Locke Lord has been ranked among top law firms in the UK in the 2022 edition of the World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000, and one lawyer in Locke Lord’s London office has been recognised among the world’s leading trademark practitioners in England.
WTR notes that “thanks to a base in Brussels, 18 offices around the United States and a cosmopolitan team which includes practitioners qualified in multiple jurisdictions, [Locke Lord] offers a global service that few can rival.”
Now in its 12th year, the WTR 1000 shines a spotlight on the firms and individuals who are deemed outstanding in trademark law.
Partner Mia Lorick was recognized by the Houston Bar Foundation (HBF), along with her co-author, Anietie Akpan, as the recipients of the Best Legal Article for 2021. Their article, “Lawyering While Black: Examining the Practice of Law through the Prism of the Black Experience,” discusses racial justice, focusing on the experience Black lawyers often face in the legal profession. The article, which was originally published in The Houston Lawyer Magazine, was selected by the deans of all three Houston law schools. The award was presented on Feb. 15 at HBF’s annual meeting and awards luncheon.
To read Lorick’s full article, click here.
(LOS ANGELES) February 2, 2022 – Locke Lord has strengthened its Los Angeles office Litigation Practice Group with the additions of Partners Amin Al-Sarraf, who will serve as Head of the Firm’s Entertainment Industry Group, Eric Herzog and Associate David Rutan. Their additions mark eight attorneys to join Locke Lord’s Los Angeles office since the beginning of the year. Al-Sarraf and Rutan join Locke Lord from Glaser Weil, and Herzog joins the Firm from Norton Rose Fulbright.
“We are thrilled to welcome this group of well-known and skilled lawyers who will expand the litigation capabilities of our Los Angeles office, and whose arrival represents the latest milestone in the Firm’s continued commitment to growing Locke Lord’s presence on the West Coast,” said Locke Lord Los Angeles Office Managing Partner Nina Huerta. “Locke Lord offers them the ideal platform to collaborate with our extraordinary team not only in Los Angeles but across the Firm as well as significantly grow their practices.”
Al-Sarraf regularly represents large corporations, financial institutions, entertainment studios, talent agencies, investment funds, small businesses, government agencies and individuals in a wide variety of civil disputes and complex litigation, including employment, commercial and entertainment matters. He has significant courtroom experience, having first- and co-chaired numerous bench trials, jury trials and arbitrations. Al-Sarraf also has experience providing representation in highly complex and strategic matters involving investigations, public relations crises, fraud and corporate governance issues.
Deeply committed to his pro bono practice, Al-Sarraf was co-founder and co-chair of his previous firm’s pro bono committee, working closely with local public interest organizations to provide pro bono assistance in a variety of cases, including domestic violence and immigration cases and at numerous legal clinics throughout Los Angeles.
Herzog’s practice involves a wide range of complex litigation, including class actions, unfair business practices, trade secret misappropriation, insurance and securities litigation. He has substantial experience in defending class actions brought under California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act. In the banking and securities areas, he has represented and advised banks and broker-dealers in federal and state court litigation, FINRA arbitrations and regulatory matters.
Also actively involved in the community, Herzog serves as a Board Member of Inner City Law Center, with which he has been co-counsel in significant tenants’ rights litigation. He is also a fundraiser and volunteer for the ALS Association Orange County Chapter.
Rutan represents clients in complex business cases, including disputes with international implications, such as foreign real estate developments and international distribution agreements. He has experience with shareholder and partnership disputes, fraud, real estate and land use disputes, breach of contract, unfair competition, trade secret disputes and employment disputes.
Locke Lord’s Los Angeles office is a full-service office focusing on commercial and complex litigation, general commercial transactions, corporate representation, real estate and insurance regulatory matters. The litigation team includes experienced lawyers litigating individual and class action cases across diverse practice areas, including commercial disputes, employment/wage and hour, entertainment, environmental, insurance and reinsurance disputes and coverage analysis, intellectual property, product liability, toxic torts and unfair business competition. The Firm’s Los Angeles office has significant experience representing financial services, insurance, industrial and local government clients in litigation, transactional and regulatory matters.
