Latham & Watkins Names 33 New Partners, 26 New Counsel

Alexa M. Berlin is a member of the Corporate Department who represents both financial institutions and issuers in a variety of capital markets transactions, including IPOs, block trades, at-the-market offerings, and spin-off transactions. She also routinely advises public companies on general corporate governance and securities law matters, including the preparation and filing of ‘34 Act reports. She received her JD from Northwestern University School of Law in 2010.

Robert C. Collins III is a member of the Litigation & Trial and Environment, Land & Resources Departments whose practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, including matters related to product liability, class actions, environmental litigation, and business, insurance, and contract disputes. He represents clients in federal and state courts across the country at both the trial and appellate levels. He received his JD from Harvard Law School in 2011.

Brenda L. Danek is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department who focuses her practice on patent litigation, with particular focus on antibody, biotechnology, and Hatch-Waxman litigation. She has extensive experience litigating patent matters before district courts and in proceedings before the US Patent and Trademark Office. She received her PhD in Chemical Engineering from University of Delaware in 2003 and her JD from New York University School of Law in 2008.

Hamburg

Otto-Philipp von Gruben is a member of the Corporate Department who represents German and international corporations and private equity funds on M&A matters, with a focus on real estate-related transactions. He completed his First German State Exam at Muenster University in 2008 and his Second German State Exam, Higher Regional Court, at Celle in 2010. He received his LLM from University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2011.

Houston

Lauren A. Anderson is a member of the Corporate Department who primarily represents private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies within the energy industry. She focuses on a broad range of private equity transactions, M&A, and general corporate matters. She received her JD from Tulane University Law School in 2011.

Jim Cole is a member of the Tax Department who advises clients in the energy sector, including strategic investors, private equity firms, and investment banks. He provides transactional tax advice pertaining to M&A, restructurings, capital market matters, tax equity financings, and other project financings, with a particular focus on oil and gas tax matters and renewable energy tax matters. He received his JD from University of Houston Law Center in 2011.

Matthew Jones is a member of the Finance Department who focuses his practice on representing borrowers, sponsors, and lenders in complex finance transactions, with an emphasis on oil and gas and other commodity industries. He has a variety of experience advising clients on acquisition financings, asset-based facilities, syndicated term loans, and reserve-based loans, as well as other secured and unsecured financing transactions. He received his JD from Northwestern University School of Law and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 2009.

Trevor J. Lavelle is a member of the Corporate Department whose practice focuses primarily on secured and unsecured high-yield bond offerings, complex liability management, and special situations in the oil and gas sector. He represents both issuers and financial institutions, and assists clients in financing transactions for public and private company M&A and divestitures. He also advises companies on general securities law compliance and corporate governance. He received his JD from University of Minnesota Law School in 2009. 

London

Manoj R. Bhundia is a member of the Finance Department who advises banks, other financial institutions, and corporate borrowers and issuers in a range of banking and finance transactions, with a particular focus on representing financial institutions on sponsor-led leveraged buyout transactions. He received his LLB from King’s College London and his LPC from The College of Law, London in 2004.

Neil Campbell is a member of the Corporate Department who focuses his practice on private equity transactions, advising clients on a broad spectrum of acquisitions, disposals, and restructurings. He graduated from the University of Nottingham, after a period of study at the University of Texas, with a degree in Law with American Law in 2008.

Stuart Davis is a member of the Corporate Department who focuses his practice on financial regulatory and FinTech transactions and structural advisory mandates, advising investment, retail, and private banks, broker-dealers, technology companies, market infrastructure providers, investment managers, hedge funds, and private equity funds on complex regulatory challenges. He has developed considerable experience advising clients on the domestic and cross-border regulatory aspects of cutting-edge FinTech initiatives. He received his law degree from University of Cambridge in 2007.

Beatrice Lo is a member of the Corporate Department whose practice encompasses a range of M&A, joint ventures, reorganizations, and general corporate transactions for both private equity sponsors and strategic company clients. She has particular depth of experience in the energy, financial services, and insurance sectors. She received her LLB from University College London in 2004.

