses his practice on advising clients on legal and regulatory matters in the digital media industry. In particular, Sachin advises on the creation, acquisition, licensing and distribution of digital content, copyright issues, software licensing, data protection, and related matters regarding the protection and exploitation of intellectual property rights on digital media networks and platforms. He has significant experience in digital music licensing, including structuring and negotiating commercial arrangements involving digital music services, record labels, music publishers, collection societies and users.
Matthew Rosso (Philadelphia/Princeton) is a member of the firm’s Insurance Recovery Group. His practice focuses on representing corporate policyholders in all industries and in a wide variety of disputes under all types of insurance policies. He has represented clients in arbitrations and litigation in state and federal courts throughout the country, and routinely advises policyholders regarding the presentation of claims, the negotiation of settlements, and loss recovery strategies. Over the past few years, Matt has developed extensive experience representing financial institutions in matters stemming from the recent financial crisis, including the pursuit of mortgage insurance coverage for defaulted loans.
William J. Sheridan (Pittsburgh) is a member of the firm’s Global Regulatory Enforcement Group. Will’s practice focuses on antitrust and managed care litigation. He has considerable experience in antitrust litigation, particularly representing managed care organizations, and has advised clients facing investigation by the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission. Will has also counseled clients on antitrust issues related to mergers and joint ventures. In addition, Will regularly represents managed care organizations in litigation involving a wide range of issues, including ERISA, fraud and abuse, and provider contracting.
Allison Warden Sizemore (Pittsburgh) is a member of the firm’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group. She assists clients with a broad range of employee benefits matters, including plan documentation, disclosure, and day-to-day counseling for qualified retirement plans, nonqualified plans, and welfare plans. Allison also regularly advises employers on ERISA fiduciary governance, potential liability, and best practices, and assists financial industry clients with complex ERISA matters, including compliance with the Department of Labor’s new fiduciary rule. Allison also is experienced with multiemployer pension plan issues, such as withdrawal liability, distress terminations and underfunded pension plan matters, and benefits due diligence, and advice in connection with corporate transactions.
Luke A. Sizemore (Pittsburgh) is a member of the firm’s Financial Industry Group. His practice is focused on representing indenture trustees, financial institutions, lessors, utilities, other secured and unsecured creditors, and corporate debtors in bankruptcy cases and non-judicial restructurings throughout the United States. Luke regularly defends creditors in bankruptcy-related contested matters and adversary proceedings, including preference and fraudulent transfer litigation and stay violation proceedings. Luke also advises counterparties to financial contracts entitled to safe harbor protections under the Bankruptcy Code.
Eddy So (Hong Kong) is a member of the firm’s Litigation Group. He focuses on financial services, commercial litigation, and regulatory investigations and enforcement, as well as white-collar crime. He has considerable experience in representing listed companies, executive directors, non-executive directors, professionals, and other individuals in regulatory investigations and court and tribunal proceedings brought by the law enforcement agents and market regulators in relation to a wide range of matters. These matters include insider dealing, market manipulation, fraud, breach of listing rules, corporate governance, shareholder dispute, and compliance.
Ioli Tassopoulou (London) is a member of the transactional shipping team in the firm’s Shipping Group. Her practice covers all aspects of ship finance and investment in shipping assets, with a focus on the acquisition of performing and non-performing shipping loans, financings (including loan financings and sale and leaseback structures), restructurings and work-outs, bespoke ownership structures and shipping joint ventures, as well as sale and purchase.
Jack Trachtenberg (New York) is a member of the firm’s State Tax practice. He advises clients on all aspects of state and local tax from planning and compliance to controversy and litigation before administrative bodies and trial and appellate courts across the country. Jack has extensive experience advising clients on New York City and State tax matters. His practice focuses on corporate income, franchise, gross receipts, sales and use, and personal income taxes. Jack also advises and represents clients regarding the application of state False Claims Act statutes in tax cases. In 2009, Jack served as the first Deputy Commissioner and Taxpayer Rights Advocate at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
Jeff Weimer (Pittsburgh) is a member of the Complex Litigation Group and frequently manages complex, high-profile and highly contentious cases for companies in multiple industries in Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania and across the nation. He has represented clients of all sizes in matters involving commercial contract disputes, corporate raiding, restrictive covenants, breaches of fiduciary duty, trade secrets, fraud, insurance recovery, and health care payor-provider disputes. Jeff has a proven ability to recruit and lead litigation teams to victory, and is adept at delivering cost-effective solutions aligned with his clients’ most valued priorities.
Amy Yin (Shanghai) is a member of firm’s Business & Finance Group. Her practice focuses on inbound and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other investments involving the PRC. She also routinely advises on general PRC corporate matters for clients in the automobile, health care and life science, and trading sectors, including various types of commercial and financing contracts, corporate governance and regulatory work, and employment matters.
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm with more than 1,700 lawyers in 26 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1877, the firm represents leading international businesses, from Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises. Its lawyers provide litigation and other dispute-resolution services in multi-jurisdictional and other high-stakes matters; deliver regulatory counsel; and execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions. Reed Smith is a preeminent advisor to industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising, entertainment and media, shipping and transport, energy and natural resources, real estate, manufacturing, technology, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.
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