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About Locke Lord LLP
Locke Lord is a full-service law firm with global reach and 20 offices designed to meet clients’ needs in the United States and around the world. The Firm has a history that spans more than 130 years and is a leader in the middle market arena. Locke Lord focuses on providing the highest levels of commitment, quality and service to clients across its five Key Sectors: Energy and Infrastructure; Finance and Financial Services; Insurance and Reinsurance; Pharmaceutical; and Private Equity. In addition, the Firm advises clients across a broad spectrum of other industries, including fund formation, venture capital, health care, public finance, real estate, technology, cybersecurity and white collar, while providing a wealth of experience through its complex litigation, intellectual property, tax, regulatory and transactional teams.
(HOUSTON) February 28, 2022 – Locke Lord Partner Ed Razim, Chair of the Firm’s Tax Department and Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group, was elected by the Board of Governors of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel (ACEBC) to be inducted as a Fellow in the College at the College’s Annual Dinner to be held at the Chicago Club in Chicago on September 17, 2022.
The highly selective list is based on each individual’s substantive contributions to the field throughout their career. Those elected as Fellows of the ACEBC, a not-for-profit dedicated to fostering excellence in the practice of employee benefits law and advancing public understanding of employee benefits, are required to have focused on benefits law for at least 20 years and have a sustained commitment to its advancement through writing, speaking, public policy analysis, public education or public service. Upon induction, Razim will join Locke Lord Partner Philip Bush as Fellow.
Razim, based in the Firm’s Houston office, advises clients on the full range of executive compensation and employee benefits issues arising out of mergers and acquisitions. His practice includes drafting and implementing employee benefits and executive compensation programs for large and small employers; addressing compliance issues regarding Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code and various equity compensation plan design matters; addressing employee benefits matters in corporate mergers and acquisitions; resolving unique plan design issues faced by controlled groups of corporations or businesses; consulting employers and plan administrators on plan design and compliance matters; and negotiating with the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Labor and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation on a variety of audit and compliance matters. Razim also has worked extensively with nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations on a variety of tax issues.
Locke Lord’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group advises a diverse range of clients — from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies — across a variety of areas, including qualified benefit plans, ESOPs and equity incentive arrangements. The Firm’s benefits lawyers frequently represent plan trustees and administrators, including fiduciaries of ESOPs as well as insurers, preferred provider organizations, health maintenance organizations, administrative service providers, utilization review organizations and many other businesses in the health care industry.
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About Locke Lord LLP
Locke Lord is a full-service law firm with global reach and 20 offices designed to meet clients’ needs in the United States and around the world. The Firm has a history that spans more than 130 years and is a leader in the middle market arena. Locke Lord focuses on providing the highest levels of commitment, quality and service to clients across its five Key Sectors: Energy and Infrastructure; Finance and Financial Services; Insurance and Reinsurance; Pharmaceutical; and Private Equity. In addition, the Firm advises clients across a broad spectrum of other industries, including fund formation, venture capital, health care, public finance, real estate, technology, cybersecurity and white collar, while providing a wealth of experience through its complex litigation, intellectual property, tax, regulatory and transactional teams.
(BOSTON and LOS ANGELES) February 24, 2022 – Locke Lord’s Boston Associate Natalie Jersak and Los Angeles Associate Jonevin Sabado have been named to Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s (LCLD) Pathfinder Program. The program aims to identify, train and advance the next generation of leaders in the legal profession.
According to LCLD, the Pathfinder Program, now in its seventh year, targets high-performing associates. Pathfinders receive training in critical career development strategies, including leadership and building professional networks.
An Associate in Locke Lord’s Public Finance Practice Group, Jersak’s experience covers representation on all sides of taxable and tax-exempt bond issuances for municipal, governmental and 501(c)(3) entities as issuer’s counsel, bond counsel, borrower’s counsel, lender’s counsel, disclosure counsel and underwriter’s counsel. She is a member of the Hispanic National Bar Association, Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys and Women’s Bar Association.
