Driving Diversity in Law and Leadership: New York

Daniele is the General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer at Indo-MIM Inc., a multi-national corporation which is the leading global supplier of precision-engineered products using Metal Injection Molding (MIM) as the core manufacturing technology.

 Daniele is responsible for overseeing compliance with laws, regulatory requirements, policies and procedures within Indo-MIM Inc. She provides leadership and direction in compliance matters by building and fostering a program of training, education, and cooperation throughout Indo-MIM’s manufacturing plants located in Bangalore, India and San Antonio, TX. Daniele also provides legal and strategic advice and support to senior leadership and Indo-MIM employees on a wide range of business issues including immigration, taxation, and personnel matters. Additionally, Daniele has spent the past three years spearheading the Indo-MIM’s efforts to open a manufacturing plant in Reynosa, Mexico which became operational at the end of 2022.

 Previously Daniele worked as a Senior Associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Skadden Arps. She represented clients in connection with congressional, government and internal investigations. These included investigations by the state attorneys general, the Federal Trade Commission; and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Her work included developing investigation strategies, preparing witnesses, and managing subpoenas and document discovery efforts. While at Skadden, Daniele was the recipient of the D.C. Bar’s 2017 Laura N. Rinaldi Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year Award which recognizes outstanding commitment to pro bono service.

 Daniele graduated with honors from the American University Washington College of Law, and now serves as an Adjunct Professor and Course Coordinator for Introduction to Regulation and Compliance and Drafting for Compliance Professionals. She received her Master of Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. For her undergraduate degree, Daniele studied political science and economics at the University of Chicago.

 Daniele lives on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC with her husband and three children. 

Katie Perekslis is a seasoned eDiscovery professional with over a decade of industry experience with a strong passion for providing excellent client service utilizing cutting-edge technology. Katie is extremely passionate about fostering a strong team culture and supporting individuals in the workplace. Under Katie’s leadership, her team has grown from a single project manager back in 2009 to a team of over 150 across more than 20 offices in 7 countries. She is a founding member and co-chair of Ladies in Legal. When she’s not in the office, she balances her fast-paced life at TLS with an active outdoor lifestyle.

Known for his deep experience developing and implementing DEI programs in the public, non-profit and legal sectors, James serves as a thought leader in best practices in advancing diversity internally within the firm, and externally throughout the legal industry by virtue of education, collaboration, and intentional initiatives.  Additionally, James heads the firm’s DEI Committee which creates and promotes equitable policies, develops networking and educational activities, and supports the firm’s expansive mentorship and sponsorship impact.

Through his nearly decade long experience as an employment attorney, James leverages his expertise in employment law compliance and litigation of federal, state, and administrative matters, to inform his role as an adviser and driver of DEI.  With this unique lens, James serves as a leader in the legal community and beyond.  James’ DEI leadership includes his prior service as the Executive Director for the New York Bar Association, Office of Diversity Equity Inclusion & Belonging. In that role, James provided trainings on implicit bias,  best practices in employee onboarding and employee feedback to organizations, which included AmLaw 200 law firms and government agencies.

James is a sought-after speaker and is frequently called upon to discuss diversity and employment matters, including building and sustaining inclusive workspaces, fostering allyship and combatting invidious discrimination.  James is regularly published in connection with his insights as it relates to the evolution of DEI and workplace matters in the legal field. For his service, James has received a number of awards, honors and distinctions. In 2022, James was recognized by the New Jersey Law Journal as a “New Leader of the Bar,” which recognizes professionals under the age of 40 across law firms, corporate legal departments, or other organizations in the New Jersey legal community for their notable achievements and outstanding potential. They are selected based on their development of the law, advocacy and community contributions, service to the bar as well as peer and public recognition.

Randi W. Kochman is chair of the Firm’s Employment Law Department. She is dedicated to helping employers understand and navigate complicated and ever-changing employment laws so they can effectively manage employees, avoid costly mistakes, and focus on their core business. Randi brings more than 20 years of employment law experience to work closely with her clients in all types of employment-related contexts including wrongful discharge, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wage and hour compliance, contract disputes, restrictive covenant, unfair competition and trade secret matters in state and federal courts and administrative agencies.

Randi routinely provides guidance on all types of policy, procedure, and personnel issues, including preparing employee handbooks, policies and agreements, and conducting harassment and discrimination awareness training. When disputes arise, Randi is tenacious in litigating employment and business tort issues in state and federal courts and administrative agencies. Randi lectures and writes regularly on all aspects of employment law. Randi is also regularly called upon to conduct independent workplace investigations into allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and related issues.

