Paul Hastings LLP — United States

Aaron Charfoos

Aaron Charfoos serves as co-chair of the Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Group in the firm's Chicago office. He is a Chambers-ranked accomplished cybersecurity, privacy, class action and data protection trial lawyer. Aaron has litigated a variety of privacy and cybersecurity cases including data breach class actions, Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) and other pixel and third-party tracking technology cases. Aaron also defends clients in regulatory investigations brought by various U.S. and international regulatory bodies. He has guided his clients through numerous data breaches, including breaches involving tens of millions of impacted individuals. Aaron is particularly skilled in guiding clients through cybersecurity vulnerability disclosures, including the Meltdown and Spectre computer chip vulnerabilities, supply chain interdictions, and various other matters, some of which have involved both congressional and regulatory investigations. · Data Privacy

Aaron Mahler

Aaron Mahler is a partner in the Consumer Financial Services and Litigation group at Paul Hastings, and is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. Aaron has established himself as a valued counselor for financial services companies and individuals navigating government enforcement, litigation, and regulatory matters. He focuses much of his practice on representing bank and nonbank financial institutions in government examinations, investigations, and enforcement actions. · Consumer Financial Services

Alex Farr

Alex Farr is a partner in the Tax Department of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Dallas office. He focuses his practice on federal income and international tax planning for partnerships, corporations, and individuals related to complex domestic and international business transactions across a variety of industries, including the technology, healthcare, real estate, and energy sectors. · Tax

Alex Herman

Alex Herman is a partner in the Securities & Capital Markets and Latin America practices of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. Alex focuses on representing public and private companies, sovereign governments and financial institutions in cross-border capital markets, private equity and financing transactions, particularly those involving Latin American projects or parties. Her experience includes debt and equity offerings pursuant to Rule 144A/Regulation S, cash flow securitizations and private placements across a variety of industries including the energy and infrastructure sectors. She also advises on periodic SEC reporting obligations and regulatory and compliance matters under the U.S. securities laws. · Securities & Capital Markets

Alexander Temel

Alexander Temel is co-chair of the Private Equity practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Boston office. Alex focuses his practice on advising private equity clients in connection with leveraged recapitalizations, management buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, structured preferred and growth equity investments, and search fund transactions. Alex regularly represents clients in the software, financial services, business and consumer services, oil and gas, real estate, healthcare, and media industries. He also serves as primary general counsel to a number of privately held companies and represents entrepreneurs and management teams in connection with rollover transactions and new ventures. · Private Equity

Alexandro Padrés

Alexandro M. Padrés is a partner in the Infrastructure and Energy practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. He focuses on infrastructure projects as they relate to the electricity (both conventional and clean/renewable), oil and gas telecommunications and mining sectors, with a particular emphasis on Mexico and Latin America. Most recently, his practice has consisted of portfolio financings in several jurisdictions in Latin America (in various modalities and levels of complexity), including advising sponsors and lenders on the financing of renewables projects being developed under the auspices of power purchase agreements under the new legislative framework in Mexico arising from the constitutional energy reform of 2013, as well as the development and financing of gas transportation infrastructure and legacy independent power producer projects in Mexico issued by the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE). · Infrastructure

Amir Ghavi

Amir Ghavi co-chairs Paul Hastings’ Technology Transactions practice and is widely regarded as a leading authority on legal and strategic issues involving emerging technologies. His practice centers on technology and IP, with a particular focus in AI, automation and robotics, and other disruptive technologies. Clients turn to Amir for strategic counsel on high-value technology matters, drawing on his extensive experience advising technology builders, adopters, investors, and regulators. He advises technology leaders on strategy, regulatory compliance & government affairs, intellectual property, joint ventures, strategic partnerships and M&A, product development, and data management. Amir is a trusted advisor to a broad array of stakeholders in frontier technologies, including AI foundation model developers, sovereign funds, private equity sponsors, and multinational corporations. His AI-focused counseling spans development and deployment strategy, governance, commercialization, hardware and infrastructure, joint ventures, regulatory compliance, and cross-border investments. Notably, Amir has represented AI model developers as defendants in landmark litigations involving first-of-their-kind copyright claims against AI systems, including three of the first four cases filed, and continues to counsel clients on some of the most consequential AI disputes underway. Amir is a recognized thought leader in promoting alignment between technology, society, and law. He lectures at Cornell Tech and the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he instructs on AI and the law, and is a frequent speaker, panelist, and media commentator on emerging technologies including AI, robotics, digital assets, and quantum computing. · Technology Transactions

Amit Mehta

Amit Mehta is the global co-chair of the Paul Hastings Corporate Department and is a partner in the firm's Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisition practices. Amit’s practice is focused on private equity and corporate transactions, restructuring and distressed transactions, mergers and acquisitions, private securities offerings, SPAC-related transaction and counseling boards and senior management on strategic business, corporate governance, financial, and transactional matters. He regularly represents companies in global acquisitions and dispositions, and also in connection with distressed assets. In addition, he represents parties in connection with transactional risk products, including the issuance of representations and warranties insurance policies. Amit serves as general counsel for companies, including providing advice and assistance, with respect to general corporate matters and corporate governance. · Private Equity

