20 November 2014 – LawFuel.com – Mayer Brown, a leading global law firm, announced the promotion of 21 of its lawyers worldwide to partner. The appointments take effect January 1, 2015.
“We are delighted to welcome these outstanding lawyers to the Mayer Brown partnership,” said Chairman Paul Theiss. “They have achieved this significant milestone in their careers through excellence in their legal skills, client service, business acumen and commitment to teamwork across practice areas and geographic boundaries. We are confident that, as partners, they will continue to make significant contributions to the success of our clients and the firm.”
The new partners are:
Carolina M. Bottino, Tax Transactions & Consulting, Tauil & Chequer, Rio de Janeiro
Ms. Bottino focuses her practice on taxation and civil law matters. She advises international oil and gas companies in their operations in Brazil on tax matters, especially regarding expatriates, individual taxation, immigration, labor and social security related issues. She also advises clients on customs and foreign trade matters involving special customs regimes.
Clinton H. Brannon, Intellectual Property, Washington DC
Mr. Brannon is a registered patent attorney who focuses his practice on patent litigation in federal district courts and inter partes review and ex parte reexamination proceedings in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. His experience encompasses all stages of patent litigation and trial in federal district courts, as well as appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Todd N. Bundrant, Banking & Finance, Chicago
Mr. Bundrant represents financial institutions, investment funds and corporate borrowers in a variety of secured and unsecured finance transactions. He also represents borrowers and lenders in transactions involving corporations and private equity funds seeking to expand and/or leverage their portfolios. In addition, he represents major US and foreign banks as lead agent and arranger in syndicated credit facilities and private equity sponsors, real estate investors and developers in a variety of commercial real estate transactions.
Andrew J. Calica, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, New York
Mr. Calica represents pharmaceutical companies in complex product liability litigation, internal investigations and in commercial litigation, arbitration and mediation. His recent engagements include representing brand name pharmaceutical companies in a nationwide product liability litigation and a multi-national pharmaceutical company in an international commercial arbitration. In the financial services sector, he has represented banks and broker dealers in a variety of commercial disputes involving financial products, contracts and accounting.
Jessica L. Crutcher, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Houston
Ms. Crutcher’s practice involves litigation in state and federal courts, as well as mediation and arbitration. Her experience includes energy industry litigation, securities litigation, banking litigation, shareholder derivative claims, failed business transactions, failed companies, business torts, commercial contract disputes and directors’ and officers’ liability.
Kevin C. Cunningham, Corporate & Securities, Chicago
Mr. Cunningham represents clients in corporate transactions, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and investments, joint ventures and similar transactions. He also provides advice on general corporate law matters, including corporate governance, defensive measures and SEC compliance. He represents a variety of clients – public and private, domestic and international, financial and strategic – and his work spans a wide range of sectors, including industrial goods, financial services, consumer products, intellectual property, chemical manufacturing and entertainment.
Erin G. Gladney, Tax Controversy, New York
Ms. Gladney represents clients in significant federal tax controversies, including during audit, in administrative appeals and before federal courts. Her controversy experience includes economic substance, substance-over-form and transfer pricing issues. She also participates in the firm’s pro bono efforts and has represented individuals in federal district courts in both Illinois and New York.
Benjamin Gray, Corporate & Securities, Chicago
Mr. Gray represents fund sponsors in the formation of real estate closed-end and open-end private investment funds. He also focuses on other transactions primarily involving real estate companies (including REITs), such as joint ventures, separate accounts, club deals and acquisitions and divestitures.
Haukur Gudmundsson, Banking & Finance, Chicago
Mr. Gudmundsson represents issuers, underwriters and investors in various domestic and cross-border securitizations and other structured finance transactions. His securitization experience includes public and private transactions involving various asset classes, including auto loan and lease receivables, floor plan receivables, residential mortgage loans, servicing advances and construction bridge loans. In addition, he represents clients in connection with a variety of structured finance and other transactions, including repurchase transactions, tender offers and mergers and acquisitions.
David B. Harrison, Corporate & Securities, Ho Chi Minh City
Mr. Harrison focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions and bank financing. He advises international investors, including private equity houses and corporate clients, on share and asset acquisitions and divestments. He frequently advises development finance institutions and commercial banks as lenders on credit facilities including project and corporate financings in emerging Asian markets which include, in addition to Vietnam, Mongolia, Bangladesh and Cambodia. He also advises on debt restructurings in emerging Asian markets.
