Trial Attorney Leads Group to Barnes & Thornburg

LOS ANGELES – Alexander G. Calfo, a prominent litigator, has joined Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Los Angeles office as a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department. Calfo will be joined by three associates, Kelley S. Olah, Julia E. Romano and Stacy L. Foster.

Calfo has devoted his practice to trying high-profile product liability matters and complex business and insurance coverage cases.

“We are excited to welcome a nationally recognized litigator in Alex to the firm’s Los Angeles office,” said Alan Levin, managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg. “His deep knowledge of the field and experience with complex, highly visible cases for major companies is an outstanding addition to an already strong group of attorneys.”

“As a well-known and respected trial attorney, Alex’s arrival will buttress and strengthen our national trial practice,” said Bill McErlean, chair of the firm’s Litigation Department. “His years of trial experience in complex business litigation and product liability cases will be a tremendous asset as we continue to deliver superior value and outstanding results for clients.”

Calfo’s arrival comes on the heels of the addition of corporate attorneys Matthew Gruenberg and Mary Garnett. The Los Angeles office currently has 27 attorneys who practice in a number of areas, including complex litigation, labor and employment, intellectual property and corporate matters. In addition, the group includes an Entertainment and Music practice that represents some of the most recognizable artists, brands and companies in the entertainment industry. The group has experience in the business needs of the advertising, film, live events, sports, music, technology, television and videogame industries.

“Since opening in February 2011, we have aggressively grown this office with the addition of impressive legal talent who complement the firm’s overall strengths,” said David Allen, managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg’s Los Angeles office. “These recent additions reflect our ability to attract marquee partners that strategically enhance key practices and fuel growth opportunities in Los Angeles and nationally.”

About the Lawyers

Alexander Calfo serves as a lead trial lawyer, both as regional and national counsel, for several Fortune 500 corporations in multi-district litigation and state-wide coordinated proceedings.

With multiple awards and accolades to his name, Calfo has developed a reputation as a top litigation attorney. Verdicts he has helped clients obtain have been featured on the front page of media outlets across the United States, including the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Postand the National Law Journal. In 2011-2012 alone, Calfo served as lead trial counsel for clients who were awarded four of the Daily Journal’s top 10 verdicts in the State of California.  He also has earned Martindale-Hubbell’s highest AV-rating as a litigator and has been voted a Southern California “Super Lawyer” in Los Angeles Magazine by his peers consecutively for several years. In addition, he was named to the Outstanding Lawyers of America Society.

Calfo earned his B.A. from Marquette University and received his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law, where he served on the International Moot Court Board. During his time as an undergraduate, Calfo spent one year as an honor student at the Loyola University Rome Center of Liberal Arts.

Kelley Olah has served on numerous trial teams in multiple jurisdictions. She has also managed multi-district litigation and statewide-coordinated proceedings for Fortune 50 companies. She focuses her practice on products liability and drug and medical device litigation.

Ms. Olah earned her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law. She is admitted to practice in all California state courts and all United States District Courts in California. She is a member of the Defense Research Institute and the PennClub Los Angeles.

Julia Romano has focused her trial experience in the area of products liability and toxic tort defense. In addition, she has served as an in-house legal intern for a major healthcare company, where she focused on labor and employment issues.

She earned her B.A., with honors, from the University of Southern California (USC) and her J.D. from Southwestern Law School, where she was awarded Best Oralist at the Wechsler Moot Court Competition. She is a member of the American Bar Association.

Stacy Foster focuses her practice in the areas of complex civil litigation and products liability defense. Ms. Foster has served as an extern for the Honorable Geraldine Mund for the Central District of California Bankruptcy Court and the Honorable Fred Woods of the California Second District Court of Appeal.

She earned her B.A. cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and her J.D. from Loyola Law School. She is a member of the California Bar Association.

With more than 600 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg LLP is one of the 100 largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from its offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Los Angeles, Michigan, Minneapolis, Ohio, and Washington, D.C. Visit us online at www.btlaw.com.