Jill Louis. Courtesy photo

Firm Continues Texas Growth With Addition of New Partner in Dallas

Perkins Coie announced that Jill Louis has joined the firm's Corporate and Securities practice as a partner in the Dallas office as of May 22. Her addition to the Dallas office follows the opening of the firm's Austin office in February and the recent addition of John Treviño in Dallas, a privacy law attorney, as Perkins Coie continues to grow and expand its Texas operations.

Louis advises public and private companies in mergers and acquisitions, franchise transactions, corporate governance matters, and commercial contracts across a wide range of industries, including industrial, retail, technology, healthcare, and business services. She also advises on road transportation issues, project infrastructure matters, and the creation and implementation of contract management processes for public and private companies. Louis has worked with companies of all sizes, from start-ups to Fortune 50 corporations. She served in the corporate legal departments of major Dallas-based corporations for more than 15 years before returning to private practice in 2016. Louis received her J.D. from Harvard University and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Howard University. She is well known in Dallas civic and philanthropic circles and serves on several boards, including as a director at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, an executive board member of PBS television station KERA, and as a member of the board of trustees for Howard University.

"Jill's background in M&A and representing private equity-backed health care, infrastructure, and technology companies will be highly valuable to our clients across Texas and beyond," said Randy Bridgeman, the co-chair of Perkins Coie's Corporate and Securities practice, in a statement by the firm. "We're seeing significant business being generated from our Texas offices. Jill's in-house experience, entrepreneurial spirit, and leadership qualities are a natural fit for Perkins Coie and we're thrilled to welcome Jill to the team."

"The Texas legal market is extremely competitive, and we're pleased that the firm and our platform continue to attract leading legal talent of Jill's caliber," said Dean Harvey, the Dallas office managing partner, in a statement by the firm. "Jill's arrival aligns with our ongoing strategy of expanding our corporate offering in Dallas to support our growing technology and privacy capabilities."

International Firm Elects New Partner in Dallas Office

Dentons, the world's largest law firm, announced the promotion of Leanna M. Anderson in its Dallas office to partner, as of Feb. 21, 2020. She joins 42 lawyers promoted across Dentons in North America. Anderson, part of the Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution groups in the Dallas office, is an experienced litigator and trial lawyer who focuses on complex commercial disputes and class-action defense. Anderson has served as lead or co-lead trial counsel in federal and state court matters across the country. She is also a member of Dentons' E-discovery Task Force, advising clients on issues related to electronic discovery, including litigation hold processes, responding to electronic discovery requests and negotiating and defending electronic discovery production protocols.

"Our partners in Dallas remain steadfast in our commitment to our clients' future through highly accomplished lawyers like Leanna," said Donald Hammett Jr. , managing partner of Dentons' Dallas office, in a statement by the firm. "As we continue to grow our talent, Leanna reflects the best of our team in Dallas and we know she will become a future leader within Dentons and within the business community in Dallas."

"This is an exceptionally proud and exciting time for Dentons in the U.S. as we grow, not only through our latest combinations but from within our own outstanding talent," said Mike McNamara, chief executive officer of Dentons, in a statement by the firm. "We welcome Leanna as our newest partner, and reward her dedicated work in serving our clients and her commitment to the Dallas legal community."

San Antonio Firm Adds Intellectual Property Partner

Taylor English Duma in San Antonio announced the addition of Van Lindberg as a partner in the firm's intellectual property practice. Lindberg focuses on the intersection of technology and law, with expertise in the areas of machine learning and open source. Prior to coming to Taylor English, Lindberg was a member in Dykema Gossett's San Antonio office. Lindberg earned his undergraduate degree and law degree from Brigham Young University.

Outside of his expertise in open source law, Lindberg represents companies in high-stakes IP litigation and inter partes review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. He has represented companies on Capitol Hill, before Congress and in industry associations. He has led teams through successful mergers, acquisitions, and restructurings along with organizing employee agreements to create greater employee satisfaction and promote higher compliance with internal policies.

"We are incredibly fortunate to welcome such an accomplished attorney like Van to the firm, and expand the capabilities of our intellectual property department to better serve our clients' growing needs in this space," said Jeffrey Kuester, partner and co-chair of the firm's intellectual property department, in a statement by the firm. "His experience in the area of open source law is a true differentiator. Based on his breadth of experience, we are excited to learn from Van and look forward to the great work and outcomes he will continue to bring to our clients."

Lindberg is well known for his public scholarship, including as author of "Intellectual Property and Open Source," creator of the Cryptographic Autonomy License, and as co-editor of the Open Source Casebook. Lindberg was previously named one of "America's Top 12 Techiest Attorneys" by the American Bar Association Journal and recognized as one of the world's top IP strategists by Intellectual Asset Management magazine.

Houston Attorney Promoted to Shareholder

Baker Donelson has elected 15 new shareholders across the firm, including Valerie Grainger Henderson of the firm's Houston office. A member of the firm's Business Litigation Group, Henderson represents financial institutions, businesses and insurers in complex litigation. She defends mortgage lending and servicing clients in litigation concerning residential mortgage transactions, lending liability, state and federal regulatory compliance, and title issues. She also regularly represents financial institutions in litigation related to claims of statutory violations, fraud and collection issues. She also has significant experience handling litigation regarding residential and commercial property insurance claims, third-party claims and flood insurance claims throughout Texas. She has defended numerous cases involving allegations of bad faith, insurance code violations, and coverage issues. Henderson is a graduate of The Kinkaid School, Texas A&M University and South Texas College of Law.

"Valerie has been successfully resolving complex litigation issues for clients for a number of years. Through her efficient and effective skills, she has resolved many cases in her clients' favor both during litigation and at trial. We are thrilled to have this native Houstonian as a shareholder at Baker Donelson," said Bradley E. Chambers, managing shareholder of Baker Donelson's Houston office, in a statement by the firm.