Husch Blackwell elects 25 attorneys to partnership

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Husch Blackwell announced on Monday that 25 attorneys have been elected to the firm’s partnership.

Members of the Husch Blackwell’s 2019 class include Amy Bolline, Financial Services and Capital Markets; Robert Bowman, Technology, Manufacturing and Transportation; David Carr, Real Estate, Development and Construction; Adam Charlsen, Real Estate, Development and Construction; Chris Collins, Real Estate, Development and Construction; Marshall Custer, Food and Agribusiness; Brittany Falkowski, Food and Agribusiness; Sadie Fitzpatrick, Real Estate, Development and Construction; Mary Beth Hughes, Technology, Manufacturing and Transportation; Tessa Jacob, Technology, Manufacturing and Transportation; Karin Jacoby, Real Estate, Development and Construction; Denyse Jones, Real Estate, Development and Construction; Marci Kawski, Financial Services and Capital Markets; Zubin Khambatta, Healthcare, Life Sciences and Education; Michael Klebanov, Technology, Manufacturing and Transportation; Grant Leach, Energy and Natural Resources; Daisy Manning, Technology, Manufacturing and Transportation; Brent Meyer, Real Estate, Development and Construction; Ellen Pantaenius, Real Estate, Development and Construction; Mark Pratzel, Technology, Manufacturing and Transportation; Ashley Rothe, Healthcare, Life Sciences and Education; Tyler Scott, Financial Services and Capital Markets; Nathan Sportel, Technology, Manufacturing and Transportation; Michael Tolles, Real Estate, Development and Construction and A.J. Weissler, Food and Agribusiness.

The new elections of the partner class will be effective on January 1, 2019.

“These 25 attorneys have demonstrated their proactive skills in developing client relationships and are dedicated in their service to our clients,” Greg Smith, chairman of Husch Blackwell said.

Bolline, of Dallas, is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. She earned her B.S. cum laude from Texas A&M University and her J.D. magna cum laude from Baylor Law School, where she graduated as the highest ranking student in her class. She has extensive experience advising fiduciaries in administering trusts and estates to minimize risks, avoid litigation and effectively settle disputes without court intervention. She also frequently represents beneficiaries in connection with the administration of estates and trust.

Bowman, of Denver, received his B.S. from Marquette University, his M.S. from Colorado State University and his J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law. He is co-leader of the firm’s Internet of Things and Blockchain groups, counseling clients regarding privacy considerations when engaging in web and mobile-based commerce, including the GDPR. He assists clients in obtaining and securing the United States and international intellectual property rights through patent prosecution, trademark prosecution and applying for copyright registrations.

Carr, of Milwaukee, received his B.B.A from Butler University and his J.D. from Marquette University Law School. His 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 a verdict. Carr’s practice also focuses on counseling, collaboration with and defending Fortune 500 corporations, specifically major retailers and multi-brand restaurant operators in various matters across the United States.

Charlsen, of Omaha, received his B.A. from the University of Kansas and his J.D. from University of Tulsa College of Law. He advises the local government agencies on the gamut of governance issues and is active with the firm’s growing Opportunity Zones practice and startup business initiative. He is a nuts-and-bolts commercial real estate transaction attorney who regularly advises retail, office and industrial clients on site acquisitions and leasing transitions, as well as related due diligence and development lenders.

Collins, of Chattanooga, earned his B.S. cum laude from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and his J.D. from University of Tennessee College of Law. Collins works with clients to help them both avoid unnecessary litigation and to strengthen their pre-litigation position. His experience has made him comfortable with the high stakes of commercial litigation and he has successfully defended and pursued clients’ interest across a wide array of cases.

Custer, of Denver, earned his B.S.E. from Purdue University, his M.B.A. from University of Colorado Leeds School of Business and his J.D. from University of Colorado School of Law. He is a member of the firm’s Cannabis team, serving 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.

Falkowski, of St. Louis, received her B.A. summa cum laude from Missouri State University and her J.D. magna cum laude from Saint Louis University School of Law. She 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.

