Hunton Andrews Kurth Announces New Executive Committee Chair, General Counsel and 14 Partnership Promotions

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP begins its 2023 fiscal year with the appointment of a new executive committee chairman and general counsel and the promotion of 14 attorneys to partner. The firm proudly recognizes these talented individuals for their accomplishments and outstanding client service.

Executive Committee: Randall S. Parks will succeed George C. Howell III as chair of the firm’s executive committee.

“Randy is a resolute leader who is dedicated to the firm’s strategic vision,” said managing partner Wally Martinez. “His demonstrated commitment to the success of the firm and our core values will continue to drive Hunton Andrews Kurth’s bright future.”

With over 30 years of experience, Parks is recognized for his work in complex corporate transactions, especially enterprise information technology and outsourcing transactions, as well as corporate governance, capital markets and mergers and acquisitions. He has served as co-chair of the firm’s corporate team, head of the global technology and outsourcing practice group and co-chair of its retail and consumer products industry group.

“We thank George for his many contributions to the firm while serving as chair of our executive committee,” added Martinez. “His devoted and astute leadership has been critical to Hunton Andrews Kurth’s success.”

Office of General Counsel: Greg Waller will succeed Robert M. Rolfe as the firm’s general counsel.

“We are grateful for Bob’s steadfast and wise counsel throughout the years,” said Martinez. “Like Bob, Greg’s considerable insight, experience and dedication to the firm make him an exceptional fit for this position.”

Waller brings over 25 years of trial experience to his new position. His practice includes commercial litigation, products liability cases, corporate investigations and white-collar criminal matters. His clients have included prominent members of the energy, construction and aviation industries. For the last four years, he has served as the firm’s assistant general counsel and as co-lead of the firm’s commercial litigation practice.

Admissions to the Partnership: Hunton Andrews Kurth also announces the promotion of the following 14 lawyers:

Fawaz A. Bham (Capital Finance and Real Estate, Dallas) focuses his practice on the acquisition, development, leasing and disposition of real estate nationwide, financing of projects secured by real estate, originating commercial mortgage-backed securities and balance sheet loans, and implementing private equity investment strategies and advising on organizational structure and entity formation. He chairs the firm’s pro bono committee in the Dallas office and devotes time to several pro bono efforts, such as launching and leading the Dallas Attorney Volunteer Program’s virtual legal clinic platform. Bham received his undergraduate and law degrees from Southern Methodist University, graduating cum laude from both.

Trevor S. Cox (Litigation, Richmond) represents private and public clients in Virginia and federal appellate courts on a wide variety of matters, including on issues of state and federal constitutional law. In addition to appellate litigation, he handles dispositive briefing in trial courts, files amicus briefs, and counsels clients on legal trends and strategy. A member of the firm’s Issues and Appeals team, he previously served as Acting Solicitor General of Virginia. Cox received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University, his master’s degree from the University of Cambridge and his law degree from Harvard Law School.

Shannon E. Daily (Corporate, Richmond) advises clients on asset-based financing transactions, distressed lending transactions, securitizations, and whole loan and mortgage servicing rights sales. She represents financial institutions and other players in mortgage warehouse facilities, including early buy-out and gestation facilities, securitized warehouse facilities, residential mortgage and non-mortgage asset securitizations, and distressed lending transactions. She also has represented clients with respect to corporate bankruptcy proceedings, out-of-court restructurings and legal opinions for complex transactions for asset based-lending, safe harbored financial contracts, asset securitizations and other capital markets transactions. Daily received her undergraduate and law degrees from The College of William & Mary, where she graduated summa cum laude.

Merideth Snow Daly (Litigation, Richmond) represents clients in all aspects of litigation and risk management, with particular focus on defending product liability, toxic tort and environmental litigation, and catastrophic injury and death claims. Her experience also includes plaintiff- and defense-side representation in general commercial disputes, including those involving product performance, breach of contract and post-corporate transaction indemnification claims. Daly received her undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University, graduating summa cum laude, and her law degree from William & Mary Law School, graduating cum laude.