Andrew Goodman

Andrew Goodman is a partner in the Mergers and Acquisitions and Shareholder Activism & Takeover Defense practices and is based in the firm’s Boston and New York offices. His practice focuses on friendly and hostile public company M&A, corporate governance, shareholder activism defense, and contested situations. He works with clients in a variety of industries, with substantial experience in life sciences and healthcare, technology, and REITs. · Mergers and Acquisitions

Anna Rips

Anna Rips is a partner in the Investment Funds & Private Capital practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. Anna focuses her practice on direct lending, private debt and credit funds. She represents U.S. and non-U.S. fund sponsors, asset managers, and investment advisers in connection with the structuring and distribution of U.S. and international private offerings of investment funds, including open and closed-end funds, hybrid funds in various asset classes, negotiated seed and strategic investments, joint ventures, secondaries and continuation vehicles, and other transactions. Anna also advises clients on compensation and carry arrangements, fund sponsor structuring and other legal issues and considerations relating to the establishment, marketing and operation of private investment funds on a global basis. · Investment Funds

Art Zwickel

Art Zwickel is a partner in the Investment Funds & Private Capital practice at Paul Hastings and practices in the area of securities, corporate and investment management law. Art’s practice focuses on structuring and organizing both registered and private investment funds, including mutual funds, closed-end funds, hedge funds, private equity funds, hybrid funds, and fund-of-funds. He also counsels investment advisers and broker-dealers on federal and state regulatory issues, including SEC, CFTC, FINRA and NFA rules, and advises them on all aspects of their ongoing operations. Art frequently assists spinout and startup asset management firms in all facets of their organization, including investment adviser registration, preparing and negotiating agreements among the owners, and seed capital transactions. He also advises a variety of institutional investors in connection with their investments into alternative investment funds. · Securities

Avi Weitzman

Avi Weitzman is co-chair of the Complex Litigation and Arbitration practice and a partner in the Investigations and White Collar Defense practice at Paul Hastings, based in the firm’s New York office. Avi has successfully served as lead trial counsel in high-profile white collar and civil trials, both while an assistant United States attorney in the Southern District of New York and in private practice since then. · Complex Litigation

Barry Sher

Barry Sher is a partner in the Litigation Department of Paul Hastings. He served for more than a decade as chair of the department. He is recognized in Band 1 of Chambers USA for Commercial Litigation; by Euromoney’s Benchmark: by America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys; and as one of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America. He has earned the highest possible Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating, was named by The American Lawyer as its Litigator of the Week and is a recipient of the Burton Award for Legal Achievement, awarded each year for excellence in legal writing. Clients refer to Barry as “a true partner and a superstar” who “makes [you] feel as if [you are] his only client.” · Commercial Litigation

Benjamin Stein

Benjamin Stein is a Boston-based corporate partner at Paul Hastings. He advises private and public companies, from startups to major corporations, in transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, private equity and debt financings and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission-registered securities offerings. · Mergers and Acquisitions

Blair Robinson

Blair Robinson is a partner in the Employment Law Department based in the firm’s New York office. Blair represents clients on a broad range of labor and employment matters, including class and collective actions, high-stakes individual plaintiff litigation, and sensitive investigations involving senior executives. · Class Actions

Brad Bondi

Brad Bondi is Global Co-Chair of the Investigations and White Collar Defense practice at Paul Hastings and a nationally recognized litigation partner. He focuses on securities and financial investigations (SEC and DOJ) and securities and complex litigation. He also advises boards of directors and audit committees concerning significant governance matters. He is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. and New York offices. The publication Law360 recognized Brad as a national MVP in white collar in 2022, 2021, and 2019, Benchmark Litigation lists him as “national practice area star” in both securities and white collar, and The National Law Journal named him a Washington D.C. Trailblazer in 2020 to recognize his significant contributions to the field of securities law. The National Association of Corporate Directors has twice honored him for his work in the board room. Securities Docket describes Brad as “the first choice among Boards of Directors and Audit Committees of the Fortune 500 when their company is faced with SEC or DOJ problems.” Mr. Bondi has two decades of experience representing and counseling companies, financial institutions, boards of directors, audit committees, and senior executives in a broad range of investigations and complex business litigation, with an emphasis on securities and financial regulations and corporate governance matters. He previously held senior positions in government, including at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Bondi leads the representation of significant legal matters including major litigation in trial and appellate courts and in arbitrations (securities litigation, derivative litigation, and complex business litigation), SEC, FINRA, and PCAOB enforcement matters, criminal inquiries (including FCPA, DOJ, and USAO matters), and various investigations (including independent investigations overseen by audit committees and special committees). Mr. Bondi regularly serves as a senior advisor to boards of directors, audit committees, special committees, independent directors, and senior executives during corporate crises, significant transactions, and governance challenges. He has guided boards and board committees through the most extraordinary corporate events, including independent investigations, defense of derivative lawsuits against directors and officers, class actions, accounting irregularities and Restatements, auditor disputes, hostile takeover attempts and activist shareholders, mergers and acquisitions disputes, cyber intrusions and data breaches, and investigations of alleged misconduct by executives. Mr. Bondi advises clients in connection with regulatory enforcement actions, private lawsuits, and governmental and congressional investigations arising from suspected violations of securities laws, accounting irregularities, auditor disputes, internal controls, market manipulation, revenue recognition issues, tax-related matters, insider trading, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other commercial bribery law compliance, matters involving LIBOR and other reference rates, compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank Acts, potential antitrust concerns, and cybersecurity. He also oversees complex civil and criminal litigation, such as securities litigation, corporate control litigation, commercial litigation, contractual disputes, arbitrations, and criminal proceedings. Mr. Bondi has litigated significant legal disputes in various state and federal courts, including serving as counsel of record for successful briefs before the Supreme Court of the United States: for an investment bank in Credit Suisse First Boston Ltd. v. Billing (interpreting securities laws as implicitly precluding the application of antitrust laws in the IPO process) and for an amicus curiae in Yates v. United States (construing Sarbanes-Oxley’s criminal provision for document destruction, 18 U.S.C. § 1519). He also served as counsel of record for an amicus curiae brief before the Supreme Court of the United States in Salman v. United States (concerning the personal benefit element of insider trading law) and Liu v. SEC (concerning the SEC’s authority to seek disgorgement), and he has advised on other cases before the Court. Mr. Bondi regularly advises financial institutions, including banking institutions, broker-dealers, investment advisers, mutual funds, and hedge funds, and their respective boards on issues relating to compliance with securities laws, criminal laws, SEC and FINRA rules, and governance requirements. Mr. Bondi defends clients in enforcement actions, prosecutions, and investigations initiated by federal and state agencies and departments, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Department of Justice (DOJ), United States Attorneys and grand juries, State Attorneys General, Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC), Office of the Controller of the Currency (OCC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Federal Reserve, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). On occasion, he has served as an expert witness regarding issues relating to securities law and insider trading law. · Securities Enforcement Defense

