Five Media Lawyers Join Sutherland

WASHINGTON DC, September 17, 2013 — Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP announced today the addition of five attorneys to the Washington office. Joining as partners are William (Bill) S. Dudzinsky, Jr., Michael A. Hepburn and Paul R. Lang.  Meredith O’Leary and Andrea Gehman join Sutherland as Counsel and Senior Attorney, respectively.

“These new lawyers, combined with our recent additions in Atlanta of Partners Matt Block and Jason McCarter, Associate J.D. Shipman and Litigation Attorney Stephanie Philips, significantly extend our presence in the technology, media and telecommunications space,” said Sutherland Managing Partner Mark D. Wasserman. “We now have more than 50 lawyers serving these sectors.”

“Sutherland has long advised leading cable and telecommunications companies on their tax and benefits matters, and these lawyers enhance our tax and benefits services while expanding our range of industry service across all facets of transactional work, employment law and litigation,” said W. Mark Smith, head of Sutherland’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice. “It’s a meaningful expansion of service into an important and rapidly evolving sector.”

Bill Dudzinsky concentrates on corporate transactions—including mergers and acquisitions, dispositions, exchanges and joint ventures—within the technology, media and telecommunications industries. He counsels clients on the often complicated negotiations typical to multiparty M&A deals—from inception through closing, to post-closing integration. A former general counsel and managing director of a start-up hedge fund, Bill also counsels private equity, venture capital and buyout funds looking to invest in media, communications and information technology.

Michael Hepburn counsels public and private companies, non-profit organizations and individuals on a broad range of compensation, employment and benefits issues. Experienced in employee benefits, executive compensation and employment law, he advises clients on design, administration and termination of pension and welfare plans. He also has a strong background in insurance funding arrangements. Michael routinely counsels clients on matters involving hiring practices, employee evaluations, disciplinary actions, leave policies and practices, termination, discrimination, personnel policy review, and employment contracts.

Paul Lang’s practice encompasses all matters relating to the employment relationship, focusing heavily on employee benefits and executive compensation. He counsels human resource professionals, in-house counsel, trustees, compensation committees and third-party administrators on the design, operation, compliance and best practices for all types of compensation and employee benefit plans. Experienced in payroll and income tax reporting and withholding, Paul regularly tackles compliance issues. Paul also represents individual executives negotiating employment and separation agreements.

Meredith O’Leary counsels clients on the design, qualification, administration and termination of welfare plans, fringe benefit plans, and tax-qualified retirement plans, as well as non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements. She also advises clients on a wide variety of employment law issues.

Andrea Gehman advises clients on a variety of employee benefits and ERISA matters related to 401(k), pension, health and welfare, and executive compensation plans. She also counsels client on labor and employment issues, and on compensation, benefits and employment issues in business transactions.

All were previously at Dow Lohnes.

ABOUT SUTHERLAND ASBILL & BRENNAN LLP

Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP is a law firm with global reach known for solving challenging business problems and resolving sophisticated legal issues for many of the world’s largest companies. Founded in 1924, the firm handles matters throughout the United States and worldwide. Seven major practice areas—corporate, energy and environmental, financial services, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, and tax—provide the framework for an extensive range of focus areas, allowing Sutherland attorneys to serve a diverse client base that ranges from small and medium-sized start-up businesses to a significant number of Fortune 100 companies. For more information, please visit http://www.sutherland.com.