Baker & McKenzie Elects New Partners and Professionals in North America

Chicago, USA, February 6, 2012 – Baker & McKenzie has elected nine new partners in North America.  In addition, the Firm also elected one attorney to Of Counsel and three individuals to Director Economists.  The elections were effective January 1, 2012.

“These individuals have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to our clients and to the Firm,” said Philip Suse, Baker & McKenzie’s North American Managing Partner.  “We’re very proud of this group and of what they have accomplished.”

The Firm’s newly promoted professionals include:

Attorneys:

Sarah L. Harris is a Partner in the Firm's Corporate and Securities Practice in Chicago.  Ms. Harris routinely works on private equity fund matters, including fund formation, secondary transactions, and mergers and acquisitions. Her experience also includes working on domestic and cross-border merger and acquisition transactions, public and private securities offerings, securities law compliance, corporate governance and general corporate matters.  She received her JD at Northwestern University School of Law and her BA from Scripps College.  She joined the Firm in 2007.

Kirsten R. Malm is a Partner in the Firm’s Tax Practice in San Francisco/Palo Alto.  Ms. Malm advises on the federal income tax aspects of a variety of domestic and cross-border transactions, including corporate acquisitions and restructurings, partnership and joint venture transactions.  Ms. Malm received her B.A. in Economics with honors, summa cum laude from Washington and Lee University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and her JD from Harvard Law School. Ms. Malm joined the Firm in 2007.

Lee R. McIntyre is a Partner in the Firm’s Corporate & Securities Practice in Houston.  Mr. McIntyre has experience on a wide variety of mergers and acquisitions transactions, public and private securities offerings and general corporate matters.  His practice is focused on cross-border transactions and other international matters, including in the energy and natural resource-related, engineering services, technology and medical device sectors.  Mr. McIntyre serves as a co-chair of the Pro Bono Committee and a member of the Business Development Committee in the Houston office.  He received his JD, magna cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center and his BA from the University of Notre Dame. Mr. McIntyre joined the Firm in 2005.

Julia Medynskaya is a Partner in the Firm’s Tax Practice in New York.  She routinely advises multinational companies on the US tax aspects of structuring and implementing major acquisitions, divestitures, separations, joint ventures and cross-border financings.  Ms. Medynskaya received her LLM in Taxation from New York University School of Law and her JD, cum laude, from Hofstra University School of Law where she was a member of Hofstra Law Review.  She joined the Firm in 2005.

John Paek is a Partner in the Firm’s Tax Practice in New York.  Mr. Paek represents both domestic and multinational clients in various state and local tax matters, including complex state tax controversies, throughout the United States.  He provides clients with state and local tax planning advice from both an operational and a transactional perspective.  Mr. Paek received his LLM in Taxation from Boston University and his JD from the Georgetown University Law Center and his BA, magna cum laude, from Georgia State University.  He joined the Firm in 2007.

Jennifer (Ginger) S. Partee is a Partner in the Firm’s Global Immigration & Mobility Practice in Chicago.  Ms. Partee represents multinational companies with respect to US immigration compliance as well as the global transfer of personnel.  Ms. Partee advises clients on options for securing short and long-term work authorization for employees, employment eligibility verification (I-9) and recordkeeping requirements, and strategic immigration planning during major corporate changes such as mergers and acquisitions and reductions in force.  She received her JD with honors at Chicago-Kent College of Law and her BA, cum laude, from DePauw University.  She joined the Firm in 1999.

W. Barton (Bart) Rankin is a Partner in the Firm’s Intellectual Property Practice in Dallas.  His practice focuses on patent-infringement litigation and complex commercial litigation pending in federal district and appellate courts.  He has represented clients in a variety of litigation matters and has also handled construction-law disputes in multiple jurisdictions involving issues of billing fraud and construction defects.  Mr. Rankin received his JD, cum laude, from Texas Tech University School of Law and his BA from Texas Tech University.  He joined the Firm in 2003.

Aaron N. Rice is a Partner in the Firm's Corporate and Securities Practice in Chicago.  Mr. Rice routinely advises public companies on a wide range of corporate and securities transactions and securities regulatory and compliance matters.  He has experience in public and private securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate governance and other general corporate matters.  He received his JD, cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law and his BA from Emory University.  He joined the Firm in 2006.

Sarah Winston is a Partner in the Firm’s Global Real Estate Practice in Chicago.  She advises developers, institutional lenders and equity investors on buying and selling a wide range of commercial real estate, particularly hotels and resorts.  Ms. Winston received her JD, cum laude, from Michigan State University and her BA Political Science from University of Michigan.  She joined the Firm in 2001.

Of Counsel:

John P. Cunningham is Of Counsel in the Firm’s Investigations and Business Crimes, Corporate Compliance, and White Collar Defense Practices in Washington, DC.  Mr. Cunningham concentrates his practice on internal investigations, anti-corruption compliance, and white collar criminal defense.  He has experience in a broad range of compliance and dispute resolution matters, including corporate and regulatory investigations, FCPA and global anti-corruption compliance, compliance program development, anti-corruption due diligence, money laundering, fraud, asset forfeiture, and related civil litigation.  He received his JD, cum laude, from the University of Richmond School of Law, his MA with highest honors from George Washington University, and his BA from the College of William and Mary.  He joined the firm in 2008.

Directors:

Sriranjani (Sri) Nagarajan is a Director Economist in the San Francisco/Palo Alto office.  Ms. Nagarajan’s practice is focused on transfer pricing and valuation.  She provides economic analysis to facilitate and support cross-border transactions within multinational corporations, in the context of business restructuring, acquisitions, transfer of tangible goods, licensing and transfer of intangibles, and provision of services.  She advises clients on planning and implementation of pricing through the supply chain, documentation of global transfer prices for compliance purposes, negotiation of Advance Pricing Agreements with US and foreign tax authorities and audit defense.  Ms. Nagarajan received her MBA from the University of Southern California, her Masters degree in International Business from Symbiosis Institute (Pune, India) and her Bachelors degree in Science from the University of Madras (Chennai, India).  Ms. Nagarajan joined the Firm in 2003.

Moiz Shirazi is a Director Economist in the Chicago office.  He specializes in transfer pricing and focuses on providing his clients with economic analyses and valuations that assist them in planning and supporting business reorganizations, as well as establishing and documenting global transfer prices.  Mr. Shirazi has led economic analyses for a diverse set of clients from many different industries, such analyses include transfer pricing planning in the context of global restructuring, assistance in negotiating Advance Pricing Agreements with the IRS, intangible property valuation, preparing US and foreign transfer pricing documentation and transfer pricing controversy.  He received his MBA and BA from the University of Chicago. He joined the Firm in 2009.

Gene Tien is a Director Economist in the San Francisco/Palo Alto office.  Mr. Tien specializes in transfer pricing and provides global restructuring advice, controversy support, and documentation analyses.  His experience also includes collaborating with outside attorneys and experts on valuation issues and damages matters, leading economic and statistical analyses on APAs and employment cases, and advising clients on IP and customs negotiations in Asia.  Mr. Tien received his MA and PhD in Economics, with fields in industrial organization and international trade, from Northwestern University after receiving his BA from the University of Washington.  Mr. Tien joined the Firm in 2007.