Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce the elevation of 12 new partners and six new of counsel, effective January 1, 2025.
“We are delighted to introduce Blank Rome’s 2025 class of elevations,” said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Rome’s Chair and Managing Partner. “These 18 attorneys have shown extraordinary talent, dedication, and teamwork in their service to our clients, communities, and colleagues. Their contributions have been integral to our firm’s success, and we are excited to see their continued impact in their new roles.”
ASSOCIATES ELECTED PARTNER
D. Morgan Barry – Corporate Litigation • New York
Morgan concentrates her practice on complex corporate and commercial litigation matters. Morgan has a broad range of experience representing clients in disputes involving financial transactions, business torts, real estate, bankruptcy, product liability, white collar, and general contractual matters in state and federal courts. In addition to representing clients in litigation, Morgan advises clients on litigation avoidance strategies.
Jacqueline Combs – Matrimonial • Los Angeles
Jackie is a matrimonial and family law attorney who represents high-net-worth individuals across a broad spectrum of industries including sports and entertainment, corporate, technology, and innovation. Jackie is particularly known for handling celebrity and high-profile cases with discretion. As a former corporate counsel for both private and publicly traded companies, Jackie has advised her clients on a wide range of high-stakes business and legal issues. Since practicing family law exclusively, Jackie has integrated her prior experience as corporate counsel into the intricacies involved in resolving complex family law matters with sophisticated financial circumstances. She handles all facets of family law issues, including high-asset and high-income dissolution matters, paternity, child support, and high-conflict custody cases, as well as negotiating premarital and postnuptial agreements. She is well recognized for her advocacy and settlement-oriented approach.
Ali L. Fishbein – Matrimonial • New York
Ali focuses her practice in the areas of matrimonial and family law and litigation. She represents clients regarding a broad range of matters related to both litigation and mediation, including high-profile custody litigation; property, support, and financial issues; post-judgment enforcement matters; and prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. Ali’s experience includes negotiating complex financial settlements for high-net-worth individuals and litigating custody, domestic violence, and order of protection cases in New York and California state courts.
Tyler W. Mullen – Finance, Restructuring, and Bankruptcy • Philadelphia
Tyler concentrates his practice on commercial finance and restructuring matters, with a particular focus on asset-based lending. Tyler represents a wide range of clients, including banks, commercial finance companies, private equity firms, and other institutional lenders, as well as public and private companies, in areas such as commercial lending; asset-based financing; acquisition financing; debtor-in-possession financing; channel finance; real estate financing; secured transactions; and restructurings, reorganizations, and workouts.
Michael J. Montalbano – Government Contracts • Philadelphia
Michael represents government contractors in a variety of litigation and counseling matters including bid protests before the Government Accountability Office, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; industrial security audits and compliance with the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (“NISPOM”); Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program issues; litigation under the False Claims Act (“FCA”); contract disputes; and compliance issues and internal investigations involving various federal regulatory requirements, such as the mandatory disclosure rule, the NISPOM, small business regulations, the Procurement Integrity Act, the Services Contract Act, the FCA, and gift and gratuity regulations. He also assists government contractors and their investors in evaluating and structuring mergers, acquisitions, investments, and post-closing compliance matters.
Victoria Ortega – Corporate Litigation • Washington, D.C.
Victoria advises, counsels, and defends business clients in high-stakes disputes in and out of the courtroom across the country. In her complex corporate litigation practice, she advocates for clients from a wide array of industries, including restaurants and hospitality, government contracting, and medicines and medical devices, in matters involving employment trade secrets, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, breaches of mergers and acquisitions-related representations and warranties, tortious interference, and more. In her white collar defense practice, Victoria guides companies through government or internal investigations, and is experienced in traditional healthcare regulatory compliance. Victoria also defends companies that have been designated or face penalties under U.S. sanctions law.
Arun V. Paradkar – Intellectual Property Litigation • Washington, D.C.
Arun concentrates his practice on patent litigation, with a focus on software, semiconductors, and biotechnology. He has successfully represented technologically sophisticated clients across multiple federal jurisdictions and before the International Trade Commission. He has experience in authentication, cellular, encoding/rendering, artificial intelligence, and gallium nitride transistor technologies. As a part of his counseling practice, Arun is experienced in advising on software, biotechnical, and electro-mechanical technologies before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in the management of trade secrets and license agreements.
Lamiya N. Rahman – Energy, Environment, and Mass Torts • Washington, D.C.
Lamiya focuses her practice on the federal regulation of the gas, power, and oil industries, as well as related agency and appellate litigation and transactions. She represents clients in matters primarily involving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Department of Energy (“DOE”). Lamiya is regularly involved in administrative litigation before FERC, and represents clients in rate, tariff, and complaint proceedings under the Natural Gas Act, Federal Power Act, and Interstate Commerce Act. She also has experience representing clients in the certification of natural gas facilities, including liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) terminals, by FERC and obtaining related LNG export authorizations from DOE. Lamiya has defended clients in agency enforcement proceedings, compliance assessments and audits, and self-reports.
Adam R. Sansweet – Finance, Restructuring, and Bankruptcy • Philadelphia
Adam concentrates his practice on financial services, commercial lending, and restructuring matters. He represents private equity sponsors, borrowers, banks, financial institutions, and private credit funds in connection with a wide range of transactions, including asset-based and cash-flow debt financing, acquisition and leveraged buy-out financing, secured transactions, restructurings, reorganizations, and workouts.
