Alumni Newsletter

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Employment and Labor Counsel, Amy Puckett, has been welcomed to Wake Forest Law’s New Law Board of Visitors. 

MVA Wealth & Estate Planning Associate, Michaela Cronin, has been selected for inclusion to the Charleston Metro Chambers of Commerce’s incoming Leadership Charleston Class of 2025.

MVA advised Fenecon during the recent establishment of their first North American operation with headquarters and manufacturing in Greenville County, which will generate 68 new jobs.

MVA is pleased to announce that the firm’s human resources team, led by Chief People Officer Stephanie L. Dixon, has been shortlisted for the Charlotte Business Journal’s 2024 Best in HR Awards, which celebrates excellence in human resources work for local employees.

MVA is pleased to announce that Litigation attorney Jules W. Carter was honored as LPL Financial LLC’s 2024 Diversity Champion Award winner in a ceremony at the company’s San Diego office on August 14.

MVA Head of Employment and Labor Wood Lay was profiled by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly (NCLW) for being named to the Employment Law Power List 2024. In this profile, Wood provides insight to his early years, his commitment to fostering social mobility, and his passion for his practice.

MVA Head of Derivatives practice Barrett Morris discuss updates regarding (i) Pre-Hedging, (ii) a recent CFTC enforcement action indicates that YouTube is not tracking everything we do and also has an interesting dissent and (iii) a few notes on Synthetic Risk Transfers, PIKs and Synthetic PIKs. 

The National Law Review featured MVA’s Patent practice group on being ranked in top categories in 2024 Patent Bots Patent Quality Rankings in their August 2024 legal news roundup article titled, “August 2024 Legal Industry News Updates: Law Firm Hiring and Expansion, Industry Awards and Recognition, DEI and Women in Law.” To view the article please click here.

MVA Co-head of Intellectual Property Kate Cole and Intellectual Property Counsel Sam Merritt were recognized in IAM Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists 2024. The IAM Strategy 300 recognizes individuals who are leaders in development and implementation of strategies that maximize the value of IP portfolios and who were identified by market sources for their skill sets and insights into patent matters.

MVA is pleased to announce that Member Holly S. Bannerman was named to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Real Estate Lawyers list.

MVA is pleased to announce that the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America© lists 107 MVA attorneys who were highly recommended by their peers. This includes eight firm attorneys were named Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year.” In addition, 49 MVA attorneys were selected to the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America.

MVA Financial Services Member Katie McConnell was profiled in the ALM Law article series “How I Made Partner”. Katie emphasized that “with a good attitude, high quality of work and focus on client services, you will set yourself up for success.” She also provides advice to other associates, shares challenges she faced, and more topics.

MVA represented Enlightenment Capital in connection with their platform investment in Cincinnati-based Cryptic Vector, which provides electronic warfare, cyber security, and secure radio frequency communications services to the Department of Defense. Enlightenment Capital was represented on this transaction by MVA Corporate Members Rob Rust and Cowden Rayburn, Corporate Counsel Gene Cheval, Corporate Associate Jacob Newton, Financial Services Member Lauren Nelson and Financial Services Associate Jordan Lowery.

MVA Litigation Associate Katherine McDiarmid and Employment & Labor Associate Taylor Boyles have been appointed to the 60th Annual Festival in the Park Board of Directors. They will both be a part of the 2024 Exhibitor & Artists Relations Committee. Additionally, Litigation Counsel Courtney Duncil has served as a Board of Directors member since 2022.

MVA Financial Regulatory Advice and Response Member Kathryn Wellman authored the article, “FDIC final resolution planning rule increases requirements on large insured depository institutions”, which was published by Reuters and Westlaw Today on August 12.

MVA Litigation Associate Pierce Werner, Head of Environmental Mary Katherine Stukes, and Litigation Associate Chassity Bobbitt co-authored the article, “'The court giveth, and the court taketh away': the epitaph of the Chevron doctrine” which was published by Reuters and Westlaw Today on August 8.

MVA Co-head of Privacy & Data Security Suzanne Gainey, Intellectual Property Counsel Sam Merritt, and Co-head of Commercial & Technology Transactions Todd Taylor served as panelists for the ACC Charlotte - Association of Corporate Counsel CLE titled, “How the Courts Interpret Indemnities & Liability Limitations” which was held on August 7.

MVA Accounting Assistant Controller Greg Patterson is a recent graduate of the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance Emerging Business Leaders (EBL) Class 12 program. The EBL program is a 7-month immersive leadership program designed to enhance leadership capabilities, facilitate relationship building across companies and industries, and provide opportunities for participants to increase their engagement in the Charlotte community.

