The Women, Diversity & Change Summit: Atlanta

Mary Ulmer Jones is a Senior Vice President/Associate General Counsel with Bank of America. In that role, Mary is responsible for providing legal advice and guidance to a global human resources department that supports over 180,000 employees worldwide. She is recognized as a subject matter expert on matters involving regulatory risks, federal, state and municipal laws and is responsible for giving guidance on strategies that reduce expenses, increase revenue and creates an award-winning environment where employees can bring their whole selves to work. Mary manages a staff of lawyers, paralegals, and business support managers and regularly collaborates with business leaders to advance both internal and external performance strategies and manage reputational, operational and legal risks. Mary also serves in a number of internal leadership roles wherein she provides enterprise level guidance regarding pro bono work, diversity and inclusion, domestic violence and disability advocacy strategies. Mary joined Bank of America in 1991, as an in house labor, employment and litigation legal counsel. In the community, Mary is passionate about empowerment and workforce development. Mary currently serves on the University of Kentucky Political Science Department Alumni Board and was recently asked to join the Year Up Financial Services Advisory Board. Mary previously served as a Board member of Theatrical Outfit of Atlanta, Pebbletossers and Year Up of Atlanta. She has worked tirelessly on domestic violence issues; disability empowerment issues; and diversity, equality and inclusion issues. In recognition of her leadership, Mary has been selected for membership in the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels and has received the Bank of America Global Diversity and Inclusion Award, the Georgia Leadership Conference Multicultural Leadership Award and recognition as the National Diversity Council Top 50 General Counsels. She has also been recognized for her community involvement by the National Charity League Buckhead Chapter and the Junior League of Atlanta. Mary is a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in Political Science. She also graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law where she served on the staff of the Kentucky Law Journal. Mary is married to Lewis and mother to four children. She and her family reside in Atlanta, GA

Stacey Moore serves as Assistant General Counsel, Field Operations - South and Southeast Regions of US Foods. Prior to her position at US Foods, she spent nearly six years at Newell Rubbermaid as VP of Legal Affairs – Global Supply Chain and Commercial Products and before that served as an Associate at Proskauer Rose LLP. She earned both her MBA and JD from Duke University.

Adria Perez focuses her practice on representing both corporations and individuals in white collar criminal defense matters, government enforcement issues, as well as internal, criminal and SEC investigations. Her experience includes handling issues relating to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, False Claims Act (including government contracting, healthcare and tax matters), environmental crimes and Civil Investigative Demands. Ms. Perez assists clients in responding to inquiries from and government investigations conducted by the DOJ, SEC, OCC and Office of Inspector General from a variety of federal agencies. She also counsels clients on developing and strengthening compliance programs and policies.

Ms. Perez was selected as one 2017's “Top Lawyers Under 40” by the Hispanic National Bar Association. In 2018 and the six years immediately preceding, Super Lawyers magazine recognized Ms. Perez as a Georgia “Rising Star” in the area of White Collar Criminal Defense. She was named one of Georgia Trend’s “40 Under 40” for 2017. Ms. Perez was selected as an “On the Rise” honoree in 2016 by the Daily Report. In 2013 and 2014, she was listed as a Georgia Trend “Legal Elite” in the area of Criminal Law. Ms. Perez was recognized as a 2011 “40 Under 40” Rising Leader by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Jennifer Dempsey's practice includes representing clients in commercial tort actions, commercial contract disputes, insurance and surety litigation, financial institution litigation and class action defense in the courts and arbitration settings. Ms. Dempsey has extensive experience representing corporate clients, financial institutions and individuals in complex commercial litigation. Ms. Dempsey has experience appearing before the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Georgia on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants. Ms. Dempsey is active in the community, and has previously served on the Board of Directors of CHRIS Kids, a non-profit association devoted to improving the community by providing children, adults, and families with high-quality, trauma-informed behavioral health services and support systems, and Everybody Wins Atlanta. Ms. Dempsey frequently speaks on legal issues such as evidence , and social media and the law. Ms. Dempsey has participated as counsel in a number of high profile pro bono matters before the Georgia and federal courts. These matters have included voting rights matters with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and matters with Lambda Legal. Ms. Dempsey co-chairs the Firm's women's affinity group.