Vincent W.C. Law, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Hong Kong
Mr. Law focuses his practice on anti-corruption related investigation work servicing gaming industry clients in Macao. He also acts for financial institutions, real estate developers, professional service providers, directors of listed entities, private clubs and major corporations in contentious matters in the areas of regulatory and compliance, disciplinary proceedings, employment dispute, sexual discrimination, insolvency and shipping finance. He also represents clients in obtaining injunctions against vexatious litigants.
Nancy S.M. Leung, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Hong Kong
Ms. Leung specializes in real estate disputes. She also advises on debt recovery and liquidation-related litigation, judicial review proceedings, PRC related disputes, commercial disputes and arbitration. She represents banks and financial institutions, property developers, liquidators, statutory body corporate, individuals, corporations as well as Mainland China enterprises. She is a qualified mediator in the panel list of the Law Society of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Mediation Accreditation Association Limited.
D. Nathan McMichael, Real Estate, Washington DC
Mr. McMichael’s practice focuses on commercial real estate transactions and real estate financings, including: acquisitions and dispositions of real estate and interests in real estate; commercial leasing; debt and equity financing; and workouts and restructurings. He also represents lenders in complex single-asset and multi-asset real estate financing transactions and construction loans. He has experience in transactions involving a wide variety of asset classes, including office buildings, hotels, casinos, resorts, shopping centers, multifamily and industrial properties.
Kristin Mikolaitis, Tax Controversy, New York
Ms. Mikolaitis represents taxpayers at all stages of federal tax controversies, including during audit, in administrative appeals and before federal courts. Her controversy experience includes corporate tax matters involving international tax and transfer pricing, substance-over-form disputes, economic substance issues and financial and leasing transactions. Her litigation experience includes trial work in the United States Court of Federal Claims, as well as matters in the United States Tax Court and various United States Courts of Appeals.
Wesley A. Misson, Banking & Finance, Charlotte
Mr. Misson’s practice centers on secured lending, with a special focus on fund finance. He has represented lenders in more than 90 subscription credit facilities and other fund financings. He works with fund-related borrowers and negotiates third-party investor documents with institutional, high net worth and sovereign wealth investors. In addition, he has assisted more than 36 banks as lead or syndicate lender on transactions with total values exceeding $20 billion.
Louis C. Shansky, Banking & Finance, Chicago
Mr. Shansky represents domestic and international banks, issuers, borrowers, lenders, structuring agents and other parties in various structured finance transactions, including secured loans, commercial paper conduit transactions, purchases and sales of financial assets and public and private securitizations. He also represents lenders and structuring agents in debtor-in-possession financings. He has experience with several different classes of asset-backed financings, including auto loans and leases, dealer floorplan receivables, credit card receivables and life settlements.
Mark Stefanini, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, London
Mr. Stefanini acts for clients in a wide range of substantial contractual and commercial claims, which frequently involve a multi-jurisdictional element. He has particular experience in product liability and safety matters and advises clients in the finance, music, information technology, publishing, construction, shipping, automotive and pensions sectors. He also advises on dispute resolution agreements to be included in cross-border transactions, including transactions involving sovereign entities.
Allison Levine Stillman, Intellectual Property, New York
Ms. Stillman concentrates her practice in intellectual property and other complex litigation matters, representing industry-leading technology and media companies and Fortune 100 consumer brands. She also advises clients in connection with: intellectual property licensing, prosecution and acquisitions; brand protection; and advertising and social media clearance. In addition, she works with Mayer Brown’s Supreme Court and Appellate practice in connection with high-stakes legal briefing in consumer litigation and mass tort actions.
Benjamin Thompson, Banking & Finance, Singapore
Mr. Thompson is a member of Mayer Brown’s global Projects group, with more than 10 years of experience in project financings throughout Asia. With a strong focus on infrastructure and power (and renewable power in particular), he has advised both sponsors and lenders on the development and financing of several of the highest-profile power projects in the region, including projects in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar.
Ugo O. Ude, Corporate & Securities, New York
Mr. Ude represents private equity funds and strategic companies in connection with merger and acquisition transactions, financings, public and private securities offerings, restructurings, joint ventures and corporate governance matters. He also represents fund sponsors with respect to the formation of private equity, infrastructure and other alternative asset funds.
Lori Zahalka, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Chicago
Ms. Zahalka practices commercial litigation and represents business entities in complex disputes in state and federal courts, including professional negligence claims brought against national accounting firms, fraud claims, contract disputes and government investigations. In addition, she represents clients in labor and employment litigation matters before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, including individual and class claims of discrimination, wrongful discharge and employment-related torts. She also counsels clients on a wide range of employment-related matters.
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