Kutak Rock LLP has elected 27 new partners from its attorney ranks in 11 of the firm’s 18 offices—Atlanta, Denver, Fayetteville, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Omaha, Philadelphia, Scottsdale, Spokane and Springfield. The promotions became effective on January 1, 2021.
“Our new partners have continued to demonstrate their commitment to client service and the ability to be leaders in the firm, particularly during this year’s unique challenges,” said Jay Selanders, Chair of Kutak Rock. “These talented and accomplished lawyers bring specialized and valuable experience to their practices. We are proud to welcome them to the partnership and look forward to their continued success.”
Kutak Rock’s 2021 partner class reflects the firm’s ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion with 44 percent from diverse backgrounds, 30 percent women and 19 percent identifying as races and/or ethnicities other than white/Caucasian.
The attorneys elected to the partnership are:
Brad Breece (Atlanta) focuses his practice on real estate finance and has experience across the potential lifecycle of a real estate finance transaction from construction and term lending through loan workouts, foreclosure and post-foreclosure property management and disposition. He also advises utilities on general real estate matters, right-of-way acquisitions, real estate rights documentation and due diligence on utility-scale renewable energy projects.
Victoria “Tori” L. Donovan (Denver) works with companies, founders/entrepreneurs, investors, and individuals to navigate legal complexities and provide business-based solutions and advice for issues concerning emerging and growing companies related to M&A, investment capital, licensing, IP, corporate and employment matters, and commercial contracts. She has a unique combination of in-house general counsel and private practice experience and works with clients in a wide range of industries, including technology, media, entertainment, sports, advertising, and business services.
Diana C. Fields (Denver) returns to the partnership after having been a Kutak Rock partner from 1991-2000. She specializes in employment law and has represented corporate clients and senior management in federal and state courts and in alternative dispute resolution and administrative agency proceedings involving employment-related disputes. She has years of experience representing business clients in general and complex litigation and understands clients’ needs from a variety of different industries.
Lauren E. Hirt (Denver) focuses her practice on the financing, acquisition, disposition and leasing of commercial real estate, and serves as counsel to real estate investment trusts, corporations and other entities in a variety of real estate transactions and portfolio management. She also works with financial institutions and corporations on distressed asset dispositions, workouts and foreclosures.
S. Jex Lawrence (Denver) represents commercial lenders, project borrowers, community development entities, tax credit investors and other investors in a variety of transactions throughout the country, including commercial lending, tax-exempt bond financing, real estate development projects, sales and acquisitions, and leasing.
Eric D. Jackson (Fayetteville) represents healthcare clients in connection with transactional, regulatory, and operational matters. He also has substantial experience in general corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures (including corporate carve-outs), corporate formation, and private offerings of securities.
Jacob S. Lowry (Kansas City) represents clients in various roles in a wide variety of public finance transactions. Jacob has extensive experience as bond purchaser's counsel, underwriter's counsel, bond counsel and disclosure counsel on general obligation and revenue bond financings for municipal issuers including cities, counties and school districts, as well as conduit financings for multifamily housing, charter school, higher education and economic development projects across the country. He also has extensive experience serving as lessor’s counsel in leasing transactions all over the country, including the representation of national lenders participating in the tax-exempt municipal leasing industry.
Rebecca Kim (Los Angeles) focuses her practice on product liability, toxic tort, asbestos, and environmental litigation. She has extensive experience defending Fortune 500 corporations in a wide range of complex litigation matters, and currently serves as national coordinating counsel for a major American manufacturer, implementing litigation strategies for industrial premises, products and coke oven plants in multi-district litigation and statewide coordinated proceedings.
Rudy R. Perrino (Los Angeles) is a litigator and recognized trial attorney with significant experience defending and prosecuting claims in a broad range of areas, including environmental, mass tort, toxic tort, product liability, commercial, oil and gas, and food law. He has substantial experience counseling large public and private companies on issues relating to best practices, foreign corrupt practices act, regulatory compliance and chemical safety issues. He also has significant experience managing, litigating and trying cases involving transborder claims, including defending foreign judgment enforcement actions, and has tried cases in foreign countries.
Justin A. Reppe (Minneapolis) practices in the area of public finance, representing clients across the country in a wide variety of public finance transactions, regularly serving as bond, underwriter’s, purchaser’s, trustee and disclosure counsel. He has experience on tax-exempt bond financings for governmental entities, public and nonprofit colleges and universities, independent schools, industrial development facilities, hospitals and long-term care and other healthcare facilities, multifamily housing projects and other 501(c)(3) organizations. Justin also regularly assists on the financing of development projects and with the representation of metropolitan districts in Colorado serving as bond, disclosure and underwriter’s counsel.
Andrew R. Shedlock (Minneapolis) is a litigator representing broker/dealers, Registered Investment Advisors and other financial institutions and professionals in litigation, arbitration, defense of regulatory enforcement actions, broker and advisor transition matters and buy/sell transactions. He is also a commercial litigator who represents businesses and individuals in disputes, lawsuits and arbitrations, while advising on transactions and other basic corporate matters.
Maxwell T. Crawford (Omaha) focuses his practice on real estate matters for low income housing tax credit and historical tax credit transactions. He represents tax credit investors and syndicators with respect to real estate matters for both debt financing and equity aspects of lower-tier and upper-tier investments across the United States.