Randi has been significantly involved with the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, as a member of the Steering Committee for its Human Resource Council. She has also been actively involved with the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association, holding various leadership positions, including President, President-Elect, Vice President and Secretary. Randi received the 2013 New Jersey Commission In the Law’s Professional Lawyer of the Year Award. Randi has also been honored with the 2019 New Jersey Women Lawyers Association WILL Platinum Award, Private Sector.

Randi is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and the Bergen County Bar Association. She has also served as a Barrister of the Sidney Reitman Employment Law Inn of Court.

Randi earned her B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, from Emory University and her J.D. from George Washington University School of Law.

Shoshana Rosenberg is a thought leader at the intersection of privacy law and DEI, a seasoned corporate attorney with a broad global purview and over 15 years in international data protection law. She is also the founder and CEO of SafePorter, a certified B Corp enabling privacy-by-design DEI programs and true data minimization that protects individuals and eliminates organizational data risk around DEI.  A U.S. Navy veteran, data ethics and emerging technology fanatic, and a member of the IAPP Diversity in Privacy Advisory Board, Shoshana is a passionate advocate for social entrepreneurship and inclusion by design.

Carol Goodman is the co-chair of Herrick’s Litigation Department, chair of the firm’s Employment Practice and a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee.

Carol advises public and private companies in all aspects of employment law throughout various industries such as government, sports, multi-media, real estate, finance, hospitality and the arts.

Carol defends employers and key employees against the full range of federal and state employment claims as well as landlords and property owners against discrimination in housing claims. Carol’s experience includes litigation at the trial and appellate level in state and federal courts, arbitration venues, and before authorities such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the New York State Division of Human Rights (NYSDHR), the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR), Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOP) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Carol routinely works with in-house legal teams and human resource professionals to handle sensitive or high-profile ‘crisis’ situations. This includes internal complaints of harassment, whistleblower claims and governmental investigations.

Carol designs, implements and conducts harassment and discrimination prevention training for companies, their Board of Directors, executives, managers and/or staff.  With decades of experience litigating employment matters, Carol adds an element of reality to her live training sessions (conducted in-person or, more recently through virtual platforms) by using relevant real-life examples tailored to the specific industry and audience. Carol also regularly assists companies with establishing reporting mechanisms and conducting internal investigations.

Allison is a Senior Counsel with NBCUniversal where she is a show lawyer for scripted and unscripted/alternative programming produced for NBCU’s Entertainment Networks (Bravo, E!, NBC, Oxygen, SyFy, UniKids, USA and Peacock) and Telemundo’s Tplus, covering a wide range of content, including true crime, documentary, docuseries, competition and scripted originals.  In her role she is responsible for drafting and negotiating agreements with production entities, above-the-line talent, and producers, and regularly advises creative executives and business stakeholders on legal issues related to the development, production, and exploitation of content. Allison is also an outspoken advocate for diversity and inclusion and currently serves as the global co-chair of NBCU’s Legal Diversity Committee, where she helps support and direct all external and internal DEI initiatives across the legal function. 

Allison has previously been a featured speaker at the Athena Film Festival, Internet Week, and Social Media week, and published in RealScreen Magazine. Prior to joining NBCU, Allison worked as a production and employment attorney at Reavis Page Jump LLP.  Allison earned her undergraduate degree in philosophy and political science from Swarthmore College, where she graduated cum laude as a Helen Solomon Scholar, and her law degree from Boston University School of Law, where she was the recipient of a merit scholarship and graduated with a concentration in Intellectual Property.

Melina Dallas has spent more than eight years at TLS providing workflow consultation to legal professionals across law firms and corporations to effectively leverage technology-driven solutions. She has experience with complex litigation, multi-jurisdictional matters, and internal investigations across the life sciences, finance, and technology sectors. Melina works closely with her clients to implement efficient and defensible workflows while providing strategic insight to help achieve their business objectives.

Sarah Eichenberger is a trusted securities litigator who has won victories for her clients in a range of high-stakes securities actions. With over a decade of experience defending public companies, c-suite professionals and financial institutions, Sarah draws on both her prior experience at a global law firm and her role as in-house counsel for a Fortune 5 company to provide clients with astute counsel. An insightful and creative advocate, Sarah has helped clients successfully navigate a range of complex matters, including securities class actions, derivative litigation, internal investigations and regulatory proceedings. She also has significant experience defending clients in post-merger litigation.

