News

In March, Gordon & Rees welcomed twenty six new attorneys to our Austin, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Florham Park, Hartford, Irvine, Nashville, New York, San Diego, and Westchester offices. They join us as members of the Commercial Litigation, Construction, Employment Law, Energy, Environmental/Toxic Tort, Health Care, Insurance, Maritime, Product & General Liability, Professional Liability Defense Practice Groups.

Melinda joins the Detroit office as a member of the Employment Law practice group. She has assisted numerous organizations in taking a proactive approach in managing the workforce to protect against employment-based claims by establishing policies and procedures to provide employers the maximum legal protections afforded under applicable federal and state laws. She has also litigated numerous matters defending both private and municipal entities against claims involving wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, Michigan Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act, Title VII, ADEA, ADA, Michigan Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act, civil rights claims brought pursuant 42 U.S.C. 1983, prisoner claims and other related matters. In addition, Melinda regularly counsels clients pertaining to employee issues involving discipline, terminations, unemployment, employment hiring practices, non-competition agreements, and employment manuals and other related issues. Melinda earned her J.D. from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and her B.A. from Michigan State University.

Trenten joins the San Diego office as a member of the Employment Law practice group. He has supported attorneys with discovery and trial preparation on countless employment, insurance, and construction defect cases. His past clients are predominately entities, although also include individuals such as student-athletes and small business owners with intellectual property and contract needs. Trenten earned his J.D. from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law and his B.A. from California State University, Chico.

Brent joins the Dallas office as a member of the Product & General Liability practice group. He has represented a diverse group of clients in a variety of industries. He has obtained summary judgment victories across the state of Texas. Brent has appeared pro hac vice in multiple jurisdictions and successfully resolved high profile matters before state agencies and administrative law courts. Recently, he served as a member of the monitor team for the largest corporate monitorship in United States history. Brent earned his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law and his B.S. from Belmont University.

William joins the Denver office as a member of the Professional Liability Defense practice group. He comes to Gordon & Rees from the Denver District Court, where he clerked for the Honorable Christopher J. Baumann. Prior to starting his second life as an attorney, William was an itinerant scribbler, wandering the map and working odd jobs in retail, hospitality, homeless services, and affordable housing. Along the way he cultivated a passion for writing and advocacy, a passion which he applies to all manner of civil litigation. William earned his J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and his B.A. from Wheaton College.

Dean joins the Dallas office as a member of the Product & General Liability practice group. He has experience participating in all phases of litigation, including drafting responsive pleadings; drafting dispositive motions; drafting written discovery; conducting extensive document reviews; participating in the depositions of fact and expert witnesses; assisting in trial preparation; and attending trial. Dean earned his J.D. from St. Mary's University School of Law and his B.A. from the University Of Mississippi.

Gerardo joins the Westchester office as a member of the Commercial Litigation practice group. Gerardo earned his J.D. from Albany Law School and his B.A. from Syracuse University.

Troy joins the Dallas office as a member of the Product & General Liability practice group. He represents small local businesses to large global corporations in high-risk litigation throughout the United States. He has experience litigating premises liability, personal injury, commercial disputes, employment matters, breach of contract, non-compete provisions, fraud, and deceptive trade practice claims. Troy participates in all stages of litigation from the inception of a case through trial and appeal. He has obtained favorable results for his clients across Texas and throughout the country. Troy earned his J.D. from the University of Tulsa College of Law and his B.A. from Texas Christian University.

Irma joins the Florham Park office as a member of the Product & General Liability and Commercial Litigation practice groups. Prior to joining the firm, Irma worked in New York firms that represented small local businesses to major insurance companies in the recovery of judgments, including premiums, deductibles, self-insured retentions, retrospective premium adjustments and various other creditor’s rights disputes. In addition, her experience entails various commercial and residential real estate transaction matters including landlord and tenant disputes. Irma earned her J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law and her B.A. from Hunter College.

Kennedy joins the Nashville office as a member of the Commercial Litigation practice group. She has experience in healthcare liability defense and premises liability matters. Kennedy earned her J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law and her B.A. from The University of Alabama.

Eric joins the Columbus office as a member of the Employment Law, Energy, and Commercial Litigation practice groups. He has significant experience litigating complex matters before federal and state courts across the country, as well as litigating before various federal and state administrative agencies. Notably, Eric has represented employers on a wide range of employment issues, including employment discrimination claims, wage and hour class and collective actions, arbitration hearings, and noncompetition agreements. Eric earned his J.D. from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and his B.B. from Eastern Michigan University.

Gregory joins the Detroit office as a member of the Employment Law practice group. He focuses his transactional and litigation practice in the core areas of Employment and Education Law. He also has an active Construction Law practice. Gregory represents and consults with insurance companies, cities, townships, municipalities, schools, and employers on employment and labor issues including but not limited to discipline, harassment, terminations, unions, discrimination, retaliation, unemployment, employment hiring practices, non-competition agreements, and issues involving Michigan Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act, Title VII, ADEA, ADA, and related statutes. Gregory earned his J.D. from the University of Toledo Law School and his B.S.B.A. from The Ohio State University.