Edward P. Gonzales (Omaha) focuses his practice on corporate and securities law matters. As a member of the firm’s Corporate Finance Group, he represents public and privately held companies in all day-to-day business law matters and all types of significant corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and reorganizations; venture capital financings and other capital-raising activities; and joint ventures and strategic alliances.
Wesley A. Goranson (Omaha) concentrates his practice on a variety of real estate transactions, including affordable housing, tax credits, secured lending, real estate financing, taxable and tax-exempt financings, sales and acquisitions, development and commercial leasing.
Robert B. Henderson (Omaha) practices in the Section 103 Tax group of the firm’s Public Finance Department where he concentrates on tax matters associated with municipal securities financing single-family and multifamily housing transactions, governmental financings, arbitrage, yield and reissuance analysis, and secondary market transactions involving municipal securities. He has substantial experience as counsel to issuers and purchasers of bonds in matters involving bond issuance, purchase, and securitization including tender option bonds and associated swaps and derivatives.
Oliver M. Hopkins (Omaha) is a member of Kutak Rock’s tax credit practice group and focuses his practice on new markets tax credits, opportunity zone financings, historic tax credits, community development lending, and other related state and federal financing products. He has experience representing investors, banks, borrowers, and investment funds in utilizing federal and state incentive financing tools.
Bradley S. Jones (Omaha) represents corporate investors, national syndicators, banks, private equity funds, developers and upper-tier investors in his tax credit practice. His representation focuses on the equity and debt aspects of complex real estate transactions involving low income housing tax credits, historic rehabilitation tax credits, renewable energy tax credits, new markets tax credits and numerous other related state and federal financing products.
Daniel S. Leddy (Omaha) is a member of the firm’s tax credits practice group and assists a variety of clients, including corporate investors, national syndicators, private equity funds and upper-tier investors. He also has experience with 501(c)(3) matters and tax-exempt bond financing.
Jeffrey J. McGuire (Omaha) is a member of Kutak Rock’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice group. He focuses his practice on ERISA and tax-related issues in the design and operation of qualified and nonqualified plans. He also assists private, nonprofit and governmental clients with a wide variety of issues related to fiduciary governance and working with plan service providers.
Y. Kamaal Patterson (Omaha) is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property and Information Technology Group. He assists clients with selling or procuring license rights to intellectual property assets, including on-prem software, cloud services, hardware, and data. He works closely with IT departments and technology professionals across a number of industries, including healthcare, cable and internet, data analytic services, automotive production, and insurance. He is also a registered patent attorney with the USPTO and assists clients with patent protection, joint development projects, and patent portfolio management.
Lindsay B. Andreuzzi (Philadelphia) has an extensive background in insurance coverage and bad faith law and focuses her litigation practice on advising and defending personal, commercial and surplus line insurers in complex insurance coverage matters and allegations of bad faith claims handling.
Noelle Graney (Scottsdale) concentrates her practice on transactions involving tribes, tribal entities and their business partners. Her finance practice includes taxable and tax-exempt debt issuances. When serving as outside counsel to tribal governments and entities, she advises on matters including protection of tribal sovereignty and issues relating to trust lands. She lives and works in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Andrew L. McNichol (Scottsdale) focuses his practice in the insurance regulatory field. He represents clients in matters ranging from insurer formation and licensing, administrative actions, insurance and reinsurance disputes, arbitrations, and numerous other corporate and regulatory matters. His practice also covers insurer market conduct and financial examinations and regulation, rate and policy form matters, and reinsurance issues. In addition, Andrew has extensive experience obtaining regulatory approval of mergers and acquisitions of insurance companies and other regulated entities.
Lori N. Rush (Scottsdale) primarily concentrates her practice on commercial real estate and financing transactions, matters relating to development, acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, financing and property management, and construction and bridge loans for affordable housing developments with low income housing tax credits. She has experience in the representation of commercial lenders, REITs, developers and real estate investors for a wide variety of transactions, including transactions secured by hotels, restaurants, assisted living facilities, multifamily projects, retail centers, medical and other office projects, and general business assets.
Brian E. Kistler (Spokane) focuses his practice on general municipal law and public finance. He serves as general counsel to Washington public school districts where he has substantial experience advising on a wide range of education law and other legal issues, including open public meetings and records laws. He also regularly advises clients regarding general employment and corporate matters.
Joshua B. Christensen (Springfield) is a litigation attorney with a focus on appellate practice. Joshua's trial-court experience includes multiple jury trials and judge-tried cases, in addition to many cases successfully resolved prior to trial through dispositive motions. His trial and appellate practice spans a broad and diverse range of tort and commercial litigation, including employment discrimination, medical negligence, products liability, wrongful death, premises liability, breach of contract, and construction disputes.
Amanda D. Cooper (Springfield) has significant experience litigating cases, as well as obtaining summary judgment on discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination claims. She provides clients advice, counselling and risk-management strategies related to employee discipline and termination, drug testing, FMLA and ADA compliance, non-compete and non-solicitation agreements and preparation of employee handbooks.
About Kutak Rock LLP
With 500+ attorneys in 18 U.S. locations, Kutak Rock represents clients in business and corporate, public finance, litigation, and real estate law.