Joanne Charles is an Associate General Counsel at Gilead Sciences focusing on AI Governance, Privacy, Data Ethics and Medical Affairs. She advises on the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, as well as data use and data protection specific to Gilead as a global enterprise. Prior to joining Gilead, Joanne was a Senior Corporate Counsel at Microsoft where she focused on health industry regulation and corporate privacy. Joanne attended Syracuse University in New York where she earned Bachelors’ degrees in Journalism and Psychology and she received her JD from the Shepard Broad College of Law at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. In the past year, Joanne has served as a guest lecturer and speaker discussing innovation in healthcare and privacy enhancing technology, HIPAA-HITECH other data use regulations. Currently, Joanne serves as a board member of National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice and as a Chair of the American Bar Association’s Science and Technology Committee Membership and Diversity Sub-Committee.

Nicole Stach has been in-house counsel at Elsevier since 2016, providing support and guidance to stakeholders and customers on a variety of areas including IP/technology licensing, publishing, compliance, privacy, product development, marketing/promotions, and strategic partnerships. Prior to joining Elsevier, Nicole worked in private practice and in-house at IMS Health (IQVIA). She earned her law degree from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law and graduated summa cum laude from King’s College with a B.A. in English and Psychology. Outside of the office, Nicole enjoys reading mystery novels, traveling, and volunteering with MANNA and TechGirlz.

Jennifer Huang is a member of Mayer Brown’s Intellectual Property (IP) group who splits her practice between IP and International Arbitration. She has wide-ranging experience across litigation and arbitration, including trial and appellate litigation before U.S. state and federal courts, international commercial arbitration, and investor-state disputes. She regularly serves as counsel in arbitral proceedings held under the rules of the ICC, LCIA, ICDR, Swiss Arbitration Centre, CAM-CCBC, and UNCITRAL. Jennifer’s IP practice focuses on copyright and trademark infringement disputes, particularly those with an international component. She represents clients spanning a diverse range of sectors, from entertainment to food and beverage, telecommunications, construction, commercial aviation, aerospace, energy, insurance, and finance.

Jennifer is a frequent speaker at professional conferences and a published author in the field of music cognition. As part of her active pro bono practice, she has counseled Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on various issues and successfully represented asylum seekers in both affirmative and defensive proceedings. During law school, she represented musicians under the Recording Artists Project and worked at the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Jennifer practiced international litigation and arbitration at another prominent global law firm.

Jennifer currently sits on the Advisory Board of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration. Her past board service has been for the Harvard Club of New York City, where she also served on the Executive Committee, and for the Harvard Club of New York Historical Foundation.

In addition to her native English, Jennifer speaks fluent French, Italian, and Shanghainese, and has working knowledge of Spanish and Mandarin.

Pralika Jain is a Senior Counsel at Ro, a leading direct to patient digital health company. With over a decade of experience as a global multi-jurisdictional lawyer in India and the USA, she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her role. Pralika is passionate about innovation and constantly pushes boundaries in technology transactions, privacy data laws, and AI/ML to improve legal processes and better serve her clients. She is a staunch advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equity in the legal profession, and is committed to breaking down barriers and fostering a culture of inclusivity. Pralika’s collaborative approach fosters strong partnerships and teamwork, leading to the best results.

With over 20 years of experience advising on and executing capital markets transactions, Steve Burwell focuses on corporate and securities law matters and public company representation across all industries, including, but not limited to, financial services, healthcare and life sciences.

Steve offers clients extensive experience within the banking industry that makes him uniquely positioned to counsel issuers and underwriters on a wide array of debt and equity capital markets transactions. Steve has enjoyed a significant and lengthy career at Deutsche Bank, holding various legal positions within the organization. His most recent role was that of Managing Director and Associate General Counsel, Head of Corporate Finance/Global Capital Markets Legal in the Americas.

In addition to his tenure at Deutsche Bank, Steve has practiced in the New York offices of major international law firms, where he focused on corporate and securities law.

Steve has worked on numerous cross-border transactions for European, Asian and Latin American issuer clients selling securities in the U.S. Within the equity capital markets space, he has done initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, secondary offerings, block trades, Rule 144 sales, private placements, registered directs, Private Investments in Public Equities (PIPEs), convertible bond/preferred offerings and special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) transactions.

Steve previously served on the board of the non-profit Farm & Wilderness Foundation, which provides summer camps and programs focused on social justice and environmental sustainability for children and teens, and also previously served on the board of non-profit Brooklyn Friends School, a college preparatory Quaker school that supports a culturally-diverse educational community from preschool through 12th grade.

Alice is Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel, at the media conglomerate Paramount Global. As a member of the General Counsel’s senior leadership team, she oversees various operations for the legal department such as events, communications, learning, finance, outside counsel management, and systems, and runs point for the department on company-wide strategic projects. She also serves as chair of the Communications Subcommittee of the legal department’s DEI Committee.

 Previously, for the company’s Viacom Media Networks division, Alice originated and led a division-wide Knowledge Management function, and, before that, provided business & legal affairs services for many business lines including TV production. Before going in-house, Alice trained as a corporate associate at several BigLaw firms.

