Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that 23 of the firm’s senior counsel have been elected to partnership. This includes attorneys from the firm’s Chicago, Detroit, Jacksonville, Madison, Milwaukee, San Diego/Del Mar, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Tampa and Washington, D.C. offices.

New partners in the Chicago office include:

Steven M. Gerenraich is a member of the Business Law Department and the Transactional & Securities, Commercial Transactions & Business Counseling, Finance & Financial Institutions, Health Care Finance & Restructuring and International Practices. He represents and counsels business owners and entrepreneurs in all areas of commercial activity and corporate operations and has worked on transactions including mergers of public and private companies, stock and asset purchases and joint ventures.

Jill L. Murch is a member of the Litigation Department and the Business Reorganizations and Real Estate Practices. Murch’s expertise encompasses all facets of bankruptcy and insolvency, including representation of lenders, creditors’ committees, indenture trustees, bondholder committees, foreign representatives, individual creditors, Chapter 11 debtors, governmental agencies, and federally chartered entities. Murch also specializes in insolvency issues related to the real estate, automotive, and financial industries.

Lisa L. Tharpe is a member of the Litigation Department and the firm’s Securities Litigation, Enforcement & Regulation and White Collar Defense & Corporate Compliance Practices. She concentrates on corporate litigation, with a primary focus on the representation of parties in the securities and financial services industry. In addition, she has been involved in conducting several corporate internal investigations. She has participated in defending individuals and firms in connection with proceedings before the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers and state securities regulatory bodies.

The new Detroit office partner is:

Jeffrey S. Kopp is a member of the Litigation Department and the Labor & Employment Practice. He has handled numerous age, sex and race discrimination lawsuits and has successfully defended FMLA and ADA claims both at the trial and appellate levels. He has extensive background in prosecuting and defending violations of non-compete agreements and trade secrets claims. He also defends unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board and has advised employers in strike and union matters.

New partners in the Jacksonville office include:

Matthew G. Breuer is a member of the Business Law Department and the firm’s Real Estate Practice. He has experience in a broad range of commercial real estate matters with a particular focus on real estate finance. He represents national, regional and local lending institutions in a variety of secured lending transactions.

Dabney D. Ware is a member of the Litigation Department and the Labor & Employment Practice. She focuses her practice in the area of labor and employment law and has extensive experience in employment related litigation and in counseling clients on all aspects of compliance with federal, state and local laws.

New partners in the Madison office include:

Paul S. Hunter is a member of the Intellectual Property Department, the Electronics and Mechanical & Electromechanical Technologies Practices, and the Emerging Technologies, Insurance and Nanotechnology Industry Teams. His technical experience includes a wide range of electronics and computer technologies, including telecom, computer software/hardware, Internet applications, semiconductor devices and processes, e-commerce, electromagnetics, motors and “business methods.”

Carl R. Kugler is a member of the Business Law Department and the Commercial Transactions & Business Counseling, Transactional & Securities and International Practices. His practice includes experience with a variety of general corporate and commercial transactions, including domestic and international product distribution matters, mergers and acquisitions, contract law and financing transactions.
Michael D. Leffel is a member of the Litigation Department and the firm’s General Commercial Litigation and Appellate Practices. He has represented clients in complex commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts around the country and before various regulatory agencies and in congressional investigations. He has served as counsel in three cases on the merits and as counsel for amicus curiae in a number of other cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

New partners in the Milwaukee office include:

Jason W. Allen is a member of the Business Law Department, the Finance & Financial Institutions Practice and the Energy Industry Team. He focuses his practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, private equity, finance and general corporate and commercial law, with a particular emphasis on transactions in the energy industry. His background in project and infrastructure finance transactions involves the acquisition, divestiture and financing of numerous domestic and international power projects.

Peter D. Fetzer is a member of the Business Law Department, the Transactional & Securities and Finance & Financial Institutions Practices, and the Energy Industry Team. He focuses his practice on general corporate and securities law with an emphasis on securities offerings, acquisitions and investment company and investment adviser representation. He regularly counsels issuers in public securities offerings, as well as companies buying and selling businesses.
David J.B. Froiland is a member of the Litigation Department and the Labor & Employment Practice. He represents employers throughout the country in all areas of employment law, with a particular focus on employee benefits litigation, reductions in force, and employment discrimination cases, including class action litigation.

Froiland also counsels employers on plant closing issues, harassment issues, disability accommodation, problematic terminations and other workplace issues regarding the legal rights and obligations of employers.
Brian S. Kaas is a member of the Regulated Industries Department and the Insurance and Health Care Industry Teams. His practice is concentrated in the areas of corporate, transactional and regulatory insurance law. He also is experienced in the areas of reinsurance, runoff and commutation matters, captive companies, insurer insolvencies and corporate restructurings.

