Winston & Strawn Names 19 New Partners

Chicago – December 6, 2022 – Winston & Strawn LLP is pleased to announce that 19 of the firm’s lawyers have been elevated to partner.

These accomplished lawyers represent 11 practice areas and eight offices globally; 53 percent are diverse, including 47 percent women and 16 percent racial/ethnic minorities. The new partners reflect the broad scope of the firm’s capabilities and the varied clients and high-growth industries we serve.

“Our newly elevated partners have demonstrated a longstanding dedication to superior client service and to excellence in their respective areas of practice,” said Winston Chairman Tom Fitzgerald. “The variety of disciplines and locations they represent reflects Winston’s commitment to addressing today’s most pressing legal and business challenges. We are proud of these partners’ record of success, and we look forward to witnessing their continued professional growth and to collaborating with them to meet our clients’ ongoing needs.”

The following lawyers make up this year’s partnership class:

Julie Vern Cesano-Gouffrant (Paris) specializes in health care/life sciences in M&A and private equity. She represents financial and industrial investors and practitioners in connection with structuring, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, dispositions, and debt finance transactions in a sector that is highly regulated to ensure practitioners’ independence while preserving investors’ rights in the patients’ best interest.

Dana Cook-Milligan (San Francisco) concentrates her practice on complex commercial litigation, antitrust, and white collar and internal investigations. She has significant experience in consumer class actions, business-to-business litigation, and California’s Proposition 65. She has also represented various corporations in antitrust litigation in state and federal court and has conducted numerous internal investigations and individual representations in white collar matters.

R. Kader Crawford (Charlotte) focuses his practice on commercial lending, corporate finance, and private equity transactions. He regularly represents bank and non-bank lenders, private equity sponsors, and other public and private companies in connection with a variety of complex financing transactions.

Matthew DalSanto (Chicago) is an attorney and Ph.D. applied economist whose practice is at the intersection of law and economics. As both an attorney and economist, he develops novel and intuitive arguments that further his clients’ objectives on many of their most significant and economically sophisticated matters. 

Kelly Mannion Ellis (Chicago) has significant experience representing clients in business tort litigation across a variety of industries, from financial services and health care to manufacturing. Drawing from her end-to-end civil practice, she is both a trial attorney and a critical motions attorney, coordinating case strategy and writing briefs designed to serve both short-term and long-term business objectives.

Masae Ellis (Dallas) focuses her practice on the acquisition, development, operation, leasing, management, and disposition of real property, including apartment communities, shopping centers, office buildings, and industrial properties. She represents landlords and tenants in office leasing, and she has extensive experience representing lenders and borrowers in acquisition, refinance, and general commercial loan transactions.

Claire Fundakowski (Washington, D.C.) is a patent litigator with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device sector. Claire leverages her experience as a former pharmacist and Federal Circuit clerk to craft effective trial arguments concerning complex scientific issues. She also routinely advises clients on topics ranging from product development to appellate strategy.

Kevin Goldstein (Chicago) focuses his practice on antitrust/competition law and litigation. He regularly provides counsel in all areas of antitrust law, including civil litigation, government investigations, merger reviews, and compliance counseling. Kevin specializes in defending clients in high-stakes, contested matters, including class actions, civil and criminal investigations, FTC and DOJ Second Requests, and other litigation and arbitration.

Jacqueline Hu (New York) represents U.S. and non-U.S. fund sponsors in the structuring, establishment, and operation of private funds with various investment strategies. She also represents institutional investors and family offices with regard to their investments in private funds, as well as asset managers and investment advisers on their regulatory and compliance needs.

Elizabeth Ireland (Charlotte) closely works with her clients, advising them frequently in connection with internal investigations, high-stakes government investigations, regulatory defense, and white collar criminal matters. Though she primarily represents financial services companies, she has defended a wide range of companies in class actions and has successfully won cases at all stages of litigation.

Eric Kaufman (Chicago, New York) concentrates his practice on private equity and mergers and acquisitions. He represents private equity funds, their portfolio companies, independent sponsors, and other private companies in connection with platform and add-on acquisitions, divestitures, and other exit strategies; joint ventures; recapitalizations; minority investments; and general corporate matters.

Maria Kenny (New York) focuses her practice on representing private equity clients and public companies in acquisitions, divestitures, and restructurings within the U.S. and across borders. She has experience structuring management incentive compensation and equity arrangements; negotiating limited liability company, shareholder, and employment agreements; and designing executive compensation and nonqualified plan agreements.

Mary Katherine Kulback (Chicago) specializes in intellectual property, technology, privacy, and data security matters. She advises on intellectual property and technology matters associated with corporate transactions, such as mergers, acquisitions, investments, and other strategic transactions. Mary Katherine also assists her clients in building, commercializing, protecting, and enforcing their intangible assets with IP, technology, and data counseling and commercial contracting.

Brendan Mace (Los Angeles) focuses on mergers and acquisitions and private equity. As an advisor to private equity funds and their portfolio companies, he has counseled clients in M&A transactions and equity investments. He guides clients through each phase of the investment life cycle from initial acquisitions and company management to exit transactions.

Miles McDougal (Dallas) concentrates his practice on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, joint ventures, and corporate governance. He represents public and private companies and private equity firms on domestic and cross-border transactions in connection with acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures, divestitures, and other strategic initiatives.

Kevin Simpson (Los Angeles) is a litigator whose practice encompasses complex commercial disputes and class action lawsuits. Kevin has deep experience defending companies in consumer privacy lawsuits and advising companies on compliance with federal and state privacy laws.

Reid Smith (Chicago) focuses his practice on complex civil litigation and has a broad range of experience in federal, state, and appellate disputes. He has extensive experience managing class action, multidistrict, and other high-stakes commercial litigation. Reid has a track record of obtaining dismissals and favorable judgments and has been a member of several trial teams.

Sean Suber (Chicago) is a trial and appellate lawyer who focuses his practice on complex litigation, class actions, product liability, and mass tort matters. He represents clients in a wide range of industry sectors, with a focus on guiding clients through all phases of litigation in the consumer products, media & entertainment, technology, and health care industries.

Charles Vargo (Chicago) represents public and private clients in a variety of complex business transactions, with a particular emphasis on mergers and acquisitions and private equity.

Winston & Strawn LLP is an international law firm with 16 offices in North America, South America, Asia, and Europe. More information about the firm is available at www.winston.com.