Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Davis Wright Tremaine Adds Two Litigators to Construction Law Practice Group in Seattle
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP (DWT) today announced the addition of Randall Steichen and John Theiss as partners in its litigation and construction law practice groups in the Seattle office. Steichen and Theiss, both formerly with the Seattle office of Dorsey Whitney LLP, bring a wealth of expertise to DWT’s litigation and construction law teams.

“Randy and John are exceptional litigators. We are pleased to add them to our team. They have wide-ranging experience in complex construction and design law, as well as government contracts and litigation. They add significant depth and capabilities to both our litigation and construction law practices,” said Steve Rummage, co-chair of DWT’s litigation practice group.

Randy SteichenSteichen has more than 26 years of experience resolving disputes through litigation, arbitration, mediation and negotiation. He focuses his practice on serving the construction and design industry, representing contractors, specialty subcontractors, design professionals, owners, lenders, manufacturers, suppliers, sureties, and insurance companies. Steichen has lectured on a variety of topics involving the construction industry and design professions.

Apart from his construction and design expertise, Steichen has broad commercial litigation experience, including trial work on securities cases and contract disputes. He received his J.D. with distinction from University of Iowa College of Law, and his A.B. cum laude from Northwestern College.

John TheissTheiss focuses on advising construction/design clients on complex construction projects. He has represented prime contractors on infrastructure construction projects from multiple perspectives, most recently as a senior executive and general counsel for a large construction firm in New York City. He has counseled parties through the procurement, administration and closing of numerous public and private construction projects. In addition, Theiss has extensive experience resolving claims through negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation.

Within the last few years, Theiss has represented clients on projects with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, the Delaware River Port Authority, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Sound Transit in Seattle, the New York City Transit Authority and the New York City School Construction Authority. He received his J.D. with honors from DePaul University College of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. Theiss received an M.S. in construction management from University of Washington and his B.A. cum laude from Middlebury College.

01-08-2007

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Cozen O' Connor

Cozen O’Connor Attorney Rafael Perez Named Chair of New Jersey City University Board of Trustees
Cozen O’Connor member Rafael Perez has been named chair of the board of trustees of New Jersey City University in Jersey City, N.J. Founded in 1929, New Jersey City University is a nationally accredited liberal arts college located in Jersey City, N.J. The university offers 32 undergraduate degree programs and 19 graduate degree programs, and has approximately 10,000 students.

A member of the firm’s Newark office, Perez is chair of the firm’s diversity committee and a co-head of the public and project finance group. He has been involved in a wide variety of public finance projects, acting as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, trustee’s counsel and borrower’s counsel, and has represented investment banks, corporations organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, for-profit corporations, cities, townships, boroughs, states and their agencies and authorities. He has also represented corporations and financial institutions in transactional and general corporate matters in the United States, Mexico and South America.

Perez is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers. He has served as regional president of the National Hispanic Bar Association from 1989-1990, president of the Hispanic Bar Association in New Jersey from 1994-1995 and as a trustee of the New Jersey State Bar Association from 1996-2002.

A resident of Hunterdon County, N.J., Perez earned his undergraduate degree from Rutgers University (B.A., 1981) and his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D., 1984). He is admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York.

01-08-2007

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Covington & Burling, P.C.

Covington Advises Cowen in Formation of New Healthcare Private Equity Initiative
Covington & Burling LLP advised Cowen Group, Inc. in the creation of Cowen Healthcare Royalty Partners, a alternative asset management fund, and in the negotiation of employment and equity arrangements with its three principals, Dr. Gregory B. Brown, Todd C. Davis, and Clarke B. Futch, who will execute the initiative.

Cowen provides investment banking services to companies in the healthcare, technology, media and communications and consumer sectors.

The Covington team included Scott Smith, Carolyn Taylor and Peter Bogdanow (corporate), and Rob Heller (tax).

01-08-2007

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Baker & McKenzie, L.L.P.

