Dentons US LLP announces the elevation of 21 new partners and the appointment of seven counsel in the Firm's US offices. The promotions are effective January 1, 2016, and include lawyers resident in 12 Dentons offices throughout the US.

Those promoted to partner are Shujaat Ali, Brian Baggott, Kristina Beirne, Josh Curry, Danette Davis*, Mansi Desai*, Douglas Eingurt,Jonathan Jemison, Younggyu Kim, Bonnie Lau, Christopher Lee, Rachel Milazzo, Frederic Norris, Jason Ross, Erin Sheppard and Richard Stempler.

Alejandro Amezcua, Sarah Choi, Gregory Fennell, Paul Kakuske, Joseph Martinez and Sara Dutschke Setshwaelo have been elevated to counsel.

"We are pleased to promote this impressive class of lawyers from diverse backgrounds and practice capabilities," said Mike McNamara, Dentons' US Managing Partner. "Each of the individuals recognized today has demonstrated a deep commitment to client service and the community in which they live. We congratulate our new partners and counsel on attaining this important milestone in their career."

These lawyers represent a broad cross section of practice areas including Capital Markets; Corporate; Government Contracts; Hotels and Leisure; Insurance Regulatory; Intellectual Property and Technology; Litigation and Dispute Resolution; Public Policy and Regulation; Real Estate; Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy; and Tax.

Elevated to partner:

Shujaat Ali (Capital Markets, New York) focuses his practice on representing issuers, sellers and services in public and private offerings of mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities transactions and whole loan trading and financing. He also represents financial institutions, including hedge funds and private equity companies, with respect to purchases, sales and servicing of all types of mortgage assets. Ali's clients include purchasers, sellers, originators and servicers of residential and commercial mortgage loans. He also represents lenders and borrowers in various secured lending transactions, including syndicated credit lines and repurchase facilities.

Brian Baggott (Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Kansas City, MO) maintains a practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation, employment and labor litigation, and franchise litigation. He has extensive experience representing clients in a wide range of business disputes, including matters involving claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of trade secrets, fraud, tortious interference and other business torts. Baggott’s commercial and franchise litigation practice involves diverse subject matters, including securities, insurance brokerage disputes, the retail and restaurant industry, physician agreements, health care-related disputes, commercial construction, commercial loan disputes, software agreements and industrial manufacturing. In his labor and employment practice, Baggott handles matters involving non-compete and unfair competition disputes, discrimination and retaliation claims, whistleblower claims, wage-and-hour claims and unfair labor practice charges.

Kristina Beirne (Corporate, New York) focuses her practice in advising clients in M&A, private equity and financing transactions, with a focus on cross-border transactions as well as in securities law matters, in particular as applied to non-US based issuers. Beirne also has considerable experience in domestic and international joint ventures and with selling and purchasing assets of companies in bankruptcy. A German native, she is a member of the Firm's global German desk and uses her broad cross-border experience to advise German and other worldwide clients in a broad range of corporate law matters in a variety of industries, including life sciences, hotels and leisure, manufacturing consumer goods and technology.

Josh Curry (Intellectual Property and Technology, Atlanta) handles patent litigation and other technology disputes, including copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, trademark, and antitrust cases. His cases have spanned a range of complex technologies, including computer software and hardware, cryptography, networking, e-commerce, payments, internet and website, electronics and mechanical, pharmaceuticals (including Hatch-Waxman cases), and consumer products. He has litigated numerous cases in district courts around the country, at the International Trade Commission (ITC) and US Customs Office, and on appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Curry also handles patent reexamination proceedings at the US Patent Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). He has been designated counsel in numerous inter partes review (IPR) and covered business method (CBM) review proceedings.

Danette Davis* (Real Estate, St. Louis) focuses her multifaceted practice on complex commercial real estate including real estate development and construction, asset-based lending and commercial leasing. She documents, performs due diligence for and closes financings, acquisitions, sales, leases and the development of real property, including mixed-use properties, shopping centers, office properties, multifamily projects, resorts, charter schools, movie theaters and other commercial properties. Davis also negotiates and drafts (including AIA® and ConsensusDocs™ modifications) contracts for the construction and design of public and private projects throughout the United States and abroad; engineering, procurement and construction contracts for energy providers and industrial developers; and related management agreements, subcontracts and other ancillary agreements. In addition, she represents national and international retailers, as well as office and restaurant tenants and shopping center developers in leasing matters.

