Attorneys in Commercial Litigation, Corporate, Intellectual Property, Patent Prosecution and Regulatory practices elevated to counsel
Washington, DC – February 4, 2015 – In a noteworthy move, Venable LLP announced today that ten of its Washington, DC-based attorneys had been promoted to Counsel. The attorneys promoted to Counsel include Andrew E. Bigart, Kelly A. DeMarchis, David L. Feinberg, Allison C. Fishkind, Lars H. Genieser, Ph.D., Matthew T. Journy, Meaghan H. Kent, Anthony James Pagano, Sejal C. Shah and Vincent E. Verrocchio.
"These senior associates have done consistently outstanding legal work, have received superior evaluations and have demonstrated the required productivity, character and commitment to the Firm and their clients to warrant this elevation in status," Venable Vice-Chairman Brian L. Schwalb said in a firmwide email. "We will continue to expect great success from each."
Below is background on Venable's new Counsel:
Andrew E. Bigart focuses his practice on antitrust and consumer protection law, anti-money laundering and economic sanctions and business counseling. He has worked with clients in a variety of industries including financial service companies and organizations, broker-dealers, banks, multi-national corporations, healthcare providers, payment processors, nonprofit associations, online marketers and advertisers.
Kelly A. DeMarchis advises and represents clients on issues related to privacy, data security and e-commerce. She concentrates on U.S. and global consumer data privacy and security issues and has extensive experience assisting clients in complying with U.S. privacy and security laws and industry best practices, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act, COPPA, the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor, state data breach notification laws and laws applied to various marketing channels. She represents clients in adversary actions in front of the Federal Trade Commission and state Attorneys General and has experience with a number of industries including automotive, risk management and fraud prevention, electronic publishing, retail and gaming.
David L. Feinberg was recently named by D.C. Super Lawyers as a "Rising Star" in litigation. His recent matters include obtaining millions of dollars in settlements, and a judgment for nearly $4 million in attorneys' fees, for clients who suffered damages from construction. He also defends clients against a broad range of claims, including claims under the FTC Act, the False Claims Act and the major federal environmental statutes. He also handles a wide variety of insurance-based issues, including litigating insurance coverage matters, for business clients of all sizes. He also conducts internal investigations for those clients. He is a former Benjamin R. Civiletti pro bono lawyer of the year, a law clerk to former Judge Benson E. Legg of the U.S. District for the District of Maryland, and a graduate of Bowdoin College, Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, and the University of Virginia School of Law.
Allison C. Fishkind is a member of Venable's Business Transactions Group with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital transactions, corporate financings, technology transfers, licensing and general corporate matters. Her diverse practice includes the representation of both private and public companies on an array of matters involving corporate law. She represents clients throughout various industries, with a special concentration on emerging growth companies.
Lars H. Genieser, Ph.D. is a registered patent attorney who focuses his intellectual property prosecution practice on pharmaceutical, chemical, mechanical and medical technologies of domestic and foreign clients. Dr. Genieser actively manages complex international patent portfolios for new therapeutics in preparing and prosecuting patent applications. He combines a doctorate in chemical engineering with practical research experience in a range of chemical sciences and technologies in order to effectively understand, prepare and prosecute patentable subject matter for his clients.
Matthew T. Journy practices in Venable's Nonprofit Organizations and Associations Practice Group. In his practice, Mr. Journy counsels public charities, foundations, trade and professional associations and other nonprofits on a variety of matters, including: tax planning, tax-exemption applications, joint ventures, unrelated business income tax issues and lobbying. A significant portion of Mr. Journy's practice involves representing nonprofits in tax disputes with the IRS in each stage of the IRS examination and appeals process and in litigation in the U.S. Tax Court and in the U.S. District Court. Recently, the Nonprofit Organizations Committee of the American Bar Association's Section of Business Law named Mr. Journy as its 2014 Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer of the Year in the Young Attorney category.
Meaghan H. Kent is an intellectual property litigator and trial attorney. She focuses her practice on intellectual property counseling and litigation, including copyright, trademark, false advertising, trade secret, patent, right of publicity and domain name matters. Her experience covers diverse industries including: traditional and online media, software and electronics, photography and artwork, consumer products and toys, music, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and construction and architecture.
Anthony James Pagano concentrates in construction law and litigation including defect and products liability litigation, claims, commercial litigation and civil trial practice. An aggressive and seasoned litigator, Mr. Pagano has successfully represented his clients in motions hearings, trials, depositions, mediations, arbitrations and negotiations across the country. In addition, Mr. Pagano has extensive experience in counseling, drafting and negotiating contracts for complex multi-million dollar construction projects, having personally handled over $2 billion in domestic and international construction transactions.
Sejal C. Shah is an accomplished energy law practitioner whose primary areas of focus include regulatory and compliance matters in the electric utility industry. With both private practice and in-house industry experience, Ms. Shah has advised and represented a variety of clients on both FERC and NERC issues. Prior to joining Venable, Ms. Shah served as in-house counsel for Constellation Energy, where her primary responsibilities included NERC compliance with a particular focus on cybersecurity issues.
Vincent E. Verrocchio has represented clients in all aspects of complex litigation matters involving general business disputes, antitrust claims, patent and trademark infringement, civil RICO, unfair trade practices, defamation and franchise terminations. Mr. Verrocchio's practice encompasses all aspects of trial and appellate litigation in state courts, federal courts and arbitrations.
These ten attorneys were among 31 across Venable's California, Maryland, New York, Virginia and Washington, DC offices promoted to Counsel. The new Counsel represent a broad cross-section of the firm with individuals from the firm’s Business, Government, Intellectual Property and Litigation practices.
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