Press Release

Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, is pleased to announce that 23 lawyers have been elevated to the firm's partnership, effective immediately. The new partners represent 10 practice groups and span 13 offices.

"This is an exceptionally talented group of lawyers that I'm proud welcome to our partnership ranks," said Akerman Chairman and CEO Andrew Smulian. "Their strong credentials and client-centered practices will contribute to our continued success."

The new partners include:

Ian G. Bacheikov, Real Estate, Miami
Bacheikov focuses his practice on the laws governing alcoholic beverages, tobacco, cannabis, and other regulated products across multiple sectors, including entertainment, hospitality, and retail. He represents clients in matters involving alcohol beverage licensing and permitting, regulatory compliance, administrative enforcement actions, local government lobbying, commercial leasing, and litigation.

Julia Seider Browne, Corporate, Miami
Browne focuses her practice on representing private equity funds as well as public and private companies in connection with M&A and other complex business transactions. She also advises portfolio companies of private equity funds on corporate governance, contract negotiation, and other transactional matters.

Rebekah A. Carpenter, Consumer Financial Services, Chicago
Carpenter represents a wide array of financial services companies in state and federal litigation, including class actions and litigation involving homeowners’ association lien priority. She regularly defends financial services providers against individual and class claims brought pursuant to RESPA, TILA, FCRA, FDCPA, and TCPA.

Christopher J. Eby, Labor and Employment, Denver
Eby focuses his practice on employment litigation and counseling. He has represented employers before federal and state courts and agencies in a variety of employment matters, including Title VII discrimination and harassment claims, FLSA and other wage actions, claims brought under the ADA and FMLA, and non-compete and trade secret enforcement.

Carolyn R. Haslam, Real Estate, Orlando
Haslam represents owners and developers in all facets of real estate developments, including entitlements and concurrency. Her primary focus is in land use and zoning, including office, retail, industrial, mixed-use, and residential, as well as large planned community projects.

Benjamin O. Hedrick, Real Estate, Miami
Hedrick practices in the area of land use and development, representing clients in all aspects of the development approval process in municipalities and unincorporated areas in both Miami-Dade County and Broward County. Additionally, he has experience assisting clients in public-private partnerships and in the development of public infrastructure.

Elan Hersh, eDiscovery Services/Litigation, Fort Lauderdale
With a practice focused on commercial litigation and the defense of product manufacturers in mass tort and products liability matters, Hersh advises clients on eDiscovery, information governance, litigation readiness and response, cross-border discovery issues, and data privacy. 

Eleni Kastrenakes Howard, Litigation, West Palm Beach
Howard litigates complex federal and state cases from the pre-suit phase through trial with a focus on business litigation and professional malpractice defense. Her expansive litigation experience includes products liability, contract and real estate disputes, torts, probate, and premises liability. 

Paula J. Howell, Litigation, Orlando
Howell focuses her practice on litigation matters and regularly counsels clients involved in complex commercial and construction litigation. She also has experience with matters involving torts, trademark infringement, and employment-related disputes. 

Alan Hurst, Consumer Financial Services, Salt Lake City
Hurst represents a wide array of financial services companies in state and federal litigation, including class actions and litigation involving homeowners’ association lien priority. He regularly defends financial services providers against individual and class claims brought pursuant to RESPA, TILA, FCRA, FDCPA, and TCPA.

Parisa Jassim, Consumer Financial Services, Los Angeles
Jassim represents a wide array of financial services companies in state and federal litigation, including class actions and litigation.

Benjamin G. Kemble, Litigation, San Antonio
Kemble is a litigator with a focus on insurance-related matters. He has extensive experience representing major property/casualty and automobile insurance carriers, primarily in lawsuits involving first-party, contractual, and extra-contractual claims.

Gregory King, Consumer Financial Services, Fort Lauderdale
King represents a wide array of financial services companies in state and federal litigation, including class actions. He regularly defends financial services providers against individual and class claims brought pursuant to RESPA, TILA, FCRA, FDCPA, and TCPA. 

Megan M. Kokontis, Labor and Employment, Chicago
Kokontis represents employers, executives, and management in employment-related litigation and counsels companies on day-to-day preventative issues. She also has experience litigating complex commercial disputes including, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, fraud, and trade-secret and non-compete disputes.

E. Raul Novoa, Jr., Litigation, West Palm Beach
Novoa represents clients in complex litigation focused on legal ethics, professional liability, business disputes, and partnership and shareholder disputes.

Erin M. O'Neal, Tax, West Palm Beach
O’Neal concentrates her practice on the development and implementation of employer-sponsored benefit plans for a wide range of companies, including publicly-traded, privately-held, and governmental entities. She regularly provides regulatory compliance advice to clients maintaining welfare plans, qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, and cafeteria plans. 

Jeffrey B. Pertnoy, Litigation, Miami
Pertnoy focuses his practice on commercial litigation, class actions and other high-stakes disputes on behalf of some of the largest financial institutions both in and outside of Florida, Florida-based oil companies, and publicly traded companies in and outside of the United States.

Tenesa S. Powell, Consumer Financial Services, Las Vegas
Powell represents a wide array of financial services companies in state and federal litigation, including class actions and litigation involving homeowners’ association lien priority. She regularly defends financial services providers against individual and class claims brought pursuant to RESPA, TILA, FCRA, FDCPA, and TCPA.

Sheryl D. Rosen, Healthcare, Tallahassee
Rosen focuses her practice on healthcare and international trade and customs matters. She assists health insurers, health maintenance organizations, and healthcare providers with regulatory compliance.

Paul J. Russo, Real Estate, Chicago
Russo focuses his commercial real estate practice in multi-jurisdictional transactions involving the acquisition, sale, financing, leasing, and development of retail, office, and industrial properties. He represents REITS, real estate funds, real estate joint ventures, and developers throughout the country.

Jane Greaves Sargent, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Washington, D.C.
With two decades of federal policy experience, including working on Capitol Hill in both chambers of congress, Sargent advocates for clients before the legislative and administrative branches of government. She works on behalf of local governments, transit districts, nonprofit entities, higher education institutions, trade associations, and corporate entities.

John M. Schafer, Intellectual Property, Chicago
Schafer helps clients protect current and future product lines by identifying and mitigating intellectual property risks, securing and protecting intellectual property rights, and resolving intellectual property disputes.

Adrian J. Smith, Corporate, New York
Smith primarily represents private equity and corporate clients in a range of complex transactions including leveraged buyouts, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, recapitalizations, equity, and debt financings. He regularly advises corporate clients and private equity portfolio companies on governance and commercial matters. 

About Akerman 
Akerman LLP is a top 100 U.S. law firm recognized among the most forward thinking firms in the industry by Financial Times. Its more than 700 lawyers and business professionals collaborate with the world’s most successful enterprises and entrepreneurs to navigate change, seize opportunities, and help drive innovation and growth. Akerman is known for its results in middle market M&A and complex disputes, and for helping clients achieve their most important business objectives in the financial services, real estate and other dynamic sectors across the United States and Latin America.

People
Perspectives
Work
Firm
Vision
To navigate our site
To search our site

Welcome to our new site

Click anywhere to enter