Ranelle joins the Austin office as a member of the Product & General Liability and Construction practice groups. She has been trial lawyer for more than 35 years and has tried over 100 first-chair jury trials across the state of Texas. She focuses primarily on the defense of personal injury, property damage, employment, and construction cases, with a special emphasis on premises liability matters. Ranelle earned her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Ashley joins the Chicago office as a member of the Insurance practice group. Her practice includes a broad range of transactional matters. She has experience representing middle market companies in merger and acquisition transactions. She also regularly represents both large and mid-size commercial lenders in financing transactions, including real estate lending, acquisition lending, commercial lines of credit, and asset-based lending. Ashley earned her J.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago Law School and her B.B.A. from the University of Cincinnati.

Kelsey joins the Irvine office as a member of the Maritime practice group. Kelsey earned her J.D. from Tulane University School of Law and her B.S. from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Matthew joins the Chicago office as a member of the Professional Liability Defense and Commercial Litigation practice groups. Matthew earned his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and his B.A. from The University of Iowa.

Reece joins the San Diego office as a member of the Commercial Litigation, Product & General Liability, and Employment Law practice groups. His practice focuses primarily on catastrophic personal injury matters, with particular emphasis on cases involving traumatic brain injuries, spinal cords injuries, and major orthopedic injuries. Mr. Román represents individuals, public entities, and businesses in California state and federal district courts. Reece has litigated hundreds of personal injury, property damage, employment, construction defect, class action, and business disputes. He has prevailed on numerous demurrers and motions for summary judgement winning pre-trial dismissals in actions for wrongful death, personal injury, sexual abuse, nuisance, trespass, and inverse condemnation. He has been instrumental in the preparation and trial of dozens of matters, including many tried through verdict. Reece earned his J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law and his B.S. from California Polytechnic State University.

Andrew joins the New York office as a member of the Employment Law practice group. His practice focuses on employment litigation in matters including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, breach of contract and wage and hour disputes. Andrew has significant experience representing clients in New York federal and state courts and counseling clients regarding federal, state, and local labor laws and regulations. Andrew earned his J.D. from Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University and his B.S. from New York University.

Cassandra joins the Hartford office as a member of the Construction practice group. Cassandra earned her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law and her B.A. from The King’s College.

Lindsey joins the Nashville office as a member of the Health Care practice group. Lindsey earned her J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law and her B.A. from Miami University.

Marissa joins the New York office as a member of the Environmental/Toxic Tort practice group. She focuses her practice in product liability and mass toxic tort litigation. She defends Fortune 500 corporations, including product manufacturers, retailers and suppliers, in cases involving high-risk exposures throughout jurisdictions nationwide. Marissa handles disputes from inception through resolution. She has extensive experience defending complex high-stakes depositions, where she has leveraged early dismissals by employing innovative strategies and unique defenses. Marissa earned her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and her B.A. from Florida State University.

Richard joins the New York office as a member of the Employment Law practice group. He focuses his practice primarily on matters including civil rights, wage and hour disputes, and workplace discrimination. He has experience in providing counsel to clients in a wide range of industries such as hospitality and home health care on issues including human rights laws compliance and employee handbook policies. He has litigated cases in both the state and federal courts and has also participated in arbitration and mediation proceedings. Richard earned his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School and his B.A. from Emory University.

Amy joins the Austin office as a member of the Product & General Liability practice group. She is an accomplished trial lawyer with more than 20 years of experience representing corporations and individuals in litigation involving business disputes, property damage, construction, employment, professional liability, trucking defense, subrogation, and personal injury defense. Additionally, she represents professionals and corporations in administrative and government matters. Amy earned her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.

Eric joins the New York office as a member of the Product & General Liability practice group. Eric earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and his B.A. from Grand Valley State University.

Jason joins the Dallas office as a member of the Employment Law, Professional Liability Defense, Health Care, Product & General Liability, and Commercial Litigation practice groups. Jason earned his J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law and his B.B.A. from The University of Texas.

Matthew joins the Detroit office as a member of the Employment Law practice group. He focuses his primarily litigation-centric practice in the defense of labor and employment disputes/litigation and municipal matters. This practice includes extensive practice and appearances with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and the National Labor Relations Board. His employment litigation practice also involves appearance in all phases of litigation regarding claims of discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation, employment hiring practices, non-compete and non-solicit agreements, and issues involving Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, Title VII, ADEA, ADA, and related state and federal statutes, as well as general consulting, training, and consulting for employers. Matthew earned his J.D. from Western Michigan Thomas M. Cooley Law School and his B.A. from Kalamazoo College.

Taylor joins the Austin office as a member of the Product & General Liability practice group. He primarily focuses on the defense of personal injury, property damage, employment, and construction cases, with a special emphasis on premise liability matters. He also represents businesses in commercial disputes over breach of warranty, contracts, and other transactions. He participates in all phases of litigation, including attending pretrial hearings, written discovery, depositions, drafting motions, and attending trial. Taylor earned his J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.