Mansi Desai* (Capital Markets, Dallas) advises on all aspects of asset-backed financing (through securitizations, repurchase agreements and secured credit facilities) supported by residential and commercial real estate, as well as receivables. She represents issuers, underwriters, placement agents and loan sellers in public and private securities offerings, with a primary focus on those backed by residential real estate or commercial real estate, including resecuritizations and single-family rental transactions.

Douglas Eingurt (Corporate, Atlanta) represents public and private companies in a wide variety of matters, including both financial and strategic buyers in merger and acquisition transactions. He also represents clients in corporate finance, securities and general corporate matters, and he has assisted private equity funds in both fund formation and portfolio company acquisitions.

Jonathan Jemison (Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Short Hills, NJ) is an experienced complex commercial litigator who prosecutes and defends claims on behalf of institutional and entrepreneurial clients in a wide variety of commercial disputes. His practice focuses on construction and energy arbitration, but he also handles matters involving business torts, restrictive covenants, intellectual property rights, and internal disputes involving partnerships and close corporations. Jemison primarily litigates in the state and federal courts of New Jersey and New York, and he arbitrates matters both internationally and domestically.

Younggyu Kim (Intellectual Property and Technology, Washington, DC) focuses his practice on intellectual property issues, including patent prosecution and patent litigation. He works on matters involving a broad range of disciplines and technologies, including display technologies (LCDs and OLEDs) as well as semiconductor-related technologies (VISELs and LEDs), and optical and telecommunication technologies. Kim also works on high-stake patent litigation with an emphasis on pre-suit investigations and analyses, devising non-infringement and validity arguments, preparing claim construction briefs and expert opinions.

Bonnie Lau (Litigation and Dispute Resolution, San Francisco) is an experienced class action litigator focusing on unfair competition, antitrust, RICO, intellectual property, insurance, and complex commercial disputes. Lau has successfully defended dozens of class actions, multi-district litigations and enforcement actions in federal and state trial and appeals courts across the country, and managed parallel international class actions and foreign regulatory actions. She has also successfully handled bench and jury trials, class certification hearings, arbitrations, and administrative proceedings, and argued matters before the Second and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals. She has been recognized as a Rising Star by Northern California Super Lawyers in 2013, 2014, and 2015, and serves on the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee and as Co-Chair of the Asian Professionals Network for the Firm's Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Christopher Lee (Hotels and Leisure, Phoenix) has extensive knowledge of, and in-depth insight into the hotel and leisure industry. He represents hotel operators, hospitality brands, owners and developers in all types of hospitality and leisure transactions throughout North America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia, particularly in the luxury and upscale segments. Lee routinely represents clients in connection with the drafting and negotiation of hotel management agreements, hotel purchase and sale agreements, franchise agreements, and other related agreements for hotels, resorts, condo-hotels and projects with residential components, spas, restaurants, golf courses and other hospitality-related facilities and amenities. He has a keen understanding of the legal, business and operational issues affecting hospitality and leisure projects and transactions.

Rachel Milazzo (Litigation and Dispute Resolution, St. Louis) focuses her practice in commercial and real estate litigation and has trial, arbitration and mediation experience. Her practice includes business litigation, condemnation actions, construction litigation, contract disputes and complex commercial litigation. She has extensive experience managing and resolving client disputes in a variety of matters throughout the litigation and pre-litigation process. In addition, Milazzo has represented a major pipeline and energy transportation company in connection with a wide variety of matters relating to its construction and operations of various projects.

Frederic "Rick" Norris (Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Los Angeles) focuses his practice on litigation in state and federal court involving complex torts, product liability, premises liability and maritime law. Norris defends companies in the petrochemical, construction, aerospace, maritime and automotive industries in cases involving toxic torts, products liability, premises liability and maritime law. In 2012, Norris was trial counsel for a premises owner in Petitpas v. Ford Motor Company, which was selected by the Daily Journal as one of the “Top Defense Verdicts of 2012.” He has also served as a member of other trial teams that achieved defense verdicts or other successful adjudication. In 2014 and 2015, Norris was recognized as a “Rising Star” by Southern California Super Lawyers. Norris was also a contributor to the 2015 California Premises Liability Law handbook.

Jason Ross (Capital Markets, San Francisco) focuses on the representation of issuers and underwriters of mortgage- and asset-backed pass-through and debt securities, involving a wide variety of credit supports and multiple class structures. Asset types primarily include prime, Alt-A, subprime, closed-end second lien, home equity lines of credit and seasoned residential mortgage loans, multifamily mortgage loans, small balance commercial mortgage loans and student loans. Ross also represents parties in connection with the issuance of agency securities and resecuritizations of securities held by banks and other financial institutions. In addition, he represents sellers, purchasers and servicers in connection with whole loan and financing transactions, and other financial institutions, including hedge funds, with respect to purchases and sales of mortgage assets.

