Jenner & Block Names New Partners

CHICAGO, Jan. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Jenner & Block today announced that it has elected 11 associates to the partnership.  They are Jessica Ring Amunson, Ana R. Bugan, Christopher C. Chiou, Matthew R. Devine, Thomas H. Kim, Andrew J. Olejnik, Alexander Rozenblat, Brian S. Scarbrough, John (Jay) R. Schleppenbach, Joshua M. Segal and Wade A. Thomson.

"Our 2012 class of partners is a dedicated group of talented attorneys who embody the Firm's core values of providing exceptional client service and serving the communities in which we live and practice law," said Jenner & Block Managing Partner Susan C. Levy.  "They represent the future of the Firm and we are very pleased to welcome them to the partnership."

Jessica Ring Amunson (Washington, D.C. office)

Jessica Ring Amunson is a Partner in the Litigation Department.  She is a member of the Appellate and Supreme Court and  Election Law and Redistricting Practices.  In 2004, Ms. Amunson received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where she served as an articles editor of the Harvard Law Review.  She received her B.A. in English, magna cum laude, in 1995 from Georgetown University, where she was Phi Beta Kappa, and an M.A. in English from Georgetown in 1997.  Ms. Amunson clerked for the Honorable Merrick B. Garland of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2005 to 2006.  Ms. Amunson concentrates her practice in appellate and Supreme Court matters and has worked on appeals and petitions for certiorari spanning a range of topics, including First Amendment issues, contract disputes, and administrative law matters.  She has recently argued appeals in cases as varied as statutory interpretation of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury.  Ms. Amunson also focuses on election law and redistricting, and is actively involved in litigating redistricting matters in a number of states.  She was recently featured in a video lecture series for state court judges on "Redistricting Litigation:  What Every Judge Needs to Know."

Ana R. Bugan (Chicago office)

Ana R. Bugan is a Partner in the Litigation Department and a member of the White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice.  Ms. Bugan received her J.D. in 2002 from Harvard Law School, where she served as an executive editor of the Harvard Law Review.  She graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa and with High Honors in Political Science from Kenyon College and earned an A.M. in Political Science from the University of Chicago.  Ms. Bugan served as a law clerk to the Honorable Matthew F. Kennelly, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.  Ms. Bugan focuses her practice on assisting clients with criminal matters in federal and state courts, internal investigations, Congressional inquiries and corporate compliance.  She has extensive experience in False Claims Act litigation and has successfully defended clients in qui tam suits.  Fluent in Spanish, a recent focus has been a large-scale FCPA investigation in Venezuela conducted entirely in Spanish on behalf of a multinational client.

Christopher C. Chiou (Los Angeles office)

Christopher C. Chiou is a Partner in the Litigation Department and the Complex Commercial Litigation Practice.  He is a 2004 graduate of Harvard Law School and a 2001 cum laude graduate of Williams College.  Mr. Chiou focuses on representing clients in complex commercial disputes arising from breach of contract, fraud, and tort issues.  He has also represented individuals and corporations in white collar criminal defense matters, including internal corporate and government investigations involving alleged FCPA violations, insider trading, and environmental crimes relating to the Clean Air Act.  In 2010, Mr. Chiou was named a Southern California Super Lawyers "Rising Star."

Matthew R. Devine (Chicago office)

Matthew R. Devine is a Partner in the Litigation Department and a member of the Complex Commercial Litigation Practice.  In 2004, Mr. Devine graduated cum laude from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he was a member of the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal.   Mr. Devine has successfully defended clients in state and federal courts across the country against allegations of fraud, unfair competition, breach of contract and violations of fiduciary duties.  Mr. Devine has also advised corporate general counsel for Fortune 500 companies on developing state-of-the-art compliance programs and best practices for responding to government inquiries and investigations.  Recent highlights include serving as one of the attorneys representing Firm Chairman Anton R. Valukas in his role as court-appointed examiner in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, which involved investigating the causes of the demise of Lehman and identifying potential causes of action.  In 2010 and 2011, Mr. Devine was named an Illinois Super Lawyers "Rising Star."

Thomas H. Kim (Washington, D.C. office)

Thomas H. Kim is a Partner in the Firm's Litigation Department.  He is a member of the Complex Commercial Litigation Practice.  In 2004, Mr. Kim received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was an Editor for the Virginia Law Review.  Mr. Kim has extensive litigation experience in federal and state courts and arbitration tribunals representing corporations in complex commercial disputes involving primarily breach of contract and business tort claims.  His clients have included some of the largest corporations in the United States.  Recently, Mr. Kim was a key member of a trial team that successfully defended Marriott International, Inc. and Ritz-Carlton LLC against breach of contract claims brought by a hotel owner seeking damages of $145 million. 

