Holland & Knight issued the following announcement on Jan. 3.
Steven Sonberg, Managing Partner of Holland & Knight, announced that 36 attorneys in the firm have been elected to partnership effective January 1, 2022. Twenty-three associates and 13 senior counsel and of counsel from various offices throughout the firm have been elevated. They are:
Atlanta
Associate elevated to partnership:
Kyla Baker is a member of the firm's Real Estate Section. She focuses her practice on leasing, acquisition, disposition, development and management of commercial real estate. Ms. Baker represents purchasers, sellers, landlords, tenants, developers, owners and managers in a wide range of commercial real estate matters. She received a J.D. degree and a B.S. degree from the University of Florida.
Senior counsel elevated to partnership:
Rachel Fink is a member of the firm's Business Section. Ms. Fink's practice focuses on complex commercial financing transactions across various industries, including manufacturing, media and telecommunications, and healthcare. She represents banks and other financial institutions, as well as public and private companies, in connection with leveraged finance transactions, asset-based financings, real estate financings, subordinated debt facilities, acquisition financings and other types of secured and unsecured credit facilities. She received a J.D. degree from Mercer University School of Law and a B.A. degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Austin
Associate elevated to partnership:
Jacob Lawler is a member of the firm's Business Section. Mr. Lawler focuses on a wide range of electric utility and related regulatory matters in electric power markets. His practice includes advising on Texas power- and energy-related transactions, drafting and negotiating Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), and participating in regulatory proceedings at the Public Utility Commission of Texas. He received a J.D. degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School and a B.A. degree from the College of William & Mary.
Bogotá
Senior counsel elevated to partnership:
Rafael Lafont Castillo is a member of the firm's Business Section. Mr. Lafont focuses his practice on tax and corporate law. He has extensive experience on the international and national tax and foreign exchange consultancy, as well as the planning and execution of inbound and outbound investment projects, focusing on the areas of planning, consulting, foreign investment, litigation and on the application of agreements to avoid double taxation. He received a J.D. degree from Fundación Universidad del Norte, an LL.M. degree from Universidad de los Andes, an LL.M. degree from the University of Miami School of Law and a B.A. degree from the University of Florida.
Boston
Senior counsel elevated to partnership:
Nancy Hegarty is a member of the firm's Business Section. Ms. Hegarty concentrates her practice in the areas of estate planning, trust and estates law, trust administration, estate settlement, generation-skipping transfer tax planning, and the federal and state taxation of individuals, trusts and estates. She received a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and a B.A. degree from Princeton University.
Jeffrey Nolan is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. He is an education and employment attorney who represents, advises, educates and helps clients nationwide manage conflicts, enhance the safety of individuals and environments, and successfully navigate the maze of legal obligations faced by educational institutions and employers. Mr. Nolan received a J.D. degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law and a B.A. degree from the University of Vermont.
Chicago
Associate elevated to partnership:
Brian Murray is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Mr. Murray practices in the areas of intellectual property and technology-driven litigation, including cases arising under the Hatch-Waxman Act. He has represented clients in patent litigation concerning various technological fields, including biotechnology/biosynthesis, pharmaceuticals, including Hatch-Waxman patent litigation, telecommunications and LED technology. Mr. Murray received a J.D. degree from DePaul University College of Law and a B.S.E. degree from the University of Michigan.
Dallas
Associates elevated to partnership:
Nadia Haghighatian is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Ms. Haghighatian focuses her practice on patent litigation, representing clients with matters involving various technologies, including software, telecommunications, electrical, mechanical and semiconductor. She received a J.D. degree from Texas Tech University School of Law and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Catherine Rowsey is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. She focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters, government investigations and enforcement actions, and corporate governance and internal investigations. She has represented clients in multiple industries in a wide variety of commercial litigation matters, including substantial experience in cases involving fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, corporate governance, breach of contract, antitrust, misappropriation of trade secrets, and trust and estate disputes. She received a J.D. degree from Baylor University School of Law and a B.S. degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Sara Staha is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Ms. Staha is a labor, employment and benefits attorney who works with clients handling complex commercial, employment and franchise litigation matters. She has experience defending claims of discrimination and retaliation, wage-and-hour claims, and breach-of-contract and wrongful-termination cases. Ms. Staha received a J.D. degree from Baylor Law School and a B.A. degree from Creighton University.