Naomi Zwillenberg – Corporate Litigation • Philadelphia
Naomi’s practice encompasses a broad spectrum of litigation matters, with a particular focus on general commercial litigation, products liability defense, and white collar investigations. Her experience in these areas has made her a trusted adviser and formidable advocate for both individuals and institutions. Naomi represents clients in business and contract disputes, complex tort matters, criminal prosecutions, and grand jury investigations by federal and state prosecutors involving the False Claims Act (including qui tam), antitrust, public corruption, government contracts, internal corporate compliance investigations, and whistleblower fraud investigations. Naomi is active in the community and has been a consistent recipient of the firm’s pro bono awards. This year, Naomi’s dedication to pro bono work was further recognized when she received the prestigious Edwin P. Rome Pro Bono Achievement Award for her work to secure the release of William Bailey, who was wrongfully convicted and served 36 years in prison.
OF COUNSEL ELECTED PARTNER
Kathryn C. Appling – Real Estate • New York
Kathryn focuses her real estate practice on representing private equity funds, developers, public companies, family offices, and other investors in structuring and negotiating complex joint ventures, acquisitions and dispositions, financings, and restructurings. Kathryn has extensive experience with transactions involving a wide variety of assets, including healthcare real estate, industrial, office and retail properties, shopping centers, multifamily residential properties, and development sites.
Jennifer L. Carrier – Policy and Political Law • Washington, D.C. • Also a BRGR Principal
Jennifer focuses her practice on political law, including state election and voting laws, campaign finance, ethics, and lobbying compliance; as well as on nonprofit formation, compliance, and governance; government investigations; government affairs; and global security. She counsels businesses, 501(c) organizations, associations, political action committees, and others in the areas of campaign finance, ethics, lobbying compliance, state voting and election laws, and pay-to-play. Jen also advises nonprofit organizations regarding formation, corporate governance, obtaining and maintain tax-exempt status, strategic planning and communications, crisis management, and ongoing legal compliance. Jen counsels and represents individuals, corporations, and political organizations in congressional and government investigations and advocates on behalf of clients with Congress, federal agencies, and state and local office holders. Jennifer also devotes a significant part of her practice to pro bono work.
ATTORNEYS ELEVATED TO OF COUNSEL
Cole T. Duncan Ph.D. – Intellectual Property and Technology • Houston
Cole concentrates his intellectual property practice primarily on patent preparation and prosecution, post-grant proceedings, and due diligence for licensing and acquisitions. Cole has represented clients in a variety of technical areas, including pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, nanotechnology and materials science, catalysts, polymers, biomedical devices, oil discovery and recovery tools and methods, chemical and biological species characterization systems and methods, electronics components, metal ore refining, and laminates, coatings, and thin films.
Michael R. Esposito – Financial Institutions Litigation and Regulatory Compliance • Tampa
Michael regularly advises, counsels, and represents clients in relation to various negotiations and complex litigation cases focusing in the areas of commercial disputes, consumer finance, contract law, corporate matters, employment issues, real estate, regulatory inquiries, and class actions. Michael has extensive experience representing clients in all phases of litigation including, but not limited to, alternative dispute resolution, discovery, motion practice, oral argument, and trial, whether in appellate, federal, or state court, as well as arbitration proceedings. He also has extensive experience in defending and prosecuting claims relating to title and lien priority, tax deed sales, code enforcement, zoning, eminent domain, and disputes arising under Florida’s Landlord and Tenant Act.
Emma C. Jones – Maritime • Washington, D.C.
Emma focuses her practice on domestic and international maritime matters for clients worldwide, both advising clients on regulatory compliance and representing clients in litigation and arbitration. Emma’s regulatory practice involves compliance counseling, Jones Act and coastwise trade matters, and providing U.S. sanctions and international trade advice. Emma’s litigation and alternative dispute resolution practice includes maritime casualty response and litigation, international and domestic commercial and maritime arbitration, maritime attachment and vessel arrest actions, and recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitration awards and judgements.
Andrew M. Logan – Tax, Benefits, and Private Client • Philadelphia
Andrew concentrates his practice in the areas of trusts and estates law and tax-exempt organizations. Andrew’s trusts and estates practice is focused on assisting high-net-worth individuals and their families with implementing sophisticated estate and income tax planning techniques involving life insurance, multigenerational wealth transfers, succession planning, and charitable giving. His tax-exempt organizations practice is focused on assisting nonprofit entities in business structuring, applying for and obtaining tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service, complying with state and federal tax laws, avoiding excise taxes and unrelated business income tax, and structuring joint ventures.
Mark F. Mashack – Intellectual Property and Technology • Washington, D.C.
Mark concentrates his practice on patent diligence and procurement to assist clients in navigating complex legal issues and optimizing patent portfolios. Mark applies significant experience to high-profile mergers and acquisitions in counseling clients on freedom-to-operate, patent strength, and contract issues. He also contributes to key in-house product development by formulating strategies to avoid third-party patents and providing creative solutions in patent prosecution to obtain strong domestic and foreign patent assets. He counsels companies in a range of industries, including medical devices, drug injectors, robotics, manufacturing, computer networking, and data processing.
Allison Zamani – Insurance Recovery • Los Angeles
Allison concentrates her practice on insurance recovery litigation, with a focus on occurrence-reported excess liability policies. In addition, Allison has experience litigating claims under multiple types of coverage, including errors and omissions and professional liability policies, directors’ and officers’ liability policies, comprehensive general liability policies, and first-party property policies. She also counsels clients on their coverage portfolios to ensure they are adequately protected and advises on what steps to take should a claim arise. Allison has represented policyholders through all stages of litigation and alternative dispute resolution, from pre-litigation investigation and counseling through trial and arbitration, both domestic and international. Allison has further experience in class action defense and employment litigation matters.