Anne Cox-Johnson advises private and publicly traded companies on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic investments. A partner in our Mergers & Acquisitions practice, Anne represents clients in a number of industries, including pharmaceuticals, restaurants, telecommunications, consumer products, healthcare, manufacturing, real estate and retail.

As a corporate advisor, Anne works with clients on a full range of M&A transactions. These include public and private company mergers, acquisitions and dispositions; tender offers; recapitalizations; joint ventures; strategic investments; going-private transactions; and special committee representations. She also represents private equity funds in control and non-control investment transactions and investment exit transactions.

In 2014, Anne was named one of Georgia’s Most Powerful and Influential Women by the Georgia Diversity Council. She is a member of our firm’s Diversity Committee, Partners Committee and Lawyer Development Committee.

Ms. Buchanan is currently VP & General Counsel at Relay Payments Inc., a fintech start-up offering electronic payment services to the trucking industry.  Prior to her position at Relay Payments, Ms. Buchanan was Associate General Counsel, Assistant Secretary, and Compliance Officer for Neenah, Inc., a publicly traded fine paper and filtration manufacturer.  Ms. Buchanan worked in private practice for large, global law firms for over ten years as an intellectual property and commercial business litigator.  Prior to her legal career, Ms. Buchanan obtained her BS in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University, and registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office while still a law student at Vanderbilt University.  Ms. Buchanan now focuses her in-house priorities on protecting business assets of all kinds and ensuring regulatory and ethical compliance by corporate stakeholders.  She resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. Judy Jarecki-Black is Head, Patent Prosecution and Patent Litigation, of Boehringer Ingleheim Animal Health.  Dr. Jarecki-Black is admitted to the state bars of Georgia and South Carolina, and is admitted to practice before several federal courts including the United States Supreme Court.  Since 2002, Dr. Black’s department maintains and enforces the global patent portfolio for Merial (now Boehringer Ingleheim Animal Health). Her department obtains patent protection, generates patentability and freedom-to-operate opinions, and conducts due diligence for a variety of licensing opportunities. Dr. Jarecki-Black is also responsible for global patent litigation and leads the trial team on all patent cases.

Sumaya S. Ellard focuses her practice on labor and employment matters. She is experienced representing employers in single-plaintiff, collective action and class action litigation involving race, sex, color, disability, and age discrimination and harassment; wrongful termination; retaliation; wage and hour laws (including classification and termination pay issues); and unfair labor practices. Ms. Ellard's discrimination practice covers both state and federal law, in a variety of different industries, including education, government, health care, and the financial sector. She regularly drafts severance agreements and releases, reviews and drafts personnel policies, revises employee handbooks, and advises employers with respect to terminations, disability accommodation and use of the interactive process, large-scale reductions in force and reorganizations, independent contractor/common law employee status and other employment-related issues. In addition, Ms. Ellard has gained considerable experience representing employers in restrictive covenant litigation, including suits for breaches of confidentiality and violations of non-solicitation covenants.

Andria Ryan is a partner in the Atlanta office and she serves as the chair of the firm's Hospitality Industry Practice Group. She represents employers in virtually every area of employment and labor law.

Andria represents employers throughout the United States in defending employment discrimination and harassment cases as well as handling traditional labor matters such as unfair labor practices and union campaigns.

She spends much of her time counseling employers in day to day employment and labor decisions and educating employers about prevention and practical solutions to workplace problems.

She is a frequent speaker to industry groups and human resources professionals on such topics as avoiding harassment in the workplace, maintaining a union free workplace, avoiding discrimination claims, proper interviewing, and effective discipline and discharge techniques.