Baker & McKenzie’s Bay Area Office Announces Five New Partners
Baker & McKenzie LLP announced today the election of five new partners, bringing the total number of partners in the San Francisco/Palo Alto office to 49. The new partners, and their practice areas, are:

Veronika Albus International/Commercial
Jason Francl Tax
Jennifer George Global Equity Services
Barbara Klementz Global Equity Services
Lance Martin Tax

Peter J. Engstrom, Managing Partner of Baker & McKenzie’s San Francisco/Palo Alto office, commented: “Veronika, Jason, Jennifer, Barbara and Lance are extremely talented attorneys, with recognized cutting-edge skill sets that are highly valued by our global clients. We are delighted by their continuing commitment to clients, hard work, and market-leading expertise.”

Veronika Albus focuses primarily on global corporate restructuring projects, including post-acquisition integration and spin-off transactions as well as tax-planning restructurings. In addition, Albus counsels clients on a range of general international commercial and corporate issues. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law in 1999, and her B.S. from Georgetown University in 1995.

Jason Francl has extensive experience in corporate international tax planning. He represents local and multinational clients involved in a wide variety of transactions, including domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs and other divisive transactions, partnerships and joint ventures, and financing and restructuring transactions. Francl received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997, and his B.A. from Grinnell College in 1994.

Jennifer George’s practice focuses on the areas of international stock plans, executive compensation and employee benefits offered on a global basis. Her work on the implementation of employee incentive plans has involved tax, securities laws, exchange control regulations, labor laws and related issues. George assists companies with not only complying with current foreign rules and regulations, but also strategizing for upcoming changes in the legal and benefits environment and efficiently managing global programs. She received her J.D. from the University of San Francisco in 1999, and her B.B.A. (concentration in accounting) from Emory University. George practiced as a Certified Public Accountant before attending law school.

Barbara Klementz has significant experience advising multinational companies on implementing their international equity compensation programs. She also frequently advises with respect to the treatment of such programs in corporate spin-offs and other corporate transactions, as well as on the tax treatment of cross-border employees. In addition, Klementz advises clients regarding compliance with data privacy laws on a global level. Klementz attended Geneva University Law School in Switzerland and Bonn University Law School in Germany. She received the German J.D. equivalent in 1995. Klementz received her LL.M. in 2000 from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Lance Martin’s practice focuses on corporate international tax planning. He has worked with a number of multinational companies on a broad range of international tax issues since joining Baker & McKenzie’s international tax group in 1998, including the structuring of business operations and transactions. His tax experience also includes working as a Senior Tax Attorney for Agilent Technologies in 2005 and working as a tax accountant for Deloitte & Touche from 1993 through 1995. He received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law in 1998, and his B.S. in accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1993.

01-08-2007

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Baker & McKenzie, L.L.P.

Baker & McKenzie Advises Nova Biosource Fuels in a Private Placement of Securities for the Construction of Biodiesel Refineries
Baker & McKenzie LLP announced today that its attorneys represented Nova Biosource Fuels, Inc. (OTCBB: NVBF) in a private placement of common stock and warrants to selected institutional and individual accredited investors. The private placement raised approximately US$47 million in gross proceeds. Nova intends to use the proceeds of the private placement for working capital purposes and to fund capital and operating expenditures relating to up to four biodiesel refineries with an aggregate production capacity of 120 to 240 million gallons of biodiesel fuel per year. The private placement closed on December 21, 2006. Jefferies & Company, Inc. served as lead placement agent and Ardour Capital Investments, LLC acted as co-placement agent.

Nova's team of legal advisors for the private placement included Corporate & Securities Partner Roger W. Bivans and Associate Marshall J. Lerman of the Dallas office, supported by other professionals from the New York and Dallas offices. Baker & McKenzie's Nova team also includes Corporate & Securities Partner Amar Budarapu of the Dallas office, Project Finance Partner Chris Groobey of the Washington, DC office and Project Finance Partner Pauline Doohan, Environmental and Climate Change Partner Richard Saines and Real Estate Associate Chris Kopecky of the Chicago office.

