Greenberg Traurig announced Aug. 13 that eight attorneys from Husch Blackwell have joined the firm’s health care and FDA practice. The group consists of shareholders Jim Miles, Lawson Parker II and Julie Sullivan; senior counsel Fred Miles; and associates Charles Gass, Kyle Montour, Annie Tooley and Loreli Wright.
“This group brings considerable experience advising clients on high-stakes health care matters,” said a statement from Nancy Taylor, co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s health care and FDA practice.
It was important to the group that they not get split up, as they are more of a team. “We were not lawyers who just sit individually in our offices and don’t interact with each other very much,” Miles said, “we all enjoy practicing with each other. We wanted to move as a unit.”
The lateral move increases Greenberg Traurig’s health care and FDA practice group from seven to 15 attorneys.
The move from Husch Blackwell to Greenberg Traurig was done in the hopes that their new firm could better serve their clients and to allow the team to bring in even more clients. “It sounds corny, but we really do believe this move will enable us to take better care of our existing clients as well as develop new clients. It is to some extent a client-focused move,” Miles said.
Clients of Greenberg Traurig include health care providers, suppliers, investors and lenders. The services attorneys at the firm provide to clients can involve fraud and abuse, self-referral, HIPAA, insurance and managed care.
The new faces at Greenberg Traurig focus mostly on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, transactions and health care regulations. Miles, a University of Denver College of Law graduate, has experience in private equity and transactions, government relations and regulatory compliance. He also has advocated for health care providers undergoing false claims investigations. Parker’s practice is focused on mergers and acquisitions as well as representing equity funds when they buy and sell health care companies. Sullivan has a regulatory practice and helps health care providers with fraud and abuse issues, regulation compliance, and health information and privacy issues. She also has advised corporate counsel attorneys on issues in the medical field.
The Denver office wanted to increase its numbers in the practice as it didn’t have as large of a practice group as other offices. The reputation at Greenberg Traurig is part of why the team was so drawn to the firm, knowing there wouldn’t be a negative change in what they or their clients were used to in terms of resources and service.
Lawson mentioned that the “geographic footprint” that the firm has and the strength of the lawyers at the various offices were also a major draw.
Judicial Announcements
The Supreme Court Nominating Commission has nominated three candidates for a vacancy on the Colorado Court of Appeals. The vacancy was created by the retirement of Judge Nancy Lichtenstein, effective Jan. 8.
The nominees were selected during a meeting in Denver on Aug. 14 and 15. They are Michael Beaver, Matthew Grove and Lino Lipinsky.
Beaver is a partner at the Greenwood Village office of Holland & Hart who focuses on labor and employment and appellate law; Grove is an attorney for the Colorado Department of Law; and Lipinsky is a partner in the litigation and dispute resolution practice at Dentons.
The 18th Judicial District Nominating Commission has nominated three candidates for an Arapahoe County Court judgeship created by the appointment of Judge Darren Vahle to the district court. The vacancy occurred on July 16.
Nominees Christina Apostoli and Echo Ryan, both of Aurora; and Chantel Contiguglia of Centennial were selected in a meeting Aug. 14.
Under the Colorado Constitution, the governor has 15 days from Aug. 15 to appoint one of the nominees as county court judge for Arapahoe County.
The 17th Judicial District Nominating Commission has nominated three candidates for a district court judgeship created by the retirement of Judge Thomas Ensor, effective Sept. 28.
Nominees Caryn Datz and Kyle Seedorf, both of Broomfield; and Bradley Varmo of Thornton were selected by the commission on Aug. 14.
Under the Colorado Constitution, the governor has 15 days from Aug. 15 to appoint one of the nominees as district court judge for the 17th Judicial District, which includes Adams and Broomfield counties.
Comments regarding any of the nominees may be sent via e-mail to the governor at [email protected].
Lateral Watch
Steptoe & Johnson on Aug. 13 added Melissa Lyon to the firm’s Denver office. Lyon joins the firm’s energy department where she will be a member of its energy transactions team. Lyon’s experience covers years of litigation and transactions involving the energy industry in Colorado and Wyoming.
“Melissa’s combination of experience in the courtroom and at the negotiating table makes her a valuable resource for our clients and attorneys,” said Steptoe & Johnson CEO Susan Brewer. “I am excited about the expansion of our capabilities in the Denver area, and look forward to what we will accomplish for our clients.”
Lyon works in energy and natural resources law, real estate and general civil litigation. She works with oil and gas companies to handle matters including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, mergers and acquisitions and others. She negotiates purchase and sale agreements, loan documents, master service agreements, and other arrangements to facilitate energy exploration and development.
Lyon earned her law degree and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wyoming.
She is the founder of the University of Wyoming Alumni Association Denver Law Network, a networking group for university alumni in the Denver area.
Associate Watch
Holland & Hart announced Tuesday that patent attorney John Lomenick joined the firm’s Denver office as an associate in its intellectual property practice group.
Lomenick brings experience in domestic and international patent preparation and prosecution, performing intellectual property portfolio due diligence, forming freedom to operate opinions, and trademark preparation and prosecution.
His patent experience includes supporting companies with technologies in the electrical/computer and mechanical areas.
He earned his law degree and Intellectual Property Law Certificate at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi.