Taft Elects 21 New Partners

Taft is pleased to announce that the following 21 attorneys have been elected to the firm's partnership:

• Joshua G. Bass / Business / Cleveland
• Kelsie L. Breit / Finance / Indianapolis
• Ashlee J. Cherne-Hendrick / Finance / Minneapolis
• Spencer S. Cowan / Litigation / Cincinnati
• Michael D. De Matteis / Business / Cleveland
• Zachary D. Eddy / Business / Dayton
• Dion Farganis / Employment and Labor Relations / Minneapolis
• Elizabeth M. Glotfelty / Environmental / Cincinnati
• Ioana M. Guset / Litigation / Chicago
• Lauren A. Kemp / Employment and Labor Relations / Columbus
• Javan A. Kline / Tax / Cincinnati
• Leah D. Leyendecker / Business / Intellectual Property / Minneapolis
• Adam M. Niblick / Real Estate / Minneapolis
• Amanda M. Pipik-Leip / Domestic Relations / Cleveland
• Christopher Richards / Environmental / Detroit
• Madeleine Rosengrants / Domestic Relations / Denver
• Jacob W. Smith / Domestic Relations / Columbus
• Caroline E. Thee / Business / Chicago
• Alex E. Wallin / Government Contracts / Cincinnati
• Elizabeth Winkowski / Litigation / Chicago
• Christopher M. Wolcott/ Litigation / Dayton

Joshua G. Bass' practice primarily involves advising private equity firms, public and private companies, and real estate sponsors in connection with structuring and negotiating complex business transactions, including domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, business formations, joint ventures, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, day-to-day operation of their portfolio companies, and other general corporate matters. He is also a trusted counsel to venture capital funds and emerging growth companies.

Kelsie L. Breit focuses her practice on all aspects of lending and finance law. Her experience includes representing financial institutions and borrowers in commercial finance transactions, including secured syndicated and single bank credit agreements, ESOP financings, asset-based lending transactions, complex real estate development financings, and acquisition financings.

Ashlee J. Cherne-Hendrick guides borrowers and lenders through complex corporate finance transactions, including venture and growth lending, asset-based lending, commercial real estate lending, private placements, and traditional commercial lending. Her breadth of professional experience and collaborative approach allow her to be a true strategic partner to her clients, providing them with practical advice to help them achieve their business objectives.

Spencer S. Cowan is a litigation partner, representing businesses and individuals at the trial and appellate levels. He has experience in a range of matters, including class action defense, securities litigation and arbitration, and earn-out disputes.

Michael D. De Matteis primarily focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, representing private equity sponsors, their portfolio companies, and privately held businesses. He advises clients in all aspects of complex business transactions, including buy-side and sell-side M&A, recapitalizations, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, and strategic investments. In addition to his M&A practice, De Matteis regularly counsels portfolio companies, emerging growth companies, and privately held businesses on general corporate governance, day-to-day legal matters, and strategic business initiatives.

Zachary D. Eddy represents individual and business clients in corporate mergers and acquisitions, commercial finance transactions, and commercial real estate transactions. Eddy has considerable experience in company formations and negotiating and drafting various corporate transactional agreements, as well as in representing individuals, banks, and companies in oil and gas litigation and transactional matters.

Dion Farganis partners with clients to find solutions to all of their employment-related legal issues, including terminations, discrimination, employment agreements, discipline and performance issues, compensation, and non-compete and non-solicitation restrictions. Farganis is also an experienced litigator, drawing on his experience as a federal judicial clerk to guide clients through every step of the litigation process. A former tenured college professor, Dion also advises higher education institutions on issues such as student rights, faculty governance, and Title IX.

Elizabeth M. Glotfelty counsels clients on a wide range of matters, including environmental compliance and permitting; due diligence as part of real estate and business transactions; risk strategy; brownfields redevelopment; and greenwashing matters. With experience across industries, Glotfelty represents public and private companies of all sizes, commercial developers, and public entities.

Ioana M. Guset focuses her practice on commercial litigation matters, including breach of fiduciary duty cases, breach of contract cases, shareholder disputes, fraud, defamation, tortious interference, employment discrimination, class action defense, and civil rights litigation. She has guided her clients in complex commercial litigation in federal and state courts, at both the trial and appellate levels.

Lauren A. Kemp focuses her practice on employment counseling and litigation, as well as workers' compensation. She has significant experience with ADA and Title VII compliance and all phases of litigation. Kemp provides personnel, risk management, and compliance guidance; develops employee handbooks and policies; conducts internal investigations; represents employers in litigation matters; and counsels on charges of discrimination filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. Kemp also represents employers in occupational safety and health matters, including defending enforcement actions by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Javan A. Kline represents public and privately-held clients in sophisticated tax and corporate matters, including tax structuring, mergers & acquisitions, business exits, renewable energy tax credit transactions, qualified small business stock (QSBS), state and local tax, and tax controversy.