David J. Ziyambi is a member of the Finance Department whose practice focuses primarily on project, structured, and leveraged financing in the energy and infrastructure sectors within both mature and developing markets, particularly throughout Africa. He represents sponsors, lenders, and governments on a range of matters, from project development and project finance deals to structured financing, prepayments, and reserve-based lending. He received his LPC from BPP Law School in 2007.

Los Angeles

Michael J. Reiss is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department whose practice encompasses a range of complex commercial litigation, including consumer class actions, financial institution litigation, insolvency litigation, sports and entertainment litigation, and intellectual property litigation. His clients include private equity firms, sports labor unions, consumer product manufacturers, retail shopping malls, and internet, software, and ridesharing companies. He received his JD from University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2010.

Jeffrey R. Senac is a member of the Finance Department who focuses his practice on a variety of banking and leveraged finance matters, with a strong concentration on lender-side financing transactions, representing both investment banks and direct lenders. He received his LLM from New York University School of Law in 2010 and his JD from University of Illinois College of Law in 2009.

Munich

Sebastian Pauls is a member of the Corporate Department whose practice covers private equity and M&A transactions across a wide range of industry sectors for German and international financial and strategic investors, with a particular focus on representing private equity sponsors on cross-border transactions. He received his LLM in Taxation from New York University School of Law in 2009, completed his Second German State Exam at the Higher Regional Court in Zweibrücken in 2007, earned his Dr.jur. from Ludwig–Maximilians–University in 2005, and completed his First German State Exam at Goethe University in 2004. 

New York

Jenna B. Cooper is a member of the Corporate Department who advises public companies across industries on corporate, securities, and governance issues, including compliance with Exchange Act disclosure requirements, proxy rules, insider trading rules, stock exchange governance rules, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related regulations. She received her JD from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2010.

Kuan Huang is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department whose practice covers a range of complex litigation matters, including contract, fraud, copyright, bankruptcy, trade secret, oil and gas, telecommunications, Lanham Act, qui tam, employment, accounting, and securities disputes. He has successfully represented clients in both state and federal courts, as well as in US and international commercial arbitrations. He received his JD from Columbia University School of Law in 2011.

Eyal N. Orgad is a member of the Corporate Department who focuses his practice on M&A and private equity investments. He represents US and non-US clients, especially private equity firms and strategic investors across a wide range of industries, including technology, healthcare, and energy. He received his LLB from Tel Aviv University Buchman School of Law in 2005.

David E. Owen is a member of the Corporate Department who advises public and private companies, including financial and strategic investors, in connection with M&A, dispositions, joint ventures, reorganizations, and other general corporate matters. His experience includes transactions in the energy, healthcare, and gaming industries. He received his JD from Boston University School of Law in 2008. 

Conray C. Tseng is a member of the Finance Department who represents financial institutions and corporate borrowers and issuers in leveraged finance transactions, with a particular focus on special situations and distressed scenarios. He has significant experience in sponsor acquisitions financing and asset-based and cross-border transactions. He received his JD from Cornell Law School in 2006.

Orange County

Drew Capurro is a member of the Corporate Department who focuses his practice on corporate representation, with an emphasis on capital markets and corporate governance matters. He has deep experience representing public companies in the life sciences, technology, consumer products, and homebuilding industries. He received his JD from University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2011.

San Diego

Amy E. Hargreaves is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department whose practice focuses on white collar litigation and investigations for healthcare industry clients. She specializes in internal investigations, responses to government subpoenas or investigations, OIG and CMS self-disclosures, compliance programs development, and referral source contracting. She also has significant experience defending healthcare clients against False Claims Act qui tam actions. She received her JD from The University of Southern California Gould School of Law in 2009.

Jennifer K. Roy is a member of the Environment, Land & Resources Department who has a diverse project siting and approvals practice, representing clients in environmental litigation, regulatory matters, and transactions. She handles a variety of energy and infrastructure matters related to power generation and transmission, renewable energy development, water supply projects, land use entitlements, and environmental diligence. She received her JD from University of Virginia School of Law in 2011.

