Ten Ballard Spahr Attorneys Join the Firm’s Partnership

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Ten Ballard Spahr lawyers have been admitted to the firm’s partnership, effective January 1, firm Chair Mark Stewart announced today. The new partners are based in the firm’s offices in Philadelphia, Phoenix, New York, Denver, and Washington, D.C. The new partners practice across the firm’s legal departments, including one each from Intellectual Property and Business and Transactions, two each from Finance and Real Estate, and four from Litigation—the largest department.

“Our new partners are known for their excellent legal work, but they do more: they build remarkable partnerships that help their clients succeed,” said Mr. Stewart. “In doing so, they all have made significant contributions to the firm's success, and we are proud to welcome them to the partnership.”

Ballard Spahr’s new partners are:

Thomas F. Burke, Litigation, Philadelphia

Mr. Burke is a litigator who specializes in complex commercial litigation, internal investigations, and defense of enforcement actions brought by government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Justice, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and state attorneys general. His clients include large financial institutions, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and student loan servicers. Mr. Burke’s extensive litigation experience includes trials and arbitrations in state and federal forums across the country.

Laura C. Giles, Business & Transactions, Phoenix

Ms. Giles advises her clients on an array of corporate and transactional matters, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, complex transactions, and corporate governance. She works with companies and individuals across a variety of industries, including waste services, technology, fashion, and media. Ms. Giles also regularly represents clients in the sports and entertainment world, handling sponsorship, endorsement, influencer, and similar transactions.

Terence M. Grugan, Litigation, Philadelphia

Mr. Grugan is a litigator whose practice centers on white collar criminal defense, anti-money laundering compliance, enforcement and litigation, and securities enforcement and litigation. In his white collar practice, Mr. Grugan represents individuals and entities involved in criminal, regulatory, or administrative government investigations from the preliminary stages of investigations through trial in state and federal courts. He also counsels financial institutions on anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act compliance and in related enforcement actions and private litigation. In his securities practice, Mr. Grugan represents individuals and institutional clients in securities enforcement actions, civil actions related to securities issuance, complex contractual disputes, and internal corporate governance disputes.

Kimberly D. Magrini, Finance, Philadelphia and New York

Ms. Magrini is a public finance attorney who advises investment banking firms and investors, municipalities, issuers, and trustees in all types of public finance and municipal securities transactions. She focuses on municipal securities law issues, municipal finance and recovery, project finance, including public-private partnerships (P3) and distressed projects and housing finance. Ms. Magrini also represents a variety of 501(c)(3) organizations, including hospitals and other health care organizations, colleges and universities, and museums.

Sara A. McCormick, Real Estate, Philadelphia

Ms. McCormick counsels clients on a variety of commercial real estate matters, including leases, acquisitions, dispositions, development transactions, and other commercial real estate matters. She has significant experience representing investors, developers, and real estate operators in the formation of, and investment in, real estate joint ventures and funds. In addition, Ms. McCormick regularly works with universities on privatized student housing projects and advises start-up companies in connection with their real estate needs.

Katherine M. Noonan, Real Estate, Washington, D.C.

Ms. Noonan represents owners and developers in all manner of real estate transactional matters. She works with developers in mixed-use projects, including analyzing and advising on project structure and the drafting, negotiation, and recordation of condominium documents. Ms. Noonan represents landlords and tenants in retail, office, and laboratory leasing. She has assisted numerous clients with local law compliance in the disposition of multifamily residential projects, especially with regard to rights of first refusal in Montgomery County, Prince George's County and Howard County, Maryland, as well as the District of Columbia's Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act.

Juan Pereira, Finance, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Pereira advises lenders and investors in commercial real estate finance transactions, with an emphasis on multifamily housing finance transactions involving the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Mr. Pereira’s clients include some of the nation’s largest and most active commercial real estate finance firms. He has successfully closed hundreds of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac financings for acquisition, renovation, and/or refinancing of facilities such as apartment complexes and seniors housing, including affordable housing.

Thomas B. Sullivan, Litigation, New York

Mr. Sullivan is a media law and First Amendment litigator who represents newspapers, television stations, online media, publishers, and reporters in copyright, defamation, trademark, invasion of privacy, access, and other content-related matters. He also represents individuals and companies in other industries facing similar issues. Mr. Sullivan has experience defending his clients against these claims in courts across the country and also provides pre-publication review of articles and broadcasts to help resolve potential issues before they arise.

Gregory Szewczyk, Litigation, Denver

Mr. Szewczyk advises clients on a broad spectrum of privacy, data use, and information security issues with a focus on tailoring programs to clients’ specific needs. He has assisted corporations with a variety of privacy and information security matters, ranging from negotiating privacy provisions of complex transactions to collecting personal information to ensuring that vendor agreements afford the necessary level of protections. He has helped several emerging growth companies develop their privacy and information security regimes from the ground up in efforts to both protect consumer data and build the companies’ value as they position for new rounds of funding. Mr. Szewczyk also is a litigator with significant trial experience in complex corporate and commercial cases, including cases involving data issues, First Amendment matters, and international considerations.

Jonathon A. Talcott, Intellectual Property, Phoenix

Mr. Talcott represents clients in complex business disputes and transactions, with emphasis on intellectual property and technology law matters. He focuses on patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secrets litigation, representing companies involved in a variety of industries and technologies, including computer software, hardware, retail, automotive, and sports. Mr. Talcott has a track record of success in state, federal, and appeals courts across the country—including in hotbeds of IP litigation such as Delaware, Texas, California, and the USPTO. As a registered patent attorney and former professional electrical engineer, he also advises clients on IP asset protection, portfolio development, and related transactions.