 Alice received her JD from Columbia, and her BA in English & American Literature & Language from Harvard College. Outside of work, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, and on the NYC Schools Committee for Harvard admissions.

 Some things Alice enjoys and could talk about all day include: Newport, Italy, Croatia, snowboarding, monohull sailing, mentoring, fine-arts museums, and dogs.

Madhu Goel-Southworth is Senior Vice President, Legal & Business Affairs for AMC Network Entertainment LLC, Sundance TV, IFC TV. In that capacity, she advises and counsels AMC, Sundance TV, and IFC TV network departments with respect to unscripted development and production matters, digital productions and webisode series, product integrations, linear and digital advertising, marketing, merchandising and consumer products, licensing and acquisitions, location based entertainment, gaming, intellectual property and other business affairs matters concerning AMC’s top shows.  Madhu joined AMC in 2009, just three weeks before AMC greenlit The Walking Dead and had a significant role in the launch of AMC Studios.

 Prior to AMC, Madhu worked at A&E Television Networks as Director, Legal and Business Affairs providing counsel and negotiating development, production, and talent agreements in both their unscripted and documentary departments working on television series and documentaries. While at A&E, Madhu negotiated and drafted the option sale of the movie rights to “The Great Gatsby” to Sony Pictures and Baz Luhrman. 

Madhu graduated from University of Chicago Law in 2001, spent a year at a federal judicial clerkship in the Southern District of New York, and then was an associate at Sidley & Austin in New York. Following her time at Sidley, Madhu joined Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, P.C., an entertainment law firm, where Madhu worked on cases involving the Mutant-X/X-Men properties, a variety of productions including Juno, The Namesake, and Synecdoche, and represented talent in their deals with HBO, Viacom, and other networks and studios. 

As a former Senior Counsel in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Enforcement Division, Danette Edwards offers clients deep insight into antifraud and other securities laws, and is a trusted resource for navigating investigations and enforcement matters.

Julia Gavrilov concentrates her practice in equipment leasing, secured finance, asset-based lending and all areas of complex commercial litigation.  On the transactional side, Ms. Gavrilov specializes in the drafting of equipment lease and loan documents in various secured financing transactions on behalf of secured lenders, banks and lessors, and in representing both buyers and sellers in syndication and capital market transactions.  Based on her steady rise throughout the leasing and finance industry, Ms. Gavrilov has been invited to speak on numerous industry panels, including the Legal Forum, Annual Convention and Credit & Collections conference for the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), as well as the National Equipment Finance Association’s Finance Summit.

As a seasoned litigator, Ms. Gavrilov’s commercial litigation practice includes the enforcement and/or preservation of lender/lessor’s rights under defaulted equipment lease and secured loan transactions, and in regularly representing both institutional and individual clients in actions involving breach of contract, fraud, shareholder derivative disputes, trademark infringement, counterfeiting, trade diversion, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), attorney malpractice and bankruptcy-related disputes before the Federal and State courts, as well as various arbitral bodies.

In addition to her daily practice, Ms. Gavrilov also Chairs the Firm’s Women’s Initiative program: “MHH WINS” – “Women’s Initiative for Navigating Success” and serves as a member of MHH’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

Christine J Chao is the General Counsel of The Foremost Group, an international shipping company where she provides general corporate legal advice.   Christine has extensive corporate and commercial law experience having worked in senior legal positions for three Fortune 100 companies:   GE (Stamford, CT), Federal Express (Hong Kong and London) and Ultramar Corporation (Greenwich, CT).  Christine began her legal career with the Wall Street law firm of Dewey Ballantine.

Christine lived abroad for nearly ten years – five years in Asia and five years in Europe before repatriating to Greenwich, CT.   

Christine currently serves as a Trustee for Colgate University and the Foremost Foundation, which strives to help young people access higher education and greater opportunities generally.  Christine also serves on the Boards of LitWorld, an organization devoted to promoting literacy around the world, and The One Love Foundation, which is committed to educating our young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships. 

Christine received her BA from Colgate University, majoring in English and her JD from Columbia Law School.  She is married to Jos Shaver, and they have two sons, Ben (Babson ’22) and Tyler (Stanford ’22).

Jenna Z. Gabay is a Partner in the Firm’s Commercial Litigation, Intellectual Property and Personal, Family & Business Planning Practice Groups.  She represents pharmaceutical and other corporate clients in both federal and state court in complex commercial litigation matters, including breach of contract, restrictive covenants, unfair competition, trade secrets, defamation, copyright, trademark, and patent cases.  Jenna also provides advice and acts as New Jersey counsel in Hatch-Waxman and other patent infringement disputes.