Silicon Valley

Miles P. Jennings is a member of the Corporate Department whose practice focuses on representing public and private technology and life sciences companies, including those within the blockchain, biotechnology, health information technology, and medical device sectors. He advises companies along their entire lifecycle, from startup formation through growth and exit, including on private financing transactions, IPOs, and acquisitions. He received his JD from Pepperdine University School of Law and his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles.
 
Hilary H. Mattis is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department whose practice focuses on high-stakes litigation for technology and life sciences clients. She is an experienced trial lawyer handling securities class actions, shareholder litigation, M&A litigation, SEC investigations and enforcement proceedings, and other high stakes commercial litigation in the semiconductor, consumer electronics, biotechnology, medical devices, and financial services sectors. She received her JD from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2010.

Ashley E. Wagner is a member of the Tax Department who advises public and private companies on executive compensation and employee benefits matters, including equity incentive plans, deferred compensation and bonus plans, severance and change in control arrangements, and employment agreements. She also counsels on employee benefit compensation aspects of M&A deals, financings, IPOs, and other corporate transactions. She received her JD from Duke University School of Law in 2010.

Washington, D.C.

Tyler Brown is a member of the Finance Department who focuses his energy regulatory and markets practice on administrative litigation, regulatory, and transactional work regarding financings, acquisitions and other transactions, and regulatory compliance in the energy industry. He advises on matters involving electric generation, transmission, and distribution, energy storage, and natural gas and oil transportation, analyzing the myriad issues under federal and state statutes that affect the energy industry. He received his JD from University of Virginia School of Law in 2010.

Eric C. Greig is a member of the Corporate Department whose practice focuses on regulatory and corporate matters involving clients in the healthcare and life sciences sectors, with a particular emphasis on reimbursement and compliance. He has experience advising companies in the medical device, pharmaceutical, clinical laboratory, and diagnostic testing industries on complex reimbursement strategies, as well as representing private equity funds, financial institutions, and strategic investors in a variety of corporate transactions. He received his JD from The University of Texas School of Law in 2010.

Inge A. Osman is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department whose practice focuses on intellectual property litigation. She represents patent owners and accused infringers in matters involving a range of complex technologies before US federal district courts, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. She received her JD from Harvard Law School in 2010.

Amy R. Rigdon is a member of the Corporate Department who represents alternative asset managers and financial institutions in raising private investment funds and venture capital funds, as well as negotiating with strategic investors around the world. She also has extensive experience advising on internal sponsor arrangements and providing regulatory counsel on complex compliance issues related to investment funds. She received her JD from Stetson University College of Law in 2008.
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In addition, the lawyers promoted to counsel include: 

Boston

Steven J. Pacini is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department who represents emerging companies and investment firms in complex business disputes, with a focus on litigating matters arising out of M&A and other business transactions. He received his JD from Boston University School of Law in 2009.

Brussels

Tomas Nilsson is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department whose practice covers issues under EU and Swedish competition law. In particular, he advises clients on issues relating to merger control, abuse of dominance, cartel proceedings, and distribution and licensing agreements. He received his LLM in Trade Regulation from New York University School of Law in 2009 and a Master of Laws from Lund University in 2005.

Chicago

Kirstin Scheffler Do is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department whose practice focuses on allegations of healthcare fraud and abuse, including internal investigations, government investigations, and litigation arising under the False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback Statute, and Stark Law. She has particular experience providing litigation and regulatory counsel to Medicare Advantage Organizations, pharmaceutical companies, medical device and diagnostic manufacturers, and other sectors of the healthcare industry. She received her JD from Harvard Law School in 2008.

Hamburg

Stefan Patzer is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department with broad experience in litigation and arbitration matters, including complex commercial litigation, shareholder disputes, mass and antitrust litigation, as well as insolvency and restructuring-related litigation. He has extensive courtroom experience, having represented clients in hundreds of hearings. He completed his Second German State Exam at the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg in 2008, received his LLM from George Washington University in 2004, and completed his First German State Exam at the University of Cologne in 2001.