Brad Drake

Brad Drake is a partner in the Insurance Private Equity and M&A practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Chicago office. He frequently represents insurers, reinsurers, investment managers and other market participants in a broad range of insurance-related transactions, from company formations to innovative risk transfer solutions. Brad has advised insurers in connection with company and block acquisitions, and issuers and underwriters in connection with equity, debt, and hybrid securities offerings. He has also been involved in several alternative risk transfer transactions, including embedded value and closed block securitizations, regulatory reserve financings, pension risk transfers, and sidecars. Brad also advises participants in connection with premium finance and life settlement transactions. · Insurance

Brian Richards

Brian Richards is co-chair of the firm’s Private Equity practice and is a partner in the M&A practice at Paul Hastings. Brian has 30 years of experience leading complex domestic and international transactions, including leveraged buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, and growth equity investments in a wide variety of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, technology, distribution, and services. The volume and breadth of Brian’s experience is relatively unmatched in the middle market. In 2021 alone, he led more than 30 transactions of all sizes, including several multibillion-dollar deals. · Private Equity

Bruce Wexler

Bruce Wexler is a partner in the Intellectual Property practice at Paul Hastings. Mr. Wexler is a trial lawyer with extensive experience litigating high-stakes patent cases in a range of technologies. He has represented clients as lead counsel in enforcement and defense matters involving multi-million and multi-billion-dollar drug products. He forms close partnerships with his clients to support successful outcomes, including in their bet-the-company cases. In Hatch-Waxman Act matters, he has opposed challenges by most generic drug companies. He has helped his clients with important drug products such as Aricept®, Pradaxa®, Mirapex®, Cyltezo®, Basaglar®, Entereg®, Emend® oral and Emend® for Injection, Aciphex®, Banzel®, Gocovri®, Comirnaty®, and Opsumit®. He is a former judicial law clerk of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, where he served under Chief Judge Glenn L. Archer, Jr. He clerked for Chief Judge Archer during the Chief Judge’s preparation of influential Federal Circuit decisions including Markman v. Westview. Mr. Wexler is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, where he teaches an advanced course in “Life Sciences and Patent Law.” · Intellectual Property

Chad Vance

Chad Vance is a partner in the Insurance M&A practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Chicago office. Chad focuses his practice on a variety of corporate, securities and regulatory matters relating to the insurance and financial services industry. His work includes the representation of both buyers and sellers in connection with mergers, acquisitions and private equity transactions; the representation of underwriters and issuers in connection with public and private securities offerings, including initial public offerings and private placements of debt and equity securities; and the representation of lenders and borrowers in connection with financing transactions. · Insurance M&A

Chris Centrich

Christopher Erik Centrich is a partner in the Corporate Department at Paul Hastings and is based in the Firm’s Houston office. Mr. Centrich advises energy companies on M&A, public and private securities offerings, private equity financings, corporate finance transactions, securities law compliance and other general corporate matters. · Mergers and Acquisitions