In 2007, she received the Chairman's Award from the Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association for her development of the Employment Compliance Guide for Colorado Hospitality Employers. She and Fisher Phillips have also been honored by the South Carolina Hospitality Association as Supplier of the Year – Stars of the Hospitality Industry Awards 1994-2015 and the Washington Lodging Association for valuable contributions by an Allied member. Andria is "AV" Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Suzanne Hill maintains a diverse commercial litigation practice with extensive experience litigating complex commercial and business disputes, lender disputes, consumer litigation, professional liability,
intellectual property, class actions and employment litigation. She has handled appeals and tried jury and non-jury cases throughout Florida state and appellate courts, federal district courts and bankruptcy courts, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Suzanne routinely represents financial institutions, lenders, law firms, business owners and professionals in a variety of commercial matters including claims involving Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, the False Claims Act, the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and its Florida counter-part, the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, the Uniform Trade Secret Act and civil RICO, as well as claims involving breach of contract, fraud, misappropriation, trade secrets, intellectual property, real estate, tortious interference, breach of fiduciary duties, shareholder/partner disputes, employment, commercial collections, non-compete agreements, and class actions. She has successfully obtained and defended claims seeking immediate injunctive relief. In addition to her litigation practice, Suzanne regularly consults with clients on employment matters and litigation prevention, including compliance with debt collection laws.

Suzanne has represented legal professionals throughout her career. She has defended attorneys in a wide variety of claims, including claims of negligence, malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty and other claims of intentional and negligent wrongdoing. She also defends lawyers in state bar proceedings involving grievances and claims of misconduct.

Suzanne's employment practice includes litigating and consulting on claims involving sexual harassment, discrimination, disabilities, the Family Medical Leave Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act. She is co-chair of the firm's Employment Practice Group. She represents clients in administrative claims before the EEOC as well as in state and federal court. She assists employers with daily employment issues, and regularly consults with employers on employment matters, including the preparation and review of employee manuals and handbooks. She also conducts seminars for management and employees on employment related issues, including sexual harassment education and training.

Suzanne's intellectual property litigation practice focuses on protecting, enforcing and defending client's intellectual property rights, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, and related litigation. She has successfully defended clients in federal court against claims of infringement, and prosecuted infringement claims on behalf of clients obtaining injunctive and other monetary relief. Outside of the courtroom, she also consults with clients on business strategies relating to protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights including evaluation, analysis, negotiation and agreements.

Jane Lewis-Raymond is a partner in Parker Poe's Charlotte office, co-leading the firm's Governance, Risk & Compliance Group and practicing in its Energy Group. With more than 25 years' legal experience, including a decade as general counsel and chief compliance officer of a publicly traded company, Jane has significant depth of knowledge relating to all aspects of corporate law, including enterprise compliance, securities, public company legal and governance issues, as well as board oversight of cybersecurity, crisis, and risk management.
Additionally, Jane has significant experience with legal issues in the natural gas industry. She has spent the better part of the last three decades representing natural gas distribution companies at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and before state public utility commissions. She also is deeply familiar with the challenges faced by industry counsel related to every aspect of regulatory oversight, including the complicated regulatory regime under the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and other federal regulatory matters.
Prior to joining Parker Poe, she was the senior vice president and chief legal, compliance and external relations officer with Piedmont Natural Gas Company Inc. She was an integral member of a team of senior executives that focused on creating measurable strategic and sustainability directives to build long-term value for shareholders. Before that, she spent more than a decade with the American Gas Association, rising to vice president of regulatory affairs and leading policy development and advocacy before FERC and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). As such, she is steeped in energy policy, specifically with regard to natural gas and natural gas distribution companies, as well as transmission pipeline infrastructure.
Outside of the law, she is a passionate advocate for public education issues, a mentor to women leaders, a dedicated hockey mom, an avid cyclist, and a former competitive triathlete.

