Baker Donelson is pleased to announce the arrival of Daniel Sternthal to the Firm’s Health Law Group. (more…)
The highly regarded Haynes and Boone, LLP bankruptcy practice has attracted the services of three new partners who have established celebrated practices in Dallas and throughout the country.
Eli Columbus, Matt Ferris and Frasher Murphy join the Dallas office from Winstead PC, adding to an already deep bankruptcy bench that has been recognized as one of the strongest in the nation.
“These three professionals bring extensive experience in significant Chapter 11 cases in Texas and nationally, including substantial work for national and regional banks,” said Ian Peck, head of the Bankruptcy and Reorganization Section. “Their practice syncs well with our current client base and adds substantial heft to our profile in the restructuring sector. We are extremely proud to welcome Eli, Matt and Frasher to our partnership and believe their arrival will ensure that Haynes and Boone remains a dominant player in the bankruptcy market for years to come.”
Peck said it is particularly noteworthy that the new Haynes and Boone partners have recently amassed significant representations as part of the surge of oil and gas bankruptcies, which have been the focus of his group over the last several months.
Columbus, who chaired his former firm’s bankruptcy group, focuses his practice primarily on business reorganization matters and out-of-court debt restructurings in a wide range of matters for a diverse group of clients, including banks and other financial institutions, secured creditors, unsecured creditors, creditor committees, debtors, plan trustees and buyers of distressed assets.
Ferris has more than 10 years experience in corporate restructuring, debtors’ and creditors’ rights and insolvency proceedings. His clients include secured lenders, debtors, unsecured creditors, bondholders, indenture trustees, landlords, equipment lessors and purchasers of distressed assets both in and out of court. He also has represented clients in bankruptcy litigation.
Murphy served as the chair of his previous firm’s Turnaround and Workout Industry Group. He focuses his practice primarily on complex Chapter 11 cases, but he also has substantial experience representing parties in out-of-court restructuring and workout matters. Chambers USA 2016, Chambers & Partners, called Murphy one of the “Up and Coming” bankruptcy lawyers in Texas. Clients told Chambers researchers that he is “steady, practical and hard-working” and able to “assume responsibility in a difficult situation and do an admirable job.”
The Bankruptcy and Business Restructuring Practice Group at Haynes and Boone has long been recognized as one of a handful of teams in the nation fully equipped to handle the largest and most complex out-of-court financial restructurings and Chapter 11 reorganization cases.
The clients represented by Haynes and Boone include debtors, creditors, lenders, equity security holders and agent banks. With partners and counsel that have been practicing for 25 years or more, on average, and a dedicated team of well-trained associates, the practice features the knowledge, experience and skills to tackle the toughest of problems.
In ranking the Haynes and Boone Bankruptcy and Reorganization Practice nationally and at the top of Texas-based law firms. Chambers USA 2016, Chambers & Partners, said the firm is “renowned for its work on complex bankruptcy and restructuring cases.” Its lawyers, researchers said, are “able to offer tailored advice to local organizations and particular expertise on matters relating to distressed oil and gas clients.”
The practice also “demonstrates significant expertise in advising debtors, creditors and landlords in distressed real estate matters,” Chambers said.
Noted Dallas-based trial law firm Deans & Lyons, LLP, is expanding its Texas footprint with the addition of five prominent trial attorneys in the firm’s newly opened Houston office at 1001 Fannin St., Suite 1925.
Joining the firm are veteran Houston trial lawyers Tom Sartwelle, Matt Pletcher and Jeff Nobles, previously with the Houston office of Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, LLP, and Chad Castille and Matt McCracken, previously of Houston-based Serpe Jones Andrews Callender & Bell, PLLC.
“From the start, this has been a firm of ‘Battle Tested, Razor Sharp’ trial lawyers who do not back down from any challenge, and this group of attorneys certainly fits that model,'” says firm co-founder Michael Lyons. “We are excited about what this means for our clients, as well as our younger attorneys, to be able to work with such an exceptionally talented group of experienced lawyers.”
Mr. Castille will serve as Managing P artner of the Houston office. His practice is concentrated on complex civil litigation, representing individuals, small businesses and Fortune 500 corporations in a diverse array of industries. His expertise includes cases involving medical and hospital negligence, oil and gas, commercial and residential construction, pharmaceutical liability, medical devices, catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death, and commercial business disputes and torts.