Sabado is an Associate in the Firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group and concentrates his practice on defending companies in complex and class action litigation, typically involving labor and employment claims. He has defended employers in litigation involving wage and hour claims brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act, California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), California Labor Code and Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) Wage Orders, alleged worker misclassification, claims of discrimination and harassment and alleged violations of family and medical leave laws.
Locke Lord has a long history of support and participation in LCLD initiatives. Previous Fellows include Providence Partner Krystle Tadesse, Chicago Partners Ernesto Palomo, Julie Webb and Bilal Zaheer. Chicago Partner Wasim Bleibel participated in LCLD’s Pathfinder Program.
Diversity and inclusion is one of the Firm’s five core values and an integral part of Locke Lord’s strategic plan. Locke Lord understands that fostering an inclusive environment results in better decision-making, better outcomes for clients and a firm where team members can be successful and thrive. To read more about Locke Lord’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, click here.
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About Locke Lord LLP
Locke Lord is a full-service law firm with global reach and 20 offices designed to meet clients’ needs in the United States and around the world. The Firm has a history that spans more than 130 years and is a leader in the middle market arena. Locke Lord focuses on providing the highest levels of commitment, quality and service to clients across its five Key Sectors: Energy and Infrastructure; Finance and Financial Services; Insurance and Reinsurance; Pharmaceutical; and Private Equity. In addition, the Firm advises clients across a broad spectrum of other industries, including fund formation, venture capital, health care, public finance, real estate, technology, cybersecurity and white collar, while providing a wealth of experience through its complex litigation, intellectual property, tax, regulatory and transactional teams.
Providence’s Lori Basilico and Houston’s Terry Radney, Co-Chair of Locke Lord’s Energy Practice Group, have been recognized as 2022 Client Service All-Stars by BTI Consulting Group. The list includes general counsel who were singled out by clients for “delivering the absolute best in client service.” Attributes of the Client Service All-Stars cited by clients include high levels of engagement, investment, savvy and anticipation of future needs.
Basilico focuses her practice on advising employers in connection with employee benefits and executive compensation matters. She advises clients on all aspects of plan design, compliance and documentation for qualified retirement plans, 403(b) and 457 plans, health and welfare plans, non-qualified executive compensation programs and equity compensation plans. Basilico counsels clients regarding day-to-day administration and compliance with ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA and other federal and state laws impacting employee benefit plans.
Radney works in the areas of oil, gas and energy and infrastructure project development. His experience includes mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, development and commercial agreements for all types of energy assets.
View Basilico’s and Radney’s BTI Client Service All-Star personal profiles.
The American Bar Association (ABA) has recognized Locke Lord as an ABA Free Legal Answers 2021 Pro Bono Leader for the Firm’s tremendous contribution to the program, which offers a free virtual legal advice clinic supported by licensed volunteer lawyers. Locke Lord’s Dallas office led the Firm answering more than 100 questions during the 2021 calendar year.
January 27, 2022 – Locke Lord has achieved a 100 percent rating in the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for the sixth consecutive year. A perfect score in this annual report evaluating policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ employees, culture and corporate social responsibility earns the Firm the distinction of being an employer of choice for LGBTQ+ employees.
“As one of Locke Lord’s core values, diversity and inclusion is an integral focus and remains a priority as we continue working to advance fairness and equality within the Firm and in our communities,” said Locke Lord Chair David Taylor. “We are thrilled to achieve our sixth consecutive perfect score on the CEI, showcasing the Firm’s resolute commitment to diversity, inclusion and equality through our policies and actions.”
“This recognition continues to be a tremendous honor and highlights our ongoing dedication to an open, safe and inclusive workplace,” said Locke Lord Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Kimberly Hulsey. “We are proud to have received a perfect score and are committed to continue evolving the Firm’s policies and practices, ensuring that all of our personnel can thrive and grow.”
Locke Lord predecessor firm Edwards Wildman earned a 100 percent rating in the HRC Foundation’s CEI for seven consecutive years from 2009-2015. The Firm and its attorneys have a long history of supporting LGBTQ+ civil rights and health care organizations, including The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), Fenway Health, HRC, AIDS Action Committee, Imperial Court of New York and Equality Illinois.
