Alston & Bird has announced the election of 20 lawyers to its partnership, effective January 1, 2021.
The new partners span six U.S. offices and 10 practices. More than half of the newly promoted partners are women, including two who are Black and one who is Asian American. The new partners include 11 who have corporate, transactional, or tax practices and eight who are litigators.
“Our new partners are an exceptional group of lawyers who have demonstrated consistent and enduring leadership to their clients and to our firm,” said Alston & Bird Chairman and Managing Partner Richard Hays. “They exemplify our strengths across practices and industries, the scope and sophistication of our client work, and the diversity within our firm.”
Elected to Alston & Bird’s partnership are:
- Alexandra G. Barnett (Atlanta) as partner in our Labor & Employment Group, where she counsels and defends employers in actions brought under state common law and federal law, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Fair Labor Standards Act. In addition, she defends employers in complex employment class actions, conducts internal investigations, and advises on employment-related issues arising in corporate transactions.
- Amie Benedetto (Atlanta) as partner in our Real Estate Finance & Investment Group. She counsels companies in investment management and securities law, with an emphasis on private real estate investment vehicles, separate accounts, and real estate investment trusts. Her clients include financial institutions, fund sponsors, investment advisers, and institutional investors.
- Kristen K. Bromberek (Atlanta) as partner in our Litigation & Trial Practice Group. Focusing her practice on complex commercial litigation and international arbitration, she represents clients in various industries including technology, telecommunications, financial services, and health care in federal and state courts as well as in arbitrations seated in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. She also has significant experience in disputes involving intellectual property, F/RAND obligations, and complex valuation matters.
- Brady Cox (Dallas) as partner in our Intellectual Property Litigation Group, where he represents clients in complex patent and trademark and other intellectual property disputes involving technologies ranging from computer hardware and software to telecommunications, cryptography, and e-commerce. He has brought and defended patent disputes before the U.S. International Trade Commission, in federal district courts in Texas and across the country, and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
- Matthew A. Durfee (Dallas) as partner in our Litigation & Trial Practice Group. He focuses on commercial litigation for clients in the manufacturing and telecommunications industries and defends against complex product liability claims, including class actions and multidistrict litigation in various jurisdictions. He also advises clients from numerous industries on diverse legal issues ranging from breach of contract, negligence, and fraud matters to large-scale government investigations and international disputes.
- Ashley Gillihan (Atlanta) as partner in our Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group. He centers his practice on health and welfare employee benefit compliance and litigation issues for employers, health plan administrators, and other health and welfare benefit plan service providers. He also represents financial institutions and insurance companies that serve as health savings account trustees or custodians.
- Christopher R. Huffaker (Dallas) as partner in our Financial Services & Products Group, where he represents operators of payment networks, financial institutions, processors, FinTechs, and merchants in complex transactional and regulatory matters in the payments and financial services space. He advises clients on the issuance and acceptance of traditional and emerging payment methods, provision and receipt of payments-related products and services, and development and administration of traditional and specialized banking and payments programs.
- Lisa M. Lanham (New York) as partner in our Financial Services & Products Group. She assists clients in complex financial services matters related to obtaining and maintaining federal- and state-issued business operating licenses. Her clients include residential and commercial mortgage lenders, brokers and servicers, loan fulfilment providers, student and consumer loan originators and servicers, and secondary market investors.
- Branson Lee (Atlanta) as partner in our Financial Services & Products Group and Real Estate Finance & Investment Group, where he advises real estate fund managers and developers in matters related to joint venture negotiations, fund formation, financings, securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance.
- Alison LeVasseur (Atlanta) as partner in our Corporate & Business Transactions Group. She focuses her practice on mergers and acquisitions for private equity firms and public and private companies, with an emphasis on middle market transactions in the aerospace, defense, and technology sectors. She also has extensive non-M&A transactional experience and counsels clients on minority equity investments and negotiating complex commercial contracts.
- Rachel Lowe (Los Angeles) as partner in our Litigation & Trial Practice Group. A commercial litigator, she primarily represents food and beverage, media, and retail industry clients in class actions and other complex commercial disputes. She counsels and defends industry-leading food producers, distributors, and retailers facing false advertising class actions stemming from product labeling, in addition to representing companies facing California Consumer Privacy Act and other privacy-related claims.
- Lindsey L.G. Magaro (Atlanta) as partner in our Financial Services & Products Group, where she represents publicly listed and non-listed real estate investment trusts, real estate funds, and investment management firms in fund formation, public securities offerings, and private placements. She also advises clients on corporate governance issues and counsels broker-dealers on compliance with applicable rules from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
- Emily McGowan (Charlotte) as partner in our Litigation & Trial Practice Group. She defends individual and corporate clients in government investigations, white collar criminal cases, and complex business and health care litigation. Her experience includes assisting in criminal and civil proceedings and defending against government investigations related to the False Claims Act, Sherman Act, and state and federal securities laws.
- Neal J. McLaughlin (New York) as partner in our Intellectual Property Litigation Group, where he represents clients ranging from startups to Fortune 50 companies in all areas of intellectual property, including litigation in the U.S. International Trade Commission and federal district courts, patent portfolio development and counseling, and transactional support. His practice includes advising clients on IP issues related to emerging and advanced technologies, such as industrial automation, medical devices, and all types of electronics and mechanical components.
- Adam R. Monich (Atlanta) as partner in our Finance Group. Representing banks, direct lenders, corporate borrowers, and sponsors, he advises on structuring and negotiating both secured and unsecured financings in bilateral, club, and syndicated deals. He focuses primarily on advising lending clients in acquisition financings in industries such as health care, insurance, entertainment, financial services, and technology.
- Heather Ripley (New York) as partner in our Federal & International Tax Group. She counsels U.S. and foreign business entities and high-net-worth individuals on tax structuring of U.S. and cross-border investments and activities. She also advises clients on income tax treaty application, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance and Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Acts, and other tax issues related to U.S. inbound investment, anti-deferral regimes for outbound investments, and M&A transactions.
- John Spears (New York) as partner in our Real Estate Finance & Investment Group. He represents lenders in originating commercial mortgage-backed securities and balance-sheet mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, and other secured financing transactions; secondary market transactions, including syndications, loan purchases and sales, and negotiation of co-lender and intercreditor agreements; and workouts.
- Kristen A. Truver (New York) is a partner in our Finance Group, where she focuses her practice on commercial and residential mortgage-backed securitizations, including multiseller conduits, single-borrower, and small-balance commercial transactions. She also represents issuers and underwriters in connection with consumer loan securitizations, single-family rental securitizations, and commercial real estate collateralized loan obligation transactions.
- Amanda M. Waide (Atlanta) as partner in our Litigation & Trial Practice Group. Focusing her practice on complex commercial litigation, she represents manufacturing clients in commercial disputes in both state and federal courts from inception through trial. She also has significant experience representing manufacturing clients in international arbitrations seated in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
- Chunlian “Lian” Yang (Washington, D.C.) as partner in our International Trade & Regulatory Group. She assists domestic and foreign companies in trade compliance challenges and litigation, including trade remedy proceedings such as antidumping and countervailing duty investigations, and Sections 232 and 301 actions, customs matters, export controls, financial sanctions, and foreign investment matters before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.