“We are pleased to have worked with the professionals of Baker & McKenzie to raise capital for the construction of our biodiesel refineries," said Kenneth T. Hern, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nova. “The successful closing of this complex securities transaction is a testament to Baker & McKenzie’s unique ability to use its in-depth knowledge of our business to successfully navigate the world’s capital markets to help us achieve our business objectives. We believe that Baker & McKenzie provides a global perspective that is unmatched by any other U.S. law firm and we have enjoyed working with them on multiple financing and project development matters since the founding of our company.”

Nova Biosource Fuels, Inc. is an energy company in the business of synthesizing and distributing renewable fuel products and related co-products. In the next three years, Nova plans to build up to seven biodiesel refineries with production capacities ranging from 20 to 60 million gallons each per year. All of Nova's refineries will use its proprietary, patented process technology, which enables the use of a broad range of lower cost feedstocks.

01-08-2007

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Willkie, Farr & Gallagher, LLP

Mario Schmidt to Become a Member of the Firm in the Frankfurt Office
Willkie is pleased to announce that Mario Schmidt has agreed to join the firm as a partner in the Frankfurt office. Mr. Schmidt, presently a partner at Clifford Chance, is recognized as a leading Private Equity expert in Europe. He joins Jochen Winter in Frankfurt, and will help form the core of a formidable transactional team. He will join the firm on February 1, 2007.

01-08-2007

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Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.

Vinson & Elkins Names 14 New Partners
Vinson & Elkins LLP has elected 12 attorneys to the partnership in the United States and two new partners in its Dubai office. V&E is pleased to announce new partners Jennifer B. Poppe in Austin; Robert B. Little, David S. Peck and Christopher R. Rowley in Dallas; Ayman Khaleq and Rindala Beydoun in Dubai; Brett E. Braden, Jeffrey S. Johnston, Keith W. Lapeze, Jeffery K. Malonson, Jason M. Powers and Paris A. Theofanidis in Houston; Aaron J. Tehan in New York; and Craig D. Margolis in Washington D.C.

“We are extremely proud to recognize the accomplishments of these outstanding lawyers,” said Joe Dilg, Managing Partner of Vinson & Elkins. “These new partners have demonstrated their ability to strengthen a number of our key practice areas and they will continue our firm’s commitment to professional excellence and client service.”

Austin
Jennifer B. Poppe is a member of the firm’s litigation section. Ms. Poppe’s principal area of practice is complex business litigation with particular emphasis in state and federal securities litigation, corporate governance and class actions. Ms. Poppe, named by Texas Monthly as a “Texas Rising Star” in business litigation, has handled many high-profile class-action law suits. One of her most recent cases involved representing a national video provider in several consumer class-actions across the country and successfully removing many of these actions to the federal court under the recent Class Action Fairness Act of 2005. Ms. Poppe graduated from The University of Texas at Austin, B.A. in 1995 and obtained her J.D. with honors in 1998 (Order of the Coif) from The University of Texas School of Law.

Dallas
Robert B. Little is a member of the firm’s corporate finance and securities law section. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings and other investment activities. Mr. Little, named a “Texas Rising Star” by Texas Monthly, has represented clients in a variety of industries including energy, retail, real estate, technology, health care, manufacturing and financial services. Recently, he represented a publicly held energy company in its strategic acquisition of another publicly held energy company valued at approximately $2.1 billion. Mr. Little graduated from Baylor University, B.A. summa cum laude in 1995, and The University of Texas School of Law, where he served as Articles Editor for the Texas Law Review and received his J.D. with highest honors in 1998. Following law school, Mr. Little served as a law clerk to The Honorable Patrick Higginbotham of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

David S. Peck is a member of the firm’s tax law section. His practice focuses on the federal income tax aspects of complex domestic and cross-border transactions including mergers, acquisitions and leveraged buyouts, formation of private equity funds, REITs and other investment vehicles, workouts and bankruptcy restructurings, private equity transactions, public offerings and other financings. Recently, Mr. Peck worked as lead tax counsel for Exco Resources Inc. in its $1.2 billion acquisition of Winchester Energy Company, Ltd. from Progress Energy, Inc. Mr. Peck, named by Texas Monthly as a “Texas Rising Star” from 2004-2006, graduated with high honors from The University of Texas, B.B.A in 1995, and with highest honors from The University of Texas Graduate School of Business, M.P.A. in 1995. He received his J.D. with highest honors in 1998 from The University of Texas School of Law.