Hong Kong

Raymond C. F. Cheng is a member of the Corporate Department who advises international banks, corporations, and individuals on a range of derivatives, banking, and capital markets transactions. He received his PCLL from The University of Hong Kong in 2008 and his LLB and Bcomm from University of Melbourne in 2007.

Maurice Conway is a member of the Corporate Department who advises on international private equity and M&A transactions, as well as general corporate matters across a diverse range of industries, with particular focus on representing private equity clients and corporations on investments in Southeast Asia. He received his LPC from The College of Law, London, in 2008, and a Law and Business degree from University College Dublin in 2007.

Wei Wei is a member of the Corporate Department who primarily advises Chinese companies on IPOs in the US and Hong Kong. She also represents clients in debt and equity offerings and M&A transactions. She received her JD from University of Michigan in 2008.

Houston

Herman H. Yue is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department whose practice focuses on patent litigation, with emphasis on the life sciences and pharmaceutical industries. He has experience in all phases of complex patent litigation, from pre-suit investigation through trial and appeal, and he routinely provides strategic patent counseling to clients. He received his JD from New York University School of Law in 2007 and earned a PhD in Molecular & Cell Biology from University of California, Berkeley in 2004.

London

William Lam is a member of the Finance Department who advises sponsors, corporate borrowers, banks, and other financial institutions on a range of transactions, with particular focus on cross-border leveraged finance and private equity finance. He received a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from University of Oxford in 2011, a Bachelor of Laws from The University of Sydney Law School in 2007, and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from The College of Law, Sydney in 2007.

New York

Shira E. Bressler is a member of the Corporate Department whose practice focuses on all aspects of commercial real estate law with a concentration on real estate finance. She has represented lenders and developers in the financing of power plants, mines, office buildings, shopping centers, and hotels in transactions involving portfolios of single assets and multiple properties. She received her JD from New York University School of Law in 2008.

Leah Friedman is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department whose practice focuses on domestic and international antitrust litigation, class action defense, and complex commercial disputes. She received her LLM from Harvard Law School in 2008 and her LLB from The University of Sydney Law School in 2005.

Pia Naib is a member of the Corporate Department who advises domestic and foreign financial institutions, including banks, broker dealers, and investment funds, on US bank regulatory issues. Her experience includes providing counsel on matters related to the US Bank Holding Company Act and aspects of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, including the Volcker Rule. She received her JD from Duke University School of Law in 2011.

Annemarie V. Reilly is a member of the Finance Department whose practice focuses on restructurings and special situations. She represents distressed companies, agents, lenders, creditors, and shareholders in all aspects of the restructuring and reorganization process, and she has significant experience representing debtors and secured agents in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganizations and out-of-court debt restructurings. She received her JD from Hofstra University School of Law in 2009.

Brian K. Rock is a member of the Finance Department who represents lenders and borrowers on a variety of financing transactions, with particular emphasis on secured lending and issues arising under Article 9 (secured transactions) and Article 8 (investment securities) of the Uniform Commercial Code. His practice particularly involves structuring and negotiating an array of debt, collateral, and intercreditor documentation. He received his JD from University of Virginia School of Law in 2011.

Michael Vardanian is a member of the Corporate Department who has broad M&A experience, encompassing public and private acquisitions and dispositions. He primarily focuses on representing private equity firms in deals across industries, including in energy, retail, media, telecommunications, manufacturing, and technology. He received his JD from University of Michigan Law School in 2006.

Orange County

Kristin N. Murphy is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department whose practice focuses on complex business litigation, with an emphasis on securities and commodities fraud, professional liability, and class action litigation. She has represented clients in multijurisdictional litigation arising out of solicited and hostile takeover attempts, and investigations and litigation on behalf of special committees and boards of directors. She has represented pharmaceutical companies in clinical and post-clinical trial phases of development, energy companies, and real estate investment trusts. She received her JD from The University of Texas School of Law in 2009.

San Diego

Christopher G. Geissinger is a member of the Corporate Department whose practice includes advising public and privately held companies, as well as venture capital and investment banking firms, in public and private financing transactions, SEC disclosures, and corporate governance matters, particularly in the life sciences and technology sectors. He received his JD from University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2009.

