Haynes and Boone, LLP is proud to announce the promotion to partnership of 11 lawyers from the firm’s Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston, New York and Richardson offices.
The new partners are Raghav Bajaj, Austin Elam, Michelle Jacobs, Scott Jarratt, Michael D. Karson, Maral Kilejian, Daniel Lisk, Dan Malone, Kelli Norfleet, Sameer Saxena and Katy Shurin.
“As we evaluate who will join our partnership ranks, we look for colleagues who consistently show a relentless commitment to client service and the ability to help our clients resolve their most vexing business issues,” said Managing Partner Tim Powers. “These new partners are true exemplars of our firm’s culture and ethos. We are honored to call these remarkable professionals our partners.”
Raghav Bajaj
Raghav Bajaj is a member of the Intellectual Property Practice Group in the Austin office. His practice focuses on patent office trials before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), including inter partes review (IPR) and covered business method (CBM) review proceedings, representing both petitioners and patent owners. Raghav handles all phases of patent office trials, including petition drafting, discovery, briefing, and oral argument, and has served as counsel in over 30 proceedings. Raghav’s practice also includes preparing and prosecuting patent applications for clients in various industries and technologies, including computer hardware, computer software, networking, electronic commerce, and mobile device applications. He received his bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science and his juris doctor from University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Austin Elam
Austin Elam, based in Houston, is chair of the Oil and Gas Practice Group. He maintains a broad transactional energy practice with an emphasis on complex upstream and midstream oil and gas transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and DrillCos, and financings of oil and gas properties and energy assets across the broader energy spectrum. Austin has represented clients in connection with practically every active oil and gas play in the U.S. His recent transactions include underwritten reserve-based financings, project development and alternative finance, and purchase and sale agreements, farmout agreements, participation agreements, joint development agreements, and a variety of other transactions ranging from gathering, transportation and marketing agreements to ISDA Master Agreements. Austin was named a “Rising Star” by Texas Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters (2015-2018). He received his bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University and his juris doctor from Georgetown University Law Center.
Michelle Jacobs
Michelle Jacobs is a member of the Litigation Practice Group in the Dallas office. Michelle is an experienced trial lawyer whose practice focuses on complex commercial and intellectual property litigation in state and federal courts. She has handled disputes involving copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, contracts, fraud, business disparagement, products liability, and a variety of other causes of action. She has represented clients in an array of industries, including software, manufacturing, telecommunications, energy, entertainment, beauty, and others. Her community work includes serving on the board of Genesis Young Leaders, an auxiliary of Genesis Women’s Shelter, and leading Haynes and Boone’s initiative to provide pro bono services to the shelter’s clients. The Human Rights Initiative of North Texas’ Asylum Program recognized Michelle with its 2015 Outstanding Associate Award. She received her bachelor’s degree cum laude from Brigham Young University and her juris doctor from William & Mary Law School.
Scott Jarratt
Scott Jarratt is a member of the Intellectual Property Practice Group in the Richardson office. He helps clients both obtain and defend against technology-intensive patents. Drawing upon his industry experience and engineering education, he focuses his practice on the computer arts, including software, networking, computing hardware, and cloud-based computing. Scott has extensive experience representing leading technology companies before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in inter partes review proceedings (IPRs). In that capacity, he was recognized as one of the “Top 50 Best Performing Attorneys representing Petitioners” in Patexia Insight’s 2018 IPR Intelligence Report. Scott also helps clients, both large and small, build patent portfolios to protect their most valuable innovations and gain a competitive edge. Prior to attending law school, Scott was a software engineer for a Fortune 50 technology company, where he developed enterprise security solutions. He received his bachelor’s degree cum laude from the University of Notre Dame and his juris doctor cum laude from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
Michael D. Karson
Michael Karson is a member of the Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group in the Dallas office. His practice focuses on high-tech litigation and disputes, often including patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret misappropriation issues. He has litigated cases involving a broad and diverse set of technologies like LTE cellular communications and equipment, mobile device management for wireless devices, wireless smart electricity metering, data communications including optical network communications, industrial cooling equipment, and piston coatings for use in internal combustion engines. Mike also has experience in complex, multidistrict litigation matters and investigations before the United States International Trade Commission. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants and has extensive experience in all phases of litigation, from pre-suit investigations, through pre-trial discovery and preparation, to trials of complex, technology-based cases. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Iowa and his juris doctor magna cum laude from The John Marshall Law School.
