Husch Blackwell announced today that 25 attorneys have been elected to the firm’s partnership, effective January 1, 2019.
“These 25 attorneys have demonstrated their proactive skills in developing client relationships and are dedicated in their service to our clients.” said Chairman Greg Smith and Chief Executive Paul Eberle. “They have exemplified leadership responsibilities and helped build our growing brand and reputation. We are proud of their accomplishments and welcome with great pleasure to the partnership.”
Members of Husch Blackwell’s 2019 partner class include:
Amy Bolline, Dallas, Financial Services & Capital Markets – Amy concentrates her practice on estate planning and estate and trust administration. She helps design and implement plans to minimize taxes associated with succession planning. She also has extensive experience advising fiduciaries in administering trusts and estates to minimize risks, avoid litigation, and effectively settle disputes without court intervention. Amy frequently represents beneficiaries in connection with the administration of estates and trusts and is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. She earned her J.D. magna cum laude from Baylor Law School, where she graduated as the highest ranking student of her class, and earned her B.S. cum laude from Texas A&M University.
Robert Bowman, Denver, Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation – Bob assists clients in obtaining and securing United States and international intellectual property rights through patent prosecution, trademark prosecution and applying for copyright registrations. Bob assists clients in drafting and negotiating commercial transactions relating to the license or sale of intellectual property including Software as a Service. Additionally, Bob is a co-leader of the firm’s Internet of Things and Blockchain groups. Bob also counsels clients regarding privacy considerations when engaging in web and mobile-based commerce, including the GDPR. Bob earned his J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law, his M.S. from Colorado State University, and his B.S. from Marquette University.
David Carr, Milwaukee, Real Estate, Development & Construction – The primary focus of David’s practice consists of handling complex commercial litigation matters, including actions involving contract disputes, products liability, foreclosure actions, and construction defects for roofing, concrete, and HVAC contractors and service providers. He has successfully defended significant damage actions, and tort claims to verdict. David’s practice also focuses on counseling, collaborating with, and defending Fortune 500 corporations, specifically, major retailers and multi-brand restaurant operators, in various matters across the United States. David earned his J.D. from Marquette University Law School and his B.B.A from Butler University.
Adam Charlsen, Omaha, Real Estate, Development & Construction – A nuts-and-bolts commercial real estate transaction attorney, Adam regularly advises retail, office and industrial clients on site acquisitions and leasing transitions, as well as related due diligence and development matters. He assists lenders and borrowers with negotiating and documenting loans and credit facilities with collateral consisting of personal property and real property. Adam also advises local government agencies on the gamut of governance issues. He also is active with the firm’s growing Opportunity Zones practice and startup business initiative. Adam earned his J.D. from University of Tulsa College of Law and his B.A. from University of Kansas.
Chris Collins, Chattanooga, Real Estate, Development & Construction – As an experienced litigator, Chris works with clients to help them both avoid unnecessary litigation and to strengthen their pre-litigation position. When litigation proves unavoidable, however, Chris guides the client throughout the litigation process. His experience has made him comfortable with the high stakes of commercial litigation. He has successfully defended and pursued clients’ interests across a wide array of cases, including multimillion-dollar class actions, complex construction cases and cases involving highly specialized trade secrets. Chris earned his J.D. from University of Tennessee College of Law and his B.S. cum laude from University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
Marshall Custer, Denver, Food & Agribusiness – Marshall, as a member of firm’s Cannabis team, serves as outside general counsel for clients that are entering or active in the regulated cannabis market. He works closely with individual entrepreneurs and executives on matters of marijuana and industrial hemp regulatory compliance, corporate structuring, debt and equity financing, governance, securities compliance, and mergers and acquisitions. He also continues to represent a number of emerging technology companies. Marshall earned his J.D. from University of Colorado School of Law, his M.B.A. from the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business, and his B.S.E. from Purdue University.
Brittany Falkowski, St. Louis, Food & Agribusiness – Brittany focuses on labor and employment law, splitting her practice between counseling employers and litigating in state and federal courts across the country. Brittany provides companies with a full complement of day-to-day employment advice, frequently counseling clients on the front end to ensure compliance with ever-evolving employment-related statutes and regulations and to minimize the threat of litigation. Brittany earned her J.D. magna cum laude from Saint Louis University School of Law and her B.A. summa cum laude from Missouri State University.
Sadie Fitzpatrick, Dallas, Real Estate, Development & Construction – Sadie represents owners, developers, investors, tenants and landlords on real estate projects of all types and sizes, including the development, acquisition, disposition, financing, construction, operations and leasing of office, retail, industrial, hotel, condominium and multifamily projects, electric generating facilities, and other similar properties. She also has extensive experience representing clients with interests in wind and solar projects with regards to the various real estate aspects of these areas. Sadie earned her J.D. cum laude from Southern Methodist University School of Law and her B.A. summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University.
