Ehsan Tabesh. Photo: Gittings Photography

New Partner at Firm's Houston Office

Fisher Phillips, a national labor and employment law firm representing employers, announced Dec. 26 the election of Ehsan Tabesh in Houston to partner. He is one of 17 Fisher Phillips attorneys so promoted. Tabesh is an experienced litigator and counselor who has represented energy, health care and technology companies in a variety of labor and employment matters.  He specializes in complex, high-stakes business and employment disputes, including trade secret theft, unfair competition, corporate espionage, and executive termination matters. He also defends employers in wage and hour, harassment and discrimination actions in state and federal court, arbitration and before government agencies. He received his B.A. in 2005 from the University of Minnesota and his J.D. in 2010 from the University of Virginia School of Law. Tabesh later clerked for U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell of the Middle District of Florida. During his clerkship, he gained unique insight into the inner workings of the courtroom and effective written and oral advocacy. Prior to his clerkship, Ehsan practiced law at another prominent Washington, D.C., litigation boutique founded by a former adviser to the U.S. solicitor general. He is admitted to the Bar in California, the District of Columbia and the State of Texas. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Experienced Real Estate Lawyer Joins Dallas Law Firm

Drinker Biddle & Reath announced that Allen J. Dickey has joined the Dallas office as a partner in the real estate group. Dickey comes to the firm from Polsinelli. Dickey is a real estate transactional lawyer with experience in leading a wide range of complex deals. He works with lenders, developers, investors and business owners on all aspects of real estate transactions, including franchise lending; mortgage and mezzanine loan origination and enforcement; commercial mortgage-backed securities lending; mortgage-backed securitization; development and construction finance; acquisitions and dispositions; leasing, loan workouts, modifications and extensions; property management; property tax incentives; real and personal property foreclosures; and deeds in lieu of foreclosure and resale of collateral following foreclosure. Dickey advises financial institutions providing debtors-in-possession financing in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, provides non-consolidation and true sale opinions on behalf of borrowers, and reviews opinions for lenders and trustees in structured finance and asset securitization transactions. Dickey earned both his B.A. and J.D. degrees from Southern Methodist University. While an undergraduate, he was selected as a university scholar. In law school, he served as editor-in-chief of the NAFTA Law and Business Review of the Americas. Before graduating from law school, he worked for a number of years as a commercial real estate broker.

New Partner in Houston Firm

Eversheds Sutherland announced the election of six new U.S. partners, effective Jan. 1, 2020. One of them is Matthew Rawlinson, resident in the Houston office, who is part of the firm's litigation practice group. Rawlinson represents a broad array of clients in complex commercial and energy litigation matters and areas, including oil and gas royalty; landowner, operator and pollution disputes; construction issues; insurance and indemnity claims; breach of contract disputes; business torts; and other general contractual matters. He represents clients in many state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels. Eversheds Sutherland co-CEO Mark D. Wasserman commented, in a statement by the firm: "It is an honor to welcome this outstanding group into our partnership. I congratulate and thank them for their contributions to Eversheds Sutherland and the superior service they provide to our clients. Each has made a significant impact in their respective practice areas, and I wish them continued success as they embark on the next stage of their careers."

Firm Welcomes Two Partners, One Senior Counsel

Texas-based Jackson Walker has announced two new partners, Lindsey B. Berwick in San Antonio and Kirk Rasmussen in Austin, have joined the firm, expanding its finance and electric utility practice groups. A third attorney, Craig R. Bennett, has joined in Austin as senior counsel in the firm's environmental and regulatory section. They started at the firm Dec. 2.

Berwick, formerly a senior vice president and corporate counsel to one of the 60 largest banks in the nation, concentrates her practice on commercial and corporate transactions. Leveraging her prior experience working in-house and as a commercial real estate and finance attorney, she will represent both borrowers and lenders with large and complex financing transactions ranging from term loans and revolving lines of credit to complex credit facilities for multimillion-dollar real estate portfolios. Berwick said in a statement by the firm, "With experience on both sides of the table as in-house and outside counsel, I look forward to offering a unique, dual-lens perspective to businesses. Jackson Walker allows me to build upon that experience while growing in the legal profession."

Joining Jackson Walker's growing electric utility practice in Austin, Rasmussen advises private and public businesses regarding state and federal regulatory matters. A board-certified administrative lawyer, he is involved at nearly every stage of the utility regulatory process as counsel to some of the nation's largest electric generators, investor-owned and public transmission and distribution utilities, retail electric providers, and large consumers of electricity. "Jackson Walker has a strong reputation in Texas for handling regulatory matters. I am confident that this move allows me to provide enhanced service to my clients while allowing me to grow and develop my practice," Rasmussen said in a statement by the firm.

Also joining the Austin office's environmental and regulatory section is senior counsel Bennett, who brings 18 years of experience as a master administrative law judge with the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings. In his practice, Bennett counsels clients on administrative and regulatory law matters related to compliance, enforcement, litigation, and judicial review of administrative agency decisions. Outside of his practice, Bennett serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law, where he has taught Texas Administrative Law since 2007. He received his J.D. from Baylor University School of Law in Waco, Texas, and his B.S. from Indiana University.

New Associate in Dallas

The Dallas-based intellectual property and business litigation firm Caldwell Cassady & Curry has added Alex Waldrop as the firm's newest associate. He joins the firm after working the past three years in the intellectual property department at an international law firm in Dallas. Waldrop represents clients across a variety of industries in intellectual property litigation matters. Additionally, he has experience preparing and prosecuting patents and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. His patent experience includes work for companies in the telecommunications, semiconductor, software, and computer networking industries, among other. A graduate of Duke University School of Law, Waldrop was named a Merit Scholar, in addition to earning the school's Intellectual Property and Technology Award. Prior to law school, he earned undergraduate degrees in both physics and mathematics at Texas A&M University. "We are happy to welcome Alex to Caldwell Cassady & Curry," said name principal Brad Caldwell in a statement by the firm. "His track record in intellectual property cases makes him a great addition for our firm."