Andrew J. Olejnik (Chicago office)

Andrew J. Olejnik is a Partner in the Firm's Bankruptcy, Workout and Corporate Reorganization Practice.  Mr. Olejnik has represented a broad range of clients in bankruptcy-related and non-bankruptcy financial restructuring/workout matters and has provided litigation advice with respect to complex financial instruments, insurance insolvencies, and foreign sovereign immunity issues.  Mr. Olejnik was a member of Jenner & Block's Lehman Brothers Examiner investigatory and drafting team and is a member of the ABA Business Law Section, American Bankruptcy Institute, and the Banking & Financial Services Committee of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR).  Mr. Olejnik has focused on alternative dispute resolution and conflict resolution system design, which he began at Stanford Law School where he obtained his J.D. with distinction in 2004, serving as a legal assistant at the Martin Daniel Gould Center for Conflict Resolution.  From 2008-2010, he extended his ADR experience when he designed, implemented, and managed a dispute resolution program for an international corporation's labor disputes in the United States. 

Alexander Rozenblat (Chicago office)

Alexander Rozenblat is a Partner in the Litigation Department and a member of the Patent Litigation and Counseling Practice.  He received his B.A. from Northwestern University in 2000, double-majoring in biological sciences (concentration in molecular biology) and psychology.  He earned his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in 2003, where he graduated magna cum laude, Dean's Honor List and Order of the Coif.  He is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and was a member of the Firm team that recently secured a victory for Viskase Companies in its Motion for Summary Judgment of Invalidity in a declaratory judgment action against competitor World Pac International USA, regarding a World Pac patent on a food casing product.

Brian S. Scarbrough (Washington, D.C. office)

Brian S. Scarbrough is a Partner in the Litigation Department.  He is a member of the Insurance Litigation and Counseling and Reinsurance Practices.  Mr. Scarbrough received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2004.  He graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University in 2001 with a B.A. in Public Policy Studies.  He has successfully pursued insurance coverage for policyholder clients in litigation and domestic and international arbitration and has counseled policyholder clients extensively regarding structuring and placement of insurance coverage.  Mr. Scarbrough also has significant experience with London Market insurance, including schemes of arrangement under U.K. law.  He serves as a Co-Chair of the Young Lawyers Subcommittee of the Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association.

John (Jay) R. Schleppenbach (Chicago office)

John (Jay) R. Schleppenbach is a Partner in the Litigation Department and a member of the Securities Litigation and International Arbitration Practices.  In 2003, he graduated summa cum laude and Order of the Coif from the University of Illinois College of Law, where he was an Administrative Editor for the Elder Law Journal and on the national moot court team.  From 2003-2005, Mr. Schleppenbach served as a staff clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.  He has extensive experience with complex civil litigation, particularly in the areas of securities litigation and international commercial arbitration and has successfully defended a number of public companies against shareholder class action lawsuits challenging their planned mergers and acquisitions.  He also maintains an active pro bono practice, which has included three Seventh Circuit appeals, the trial of a prisoner's civil rights action, and a successful application for asylum on behalf of a victim of persecution from Cameroon.  He regularly comments on recent developments in arbitration law for the Illinois State Bar Association's alternative dispute resolution newsletter and has also published articles in Securities Law360 and the Dispute Resolution Journal.

Joshua M. Segal (Washington, D.C. office)

Joshua M. Segal is a Partner in the Litigation Department and member of the Appellate and Supreme Court Practice.  Mr. Segal received his J.D. magna cum laude, in 2004 from Harvard Law School.  There, he was Executive Editor Chair of the Harvard Law Review and received the Fay Diploma, awarded for the highest three-year grade point average in the graduating class.  From 2004-2005, Mr. Segal served as a law clerk to the Honorable Merrick B. Garland on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  From 2005-2006, he was a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he was closely involved in a wide variety of matters before the Supreme Court and the federal courts of appeals.  Mr. Segal has been a member of Firm teams handling significant appellate matters relating to areas such as government contracts law, patent law, telecommunications law, and environmental law.  At the trial level, Mr. Segal has been a core member of litigation teams in matters ranging from accounting malpractice to hospitality.  He maintains an active pro bono practice, having represented clients in areas such as disability rights and civil liberties.

Wade A. Thomson (Chicago office)

Wade A. Thomson is a Partner in the Litigation Department.  He is a member of the Complex Commercial Litigation Practice.  Mr. Thomson obtained his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law in 2003, where he graduated magna cum laude and served as assistant editor of the University of Illinois Law Review.  He has litigated numerous complex commercial contract matters in federal and state courts as well as AAA arbitrations.  He devotes a substantial amount of his practice to communications law, defending clients against claims of false advertising, defamation, invasion of privacy and unfair competition.  He also has significant experience with internal and criminal investigations.  Mr. Thomson has been recognized by Illinois Super Lawyers as a "Rising Star" in business litigation.  He is a member of the Firm's pro bono committee and has undertaken a wide range of pro bono representation, for which he was awarded the 2006 Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Pro Bono Award, and named Pro Bono Attorney of the Month by Illinois Legal Aid Online in January 2009. 

SOURCE Jenner & Block