Adapting to change and creating innovative solutions to new problems is essential in the security industry. U.S. Security Associates, Inc. ("USA") is the fourth largest security services provider in the United States, and a leading provider of consulting and investigations world wide. I manage USA's contracts, litigation, and risk.

Contract Control is a key component of my role at USA. With my team of talented paralegals, I redesigned the contract review and approval process and introduced a unique, industry-based offensive strategy for contract drafting. Creating targeted protective terms for each of USA's distinct lines of business, including healthcare, retail, government, schools, concerts and sporting events, and international consulting has led to less litigation and has significantly reduced the overall risk exposure. Improving the lines of communication between the sales force and my contracts team has also led to faster, more effective negotiations and better contracts.

I also oversee the general liability and auto litigation for USA, managing a team of more than 70 lawyers across the country, to bring about successful settlements and verdicts. Within the first 3 years managing the litigation for USA, the number of general liability claims were reduced by half while the company doubled in size. Establishing and maintaining relationships with the inside legal teams of our largest clients has been an effective strategy for obtaining excellent results in and before litigation.

Risk management and safety innovation is the third and most overarching component of my role at USA. Risk management is so much more than choosing the right carrier and ensuring that the coverage is sufficient for the nature of our business. Risk is our business. And I utilize a creative approach to increase the safety of our officer force so we can provide safe, secure and friendly services to our clients. 

Ileana is a partner in the firm's Business Litigation, Product Liability Litigation and Life Sciences practice groups. She is a senior member of the Drug and Medical Device Litigation Group, the Atlanta office chair of Spotlight on Women and the firmwide chair of Thompson Hine's Diversity & Inclusion Initiative. Ileana was recently featured in Profiles in Diversity Journal. Click here to read the article.

Ileana focuses her practice on product liability litigation, including litigation for pharmaceutical and medical device companies and many other consumer and commercial product manufacturers. She also handles cases involving business and commercial litigation, insurance defense, professional malpractice, and premises liability. She has served as national, regional and local counsel for product manufacturers and distributors involved in multi-district litigation and has extensive experience with mass torts, class actions and complex litigation.

Ileana routinely handles cases which involve intricate and cutting-edge medical, scientific and/or engineering issues, are document-intensive, often high-profile, and allege serious permanent injuries or death.

Amy Cisrow-Peterson serves as Assistant General Counsel to Rack Room Shoes Inc. and its subsidiary, Off Broadway Shoes Inc., members of the Diechmann Group, with over 525 retail shoe stores operating in 38 states.  The Deichmann Group, is a German-based privately held shoe retailer that operates in over 17 countries with stores throughout Europe and Eastern Europe and sells well over 100 million pairs of shoes annually.

In her role as Assistant General Counsel Amy handles a variety of corporate matters (within the retail, technology, human resources, sales, landlord/tenant and supply chain areas), oversees and manages all litigation (which consist of a broad range of high dollar transactional and litigation matters, including but not limited to contract disputes, general liability claims, intellectual property disputes, employment claims and class action lawsuits).  Amy  also counsels  middle and senior management across multiple geographies in regards to legal issues that arise from actual or anticipated lawsuits and occasionally represent the organization in small claims proceedings (where jurisdictionally allowed). Finally, Amy also manages retained outside legal counsel and legal vendors.  As a result of the distinctive blend of Amy’s practice, she encounters the challenges involved with dealing with opposing counsel not only through retained counsel, but directly as well. Amy finds that her prior courtroom and private practice experience allows her to provide unique resolutions to her corporate client/employer. 

Prior to joining Rack Room Shoes Inc., Amy served as a Staff Attorney with The South Carolina Centers for Equal Justice (SCEJ), a non–Profit Corporation that provides free legal services in a wide variety of civil legal matters to low-income residents of South Carolina.  While serving in this role, ninety percent (90%) of her practice was concentrated in litigation. Her time working with SCEJ was a rewarding experience and has proven to be an invaluable tool in formulating successful commercial litigation strategies and in representing her client in Federal and State Employment Commission proceedings.