Fitzpatrick, of Dallas, earned her B.A. summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University and her J.D. cum laude from Southern Methodist University School of Law. She has extensive experience representing clients with interests in wind and solar projects with regards to the various real estate aspects of these areas.

Hughes, of Milwaukee, earned her B.A. cum laude from the University of Notre Dame and her J.D. from University of Wisconsin Law School. She 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.

Jacob, of Kansas City, received her B.A. in Political Science and Economics from the University of Kansas and her J.D. with honors from Washburn University School of Law. She 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. 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

Jacoby, of Kansas City, received her B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla, her M.P.A from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and her J.D. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. She advances the interests of communities, companies and levee owner/operators facing water and flood protection challenges and serves on many associations/committees. She is also a registered Professional Engineer in Missouri and Illinois.

Jones, of St. Louis, earned her B.S.B.A. cum laude from Saint Louis University and her J.D. cum laude from Tulane Law School. She focuses her practice on business litigation for property owners, developers, political subdivisions, title insurers, taxpayers and commercial lenders and lessors. She represents plaintiffs and defendants in commercial litigation matters, including complex breach of contract, lender liability, fraud and product liability.

Kawski, of Madison, received her B.A., with distinction, from the University of Wisconsin and her J.D. cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School. She represents installment lenders, auto finance companies, payday and short-term lenders, online lenders, credit unions and financial institutions when faced with regulatory issues. She 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).

Khambatta, of Austin, received his B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, his M.Sc. from the University of Edinburgh, with distinction, and his J.D. from University of Chicago Law School. He 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. Before beginning his legal career, he was a doctoral student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago.

Klebanov, of Washington, D.C., received his B.A. from Columbia University and his J.D. from Cornell Law School. He also clerked for Judge Joseph Tauro of the District of Massachusetts. 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.

Leach, of Omaha, earned his B.S., with highest distinction, from Nebraska Wesleyan University and his J.D., with high distinction, from the University of Nebraska College of Law. 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. Prior to joining Husch Blackwell, Grant spent six years as in-house counsel for a publicly traded international agricultural equipment manufacturer.

Manning, of St. Louis, received her B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her J.D. from Washington University School of Law. Drawing on her past experience in the biotechnology industry, Manning 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. 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.

Meyer, of Omaha, earned his B.S.B.A. summa cum laude from Creighton University and his J.D., with distinction, from University of Nebraska College of Law. He 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.

Pantaenius, of Kansas City, received her B.J. magna cum laude from the University of Missouri-Columbia and her J.D. magna cum laude from University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. She is a transactional real estate attorney and guides individuals, public and private companies and nonprofit organizations across a variety of industries with respect to real estate acquisition, sale, leasing and financing transactions.

Pratzel, of St. Louis, earned his B.S. magna cum laude from the University of Missouri-Columbia and his J.D. magna cum laude from Saint Louis University School of Law. He oversees the management of client teams for several mid-sized toxic tort clients and is responsible for developing, advising and implementing an appropriate strategy for all phases of dispute resolution for clients of all sizes. He also represents a variety of corporate clients in a broad range of litigation matters involving contracts, regulatory issues and product literature.

Rothe, of St. Louis, received her B.S. summa cum laude from Saint Louis University and her J.D. summa cum laude from Saint Louis University School of Law. She 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 a final resolution of the matter on appeal.

Scott, of Kansas City, received his B.A. cum laude from University of Missouri-Columbia and his J.D. summa cum laude from University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. He 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. He also has experience prosecuting and defending professional malpractice claims and business disputes, including workers’ compensation, general negligence and breach of contract claims.

Sportel, of Chicago, earned his B.S. from Calvin College and his J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law. 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.

Tolles, of St. Louis, earned his B.A. from Washington University and his J.D. from Washington University School of Law. 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.

Weissler, of St. Louis, received his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. magna cum laude from University of Notre Dame Law School. He also clerked for The Hon. Duane Benton, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit. He 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).

“They have exemplified leadership responsibilities and helped build our goring brand and reputation,” Paul Eberle, chief executive of Husch Blackwell said. “We are proud of their accomplishments and welcome with great pleasure to the partnership.”

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