Mary Beth Hughes, Milwaukee, Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation – Mary Beth works with clients in a broad range of industries to aggressively defend workers’ compensation claims. Her experience includes representing employers and insurance carriers on large and small claims by performing case assessments, trying cases to administrative law judges, and preparing briefs for review before the Labor and Industry Review Commission, Circuit Court, Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. She counsels employers throughout the work-injury process on designing and executing creative strategies to prevent litigation and reduce costs, investigating injuries, making employment decisions and more. A frequent speaker on workers’ compensation law, Mary Beth earned her J.D. from University of Wisconsin Law School and her B.A. cum laude from the University of Notre Dame.
Tessa Jacob, Kansas City, Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation – Tessa is a commercial litigator and the founder/co-leader of the firm’s eDiscovery Solutions team. She represents clients in contentious, high-stakes litigation and government investigations with respect to electronic discovery issues. Tessa also works with clients to develop litigation preparedness policies and to assess processes and technology solutions related to eDiscovery and information governance. A nationally recognized thought leader in eDiscovery, Tessa is also an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law where she teaches an upper level class on eDiscovery. Tessa received her J. D. with honors from the Washburn University School of Law and her B.A. in Political Science and Economics from the University of Kansas.
Karin Jacoby, Kansas City, Real Estate, Development & Construction – Karin advances the interests of communities, companies and levee owner/operators facing water and flood protection challenges. She serves on the National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies Advisory Board; the Missouri and Associated Rivers Coalition Board; as Vice-Chair of the Mississippi Valley Flood Control Association Engineering Committee; and was a member of the National Committee on Levee Safety, a post to which she was appointed by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. Karin is a registered Professional Engineer in Missouri and Illinois, and earned her J.D. from the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law, her M.P.A. from the University of Missouri – Kansas City and her B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri – Rolla.
Denyse Jones, St. Louis, Real Estate, Development & Construction – Denyse focuses her practice on business litigation for property owners, developers, political subdivisions, title insurers, taxpayers, and commercial lenders and lessors. She counsels clients on land use matters, litigating on behalf of projects in danger of losing momentum midstream. She also advises clients on conditional use permits, development disputes, title claims, rent disputes, creditors’ rights litigation and premises liability. In addition, Denyse represents plaintiffs and defendants in commercial litigation matters, including complex breach of contract, lender liability, fraud and product liability. Denyse earned her J.D. cum laude from Tulane Law School and her B.S.B.A cum laude from Saint Louis University.
Marci Kawski, Madison, Financial Services & Capital Markets – Providers of consumer financial services rely on Marci to guide them through the shifting complexities of regulatory and litigation matters, both locally and nationally. Marci represents installment lenders, auto finance companies, payday and short-term lenders, online lenders, credit unions, and financial institutions when faced with regulatory issues. Marci is well-versed in the Wisconsin Consumer Act, the Wisconsin Credit Union Act and other consumer credit statutes. She also advises on federal consumer protection laws, including the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). Marci earned her J.D. cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School and her B.A., with distinction, from the University of Wisconsin.
Zubin Khambatta, Austin, Healthcare, Life Sciences & Education – Zubin represents hospitals and healthcare companies in a variety of regulatory and transactional matters, including compliance with federal and state reimbursement regulations governing the Medicaid and Medicare programs. He also represents hospitals and physician groups in sale transactions, business entity formation and governance, and services agreements and arrangements. Zubin earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. Prior to beginning his legal career, he was a doctoral student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago. He earned his M.Sc. from the University of Edinburgh with distinction and his B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael Klebanov, Washington, D.C., Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation – Michael focuses on appellate litigation and class action defense. His experience in state and federal courts extends to cases involving breaches of contract and warranties, deceptive trade practices, internal investigations, defamation, violations of fiduciary duties, fraudulent conveyances, mass torts, RICO, securities violations and gross negligence. He has extensive motion practice experience, including drafting pleadings and case-critical motions and overseeing a team of attorneys in this capacity. Michael earned his J.D. from Cornell Law School and his B.A. from Columbia University, and clerked for Judge Joseph Tauro of the District of Massachusetts.
Grant Leach, Omaha, Energy & Natural Resources – Grant focuses his practice on export regulatory compliance, anti-bribery compliance, international trade and general corporate matters. His experience includes representing clients in proceedings with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and other regulatory bodies in connection with global commerce. He also assists clients in organizing their global operations and in structuring all manner of cross-border transactions. Grant earned his J.D. with high distinction from the University of Nebraska College of Law and his B.S. with highest distinction from Nebraska Wesleyan University. Prior to joining Husch Blackwell, Grant spent six years as in-house counsel for a publicly traded international agricultural equipment manufacturer.
