CHICAGO & CLEVELAND & CINCINNATI & COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ulmer & Berne is pleased to announce the election of eight attorneys to the partnership effective January 1, 2014. The new partners are Stacy A. Baim; Andrew G. Fiorella; Kasey M. Folk; Paul R. Harris; Megan K. Roberts; Vance V. VanDrake, III; Christine E. Watchorn; and Melissa L. Zujkowski.
“This outstanding new class of partners brings a rare diversity of experience and depth of talent to the partnership,” said Kip Reader, managing partner of Ulmer & Berne. “We’re particularly pleased to be welcoming new partners in each of our four offices, several of whom have been with Ulmer & Berne for the majority of their careers.”
Stacy A. Baim of the firm’s Chicago office has a diverse intellectual property practice. She has experience with litigation and transactional matters relating to patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and unfair competition. She has represented clients in complex litigation involving varied technologies ranging from computer software and semiconductors to medical devices and household products. Ms. Baim is a registered patent attorney admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. She received her J.D. from The University of Michigan Law School and her B.S.E., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan.
Andrew G. Fiorella of the firm’s Cleveland office has successfully represented and counseled some of the largest businesses in the country in complex litigation, class actions, and securities fraud claims. His experience includes representing a significant public company and its senior officers in securities and derivative cases, and financial services institutions in securities cases, merger challenges, and cases arising from the real estate “great recession”. Mr. Fiorella is named to the Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Cornell Law School and his B.A., summa cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Kasey M. Folk of the firm’s Chicago office has extensive experience representing a wide range of institutional clients, as well as individual shareholders, sole proprietors, and entrepreneurs, in complex commercial disputes involving securities fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of partnership, tortious interference, insurance coverage, false advertising, product liability, and breaches of non-compete, non-disclosure, and non-solicitation agreements. A former clerk for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), she also has experience handling FDIC and other regulatory matters, as well as in representing financial institutions in internal investigations. Ms. Folk is named to the Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. She received her J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law and her B.A., summa cum laude, from Vanderbilt University.
Paul R. Harris of the firm’s Cleveland office has litigated a wide range of business and employment matters, and has extensive experience in both state and federal courts in and outside of Ohio. He also has significant appellate experience, including successful oral arguments before the Ohio Courts of Appeals. He represents various types and sizes of businesses in litigation, but also counsels businesses on practices to avoid litigation. Mr. Harris is named to the Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Stars list and has received the highest ranking (AV Preeminent) from Martindale-Hubbell. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame Law School, has an M.B.A., with distinction, in International Management from the University of London, Royal Holloway and a B.A., summa cum laude, with honors in the Liberal Arts, from The Ohio State University.
Megan K. Roberts of the firm’s Cleveland office focuses her practice on real estate law and business law. She represents parties in the acquisition, leasing, and sale of commercial, industrial, restaurant, and retail properties. Before the Board of Revision and Board of Tax Appeals, she represents local property owners and local school boards in commercial property tax challenges. In zoning matters, Ms. Roberts represents owners before Boards of Zoning Appeals and Planning Commission hearings and has successfully worked with city building and zoning officials to secure variances to allow for development. Further, she has significant experience with development projects with unique title issues. Ms. Roberts earned her J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and a B.A. from Baldwin-Wallace College.
Vance V. VanDrake, III of the firm’s Cincinnati office is an intellectual property, patent, and venture attorney who brings a progressive and creative approach to the development of intellectual property and business strategy for emerging businesses and start-up companies. He helps his clients, that are predominantly angel and venture-backed companies, develop comprehensive strategies in a broad range of technologies including software, medical devices, and mechanical and electrical innovations. He assists his clients with all aspects of patent drafting and prosecution, trademark registration and clearance, and copyright and trade secrets. Mr. VanDrake currently serves as president of the Greater Cincinnati Venture Association. He is a registered patent attorney admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and is named to the Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Star list. He received his J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law and his B.S. from Butler University.
Christine E. Watchorn of the firm’s Columbus office focuses her practice in the areas of business litigation, including complex corporate and commercial disputes, financial services, and banking litigation, and copyright and trademark matters. Her experience also includes employment discrimination litigation, as well as defense of injury premises liability and product liability cases, including asbestos-related claims. She is skilled in defending contractual and warranty-based claims and in disputes involving contract interpretation. Ms. Watchorn is named to the Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. She received her J.D., summa cum laude, from Capital University Law School and a B.A., cum laude, from Ohio Wesleyan University.
Melissa L. Zujkowski of the firm’s Cleveland office represents U.S. and international clients in both complex and simple litigation involving a wide range of commercial matters. Her experience includes federal and state court litigation throughout the country, as well as arbitration proceedings. She has extensive experience defending financial institution clients against individual and class action consumer claims, including claims for violations of FCRA, the FDCPA, the TCPA, the EFTA, and various state statutory and common law claims. She also focuses her practice on intellectual property matters, including trademark and trade dress litigation, copyright litigation, and software licensing disputes. Ms. Zujkowski is named to the Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. She received her J.D., cum laude, from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and her B.A. from Northwestern University.
About Ulmer & Berne LLP
Ulmer & Berne, established in
1908, is a full-service law firm focused on exceeding client
expectations and delivering superior, customized legal solutions for an
exceptional value. Its more than 190 attorneys, located in Cincinnati,
Chicago, Cleveland and Columbus, serve as counselors and partners to a
wide range of clients to help them solve their business challenges and
achieve their goals. The firm represents publicly traded and privately
held companies, financial institutions, hedge funds, private equity
funds, pharmaceutical companies, international joint ventures and
affiliations, investor groups, family offices, start-ups and emerging
businesses, public bodies and nonprofit organizations. For more
information, please visit www.ulmer.com.