Christopher R. Rowley is a member of the firm’s corporate finance and securities law section. He counsels clients operating in a variety of industries and private equity funds in complex business transactions involving buying, selling, investing in companies and raising capital, and in related matters involving business entities, corporate governance and securities law compliance. Most recently, Mr. Rowley represented Trammell Crow Company in its acquisition by CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. for approximately $2.2 billion. Mr. Rowley graduated from Vanderbilt University, B.A. in 1992, and received his J.D. cum laude (Order of the Coif) in 1998 from Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law.

Dubai
Ayman H. A. Khaleq is a member of the firm’s business and international law section. Mr. Khaleq’s practice focuses on structured finance (including Islamic finance), private equity and capital markets. His particular expertise is in representing Middle Eastern and international financial institutions on structuring and documenting Shari’ah compliant investment and finance products. During the past two years, Mr. Khaleq has advised on the structuring and documentation of a wide range of ground-breaking Shari’ah-compliant structured finance, private equity and investment funds transactions in the Middle East, Europe and the United States, including the first ever Islamic asset-backed securities backed by energy assets in the United States. In addition, he advised governments and international corporations on privatizations of, and deregulations in, the telecommunication and power sectors. Mr. Khaleq is also an accomplished speaker and author regarding legal developments in the Middle East as well as the structuring, documentation and marketing of Islamic Securities and finance products. He graduated from The George Washington University Law School, LL.M. cum laude in 1994 and the University of Jordan Faculty of Law with highest honors in 1993.

Rindala Beydoun is a member of the firm’s business and international law section. Ms. Beydoun’s practice is focused on international business transactions, mergers, acquisitions and divestures, real estate, oil and gas law, commercial law, business law and corporate law. She has represented clients around the globe on utility, energy and real estate development projects and has advised clients on matters in several different countries. Ms. Beydoun received her B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1991 and graduated from Duke University School of Law, J.D., LL.M. in International Law in 1994.

Houston
Brett E. Braden is a member of the firm’s corporate finance and securities law section. He represents both issuers and underwriters in public and private securities offerings, including offerings of limited partner interests in publicly traded master limited partnerships (MLPs), and also represents both public and private companies in complex mergers and acquisitions, primarily in the oil and gas and oilfield services industries. In addition, he represents private equity firms in fund formation transactions and represents major commercial airlines in leveraged lease and other aircraft financing transactions. Mr. Braden, named as a “Texas Rising Star” in securities and corporate finance by Texas Monthly, graduated from the University of Kansas, B.A. with honors in 1993 and received his J.D. magna cum laude in 1998 from the University of Houston Law Center.

Jeffrey S. Johnston is a member of the firm’s litigation section. Mr. Johnston represents plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of business disputes. He regularly represents companies, officers, directors, and accounting firms in securities, derivative, antitrust, and malpractice litigation and related government investigations. Mr. Johnston recently helped a Big Four accounting firm obtain a unanimous take-nothing award in a confidential arbitration; he also played key roles in obtaining dismissals of securities fraud claims brought by separate classes of shareholders of public companies against a diverse range of clients, including a Big Four accounting firm, a medical device manufacturer, and the former chairman of the board of a bankrupt software company. Mr. Johnston graduated from Creighton University, B.S.B.A. magna cum laude in 1994, and The University of Texas School of Law, J.D. with honors in 1997, where he served as an Associate Editor of the Texas Law Review.