Zhu (Julie) Lee is a member of the Business Law Department and the firm’s Tax & Employee Benefits, International and Tax, Valuation & Fiduciary Litigation Practices. She counsels clients on a broad range of US and international tax matters. In addition, she advises clients on a variety of legal and business issues arising from doing business in China, including cross-border contracts, foreign direct investment, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property protection, cross-border technology transfer, international tax planning and compliance and dispute resolution. She has frequently been a speaker on these topics.

Timothy L. Voigtman is a member of the Business Law Department and the Tax & Employee Benefits Practice and Tax, Valuation and Fiduciary Litigation Practices. He focuses on general corporate and tax law, including the business and tax consequences of the formation, ownership, operation, sale and reorganization of C corporations, S corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies. He also has significant experience in the areas of taxation of executive compensation, like-kind exchanges and passive activity loss restrictions. Voigtman is also a Certified Public Accountant.

The new partner in our San Diego/Del Mar office is:

Douglas H. Carsten is a member of the Intellectual Property Department, the IP Litigation Practice and the Life Sciences Industry Team. He focuses his practice on complex patent litigation in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields. Carsten is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Central, Northern and Southern Districts of California, the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The new partner in our San Francisco office is:

Page R. Barnes is a member of the Litigation Department, the General Commercial Litigation Practice and the Securities Litigation, Enforcement & Regulation Practice. She has an extensive law and motion background and experience in coordination of strategic planning and discovery in complex disputes. She has litigated cases involving breach of contract, fraud, bad faith, breach of fiduciary duty, shareholder derivative, construction defect and unfair trade practices issues. She also represents stockbrokers and brokerage firms in arbitrations with the National Association of Securities Dealers and in state court proceedings.

The new partner in our Silicon Valley office is:

Antoinette F. Konski is a member of the Intellectual Property Department, the Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Practice and the Life Sciences Industry Team. Her practice focuses on developing, analyzing and managing patent portfolios for the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, along with rendering due diligence determinations, patentability, patent validity, non-infringement and right-to-use opinions. She has prepared and prosecuted patent applications for foreign and domestic clients in diverse areas of technology, including drug discovery, genomics, immunology, small molecules and drug delivery.

The new partner in our Tampa office is:

Curt P. Creely is a member of the Business Law Department, the Transactional & Securities Practice, the Private Equity & Venture Capital Practice and the Life Sciences Industry Team. His practice focuses on securities law, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate business transactions. He regularly serves as counsel to both private and public companies in connection with a variety of sophisticated transactions and business activities.

New partners in our Washington, D.C. office include:
George C. Best is a member of the Intellectual Property Department and the IP Litigation and Appellate Practices. He has argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and he has conducted direct and cross-examinations of witnesses in bench and jury trials. He focuses on litigation and client counseling and has been involved in all aspects of patent, trade secret and business tort cases. Best also has extensive experience in expert discovery, document discovery, depositions and motions practice.

Courtenay C. Brinckerhoff is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department, Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical, Chemical & Pharmaceutical and Appellate Practices and the Life Sciences Industry Team. She works with clients in diverse industries, including pharmaceuticals (chemical and biotechnological), human and animal food products, nutraceuticals, and medical devices. Her practice focuses on client counseling in all aspects of obtaining, licensing and enforcing patents and conducting freedom-to-operate and due diligence investigations, and she has represented clients before the U.S. Patent Office, the U.S. Patent Office Board of Appeals and Interferences, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Elizabeth P. Gray is a member of the Litigation Department and the Securities Litigation, Enforcement & Regulation and White Collar Defense and Corporate Compliance Practices. She represents public companies, broker-dealers, officers and directors as well as other institutions and individuals in connection with securities enforcement, counseling and compliance matters. She has extensive experience with matters arising under the federal securities laws – including allegations of insider trading, accounting irregularities, option timing and market manipulation.

Jeffrey S. Newman is a member of the Regulated Industries Department and the firm’s Government Procurement Practice. He focuses his practice on government contracts, federal and state procurement and administrative law and litigation. Newman counsels clients on the wide array of contract formation and administration issues relating to government prime contracts and subcontracts, and provides assistance regarding other types of procurement activities such as grants, CRADAs and other transactions. Newman works extensively with contractors to protect their intellectual property rights and other proprietary information. He further assists a wide range of entities that seek to generate revenue through government contracting, whether commercial vendors that are initially seeking to sell their products and services to the government or companies that would like to increase their government business.

Foley & Lardner LLP provides the full range of corporate legal counsel. Our attorneys understand today’s most complex business issues, including corporate governance, securities enforcement, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property counseling and litigation, outsourcing and information technology, labor and employment, and tax. The firm offers total solutions in the automotive, emerging technologies, energy, entertainment and media, financial services, food, golf and resort services, insurance, health care, life sciences, nanotechnology, and sports industries.

The firm’s Web site can be found at www.foley.com