Kramer Levin Elevates Three to Counsel and Three to Special Counsel

Kramer Levin is pleased to announce the promotions of Patrick Sullivan, Izabel P. McDonald and Douglas Buckley to counsel, effective Jan. 1, 2025. The firm has also promoted Renee Yao and Andrew Pollack to special counsel, and Austin Manes to privacy counsel, effective Jan. 1, 2025.

New Counsel:

Patrick Sullivan - Land Use, New York

Patrick Sullivan represents clients in zoning and municipal law matters, including in seeking discretionary land use approvals, negotiating transfers of development rights, and conducting zoning due diligence for property acquisition and financing. His clients have included local and national real estate developers, lenders, institutional investors, museums, universities, and charter schools. He earned his J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law, a Master's in Public Affairs and Urban and Regional Planning from Princeton University, and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Harvard University. He is promoted from special counsel.

Izabel P. McDonald - Employment Law, New York

Izabel P. McDonald counsels management in employment law matters, including compliance with federal, state and local laws, workplace policies and employee relations matters. Izabel also litigates employment law claims, including discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge and whistleblower complaints, as well as disputes involving restrictive covenants and breach of contract and various tort claims.

She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and her B.S. from Cornell University. She is promoted from special counsel.

Douglas Buckley - Bankruptcy and Restructuring, New York

Doug Buckley represents mutual funds and distressed investors in municipal restructurings and corporate reorganizations. Doug represents clients, including Invesco, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton and Nuveen Asset Management, in some of the nation's largest, most complex and highest-profile bankruptcies and out-of-court restructurings.

He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School and his B.A. from George Washington University. He is promoted from special counsel.

New Special Counsel:

Renee Yao - Corporate, New York

Renee Yao advises banks, institutional and alternative lenders, private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies on debt financing and related private equity and corporate transactions, including secured leveraged financings, acquisition financings, asset-based lending, private credit, and other strategic and investment transactions.

She earned her J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, her LL.M. from Columbia Law School, and her LL.B. from the University of International Business and Economics School of Law in China. She is promoted from associate.

Austin Manes - Corporate, Silicon Valley

Austin Manes advises clients on the expanding landscape of privacy and data protection laws, as well as legal issues surrounding artificial intelligence. Austin has extensive experience applying domestic and foreign privacy laws, including sector-specific regulations in healthcare, finance, internet, advertising, education and critical infrastructure. He also provides risk assessments on companies' privacy and data security programs, often in the M&A context, and leverages years of experience litigating cybersecurity patents to advise on industry-standard security practices.

He earned his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and his B.A. from Victoria University of Wellington. He is promoted from associate.

Andrew Pollack - Bankruptcy and Restructuring, New York

Andrew Pollack works on bankruptcy and restructuring matters. He assists significant parties, including bondholders, indenture trustees, and secured and unsecured creditors in complex Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, out-of-court restructurings and other distressed situations

He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School and his B.A. in Philosophy and English from Dartmouth College. He is promoted from associate.

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