Outside of her duties at Rack Room and Off Broadway Shoes, Amy is involved with the Charlotte Chapter of the Association Corporate Counsel, Women of Color of Corporate Counsel, The Minority Corporate Counsel Association, and the Diversity Counsel of the Carolinas.  In 2015 Amy was one of seventy participants (out of 600 applicants)  selected by the National Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics to participate in the FBI and US Department of Justice Corporate Compliance Outreach Event in Washington, DC and Quantico, VA. This event, a partnership between the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was developed to help train management level corporate employees on the dangers of internal economic espionage and money laundering, as well as the development of a comprehensive plan to address emerging cyber threats.

Amy’s distinctive background of private and corporate practice combined with her strong management skills and sound business acumen provide a creative and resourceful problem-solving approach.  Amy is a firm believer that in order to keep justice blind you must encourage the free exchange of diverse ideas within the legal community.

Laurice Rutledge Lambert focuses her practice on healthcare law, advising healthcare providers on regulatory and compliance matters and structuring complex transactions involving mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and other strategic affiliations. She develops strategies and solutions that assist clients in navigating complex statutory and regulatory requirements while effectively and efficiently meeting clients' business objectives. Additionally, Laurice routinely advises clients on federal and state fraud and abuse issues, Medicare, Medicaid and third-party billing and compliance requirements, state licensure and accreditation matters, and structuring arrangements with third parties (such arrangements include, billing services, management services, consulting services, vendor services and physician personal services).

Ashley Hibbett Page is executive counsel with vast experiences in multiple sectors including College Sports, e-Commerce, and high-tech businesses, with expertise in people management, advising leadership on key strategic business decisions, and partnering with internal and external teams to oversee all legal matters. Diverse range of abilities to hire, train, and mentor legal professionals with a passion for streamlining departmental efficiency, and driving revenue through opportunity identification. Expert level competencies in complex transactions, conflict resolution, contract dispute litigation, and strategic brand management.

As part of the Litigation Center of Excellence at Cox Enterprises, Adwoa serves as Assistant General Counsel providing counsel to Cox Enterprises’ various business units on litigation matters across several industries. She formulates, implements and manages overall litigation and resolution strategies to ensure that the strategies correspond to the values and business objectives of Cox's various businesses. In addition, she provides general advice regarding assessment and improvement of general corporate and business practices so as to avoid future disputes.

She is licensed to practice law in Georgia and Florida and earned her JD from Georgia State University College of Law. Prior to joining Cox, she served as a business litigation/product liability partner at the global law firm of Bryan Cave. She was also a registered neutral with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution, certified in the areas of mediation and arbitration.

Tashwanda Pinchback Dixon is a trial lawyer with over 11 years of experience of successfully resolving a wide variety of labor and employment disputes as well as providing employment counseling. Tashwanda represents management in both union and nonunion settings in the litigation of federal and state employment and labor law claims, with a particular focus on workplace safety and health (OSHA).

Jewelle Johnson has over 20 years of experience defending management in all aspects of labor and employment matters as both in-house counsel and a partner at a national labor and employment boutique. In addition to representing companies in several union campaigns, Jewelle has litigated employment matters across the continental U.S. and Alaska. Jewelle has been named as one of the "Top 25 Power Women to Watch" by Atlanta Woman magazine, selected on numerous occasions as one of "Georgia's Rising Star Super Lawyers" by Atlanta and Law & Politics magazines, and featured as one of 14 attorneys "On the Rise" by the Fulton County Daily Report.