Kevin C. Reyes is a member of the Corporate Department who represents public and private companies in a variety of corporate matters, including M&A, public offerings, private placements of equity and debt securities, and venture financings, as well as securities compliance and corporate governance matters. He received his JD from The University of Southern California Gould School of Law in 2011.

San Francisco

Heather B. Deixler is a member of the Corporate Department who advises public and private companies in the healthcare and life sciences industries on a wide range of transactional and regulatory matters. She represents hospitals, physician organizations, and digital health, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies on issues such as data privacy and security, and healthcare regulatory fraud and abuse matters. She received her JD from University of Washington School of Law in 2007.

Washington, D.C.

Dean W. Baxtresser is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department whose practice focuses on government contracts litigation and corporate compliance. He represents government contractors in complex commercial litigation involving the False Claims Act, bid protests, contract disputes, and government investigations, and he has significant experience with regulatory compliance, accounting, and transactional matters involving government contractors. He received his JD from University of Michigan Law School in 2010.

Marissa R. Boynton is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department who practices in the areas of data privacy, cybersecurity and data breach response, white collar defense, and consumer protection. She has litigation, investigations, and counseling experience in matters involving computer fraud and cybercrime, privacy and data security compliance, and program management, representing clients in the consumer, healthcare, retail, professional services, and technology sectors. She received her JD from University of Virginia School of Law in 2009

Christopher M. Cronin is a member of the Corporate Department who represents private equity firms, investment banks, and public and private companies in a variety of corporate financings, including cross-border and leveraged buyout transactions and debt and equity offerings. He also advises clients on securities regulation and general securities and corporate matters. He received his JD from Duke University School of Law in 2009.

Joshua W. Marnitz is a member of the Environment, Land & Resources Department whose practice focuses on complex corporate and finance transactions in the oil and gas, power, renewable energy, manufacturing, and real estate sectors. He advises private equity firms, financial institutions, and corporate clients on environmental and energy regulatory matters. He also has experience with the development and financing of major conventional and renewable energy and infrastructure projects in the US and abroad. He received his JD from University of Virginia School of Law in 2009.

Elizabeth More is a member of the Corporate Department who represents private equity investors, their portfolio companies, and other public and private companies in connection with complex M&A transactions in a broad range of industries, with a particular emphasis on the energy industry. She has significant experience in acquisitions and divestitures, equity investments, joint ventures, and other strategic combinations and complex projects to develop energy assets, such as development, farmout, and participation agreements. She received her JD from Tulane University Law School in 2009.

Rohith A. Parasuraman is a member of the Corporate Department whose practice focuses on M&A and private equity transactions and general corporate matters for public and private companies across a variety of industries, including manufacturing, industrials, aerospace and defense, healthcare, consumer products, government contracting, and energy. He received his JD from Duke University School of Law in 2008.

Anna Rathbun is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department who focuses her practice on antitrust and competition matters, including the defense of corporate clients in complex civil litigation, class actions, and cartel investigations. She regularly represents clients appearing before the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice, state attorneys general, and foreign antitrust enforcers in matters relating to price-fixing allegations. She received her JD from University of Michigan Law School in 2010.

About Latham

Latham & Watkins delivers innovative solutions to complex legal and business challenges around the world. From a global platform, our lawyers advise clients on market-shaping transactions, high-stakes litigation and trials, and sophisticated regulatory matters. Latham is one of the world’s largest providers of pro bono services, steadfastly supports initiatives designed to advance diversity within the firm and the legal profession, and is committed to exploring and promoting environmental sustainability.

Notes to Editors

¹ Latham & Watkins operates worldwide as a limited liability partnership organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (USA) with affiliated limited liability partnerships conducting the practice in France, Italy, Singapore, and the United Kingdom and as affiliated partnerships conducting the practice in Hong Kong and Japan. Latham & Watkins operates in South Korea as a Foreign Legal Consultant Office. Latham & Watkins works in cooperation with the Law Office of Salman M. Al-Sudairi in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.