Vorys Elevates Eight Attorneys to Partner
Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP is pleased to announce that Blake Beachler, Jennifer Dunsizer, Angela Gibson, Rick Grady, Jonathan Ishee, Paul Kerlin, Natalia Steele and Elizabeth Weinewuth have been named partners of the firm. Information on the new partners is listed below by office.
Columbus:
Jennifer Dunsizer is a member of the labor and employment group. Her practice focuses on employee benefits and executive compensation plans. As former managing corporate counsel for a large, publicly traded employer, Dunsizer has extensive experience in retirement plans, deferred compensation, insurance benefits, short- and long-term cash and equity-based incentive plans, early retirement programs, public company disclosure obligations and merger and acquisition activity.
Rick Grady is a member of the litigation group. He advises owners, developers, contractors, and design professionals throughout the course of public and private projects, including contract drafting, project administration, and litigation/arbitration. Grady’s practice includes drafting and negotiating manuscript agreements, as well as customizing industry forms. He also advises clients on risk management, insurance claims, and change order matters during the course of projects. For disputed matters, Grady represents clients in litigation and arbitrations involving breach of contract claims, liens, delays, differing site conditions, scope of work disputes, professional errors and omissions and licensing issues.
Cincinnati:
Angela Gibson is a member of the labor and employment group. She is engaged in counseling of employers on their employment practices (employment policies, discipline and termination, employment contracts, medical leaves and other benefits). Gibson represents employers in administrative proceedings and in litigation at the local and national level. She has represented employers in claims of discrimination and harassment, breach of employment contract, and has assisted them with preparing severance agreements.
Elizabeth Weinewuth is a member of the litigation group. She has specific trial experience in the area of probate litigation. Weinewuth represents corporate and individual trustees and related parties, guardians and other individuals in all manner of litigation involving wills, trusts, powers of attorney and Ohio Trust Code interpretation. She also has an active employment litigation and commercial litigation practice, where she represents clients in both state and federal courts.
Cleveland:
Blake Beachler is a member of the corporate group. He counsels underwriters, counties, cities, port authorities, health care providers, and other political subdivisions on tax-exempt and taxable financings and has assisted municipal bond broker/dealers in NASD/FINRA compliance actions. Beachler also advises clients on business formation and entity selection, corporate governance, securities, and mergers and acquisitions, and general business matters. In addition, Beachler frequently negotiates and prepares corporate and commercial agreements.
Natalia Steele is a member of the litigation group, where her practice is focused on civil business litigation. She has represented clients in a wide range of complex commercial matters, including in the areas of M&A shareholder derivative litigation, patent infringement, commercial contract disputes, business torts, consumer lending and lender liability, employee departures, insurance-related disputes, franchise litigation, False Claims Act, ERISA and employee benefits, directors’ and officers’ liability, construction and products liability. Steele’s clients have included health care providers, manufacturing and technology companies, insurers and reinsurers, financial institutions, local government entities, retailers, and directors and officers of public and private corporations.
Houston:
Jonathan Ishee is a member of the health care group. He has significant experience with health care laws including HIPAA, EU privacy directives, managed care contracting, CMS and state insurance licensing, health information technology (HIT), health information exchanges and fraud and abuse issues, including Stark, Anti-kickback laws and the False Claims Act. Ishee also has experience with counseling clients on the creation of health care joint ventures and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). His experience includes serving as the general counsel to physician groups and with the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Paul Kerlin is a member of the litigation group. His practice focuses on commercial litigation and mass torts and he has worked on matters ranging from claims for mesothelioma, asbestosis, and benzene and other chemical exposures to breach of contract and commercial and residential lending liability in state and federal court. Kerlin has also represented individuals, manufacturers, construction contractors and engineers in commercial disputes including business disparagement and defamation actions and personal injury matters.
About Vorys: Vorys was established in 1909 and has grown to be one of the largest Ohio-based law firms with nearly 375 attorneys in seven offices in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Akron, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Houston, Texas; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Vorys currently ranks as one of the 200 largest law firms in the United States according to American Lawyer magazine.