As a Partner in the Georgia Litigation Group, Lisa handles foreclosure, transactions, evictions, title issues, appeals, litigation, collection, and lien placement. In addition to this, Lisa participates in removal for all commercial matters as well as general litigation involving consumer borrowers and transaction.  As part of the consumer practice, Lisa engages in title curative actions, general litigation, TILA and RESPA issues, injunctions, and equitable matters for secured creditors.  Lisa also handles commercial transactions for both large and small businesses, including but not limited to, contractors, sub-contractors, private equity funds and other private lenders.  Lisa is admitted to practice law in all State and Federal Courts in the state of Georgia.

Mellori E. Lumpkin-Dawson focuses her practice on discrimination and retaliation litigation. She counsels employers on employment policies and compliance, including discipline and termination of employees, harassment, discrimination and retaliation claims, investigations of employee misconduct, wage and hour compliance, FMLA compliance, and recordkeeping requirements and best practices.

Pamela Lee is a partner at Swift Currie with more than 10 years of experience practicing
in the firm’s litigation section. Pamela devotes her entire practice to litigation, including various tort liability litigation, insurance coverage disputes and the defense of insurance bad faith matters. Her liability practice is wide and varied, encompassing premises liability, product liability, escalator and elevator liability, automobile liability and general personal injury law. She represents companies in the food, automobile and retail industries.

Pamela counsels clients in all stages of litigation, including trial and appellate work. She has secured victories at the Court of Appeals on a premises liability matter and a sexual assault case, as well as the successful defense of a spoliation claim.

Pamela keeps her clients informed at every step of the process and works with them to create an effective strategy early in the case to avoid wasted time and excessive legal bills Pamela was elected as the vice president of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association and is a member of the Steering Committees for three Defense Research Institute sections: Retail and Hospitality, Women in the Law, and Trial Tactics. At Swift Currie, Pamela is a member of the Hiring Committee.

Susan M Jackson is an Associate Legal Counsel at Novelis Corporation. I am also a EnCE and EnCEP Certified which means she is a certified Computer Forensic examiner using Guidance Software's EnCase as well as a certified eDiscovery Practitioner using Guidance Software's EnCase Enterprise/eDiscovery software suite. Susan is also a certified administrator in LexisNexis'​ Concordance product with my CCSA certification. She also have and ADM (administrator) IMG (imaging) and EDD (eDiscovery) certification through Lexis's LAW PreDiscovery software. 

Marie is an in-house corporate technology lawyer and she has been practicing for four years.  She works in the healthcare technology field where she primarily drafts and negotiates master services agreements, amendments, and statements of work in support of the payer and provider segments.  She graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law and Emory University.

Barbara A. Marschalk’s practice is devoted to defending a wide range of corporations and individuals in multiple practice areas including the defense of claims involving alleged childhood sexual abuse and sexual misconduct, clergy malpractice, defense of claims against churches, national and local youth serving organizations and other eleemosynary institutions, professional malpractice defense (including medical malpractice, long-term care defense, and legal malpractice), personal injury, premises liability and other general litigation involving catastrophic injuries and/or wrongful death.  Barbara also handles significant products liability matters for nationally recognized insurers and their insureds. 

In her 19 years with the firm, Barbara has defended numerous high-profile cases throughout the state, many of which have been the subject of local, state-wide and even national media attention.  

In her spare time, Barbara also acts as an adjunct professor at her alma mater, Georgia State University College of Law, where she teaches a three hour required course on Trial Advocacy to second year law students. She is a past Committee Chair for the Young Lawyers Division of the Georgia State Bar and has been active as a coach for Georgia State University College of Law's mock trial program. A local expert on trial practice, Barbara authored two chapters of Georgia Civil Trial Procedure, LexisNexis Practice Guide, 2011-2012 Edition (Chapter 5: Planning and Delivering Opening Statements; and Chapter 9: Planning and Conducting Cross-Examination).