Kevin Teters is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Mr. Teters focuses his practice on commercial disputes, with an emphasis on national hospitality litigation and operations, real estate and condemnation matters, construction liens and disputes, and breach of contract litigation. Mr. Teters is also an experienced litigator in federal and state employment agreement matters regarding non-competition, non-solicitation, non-interference, confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses. Mr. Teters received a J.D. degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and a B.B.A degree from Texas A&M University.
Senior counsel elevated to partnership:
Brian Smith is a member of the firm's Business Section. Mr. Smith's practice focuses on bankruptcy, corporate finance and general corporate matters. He has extensive experience with representing debtors and creditors in a wide array of U.S. Chapter 11 matters and also devotes a significant portion of his practice to assisting lenders with structuring, documenting, and working-out lending transactions, including assisting lenders with intercreditor agreements, agreements among lenders, and personal property foreclosures under the Uniform Commercial Code. Prior to entering the practice of law, he was an auditor for a Big Four accounting firm. Mr. Smith is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a candidate for certification as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He received a J.D. degree from Emory University School of Law and a B.B.A. degree Stetson University.
Fort Lauderdale
Associate elevated to partnership:
Benjamin Taormina is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Mr. Taormina focuses his practice in the area of commercial litigation and has significant experience in conducting jury trials. He has represented clients related to media and entertainment disputes, internal investigations, antitrust violations, money laundering allegations, trust and estates litigation, commercial landlord-tenant litigation and financial services litigation. Mr. Taormina received a J.D. degree from the University of Miami School of Law and a B.A. degree from Michigan State University.
Houston
Associates elevated to partnership:
Jeffrey Anderson is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Mr. Anderson works with national clients in the financial services and healthcare industry sectors to obtain favorable outcomes in their Texas cases. He regularly handles disputes administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA), Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services Inc. (JAMS) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA), and litigates cases in state and federal courts across Texas. Mr. Anderson received a J.D. degree from Texas Tech University School of Law and a B.S. degree from Texas A&M University.
Kristi Soppet is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Ms. Soppet practices complex commercial and civil litigation in both state and federal courts across Texas, Louisiana and Florida. She counsels clients on all aspects of complex commercial litigation, including representing clients on appeal, in numerous substantive areas such as business disputes, fiduciary litigation, privacy and data security, employment law, intellectual property and class actions. Ms. Soppet received a J.D. degree from the Florida Coastal School of Law and a B.S. degree from Eastern Kentucky University.
Jacksonville
Associates elevated to partnership:
Michael Gropper is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Mr. Gropper focuses on complex civil litigation in state and federal court. He has experience representing clients in cases spanning a broad range of substantive law – including class actions, product liability, business torts, insurance, contracts, negligence and other commercial disputes – across a variety of industries. Mr. Gropper received a J.D. degree from American University Washington College of Law and a B.S. degree from the University of North Florida.
Laura Renstrom is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Ms. Renstrom focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation, including product liability, tort and class actions, as well as business, insurance and contract disputes. She has litigated and tried commercial matters across many industries, focusing on real estate, transportation, financial services and healthcare. Ms. Renstrom received a J.D. degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and M.S. and B.M. degrees from the University of Florida.