Leah D. Leyendecker focuses her practice on commercial transactions driven by intellectual property, intangible assets, and technology. She has extensive experience reviewing, drafting, and negotiating technology-related agreements, including licenses and master services agreements, SaaS agreements, technology development agreements, and sponsorship agreements. She regularly advises clients on intellectual property, licensing, brand protection and sponsorship matters, and provides strategic counsel on the intellectual property and technology aspects of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions.

Adam M. Niblick focuses his practice principally in the areas of real estate development and redevelopment, construction, land use and zoning, real property acquisitions and sales, real estate finance, and leasing. Niblick serves as outside general counsel to a broad range of clients and aids in all phases of real estate development, including property acquisition, obtaining governmental approvals, and contracting. He also has particular expertise with public sector projects, public-private partnerships, government procurement, economic development, and projects that utilize local, state, or federal funds.

Amanda M. Pipik-Leip is known for guiding clients through high-stakes family law matters with clarity, strategy and discretion. She brings extensive experience in sophisticated prenuptial agreements, complex divorce actions, dissolutions, custody and support issues, post-decree litigation, and adoption proceedings. With a reputation for balancing unwavering advocacy with a thoughtful, solutions-driven approach, Pipik-Leip helps clients through some of the most important - and sensitive - moments of their lives.

Christopher Richards concentrates on helping clients proactively address complicated environmental problems, resolve private infrastructure and utility compliance issues, and strategically navigate regulatory enforcement actions. Richards has prevailed over legal complications with numerous regulatory agencies, including the EPA, OSHA, USACE, USNRC, EGLE, MIOSHA, and various State agencies throughout the United States.

Madeleine Rosengrants is a talented family law practitioner and skilled litigator who represents clients at every stage of domestic relations cases, from initial consultation through final resolution. She has successfully represented doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and business executives through intricate financial matters to find creative solutions for the individual family's needs. She has favorably resolved contentious divorces and regularly advises on and structures agreements regarding the allocation of parental responsibilities, child support, custody, maintenance, relocation, and high-asset property distributions. She also has secured temporary and permanent protection orders for clients and has represented clients in contempt hearings, in arbitration proceedings, and post-decree modification hearings.

Jacob W. Smith is a trusted advisor for people who are facing the economic, emotional, and legal difficulties connected to changes in family relationships. He represents business owners, executives, managers, medical professionals, athletes, artists, philanthropists, and politicians in the complex legal challenges connected to sophisticated divorce, dissolution, custody, post-decree, and international child abduction litigation. He also advises clients on prenuptial and postnuptial agreements as well as any matters relating to jointly held property by unmarried individuals.

Caroline E. Thee is a transactional attorney whose practice centers on advising insurers in connection with underwriting representations and warranties insurance policies. Drawing on her extensive deal-making acumen, honed through representing private equity buyers, strategic acquirers, and family-owned sellers in complex M&A transactions, she brings a practical approach to underwriting. Thee focuses on guiding insurers through policy negotiations, assessing deal-specific risks, and helping underwriters navigate the nuanced issues that arise across a wide range of industries.

Alex E. Wallin is a litigator focusing on representing clients in government contract, commercial, and antitrust litigation, as well as arbitrations. He represents government contractors in bid protests and litigates complex disputes in state and federal courts throughout the U.S., including the Eastern District of Virginia's "Rocket Docket," one of the country's fastest trial dockets. Alex regularly counsels corporate clients on all aspects of antitrust law. He assists clients with internal investigations and represents clients involved in criminal prosecutions and investigations.

Elizabeth Winkowski is an experienced litigator in Chicago's Commercial Litigation practice group, focusing her practice on complex civil litigation and matters relating to privacy and technology. She has successfully represented a wide range of clients-from private and public companies to large institutions-at all stages of litigation in both state and federal court.

Christopher M. Wolcott is a trial lawyer and a partner in Taft's Dayton office where he is a member of the Litigation practice group. Wolcott represents clients through all aspects of the civil litigation process, has tried multiple cases to winning verdicts in both state and federal court, and has successfully defended those verdicts on appeal. He focuses his practice on commercial litigation but also has experience in probate and wealth transfer litigation, administrative and alternative dispute resolution proceedings, labor and employment matters, and business issues. Prior to joining Taft, Wolcott was a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Melissa T. Standridge at the Kansas Court of Appeals. He obtained his J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law and his bachelor's degree from Tiffin University, magna cum laude, where he was also a member of the school's cross country and track teams.

About Taft

Founded in 1885 with a 140-year legacy rooted in the historic Taft family, today Taft is one of the nation's fastest-growing law firms. As a modern law firm with a non-headquarter operating model and more than 1,200 attorneys, Taft is fully committed to delivering the highest level of service to today's organizations and individuals. The legal performance of Taft attorneys is recognized nationally, with inclusion in the Am Law 100, Chambers USA, Best Lawyers®, Super Lawyers, and more. Learn more at Taftlaw.com.