PHILADELPHIA, January 5, 2010—Duane Morris LLP is pleased to announce that it has named six associates in four practice groups to the firm partnership. These newly named partners are located in six of the firm's offices.
The firm's newly promoted partners are as follows:
- Trial Practice Group: Christina Marshall in San Francisco and Rachael Pontikes in Chicago.
- Intellectual Property Practice Group: Nicole McLaughlin in Philadelphia.
- Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group: William Heuer in New York and Christopher Winter in Wilmington.
- Energy, Environment and Resources Practice Group: Daniel Malabonga in Washington, D.C.
William Heuer practices in the area of business and financial restructuring, bankruptcy law and creditors' rights litigation. He has been involved in a number of landmark bankruptcy cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. A member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the American Bar Association, Heuer has authored numerous articles on bankruptcy law, and is an adjunct professor of law in the LL.M. program in bankruptcy at the St. John's University School of Law. He also devotes substantial time to pro bono matters, including matters before the U.S. Supreme Court, and has earned recognition by the New York State Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York for his efforts. Heuer is a graduate of St. John's University School of Law, where he was articles editor of the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review, and he is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Daniel Malabonga practices primarily in the area of energy law, particularly on matters under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and state regulatory agencies. He has worked on a wide variety of transmission and energy market issues. Malabonga also has experience in international arbitration and litigation, having assisted in proceedings before the International Chamber of Commerce, the World Trade Organization, and the International Court of Justice. He is a graduate of the University of the Philippines (A.B., cum laude; LL.B., ,i>cum laude).
Nicole McLaughlin practices in the area of intellectual property law, with a particular emphasis on trademarks, copyrights, licensing, and Internet and computer law. McLaughlin's experience includes managing large domestic and foreign trademark portfolios; prosecuting and defending trademark infringement matters; and drafting, negotiating, implementing and providing legal advice regarding website media and content licensing agreements. She regularly counsels clients on all facets of domestic and international trademark portfolio management, including advising and assisting clients with clearance, registration, development, protection and enforcement of brands on a worldwide basis. McLaughlin is a graduate of Rutgers University School of Law-Camden, with honors, and a graduate of Purdue University.
Christina Marshall practices in the area of litigation with a concentration on complex civil cases. Marshall has tried cases involving products liability, professional liability, unfair competition, breach of contract and insurance coverage issues. In addition to her trial work, Marshall practices in the area of complex insurance coverage litigation, representing insurers in a wide range of insurance disputes. Marshall is a graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law and a cum laude graduate of Santa Clara University. During law school, Marshall served as a judicial extern for Justice Joyce L. Kennard of the California Supreme Court.
Rachael Pontikes practices in multiple areas of commercial litigation nationwide, including administrative law, general contract and tort disputes, consumer litigation, banking litigation, immigration and white-collar criminal law. Pontikes represents clients in the healthcare, financial services and education sectors. In addition, she represents a broad range of financial institutions in the securities, futures and derivatives markets in federal trial and appellate courts as well as in customer and broker disputes before the National Association of Securities Dealers. Pontikes also represents compounding pharmacies in major disputes against the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration in state and federal court and agency administration proceedings throughout the United States. She is a 2001 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and an honors graduate of Wesleyan University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Christopher Winter practices in the areas of bankruptcy, business reorganization, commercial finance and venture capital finance. He represents debtors, creditors' committees and secured and unsecured creditors in chapters 11 and 7 business bankruptcies, and has represented trustees and defendants in bankruptcy and related litigation in the state and federal courts of Delaware. Winter also represents borrowers, lenders and investors in a variety of financing transactions, including secured and asset-based credit facilities and venture capital financings. He routinely issues nonconsolidation opinions and opinions under Delaware law. Winter is an active member of the Commercial Law Section of the Delaware Bar Association, the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association and the American Bankruptcy Institute. He is an honors graduate of Rutgers School of Law-Camden and earned a B.A. from Rutgers University.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP, a full-service law firm with more than 700 attorneys in 24 offices in the United States and internationally, offers innovative solutions to the legal and business challenges presented by today's evolving global markets.