Keith W. Lapeze is a member of the firm’s environmental law section. His principal areas of practice are environmental law, complex litigation, permitting and counseling. Mr. Lapeze has been recognized as one of the best environmental litigators in Texas and has an active litigation practice in state and federal courts involving toxic torts, cost recovery claims, the Clean Water Act, CERCLA, the Clean Air Act, RCRA, NEPA and state statutory claims. He has been the lead attorney in several cases involving property damage and personal injury claims arising from soil and ground water contamination caused by commercial or industrial activities. Mr. Lapeze received his J.D. in 1998 from Louisiana State University Law Center, where he served as Executive Senior Editor of the Louisiana Law Review and was a member of a number of honor societies. Following law school, he clerked for The Honorable James L. Dennis, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Jeffery K. Malonson is a member of the firm’s corporate finance and securities law section. His practice focuses on capital markets and securities offerings, public and private mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, and corporate governance matters. His clients include public and private corporations, MLPs, publicly traded limited liability companies, and investment banking firms. Mr. Malonson has represented clients in a broad range of industries including energy, energy services, waste management, software, information technology and financial services. He graduated from Texas Christian University, B.B.A. in 1994 and from Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law, J.D. cum laude in 1998, where he was a member of the SMU Law Review and Order of the Coif. Prior to joining V&E, Mr. Malonson was a judicial clerk to The Honorable Richard A. Schell, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division, 1998-99.

Jason M. Powers, a member of the firm’s litigation section, represents companies in the litigation and arbitration of complex commercial disputes. Mr. Powers has successfully defended antitrust, securities fraud, and consumer class actions against clients in the retailing, banking, technology, and insurance industries. He has also represented Fortune 500 energy companies in joint venture, buyout/earn out, and executive compensation disputes involving complex accounting and financial control issues. In the health care field, Mr. Powers successfully defended hospitals and device manufacturers in antitrust suits and helped a premier pediatric hospital obtain a favorable result in a suit against a managed care organization for underpayment and other abuses. Mr. Powers graduated from The University of Texas, B.A. and B.B.A., each with highest honors in 1995, and received his J.D. with high honors in 1998 from The University of Texas School of Law, where he was a Chancellor, Townes-Rice Scholar, and Associate Editor of the Texas Law Review.

Paris A. Theofanidis is a member of the firm’s business and international law section. His principal practice areas are finance and derivatives, and he has extensive experience representing corporate borrowers and issuers, institutional investors, insurance companies and private equity funds. Mr. Theofanidis also represents dealers and corporate end-users in an array of over-the-counter derivatives transactions and was named in 2006 by Texas Monthly as a “Texas Rising Star” in banking law. In one notable transaction, he represented the agent bank in connection with several senior revolving and term credit facilities for a major independent refiner and its affiliates; these financings aggregated to more than $6 billion and provided funding in connection with significant mergers and acquisitions as well as an initial public offering. Mr. Theofanidis graduated from the University of Houston, B.B.A in 1991, and the University of Houston Law Center, J.D. summa cum laude in 1998, where he served as the Notes and Comments Editor of the Houston Law Review.

New York
Aaron J. Tehan is a member of the firm’s corporate finance and securities law section. He advises clients in connection with registered and unregistered securities offerings, public and private mergers, stock and asset acquisitions and dispositions, as well as corporate governance and securities law compliance matters. Many of his major representations have been for private equity funds and their portfolio companies in the energy sector. He is currently acting as co-counsel to the acquisition group in connection with the $22 billion leveraged buyout of Kinder Morgan, Inc. Mr. Tehan graduated from Bucknell University, B.A. cum laude in 1995, and Duke University School of Law, J.D. cum laude in 1998, where he served as Executive Editor for the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum.

Washington D.C.
Craig D. Margolis is a member of the firm’s litigation section. His principal area of practice involves white collar criminal defense as well as internal investigation and compliance matters. He also defends clients in government investigations and prosecutions, congressional investigations and other proceedings. Mr. Margolis joined V&E in 1996 but left in 1999 to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney in Philadelphia until 2004, when he returned to the firm as counsel. Currently, Mr. Margolis and David Spears of Spears & Imes represent Jeffrey Stein, KPMG’s former deputy chairman. They took a lead role in the recent proceedings before Judge Kaplan resulting in his landmark opinion holding aspects of the Thompson Memo unconstitutional. Mr. Margolis graduated in 1991 from the University of Michigan, A.B. and Yale Law School, J.D., in 1995

01-08-2007

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