Bradley Elevates 20 Attorneys to Partner

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that the firm has elevated 20 attorneys to partner, effective Jan. 1. The new partners are Aron C. Beezley, Kane Burnette, Maggie Johnson Cornelius, Troy M. Carnrite, Nicholas A. Danella, T. Parker Griffin Jr., C. Meade Hartfield, Stephen Hinton, Travis G. Lloyd, Thomas R. Lynch, B. Radcliff Menge, Harold D. Mooty III, Junaid Odubeko, James W. Porter III, Charles A. Roberts Jr., Avery Simmons, Erin K. Sullivan, Slates C. Veazey, José D. Vega and Mark S. Wierman.

“We congratulate all of our new partners who have earned this recognition for their hard work and commitment to our clients and the firm,” said Bradley Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Beau Grenier. “These talented individuals are part of the next generation that will build and sustain Bradley into the future, and we are fortunate to have them on our team.”

Details on each new partner, grouped by office, can be found below.

Birmingham

Mr. Burnette serves as bond counsel to municipalities, counties, boards of education and public corporations throughout Alabama on publicly underwritten and privately placed tax-exempt financings. He has served as company counsel and bank counsel in variable rate letter-of-credit backed transactions, as lender’s counsel in direct placement transactions and as trustee’s counsel. Mr. Burnette has also represented a variety of governmental bodies in compliance matters concerning the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He earned his J.D. (magna cum laude) from the University of Alabama School of Law. He also holds a Master of Accountancy and a Bachelor of Science (summa cum laude), both from the University of Alabama.

Ms. Cornelius represents private and publicly held companies in securities offerings and mergers and acquisitions, and counsels public companies on general corporate governance matters. She regularly assists publicly held companies with insider ownership reporting and annual, quarterly and current reports filed with the SEC. In addition, she counsels both new and established public companies regarding their public reporting obligations and other issues related to their public company status, including compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and NYSE and Nasdaq listing standards. She earned her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and her Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) from the College of William & Mary.

Mr. Danella concentrates his practice on legal strategy and appellate and trial-court briefing throughout the federal and state court systems. He has represented a variety of clients in active litigation involving a broad spectrum of legal issues. In addition, he has provided strategic advice to clients regarding a wide range of business practices and legal questions. Mr. Danella has filed appellate briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, Eleventh and D.C. Circuit Courts of Appeals, the Alabama Supreme Court, and the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. He also has filed numerous briefs in federal district and state trial courts. In addition, Mr. Danella was part of a litigation team that was engaged in a two-month trial against the U.S. Department of Justice in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. He earned his J.D. (summa cum laude) from the University of Notre Dame Law School and his Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) from Harvard University.

Mr. Griffin represents debtors and creditors in bankruptcy cases and out-of-court workouts, as well as debt restructurings, much of which involve real estate and other forms of asset-based lending. He also has successfully represented lenders in both state and federal courts in obtaining the appointment of receivers over distressed commercial and multi-family properties. Mr. Griffin has extensive experience in corporate bankruptcies under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. In addition, he represents commercial landlords in a broad range of matters, including lease negotiations, unlawful detainer proceedings, ADA compliance, and rent collections. He earned his J.D. (cum laude) from the University of Alabama School of Law. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama and a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University.

Ms. Hartfield has represented clients nationwide in a variety of industries, including financial services, drug and medical device, automotive, aviation, industrial equipment, insurance and environmental. Her financial services practice includes representing financial institutions and mortgage companies in defensive litigation matters throughout the country, including alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and state deceptive trade practices laws. She also spearheads regulatory compliance services in response to pending or new legislation. Ms. Hartfield earned her J.D. (magna cum laude) from the University of Mississippi School of Law. She also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts from Mississippi State University.

