Six Haynes and Boone, LLP Dallas-based lawyers are featured as Best Lawyers Under 40 in D Magazine’s 2023 directory: Partners Raquel O. Alvarenga, Brent Beckert, C. Robert Bruner, Taryn McDonald, and Chase Proctor, and Associate Sally Dahlstrom. The listing recognizes outstanding young lawyers in North Texas.
D Magazine editors solicit nominations from lawyers across North Texas by asking them which lawyers under age 40 they’d like to see ranked, keeping the following question in mind: “Which local lawyers under age 40, of those you have witnessed firsthand, would you rank among the current best?” After submissions are tallied, a panel of esteemed lawyers work with the magazine’s editors to evaluate the nominees and determine winners.
Raquel Alvarenga, 2nd year named | Labor & Employment
Raquel is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group. She represents corporate clients in all manner of labor and employment matters, including advice and counseling, litigation and internal investigations. A significant portion of her practice focuses on advising corporate clients, entrepreneurs, and private equity firms and their portfolio companies on workforce issues in connection with corporate transactions. Raquel has extensive experience litigating restrictive covenant matters involving noncompetition, non-solicitation and trade secret claims, and cases involving alleged discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage-and-hour and breach-of-contract claims.
Brent Beckert, 1st year named | Mergers and Acquisitions
Brent is a partner in the firm’s Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Practice Groups. He focuses on corporate law, private and public M&As, venture capital raises, and other complex domestic and international transactions for clients in a variety of industries, including the healthcare, technology, education, manufacturing, defense, construction, insurance and professional services sectors. He also helps clients procure and negotiate coverage under representation and warranty insurance (RWI) policies in the context of M&A transactions. Brent is also skilled in advising clients on legislative and regulatory changes impacting the small business community.
Robert Bruner, 1st year named | Corporate Law: Private Equity
Robert is a partner in the Investment Management Practice Group. His practice focuses on private equity and hedge fund formation, private equity investments, hedge fund investments, investment management agreements, and corporate compliance and governance. Robert regularly advises investment funds, investment advisors, and commodity pool operators and traders with regards to the formation, organization and operation of both hedge funds and private equity funds and their compliance with applicable federal and state laws. He represents clients across a broad range of industries in various corporate and securities matters. Robert also has substantial experience with insurance-dedicated funds.
Taryn McDonald, 1st year named | Criminal Defense: General
Taryn is a partner in the firm’s Litigation Practice, with a focus on government investigations and healthcare litigation, representing individuals and companies facing actual or threatened government enforcement actions. She has represented clients under criminal or civil investigation by various government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Office of Inspector General, the Texas Attorney General’s Office, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and FINRA. Taryn has experience defending clients in qui tam and False Claims Act investigations and lawsuits and regularly provides counsel on regulatory issues, including compliance with the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law.
Chase Proctor, 1st year named | Mergers & Acquisitions
Chase is a partner in the firm’s M&A Practice Group who is licensed to practice in both New York and Texas. He has experience in domestic and international acquisitions, divestitures, securities transactions, and other complex business transactions, including corporate restructurings and M&A transactions within the bankruptcy context. Specifically, he has represented both corporate, private equity, and venture capital buyers and sellers in structuring, negotiating, documenting, and closing acquisitions and dispositions. He also has experience representing high-net-worth family offices in investment and other M&A matters.
Sally Dahlstrom, 1st year named | Business/Commercial Litigation
Sally is an accomplished litigator who regularly represents clients in high-stakes lawsuits in state and federal courts and arbitrations across the country. She has handled disputes on topics ranging from franchise and distribution networks, oil and gas transactions, trademark infringement, trade secrets, contracts, fraud, defamation, business disparagement, and disputes about the sale of major businesses. In her franchise practice, Sally routinely defends claims by individual franchisees, under franchise statutes, for rescission, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, misrepresentation and interference, enforcing terminations and bankruptcy litigation.
Haynes and Boone, LLP is an international corporate law firm with 18 offices in Texas, New York, California, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Washington, D.C., London, Mexico City and Shanghai, providing a full spectrum of legal services in energy, technology, financial services and private equity. With 600 lawyers, Haynes Boone is ranked among the largest U.S.-based firms by The National Law Journal, The American Lawyer and The Lawyer. It was recognized in the BTI Consulting Group’s 2022 “A-Team” report, which identifies the law firms that in-house counsel commend for providing superior client service.