Chris Daniel

Chris Daniel is the Chair of Paul Hastings’ market-leading Global Fintech & Payments Group and is a partner in the Corporate Department. As the founder of the firm’s Band 1 and Tier 1-ranked Fintech team, Chris is recognized as one of the country's leading attorneys in payment systems law, including electronic payments, mobile payments, virtual and digital currencies, and money transmission. Recognized as a “Fintech MVP” by Law360 and ranked Band 1 by Chambers, Chris is one of the most sought-after payments and cryptocurrency practitioners in the market. His unique strength lies in his ability to blend his financial services regulatory focus with unparalleled transactional experience in the Fintech industry. Chris has significant experience advising clients on issues related to investments into payment systems companies and banks, the creation of settlement networks, transactional matters involving payment systems companies, global money transmission, and anti-money laundering issues associated with payments. He regularly practices before every state banking department, all federal banking agencies, FinCEN, and OFAC, and his client base generally consists of: Private equity and venture capital firms. Fintech startups as they develop and commercialize their product offerings. Cryptocurrency companies along the entire range of crypto offerings from blockchain development to crypto exchanges, DeFi and DApps, and ecosystem development. Legacy depositories, payments companies, and card networks who are innovating or contracting with fintech companies. Trusted Platform Companies, for which financial services contribute a significant percentage of their business. Chris regularly practices before every state banking department, all federal banking agencies, FinCEN, and OFAC. · Fintech

Christopher Boies

Christopher Boies is partner in the Corporate Department at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. He specializes in representing private credit funds, special situations and opportunistic funds, BDCs, investment and commercial banks, hedge funds and other investment advisors in connection with the entire life-cycle of financing transactions, from structuring and loan origination to in-court and out-of-court restructuring transactions. Christopher is regularly called upon by clients and colleagues in connection with navigating intercreditor and AAL (agreement among lenders) dynamics in complex multi-tranche credit structures, and has presented to both market participants and government agencies concerning unitranche credit facilities and related topics. · Private Credit

Christopher Ross

Christopher Ross is a Partner in the Corporate practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. His practice focuses on representing banks and alternative lenders in commercial finance transactions, including acquisition financings, syndicated and direct lending, cross-border transactions, special situations, refinancings, recapitalizations, asset-based lending, cash flow loans, first lien/second lien facilities, and mezzanine debt facilities. He has experience in various business sectors including healthcare, software, retail, media, franchising, manufacturing, and transportation. · Commercial Finance

Colin Diamond

Colin J. Diamond is co-chair of the global Securities and Capital Markets practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. He advises issuers and underwriters on a broad range of U.S. and international capital markets transactions, including registered equity offerings, private placements and convertible bond offerings. Colin has worked on 30 completed IPOs in the last 10 years. His experience includes playing a leading role in the IPOs of Visa and Saudi Aramco, each the largest IPO globally at the time. Colin also advises public companies at critical times in their life cycles on their obligations and options. His practice includes advice on the full range of U.S. securities laws, including proxy statements, SEC no-action letters, and ongoing reporting requirements. · Securities

Dan Stellenberg

Dan Stellenberg is a partner in the Tax practice of Paul Hastings, focusing on executive compensation and employee benefits. Dan’s practice encompasses four broad areas: (i) support of the firm’s overall transaction practices, including Private Equity, M&A, Capital Markets, and Corporate Restructurings, (ii) employment restructurings, (iii) outside compensation/benefits counsel, and (iv) representations of individual executives and management teams. More specifically, his practice focuses on transactional employment matters, including advising on tax, accounting, employment and securities law issues in connection with executive employment and separation agreements, equity compensation arrangements, and bonus plans. · Executive Compensation

Dana Syracuse

Dana Syracuse is a partner in the Fintech practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. His practice focuses on the blockchain, fintech, e-commerce and financial services sectors, working with clients on regulatory, business and product counseling, cyber and data security, and enforcement concerns. · Blockchain

Daniel Fliman

Dan Fliman is a partner in the Financial Restructuring group at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. Mr. Fliman has nearly two decades of experience working on high-profile restructurings and related litigations. He most often represents creditors, committees, debtors, shareholders, sponsors, and fiduciaries looking to mitigate exposure, or maximize recoveries, in contentious contexts. He is experienced handling a wide variety of disputes (from differing sides) in Federal and state courts, with particular focus on bankruptcy plan-related litigation and lawsuits involving claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent conveyance, and equitable subordination. · Financial Restructuring

David Avila

David Avila is a partner in the Energy and Infrastructure practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. He focuses on project development and finance, including construction, tax credit bridge and back leverage financings, Term Loan A, Term Loan B, asset acquisitions and dispositions, private placement offerings, tax credit transfer transactions, and other corporate transactions in the power and renewable energy, battery storage and natural gas sectors. David’s clients include both sponsors and lenders, including developers, private equity, investment banks and other institutional investors. · Project Development

David Barash

David L. Barash is a partner in the Global Finance practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. His practice primarily focuses on advising leading investment banks, institutional investments funds, and commercial banks in public and private financing transactions, including high yield and investment grade debt offerings, equity offerings, mezzanine financings, unitranche financings, and leveraged loan financings. · Debt Offerings

David Broderick

David Broderick’s practice focuses on complex real estate transactions, including debt and equity transactions, and all types of restructurings, workouts and dispute resolutions. David concentrates on mortgage and mezzanine financing, construction lending, debt syndication, preferred equity, bridge financing and other structured financings. He also focuses on asset management, mortgage loan foreclosures, UCC public actions, intercreditor/co-lender disputes, real estate-related litigation, partnership disputes and bankruptcies. David also works on loan securitization transactions, real estate fund formations, financing facilities and private equity asset level transactions, sale/leaseback transactions and related financing. · Real Estate

