After earning my Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 1997, I worked as an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York City, where I assisted clients in mergers & acquisitions of all sizes, securities offerings, and a wide range of corporate matters. After the birth of our first child, I relocated to my wife’s hometown, Pittsburgh, where I worked first as an associate and then as a partner at K&L Gates. My practice focused on mergers & acquisitions and other corporate transactions. I joined the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2015 as Executive Director of their Center for International Legal Education, before returning to practice in 2019.
Matters in which I have assisted my clients with over the past two decades include:
- Numerous acquisitions and dispositions by investment advisory firms, as well as “lift outs” of management teams, mutual fund adoptions, and strategic alliances
- Representing an oil & gas developer in negotiating business terms of joint venture financing for acquisition and development of additional Marcellus Shale sites
- The auction and sale of a publicly-traded engineering company to a private equity firm
- The restructuring of a joint venture between a US industrial company and its Chinese partners
- Assisting a local start-up company with an investment from, and strategic partnership with, a multinational pharmaceutical firm
- Corporate and joint venture issues for a real estate company developing a project in South Asia
- Rationalizing the entity structure for a family business’s partnerships and limited liability companies
- Analyzing the corporate and transactional history of companies for use by litigation attorneys in ongoing and threatened lawsuits and disputes
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF LAW, Pittsburgh, PA 2015-2019
Executive Director, Center for International Legal Education
Adjunct Professor of Law
Oversee all aspects of Pitt Law’s LL.M. and S.J.D. programs for foreign law graduates:
- Market degree programs to prospective students, including international travel to recruitment fairs; production of webinars and videos; management of social media channels; and individual follow-up to convert contacts into matriculations
- Evaluate applications and make admissions decisions in collaboration with faculty director
- Advise LL.M. students on course selection and other matters
- Teach introductory course and colloquium on U.S. law and legal practice
- Coach LL.M. teams participating in annual investment arbitration moot
Design and teach classes in U.S. law for a new summer program developed in conjunction with Pitt’s English Language Institute
Coordinate programs for J.D. students, including advising on international internships, study abroad, and the International and Comparative Law Certificate program
Plan and execute events that range from informational programs for students to major talks and conferences on international legal topics for the local and national legal communities
Negotiate memorandums of understanding and exchange agreements with foreign law schools and faculties of law
Administer a mid-six figure budget, including responsibility for compliance with university financial policies and collaboration with School and central University finance personnel
K&L GATES LLP, Pittsburgh, PA 2000-2015
Partner, 2005 to 2015
Led the negotiation, documentation and management to successful closing of complex M&A transactions, joint ventures, alliances, equity investments, and other strategic transactions with values ranging from $1M to $500M
Managed deal teams of subject-matter experts, junior attorneys, and support staff from firm offices across the U.S., Europe and Asia as well as local counsel in foreign jurisdictions
Counseled directors, executives, and in-house attorneys for both public and private clients on transaction issues, corporate law and governance issues, and a wide range of other business law matters
Represented clients from a wide range of industries, including steel, fiberglass and other industrial manufacturers, engineering services companies, investment advisors, broker-dealers, other financial services providers, software development and distribution companies, and software services providers
Contributed to firm development and administration, including participation in RFP responses and client pitches, delivery of multiple CLE and associate training presentations, and reviewing audit response letters and interpreting and revising related firm policies as a member of the firm’s audit response committee
Associate, 2000 to 2005
Participated in the negotiation, documentation and completion of M&A transactions, private equity and venture capital investments, tender offers, joint ventures, and equity and debt securities offerings, with steadily increasing levels of responsibility and independence
DEBEVOISE & PLIMPTON, New York, NY 1997-2000
Associate, 1997 to 2000 (Summer Associate 1996)
Participated in the negotiation, documentation and completion of M&A transactions, public securities offerings, tender offer defense, project financings, and other corporate transactions
1998 New York
2000 Pennsylvania
J.D., Yale Law School, New Haven, CT, 1997
Ph.D., Princeton University, Department of History, Princeton, NJ, 1990
IREX / Fulbright-Hays scholar, Moscow and Leningrad, 1987-88
B.A., University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 1984