Mary Katherine Stukes, MVA Head of Environmental, has been elected as the incoming chair of the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) Environment, Energy & Natural Resources (EENR) Section Council as of July 1.  

MVA Head of Wealth and Estate Planning Member Chris Jones has been recognized in the 2024 Chambers High Net Worth Guide for Private Wealth Law.

MVA is pleased to announce that the firm’s Patent practice group ranked in the top percentile in numerous categories in the 2024 Patent Bots Patent Quality Rankings. The fifth annual rankings, which are broken down by technology centers, list MVA as a top 10 firm within the fields of networking, multiplexing, cable, and security.

MVA Member Sarah Byrne was quoted in the USA Today Special Edition article titled, “Driving Down Suffering: DHS partners with Lyft to combat human trafficking.”

MVA Immigration Associate Jennifer Kim‘s article titled, “Biden Policy Gives Employers New Ways To Help Dreamers” was published by Law360 on July 18.

MVA Litigation Members Jim McLoughlin  co-authored the Law360 article, “Challenging Prosecutors' Use Of Defendants' Jail Phone Calls” which was published on July 17.

Tanisha Palvia, MVA Litigation Member, was quoted in the Business North Carolina Newsletter regarding the expansion of the South Asian Bar Association of North America (SABA) with its 31st chapter launching in North Carolina last week. Palvia co-founded SABA North Carolina and will serve as the group’s first President. Having a SABA Chapter in North Carolina “expands our sense of community not just in our personal lives, but also in our professional lives,” Palvia says. SABA North Carolina is an inclusive non-profit organization focused on establishing and fostering a professional community for South Asian legal professionals across North Carolina and has both in-person events in Charlotte and the Triangle and virtual events to help reach members across the state.

Hal Levinson, MVA Corporate Member, has been appointed to The Leon Levine Foundation Board of Directors. Established in 1980, The Leon Levine Foundation supports programs and organizations that improve the human condition through investments in education, healthcare, human services and Jewish values. Based in Charlotte, N.C., the Foundation invests in nonprofits across North Carolina and South Carolina with strong leadership, a track record of success, and a plan for financial sustainability. Through its investments, the Foundation intends to create pathways to self-sufficiency, champion strategies for permanent change, and facilitate opportunities for growth.

MVA is pleased to announce that the following nine firm attorneys were named to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation list.

MVA Member Sarah Byrne served as a guest speaker for the U.S. State Department's International Focus International Visitor Leadership Program meeting, which took place on June 27. The U.S. State Department International Visitor Leadership Program hosted individuals from throughout the world who are honored by the United States Secretary of State for their fight against human trafficking. These individuals joined Sarah to learn more about legal resources for fighting human trafficking.

MVA Co-heads of DEI Advice, Audits & Assessments Josh Lanning and Valecia McDowell, and Litigation Associate Elena Mitchell co-authored Law360 article titled, “What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation,” which was published on June 28.

MVA was named a recommended Intellectual Property firm in Managing Intellectual Property’s edition of IP Stars, a legal directory that provides state-by-state analysis of the nation’s IP market. The following Intellectual Property Members were recognized as “IP Stars":

MVA is pleased to announce that Joseph “Joe” A. Fernandez, co-head of the firm’s Corporate group, was ranked as a recommended lawyer in the Energy - Power/Electricity category in the 2024 Who’s Who Legal (WWL) energy guide, WWL: Energy.

MVA has been recognized by IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals, a unique guide that identifies the top patent professionals in key jurisdictions around the globe. MVA Members Kate Cole, Michele Glessner, Jeffrey Gray, Chris Knors, Dick Lupo, Kevin Ransom, Bruce Rose, Nick Russell, Peter Stewart, Todd Taylor, Mark Wilson, and Jacob Zambrzycki were listed as recommended attorneys in their respective practice areas.

MVA is pleased to announce that Litigation Member Tanisha Palvia was named a South Asian Bar Association (SABA) North America Rising Star Award winner for 2024.

The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) has appointed MVA Co-head of Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring Zach Smith to the Steering Committee for ABI’s “40 Under 40” 2024 awards program.  The Steering Committee is comprised of twenty-two bankruptcy professionals and judges from around the country, who will select the honorees of ABI’s 2024 “40 Under 40” awards. The ABI “40 Under 40” award ceremony is held annually at ABI’s Winter Leadership Conference in December.   For more information about ABI and the “40 Under 40” program, click here.