Perkins Coie Announce Most Diverse Partner Class

slaughter & may diversity

SEATTLE (January 4, 2021) Powered by LawFuel —Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that 26 counsel and senior counsel have been promoted to partner. The new partner class of 2021 includes:

 

·       Sumedha Ahuja

·       Jessica Batzell

·       Craig A. Beaker

·       Josh Boehm

·       Miguel J. Bombach

·       Aria C. Branch

·       Alisha C. Burgin

·       Amanda R. Callais

·       Nancy Cheng

·       George Colindres

·       Alexis E. Danneman

·       Catherine J. Del Prete

·       Justin M. Gonzales

·       Andrew C. Hanson

·       Charlyn L. Ho

·       Chris M. Kang

·       Heather Karell

·       Lauren M. Kulpa

·       Mike LaPlante

·       Jordan G. McCarthy

·       Caroline M. Mew

·       Greg Miller

·       Stephanie M. Regenold

·       Heidee Stoller

·       Leigh E. Sylvan

·       Brett D. Zudekoff

“Members of our new partner class have delivered exceptional legal counsel and client service throughout their legal careers, including rising to the challenges of serving clients through the global pandemic” said Firmwide Managing Partner Bill Malley. “As our most diverse partner class to date, this group represents a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives, reflecting the broader diversity of our clients and communities. We are pleased to welcome them to the partnership and wish them continued success at Perkins Coie.”

Perkins Coie 2021 Partner Class

 

  Sumedha Ahuja (Seattle) is a member of the Intellectual Property Law practice. Her practice focuses on strategic patent portfolio management and patent prosecution with specific emphasis on computer software, internet, and artificial intelligence inventions. She has successfully drafted and prosecuted patent applications for both large corporations and startups at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and foreign patent offices.

 

  Jessica Batzell (Denver) is a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions practice. Jessica focuses on advising private equity sponsors, family offices, senior management, and public and private companies in connection with mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, minority investments, going-private transactions, and other complex corporate transactions in a broad range of industries.

 

  Craig A. Beaker (Denver) is a member of the Trademark, Copyright, Internet & Advertising practice. He counsels businesses ranging from startups to well-known Fortune 500 companies on brand protection and enforcement issues, including trademark clearance, prosecution and enforcement, copyright, marketing and advertising, licensing, rights of publicity and domain, and internet issues.

 

  Josh Boehm (Phoenix) is a member of the Technology Transactions & Privacy practice. Josh guides innovative companies through the complex legal issues in developing cutting-edge products and platforms, particularly in the financial technology and blockchain fields, where he regularly advises digital asset custodians and exchanges on regulatory issues. Josh has also counseled clients on e-commerce and digital transformation initiatives involving music streaming, advertising, cloud storage, video gaming, and virtual reality.

 

  Miguel J. Bombach (San Diego) is a member of the Patent Litigation practice. He focuses on patents in the electrical and computing arts. Miguel’s practice includes district court litigation, inter partes reviews before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, patent prosecution before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and patent portfolio due diligence.

 

  Aria C. Branch (Washington, D.C.) is a member of the Political Law practice group. Aria litigates political law cases, most notably in the areas of voting rights and redistricting. Aria also counsels federal and state elected officials, candidates, political parties, trade associations, corporations, PACs, and other political organizations on campaign finance and ethics issues.

 

  Alisha C. Burgin (Los Angeles) is a member of the Commercial Litigation practice. She represents companies and individuals in high-stakes commercial litigation in state and federal courts, as well as in arbitration. Her practice focuses on all phases of complex commercial disputes, unfair competition and consumer protection, and trade secret litigation. Although she is an “anywhere” lawyer, capable of quickly grasping the nuances of law, practice, and procedure in any jurisdiction, Alisha has mastered California procedure and has extensive experience in the state’s trial and appellate courts.

 

  Amanda R. Callais (Washington, D.C.) is a member of the Political Law practice group. Amanda focuses her practice on political litigation. She represents voters, campaigns, political committees, and activists at the state and federal level in actions related to elections, including redistricting and voting rights, as well as cases implicating important matters of First Amendment speech and association.

 

  Nancy Cheng (Palo Alto) is a member of the Patent Litigation practice. She has served as a core member of patent litigation teams that have secured victories for leading technology companies at various stages of dispute resolution: motion to dismiss, post-Markman hearing, trial, and appeals. She has also appeared before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to represent clients in inter partes reviews.

 

  George Colindres (Los Angeles and San Diego) is a member of the Emerging Companies & Venture Capital practice. George acts as outside general counsel for clients in a diverse array of industries, including food, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, digital health, Internet of Things, social networking, e-commerce, online advertising, online gaming, software, hardware, telecommunications, and real estate. George also represents venture capital firms, strategic investors, angels, and other investors in connection with making investments in these industries and others.

 

  Alexis E. Danneman (Phoenix) is a member of the White Collar & Investigations practice. Alexis focuses on defending individuals and corporate entities against criminal and other governmental investigations, including civil enforcement and forfeiture proceedings. She also conducts internal investigations for corporate clients, such as those involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, fraud, and employee misconduct.

