New partners in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington and Atlanta – including three lawyers returning to firm; latest additions to government contracts, complex tort and corporate practices
Los Angeles/San Francisco/Washington (June 25, 2015) – McKenna Long & Aldridge heads into its pending merger with leading global law firm Dentons with a strong burst of momentum. The firm announced it has added five new partners in the month of June – in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington and Atlanta – including three lawyers who previously practiced at McKenna.
The five partners span several key practice areas – government contracts and compliance, litigation and complex tort litigation and corporate transactions and regulation.
Coming into the firm on the eve of the Dentons US merger are the following new partners:
Mordecai Boone – who joins the Product Liability and Complex Tort practice, based in San Francisco;
Kelvin Wyles – who also arrives as a partner in the Product Liability and Complex Tort practice in Los Angeles;
Jeniffer M. De Jesus Roberts – who joins the Washington, DC office with a multi-disciplinary practice in government contracts policy and compliance;
Kevin Lombardo – joins the government contracts group in Los Angeles, with additional practice focus on international trade regulation;
Steven Berson – who joined the firm’s corporate group in Atlanta earlier in June, bringing 30 years’ experience in M&A, capital markets and technology transactions, as well as regulatory, compensation and corporate governance matters.
Mr. Lombardo, Ms. Roberts and Mr. Wyles all are returning to McKenna after stints practicing elsewhere – including senior in-house positions on the client side for Ms. Roberts.
“We’re excited to welcome these five outstanding new partners to the firm as we get ready to complete our historic merger with Dentons US, which charts a new global platform for our lawyers and advisers,” said McKenna Long Chairman Jeff Haidet, who is slated to become US co-CEO of the firm when the merger is concluded.
“We’re excited to attract top-flight talents such as Mordecai Boone and Steve Berson who bring important skill sets in litigation and corporate transactions and recognize the larger opportunity ahead through being part of Dentons,” Mr. Haidet added.
“It’s also satisfying to mark the return of Kelvin Wyles, Jeniffer Roberts and Kevin Lombardo, who bring welcome history and relationships from their prior time spent at McKenna, along with substantial new expertise in their respective practices.”
Ms. Roberts, a former McKenna associate who returns after an extended tour as director of legal compliance, regulatory risk and ethics for Accenture Federal Services, noted the alignment that drew her back to her old firm:
“McKenna helped launch my career in government contracts and compliance, and gave me a strong frame of reference in understanding the complexities facing companies that do business with federal agencies,” she said. “After a long period of working in-house I am eager to advise clients across the contractor spectrum. McKenna, with its historically strong contractor expertise and a recharged leadership under partner Jessica Abrahams, will now offer an extremely favorable path to practice as part of Dentons. This is the right time and the right firm for moving forward.”
Source: www.mckennalong.com
