Press Release
Press Release
11.20.12
New York—Pillsbury today announced that it selected eight lawyers for promotion to partner, effective January 1, 2013. The new partners hail from a variety of the firm’s practices, including Litigation, Intellectual Property, Executive Compensation & Benefits, Estates, Trusts & Tax Planning, Corporate & Securities and Finance.
“We are pleased and proud to announce an impressive class of new partners,” said Pillsbury partner Jim Rishwain. “These eight attorneys comprise one of the strongest partner classes we have had in years and represent a true cross-section of our firm’s capabilities. Each newly elected partner demonstrates excellence in both legal skills and the delivery of superior client service. Individually and collectively they will be part of Pillsbury’s bright future. I congratulate our new partners and thank them for enhancing the range of services we offer to our clients.”
The members of Pillsbury's new partner class are:
(Litigation/San Francisco): Mr. Axelbaum is a general litigator who focuses on white-collar criminal defense, SEC enforcement actions and corporate investigations, as well as commercial and constitutional litigation. He has first-chaired six trials, all with successful outcomes. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Marsha Berzon of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for the Honorable Peter Leisure of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He earned his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.
Melinda Barker
(Estates, Trusts & Tax Planning/Silicon Valley): Ms. Barker is a member of Pillsbury’s top-ranked Estates, Trusts & Tax Planning group. She advises mid- and high-net-worth individuals, families and their related entities. She also represents individual and corporate fiduciaries in a variety of matters, including trust administration, probate and estate administration. She is certified as a California legal specialist in trusts and estates, and earned her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law and LL.M. in Taxation from Golden Gate University School of Law.
Bradford Blaise (Intellectual Property/Northern Virginia): Mr. Blaise’s practice focuses on clients in the high-growth, high-profile area of software, video games and virtual worlds. He provides strategic counseling, opinion work, patent procurement and prosecution, and IP due diligence. Mr. Blaise is a former patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and earned his J.D. from Catholic University’s School of Law.
(Intellectual Property/Los Angeles): Ms. Brandt’s practice focuses on complex and commercial litigation as well as intellectual property and privacy matters in numerous industries, including health care, banking, insurance, real estate, high-tech, Internet-based companies, restaurants and forestry. She has served as lead counsel in several jury trials, including three criminal trials while on loan to the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Trial Advocacy Program. She earned her J.D. from the UCLA School of Law.
(Executive Compensation & Benefits/Los Angeles): Mr. Jones’ practice concentrates on qualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and equity compensation arrangements for domestic and international clients. He provides support on transactions and disputes including M&A, private placements, credit agreements, employment agreements, labor issues and ERISA litigation. He is a frequent public speaker and actively involved in professional groups. He earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School.
(Corporate & Securities/San Francisco): Mr. Lillevand has a diverse practice serving clients on a range of complex and strategic areas, including cross-border and domestic capital markets transactions, private equity fund formation and emerging company needs, as well as public debt and equity offerings. He serves clients in a number of industries, including the information technology, biotechnology, energy, mining and retail industries. He earned his J.D./MBA from the University of San Francisco School of Law.
(Finance/New York): Mr. Reese represents borrowers and agents/lenders in complex financing transactions with an emphasis on project finance, infrastructure and energy transactions. He also has significant experience representing issuers, investors and initial purchasers/underwriters in securities offerings, including 144A, true private and registered transactions. Michael is ranked in 2012 Chambers USA. He earned his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.
Eric Save
(Corporate & Securities/San Francisco): Mr. Save’s practice has a strong focus on Latin American transactions. He has served clients on matters in Mexico and Latin America, including acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, cross-border lending, manufacturing, real property acquisition and development, telecommunications services and distribution agreements. Mr. Save’s experience includes four years as the co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of a software company in Mexico. He earned his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.
About Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Pillsbury is a full-service law firm with a keen industry focus on energy & natural resources, financial services, real estate & construction, and technology. Based in the world's major financial, technology and energy centers, Pillsbury counsels clients on global regulatory, litigation and corporate matters. We work in multidisciplinary teams that allow us to anticipate trends and bring a 360-degree perspective to complex business and legal issues—helping clients to take greater advantage of new opportunities and better mitigate risk. This collaborative work style helps produce the results our clients seek.