In February, Gordon & Rees welcomed fifteen new attorneys to our Atlanta, Boise, Charleston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Tampa offices. They join us as members of the Commercial Litigation, Construction, Employment Law, Environmental/Toxic Tort, Insurance, Product & General Liability, Professional Liability Defense, and Securities Litigation Practice Groups.
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Brian Booker, Partner |
Brian joins the Phoenix office as a member of the Commercial Litigation, Product & General Liability, Professional Liability Defense, Environmental/Toxic Tort, and Securities Litigation practice groups. Brian's practice includes extensive experience defending product manufacturers in the context of property damage and catastrophic injury/wrongful death, including automotive products, towing/trailers, fire litigation, chemical substance exposure involving both industrial and household products. He also has extensive experience litigating matters involving general business disputes, insurance bad faith, real estate litigation, professional liability including legal malpractice defense, direct sales/multi-level marketing, financial services, manufacturing, and dram shop and general premises liability. He has represented many corporations and individuals in actions involving business torts, including business and personal defamation claims, fraud/misrepresentation, misappropriation of trade secrets/proprietary information, tortious interference and unfair competition. He has also represented financial institutions and consumer financial services companies in wire fraud actions and in FCRA, FDCPA, and state law claims, as well as residential and commercial mortgage brokers in state courts and state regulatory actions. Brian earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and his B.A. from Stanford University.
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Joshua joins the San Diego office as a member of the Commercial Litigation practice group. Prior to joining the firm, Joshua worked at an international civil litigation defense firm where his practice areas included construction defect; breach of contract; premises liability; personal injury; and wrongful death. He has extensive experience in all phases of litigation from point of initiation, the discovery process, and motion practice. Joshua earned his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law and his B.S. from the University of California, Davis.
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Alec Cerqueira, Associate |
Alec joins the Chicago office as a member of the Employment Law and Environmental/Toxic Tort practice groups. Prior to joining the firm, Alec began his career at a Chicago-based law firm where he defended clients in toxic tort and product liability matters. Alec earned his J.D. from Marquette University Law School and his B.A. from American International College.
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Geneva joins the San Francisco office as a member of the Employment Law practice group. She represents employers and individuals facing claims for discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination and retaliation in state and federal court. She also defends employers in wage and hour class actions. Geneva earned her J.D. from the University of California, Davis, School of Law and her B.A. from University of California, San Diego.
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Daniel joins the Seattle office as a member of the Commercial Litigation practice group. Prior to joining the firm, he worked at a large regional firm in Columbus, Ohio and focused on commercial litigation and employment class action matters. His representations included a multi-state big-box retailer, a logistics company, and a regional restaurant chain. Daniel earned his J.D. from American University Washington College of Law and his B.S./B.A. from The Ohio State University.
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Michael joins the Los Angeles office as a member of the Commercial Litigation practice group. He has extensive experience litigating complex business disputes across a variety of industries, including financial services, commercial real estate, healthcare, cannabis, technology, aviation and aerospace, and entertainment. He has also prosecuted and defended clients against fraud, breach of contract, tort, trademark infringement, false advertising, alter ego, racketeering, and breach of fiduciary duty allegations. Michael has managed all phases of litigation at both the state and federal levels. He has first-chaired trials and arbitrations, taken and defended fact and expert witness depositions and successfully briefed countless dispositive and discovery motions. Michael has guided clients through all aspects of the e-discovery process to maximize efficiency and defensibility of their collection efforts and subsequent productions. Michael earned his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School and his B.A. from Boston College.
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Suzanne DeCopain, Associate |
Suzanne joins the Tampa office as a member of the Insurance and Employment Law practice groups. Suzanne earned her J.D. from Florida Coastal School of Law and her B.A. from Florida Gulf Coast University.
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James joins the Atlanta office as a member of the Employment Law practice group. He has experience representing clients in a variety of different employment disputes, including Title VII, Section 1981, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he gained substantial experience providing advice to employers regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Additionally, James has drafted noncompete agreements, advised clients on matters of trade secrets, and created employment policies to help ensure compliance with various federal and state statutes. James earned his J.D. from Emory University School of Law and his B.A. from Columbus State University.
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Samuel joins the San Francisco office as a member of the Employment Law practice group. He defends employers against claims of discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower claims, wage and hour law violations, and state law torts. Samuel earned his J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law and his B.A. from the University of Oregon.
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Michael Hewitt, Associate |
Michael joins the Dallas office as a member of the Commercial Litigation and Construction practice groups. He an experienced litigator, and has handled a broad range of litigation matters in both state and federal courts across Texas. He provides advice and analysis to clients on commercial litigation and construction law issues, pre-litigation strategy and dispute resolution, and litigation. Michael earned his J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and his B.S. from Liberty University.
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Emily joins the Seattle office as a member of the Commercial Litigation practice group. Emily earned her J.D. from the University of Idaho College of Law and her B.B.A. from Boise State University.
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Clay Olson, Partner |
Clay joins the Charleston office as a member of the Construction and Commercial Litigation practice groups. With 20 years of litigation experience on behalf of insurance companies, regional and local businesses, Clay has maintained focus litigating commercial matters pertaining to contractors, retailers, franchisors, franchisees, developers, manufacturers, design professionals, insurance companies, and local businesses large and small. His industry focus has allowed him to litigate matters involving construction defects, premises liability, property damage, bodily injury, and insurance coverage. Clay earned his J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law and his B.A. from Wofford College.
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Katherine Saint Germain, Senior Counsel |
Katherine joins the Seattle office as a member of the Professional Liability Defense practice group. Katherine earned her J.D. from the Seattle University School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Washington .
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James joins the Charleston office as a member of the Construction practice group. His practice focuses on complex construction litigation representing developers, general contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, and suppliers in residential and commercial construction disputes. Prior to joining the firm, James worked with several boutique law firms in Charleston litigating a wide variety of cases in both civil and criminal law, with a specialization in insurance defense and complex construction litigation. His number one priority is to understand his clients’ unique needs and to exceed their expectations. James earned his J.D. from Charleston School of Law and his B.A. from Duquesne University.
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Michael Zumwalt, Associate |
Michael joins the New York office as a member of the Environmental/Toxic Tort practice group. He currently focuses his practice on the defense of toxic tort matters as well as general liability claims involving personal injury. His prior experience includes the representation of plaintiffs and defendants in the personal injury context and he has handled cases through all facets of the litigation process, including jury trial and appeal. Michael earned his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law and his B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.