Mr. Hinton focuses his practice on representing public and private companies on an ongoing basis, including matters related to general corporate and securities law, securities offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. He represents clients in connection with public offerings, Rule 144A offerings and private placements. He also regularly advises public company clients in their preparation of periodic filings with the SEC, proxy statements and earnings releases. He has also advised public company clients on a variety of corporate governance-related matters, and has represented a number of public companies responding to activist shareholders. Mr. Hinton earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and his Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University.

Mr. Menge concentrates his practice primarily on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and corporate finance transactions. He also advises clients on general corporate and securities law matters. He has represented clients in various industries, including beverage bottling and distribution, construction, construction aggregates, healthcare, information technology, investment management, manufacturing, real estate, retail, telecom and timber. He earned his J.D. (cum laude) from Washington & Lee University School of Law and two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Virginia.

Mr. Porter has extensive experience at both the trial and appellate levels of state and federal courts. He has represented individual and corporate clients in cases involving a wide spectrum of issues. In addition to his practice that focuses primarily on civil defense litigation, he has represented plaintiffs and defendants in class actions, parties in defamation suits, defendants in asset forfeiture cases, parties involved in insurance-related actions, and plaintiffs in civil rights cases. He earned his J.D. (cum laude) from the University of Alabama School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College.

Mr. Roberts practices in the corporate and securities area, with a particular focus on public company representation and advising private equity companies in leveraged buyouts and portfolio company acquisitions. In addition to representing public companies with 34’ Act reporting compliance, public debt and equity offerings, and corporate governance matters, he has significant experience in public and private mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures. He represents both public and private companies in a broad range of industries, including private equity, financial services, automotive, manufacturing and real estate development. Mr. Roberts earned his J.D. (cum laude) from the University of Georgia School of Law and his Bachelor of Science (cum laude) from Clemson University.

Charlotte, N.C.

Ms. Simmons regularly represents financial services and mortgage company clients with compliance matters, including risk management and remediation, state investigations, regulatory compliance, and operational implementation of legal guidelines. In addition to her compliance work in the financial services sector, she represents mortgage companies in all stages of litigation matters across the country. Because of her bar license and extensive connection with the state of Louisiana, Ms. Simmons also regularly represents construction and insurance companies in litigation matters across that state. In addition, she has served as an associate member on the board of directors of her family company. She earned her J.D. (magna cum laude) from the Catholic University Columbus School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mr. Vega represents financial institutions and mortgage companies in a variety of residential and commercial litigation matters throughout the country. His experiences involve defending clients in a variety of lawsuits involving violations of the TILA, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, FDCPA, Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act, FCRA, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, TCPA, mortgage fraud, unfair and deceptive trade practices, government loan programs, mortgage lending, servicing, and securitization practices. In addition, he advises financial services clients in wide-ranging regulatory and compliance matters and has experience with general civil litigation concerning commercial matters before state and federal courts across the country. Mr. Vega earned his J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts (summa cum laude) from Birmingham-Southern College.

Mr. Wierman defends financial services companies in a wide variety of matters. Formerly a corporate manager at a national bank and other financial services companies, he has litigated cases involving fraud, unfair trade practices, the FCRA, the FDCPA, the TCPA, and the TILA. He has represented financial services clients in numerous aspects of the industry, including origination, servicing and regulatory compliance. His experience also includes handling investigations by federal agencies and state and local governments in a wide variety of settings. Mr. Wierman earned his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from the Wake Forest University Babcock Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Science (cum laude) from the United States Naval Academy.

Huntsville, Ala.

Mr. Mooty focuses his practice on commercial litigation matters, including contract disputes and business torts, across the Southeast. He often handles cases where injunctive relief is requested, frequently in emergency situations where the success or failure of a business is at stake. He has years of experience representing individuals and businesses in state and federal courts, as well as in arbitration proceedings. His litigation experience includes numerous non-compete, non-solicitation and non-disclosure cases. He has assisted and advised clients with emerging joint venture, partnership and shareholder disputes. Mr. Mooty earned his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law and his Bachelor of Science from the University of Alabama.

