Recent Hires, Including Chairman of Business Practice Group, Shore Up Firm’s
Corporate-Area Strengths for Boston, New York, Silicon Valley Offices
BOSTON, Jan. 19, 2005 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – Bingham McCutchen announces the arrival of three partners from Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault LLP: Steven C. Browne, Kevin M. Barry and Michael A. Conza. In addition, Laurie A. Cerveny is joining the firm as Of Counsel.
The lawyers join Bingham McCutchen in the 850-attorney firm’s corporate area and
will work primarily in the Boston office. The three partners are also members of
the New York bar, and it is expected that they will work closely with Bingham
McCutchen’s New York office as well as with corporate partners in the firm’s Silicon
Valley office.
Prior to joining Bingham McCutchen, Browne was chairman of Testa’s Business Practice
Group and headed Testa’s Buyout Practice, and its China and Asia/Pacific Initiative.
Barry was head of Testa’s European Initiative and Conza was head of Testa’s India
Initiative. Conza, Barry and Cerveny were members of Testa’s Business Practice
Group.
“The arrival of Steve, Kevin, Mike and Laurie illustrates Bingham McCutchen’s growth
strategy over the next year,” said Chairman Jay S. Zimmerman, noting the quartet’s
extensive corporate background and international experience. “The firm’s priorities
for 2005 and beyond include expanding its corporate practice on both U.S. coasts,
growing Bingham McCutchen’s office in New York, and tapping into clients’ needs on
the international front, namely in Asia and Europe.”
For the recent hires — as with many attorneys attracted to Bingham McCutchen — the
pull to the firm is its depth and breadth of corporate practice both geographically
and substantively. Practicing in Bingham McCutchen’s domestic and overseas offices,
the firm’s corporate attorneys serve clients ranging from small and emerging
entrepreneurial businesses to the world’s largest multi-national corporations. The
area’s strengths span corporate and securities law, mergers and acquisitions, public
and private equity financings, investment management, commercial technology, estate
planning, tax and employee benefits, domestic and cross-border transactions, and
corporate governance matters.
Browne concentrates in business and securities law, with extensive experience in
mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, corporate finance, private equity
financing transactions, public offerings, SEC compliance, and technology transfer
and licensing. He is general counsel to public and privately held companies in a
variety of industries and at all stages of growth. Browne’s clients include several
global and industry leaders.
As chairman of the Testa’s Business Practice Group, Browne was involved in strategic
policy making and leadership within the firm. As head of the firm’s Buyout Practice,
Browne led the firm’s practice of representing private equity groups in leveraged
buyouts, recapitalizations, growth capital infusions, liquidity transactions and
later stage financings. As head of the firm’s China and Asia/Pacific Initiative, he
understood the intricacies of doing business in China and the Asia/Pacific region,
both from the operating company perspective and the private equity and venture
capital investing perspective. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University
of Rhode Island in 1985 and a juris doctor from Cornell Law School in 1988.
Barry focuses on general corporate and securities law with experience in mergers and
acquisitions, corporate finance, private equity transactions and SEC compliance.
Like Browne, he acts as general counsel to publicly and privately held corporations
at all stages of growth in a variety of industries. Barry’s corporate clients
include several global technology leaders. Barry received a bachelor’s degree from
Middlebury College in 1987 and a juris doctor from Hofstra University School of Law
in 1990.
Conza brings more than 15 years of experience representing privately held and
publicly traded companies, investment banks and venture capital firms. His practice
is primarily targeted toward the representation of emerging and public growth
companies, with strong emphasis on companies in the software and communications
industries. He concentrates his practice in the areas of general corporate
representation, corporate finance and acquisitions.
Conza’s transactional practice includes extensive experience with both private and
public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other complex
commercial arrangements. He is a nationally recognized counselor in the area of
venture capital financings, and a frequent public speaker on matters relating to
venture capital transactions, mergers and acquisitions, PIPE transactions, public
offerings and other topics relevant to private and public technology companies.
Conza received a bachelor’s degree from Boston College and his juris doctor from
Duke University School of Law, where he graduated at the top of his class and was
admitted into the Order of the Coif.
Cerveny was previously Counsel in Testa’s Business Practice Group. She has a
broad-based, general corporate practice, with a focus on representing public and
private high-technology and emerging growth companies in such areas as securities
law compliance and reporting, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, venture
capital financings, licensing and strategic transactions, and private equity fund
formations. Cerveny received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Marist College in
1990, and her J.D., cum laude, from Boston College Law School in 1996, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Boston College Law School Environmental Affairs Law Review.
With 11 offices worldwide, Bingham McCutchen focuses on serving clients in complex
financial transactions, sophisticated corporate and technology matters, and
high-stakes litigation. A decade of successful and strategic growth has positioned
Bingham McCutchen to conduct business around the world, with offices in Boston, New
York, Hartford, London, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, Silicon Valley,
Tokyo, Walnut Creek, and Washington, D.C.
