Press Release
Duane Morris Names Nine Attorneys to Partnership
PHILADELPHIA, January 4, 2011—Duane Morris LLP is pleased to announce that it has named nine attorneys in four practice groups to the firm partnership.
These newly named partners are located in eight of the firm's offices.
The firm's newly promoted partners are as follows:
- Trial Practice Group: Robert H. Dietrick in Washington, D.C.; Terrance J. Evans in San Francisco; Amy M. Joseph in Pittsburgh; Darlene D. Moreau in Boston; Antony L. Sanacory in Atlanta; and Shannon Hampton Sutherland in Philadelphia
- Estates and Asset Planning Practice Group: Charles B. Shields, Jr., in Boca Raton
- Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group: Wendy M. Simkulak in Philadelphia
- Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group: Ralph R. Smith 3rd in Cherry Hill
Robert H. Dietrick practices in the area of litigation. A former state and federal prosecutor, Dietrick is experienced in defending allegations of white-collar crime from the investigatory stage through trial and appeal. Dietrick has worked with cases that originated as U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations or those that were directly originated by the U.S. Department of Justice. He also has experience in regulatory and civil practice. His regulatory work involves "safety and soundness" and securities regulation. Prior to joining Duane Morris, Dietrick served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Tennessee. He also served in the District Attorney General's Office in Nashville, Tenn. Dietrick was a law clerk for the Honorable James Knoll Gardner of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Dietrick earned his J.D. from George Washington University Law School and is an honors graduate of the University of Evansville. He also holds a master's degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, which included a joint program with the University of Oxford.
Terrance J. Evans concentrates his practice in representing the financial services industry. During his career, Evans has both recovered and saved clients of the firm tens of millions of dollars in settlements, judgments and extrajudicial procedures. With respect to the insurance industry, he concentrates his practice in complex commercial litigation and policy interpretation and analysis. In relation to the banking industry, Evans has represented international, national and community banks and loan-service companies in complex commercial litigation and various secured transactions. In addition, he was named one of the top 100 minority associates in the United States for 2007 by the Stakeholder Organization. Evans has also received special honors from the NAACP, the Congressional Black Caucus, the 100 Black Men of Los Angeles, the Young Black Scholars Program, the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, the American Legion and many other organizations. Evans graduated from Cornell University, where he was a Cornell Tradition Fellow. He graduated from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles with recognition, and he was ranked as the Third Best Oral Advocate in the United States at the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition.
Amy M. Joseph practices primarily in the areas of general commercial litigation, construction litigation, complex civil litigation and class action defense work. Joseph has handled a wide range of litigation disputes for construction owners, contractors, subcontractors and material suppliers. She has also represented banks, financial services providers, healthcare corporations and pharmaceutical companies in both state and federal cases. She has been recognized by her peers as a Pennsylvania Rising Star in 2007, 2008 and 2010. Joseph earned her J.D. from University of Pittsburgh School of Law, magna cum laude, where she was managing editor of the Journal of Law and Commerce. She is a cum laude graduate of Allegheny College. Joseph served as judicial law clerk for the Honorable Gary L. Lancaster of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Darlene D. Moreau practices in the area of litigation. Moreau has represented individual and corporate clients in a wide range of disputes, including complex commercial, civil and criminal litigation. She has participated in cases involving litigation areas, such as securities, white-collar, intellectual property, reinsurance and general commercial disputes. Moreau earned her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, cum laude, and is a cum laude graduate of Boston College.
Antony L. Sanacory is a litigator whose practice includes resolution of construction disputes, patent infringement and technology licensing disputes as well as other commercial litigation matters. Sanacory has represented clients in a number of complex litigation matters in federal and state courts and before the American Arbitration Association. Proficient in Spanish and Italian, Sanacory earned his J.D. from Duke University School of Law, where he was executive editor of the Alaska Law Review. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of The Pennsylvania State University. Sanacory studied abroad at the University of Exeter, England, and the University of Guanajuato, Mexico.
Charles B. Shields, Jr., practices in the areas of tax, estate planning and asset protection, probate and trust administration, and strategic tax planning and structuring involving corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies. He regularly counsels individuals on estate planning strategies designed to minimize taxes and protect wealth for future generations, as well as business succession planning. Shields has developed asset protection structures for real estate developers and other clients with significant risk and also advises clients on probate and trust administration issues, including federal gift and estate tax returns. His practice also includes advising individuals and businesses (for-profit and nonprofit) on federal, state and local tax issues, such as debt workouts; as well as non-tax issues, from the formation of the business to the ultimate disposition of the business. He also advises tax-exempt organizations on general business and tax issues, including the formation and operation of low-income housing tax-credit partnerships. Shields earned his J.D. and his LL.M. in Taxation, both with honors, from the University of Florida College of Law. He is a graduate, with high honors, of the University of Florida.
Wendy M. Simkulak practices in the areas of bankruptcy, corporate reorganization, creditors' rights, commercial finance, secured transactions and international commerce. She represents financial institutions, insurance companies, trade creditors, lessors, liquidating trustees and debtors in debt restructurings and in all aspects of a bankruptcy case. Simkulak has served as counsel to insurance companies providing prepetition and postpetition insurance coverage to debtors in complex chapter 11 cases, and has advised mortgagees and assignees of nonresidential leases in large chapter 11 cases. In addition to counseling clients regarding out-of-court restructurings, she has advised clients regarding structuring security arrangements and managing risks prior to and during the bankruptcy of a relationship party. Simkulak was selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Star by Law & Politics and Philadelphia magazines in 2007 and 2008. She earned her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Simkulak earned her master's degree at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. Simkulak is also a summa cum laude graduate of Muhlenberg College.
Ralph R. Smith 3rd practices in the areas of employment litigation and preventive employment practices, which includes counseling employers on the creation of employment policies and employer training to avoid employment-related litigation. Along with his labor and employment law practice, he also represents both companies and individuals in other kinds of related complex commercial litigation. During his career, Smith has represented clients before federal and state courts and administrative agencies in a broad array of labor and employment cases that include inter alia, race, gender, age, national origin, disability and workplace harassment and discrimination matters; wage-and-hour disputes; restrictive covenants; grievances; arbitrations, drug testing and other employment-related contract issues. Smith is a frequent lecturer on labor and employment-related topics and formerly served as an adjunct professor at Widener University Graduate School of Business. He earned his J.D. at Temple University School of Law, cum laude, and is a magna cum laude graduate of Temple University. Smith was formerly a judicial clerk to the Honorable Jerome B. Simandle of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Shannon Hampton Sutherland prosecutes and defends a wide range of commercial and public-sector disputes in state and federal courts and in arbitration across the United States, including in contract, covenant not to compete/restrictive covenant, trade secret, breach of fiduciary duty, software upgrade and implementation, zoning, infrastructure, and construction payment, delay, and defect matters. In addition, she has significant court experience prosecuting and defending temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunction proceedings. Sutherland has successfully resolved disputes, on behalf of private sector and public sector clients, through arbitration, mediation and favorable settlements. She also regularly counsels clients concerning covenants not to compete/restrictive covenants, confidentiality agreements, and trade secret protection with respect to electronic discovery. Sutherland earned her J.D. cum laude at American University, Washington College of Law, and is a summa cum laude graduate of the Temple University Honors Program.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP, a full-service law firm with more than 700 attorneys in 24 offices in the United States and internationally, offers innovative solutions to the legal and business challenges presented by today's evolving global markets.
