Alumni Newsletter

Moore & Van Allen PLLC (MVA) is pleased to announce that the firm has been shortlisted for Managing IP’s 2024 Americas Awards as a “Firm of the Year” for patent prosecution in the southern United States. Award winners will be revealed at a gala dinner in New York City on April 25.

MVA Co-head of Litigation and Co-head White Collar, Regulatory Defense & Investigations JOHN FAGG named to Law360's 2024 North Carolina Editorial Advisory Board. Law360 is the leading primary source of legal news based on award winning journalism in the U.S. and internationally. The editorial advisory boards provide feedback on Law360's coverage and expert insight on how best to shape future coverage.

MVA Litigation Members JIM MCLOUGHLIN and FIELDING HUSETH and Litigation Associate CATHERINE PRATER co-authored an article published in the University of Southern California Review of Law & Social Justice (Volume 33, Issue 1) titled, “Challenging Prosecutorial Use of a Pretrial Detainee’s Electronic Communications.”

MVA Co-head of Farm Credit Lending Meredith Reedy was profiled by CBJ for the “Women in Business Awards: Winners talk big wins, hard lessons and more” article published March 15. Every year since 1997, the Charlotte Business Journal has recognized outstanding women who are creating an impact in the region through their work in the public and private sectors.

MVA Tanisha Palvia serves on the NC Leadership Team for the Women's White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA), as well as on the Thought Leadership Committee for the national organization. WWCDA held their annual attorney meeting and leadership retreat last week in San Francisco, celebrating WWCDA’s 25th year of supporting women in the practice. Every year WWCDA holds an Annual Attorney Meeting for its members, in conjunction with the ABA’s White Collar Crime Institute. 

MVA was proud to sponsor the Diversity Moot Court at the ABA Forum on Communications Law’s Annual Meeting in Santa Barbara. MVA Public Affairs and Media Counsel LESLIE PEDERNALES served as a judge for the semi-final competition. All of the participants did a fantastic job of arguing first amendment issues in a changing media landscape.

MVA Co-head of Civil Rights & Racial Equity Assessments VALECIA MCDOWELL and JOSH LANNING, and Associate ELENA MITCHELL explain why a recent Supreme Court denial supports race-neutral diversity efforts in private companies and organizations, as well as in academia in the Bloomberg Law  article titled, “Supreme Court Denial in Virginia School Case Is a Diversity Win” which was published on March 6.

MVA is pleased to announce that Member EDWARD P. O’KEEFE, who co-leads the firm’s FINANCIAL REGULATORY ADVICE & RESPONSE practice, was selected for the North Carolina Lawyers Weekly LEADERS IN THE LAW CLASS OF 2024.

MVA Litigation Member FIELDING HUSETH co-led a recent webinar hosted by the ARIAS•U.S. Law Committee entitled, "Legal Update: A Discussion of Significant Insurance and Reinsurance Cases from 2022 and 2023."  Fielding and Litigation Associates RAQUEL MACGREGOR PEARKES and  ALLI DAVIDSON prepared the presentation for the webinar.  Fielding is an active member of ARIAS-U.S., which is an organization dedicated to improving the insurance and reinsurance arbitration process.

MVA Member SARAH BYRNE was featured in the Mecklenburg County Bar News article titled, “Financial Literacy as a Tool for Trafficking Survivor Recovery,” which was published in the March/April 2024 issue. The article discusses MVA’s efforts to support human trafficking victims beyond traditional legal services and the firm’s newly developed financial literacy online tool for survivors.

Following the theme of Black History Month 2024, “African Americans and the Arts,” MVA’s Black Attorney Resource Group (BARG) culminated the month of February by hosting a networking dinner at the Harvey B. Gantt Center.

MVA Head of Employment & Labor WOOD LAY served as a guest speaker for the North Carolina Bar Association CLE titled, “2024 Fundamentals of Employment Law,” which took place on February 28.

