Alston & Bird has announced the election of 17 lawyers to its partnership, effective January 1, 2020.
The new partners span four U.S. offices—Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.—and encompass 12 practice areas. Seven of the new partners are litigators, while five have corporate and transactional practices. Of the newly promoted partners, five are women, and three are Asian American.
“This year’s class of new partners achieved what they did because they are among the best and brightest of our young leaders,” said Alston & Bird Chairman and Managing Partner Richard Hays. “These new partners lead with our clients and our people and represent an exceptional, diverse group of lawyers who reflect our broad strengths across industries, practices, and geographies that are key to our clients and our firm.”
Elected to Alston & Bird’s partnership are:
- Hidetada James Abe (Los Angeles) as partner in our Intellectual Property Litigation Group. He counsels companies on all aspects of intellectual property law, with a focus on patent, trade secret, trademark, and copyright disputes, as well as patent and trademark procurement. Fluent in Japanese, he regularly represents Japanese companies in intellectual property and technology matters, commercial and business disputes, and cross-border transactions.
- Alexander G. Brown (Atlanta) as partner in our Litigation & Trial Practice Group. A commercial litigator, he focuses his practice on complex antitrust, consumer protection, and data privacy matters. He represents corporate plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts, including class actions and multidistrict litigation. He also represents clients in arbitrations and U.S. Federal Trade Commission investigations and before the U.S. International Trade Commission.
- Gregory Carbo (New York) as partner in our Intellectual Property Litigation Group, where he represents clients in all stages of litigation, from pre-suit investigations through trial and appeal. His clients range from small startups to Fortune 50 companies in numerous industries, including industrial automation, hardware and software, optical media, medical devices, financial services, and pharmaceuticals and biologics.
- Brendan Carroll (Washington, D.C.) as partner in our Health Care Group. He counsels pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, and other clients regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on complex legal, regulatory, and legislative challenges and overlapping matters involving the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Tax and Trade Bureau, and Department of Agriculture, as well as state boards of pharmacy. He also advises on the FDA regulatory aspects of corporate transactions, including public offerings and M&A deals.
- Kimberly K. Chemerinsky (Los Angeles) as partner in our Litigation & Trial Practice Group. Focusing her practice on business tort claims as well as securities and health care disputes, she represents multinational corporations, small businesses, and individuals in state and federal trial and appellate courts. In health care, she represents health plans and plan sponsors in matters ranging from reimbursement policy and coverage determinations to quality of care and pharmacy benefits.
- Maki DePalo (Atlanta) as partner in our Privacy & Data Security Group. She advises clients on complex technology transactions and data privacy and cybersecurity compliance and risk management. Leveraging her background in technology and global business, she performs privacy impact assessments, facilitates cybersecurity incident preparedness, strengthens vendor management, and operationalizes compliance with evolving data protection laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act.
- Blake E. Estes (New York) as partner in our Financial Services & Products Group, where he focuses on alternative investment funds and capital markets transactions involving derivatives and structured products. In addition to counseling asset managers and broker-dealers on all aspects of the development and distribution of alternative investment funds, he guides clients through the structuring and documentation of derivatives and other complex financial products.
- Elise N. Paeffgen (Washington, D.C.) as partner in our Health Care Group. Centering her practice at the intersection of law and regulations enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and Drug Enforcement Administration, she counsels pharmaceutical companies, distributors, and health care facilities on issues ranging from current good manufacturing practices (CGMP) and air, waste, and water permitting to pharmaceutical waste management and disposal of controlled substances and medical waste.
- Jonathan D. Parente (Atlanta) as partner in our Litigation & Trial Practice Group. He has broad experience in complex commercial litigation and arbitration, representing clients in high-stakes business disputes and cases involving constitutional law, consumer-protection statutes, antitrust issues, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. He is often brought in as counsel before trial or to appeal from an adverse verdict.
- David S. Park (Atlanta) as partner in our Financial Services & Products Group. He serves as counsel to public and private financial institutions on mergers and acquisitions, securities transactions, and other strategic corporate transactions. He also advises clients on general corporate and regulatory matters, including ongoing compliance with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules and regulations and corporate governance issues.
- Amber Pelot (Atlanta) as partner in our Real Estate Finance & Investment Group, where she advises clients on commercial real estate projects spanning a number of asset classes, including industrial, multifamily, office, retail, and mixed-use. In addition to focusing on commercial real estate acquisition, ground-up development, leasing, and disposition matters, she advises clients on economic development incentives, serving as bond counsel, special counsel, and local counsel in bonds-for-title and other incentive transactions.
- Ted Schroeder (Washington, D.C.) as partner in our Legislative & Public Policy Group. Counseling clients on federal legislative and regulatory matters before Congress and the executive branch, he focuses his practice on appropriations, intellectual property, privacy, bankruptcy, and civil and criminal justice issues. He also leads Alston & Bird’s Government Ethics & Compliance Practice, advising corporate and political committee clients on federal and state election law and lobbying requirements.
- Andrew T. Sumner (Atlanta) as partner in our Securities Litigation Group. He represents clients in complex civil and criminal litigation related to securities class actions; merger litigation; shareholder derivative suits; director, officer, and professional liability matters; regulatory enforcement actions; and corporate investigations. His clients include publicly traded and privately held companies, financial institutions, and their directors, officers, and shareholders.
- Rebecca R. Valentino (Washington, D.C.) as partner in our Corporate & Business Transactions Group. She focuses her practice on corporate transactions, securities compliance, and corporate governance, advising on mergers and acquisitions, public and private securities offerings, and Securities Act and Securities Exchange Act compliance, including proxy solicitations and shareholder proposals. Her clients represent industries ranging from real estate and finance to telecommunications and retail.
- Matthew Wickersham (Los Angeles) as partner in our Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources Group, where he represents clients in complex environmental litigation, regulatory, and transactional matters in federal and state courts. His experience includes toxic tort litigation and class actions, citizen lawsuits, and enforcement actions. He also assists clients in resolving land-use and other environmental disputes under the California Environmental Quality Act.
- Kyle R. Woods (Atlanta) as partner in our Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group. He assists both domestic and international clients in providing competitive and attractive benefit programs to all levels of employees. Focusing on both qualified and nonqualified benefit plans, he guides employers through design, implementation, and ongoing compliance. He also advises and trains plan fiduciaries in matters of plan governance, interpretation, and administration.
- Charles R. Yates III (Atlanta) as partner in our Corporate & Business Transactions Group. Representing public and private companies in a number of industries, including travel, building products, and retail, he advises on complex transactions involving acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, and public and private debt and equity offerings. He also advises clients on general corporate matters, including compliance and corporate governance issues associated with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.