Jenna’s experience also includes trust and estate litigation.  She has successfully represented clients in cases challenging the validity of wills due to undue influence, lack of capacity, and defective execution.   Jenna has handled both contested and non-contested guardianship actions to determine whether an individual requires a guardian and who should serve in that capacity.  She has represented beneficiaries and fiduciaries in fiduciary removal actions to determine whether an executor, trustee, or guardian should be removed due to incompetence or misconduct.  In addition, Jenna has represented fiduciaries and beneficiaries in contested estate administrations involving disputes over the distribution of a decedent’s assets.

Jenna was named a New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Star for 2019-2022.

Jenna is a graduate of Cornell University, where she majored in Industrial and Labor Relations, and The George Washington University Law School.  During law school, Jenna was a member of The George Washington University Law School International Law Review and the Mock Trial Board.  While in law school, Jenna also interned for Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

The New Jersey Law Journal named Rivkin Radler’s Intellectual Property Practice Group the Intellectual Property Litigation Department of the Year (Midsize) for 2018.

Kerri Ann Law is an experienced trial lawyer and counselor with a diverse practice representing clients, including Fortune 500 companies, in complex commercial litigation in both state and federal courts, as well as in domestic and international arbitration forums. She also represents companies and individuals in connection with sensitive and high-profile criminal and regulatory matters, and related civil matters. On behalf of her clients, Kerri Ann regularly interacts with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and other governmental agencies.

Among her more notable representations, Kerri Ann secured a multimillion-dollar jury victory for a manufacturing company in an unfair competition case. The jury found that the defendant had stolen trade secrets relating to unique and state-of-the-art manufacturing processes that the plaintiff had developed over decades. Kerri Ann represented Bear Stearns in several shareholder derivative actions and class actions arising out of the collapse of two hedge funds in 2007. She also represented an individual in a putative class action alleging manipulation of the platinum and palladium markets, including the trading of futures contracts, in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Kerri Ann has litigated numerous false advertising matters for pharmaceutical and other companies. Legal 500, which ranked Kramer Levin’s advertising practice “in the top tier,” designated Kerri Ann as a “highly recommended” counsel in this area. Among other representations, Kerri Ann successfully defended AstraZeneca in a false advertising suit related to the company’s Nexium product.

Legal 500 also designated Kerri Ann as a “recommended” counsel for her employment litigation practice, which includes representing and advising companies in employment disputes alleging discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation, and violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as those arising from employment contracts. Kerri Ann successfully defended several subsidiaries of one of the world’s largest financial services companies in an arbitration commenced by a former manager, who asserted a breach of contract claim in connection with her termination. Kerri Ann also achieved a favorable settlement of allegations of wage and hour violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York’s Labor Law for a client in the travel industry.

Kerri Ann undertakes many pro bono matters, with a particular focus on human rights. She successfully obtained asylum for a woman who had been repeatedly persecuted in Kosovo and Montenegro because of her nationality and her religious and political opinions.

Kerri Ann serves on the firm’s Operating Committee, Planning Committee, Branding Committee and Women’s Initiative Committee, and as chair of the firm’s Hiring Committee. Kerri Ann regularly serves on the firm’s Compensation Committee.

Mahta Khanjar is a Director, Senior Corporate Counsel within the Global Services and Outsourcing Legal Team at Salesforce. She received her B.A. from Boston University and J.D. from Albany Law School. She began her career as a legal analyst at Bloomberg LP. After several years, she transitioned into the role of Corporate Counsel where she focused on inbound agreements for the acquisition of a broad range of services and technology for the various lines of business at Bloomberg, including: the CTO’s office, Engineering, Bloomberg News, Marketing, HR and Philanthropies. She also helped develop the Bloomberg Legal Pro Bono program. After 10 years at Bloomberg she moved on to IBM, serving as a Senior Attorney on its Global Markets team supporting the IBM sales team with major deals in the comms and financial services sectors. She is now at Salesforce working on inbound agreements for the broad range of services acquired by Salesforce each year from employee benefits to complex consulting services. Mahta is also greatly involved in the Salesforce Legal summer internship program.

Currently, Jeff serves as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary with Apple Bank. As General Counsel, Jeff overseas the Legal Division, and as such, is ultimately responsible for the work performed by the members of the Legal, Compliance, Financial Crimes Compliance, Corporate Governance, Privacy and Regulatory Exam Management Departments. In addition to managing the work of these critical departments within Apple Bank, Jeff regularly advises the Chairman and CEO, as well as other members of senior management, on regulatory, legal, reputational, compliance and corporate governance matters as a member of Apple Bank’s Executive Management team. 