D Magazine editors solicit nominations from lawyers across North Texas by asking them which lawyers under age 40 they’d like to see ranked, keeping the following question in mind: “Which local lawyers under age 40, of those you have witnessed firsthand, would you rank among the current best?” After submissions are tallied, a panel of esteemed lawyers work with the magazine’s editors to evaluate the nominees and determine winners.
Raquel Alvarenga, 2nd year named | Labor & Employment
Raquel is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group. She represents corporate clients in all manner of labor and employment matters, including advice and counseling, litigation and internal investigations. A significant portion of her practice focuses on advising corporate clients, entrepreneurs, and private equity firms and their portfolio companies on workforce issues in connection with corporate transactions. Raquel has extensive experience litigating restrictive covenant matters involving noncompetition, non-solicitation and trade secret claims, and cases involving alleged discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage-and-hour and breach-of-contract claims.
Brent Beckert, 1st year named | Mergers and Acquisitions
Brent is a partner in the firm’s Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Practice Groups. He focuses on corporate law, private and public M&As, venture capital raises, and other complex domestic and international transactions for clients in a variety of industries, including the healthcare, technology, education, manufacturing, defense, construction, insurance and professional services sectors. He also helps clients procure and negotiate coverage under representation and warranty insurance (RWI) policies in the context of M&A transactions. Brent is also skilled in advising clients on legislative and regulatory changes impacting the small business community.
Robert Bruner, 1st year named | Corporate Law: Private Equity
Robert is a partner in the Investment Management Practice Group. His practice focuses on private equity and hedge fund formation, private equity investments, hedge fund investments, investment management agreements, and corporate compliance and governance. Robert regularly advises investment funds, investment advisors, and commodity pool operators and traders with regards to the formation, organization and operation of both hedge funds and private equity funds and their compliance with applicable federal and state laws. He represents clients across a broad range of industries in various corporate and securities matters. Robert also has substantial experience with insurance-dedicated funds.
Taryn McDonald, 1st year named | Criminal Defense: General
Taryn is a partner in the firm’s Litigation Practice, with a focus on government investigations and healthcare litigation, representing individuals and companies facing actual or threatened government enforcement actions. She has represented clients under criminal or civil investigation by various government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Office of Inspector General, the Texas Attorney General’s Office, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and FINRA. Taryn has experience defending clients in qui tam and False Claims Act investigations and lawsuits and regularly provides counsel on regulatory issues, including compliance with the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law.
Chase Proctor, 1st year named | Mergers & Acquisitions
Chase is a partner in the firm’s M&A Practice Group who is licensed to practice in both New York and Texas. He has experience in domestic and international acquisitions, divestitures, securities transactions, and other complex business transactions, including corporate restructurings and M&A transactions within the bankruptcy context. Specifically, he has represented both corporate, private equity, and venture capital buyers and sellers in structuring, negotiating, documenting, and closing acquisitions and dispositions. He also has experience representing high-net-worth family offices in investment and other M&A matters.
Sally Dahlstrom, 1st year named | Business/Commercial Litigation
Sally is an accomplished litigator who regularly represents clients in high-stakes lawsuits in state and federal courts and arbitrations across the country. She has handled disputes on topics ranging from franchise and distribution networks, oil and gas transactions, trademark infringement, trade secrets, contracts, fraud, defamation, business disparagement, and disputes about the sale of major businesses. In her franchise practice, Sally routinely defends claims by individual franchisees, under franchise statutes, for rescission, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, misrepresentation and interference, enforcing terminations and bankruptcy litigation.
Haynes and Boone, LLP is an international corporate law firm with 18 offices in Texas, New York, California, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Washington, D.C., London, Mexico City and Shanghai, providing a full spectrum of legal services in energy, technology, financial services and private equity. With 600 lawyers, Haynes Boone is ranked among the largest U.S.-based firms by The National Law Journal, The American Lawyer and The Lawyer. It was recognized in the BTI Consulting Group’s 2022 “A-Team” report, which identifies the law firms that in-house counsel commend for providing superior client service.