Daisy Manning, St. Louis, Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation – Daisy’s intellectual property litigation practice is concentrated in the areas of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and unfair competition. She has litigated complex intellectual property disputes in state and federal courts throughout the United States at both the trial and appellate levels, including the United States Supreme Court. Drawing on her past experience in the biotechnology industry, Daisy works directly with her clients to develop winning and cost-effective strategies, whether that be forging aggressive litigation strategies or cost-efficient strategies for avoiding or reducing the costs and risk of patent litigation. Daisy earned her J.D. from Washington University School of Law and her B.S. from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Brent Meyer, Omaha, Real Estate, Development & Construction – Brent has extensive experience in construction contract drafting and litigation. He has represented government entities, owners, design firms, general contractors, suppliers and subcontractors in civil disputes. He also represents political subdivisions by assisting in a variety of issues including regulatory compliance, contract negotiations, property acquisitions and condemnation. Brent earned his J.D. with distinction from the University of Nebraska College of Law and his B.S.B.A. summa cum laude from Creighton University.
Ellen Pantaenius, Kansas City, Real Estate, Development & Construction – Ellen, a transactional real estate attorney, guides individuals, public and private companies and non-profit organizations across a variety of industries with respect to real estate acquisition, sale, leasing, and financing transactions. She provides holistic legal counsel to real estate investors in the development and management of successful real estate projects and serves as national and regional commercial mortgage loan counsel for life insurance companies. Ellen earned her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and her B.J. magna cum laude from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Mark Pratzel, St. Louis, Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation – Mark concentrates his practice on toxic tort matters and product failure investigations. He also represents a variety of corporate clients in a broad range of litigation matters involving contracts, regulatory issues and product literature. Mark oversees the management of client teams for several mid-sized toxic tort clients, and is responsible for developing, advising and implementing appropriate strategy for all phases of dispute resolution for clients of all sizes. Mark earned his J.D. magna cum laude from Saint Louis University School of Law and his B.S. magna cum laude from the University of Missouri – Columbia.
Ashley Rothe, St. Louis, Healthcare, Life Sciences & Education – Ashley represents clients in complex litigation in state and federal courts and arbitrations across the country. She has experience handling all stages of commercial and healthcare litigation, from the initial analysis of the dispute to final resolution of the matter on appeal. Ashley’s experience includes the defense of medical malpractice claims against physicians and nursing homes, and the prosecution and defense of commercial claims. Ashley earned her J.D. summa cum laude from Saint Louis University School of Law and her B.S. summa cum laude from Saint Louis University.
Tyler Scott, Kansas City, Financial Services & Capital Markets – Tyler concentrates his practice on insurance, commercial litigation and product liability defense. Tyler advises both insurance carriers and their insureds, making certain that clients have the information they need to make smart decisions that achieve their business and risk management objectives. Another portion of Tyler’s practice focuses on commercial litigation, including defending manufacturers against product liability claims. He also has experience prosecuting and defending professional malpractice claims and business disputes, including workers’ compensation, general negligence and breach of contract claims. Tyler earned his J.D. summa cum laude from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and his B.A. cum laude from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Nathan Sportel, Chicago, Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation – Nathan’s practice represents a balance between patent prosecution and patent litigation. On the patent prosecution side, Nathan drafts and prosecutes domestic and international patent applications for U.S. and foreign-based companies in electrical technologies. His litigation experience is focused on producing work product for major patent litigation milestones, such as claim construction, invalidity and infringement contentions, and brief drafting. Building on his litigation experience, Nathan has significant experience petitioning the PTAB for inter partes review (IPR) and conducting IPRs. Nathan earned his J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law and his B.S. from Calvin College.
Michael Tolles, St. Louis, Real Estate, Development & Construction – Mike represents clients from municipalities and State districts to major corporations. He regularly handles commercial contract and real estate litigation matters involving condemnation, nuisance properties, breach of contract, municipal regulations, and other issues. He is experienced in representing clients in a variety of federal cases involving patent, trade dress, trademark, and related commercial contract issues in United States Federal District Court located in Missouri, Illinois and multiple other states, and before the United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Mike earned his J.D. from the Washington University School of Law and his B.A. from Washington University.
A.J. Weissler, St. Louis, Food & Agribusiness – Focusing his practice in labor and employment law, A.J. counsels clients through difficult personnel decisions and provides defense against administrative complaints and lawsuits. A.J. has significant experience in defending against complex wage-and-hour class/collective actions, as well as representing clients in discrimination cases before state and federal agencies and in state and federal court. He has also obtained favorable results before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). A.J. earned his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame Law School and his B.A. from Yale University, and clerked for The Hon. Duane Benton, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.