Press Release
Duane Morris Welcomes Six New Attorneys to New York Office
NEW YORK- September 6, 2007 - Duane Morris is pleased to announce that five corporate attorneys, all with international practices, as well as an intellectual property attorney have joined the firm in its New York office. The firm welcomes Miriam Hyman, Andrew Odell, Lee Potter and Eberhard H. Röhm as partners, and Michael Butterman and Arthur Dresner as of counsel. The addition of these attorneys highlights the firm's previously announced strategic expansion of its New York office and continues the development of the firm's international corporate, litigation and intellectual property practices.
The following five attorneys join Duane Morris with extensive backgrounds in cross-border transactional work, particularly with respect to banking and mergers and acquisitions for foreign corporations across Asia, Latin America and Europe.
Michael Butterman, formerly of Bryan Cave, joins the firm's Corporate Practice Group. He has extensive experience in counseling U.S. and Latin American clients throughout Latin America. He served with the U.S. Agency for International Development in Bolivia and Brazil, and thereafter as Latin American Counsel of Xerox Corporation.
Michael has written on regulatory and investment matters concerning foreign policy. His papers have included "The Legal and Regulatory Environment in Brazil, Argentina, and Mercosur for Automobile Industry Suppliers" and "Private Investment in Bolivia: Organizing to Do Business." Michael is also a member of the board of directors of the Delta National Bank and Trust Company and served in the U.S. Army. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
Michael received his LL.B from Yale University in 1959 and his B.A., magna cum laude, in 1956 from Lehigh University.
Miriam Hyman, formerly of Bryan Cave, joins the firm's Corporate Practice Group. She brings more than 25 years of experience to the firm, focusing on banking as well as on business and public finance, and she has represented Latin American banks, financial institutions, businesses and high net worth individuals operating both in the United States and overseas. Miriam's experience also includes negotiation and documentation of term and revolving credit facilities, trade finance documentation, loan syndications and participations, offshore-based hedge funds and private equity funds, cross-border equipment leases and Euro dollar note offerings.
The author of several publications on foreign and domestic banking and employment law issues, Miriam has taught a course in "International Business Transactions" at Hofstra University School of Law and is also active in her local community. She currently sits on the board of directors for the Kinhaven Music School, is active in the Brazilian American Chamber of Commerce and was for many years a member of the Board of NYCLU and president of the 71st Street Lexington Corporation. She is fluent in Portuguese.
Miriam received her J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law in 1977 and her B.A., summa cum laude, from Brandeis University.
Andrew Odell, formerly of Bryan Cave, also joins the firm's Corporate Practice Group. His practice focuses on the representation of foreign corporations, banks and other financial institutions in commercial matters, investments and resolution disputes in cross-border negotiations. He concentrates on international banking and corporate matters, international capital markets and foreign sovereign and diplomatic law.
Active in many foreign law and commerce associations, Andrew is president and director of the American Foreign Law Association, the chairman of the Hong Kong Association of New York, director of the American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Brazilian American Chamber of Commerce. In addition to his active membership in these organizations, Andrew regularly publishes articles about sovereign immunity and diplomatic immunity. He is fluent in French.
Andrew received his J.D. in 1973 from St. John's University School of Law and his B.A. in 1969 from Syracuse University.
Lee Potter, formerly of Arent Fox, joins the firm's Corporate Practice Group. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, equity and debt securities offerings, restructurings, bank credit facilities and general corporate advisory matters. He has represented foreign and domestic clients across a broad array of industries, including high technology, manufacturing, automotive, telecommunications, healthcare, insurance, chemical, retail and other industries.
Lee recently participated in seminars in Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Tokyo about the implications of Sarbanes-Oxley and related rules for top executives in foreign companies with interests in the United States.
Lee received his J.D. and M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with honors, in 1992 and his B.A. from Oberlin College in 1983. From 1984 to 1988, before entering law school, he played as a violinist in the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra.
Eberhard Röhm, formerly of Arent Fox, joins the firm's Corporate Practice Group. Eberhard's practice is focused on international transactional matters with Germany, other EU countries and the United States. Developing, negotiating and completing corporate and real estate mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and securities offerings, he represents purchasers, sellers and investors, financial advisors and underwriters. He advises clients in the automotive, machinery, banking and finance, computer software, energy, real estate development and management, commercial and industrial construction and entertainment industries and foreign governments. Previously, he was the managing partner of Donahue & Partners LLP, a law practice allied with Ernst & Young. In addition, he is an international arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and the International Chamber of Commerce.
The current co-chair of the Committee on International Banking, Securities and Financial Transactions of the International Section of the New York State Bar Association, Eberhard is active in many other bar associations as well as the American Council on Germany, the German American Law Association, the German American Chamber of Commerce and the Center for International Legal Studies, among others. In addition to being the author of legal articles and a chapter on German securities regulations, he is a speaker at legal seminars, most recently in Mexico City, Frankfurt and Tokyo about the implications of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for foreign executives. He is fluent in German and French.
Eberhard received his German law degree in 1968 after attending law school at the University of Heidelberg and the University of Bonn, and his J.D. in 1976 from Fordham University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in Germany, New York and Illinois.
Arthur Dresner, formerly of Reed Smith, joins the firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group. With more than 35 years of experience in the intellectual property field, Arthur has developed a broad practice focusing on patent litigation, licensing and transactional work, product clearance reviews and opinions, arbitration, control procedures, patent acquisition, trademarks and copyrights. Arthur brings a unique executive background to the firm, as he was the president of one of the operating divisions of International Specialty Products, Inc, formerly a Fortune 500 NYSE manufacturing company, prior to his renewed career in the law.
An adjunct professor of business law and ethics at the Howe School of Technology Management in suburban New Jersey as well as a trained electrical engineer, Arthur frequently speaks on intellectual property matters, specifically patent and copyright issues, and is an advisory board member of the Corporate Counsel Institute of the Georgetown Law Center. In addition, he is a member of the Intellectual Property Section of the American Bar Association and is pro bono general counsel to El Museo del Barrio, the Latino museum of New York City.
Arthur received his J.D. from St. John's University School of Law in 1968 and his B.E. from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1963.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP, one of the 100 largest law firms in the world, is a full-service firm of more than 600 lawyers. In addition to legal services, Duane Morris has independent affiliates employing approximately 100 professionals engaged in other disciplines. With offices in major markets, and as part of an international network of independent law firms, Duane Morris represents clients across the United States and around the world.