Miami
Associates elevated to partnership:
Shawn Amuial is a member of the firm's Real Estate Section. Mr. Amuial regularly represents clients in a broad spectrum of real estate transactions, including commercial lending, construction financing, acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures and developments. He also represents clients in the technology space, providing counsel to both local startups and seasoned tech companies on venture formation, governance and financing, as well as asset acquisition and disposition. Mr. Amuial received a J.D. degree from Emory University School of Law and a B.S.B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alejandro Arias is a member of the firm's Real Estate Section. He focuses his practice on land use and zoning matters. Mr. Arias is well versed on creating multifaceted strategies for project approvals that include working with development teams (owners, architects, engineers and contractors), meeting with key constituencies, interacting with government officials and staff, preparing public outreach messaging and lobbying elected officials. He received LL.M. and J.D. degrees from the University of Miami School of Law and a B.A. degree from Florida International University.
Daniel Hanlon is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Mr. Hanlon focuses his practice on litigation and dispute resolution, with particular emphasis on governmental, administrative and public procurement litigation at the local, state and federal levels of government. He represents clients on a wide range of matters before state and federal courts, as well as governmental, administrative and regulatory agencies at all levels. Mr. Hanlon received a J.D. degree from the University of Miami School of Law and a B.B.A. degree from the University of Miami.
Kyle Hershey is a member of the firm's Business Section. Mr. Hershey represents both public and private companies, including private equity funds, and his practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, including public and private acquisitions, and other general corporate and securities matters. He received a J.D. degree from the University of Miami School of Law and a B.S. degree from the University of Maryland.
Jesse Roisin is a member of the firm's Real Estate Section. Mr. Roisin focuses his practice on the representation of banks and other institutional lenders in connection with the origination and servicing of conduit and portfolio loans secured by real estate in all major asset classes, including commercial office buildings, multifamily housing, industrial warehouses and mixed-use properties, shopping centers, hotels, self-storage facilities and other types of commercial properties nationwide. He received a J.D. degree from Boston University School of Law and an A.B. degree from Dartmouth College.
Brandon White is a privacy, data security and consumer litigation attorney in the firm's Litigation Section. Mr. White is well versed in data privacy laws and regulations, and is accredited as a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US). Mr. White also focuses on defending financial institutions and businesses in consumer class and individual matters concerning the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and corresponding state consumer protection statutes. He also provides regulatory compliance counseling on these topics. Mr. White received a J.D. degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and a B.S. degree from the University of Florida.
Senior counsel elevated to partnership:
Christine Gay is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Ms. Gay focuses on labor and employment aspects of mergers and acquisitions transactions on both the buy and sell side. She assists clients with understanding and mitigating employment-related risk and exposure in various industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, biotech and technology. Ms. Gay received a J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and a B.A. degree from Brown University.
Shaina Kamen is a member of the Business Section and works out of the firm's Miami and New York offices. Ms. Kamen's practice encompasses all aspects of estate and trust administration in New York and Florida, including post-mortem estate planning and federal and state estate tax matters. She advises clients on all aspects of estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning to create plans consistent with client goals, with an emphasis on coordinating the overlay of business succession planning on estate planning for family-owned business structures. Ms. Kamen received a LL.M. degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, a J.D. degree from Syracuse University College of Law, and a B.A. degree from George Washington University.
New York
Associate elevated to partnership:
Stosh Silivos is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Mr. Silivos has a diverse litigation practice focused primarily on complex commercial and corporate litigation. He is well versed in all phases of litigation and has particular experience representing clients on appeal. He received a J.D. degree from Columbia Law School and a B.A. degree from the University of Florida.
Senior counsel elevated to partnership:
Mike Chiang is a member of the firm's Business Section. Mr. Chiang provides comprehensive representation regarding joint ventures, venture capital and private equity investments; mergers and acquisitions; inbound and outbound investments; technology transfers; sales and distribution transactions; and cross-border litigation and arbitration matters. He received LL.M. and J.D. degrees from the University of Notre Dame Law School and a LL.B. degree from Chinese Culture University.
Orlando
Associate elevated to partnership:
Austin Thacker is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Mr. Thacker focuses on serving general contractors, homebuilders, owners, developers and manufacturers in a range of industrial, commercial and infrastructure projects, including public, private and government contracts. He also represents public and private entities in in the negotiation and drafting of design and construction contracts, and also serves as project counsel on a variety of commercial, residential and mixed-use developments. Mr. Thacker received his J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law and a B.S. from Lee University.