Maral Kilejian
Maral Kilejian is a member of the Franchise and Distribution Practice Group and the Advertising, Marketing, and Promotional Law Practice Group in the Dallas office. She provides initial and ongoing counsel and legal support to franchisors in the structuring and operation of domestic franchise programs and international expansion, franchise compliance issues, franchise and business opportunity registrations and exemptions, non-traditional venues, managing franchisee relationships, crisis management, and a myriad of other matters that arise in the franchise context. Maral also regularly advises clients on the creation, structure, production, and implementation of advertising, marketing, and promotional campaigns across all types of media. She was named among the Top 100 franchise lawyers in the U.S. in Franchise Times “Legal Eagle” directory (2017 and 2018). She was also named a “Rising Star” by Texas Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters (2017-2018). Maral received her both her master’s in business administration and juris doctor from the University of Houston.
Daniel Lisk
Daniel Lisk is a partner in the Real Estate Practice Group in the New York office. He represents private equity and real estate funds, financial institutions, owner-operators and developers in a range of commercial real estate transactions, including debt and equity financings, construction financings, loan syndications, acquisitions and dispositions, workouts and restructurings. He received his bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and his juris doctor from Fordham University School of Law.
Dan Malone
Dan Malone is a member of the Corporate and Private Equity Practice Groups in the Denver office. His practice focuses on complex business transactions for both private and public companies, with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and strategic investments. He has served as the lead lawyer on numerous transactions across the food and beverage, consumer products, automotive, technology, and healthcare industries. Prior to joining the firm, Dan was a lawyer in the Chicago office of Jones Day and later a senior counsel at The WhiteWave Foods Company (NYSE: WWAV), where he advised the board of directors, executive team, and senior leadership in the sourcing, evaluation, and execution of strategic transactions across all channels of the business, both domestically and internationally. He received his bachelor’s degree from Fordham University and his juris doctor from Boston College Law School.
Kelli Norfleet
Kelli Norfleet is a member of the Restructuring Practice Group in the Houston office. Her practice focuses on the areas of business bankruptcy and insolvency law and related litigation, financings, dispositions, and other restructuring transactions. She advises clients in both in-court and out-of-court restructurings across an array of industries, including oil and gas, oilfield services, engineering and construction, technology, and aviation. Kelli has served as: president of the Houston Association of Young Bankruptcy Lawyers; recording secretary of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, Houston Chapter; and secretary of the Houston Bar Association Bankruptcy Section, among other leadership positions. She received her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Texas A&M University and her juris doctor magna cum laude from American University, Washington College of Law.
Sameer Saxena
Sameer Saxena is a member of the firm’s Capital Markets and Securities, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Energy Practice Groups in the Houston office. He concentrates his practice on the representation of publicly traded and privately held companies in a wide range of corporate transactions that include securities offerings, mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and joint ventures. Sameer also advises clients on corporate governance, securities law compliance and SEC reporting matters. He received both his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude and his juris doctor cum laude from the University of Houston.
Katy Shurin
Katy Shurin is a member of the Energy, Power and Natural Resources Practice Group in the Houston office. Katy represents financial institutions, commodities trading companies, energy marketers, project developers and other energy companies in an array of complex commodity and derivatives transactions and financings that span the power, alternative energy, natural gas and upstream oil and gas sectors. Her representations often involve highly structured, asset-backed transactions, such as secured hedging and physical off-take arrangements, prepaid transactions, power and natural gas retail supply arrangements, and secured trading facilities. She also represents off-takers and developers in secured and unsecured power purchase agreements and virtual power purchase agreements. Katy has significant experience preparing and negotiating customized agreements, as well as standardized commodity master agreements, including the ISDA and related annexes, NAESB, EEI and WSPP. Katy is active in the Houston community, including serving as a member of the board of directors of Main Street Theater and as a member of the board of directors and chair of the philanthropy committee of Texas Wall Street Women. She received her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Middlebury College and her juris doctor from Washington and Lee University School of Law.
The promotions were covered by multiple news media, including the following:
Bloomberg Big Law Business (Subscription required)
Bloomberg Law (Subscription required)
The Deal (Subscription required)
Houston Business Journal (Subscription required)
The Texas Lawbook (Subscription required)