Richard Stempler (Real Estate, New York) represents banks and institutional investors on a variety of commercial real estate finance transactions, including the origination, purchase and sale of commercial real estate loans. He also represents property owners and developers on a broad range of real estate transactions, including financing, sales and acquisitions, commercial leasing and development matters. Notably, Stempler is one of the first real estate attorneys in the tri-state area to become a LEED AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional), a US Green Building Council designation.

Seven have been elevated to counsel:

Alejandro Amezcua (Real Estate, Chicago) focuses his practice in the areas of tax advantaged investing, community development, affordable housing, and commercial real estate financing. He regularly represents institutional investors, community development entities, and lenders in connection with New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transactions focused on the development and redevelopment of health clinics, educational facilities, office and retail properties, and manufacturing plants in low-income communities. Amezcua often advises clients on transactions featuring state NMTC credits, multiple community development entities, and third-party financing sources. He also has experience representing institutional lenders in connection with construction and term loans and syndicated credit facilities secured by various types of real estate collateral.

Sarah Choi (Environment and Natural Resources, San Francisco) litigates and advises clients on a variety of complex matters, including, condemnation, real estate, commercial contract disputes, Proposition 65, Tribal disputes, and electronic discovery disputes. Recent experience includes representing clients in condemnation matters, both on behalf of the land owner and the condemning agency, defending and advising several major product manufacturers in Proposition 65 matters, and representing Indian Tribes on a variety of commercial issues. In addition, Choi works with Indian Tribes providing advice on governance and business-related issues, frequently drafting and analyzing business and personnel contracts. She has extensive experience drafting and negotiating a variety of commercial and real estate contracts, including, purchase agreements, employment agreements, consulting agreements, service agreements, confidentiality agreements, licensing agreements, construction contracts and lease agreements.

Gregory Fennell (Real Estate, Los Angeles) represents institutional lenders and borrowers in the origination, syndication, workout and foreclosure of construction loans, permanent loans, loans intended for securitization, bridge loans and mezzanine loans. He also has extensive experience in EB-5 financing and representing owners, investors and lenders in the restructuring and deleveraging of substantial real estate portfolios. His track record includes the sale, financing and workouts of several major hotels and casinos.

Paul Kakuske (Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Los Angeles) focuses his practice on class action defense. He has worked on a number of complex statutory consumer protection class actions, at both the trial and appellate levels. Kakuske regularly defends public and private companies against claims of invasion of privacy, consumer fraud, and unfair competition in class actions alleging statutory violations of federal and state consumer protection laws, including the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), California's Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA).

Joseph Martinez (Government Contracts, Denver) focuses on all aspects of government contracts litigation and corporate counseling with an emphasis on bid protest litigation, contract and subcontract formation and pricing issues, and complex claims litigation. He counsels clients regarding federal, state and local election law, campaign finance, ethics matters, and assists government contractors in navigating the intersection of law, politics and public policy. Martinez assists government contractors in the formation of government contracts and subcontracts, including compliance with the Truth In Negotiations Act (TINA), subcontracting flow-down requirements, and litigating bid protests before the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the US Court of Federal Claims (COFC). He also assists clients in resolving disputes that arise during the performance of government contracts, including matters relating to cost allowability, Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), small business set-asides, requests for equitable adjustment (REA) and performance disputes. Martinez assists clients with the submission of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and administrative appeals and litigation in the federal district courts seeking judicial review of agency decisions to withhold documents, and assisted with reverse-FOIA submissions to protect contractor data from being publicly released.

Sara Dutschke Setshwaelo (Public Policy and Regulation, San Francisco) focuses her practice on Native American Law and Policy. She has experience working on myriad issues involving tribal sovereignty, governance, government-to-government relations and economic development. Dutschke Setshwaelo assists tribal clients with the federal land acquisition process (a.k.a. fee-to-trust), including gaming and non-gaming acquisitions. She drafts and reviews tribal governing documents and intergovernmental agreements and she represents tribal governments in state and federal courts in matters spanning the range from suits against the United States to defense of tribal sovereignty. She also represents tribal clients in connections with large-scale financing deals. Dutschke Setshwaelo is a member of the Ione Band of Miwok Indians, California.

_{*Has left the Firm.}

About Dentons

Redefining possibilities. Together, everywhere. For more information visit dentons.com