Jackson, Miss.

Mr. Veazey represents clients in all types of litigation, with a particular emphasis on construction and insurance coverage disputes. His construction practice involves representing owners and general contractors in a variety of issues and projects, both public and private. He has experience managing construction disputes across the United States, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas. His experience includes prosecuting and defending delay, extra work, impact, and inefficiency claims on public and private jobs, as well as defending general contractors in multi-party disputes arising from the construction of condominium and/or other multi-family residential buildings. In addition, Mr. Veazey has significant experience pursuing insurance coverage for contractor clients when their insurers deny them coverage. He earned his J.D. (magna cum laude) from the University of Mississippi School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) from the University of Mississippi.

Nashville, Tenn.

Mr. Lloyd provides counsel to a broad range of healthcare industry clients on a wide variety of regulatory matters in the context of day-to-day operations and business transactions. He has represented hospitals and health systems, ambulatory surgery centers, and long-term care providers, among others. He has significant experience in the areas of fraud and abuse, health information privacy and security, provider enrollment and reimbursement, and medical staff affairs, as well as in the licensure and accreditation of healthcare facilities. A substantial portion of his practice involves advising clients on fraud and abuse issues. In addition, Mr. Lloyd’s experience includes guiding healthcare providers through complex compliance issues, assisting with the structuring of transactions, conducting due diligence analysis for transactions, managing internal compliance reviews and investigations, and making voluntary disclosures to government entities. He earned his J.D. (magna cum laude) from Georgia State University College of Law. He also holds a master’s degree from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science (cum laude) from Davidson College.

Mr. Odubeko represents clients in complex commercial and business litigation. He also represents clients before administrative, regulatory and municipal boards on issues including healthcare, utilities, zoning and land use. He is admitted to practice before the state courts of Tennessee and the U.S. District Courts of the Middle and Western Districts of Tennessee. Mr. Odubeko earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville.

Tampa, Fla.

Mr. Carnrite focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions. He has represented both public and private companies from a wide range of industries in all aspects of commercial transactions, including mergers, stock and other equity sales, asset sales, restructurings, joint ventures, financing and private offerings. His practice also includes sports and entertainment law, through which he represents athletes and entertainers in a variety of matters, including team contracts and endorsement deals. He is a registered sports agent with the National Football League Players Association. Mr. Carnrite earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his Bachelor of Science from Cornell University.

Washington, D.C.

Mr. Beezley focuses his practice on government contracts and construction law. His experience includes representation of government contractors in a variety of industries and in all aspects of the government-contracting process, including negotiation, award, performance and termination. His practice is particularly focused on the litigation of contract claims and bid protests before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Government Accountability Office, and the Boards of Contract Appeals. He earned his J.D. from California Western School of Law. He also holds an LL.M. from The George Washington University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colorado.

Mr. Lynch primarily represents construction clients, including owners, general contractors, construction managers, and subcontractors on private and public construction projects. In addition to his construction practice, He has represented government contracts clients in claims against the government and bid protests as well as contract reviews. He also has represented lenders and loan servicing clients in a variety of lien priority and mortgage-related litigation in federal and state courts, including defending lenders in a multitude of actions challenging the validity of deeds of trust and lender foreclosures in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia. Mr. Lynch’s experience also includes representation of construction clients and corporate creditors in Chapter 7, 11 and 13 bankruptcy actions. He earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Puget Sound.

Ms. Sullivan focuses her practice in the areas of white collar defense, False Claims Act defense, and internal investigations. She has represented many corporate and individual clients facing investigation or enforcement action by government agencies, including the Department of Justice and the SEC. She also advises clients with respect to allegations under the federal False Claims Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, federal and state government procurement laws, federal tax laws, export controls laws and securities laws. She earned her J.D. (cum laude) from Georgetown University Law Center and her Bachelor of Arts (magna cum laude) from Georgetown University.