Prior to joining Apple Bank, Jeff served as a Director and Assistant General Counsel within Deutsche Bank’s legal department, where he covered all aspects of the U.S. banking laws and regulations that impacted Deutsche Bank. He often advised the bank’s management on the following laws and regulations, among others, Capital Planning and Stress Testing, SCCL, TLAC, the Dodd Frank Act’s Enhanced Prudential Standards, the Bank Holding Company Act and Regulation W. In addition, Jeff advised the board of directors of various Deutsche Bank legal entities on corporate governance matters.

Jeff started his legal career as an attorney with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and later moved into private practice as an associate within Schulte Roth & Zabel’s Financial Institutions practice group. Jeff received his B.S. from the University of Delaware, his J.D. from Rutgers School of Law-Camden and his LL.M. in Banking and Financial Law from Boston University School of Law.

Jeff resides with his wife, Yadira, and two children, Julyssa and Tomas, in New Rochelle, New York. Outside of work, Jeff serves as Chairman of the Weekday Nursery School in New Rochelle, board member of the New York Legal Assistance Group and as a member of the University of Delaware – Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics Dean’s Council.

As an Associate General Counsel in the Public Policy, Law and Security department at Verizon Communications Inc., Rippi handles contracts for Sourcing involving Human Resources Benefits/Plans, Supplier Diversity, Advertising Agencies, Contact Centers, Contingent Workforce and Executive Recruiting. In addition, she works with the Diversity Equity & Inclusion Council, PACE and WAVE organizations at Verizon.

She has received the prestigious Verizon Pro Bono Service Award for her legal contributions in domestic violence and corporate matters. Rippi speaks frequently on diversity and business law at various conferences.

In 2021, she was appointed to the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement. Furthermore, she is the Treasurer of WEN – Women’s Excellence Network – an organization dedicated to impacting high performing women lawyers. Additionally, she serves as the 2023 President of SABA-NJ and Co-Chair of the NJ Punjabi Chamber of Commerce. Lastly, in early 2022, Rippi was appointed to the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Commission of New Jersey by Governor Murphy.

As a complimentary service, she runs a LinkedIn series titled “Attorney of the Week” to highlight the notable achievements of diverse attorneys.

Cheryl advises U.S. and international clients on public and private mergers and acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, corporate governance, shareholder activism and other general corporate matters. She also represents private equity firms and their portfolio companies on a full range of transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions of investments, leveraged buyouts and minority investments.

The Deal recognized Cheryl as a “Rising Star” in 2020, and one of the “Top Women in Dealmaking” in 2021 and 2022. Cheryl was named a finalist for the American Lawyer’s “Corporate Attorney of the Year” award.

Lisa is Co-chair of Carmody’s Real Estate & Land Use team and is also the Co-chair of the firm’s Women@Carmody initiative. 

Lisa practices primarily in the area of land use law with a focus on representing developers, institutions, property owners and tenants in connection with obtaining municipal and state permits for large scale development projects and real estate transactions. Lisa has advised on many significant development projects in Stamford and the surrounding Fairfield County communities. She has developed strong relationships in the community that enable her to efficiently guide her clients through the land use approval process. 

Omnicom Health Group’s General Counsel, Jennifer Schatzman, guides the world’s largest healthcare and marketing group through the legal complexities of its business while focusing on its core values and strategic direction. Jennifer has 20+  years of experience counseling advertising and marketing industry leaders, both as in-house counsel at Omnicom Health Group’s corporate parent, and as outside counsel. Throughout her career, she has developed and conducted in-house trainings for employees on matters ranging from employment issues to restrictive covenants to contract negotiation and data privacy issues. She is a member of the Senior Leadership Team of OHG, a mentor to women and BIPOC employees, and works closely with OHG’s Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer. In 2020, Jennifer founded the non-profit Racism Has No Home Here (www.racismhasnohomehere.org), which has been featured on GMA3.  She is a proud mom of a 7-year-old (who really runs the show).  She is also a member of the 4A’s Legal Affairs Committee and the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and a graduate of Boston University School of Law and Penn State University.

Crystal Persaud provides efficient legal solutions to clients while bringing clarity to complex financial matters. She represents a variety of institutional lenders, investors, developers and borrowers in various financial real estate transactions. Crystal has significant experience representing tenants and landlords in all commercial leasing matters.  She is also experienced in the management of large-scale lease portfolios, as well as acquisitions, dispositions, and company restructurings.  Crystal’s experience covers a range of asset classes, including offices, retail, warehouses, showrooms, mixed-use developments and undeveloped sites throughout the United States.

Following law school, Crystal served as in-house counsel at Empire State Realty Trust, Inc., where she handled real estate finance, leasing and general corporate matters.  Prior to joining Polsinelli, Crystal worked for an AMLaw100 international law firm in New York.