David Elder

David Elder is a partner in the Corporate Department at Paul Hastings and is based in the Firm’s Houston office. Mr. Elder focuses on mergers and acquisitions, public and private securities offerings, corporate governance and general corporate securities matters. He represents major corporate clients across the energy, oil and gas, sports and entertainment, and telecommunications sectors. He also advises issuers, underwriters and investment banking firms in public and private offerings. · Mergers & Acquisitions

David Hearth

David Hearth is a partner in the Investment Funds & Private Capital practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s San Francisco office. David has an investment management, corporate, and securities practice. He represents investment companies and partnerships, investment advisers, broker-dealers, and independent board members of registered investment companies. He also has broad investment management industry experience in general business matters, including merger and acquisition transactions. David actively represents investment management organizations in all phases of their activities, including launching new fund groups and innovative new products and services, handling special compliance and regulatory matters, obtaining exemptive and no-action relief from the SEC, working on acquisitions, and providing fiduciary counseling. · Investment Funds

Derek Roth

Derek Roth is a partner in the Real Estate practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Century City office. He is also a member of the Hospitality & Leisure practice group, representing institutional real estate investors and real estate companies in joint ventures, finance transactions, acquisitions and dispositions, fund formation and operational issues. Having spent four years in Paul Hastings’ Hong Kong office, Derek also has extensive experience representing clients in cross-border transactions between the United States and Asia. · Real Estate

Derek Wetmore

Derek Wetmore is of counsel in the Investigations & White Collar Defense practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm's San Francisco office. He represents clients ranging from individuals and closely held entities to Fortune 50 companies in the most sensitive, confidential matters. Derek's practice focuses on Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) investigations and enforcement actions, state Attorney General investigations, global and domestic internal investigations, and Fintech regulatory matters and litigation. · Securities Enforcement

Eduardo Gallardo

Eduardo Gallardo is co-chair of the Mergers & Acquisitions practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. He has over 25 years of experience representing public company sellers and buyers, including boards of directors and special committees, in connection with mergers, acquisitions and takeovers, both negotiated and contested. Eduardo also represents public companies in connection with proxy contests, leveraged buyouts, spinoffs, divestitures, restructurings, recapitalizations, joint ventures and other complex corporate transactions. · Mergers and Acquisitions

Elena Baca

Elena Baca is the Global Chair of the Paul Hastings Employment Law Department and leads a diverse group of more than 80 lawyers in 10 offices around the world. Elena is a first-chair litigator who regularly navigates high-stakes litigation, conducts sensitive investigations and advises C-suite executives and corporate boards on compliance and regulatory issues involving human capital. In her role as practice Chair, Paul Hastings’ Employment Department has anticipated and led the response to evolving employment issues, including employee and shareholder activism, AI, COVID, DEI and CSR. Elena is recognized as a leading trial lawyer by many notable publications. She has been consistently ranked by Chambers USA and The Legal 500 as one of the top employment defense lawyers in California. Chambers USA has noted that her “litigation track record and outstanding trial victories stand out in the legal marketplace, due to both her sheer volume of wins and the ways in which these decisions are helping to shape future employment and labor law, particularly in California.” In Chambers, Elena has been described as “second to none,” a “phenomenal lawyer and creative thinker,” “one of the preeminent labor and employment lawyers in Los Angeles,” and “one of the best attorneys I have ever worked with.” Elena also has been selected continuously since 2006 as one of the Best Lawyers in America in employment law. She has repeatedly been named as one of California’s “Top Women Lawyers” and as one of California’s “Top Labor and Employment Attorneys” by the Los Angeles Daily Journal. She has been selected as one of Lawdragon’s Top 500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers. The American Lawyer also recognized her in its “Top 45 Under 45” list. An experienced trial lawyer, Elena has established an impressive record of defense verdicts and arbitration wins representing a wide variety of corporate clients. Her adversarial practice is primarily focused on employment-related issues, such as employee mobility, discrimination, wage and hour, and whistleblower issues. She is considered a “go-to” employment lawyer for many large employers with high-profile disputes involving high-level executives and contentious high-stakes litigation (including class action claims). She is regularly called upon to assist with crisis litigation, with its unique demands and need for an experienced, sophisticated and broad strategic focus. Elena is frequently called upon to turn around cases that have been mishandled by other law firms and take them to trial. Her clients include talent agencies, entertainment companies, web-based services, online social media and networking platforms, video game developers and publishers, financial institutions, medical technology and research companies, law firms, public utilities, major manufacturers, and leading consumer brands. · Employment Law

Erec Winandy

Erec Winandy is a partner in the Global Finance practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm's Dallas office. He leads a skilled and experienced team that prides itself on providing commercial and creative solutions for even the most complex deals, including acquisition and leveraged finance, asset-based lending and reserve-based lending, subscription-backed lending, and structured finance. · Banking & Finance

