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Presenters
Thomas Wardell – Founder of ALDC, Past President of ALDC, Partner, McKenna Long Aldridge LLP
Tom Wardell serves as Co-Chair of the Corporate Department and focuses on corporate counseling, corporate finance and securities, acquisitions and dispositions, and corporate reorganizations and restructurings. He represents public and private companies, and he also counsels companies on compliance and governance matters, including investigations both internal and with regulatory significance.
While residing in Boston, Tom was an adjunct professor at Boston University School of Management and a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School. He also spoke at other law and business schools conducting courses in investment banking, commercial transactions and public finance. Tom was president and CEO of Versyss from 1988 to 1993. Versyss was a provider of computer systems for small business applications. It was the largest provider in the U.S. for the physician practice and credit union industries and one of the top three providers for the construction and building supply industry.
Tom was involved with the financial restructuring of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Penn Central Railroad Company.
Atlanta Magazine has recognized Tom as a “Georgia Super Lawyer” in 2004 and 2006 for his advisory services to publicly held companies. Full Story
Sam Matchett, Past President, ALDC, Partner King & Spalding LLP
Sam Matchett is a partner on King & Spalding’s Atlanta Labor & Employment Practice Group. He concentrates his practice on employment relationship matters, with an emphasis in labor and employment law litigation in both state and federal courts, governmental agencies (OFCCP), and arbitration tribunals. Mr. Matchett routinely defends employers in litigation involving the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1964 (Title VII), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and employment-related state law claims. Mr. Matchett's practice entails extensive experience in employment discrimination. In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Matchett provides general client advice on the avoidance of employee-related problems and presents seminars concerning all aspects of employment law. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and several appellate courts. Full Story
Joseph Blanco, Partner, McKenna Long Aldridge
Practices: Corporate
Industries: Aerospace and Defense, Construction and Engineering.
Experience:
Joseph O. Blanco focuses on general corporate counseling with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions. In addition to mergers and acquisitions, Blanco's experience includes working with clients to structure and implement strategic alliance relationships; representing investors in making and monitoring private equity investments; assisting special committees of boards of directors in conducting special reviews and investigations; and advising clients regarding federal and governmental programs and regulations.
Atlanta Magazine recognized Blanco on their 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009 lists of Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Stars.
Prior to joining McKenna Long & Aldridge, Blanco clerked for the Honorable Frank M. Hull of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. During law school, Blanco served as Editor-in-Chief of the Emory Law Journal and was elected to membership in the Order of the Coif. Before law school, Blanco served as a naval officer aboard the USS Nicholson and on the staff of the Commander of Destroyer Squadron Four. During college, Blanco served in numerous leadership positions, including Student Body President of the University of Notre Dame. Full Story
Angela Payne James, Partner, Alston & Bird LLP, ALDC Presenter and Mentor
Ms. James joined the ALDC Board in February of 2009. On March 18th, Ms. James co-taught our STAR Lawyer Program, "Guideposts: The Keys To Success. Angela Payne James is a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group. She focuses her practice on patent, trademark, trade secret, and copyright litigation as well as other complex commercial litigation.
Ms. James has extensive experience in federal and state court at both the trial and appellate levels. She has litigated matters on behalf of a variety of clients in the medical technology, computer software, advertising, chemical agriculture, telecommunications, advertising, retail, media, and entertainment industries on a nationwide basis.
Ms. James represented a medical technology startup in a fraud/deceptive trade practices jury trial in federal court in North Carolina and won a judgment of $318 million. On appeal, the case settled for $180 million.
Ms. James also has extensive experience counseling clients on intellectual property compliance and enforcement matters, including web site and domain name disputes. Full Story
Robin H. Sangston Vice President, Legal Affairs Cox Communications, Inc., ALDC Presenter, Mentor
The ALDC welcomed Ms. Sangston to our Board in March, 2009. We appreciate her role in teaching better feedback skills in a dynamic session at King & Spalding LLP this Spring. She joined Cox Communications in 1995 as its fourth attorney. She was promoted to Senior Counsel in 1998. In 2000, she was promoted to Vice President and Assistant General Counsel. Currently, she oversees all of the operations of the Legal Affairs Department. Prior to joining Cox Communications, Sangston was an associate with the law firm of Dow, Lohnes in the Washington, D.C. office. There, she specialized in litigation involving media companies. Ms.Sangston received her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania where she was a member of the Mortar Board Honor Society. She received her J.D., with high honors, from George Washington University’s National Law Center. She was selected to be a member of the George Washington Law Review and Order of the Coif. In 2004, Sangston served as the national Chair of Women in Cable & Telecommunications, Inc. (“WICT”), a nearly 10,000 member non-profit organization whose mission is to develop women leaders in the cable television industry. Prior to serving as Chair, she held numerous other leadership positions in the organization, including President of the Atlanta Chapter in 1999. In addition, Ms. Sangston is an alumna of Class 8 of the Betsy Magness Leadership Institute, WICT’s flagship executive development program. Full Story
Jill Harrison, Member, Dow Lownes PLLC
Jill Harrison serves as the ALDC Vice President, and has served as a STAR Lawyer Presenter on improving communication skills for two years. Ms. Harrison joined Dow Lohnes's Atlanta Litigation practice in 1995. Her practice includes extensive counseling and advice to employers nationwide on all aspects of the employment relationship, including avoidance and defense of discrimination claims, compliance with disability and medical leave laws, sexual harassment training for supervisors, employee discipline and termination, employment and consulting agreements including restrictive covenants, severance and release agreements, personnel policy design and implementation, union avoidance strategy, and collective bargaining. Ms. Harrison regularly represents employers in state and federal courts throughout the country in actions alleging discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, emotional distress and other employment-related claims. She also has experience in union representation elections and unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board and in grievance arbitrations under collective bargaining agreements. Full Story
Brent Wilson, Partner, Elarbee Thompson LLP. ALDC Presenter and Mentor
Brent L. Wilson:
bwilson@elarbeethompson.com.