Philadelphia
Senior counsel elevated to partnership:
Amy McVeigh is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Ms. McVeigh handles a variety of matters involving complex commercial issues, including breach of contract, product liability, business torts, trademark disputes and consumer class actions. Ms. McVeigh represents clients across many industries, with a particular focus on the issues facing domestic and international life sciences and pharmaceutical companies. She represents clients in all phases of litigation and has in-depth experience in federal multidistrict litigation (MDL), statewide coordination, class action defense and similar large-scale matters. She received an LL.M. degree from the University College London, a J.D. degree from Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law and a B.A. degree from Saint Joseph's University.
Portland
Senior counsel elevated to partnership:
Jason Barker is a member of the firm's Business Section. Mr. Barker's multidisciplinary practice involves complex corporate transactions and alcohol beverage regulatory matters. He has deep industry knowledge involving owners, operators and investors within the alcohol beverage, homebuilding and timber industries. He represents clients located throughout the United States and who also operate internationally. Mr. Barker received a J.D. degree from the University of Miami School of Law and a B.A. degree from the University of Virginia.
San Francisco
Senior counsel elevated to partnership:
Letitia Moore is a member of the firm's Government Section. Ms. Moore focuses her practice on complex development projects, land use permitting, environmental compliance and government advocacy. She is well versed in matters involving local land use and state housing laws, compliance with environmental regulations, and the implementation and enforcement of federal and state environmental laws. Ms. Moore received a J.D. degree from the University of California Berkeley School of Law and a B.A. degree from Yale University.
Tysons
Senior counsel elevated to partnership:
Katherine Markel is a member of the firm's Business Section. Ms. Markel focuses her practice on mergers and acquisitions, and represents acquirers and targets from a wide range of industries, including information technology, software services, government contracts and banking. She also counsels clients on commercial transactions and general corporate and securities matters, including private placements and venture capital investments. Ms. Markel received a J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. from Whitman College.
José R. Morales is a member of the firm's Business Section. Mr. Morales concentrates his practice on mergers, acquisitions, separations and private equity transactions in a variety of industries. He has a broad corporate practice, with a focus on securities, corporate finance and governance matters. He received a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School, an M.A. degree from the University of Maryland and a B.A. degree from American University.
Tampa
Associate elevated to partnership:
Chad Vanderhoef is a member of the firm's Business Section. Mr. Vanderhoef focuses on tax controversy and litigation, offshore tax and reporting compliance (e.g., FBARs, international information returns), international tax planning, and foreign investment in U.S. real estate. His practice includes representing clients in tax controversy matters, including U.S. Tax Court and federal district and appellate court litigation, as well as Internal Revenue Service (IRS) examination and appeals. He also advises clients in connection with cross-border restructuring matters. He received an LL.M. degree from Georgetown University Law Center, a J.D. degree from Wake Forest University School of Law, an M.S. degree from Florida International University and a B.B.A. degree from the University of North Florida.
Washington, D.C.
Associates elevated to partnership:
Jessica Bloomfield is a member of the firm's Real Estate Section. Ms. Bloomfield's practice focuses on obtaining land use and zoning approvals in the District of Columbia, including Planned Unit Developments, Zoning Map amendments, design review applications, variances and special exceptions. She frequently appears before the D.C. Zoning Commission and the Board of Zoning Adjustment, and successfully negotiates land use deals and development approvals with District agencies, utilities and community stakeholders. Ms. Bloomfield received a J.D. degree from the University of Oregon School of Law, a Masters’ degree in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon, and a B.A. degree in architecture from Tufts University.
Jessica Farmer is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. Ms. Farmer has a diverse federal and state court litigation and international arbitration practice, representing clients in complex commercial disputes, in a wide array of matters involving breach of contract, allegations of fraud, real estate disputes and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), including litigation involving employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). She received a J.D. degree from the University of Maryland School of Law and a B.A. degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Original source can be found here.