Eric Allendorf

Rick Allendorf is the head of the Real Estate Finance practice group and a partner in the Real Estate practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. Mr. Allendorf’s practice is concentrated in real estate lending with a national scope, with a particular emphasis on complex debt finance. He represents institutional lenders, alternative lenders, debt funds, and construction lenders in all aspects of real estate finance and restructurings. Mr. Allendorf’s experience includes representing lenders in originating loans intended for balance sheet, syndication, and securitization secured by commercial real estate projects of all asset types, including office, retail, hotel, multifamily, and industrial. He has extensive experience in structuring multi-stack deals with multiple layers of subordinate financing, representing both senior lenders and mezzanine lenders. Additionally, Mr. Allendorf has extensive experience in workouts and bankruptcies, having been involved in some of the largest restructurings in multiple real estate cycles. · Real Estate Finance

Eric Dittmann

Eric W. Dittmann is global co-chair of the Intellectual Property practice at Paul Hastings, where he oversees the firm’s 100-plus lawyer IP group. Recognized as one of the nation’s leading IP litigators, Eric possesses extensive first-chair experience representing clients in patent litigations, post-grant proceedings, arbitrations, and appellate disputes across a wide range of technologies, with a particular emphasis on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. He is regularly trusted by some of the world’s most prominent companies to lead their most critical and business-defining IP disputes. Clients praise him as “an excellent attorney who brings a brilliant strategic mind to every issue” and “an excellent strategist and litigator” (Chambers USA 2025 — Intellectual Property: Patent). · Intellectual Property

Eric Landau

Eric Landau is a partner and Chair of the Real Estate Department at Paul Hastings, based in the firm’s New York office. He has developed a real estate practice representing a diverse group of clients and interests, focusing on sophisticated joint ventures, hospitality, borrowing, preferred equity, acquisitions and mixed-use development transactions. Representative of the clients who Mr. Landau regularly represents on their most complex real estate transactions include Millennium Partners, Related Fund Management, Fisher Brothers, The Witkoff Group, Lightstone Development Group, Investcorp International, Lionheart Strategic Capital, Ian Schrager Company, Silverstein Properties, Nobu Hospitality, Extell Development, Cipriani, Faena Group, Morgan Stanley and Turnbridge Equities. · Real Estate

Eric Schwitzer

Eric Schwitzer is the chair of the Fund Finance practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. His practice primarily focuses on fund finance and real estate finance. Eric represents major financial institutions, together with private credit and private equity funds in connection with complex domestic and cross-border transactions, including subscription line credit facilities, NAV financings, hybrid facilities, mortgage and mezzanine loans, and preferred equity financings. · Fund Finance

Eric Sibbitt

Eric Sibbitt serves as both Co-Chair of the Global Fintech & Payments and Vice Chair of the Securities & Capital Markets practice groups. As one of the most trusted legal advisors in the Fintech industry, Eric represents major trading platforms and other market intermediaries, leading innovators, and prominent investors in navigating the regulatory complexity presented by blockchain and new financial technologies and legacy regulation. Eric has broad experience advising issuers and underwriters on IPOs and other complex equity and debt capital-raising and liability management transactions, as well as M&A and other strategic transactions, and provides clients with boardroom counsel on SEC and corporate governance matters. · Fintech & Payments

Erik Hyman

Erik Hyman is co-chair of the Entertainment and Media practice and chair of the Century City office. Erik is well known in the entertainment industry as a cutting-edge dealmaker and a fierce protector of his clients, which include award-winning movie stars, high-level television creators and showrunners, lead cast members of popular programs on scripted and unscripted television, “first-dollar-gross” producers and preeminent writers and directors. He is a tenacious champion for his diverse clients, whether they are creative individuals, film financiers or high-net-worth families making entertainment and media industry investments. Erik also works closely with multiple publicly traded, nonentertainment companies, steering their television and motion picture industry strategies and branded entertainment projects. · Entertainment

Eugene Ferrer

Eugene Ferrer is the chair of the Structured Credit practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the New York office. His practice focuses on securitization and structured finance, with a particular emphasis on structured credit products and collateralized loan obligation transactions. In the past, he has represented investment banks, financial institutions, collateral managers, issuers, investors, and end-users in a wide array of securitized financial products, including: cash and synthetic CDO/CLOs, credit-linked notes, and securities repackagings. · Securitization

Felicia Davis

Felicia Davis is the Chair of the Los Angeles Employment Law Department of Paul Hastings and works in the firm’s Los Angeles and San Francisco offices. Ms. Davis represents employers in all aspects of labor and employment law, including pay equity, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, religious accommodation, and wage and hour issues in both single-plaintiff and class-action matters. She also represents clients in background check litigation under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, government and workplace investigations, labor grievances, and collective bargaining. Ms. Davis’ clients span all industries, with an emphasis in media, entertainment, and technology companies. In addition to litigation, Ms. Davis regularly helps employers review and revise their employment policies and procedures, including policies on employee background checks, paid sick leave, and wage and hour issues, and provides anti-harassment training to management and executives. She also works with employers to review and analyze their compensation practices for pay equity and legal compliance. Ms. Davis frequently advises and speaks on the intersection of technology and employment law and is a past Co-Chair of the ABA Labor and Employment Law Committee on Technology in the Practice and Workplace. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Western Center on Law & Poverty. · Labor & Employment