Mr. Sartwelle, a highly rated and widely respected trial lawyer, has nearly 50 years of experience and has tried cases throughout Texas involving commercial business disputes; catastrophic personal injury; products liability; and medical, hospital and legal malpractice. He tried to verdict a case involving the first Texas corporation to be indicted for murder. He is Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Personal Injury Trial Law and by the National Board of Trial Advocacy as a Civil Trial Advocate and a Civil Pretrial Practice Advocate. He is also Board Certified by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys as a Legal Malpractice and Medical Malpractice Specialist and serves as an officer with that organization. He joins as Of Counsel.
Mr. Pletcher is an experienced trial lawyer with a focus on cases involving commercial business disputes, products liability, professional negligence, and employment, health care, pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech litigation and civil appeals. In addition, he has successfully represented clients in a variety of civil claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. He joins as Partner.
Mr. Nobles is a well-respected trial and appellate lawyer with extensive experience handling a variety of civil appeals in state and federal courts throughout Texas. He has successfully represented plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of complex trials and appeals involving commercial business disputes, catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death, and products litigation. He is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is a former chair of the Houston Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Section and the Appellate Pro Bono Committee. He joins as Partner.
Mr. McCracken’s trial and appellate experience includes cases involving professional liability with an emphasis on doctor and hospital litigation. He also handles matters involving a variety of industries including manufacturing, energy, telecommunications, and health care. He has briefed and argued major cases to state and federal appellate courts in Texas including the Texas Supreme Court. He has been an invited lecturer on legal ethics issues. He joins as Partner.
John Arnold, a seasoned and well-respected energy lawyer, is joining Locke Lord as a Partner in the Houston office. With his extensive experience in electricity and midstream oil and gas matters, Arnold has built a reputation for being one of the top energy regulatory attorneys in the state of Texas. His move to Locke Lord makes even stronger the client-servicing capabilities of the Firm’s nationally recognized Energy Practice Group. (more…)
Bracewell LLP is pleased to welcome the return of Dale D. Smith as a partner in the Houston office. Smith, who was previously at Bracewell from 2001-2011, joins from Locke Lord LLP. (more…)
Thompson & Knight LLP welcomes Ashley W. Anderson as a Partner in the Real Estate and Banking Practice Group of the Firm’s Dallas and Fort Worth offices. (more…)
Reed Smith LLP today announced the addition of Bruce Blefeld as a partner in the firm’s Global Regulatory Enforcement Group in Houston. Blefeld was most recently a partner at K&L Gates. The addition of Blefeld follows closely on those of Nic Barzoukas and Josh Davis, partners in the firm’s Intellectual Property, Information & Innovation Practice Group, who joined the Houston office in March. Reed Smith’s Houston office, which opened in 2013, currently has 52 attorneys and is one of the firm’s fastest-growing offices. (more…)
Global law firm K&L Gates LLP has expanded its energy and commercial disputes practices with the addition of Houston partner Michael T. Murphy. He joins K&L Gates from Vinson & Elkins LLP. (more…)
Butler Snow has expanded into Texas with the addition of Martin S. Sosland, Gary W. Davis and Jose M. Luzarraga. Sosland will practice in the bankruptcy and restructuring group in Dallas; Davis and Luzarraga will practice with the firm’s product liability group in Austin and Dallas respectively. (more…)
Sedgwick LLP is pleased to announce that Susan Egeland has joined the firm as a partner in its Dallas office. (more…)
Jackson Walker LLP is pleased to welcome Wasif Qureshi as a partner in the firm’s Litigation group. With nearly 15 years of experience, Wasif has represented and counseled various types of companies in intellectual property legal matters. Businesses of all sizes from around the world count on Wasif’s skills and expertise to help them navigate through IP issues and obtain successful results. Having appeared in almost 150 cases, Wasif is particularly experienced in patent litigation, a practice in which he is recognized both at state and national levels. (more…)
Dykema, a leading national law firm, today announced the addition of Rio Grande Valley native, Ernest Aliseda, to its Commercial Litigation Practice Group as a member in the firm’s McAllen, Texas office. Prior to joining Dykema, Aliseda served as General Counsel/Chief Legal Officer for the Loya Insurance Group companies, where he handled general legal matters and managed and oversaw diverse litigation throughout the country. Aliseda is also a former State District Judge for both the 398th and 139th State District Courts in Hidalgo County. (more…)