MVA Head of Derivatives ED IVEY and Litigation Counsel LAURA TRUESDALE presented at the NC Bar Association Hot Topics in Real Estate CLE on February 16. Additionally, MVA Commercial Real Estate Member HOLLY BANNERMAN and Associate ASHLEY ZIFF  served as planning hosts for this CLE. 

MVA Employment & Labor Associate KYLE JACOB was awarded the firm’s Quarterly Pro Bono Award for his participation with Charlotte Legal Initiative to Mobilize Businesses (CLIMB). Kyle has been a frequent volunteer for CLIMB, delivering several presentations to cohorts of under-resourced entrepreneurs via a collaboration between CLIMB and The Boost Pad, a small business incubator.

MVA was ranked within the 2023 Leopard Law Firm Index ("LLFI") top 200 law firms by legal intelligence provider Leopard Solutions. The top 200 law firms consistently performed well in the Leopard Law Firm Index throughout 2023, resulting in this top-ranking achievement. The Index objectively ranks the overall growth and stability of law firms using hard data.

MVA has again been ranked as a top legal adviser on syndicated loans. The firm's Finance team ranked in the top tier of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) / Loan Pricing Corporation (LPC) 2023 U.S. Law Firm League Tables for representing Lead Arrangers on syndicated loan transactions.

MVA Head of Environmental Mary Katherine Stukes interviewed the NC Director of the Division of Water Resources, Richard Rogers during a panel titled, “The State of Water: NC DEQ Division Director Discussion” at the Environmental Compliance Conference hosted by the North Carolina Chamber which was held on January 31. 

MVA Head of Environmental MARY KATHERINE STUKES served as a guest lecturer for UNC Law’s Environmental Law Practice course on January 30. During the lecture, she presented a wetlands case study and provided perspective on in-house and outside counsel client counseling practices and ethical challenges.

MVA’s client, Main Post Partners, a leading private equity investment firm with deep experience partnering with multi-location consumer service platforms, made a strategic growth investment in of the largest franchisee operators within Neighborly®, Highland Arms Enterprises.

MVA Litigation Member BILL BUTLER’s article titled, “Directors and executives take note: Delaware court voids Elon Musk's $55B Tesla pay package,” was published by Reuters and Westlaw Today on February 8. The article discusses the Delaware Court of Chancery’s decision in the Tornetta v. Musk case.

MVA Corporate Member SCOTT SYFERT was recently elected as president of the BRITISH-AMERICAN BUSINESS COUNCIL (BABC) – CAROLINA CHAPTER. BABC works to foster UK-US business relationships through unique networking opportunities, access to key resources and global connections. 

MVA was highlighted in the Charlotte Business Journal article titled, “How Moore & Van Allen, McGuireWoods and other Charlotte law firms are using AI to boost efficiency,” which was published on February 2. The article discusses the firm’s growth and how MVA utilizes artificial intelligence.

MVA Litigation Member TANISHA PALVIA served as a moderator for the 2024 NCBA Antitrust & Complex Business Dispute CLE Program entitled “When the Plaintiff is the Federal Government” which was held February 1. 

MVA Transportation, Logistics & Infrastructure Member TONY LATHROP appeared on the ABA Forum on Construction Law’s “Construction Law Today” Podcast, Episode 35: Autonomous Vehicles in Construction.

MVA is pleased to announce that Financial Services Member MEREDITH FRENCH REEDY was selected for the Charlotte Business Journal’s 2024 WOMEN IN BUSINESS AWARDS program.

MVA Member SARAH BYRNE was recognized by the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission during a press conference hosted by Moore & Van Allen on January 23. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings, District Attorney Spencer Merriweather, and anti-trafficking leaders discussed the fight against human trafficking in honor of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

MVA was featured in the CBJ article, “Charlotte law firm Moore & Van Allen expands leadership ranks ahead of key retirement” which was published on February 1.  

MVA Chief Operating Officer ELIZABETH SATTERFIELD and MVA Chief Financial Officer STEVEN PERKINS were highlighted in the Daily Report article titled, “Southeast Law Firm Creates 2 New C-Suite Roles As Firm Charts Growth,” which was published on January 30. 