Diversity and inclusion is one of Locke Lord’s five core values and an integral part of the Firm’s strategic plan. Locke Lord understands that fostering an inclusive environment results in better decision-making, better outcomes for clients and a firm where team members can be successful and thrive. To read more about Locke Lord’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, click here.
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About Locke Lord LLP
Locke Lord is a full-service law firm with global reach and 20 offices designed to meet clients’ needs in the United States and around the world. The Firm has a history that spans more than 130 years and is a leader in the middle market arena. Locke Lord focuses on providing the highest levels of commitment, quality and service to clients across its five Key Sectors: Energy and Infrastructure; Finance and Financial Services; Insurance and Reinsurance; Pharmaceutical; and Private Equity. In addition, the Firm advises clients across a broad spectrum of other industries, including fund formation, venture capital, health care, public finance, real estate, technology, cybersecurity and white collar, while providing a wealth of experience through its complex litigation, intellectual property, tax, regulatory and transactional teams.
Boston’s Glenn Pudelka, Co-Chair of Locke Lord’s Trademark, Copyright & Advertising Practice Group, has been appointed as a 2022 Vice Chair of Intellectual Property Owners Association’s Copyright Law and Related Rights Committee, which focuses on issues and topics regarding copyright law and practice and related issues.
Pudelka represents individuals and companies in the publishing/entertainment, digital media, software, internet, content and technology fields as well as numerous colleges and universities. He has extensive experience in the area of copyright, trademark and privacy and focuses on handling various content licensing, software, distribution and commercial agreements as well as website terms and privacy policies (including CCPA and GDPR compliance). Pudelka is the immediate Past President of the Copyright Society of the USA and is also a member of the International Trademark Association Copyright Committee.
(DALLAS) January 5, 2022 – Locke Lord’s Brad Weber, a Partner in the Firm’s Dallas office and Co-Chair of its Antitrust Practice Group, has been elected to serve as the 2022 Chair of the Dallas Bar Foundation (DBF), the charitable arm of the Dallas Bar Association (DBA).
As Chair, Weber will lead the DBF’s efforts to provide financial support through scholarships for law students and grants for community organizations that promote justice and maintain legal aid facilities for the indigent. He served as Vice Chair of the organization in 2021 and has served as a Trustee since 2015.
Weber has a rich history of service to local and state bar associations. He is a Past President of the DBA and has served as Chair of the organization’s Board of Directors and Finance Committee and Co-Chair of its Equal Access to Justice Campaign and Judiciary Committee, among other leadership roles. In addition, Weber is a former Director on the Board of the State Bar of Texas and previously served as Chair of its Antitrust and Business Litigation Section. He is also a Past President of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers and a former Director on the Board of the Texas Young Lawyers Association.
Weber maintains a full-service antitrust practice with an emphasis on litigation, government investigations and antitrust compliance. His litigation cases have involved clients from a wide range of industries, including building products, travel services, energy, health care, medical devices, telecommunications, hotels and agriculture. He also has extensive experience representing clients in class actions and multidistrict litigation. In addition, Weber frequently represents clients in government antitrust investigations, enforcement actions and merger reviews with the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and numerous state antitrust enforcement agencies. He frequently speaks and writes on antitrust law enforcement, practice, policy and compliance and is a regular guest lecturer on antitrust and trade regulation at the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University.
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About Locke Lord LLP
Locke Lord is a full-service law firm with global reach and 20 offices designed to meet clients’ needs in the United States and around the world. The Firm has a history that spans more than 130 years and is a leader in the middle market arena. Locke Lord focuses on providing the highest levels of commitment, quality and service to clients across its five Key Sectors: Energy and Infrastructure; Finance and Financial Services; Insurance and Reinsurance; Pharmaceutical; and Private Equity. In addition, the Firm advises clients across a broad spectrum of other industries, including fund formation, venture capital, health care, public finance, real estate, technology, cybersecurity and white collar, while providing a wealth of experience through its complex litigation, intellectual property, tax, regulatory and transactional teams.