The global law firm Jones Day has announced that William J. Axtman and Marcia C. Kelson have joined the Firm’s Pittsburgh Office as partners in its M&A Practice and Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice, respectively. Both were partners with K&L Gates LLP in Pittsburgh.
“We’re thrilled Marcia and Bill have decided to bring their wealth of experience to our clients in Pittsburgh and beyond,” said Laura Ellsworth, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day’s Pittsburgh Office. “They will add significantly to the full-service transactional and litigation team we’ve built here that serves clients as one firm worldwide.”
Mr. Axtman has extensive experience with domestic and international M&A, joint ventures, recapitalizations, and complex commercial arrangements. He has represented clients ranging from emerging growth companies to some of the world’s largest corporations in industries ranging from specialty manufacturing and engineered products to industrial metals, chemicals and retail goods, among others. He is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law (J.D.) and the University of Rochester (B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa).
“Bill is a seasoned M&A pro whose track record fits in our global footprint,” said Bob Profusek, leader of Jones Day’s global M&A Practice. “He is a welcome addition to our team which is focused on providing greater value via true risk assessment and value-creation in transactional structuring, new governance processes, and the ability to marshal numerous practice disciplines on a seamless and cost-effective basis — frequently in multijurisdictional, even global, transactional settings.”
Ms. Kelson has advised public, private, nonprofit and governmental clients on the structuring, implementation, administration, correction and termination of benefit plans. She is particularly experienced with tax-advantaged plans, including ESOPs in the transactional setting and ERISA fiduciary duties. Ms. Kelson has also counseled clients on deferred compensation and other executive benefit arrangements under Section 409A, and is well-versed in issues pertinent to higher education employers. She is a graduate of Boston University School of Law (J.D.) and Vanderbilt University (B.A.).
“Marcia’s experience with benefits and executive compensation matters, including the sensitive issues that arise with M&A transactions and her seminal and repeated work in the growing area of pension de-risking transactions, will be welcomed by our clients in Pittsburgh and around the world,” said Robert Miller, co-leader of Jones Day’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice. “She is a great, multi-disciplinary addition to an already strong multi-disciplinary team with more than 50 compensation and benefits attorneys around the globe, collaboratively working together across offices and practices to provide a wealth of targeted experience and help clients work through difficult problems.”
Jones Day is a global law firm with 42 offices in major centers of business and finance throughout the world. Its unique governance system fosters an unparalleled level of integration and contributes to its perennial ranking as among the best in the world in client service. Jones Day provides significant legal representation for almost half of the Fortune 500, Fortune Global 500, and FT Global 500.
Source: www.jonesday.com
