Akin Gump Promotes 15 to Partnership

Akin Gump today announced the election of 15 new partners, effective January 1, 2020. The eight women and seven men who have been promoted to partner (and their respective office locations) are Sara Lynne Brauner (New York), Dean Lindsay Chapman Jr. (New York), Lois Deasey (London), Rachel J. Elsby (Washington, D.C.), Alan J. Feld (Washington, D.C.), Adam Hilkemann (Dallas), Nicholas Jay Houpt (Dallas), Suzanne Kane (Washington, D.C.), Chiara Klaui (London), Daniel Lynch (Los Angeles), Cynthia May Mabry (Houston), Eli Nathaniel Miller (New York), Naomi Moss (New York), Vanessa Foltyn Roman (Los Angeles) and David A. Snyder (New York).

Akin Gump chairperson Kim Koopersmith commented, “This is an exceptional group of lawyers drawn from practices and offices across the firm. They bring a diversity of perspectives and have demonstrated their commitment to our clients, deep subject matter knowledge and dedication to our collaborative culture. I am thrilled to welcome these talented women and men as Akin Gump partners.”

Ms. Brauner represents official creditors’ committees, bondholders, noteholders, institutional investors, hedge funds and other interested parties in large-scale, complex financial restructurings. She has experience across an array of industries, including retail, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, oil and gas, and media. Sara received her J.D., with honors, from The George Washington University Law School and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Tufts University.

Mr. Chapman concentrates on complex commercial litigation, with a particular emphasis on financial restructuring and securities matters. He has tried multiple high-profile billion-dollar disputes and has deep experience litigating issues involving enterprise and asset valuation, GAAP and IFRS accounting principles, credit agreements and indentures, and securities fraud. Mr. Chapman received his J.D., with honors, from Columbia Law School and his A.B. from Duke University.

Ms. Deasey is an English lawyer who advises par and distressed debt investors on complex domestic and cross-border financial restructurings and insolvencies. She has particular experience advising on schemes of arrangement, which have become one of the most popular restructuring tools in the market in recent years. Ms. Deasey received her L.P.C. and PGDL from BPP Law School. She also has a first-class degree from the University of Cambridge.

Dr. Elsby focuses on the representation of clients in intellectual property and patent disputes—often in high-stakes, competitor-versus-competitor litigations and related appeals, including to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Her clients span a broad range of sectors, particularly biotechnology and the life sciences. Dr. Elsby has a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Miami, where she also received her B.S. She received her J.D. from George Mason University School of Law.

Mr. Feld focuses on securities, capital markets, corporate governance and complex transactional matters across a broad range of industries. As part of the firm’s special situations team, he advises creditors, official and unofficial creditors’ committees, and distressed investors regarding in- and out-of-court restructurings, rights offerings, exchange offers and other financing and securities transactions. He also counsels public and private companies and boards emerging from bankruptcy on corporate governance, securities law compliance, liability management and minority investments, and advises on public registered offerings and private placements of equity and debt securities. Mr. Feld received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and his B.A., with highest honors, from the University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Hilkemann has significant experience with private equity funds, hedge funds and hybrid funds pursuing a variety of investment strategies, such as real estate, litigation finance, buyout, distressed debt, energy, macro and funds of funds. He has also worked on dozens of programmatic real estate joint venture and preferred equity transactions and has experience with cryptocurrency and digital asset fund launches. Mr. Hilkemann received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Washington University School of Law and his B.A., with honors, from Harvard University.

Mr. Houpt concentrates on mergers and acquisitions for private equity funds and companies, with a core focus on clients in the special situations practice. He also handles restructurings and joint ventures, working with clients in a wide range of industries. Mr. Houpt received his J.D. from Columbia Law School and his B.A., cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame.

Ms. Kane advises clients in matters involving customs and import control laws. Her experience covers a broad range of commercial and enforcement laws administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, where she previously worked for more than six years as a senior attorney-advisor. Ms. Kane received her J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law and her B.A., cum laude, from Colgate University.

Ms. Klaui focuses on EU economic sanctions and export controls regulations. She provides trade compliance advice and training, conducts internal investigations, assists with voluntary self-disclosures, develops internal compliance programs and represents clients before EU member state administrations in cases of noncompliance. Her work spans many sectors, including aviation, commodities, cybersurveillance, defense, industrial, investment funds, IT, leisure, offshore, oil and gas (field services), pharmaceuticals and shipping. Ms. Klaui received her LL.M. from the University of Maastricht.

Mr. Lynch advises on a wide range of energy projects, such as derivative transactions, project finance and development, energy marketing and trading, renewable energy deals, and mergers and acquisitions. His clients include developers, commercial users, energy marketers, investors, financial institutions and utilities. Mr. Lynch received his J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law and his B.S., with distinction, from Indiana University.

Ms. Mabry focuses on transactions across the energy industry, including capital markets, securities, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters. She represents public and private entities, investors and underwriters in a variety of capital markets and finance transactions, including offerings of equity and debt securities. She also provides counsel on joint ventures, corporate governance and compliance matters. Ms. Mabry received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center and her B.S. from Louisiana State University.

Mr. Miller focuses on mergers and acquisitions and related banking and securities law matters for public and private companies, including private equity funds and portfolio companies. He also advises clients in a variety of other matters, including joint ventures, corporate governance and post-transaction disputes, such as working capital or other price adjustments. Mr. Miller received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Maryland.

Ms. Moss represents debtors, official and unofficial committees of unsecured creditors, secured lender groups, debtor-in-possession lenders, institutional investors, hedge funds and acquirers of businesses and assets, focusing on in- and out-of-court restructurings, with an emphasis on bondholder committees and creditors’ committees in large, complex cases. Ms. Moss received an LL.M. and her J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law. She received her B.A. from New York University.

Ms. Roman advises financial institutions, borrowers, distributors and independent production companies on the production, financing and distribution of film and television projects. She also works with clients to address issues related to the rapidly changing landscape of the entertainment industry, including the proliferation of streaming services and the rise of virtual reality. Ms. Roman received her J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Mr. Snyder advises clients on the tax aspects of investment structures and business transactions with an emphasis on cross-border planning, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships. He regularly assists clients in structuring internationally focused hedge and private equity funds, structuring and restructuring investments in the United States and negotiating corporate acquisitions in both the domestic and cross-border contexts. Mr. Snyder received an LL.M. from New York University School of Law, where he was a graduate editor of the Tax Law Review, his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law and his B.A., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers and advisors in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

# # #