PHILADELPHIA, January 5, 2005 - Duane Morris LLP, one of the nation's 100 largest law firms, is pleased to announce that it has named eight associates and one special counsel from five of its practice groups to partnerships in the firm. The newly-elected partners come from four of the firm's offices nationwide. In Philadelphia, Dana Ash, Stephen Mallozzi, and Jonathan Swichar of the Trial Practice Group were elected, as well as Sandra Stoneman of the Corporate Practice Group and Marianna Schenk of the Estates and Asset Planning Practice Group. Also named were Kathleen Carver Cheney of the Health Law Practice Group and Alex Sudnik of the Corporate Practice Group in New York, Ilia Levitine of the Energy and Resources Practice Group in Washington, D.C., and Shelton Vaughan of the Corporate Practice Group in Houston.
"Our associates are the future of Duane Morris and our actions in approving these lawyers for partnership reflects our confidence and commitment to them as well as our confidence and commitment to making Duane Morris a great firm," said Sheldon Bonovitz, Chairman of Duane Morris.
Dana Ash practices in the areas of construction, intellectual property, medical malpractice and other types of commercial litigation. He is a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel. Dana earned his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1997, after graduating from Dartmouth College. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Kathleen Carver Cheney has built her health law practice over the course of more than a decade, representing clients such as nursing homes, senior housing and assisted living facilities, and physician practices in matters of compliance, HIPAA privacy, Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement, and survey and certification. She has experience as both in-house and outside counsel to members of the healthcare industry, and is a member of the Health Law Section of the American Bar Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and Women in Health Management. She is a cum laude graduate of Hartwick College in New York and received her J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1994.
Ilia Levitine practices in the area of energy and resources, representing gas and electric utility companies and other energy industries organizations before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In addition, he has represented clients in transactional matters, including drafting and negotiating natural gas and electricity transportation, and sale and interconnection agreements. Admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and New Jersey, Ilia is a 1995 graduate of Washington & Lee University School of Law and received an M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Prior to that, he graduated from Guilford College in North Carolina.
Stephen Mallozzi has developed his practice in the areas of civil, commercial, employment and class action litigation, white-collar criminal defense and investigations, public accommodations law and healthcare law. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as before the United States Supreme Court and several lower federal district and appeals courts. A 1997 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, he attended college at Pennsylvania State University.
Marianna Schenk concentrates her practice in all aspects of estates and asset planning law, counseling clients on the intricacies of estate planning, including administration of trusts, and charitable foundation creation. She is admitted to practice in Connecticut, Florida, and Pennsylvania, and is a 1996 graduate of Boston University School of Law. Prior to earning her J.D., Marianna graduated from Colgate University.
Sandra Stoneman is a member of the firm's Corporate Practice Group, practicing in the areas of mergers & acquisitions, venture capital financings, business law and finance and securities regulation. After graduating summa cum laude from the State University of New York at Binghamton, she received her J.D. magna cum laude from Temple University School of Law, where she was an Articles Editor for the Temple Law Review.
Alex Sudnik is a member of the firm's Corporate Practice Group in its New York office, and focuses his practice on securities offerings, mergers, stock and asset sales, securitizations, debt restructuring, shareholder rights, and holding company formations. He graduated in 1996 with a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and earned an A.B. from Brown University.
Jonathan Swichar practices in a wide range of litigation areas, including commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense, insurance defense litigation, and healthcare fraud defense and appellate law. He is a member of the American, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia bar associations as well as the Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Prior to earning his J.D. in 1997 from Temple University School of Law, Jonathan graduated from the University of Maryland.
Shelton Vaughan practices corporate law in the firm's Houston office. He has represented clients in matters of securities and capital markets transactions, such as IPOs and public and private offerings of debt and equity. He is also skilled in mergers and acquisitions, securities law compliance and corporate governance, and venture capital and private equity transactions. Shelton graduated with a J.D. in 1994 from the University of Texas School of Law and a Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard University. He is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Houston, as well as of the Georgetown University Institute for Comparative Political and Economic Systems.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP, among the 100 largest law firms in the United States, 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 nation and around the world.