Kristi Davidson is VP, AGC and Corporate Responsibility for Movado Group, Inc. (NYSE: MOV), one of the world’s premier watchmakers and distributor of some of the most recognized and respected names in time.  Her mission is broad: elevate Movado Group’s sustainability and growth across all owned and licensed brands worldwide, empower its global workforce, and facilitate its first-class customer service and communications.  Kristi’s “typical” week involves providing best practice advice to Board and executive teams on strategic, commercial, and operational items; identifying and minimizing risk through contract review, negotiation, execution, and process development; crafting environmental, social, governance and other legal policies and institutionalizing practices; partnering on regulatory and compliance matters; and conceiving and implementing an array of brand protection initiatives.  Before joining Movado Group, Kristi was a partner and co-chair of the consumer products and retail group of an AmLaw200 firm.  Kristi graduated from William & Mary Law and earned her B.S. summa cum laude from Truman State University.  A converted New Jersey girl but military brat at heart, Kristi enjoys traveling and experiencing different cultures, and she can’t wait to get out of her house post-Covid!

CASSANDRA LABBEES is a Member of the Firm in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice, in the New York office of Epstein Becker Green. For more than a decade, she has provided counsel to clients in the financial services and health care industries, corporate clients, and tax-exempt and not-for-profit institutions on a wide range of employee benefit issues involving tax-qualified and non-qualified plans, 401(k) plans, ESOPs, defined benefit plans, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), multiemployer plans, and health and welfare plans.

A trial lawyer and creative problem-solver, Skye represents global corporations, investment funds, and individuals in an array of high-stakes business litigation, with a focus on antitrust, corporate governance, securities, and private equity disputes. Skye also defends individuals and companies in financial crime investigations and enforcement actions, with particular experience in actions involving Sherman Act Section 1, fraud, money laundering, and racketeering allegations.

Before joining Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes, Skye was an associate at Kasowitz Benson Torres.

Nina Allen Blackshear is Senior Counsel at Spark Therapeutics, Inc., a leader in gene therapy innovation. She provides business-focused legal compliance advice and training, and drafts and negotiates a broad spectrum of contracts across the globe.  Prior to Spark, Nina was a Director, Corporate Counsel at Incyte Corporation,  where her remit included North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East/North Africa regions. Nina is also a Certified Executive Coach who has helped an array of senior-level and C-Suite clients to overcome limiting beliefs and achieve outrageous success, and serves as a Board Member of the Association of Corporate Counsel (Greater Philadelphia Chapter). Nina earned her BA in Political Social Thought from the University of Virginia and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Strategic Communication Cross-Cultural Leadership from Temple’s Klein College of Media Communication, as well as a Certificate in Supply Chain Fundamentals from Georgia Tech. Nina is admitted to the Pennsylvania bar.

Mala Ahuja Harker is a member of the firm’s Management Committee.  She represents individuals and corporations in the financial services, pharmaceutical, and other industries in connection with white collar, securities, employment, and complex commercial litigation matters.

Prior to rejoining Friedman Kaplan, where she was formerly a partner, Ms. Harker served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2011 through 2017. In this role, Ms. Harker investigated and prosecuted cases involving sophisticated financial frauds, insider trading, securities violations, mortgage and bank fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, public corruption, identity theft and cybercrime, as well as violent crime and drug offenses, among others.

Ms. Harker’s work for the U.S. Attorney’s office included a long term investigation involving corruption at the Newark Watershed Conservation & Development Corporation, which resulted in the conviction of several high ranking employees and outside contractors of the agency.

Inna N. Jackson is SVP & Managing Associate General Counsel, serving as U.S. Head of Legal, Wholesale Lending & Transaction Banking as well as Regional Legal Head, North America, GLCM and GTRF.  In this role, Inna leads a cross-functional legal focused on transforming customer and employee experiences through integrated offerings, digital evolution, alliances and innovation in Payments, Liquidity, Cash Management, Trade and Receivables Finance, Wholesale Lending and Issuer Services.  Inna is also a key member of the cross-functional team standing up HSBC’s global Banking-as-a-Service proposition for businesses and financial institutions.  Prior to joining HSBC in October 2019, Inna spent 9 years at American Express, most of that time focused on enabling initiatives for Amex Digital Labs, Enterprise Digital and Digital Partnerships and Development teams.  Among her accomplishments, Inna led a key team supporting the launch and expansion of numerous strategic partnerships and related product launches with Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook, PayPal and Samsung.  Inna also served as a key thought leader and contributor in the development and evolution of Amex’s data strategy framework.  Prior to Amex, Inna spent 7 years in private practice as an M&A lawyer.   Inna Graduated from Fordham University Law School, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the International Law Journal and a Louis Stein Scholar in Law and Ethics.  She is fluent in Russian and Spanish and speaks Italian and French.  