Frank Lopez

Frank Lopez is the Chair of Paul Hastings. Recognized as a leading capital markets and finance lawyer, Mr. Lopez has been ranked by Chambers Global, Chambers USA and Legal 500 for capital markets in each of the last 13 years and was included in The National Law Journal’s inaugural Trailblazers list, recognizing the nation’s leading lawyers in finance, banking & capital markets. He sits on the Board of Visitors of the Georgetown University Law Center. · Capital Markets

Gabe Sasson

Gabriel Sasson is a partner in the Financial Restructuring group at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. Gabriel Sasson concentrates his practice on bankruptcy proceedings and out-of-court restructuring transactions. Gabriel has extensive experience representing ad hoc groups of bondholders, secured lenders and other creditors, DIP lenders, official committees of unsecured creditors, indenture trustees, equity holders and debtors in connection with in-court and out-of-court restructurings. In addition, Gabriel has experience in the representation of large insurance companies, as creditors, in Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings. · Financial Restructuring

Gary Giampetruzzi

Gary Giampetruzzi is a partner in the Litigation Department of Paul Hastings, based in the firm’s New York office, and is the Global Chair of the Life Sciences Department and an active member of the Paul Hastings Litigation Diversity Working Group. Mr. Giampetruzzi routinely advises clients on day-to-day compliance matters, represents corporations in high-profile federal and state investigations, including those involving federal and state False Claims Act (qui tam suits), State Attorney General consumer protection statutes, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), and oversees other complex civil and criminal litigation matters. While his practice cuts across numerous sectors, including defense, energy, and private equity, Mr. Giampetruzzi possesses particularly deep experience in the life sciences sector, representing many of the world’s most prominent biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies. Prior to joining Paul Hastings, Mr. Giampetruzzi most recently served as Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, and Head of Government Investigations at Pfizer Inc., with responsibility for government investigations across the company’s multiple business units and operations globally, as well as associated government litigation with U.S. and international prosecutor offices. He was previously a Deputy Compliance Officer responsible for international compliance investigations and programs with responsibility for the implementation and maintenance of compliance programs and systems across the company’s international operations, with an enhanced focus on emerging markets. Mr. Giampetruzzi has extensive experience with all facets of the anti-corruption and FCPA landscape. He has been a leader in this growing area for approximately two decades, having led the development of cutting edge compliance programs and measures, conducted and overseen hundreds of internal investigations, and been on the ground in more than 40 markets worldwide (including Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America). Mr. Giampetruzzi was instrumental in the development of proactive market review approaches that have been incorporated into recent government resolutions, and acquisition due diligence techniques that were cited in the Justice Department’s FCPA Guidance document. He has the proven and longstanding ability to provide end-to-end support, from front-end compliance counseling and program build-outs and enhancements, to the efficient conduct of global internal investigations, and the defense of companies before U.S. and international authorities, while keeping an appropriate eye towards the increasing risk of follow-on civil litigation. On the U.S. healthcare side, Mr. Giampetruzzi provides day-to-day compliance counseling around program design, monitoring, and proactive testing, and conducts internal investigations regarding a variety of issues, including those involving anti-kickback and off-label promotion laws, patient support programs, and specialty pharmacies. He has overseen several of the more significant government investigations in the pharmaceutical industry over the years, as well as the defense and resolution of numerous whistleblower qui tam suits involving claims under the False Claims Act and related state statutes. Mr. Giampetruzzi has more recently been asked by pharmaceutical companies to defend their practices associated with patient support programs and specialty pharmacies in connection with federal investigations by several prominent prosecutor offices. He settled the first opioid prosecution on highly favorable terms, and has achieved several walkaways with state and federal prosecutor offices. Mr. Giampetruzzi is highly regarded by counsel, healthcare industry insiders, and regulators for his strategic thinking and sound judgment. He understands how to engage appropriately with the regulators, and how to litigate effectively. He brings unique experience and perspective to each client representation, having been a client himself for more than a decade at one of the largest multi-national corporations in the world. During that time, he partnered closely with business colleagues, and helped navigate a complex organization through some of the most significant compliance and enforcement issues faced in the pharmaceutical industry. As a senior in-house leader, Mr. Giampetruzzi operated at executive leadership team and board levels, and understands from his firsthand experience that the particular needs and circumstances of each client are different, and that the approach and solutions must be too. He genuinely appreciates the pressures and realities facing clients and in-house counsel, and works with them to understand and achieve their specific goals. · False Claims Act

Gary Silber

Gary Silber is of counsel in the Tax practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm's New York office. He represents clients in a wide range of tax matters in relation to corporate transactions, partnerships and joint ventures. His practice focuses on U.S. and global tax matters related to bankruptcies, taxable and tax-free mergers and acquisitions, capital market offerings and financings. The nature of his work has allowed him to become adept not only in handling a large variety of transactional and tax matters, but also in handling those matters across a range of industries. · Tax