MVA Financial Services Associate TEALA VOLKAMER‘s article titled, “Marketing the Amateur Athlete: Why Olympic Rule 40 Restrictions are Unreasonable for NCAA Name, Image, and Likeness Guidelines” was published by Wake Forest Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law on January 25.

Law360 published an article titled, “Moore & Van Allen Adds Proskauer Leader As First COO,” on January 26 highlighting MVA Chief Operating Officer ELIZABETH SATTERFIELD’s move to the firm as MVA’s first COO.

MVA Member SARAH BYRNE co-authored an American Banker BankThink column titled, “Modern slavery survivors need support from more financial institutions,” which was published on January 22.

MVA Litigation Member TANISHA PALVIA served as moderator for a panel of federal magistrate judges at the 2024 NCBA Criminal Justice Section Annual Program (titled: A 360° VIEW OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE) held on January 19.

MVA Co-head of Trademark MICHELE GLESSNER co-authored the article titled, “Digital Fashion and Trademarks: The Protection of Self-Expression in the Metaverse,” which was published by the International Trademark Association (INTA) on January 17.

MVA Intellectual Property Senior Counsel ANUP IYER’s article titled, “Navigating data challenges and compliance in AI initiatives” was published by REUTERS and WESTLAW TODAY on January 19.

MVA is pleased to announce that Member VALECIA M. MCDOWELL was selected for the 2024 Lawdragon 500 LEADING LAWYERS IN AMERICA guide, Lawdragon’s longest running list.

MVA Financial Services Member BRETT MOSKOWITZ’s move to the firm was featured by Law360 in the article, “Entertainment Finance Pro Jumps To Moore & Van Allen” published on January 16.

MVA is pleased to announce that the firm has elevated Privacy & Data Security Member SUZANNE GAINEY to co-lead the firm’s PRIVACY & DATA SECURITY team along with veteran Privacy & Data Security Member KARIN MCGINNIS. Suzanne will fill the position previously held by TODD TAYLOR.

MVA White Collar, Regulatory Defense and Investigations Members VALECIA MCDOWELL and TANISHA PALVIA taught the Internal Investigations course during the winter session for Duke Law.

MVA Director of Public Affairs BRADFORD SNEEDEN was one of six industry leaders that joined Chris Roush, executive editor at Business North Carolina, for a conversation to discuss what their industries, and the state in general, needs to accomplish in 2024 in the Business North Carolina January 2024 Round Table. 

MVA is pleased to announce that the following 15 attorneys have been elected as the firm’s newest members: HOLLY S. BANNERMAN, WILLIAM “BILL” M. BUTLER, SARAH DOHONEY BYRNE, NATALIE S. HILMANDOLAR, FIELDING E. HUSETH, S. ALAN LANIER, JR., DANIEL J. LAYFIELD, MICAH S. LEWIS, KATIE A. MCCONNELL, RAY WALLACE “MCCORD” RAYBURN, SARAH A. SHERIDAN, MATTHEW “MATT” A. VAN HOY, SARA PAGE H. WAUGH, and CHRISTINE CARR YORK.

MVA is pleased to announce that 32 of the firm’s attorneys have been named to the 2024 Business North Carolina “Legal Elite”. Below are all the MVA attorneys, and the categories in which they are recognized, included in the 2024 Business North Carolina “Legal Elite”.

MVA is pleased to announce that 37 of the firm’s attorneys have been named to the 2024 edition of North Carolina Super Lawyers or North Carolina Rising Stars lists.

MVA is pleased to announce that the firm was named one of North Carolina Lawyers Weekly’s inaugural Empowering Women award winners. Additionally, MVA Senior IT Manager CLINTON “CLINT” M. GANDY was selected as one of the publication’s 2023 Unsung Legal Heroes honorees. Both recognitions published within the December issue of North Carolina Lawyers Weekly.