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Law firm updates
Sherman & Howard announced Sept. 23 that it is merging with Am Law 100 firm Taft, creating a firm with more than 1,000 attorneys. The merger is effective Jan. 1, 2025. All eight of Sherman & Howard’s offices will join Taft’s nine primary markets. The combined firm will have offices in 10 states and Washington, D.C. Taft has completed six mergers in the past 16 years, including Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss in Detroit; Briggs and Morgan in Minneapolis; Shefsky & Froelich in Chicago; Chester Willcox & Saxbe in Columbus, Ohio; Kahn Kleinman in Cleveland; and Sommer Barnard in Indianapolis.
Venable LLP announced Sept. 23 that Kristin Smith has joined the firm as counsel in the private wealth planning group. Smith has experience counseling families and individuals on estate planning and trust and estate administration. Smith works with her clients on strategies to facilitate the transfer, management and protection of wealth while minimizing estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes. She has experience administering complex trusts and estates, including assisting clients in navigating fiduciary duties, minimizing conflict among family members and fulfilling asset distribution to beneficiaries. Smith is licensed in Colorado, Illinois and New York. She will work primarily with Venable’s Chicago wealth planning practice and be a resident in its Denver office. She received her J.D. from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University.
Holland & Hart announced Sept. 23 that Diane Wozniak, Hannah Taylor, Helen Grenillo and Lauri Burnup joined the firm’s private client team in Denver. Wozniak joins as a partner, Taylor as an associate and Grenillo and Burnup as paralegals. Wozniak is an advisor to high-net-worth individuals entering into and ending marriages. She works with individuals, families and family offices on a range of premarital agreements designed to protect generational wealth. Wozniak was a member of Sherman & Howard before joining Holland & Hart.
Nationwide employment law firm Jackson Lewis P.C. announced on Sept. 26 that Paul Parisi rejoined the firm as a principal in its Denver office. Parisi returns from DISH Network, where he served as director of litigation and senior counsel and led the company’s global labor and employment practice group. Parisi has experience in disability management and health-related legal issues. Drawing on his experience with DISH Network, he provides guidance to employers concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Parisi served as DISH’s primary legal advisor, offering support to more than 20,000 employees on safety, disability accommodations, remote work and local government relations. Parisi earned his J.D. from the University at Buffalo School of Law and his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.
Am Law 100 firm Polsinelli announced on Sept. 26 that it welcomed Harsha Sekar as a shareholder in the firm’s capital markets and commercial lending practice. Joining Polsinelli’s Denver office, Sekar focuses on the private credit industry and has experience advising investment funds, family offices and other types of lenders and borrowers in private credit transactions, fund formations and fund financings. He also serves as general counsel for the Centennial State Liquid Investment Pool, one of Colorado’s four local government investment pool trust funds. Sekar received his J.D. from Tulane University and holds a bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College.