 

  Catherine J. Del Prete (Los Angeles) is a member of the Commercial Litigation practice. She is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer who has litigated in state and federal courts throughout the United States. As an attorney with the firm’s Insurance Recovery practice, Catherine represents corporate policyholders in coverage disputes and litigation and her practice includes representation of clients in disputes on a variety of issues.

 

  Justin M. Gonzales (Portland) is a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions practice. His practice focuses on mergers, acquisitions, sales, investments, corporate governance, and other corporate matters for public and private clients. He has represented financial buyers and sellers in strategic transactions across a diverse set of industries, including software and technology, renewable energy, manufacturing, apparel, financial services, transportation, life sciences, and food and beverage.

 

  Andrew C. Hanson (Madison) is a member of the Environment & Natural Resources practice. He has been involved in negotiating contracts and seeking regulatory approvals for hundreds of millions of dollars of investments in renewable energy projects, energy efficiency and demand response programs, electric vehicle infrastructure, advance metering infrastructure, grid modernization, and other emerging technologies in the energy sector.

 

  Charlyn L. Ho (Washington, D.C.) is a member of the Technology Transactions & Privacy practice. Charlyn counsels clients on legal issues related to technology and privacy, including those affecting e-commerce sites, mobile devices and applications, artificial intelligence and machine learning, virtual reality, mixed reality, and augmented reality platforms, cloud services, enterprise software, cryptocurrency platforms, healthcare products and services, and Internet of Things devices.

 

  Chris M. Kang (Bellevue) is a member of the Real Estate & Land Use practice. He practices in the areas of real estate and business law. In his real estate and land use practice, he represents national and regional clients in all areas of commercial real estate, including retail, office, and industrial leasing, purchase and sale of properties, and development projects, including renewable energy transactions.

 

  Heather Karell (Seattle) is a member of the Technology Transactions & Privacy practice. Heather focuses her practice on complex commercial transactions involving technology and intellectual property. She advises clients in a wide range of industries on matters arising in the context of strategic collaborations, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, financings, distribution arrangements, and outsourcing and procurement transactions. She represents clients ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies and provides practical advice and counseling on a variety of issues such as those related to licensing arrangements, privacy and data protection, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and open source software.

 

  Lauren M. Kulpa (Dallas) is a member of the Labor & Employment Law practice. Lauren advises clients, from small employers and startups to Fortune 500 companies, on employment policies and practices and is highly experienced with workplace investigations, particularly those involving C-suite and other high-level employees. She also regularly litigates claims of harassment, discrimination, and wage and hour violations, as well as bringing claims on behalf of her clients for violations of noncompete agreements, trade secret misappropriation, and breach of employee confidentiality agreements.

 

  Mike LaPlante (San Francisco and Palo Alto) is a member of the Emerging Companies & Venture Capital practice. He serves as outside general counsel to emerging growth companies through all stages of their corporate life cycle, including pre-incorporation planning, general corporate counseling, venture capital and debt financings, public offerings, and mergers and acquisitions.

 

  Jordan G. McCarthy (Chicago) is a member of the Real Estate & Land Use practice and focuses on real estate transactions and development, with an emphasis on the hotel industry. Jordan works on local and multistate real estate transactions and is experienced in acquisitions, dispositions, hotel finance, REIT structuring, joint ventures, franchise and hotel management agreements, and development, asset management, and operational matters.

 

  Caroline M. Mew (Washington, D.C.) is a member of the Commercial Litigation practice. She is an experienced litigator who represents clients from diverse industries in complex civil litigation in state and federal court. In addition to litigating commercial disputes, Caroline advises clients on regulatory compliance, represents companies asserting challenges to federal regulatory action under the Administrative Procedure Act, and defends companies in private litigation and federal enforcement actions challenging statutory and regulatory compliance.

 

  Greg Miller (Seattle) is a member of the Product Liability practice, as well as the Appeals, Issues, and Strategy practice. He defends companies in product liability and commercial disputes in both state and federal court. He also has extensive appellate experience, representing clients in a range of complex matters in appellate courts at the state and federal level. Greg is a former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk.

 

  Stephanie M. Regenold (Portland) is a member of the Environment & Natural Resources practice. She counsels clients on development of major infrastructure projects, including natural resource and renewable projects, highway and public and private transportation projects, and commercial development.

 

  Heidee Stoller (Portland) is a member of the Commercial Litigation practice. Heidee represents clients in complex commercial and healthcare litigation. Her commercial litigation experience includes consumer protection, business tort, contracts, employment, and shareholder disputes. She has also defended several class action lawsuits in state and federal court.

 

  Leigh E. Sylvan (Seattle) is a member of the Product Liability Law practice. Leigh is experienced in general litigation matters, including internal investigations, white collar and regulatory defense, and international arbitration.

 

Brett D. Zudekoff (San Francisco and Palo Alto) is a member of the Trust & Estate Planning practice. Brett works with individuals, couples, and large multigenerational families. He advises them on wills, trusts, and other wealth preservation tools to help them in succession planning and asset protection.

 

 

Perkins Coie is a leading international law firm that is known for providing high value, strategic solutions and extraordinary client service on matters vital to our clients’ success. With more than 1,100 lawyers in offices across the United States and Asia, we provide a full array of corporate, commercial litigation, intellectual property, and regulatory legal advice to a broad range of clients, including many of the world’s most innovative companies and industry leaders as well as public and not-for-profit organizations.

 

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