PHILADELPHIA, January 6, 2014—Duane Morris LLP is pleased to announce that it has promoted eight associates and special counsel in three of the firm's practice groups to the firm partnership.
These newly named partners are as follows:
- Health Law Practice Group: Erin M. Duffy (Philadelphia).
- Intellectual Property Practice Group: Michelle Hon Donovan (San Diego / San Francisco / Silicon Valley); and Diana M. Sangalli (Houston).
- Trial Practice Group: Courtney L. Baird (San Diego / Las Vegas / Los Angeles); Suzan Jo (New York); and Patrick J. Kearney, Brett L. Messinger and Robert M. Palumbos (Philadelphia).
Courtney L. Baird is a trial lawyer who advises and represents companies in a range of legal matters, including unfair competition, false advertising and consumer protection claims, contract disputes, franchise disputes, employment issues, banking, corporate and partnership governance, education, regulatory matters and other complex litigation matters. She has extensive experience in successfully defending class actions and is a member of Duane Morris' California team of lawyers who focus on class actions. Ms. Baird graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law with honors. While in law school, she received the Best Oral and Written Advocate Combined Award, served as an editor of the San Diego International Law Journal and participated in legal clinics in which she provided free legal services to San Diego residents in need. She was also appointed and served as an Academic Support Leader in the area of Federal Civil Procedure, during which she instructed weekly classes on Federal Civil Procedure. Prior to law school, Ms. Baird worked for the San Diego County District Attorney's office.
Michelle Hon Donovan has diverse national practices in the areas of intellectual property law, Internet law, litigation and licensing. Ms. Donovan's clients represent a wide range of industries, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology, high-end consumer electronics, software, cosmetics and personal care products, real estate development, education, staffing, food and beverage and social networking. Ms. Donovan is a 2004 cum laude graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law, where she was Student Comment Editor of the San Diego International Law Journal and elected to the Order of the Coif. Ms. Donovan externed with Magistrate Judge Ruben B. Brooks in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota (B.S., Genetics and Cell Biology). Prior to entering law school, Ms. Donovan was a research assistant in biochemistry and molecular biology at the Ron Evans Gene Expression Laboratory of the Salk Institute. She was also involved in the Salk Institute Educational Outreach program, educating elementary and middle school students about molecular biology.
Erin M. Duffy concentrates her practice on corporate healthcare regulatory matters. She advises clients, including hospitals, medical practices, pharmacies, long-term care facilities and developmental disabilities facilities, on a wide range of issues, such as fraud and abuse, self-referral, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, corporate practice of medicine and fee-splitting prohibitions, and certificate of need and licensure issues. She is also experienced in handling healthcare information technology matters, including mobile (MHealth) and electronic health records. Ms. Duffy is a graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law and St. Joseph's University.
Suzan Jo has a broad litigation practice, representing clients in both federal and state courts, as well as arbitration tribunals with a particular emphasis on complex securities, commercial and intellectual property litigation. Ms. Jo also represents corporations and individuals on matters involving both federal and state securities laws, duties of corporate directors, SEC and stock exchange inquiries and investigations, and civil RICO matters. Ms. Jo has been named to Super Lawyers' list of “Rising Stars” for three consecutive years (2011, 2012 and 2013). Admitted to practice in New York and Florida, Ms. Jo is a 2003 graduate of NYU School of Law and a cum laude graduate of the Stony Brook University.
Patrick J. Kearney has a diverse national construction law and real estate litigation practice, handling a broad range of matters in federal and state courts across the United States and before arbitrators for international and domestic clients. Mr. Kearney has counseled clients, including owners/developers, contractors, banks, design professionals and public entities, on all aspects of construction law. During his career, he has represented clients on construction projects and/or litigated construction cases in at least 18 different states. Mr. Kearney has also been involved in some of the largest and most visible construction projects of the last decade in the Philadelphia/New Jersey area, including casinos, skyscrapers and sports stadiums. Nationally, he has assisted clients in projects involving the construction of a tunnel in Seattle, Washington; a ski resort in Vail, Colorado; and a break in a ten-foot-wide water main in Weston, Massachusetts, among others. Mr. Kearney is a 2003 graduate of Rutgers School of Law-Camden and a cum laude graduate of Temple University. He is also an alumnus of the University of Virginia Law School, Trial Advocacy College.
Brett L. Messinger concentrates his practice in the areas of international and commercial litigation; banking litigation and law; consumer class actions; actions under the Truth-In-Lending Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Law; insurance defense and coverage; international and domestic cargo claims; and products liability. He also provides compliance opinions to the banking and title insurance industries in regard to the Truth-In-Lending Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and related federal and state law. Mr. Messinger is engaged in a national banking litigation practice, often handling cases and appearing in court throughout the United States, and has developed large practices involving assisting foreign litigants in transferring and domesticating foreign judgments to the United States. In addition to appearing frequently in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey where he is admitted, he has been admitted pro hac vice and successfully litigated cases in various jurisdictions, including Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin. Mr. Messinger is a 1991 graduate of Widener University School of Law and a graduate of the University of Delaware.
Robert M. Palumbos helps companies and entrepreneurs resolve complex legal issues in appellate and commercial litigation. He is an experienced appellate lawyer with a track record in more than three dozen appeals of preserving trial-court victories and getting clients another chance to win. Mr. Palumbos has briefed or argued appeals in state and federal courts throughout the United States, including as lead counsel in more than a half-dozen successful appeals. His appellate work covers a wide range of legal areas, such as RICO, corporate governance, administrative agency law, real estate and zoning, insurance coverage, and contracts. Before entering private practice, Mr. Palumbos was a judicial clerk to the Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Mr. Palumbos is a 2005 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and former editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. He is also a graduate of Johns Hopkins University (M.A., B.A.), where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Palumbos also chairs the firm's Philadelphia office Inclusion Committee.
Diana M. Sangalli practices in the area of intellectual property law with a focus on intellectual property litigation and patent preparation and prosecution. Ms. Sangalli has represented clients in intellectual property matters related to a wide range of diverse technologies, including optical disc recognition, wireless LANs, telecommunications networks, webpage authentication and offshore platforms. She also has extensive experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications covering a variety of electrical, mechanical and computer-related technologies for small, medium and large-sized corporations in the oil and gas, computer, temperature instrumentation, semiconductor and consumer product industries. Prior to entering the practice of law, Ms. Sangalli worked as an engineer at Hughes Aircraft Co. and Sigmapower, Inc. in California, where she designed high-voltage power supplies used in satellite communication systems and shipboard phased array radar systems. Ms. Sangalli is a 1995 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, where she was editor in chief of the University of Illinois Law Review, and a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (B.S.E.E.).
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