CHARLOTTE (July 20) – Kilpatrick Stockton announced today that it is adding 10 new attorneys to its Charlotte office representing five primary areas of practice– Taxation (Corporate); Employee Benefits; Finance; Intellectual Property; and Litigation.
Five of the additions, including three partners, are permanently transferring from the firm’s other offices; two attorneys, including one counsel, are laterals joining from other law firms; and three attorneys are joining as part of the firm’s 2007 recruiting program.
“Each addition was the result of a strategic decision to fill a growing need in the burgeoning Charlotte market,” said David Whelpley, Kilpatrick Stockton Executive Committee Member and Charlotte Office Managing Partner. “We are very pleased with their joining us in Charlotte. Their diverse legal expertise will be a great addition to our service offering to the firm’s clients both in Charlotte and across the region. The Charlotte community will benefit as well from their strong commitment to community involvement.”
Lois Colbert, transferring from the Raleigh office, is a Partner on the Employee Benefits Team in the Employee Benefits/Labor Department. Ms. Colbert engages in a comprehensive employee benefits practice with concentration in the areas of deferred compensation (including 409A compliance), retirement plan qualification (including drafting and obtaining Internal Revenue Service determination letters on tax-qualified status), welfare benefit plans (including HIPAA privacy compliance), equity compensation, fiduciary responsibility, prohibited transactions (including obtaining Department of Labor exemptions) and negotiation of employee benefit aspects of business transactions. She is listed as an Employee Benefits/ERISA “Super Lawyer” in North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine for 2006. She was also recognized by the American Lung Association of North Carolina as its 2002-03 “Volunteer of the Year.” Ms. Colbert is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School.
Naho Kobayashi, transferring from the Atlanta office, is a Partner in Kilpatrick Stockton’s Financial Transactions, Real Estate and Restructuring Department and has established herself as an influential leader in her area of practice and through her community involvement. Ms. Kobayashi’s legal practice concentrates in the areas of complex commercial and banking transactions. She has extensive experience representing banks and other financial institutions in syndicated loan transactions with a particular emphasis on loans to borrowers in the telecommunications and healthcare industries. In addition, Ms. Kobayashi has served as borrower’s counsel in a variety of finance transactions. She graduated cum laude from the Duke University School of Law.
Raj Natarajan, transferring from the Atlanta office, is a Partner in Kilpatrick Stockton’s Finance Transactions, Real Estate and Restructuring Department and is an active community leader. Mr. Natarajan has extensive legal and business experience in commercial lending and banking transactions. He has negotiated and documented numerous high-profile cash flow, asset-based and real estate loans in the media, communications, healthcare, manufacturing, retail and timber industries. In 2006, he was named one of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 Under 40. He is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center.
Bob Duffy, has joined the firm from Mayer Brown as Counsel and is on the Tax Team in the firm’s Corporate Department. Mr. Duffy worked in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC earlier in his career. He brings a deep experience in representing large corporations with significant tax controversies with the Internal Revenue Service. He is a graduate of the Harvard Law School.
Mike Boggs, transferring from the Winston-Salem office, is an Associate on the firm’s Mechanical and Healthcare/Life Science teams in the Intellectual Property Department. Mr. Boggs received the North Carolina Bar Association IP Section’s 2004 Outstanding Achievement Pro Bono Award. He is a graduate of the Franklin Pierce Law Center.
Mark Canepa recently joined the Charlotte office from the litigation firm of Baker, Manock & Jensen in Fresno, California. Mr. Canepa works closely with the firm’s Litigation Department and the Financial Restructuring Team. Mr. Canepa is a graduate of the University of California, Hastings College of Law.
Clint Wimbish, transferring from the Winston-Salem office, is an Associate on the firm’s Biotech/Chemical Team in the Intellectual Property Department. Mr. Wimbish focuses his practice on patent prosecution in the chemical and biochemical areas with a special emphasis on polymer, solid state and transition metal technologies. He earned his Masters in Chemistry from Princeton University and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law.
Three new associates will join the office in September as graduates of the Wake Forest School of Law and the University of Tennessee College of Law. They will be joining the firm’s Capital Markets Team in the Financial Transactions, Real Estate and Restructuring Department.
ABOUT KILPATRICK STOCKTON
Kilpatrick Stockton LLP is a full-service international law firm with more than 500 attorneys in nine offices across the globe: Atlanta and Augusta, GA.; Charlotte, Raleigh and Winston-Salem, NC.; New York, NY; Washington, D.C.; London, England; and Stockholm, Sweden. Kilpatrick Stockton’s delivery of innovative business solutions provides results-oriented counsel for corporations, from the challenging demands of financial transactions and securities to the disciplines of intellectual property management. Collaboration among Kilpatrick Stockton’s corporate, litigation and intellectual property attorneys provides knowledgeable and proactive guidance for companies at every stage of the business life cycle. For more information, please visit www.kilpatrickstockton.com.