Because of her extensive trial and litigation experience, Barbara has been a repeat presenter at multiple seminars, both locally and nationally, on long-term care litigation, trial advocacy, and general risk management issues.  Her reputation is that she is tough, but fair, and interested in the most efficient resolution of matters consistent with her client’s goals.  Barbara was selected as a Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Star by Atlanta Magazine in 2006 and 2008. She has also received an AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale Hubbell for her high ethical standards and professionalism. In 2008, she was also featured by the Fulton County Daily Report as one of Georgia's "Twelve Lawyers to Watch”.  In the article, Barbara was described as a “force of nature” who “gets to the merit of the case…and focuses on the issues that matter.”  

Andrea Hartley is the chair of Akerman’s Bankruptcy & Reorganization Practice Group, a nationally recognized team serving as bankruptcy counsel or receivers in many of the largest bankruptcy filings in the United States.
An experienced bankruptcy and creditors’ rights litigator, Andrea counsels clients in the financial services, real estate, hospitality, restaurant, and retail sectors on business reorganizations and liquidations, assumption and rejection of leases, workouts, debt restructurings, assignments for the benefit of creditors, and creditors’ rights. She also has substantial experience with fraudulent conveyance and preferential transfer litigation. She acts on behalf of lenders, secured and unsecured creditors, corporate debtors, commercial landlords, suppliers, vendors, and purchasers of troubled companies and their assets, both in and out of bankruptcy court.
Respected as a leader in bankruptcy law, Andrea served as National Chair of the 17,000-member Law Practice Division of the American Bar Association (ABA). She is also the past Chair of the ABA Women Rainmakers and a Fellow of the ABA. Andrea also served as only the third female president of the Dade County Bar Association in its then 95-year history.

Anita Wallace Thomas practices in litigation involving general commercial litigation, franchise litigation, drug and medical device litigation, product liability, employment litigation and toxic tort.

Hillary Rightler focuses her practice on white collar criminal defense matters including internal, criminal, and SEC investigations. Ms. Rightler has experience representing both individuals and corporations in handling government enforcement issues, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the False Claims Act (including government contracting and healthcare matters), Civil Investigative Demands, securities fraud allegations, and grand jury investigations. Ms. Rightler also practices in all areas of complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis in the area of securities and director and officer litigation, including defense of shareholder derivative lawsuits.

While in law school, Ms. Rightler worked as a legal intern for Lambda Legal and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She also served as associate editor of the Georgia State Law Review.

Jennifer Marino is a partner in the Tampa office of Litchfield Cavo LLP. She focuses her practice in all areas of civil litigation, including personal injury defense, premises liability, motor vehicle negligence, retail and hospitality defense, general liability claims, first party claims and construction defect disputes. She practiced in New York for five years before bringing her practice to Florida.

Amie Willis has practiced law since 1996 and joined Ogletree in 2009.  She has gained extensive experience in employment matters representing employers across the country in a wide variety of industries, including school districts and municipalities, manufacturing, hospitality, technology and health care.  Since 2005, Amie has primarily represented large and small health care clients in New Mexico and Georgia.  While Amie provides client counseling and training on a wide variety of topics, she also litigates civil cases on behalf of employers in state and federal courts, and before the New Mexico Human Rights Bureau.

Clients turn to Ellen Smith for help closing real estate transactions, navigating land use and zoning, and resolving disputes. Her clients include Fortune 500 corporations, commercial real estate developers, telecommunications companies, and residential care facilities.

Ellen has worked on every kind of transaction in the commercial real estate industry. She has helped developers, owners, and operators close a broad variety of multimillion-dollar loans, sales, and acquisitions. She also advises assisted care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, and other health care providers on their real estate needs, including securing Section 232 Lean loans through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). She has assisted clients in pursuing LEED certifications and other “green” development initiatives. She has also negotiated commercial, data center, medical, retail, and industrial leases, for both landlords and tenants.

Ellen has deep experience in land use and zoning. She has secured land use entitlements for projects across the Southeast, ranging from permits for large telecommunications companies to small family developers. As part of her land use and zoning practice, she has lobbied for clients at the local and state levels. She has also helped businesses secure state and local incentives. 