Jessica Mastrogiovanni is the Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Brooks Brothers. Jessica has extensive experience overseeing highly regarded legal departments and serves as a trusted advisor to C-level executives and business leaders. She is a key contributor to operations and business planning and is skilled at taking on complex legal problems and delivering strategic legal solutions.

Marissa Comart is Assistant General Counsel, Employment at Brooklyn-based Etsy, Inc., where she supports a hybrid workforce across the United States and internationally for Etsy.com and the Company’s House of Brands, including London-based clothing resale marketplace Depop, Chicago-based music gear resale company Reverb, and Elo7, the “Etsy of Brazil.”  As a trusted legal partner, Marissa helps ensure that Etsy is compliant with employment laws across jurisdictions as the Company leads the way in providing employees with the support and flexibility they need — both personally and professionally. Marissa is also a co-lead of the “Parents at Etsy” Employee Resource Group. Marissa graduated from New York University School of Law. Prior to joining Etsy, Marissa worked as a law firm associate and a law clerk for a federal judge in New York.

Kawana T. King is a Senior Technology Advisor and Counsel at Google LLC, where she supports Google’s advertising business. In her role, Kawana leads a global team and advises on a wide array of complex technology, privacy, advertising, media and consumer protection matters. She also negotiates deals with some of the world’s largest companies utilizing Google’s technology and advertising solutions.  Kawana’s expertise in the areas of technology, privacy, advertising and media stem from her diverse professional experience and background.  

 After graduating from Harvard Law School, Kawana started her career as a litigation associate at Proskauer Rose, LLP,  an international law firm, where she represented clients in false advertising, media, technology and intellectual property matters. Kawana also worked with The New Press, a nonprofit publishing house, where she was chiefly responsible for reviewing, negotiating and drafting a wide range of licensing agreements and other contracts touching practically every aspect of the business.  In 2011, Kawana joined the law firm of Manatt, Phelps, and Phillips. While at Manatt, Kawana established herself in the fields of technology, media, and advertising; and she was often the lead advisor to several Fortune 500 companies on technology and privacy matters, key marketing and advertising campaigns, and on compliance with federal and international regulations. 

At Google, Kawana is a “go-to” advisor on a number of high-stakes matters and is recognized by her colleagues and clients as a true partner and thought leader. Google has featured Kawana in The Keyword, Google’s official blog spotlighting powerful, dynamic female Googlers. Kawana also received Google’s inaugural NYC Site Citizenship Award in 2019 for her active role in various social impact efforts, including Tech Exchange, Google’s applied computer science residency program for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).  Kawana’s work in the tech field has also been recognized outside of Google.  In March 2018, Kawana was invited to be a featured speaker at the African American Women in Tech Conference hosted by the Internet & New Tech Subcommittee of the New York State Assembly.  Kawana also received a Proclamation in recognition of her work in the tech field and her community efforts.

Kawana is a Brooklyn native, born and raised in the neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant (“Bed-Stuy”). Prior to law school, she attended Howard University, graduating summa cum laude with degrees in political science and sociology.  Kawana continues to reside in Bed-Stuy where she is active in various community affairs and initiatives, particularly in the areas of community development and criminal justice reform.  Kawana serves on the Board of Directors for the Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy and chairs the Nominating and Board Governance committees. She is also a member of the Collective of Concerned Black Professionals, for which she is the chair of the organization’s Criminal Justice and Policing Committee.

Katrina Edge is Senior Corporate Counsel at Pfizer Inc. in the Biopharma Legal team; specifically, supporting Rare Disease.  In her role, she advises colleagues across the business to support product development, approval and promotion, as well as strategic initiatives.  Katrina has been active in DEI issues since joining Pfizer; currently acting as Deputy Co-Chair of the Legal Division Development & Equity Committee.   In 2021, Katrina had the honor of serving as a CEO Action For Racial Equity Fellow, a business coalition that mobilizes signatory organizations to advance policy change at the federal, state, and local levels. 

From 2008-2016, Katrina was a member of Pfizer’s Intellectual Property Legal Group.   She served as lead Trademark Counsel for Corporate Affairs, Global Commercial Operations, Oncology, and was also responsible for Pfizer Global Copyright, including the creation of global copyright compliance guidelines.  

Prior to joining Pfizer, Katrina was an Intellectual Property Associate with Baker & Hostetler LLP in Washington, DC.  She also worked as a Trademark Examining Attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and began her career as a Corporate Associate with Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston, MA.