Gregory Spitzer

Gregory E. Spitzer is a partner in the Real Estate practice of the Paul Hastings Chicago office. He represents public and private companies and private equity firms in connection with acquisition, disposition, and financing transactions. Gregory’s practice includes all aspects of commercial real estate acquisitions and dispositions, development, leasing, financing, and re-structuring matters. Gregory has a particular focus in the areas of real estate restructurings and structured leasing transactions, including synthetic leasing, sale-leaseback, and leverage lease transactions. · Real Estate

Gregory Tan

Gregory Tan is co-chair of the Energy and Infrastructure practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. He focuses on global finance, project development, limited recourse and structured financings, and restructurings in the energy and infrastructure sectors. Mr. Tan represents sponsors and lenders, leading financial institutions, funds and corporations, numerous regional development banks and multilateral institutions. · Energy and Infrastructure

Grissel Mercado

Grissel Mercado is a partner in the Securities and Capital Markets practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm's New York office. Her practice focuses on representing and advising financial institutions and corporate issuers in debt and equity capital market transactions primarily in Latin America. In addition, Ms. Mercado has advised a number of Latin American issuers in their ongoing SEC reporting requirements, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and corporate governance matters. She has also advised financial institutions and corporate issuers in international project financings and other private financings. · Securities and Capital Markets

Holly Snow

Holly Snow is a partner in the Corporate practice of Paul Hastings based in the firm’s Chicago office. Holly focuses her practice on leveraged finance and other debt financing transactions. She represents clients in a wide range of financing transactions, including leveraged buyouts and acquisition financings, working capital financings/refinancings, subordinated and mezzanine facilities, and loan workouts and restructurings. She has significant experience representing clients in cross-border commercial finance transactions. She also has experience representing clients in the development, financing, acquisition and distribution of energy projects, with a primary focus on renewable energy projects. She also maintains an active pro bono practice, including serving as a pro bono coordinator of the Paul Hastings Chicago office. · Corporate

Ibaad Hakim

Ibaad Hakim is an Abu Dhabi-based partner in the firm’s Energy & Infrastructure practice. Ibaad’s practice focuses on high-end oil and gas, infrastructure and power projects, many of which are project financed. His practice covers the entire lifecycle of a construction and engineering project — from procurement strategy and contract drafting/negotiation to claims advice and dispute resolution. His experience spans a wide range of procurement models, including traditional, design and build, EPC/turnkey, construction management and collaborative contracting. · Energy & Infrastructure

Jack Fitzpatrick

Jack Fitzpatrick is a partner in the Corporate Department at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. Jack specializes in leveraged finance transactions, specifically private credit and special situations investing. He represents private credit funds, special situation and opportunistic funds, business development companies (BDCs), hedge funds and other investment advisors, leading financial institutions and borrowers in LBOs, leveraged finance, unitranche, first lien/second lien, mezzanine, debtor-in-possession financings, rescues, exits, liability management transactions and other secured and unsecured lending transactions. · Leveraged Finance

James Longhofer

James Longhofer is a partner in the Global Finance practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm's Houston office. He advises direct credit funds, commercial banks, publicly and privately held corporate borrowers and issuers and private funds on matters such as syndicated bank financings, acquisition financings, mezzanine and structured financings, preferred equity investments and convertible debt. James has experience in a number of industries, with a focus on energy and energy transition, including numerous matters involving oil and gas exploration and production; midstream; renewable energy and energy transition businesses (including power, manufacturing and other supporting businesses); oilfield services; refining, distribution, storage and transportation; and retail. He represents mezzanine funds, publicly and privately held corporate borrowers and issuers, private equity funds, and commercial banks. · Global Finance

Jason Stratmoen

Jason Stratmoen is a partner in the Real Estate department and is based in the firm’s New York office. Mr. Stratmoen’s practice is concentrated in commercial real estate, with a focus on the representation of banks, private equity funds, and other institutional investors at all levels of the capital stack. Mr. Stratmoen has experience representing clients in originating mortgage loans (including loans intended for securitization, balance sheet loans and construction loans), originating mezzanine loans, negotiating intercreditor and co-lender agreements, structuring preferred equity and common equity joint venture investments, and negotiating secondary market sales of mortgage and mezzanine loans. · Commercial Real Estate

Jayme Goldstein

Jayme Goldstein is the co-chair of the Paul Hastings Financial Restructuring group and is based in the firm’s New York office. A nationally recognized leader in distressed situations, he is renowned for his innovative strategies, strong negotiation skills and consistent delivery of exceptional outcomes in high-stakes, complex restructuring matters. · Financial Restructuring

Jeff Pade

Jeffrey A. Pade is an intellectual property litigator with over 25 years of experience in all phases of trade secrets and other intellectual property disputes. He directs complex civil and criminal trade secrets litigations concerning diverse technologies for clients around the globe, and represents clients in internal trade secrets audits and related forensic investigations, as well as trade secrets compliance initiatives. Mr. Pade’s current representations include offensive and defensive trade secrets litigations and arbitrations, internal trade secrets investigations, and pre-litigation counseling for both domestic and foreign clients. He is a frequent speaker and author on trade secrets issues, and is an active member of the Sedona Conference’s working group on trade secrets. Mr. Pade also teaches Trade Secrets Law at The George Washington University Law School. · Intellectual Property