Ellen began her career as a litigator nearly 20 years ago, and she continues to resolve disputes for clients in federal and state courts today. She has represented many of the key players in the wireless industry in litigation involving the federal Telecommunications Act, including bringing lawsuits after the denial of permits. She also has extensive trial experience with landlord/tenant issues, condemnation, and eminent domain.

Lisa H. Lemke is the National Director of Talent Development for Counsel On Call. She has been with the company since 2004, and has held numerous positions in both talent and business development. She is based in the company’s Atlanta office. Previously, Lisa practiced labor and employment law with Troutman Sanders, LLP in Atlanta. She also practiced labor and employment law with Jackson, Lewis, Schnitzler & Krupman also in Atlanta. She is a cum laude graduate from the University of Georgia School of Law and received her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from the Honors Program at the University of Georgia. Lisa is licensed to practice law in Georgia and is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Atlanta Bar Association, and the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers.

Shalanna Pirtle represents management-side clients in all industries and aspects of the employment relationship. An analytical counselor with intuitive problem-solving skills, she concentrates her practice in the areas of employment counseling, internal investigations, and litigation. She is admitted to practice before the state courts of North Carolina, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of North Carolina.

Shalanna regularly defends employers in litigation under all of the state and federal anti-discrimination laws, as well as employment contract disputes, wrongful discharge claims, and wage and hour issues. She also represents clients in proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the North Carolina Departments of Labor and Commerce. 

A trusted business advisor, Shalanna offers insightful guidance to clients making critical decisions that impact both employee relations and legal risk management. She is highly regarded for her innate ability to develop cost-effective solutions that are tailored to fit the needs of each client. She has substantial experience in helping clients navigate workplace and cultural sensitivity issues.

She is chair of Parker Poe's Diversity & Inclusion Committee. In that role, she leads initiatives to improve the diversity and inclusion within the firm and the legal profession at large. 

Lan Kennedy-Davis’ practice of law is diverse and involves corporate transactional work, as well as all aspects of general and complex business and family law litigation. She represents clients worldwide. Lan has worked at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, and is fluent in English and Vietnamese. Lan has a very strong business background. Lan has served as CEO of Soul Electronics a/k/a “Soul by Ludacris”, a high-end headphones company after first serving as it external general counsel for three years. She has a degree in Economics and has worked as a business consultant for Arthur Andersen/Andersen Consulting n/k/a Accenture, wherein she provided consulting services to CIGNA and PepsiCo. Lan has also served as corporate counsel for three publicly traded companies, including in-house counsel of a Fortune 500 company, CLO of a $800 million company which was then the world's largest electronics accessories company, and CLO of a publicly traded Hong Kong conglomerate. With a strong business background and having had extensive experience as in-house counsel, she serves corporate clients as their external general counsel and works closely with the corporations’ internal counsel and officers on transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, contract negotiations, business development and litigation. The breadth and depth of both her business and legal experience allow her to understand and appreciate how legal issues impact the business, and enable her to resolve issues efficiently and effectively. Lan has represented manufacturers of jet engines, gas turbine and power plants, space and aircraft controls, consumer electronics, video games, software applications, and nanotechnology, as well as physicians and their practices, pharmaceutical companies, engineering firms, marketing firms, commercial developers, carnivals, and companies involved in the business of cryptocurrency, crowdselling and crowdfunding. Lan also has more than 20 years of experience with government contracting, qui tam actions, anti-trust and import/export laws and regulations. She has worked on matters with the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Secret Service and has been granted Secret Security Clearance in the past. Lan has also worked on endorsement deals with celebrities and professional athletes. She also has an extensive and diverse commercial litigation practice. Lan has litigated complex business disputes, shareholder disputes, intellectual property, bankruptcy, products liability, breach of warranty, contracts, indemnification, administrative law, employment law, unfair competition, foreclosures and family law.