PHILADELPHIA, January 17, 2018—Duane Morris LLP is pleased to announce that it has promoted to the firm partnership nine associates and special counsel in eight of the firm’s offices.

These newly named partners are:

• Marcus O. Colabianchi, San Francisco, Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group
• Rosa M. Ertze, New York; and Barry Steinman, Philadelphia, Corporate Practice Group
• John R. Gibson, Atlanta; Karen Kline, Boca Raton; and Christopher J. Tyson, Washington, D.C., Intellectual Property Practice Group
• Michael E. Barnicle, Chicago; Justin Fields, San Francisco; and Michael J. Shuman, Miami, Trial Practice Group

Michael E. Barnicle is a government contracts trial lawyer who represents federal government contractors in aerospace, national defense, homeland security, cybersecurity, information security and foreign military sales matters. He advises upon all aspects of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and has significant experience with government contract bid protest and contract appeal cases pending before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Barnicle assists clients with compliance issues stemming from the False Claims Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and various federal ethics regulations. In addition, he assists clients with cybersecurity and information security compliance matters related to the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) and Special Publications. 

Barnicle is a 2008 graduate of the John Marshall Law School and a 2004 graduate, with distinction, of the University of Kansas. After law school, and prior to joining Duane Morris, he served as a government contracts attorney in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps that included a combat tour in Iraq as a strategic legal advisor to senior military and other government officials.

Marcus O. Colabianchi practices in the areas of bankruptcy and creditors’ rights and real estate law. His bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice includes representing secured and unsecured creditors, financial institutions, business debtors, Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 trustees, committees, leasing companies, and receivers in all facets of corporate bankruptcy cases and litigation. Colabianchi handles a variety of complex litigation, workout, restructuring and insolvency matters for lenders and special servicers for REMIC trusts involving commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans. He also serves as oversight counsel for special servicers in bankruptcy cases in multiple jurisdictions. Colabianchi’s real estate practice includes representation of commercial developers, owners, landlords, tenants, lenders and borrowers in all aspects of disputes concerning commercial properties. It includes resolving disputes involving complex commercial lease defaults, breaches of guaranties, mortgage fraud, real estate secured transaction issues, lender liability issues, easements, eminent domain and other real estate issues.

Colabianchi is a 2000 graduate of the Santa Clara University School of Law, where he was comments editor of the Santa Clara Law Review, and a 1996 graduate of the University of Southern California.

Rosa M. Ertze practices in the area of corporate law, finance and international business transactions, advising domestic, multinational and foreign companies on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, restructurings, commercial lending, general corporate matters, cross-border direct foreign investment, joint ventures and financings. She works extensively with domestic and Latin-American companies doing inbound and outbound investments and business in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Ertze has advised and guided several U.S. manufacturing companies in setting up, regulating and closing manufacturing operations in Mexico. She also has extensive experience in transactions involving stock and asset sales in the United States and Mexico. Ertze currently serves as the president of Northeast Chapter of the US-Mexico Chamber of Commerce. She is also a member of the firm’s Cuba Business Group and the Mexican and Latin American desks.

Ertze is a 2007 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M., International Legal Studies) and a 2005 graduate of Universidad Iberoamericana (J.D. equivalent). She is fluent in Spanish.

Justin Fields represents individuals and businesses in commercial litigation, with a focus on professional liability, legal malpractice, intellectual property, real estate and construction-related disputes. He has experience in the areas of internal corporate investigations, white-collar criminal defense, regulatory compliance, products liability and government contract disputes. Fields has represented clients in complex commercial litigation disputes in both state and federal courts. He is presently serving a three-year term as a member of the Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC), to which he was appointed by the California State Bar. For the 2014 and 2015 calendar years, Fields served as co-chair of Duane Morris’ firm-wide Associates Committee.

Fields is a 2008 magna cum laude graduate of University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he was a member of the Hastings International and Comparative Law Review, and a 2005 summa cum laude graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles.