(404) 582-8427.
Practice Areas:
Labor Relations
Labor & Employment Litigation
Employer Counseling, Training & Litigation Prevention
Employment Litigation. Educational Institutions:
Communications/Media/Technology Providers
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Education
J.D., University of Georgia; State University of New York at Buffalo, 1976
B.A., cum laude, Morehouse College, 1973.
Admitted to Practice
Georgia
Louisiana.
Profile:
Brent devotes a significant portion of his practice to defending employers in employment-related litigation and representing employers in traditional labor matters including unfair labor practice proceedings, representation cases, arbitration and collective bargaining. He is also focused on proactively counseling employers regarding day-to-day employment decisions to avoid litigation. He works with a variety of employers nationwide, including communications companies, service providers, educational institutions, non-profit groups, public entities and manufacturing operations. Full Story
Amy Fouts, ALDC Mentor, Associate, McKenna Long Aldridge LLP
Amy Fouts is an associate in McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP’s health care group. Her practice focuses on a variety of litigation, regulatory and compliance issues. She advises clients on many aspects of health care law, with a particular emphasis on fraud and abuse, corporate compliance, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, false claims and other government investigation issues, and defense of allegations of False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback, and Stark Law violations.
Amy’s practice focuses on Medicare and Medicaid coverage, reimbursement and coding issues involving physicians, hospitals and other health care providers. Amy has significant experience with Medicare, Medicaid, and third party payor overpayment and recoupment appeals. Further, she deals extensively with the creation and implementation of corporate compliance programs and compliance training. Representative engagements include the development and review of corporate compliance program and policies, including review of HIPAA Privacy and Security compliance program.
Amy has published a variety of articles relating to billing and reimbursement and fraud and abuse matters. She has also presented at several educational programs and professional conferences on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, billing and coding documentation issues and fraud and abuse matters. Full Story
Karen D. Fultz, ALDC Treasurer, Partner, Cozen O'Connor LLP. ALDC Presenter
Karen D. Fultz joined the firm's Atlanta office in July, 2002 and practices with the Insurance Litigation Group. Karen focuses her practice on subrogation and recovery. Prior to joining Cozen O'Connor, Karen was an associate with Lackland and Associates in Atlanta. She also served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Denise Page Hood of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Full Story
Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, President, ALDC, Partner, Sutherland LLP
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Allegra is co-chair of the firm’s complex business litigation group. Her practice includes commercial litigation and labor and employment law. She has represented companies throughout the United States and abroad in numerous trials and other forums.
Allegra has litigated cases in federal and state courts for primarily Fortune 100 companies from California to New York and has extensive experience negotiating complex settlements and finding creative solutions. She is regularly quoted in the media as a leading practitioner in her field. Georgia Trend magazine recognized Allegra as one of “40 Under 40” Rising Stars in Georgia in 2003, and the magazine has also repeatedly named her in the Georgia Trend “Legal Elite.” She was featured on the cover of the 2006 “Legal Elite” edition. The Fulton County Daily Report featured Allegra in its annual “On the Rise” issue in August 2004. In 2005, Atlanta Woman named her one of “Atlanta’s 25 Power Women to Watch.”
Atlanta Magazine has also repeatedly named her a “Georgia Super Lawyer,” as well as regularly recognized her in its “Top 50 Female Georgia Super Lawyers.”
Full Story
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Presenters - Sidebar
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALLEGRA LAWRENCE-HARDY, Recipient of the 2008 State Bar of Georgia Commitment to Equality Awards.
CONGRATULATIONS TO SAM MATCHETTT AND AASIA MUSTAKEEM, Recipients of the 2010 State Bar of Georgia Commitment to Equality Awards.
CONGRATULATIONS TO TOM WARDELL. A recipient of the 2009 State Bar of Georgia Commitment to Equality Awards.
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