K&L Gates makes up 30 to partnership ranks

The global number is significantly down on the 44 lawyers K&L Gates promoted last year although the US firm also only promoted one lawyer - Thomas Sibert - in the City in 2011.

This year’s sole UK promotion is James Mottram, a corporate tax specialist who focuses on funds taxation and international structuring.

In a statement K&L Gates chairman and global managing partner Peter Kalis said “We’re very fortunate to have a continuing inflow into our partnership of such able lawyers from our own ranks”.

The remaining partner promotions reflect the Pittsburgh-headquartered firm’s growing international reach. They are:

Thomas Derlin, corporate, Berlin office;
Mark Duggan, investment management, Boston;
Karen Nelson, real estate, Charlotte;
Michael Beckett, Carolyn Jayne and James Reiland, respectively IP, funds and litigation, Chicago;
Sandi Elrod, real estate, Dallas; 
Christian Büche, banking, Frankfurt;
Kevin Asfour, litigation, Los Angeles;
Christina Paul and Christopher Tillson, respectively litigation and corporate, Miami;
Christine Redfield, IP, Palo Alto;
Anthony Barwick, finance, Raleigh; 
Heidi Eckel Alessi and Rachal Winger, respectively employee benefits and life sciences, Seattle; 
Lawrence Altman and Ian Fisher, respectively corporate and international arbitration, Singapore;
Brian Werst, municipal law, Spokane;
Piotr Augustyniak, tax, Warsaw.

In Washington DC the firm promoted Holly Spencer Bunting, David Tallman and Eric Rusnak. Bunting and Tallman are members of the mortgage banking and consumer finance group while Rusnak practices IP litigation.

In Pittsburgh the firm made up seven lawyers:

Jennifer O’Hara, corporate;
Maria Trainor, corporate;
Charles Pegher, trust and estate administration;
Michael Schalk, litigation;
Andrew Stanton, commercial litigation;
Christopher Verdini, IP litigation; and
Christopher Wolfe, patents