John R. Gibson practices in the area of intellectual property litigation and high-stakes commercial litigation. He represents leading high-technology clients in a diverse range of patent litigation matters involving nearly all aspects of telecommunications—including wireless LAN systems, cellular telephony, VoIP telephony, webmail, cable and set-top boxes, and wireless chipsets, among others—and other technology fields. Gibson regularly brings trademark infringement actions on behalf of an international fashion brand. He also litigates on behalf of clients in a diverse range of complex commercial and media matters, including cases involving restrictive covenants, fraud, breach of contract, and defamation.

Gibson is a 2006 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and was a senior editor of the Alabama Law Review, and a 2003 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Karen Kline practices in the area of intellectual property law, including trademark, patent and copyright procurement, enforcement and licensing. She counsels clients in all aspects of their domestic and international trademark portfolios and has extensive experience with trademark and copyright enforcement, including enforcement over the internet. Kline has also authored and prosecuted patent applications in diverse technical areas, including medical equipment, communications, semiconductor devices, tool accessories and food products. She also represents clients in technology-related transactional matters, including structuring, negotiating, drafting, implementing and providing legal advice regarding technology and brand licensing, development, consulting and service agreements.

Kline is a 2008 graduate, with honors, of George Washington University Law School, where she was a managing editor of The George Washington International Law Review. She is also a graduate of George Washington University (M.B.A., 2004) and the University of Miami (B.S., 2000) 

Michael J. Shuman’s practice includes a wide range of complex business-related matters, with an emphasis in construction. He has extensive experience representing owners and developers during all phases of development from contract negotiations to defending construction defect claims; and he has represented residential condominium and community developers such as The Related Group and Lennar, as well as ownership groups for the Fontainebleau Resort Hotel and the (now) Hard Rock Stadium. Shuman’s practice also includes counseling clients in the complex commercial context. He has represented national financial institutions, national telecommunications companies, investment groups, partnerships, contractors and small business owners in general business civil litigation, arbitration, bankruptcy adversary proceedings, trademark actions in both state and federal court.

Shuman is a 2005 cum laude graduate of the University of Miami School of Law and a 2001 graduate of Tulane University.

Barry Steinman represents public and private issuers, underwriters and individual investors in a wide range of transactional work. His experience includes follow-on public offerings of equity, debt and other securities; compliance under federal securities and Blue Sky laws; the fulfillment of ongoing obligations under the SEC’s periodic reporting system; preparing proxy statements; effecting resales of securities in the public trading markets under SEC Rule 144; private issuances under SEC sections 4(a)(2), 4(a)(6), 4(a)(7) and Regulation D; and advising boards of directors concerning compliance under securities laws. Steinman has represented clients in public and private mergers and acquisitions transactions, as well as advised acquirers and targets, special committees, audit committees and boards of directors in complex negotiated and contested situations, including negotiated mergers, cross-border transactions, strategic alliances, joint ventures, spin-offs, dispositions, tender offers, public to private transactions and corporate governance issues.

Steinman is a 2007 graduate of Cornell Law School and a 2002 graduate of Concordia University.

Christopher J. Tyson practices in the area of intellectual property law. He has experience with complex intellectual property litigation in federal courts throughout the United States, from pre-filing stages through discovery, summary judgment and trial. Tyson has prepared non-infringement and invalidity opinions and assisted in defensive proceedings, including declaratory judgment actions. He has been lead or backup counsel of record in multiple post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and has prosecuted patent and trademark applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Tyson assists clients in the acquisition of U.S. and foreign patent rights in diverse technologies. He also has experience with due diligence reviews of patents and trademarks, conducting patent and trademark searches, drafting prosecution-related opinions, and the drafting and analyzing of intellectual property licenses and agreements, including patent, trademark, software, and know-how licenses and agreements.

Tyson is a 2010 graduate of George Mason University School of Law. He is a graduate of Old Dominion University (M.S., 2007) and the United States Naval Academy (B.S., 1999). Prior to his legal career, he served for seven years as an officer in the U.S. Navy, where he managed the operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants in a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, including electrical power generation and distribution, mechanical and propulsion plant systems, and was qualified as a nuclear engineering officer.

About Duane Morris

Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to today’s multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 800 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients, spanning all major practices and industries.