Nine Latham Partners Receive 2021 MVP Recognitions

Nine Latham & Watkins partners have been named 2021 MVPs by Law360 in the legal news service’s annual selection of leading lawyers in a range of practice area and industry categories. The honorees "have distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals," according to Law360.

Latham’s total of nine MVPs across seven categories is the most of any firm for the second year in a row.

The 2021 Latham honorees include:

Matthew A. Brill and Matthew Murchison, named in tandem in Law360’s Telecommunications category. Both partners are nationally recognized advisers to clients in the communications sector on a range of regulatory, litigation, and transactional matters, particularly before the US Federal Communications Commission. They are members of Latham’s Connectivity, Privacy & Information Practice, of which Brill serves as Global Chair.

David K. Callahan and Bert C. Reiser, co-awarded in the Intellectual Property category. Both partners are seasoned trial lawyers who are at the forefront of trade secrets litigation before the International Trade Commission (ITC), which has significantly increased in recent years. For example, they collaborated this past year on a precedent-setting case advising LG Energy Solution in a trade secrets dispute before the ITC related to electric vehicle battery design and manufacture. Callahan is Global Chair of Latham’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice, and Reiser leads the group’s ITC Litigation capabilities.

Les P. Carnegie, a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense & Investigations Practice, selected in the Compliance category. He advises clients on outbound and inbound business transactions, helping them navigate US export controls, sanctions, and foreign investment reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). He co-leads Latham’s Export Controls, Economic Sanctions & Customs Practice, and the CFIUS & US National Security Practice.

Tad J. Freese, a Corporate partner honored in the Technology category. He represents technology companies, investment banks, and other public and private companies in high-profile corporate transactions, such as advising Airbnb in its market-pacing 2020 initial public offering and representing leading semiconductor company AMD in its blockbuster US$35 billion acquisition of Xilinx. He has held several firm leadership positions and currently serves as Office Managing Partner of Latham’s Bay Area offices.

Jeff Greenberg, Global Chair of the firm’s Project Development & Finance Practice, named in Law360’s Project Finance category. He represents financial institutions and private equity sponsors, as well as public and private companies, in connection with all phases of the development and financing of power, oil refinery, ethanol, telecommunications, petrochemicals, fertilizer, and other infrastructure projects. He is a former member of the firm’s Executive Committee as well as Managing Partner for the Los Angeles office and Vice Chair of the US Finance Department.

Grace M. Lee, a member of the Transactional Tax Practice, selected in the Tax category. She advises clients on US federal income tax matters relating to mergers and acquisitions, investments, and other strategic transactions. She also serves as Local Tax Department Chair in the firm’s Bay Area offices and recently advised on some of the most visible and complex deals in the market, including Slack’s US$27.7 billion acquisition by Salesforce and Intuit’s US$7.1 billion acquisition of Credit Karma.

James A. Metz, Global Vice Chair of Latham’s Tax Department, honored in the Benefits category. He advises individual executives, public and private companies, and compensation committees on a broad array of compensation and benefits issues in the context of day-to-day business, corporate transactions, and crisis situations. He designed the benefits and compensation structures in connection with several of 2020’s most high-profile corporate transactions, including Airbnb’s initial public offering and Slack’s US$27.7 billion acquisition by Salesforce, and AMD’s US$35 billion acquisition of Xilinx.