Arnold & Porter Announces New Partners

Washington, DC, February 1, 2013 - Arnold & Porter LLP announced today that it has elected seven new partners to the firm in its Financial Services; Antitrust; Litigation; Corporate and Securities; Intellectual Property; Real Estate; and Tax practices:

Christopher Allen is a member of the firm’s Financial Services group in Washington, D.C., where he represents clients in a broad range of regulatory and investigative matters before federal and state government agencies. Mr. Allen’s practice focuses on counseling and representing financial institutions and their directors and officers in enforcement-related matters before the federal banking agencies.  Mr. Allen also advises clients on a variety of compliance matters, such as Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering compliance, state and federal money-transmitter licensing, fair-lending investigations, and consumer-protection matters, among others. He also has experience conducting internal investigations and has participated in international free-trade negotiations.  Mr. Allen is a member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee.  He obtained his J.D. from Stanford Law School after graduating summa cum laudefrom Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in Economics and Spanish Literature.

Michael B. Bernstein is a member of the firm's Antitrust/Competition group and is resident in Washington, D.C. His practice focuses on federal and state government reviews of mergers and acquisitions, civil antitrust litigation, government investigations, and antitrust counseling.  Mr. Bernstein has advised clients in a wide range of industries, including retail, food, consumer goods, entertainment, software, computer and information technology, telecommunications, chemicals, oil and gas, automotive parts, building materials, financial services, private equity and healthcare, among others.  In 2010, Mr. Bernstein was a member of the International Bar Association Antitrust Working Group that submitted comments regarding the Proposed U.S. Horizontal Merger Guidelines.  He obtained his J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law, after graduating with a B.A. from Colby College.

Joshua M. Davis is a member of the firm's Litigation practice group in Washington, D.C., focusing on complex commercial litigation and internal investigations.  Mr. Davis has experience representing companies and individuals in a broad range of litigation matters, including health care fraud and abuse, False Claims Act, and general business litigation.  In addition to his litigation experience, Mr. Davis has handled internal investigations related to a variety of state and federal government and congressional investigations, including those associated with health care fraud and abuse, product safety, and pharmaceutical regulation.  Mr. Davis graduated magna cum laude from Indiana University School of Law, where he was selected to the Order of the Coif, after graduating from Colby College with a B. A.

Bryce Giddens is a member of the firm's Corporate and Securities practice group in its San Francisco office, where his representative clients include Recology, Charles Schwab Corporation, and AdvancePath Academics.  He maintains a general business and corporate law practice with a focus on the solid waste and resource recovery industry.  Mr. Giddens has extensive experience representing solid waste companies in negotiating collection agreements, landfill capacity agreements, recyclables/organics processing agreements, transfer station agreements, and other commercial agreements within the solid waste industry.  Mr. Giddens also practices in the areas of secured transactions and corporate/securities law. He has represented emerging and established company borrowers in a variety of lending transactions, including bank credit facilities, venture debt, receivables financings, bond issuances and trust preferred transactions. His practice includes a variety of corporate and securities matters, including private placements, public offerings, corporate restructurings, and other corporate and transactional matters.  Mr. Giddens earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School after obtaining an M.A., with distinction, from Georgetown University, and a B.A., with high honors, from Princeton University.

John Nilsson is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property group in Washington, D.C.  His practice focuses on representing technology clients in complex patent litigation at both the trial and appellate levels. Many of his cases have involved medical devices and bio technologies, ranging from coronary stents and angioplasty catheters to radioactive brachytherapy technology, prodrugs, diagnostics, and drug delivery systems.  Mr. Nilsson obtained his J.D. from Boston College Law School, after receiving an M.A. from Harvard University and a B.A., magna cum laude, from Duke University.

Amy Rifkind is a member of the firm’s Real Estate practice and is resident in its Washington, D.C. office.  Ms. Rifkind’s experience spans all aspects of commercial real estate transactions, with a particular focus on public-private partnerships, real estate development and corporate real estate matters.  She has significant experience in the area of government real estate, including the procurement, administration, transfer and financing of GSA leases.  Her practice includes construction, term loan, and securitized financings. She also regularly handles purchases, dispositions, leases, ground leases, build-to-suits and joint ventures.  Ms. Rifkind is a member of Arnold & Porter LLP's Hiring and Pro Bono Committees and regularly represents pro bono clients, including several District of Columbia charter schools and nonprofit organizations.  She has been ranked as a leading real estate lawyer by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business for several years.  Ms. Rifkind obtained her J.D. from Yale Law School, after graduating with a B.A., summa cum laude, from Yale University.

Bridget M. Weiss is a member of Arnold & Porter LLP's Tax group and is resident in Washington, D.C.  Ms. Weiss' practice includes the representation of tax-exempt organizations, business entities, and individuals on a wide variety of tax matters.  She has substantial experience advising tax-exempt organizations on all aspects of their operations, including corporate governance, lobbying and political activities, excise and unrelated business income taxes, joint ventures and for-profit subsidiaries.  Ms. Weiss also regularly counsels clients on tax issues related to the structuring and implementation of litigation settlements and corporate transactions, provides analysis and advocacy regarding tax legislation at the federal and state levels, and represents individuals on a range of tax matters, including offshore tax compliance and charitable giving.  Ms. Weiss graduated cum laude from Northwestern University School of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif, and received an A.B. from Brown University.

Arnold & Porter LLP is an international law firm of nearly 850 lawyers with offices in Brussels, Denver, London, Los Angeles, New York, Northern Virginia, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D. C.  The firm, founded in 1946, maintains more than 26 practice areas spanning a broad spectrum of the law, with a primary focus on litigation, transactional matters, and regulatory issues.