Geoffrey B. Fehling (Litigation, Boston) is an experienced litigator and advocate who helps policyholders maximize the value of their insurance assets. He dedicates his practice to advising corporate policyholders and their directors and officers in insurance coverage matters, from placement of complex insurance programs and policy reviews to claim advocacy through arbitration, litigation, trials and appeals. He assists policyholders in a wide range of coverage disputes involving directors and officers (D&O), errors and omission (E&O), employment practices liability (EPL), cybersecurity, employee theft and fidelity claims, environmental liabilities, commercial general liability, property damage and business interruption. Fehling received his undergraduate degree from Davidson College and his law degree from George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School.

Armin Ghiam (Litigation, New York) focuses his practice on litigation, counseling and prosecution in the fields of trademark, patent and copyright law. With an international background in law, finance and technology, he helps companies understand the complexities of intellectual property law to make important business decisions and achieve their objectives. Ghiam received his undergraduate degree from Stony Brook University and the State University of New York, his master’s degree from Columbia University and his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Austin P. Maloney (Corporate, Richmond) advises clients in connection with domestic and cross-border acquisitions and dispositions, including representation of private equity funds and institutional clients. He also regularly represents financial services clients, particularly the mortgage industry, in acquisitions and dispositions. Maloney received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina and his law degree from Duke University School of Law.

Amee Parekh Narayan (Corporate, Dallas) focuses her practice on formation, structuring, operation and management of private investment funds and regulatory compliance matters for investment advisers. She regularly provides counsel to investment fund sponsors on private fund formations across a wide variety of strategies, including private equity funds, real estate funds, debt and credit funds, hedge funds, venture capital funds, energy funds and other private investment fund strategies. Narayan received her undergraduate degree from Boston University and her law degree from Fordham University School of Law, where she graduated summa cum laude and magna cum laude, respectively.

Justin F. Paget (Capital Finance and Real Estate, Richmond) provides restructuring advice to companies and financial institutions. He assists corporate borrowers, lenders, private equity and hedge funds, and fintech and financial services companies in a variety of distressed transactions involving mortgages, asset based facilities, unsecured loans, bankruptcy claims, class action claims, and numerous other types of distressed assets and debt. Paget received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his MBA and law degrees from the University of Richmond, graduating magna cum laude.

Kate Saltz (Corporate, Richmond) counsels clients on corporate finance, public and private securities offerings (as both issuers' and underwriters' counsel), mergers and acquisitions and other corporate matters, with a particular concentration on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and other real estate related specialty finance companies. Saltz received her undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech and her law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Susan L. Saslow (Capital Finance and Real Estate, New York) has a practice that spans all aspects of complex real estate transactional matters, including commercial acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures, real estate finance, construction, development and leasing, involving all types of assets. She has experience advising institutional clients, private investors and developers in sophisticated debt and equity financings, counseling both borrowers and lenders in complex transactions involving multistate, multiproperty portfolios; mezzanine financings; mortgage loan originations; construction loans; and loan purchases, sales and participations. Saslow received her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University and her law degree from Albany Law School.

Brendan M. Staley (Capital Finance and Real Estate, Richmond) focuses his practice on public finance, with emphasis on the areas of federal tax and securities law, state and local government law, economic development incentives and public-private partnerships (P3s). He has experience in advising, negotiating and documenting tax-exempt bond transactions for governmental and 501(c)(3) entities, as well as in structuring public finance and project development transactions for a wide range of public and private infrastructure and economic development projects. Staley received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Georgetown University and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

William J. Van Thunen (Corporate, Richmond) ) advises clients on complex, high-stakes structured finance, whole loan and securities repo, asset securitization and whole loan and mortgage servicing rights purchase and sale transactions. He represents leading banks and companies in diverse industries, ranging from residential and commercial mortgage finance to renewable energy and coal mining and production. Van Thunen received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Richmond, graduating cum laude from both.

Gregory R. Wall (Administrative Law, Richmond) assists clients in environmental regulatory counseling, enforcement defense, litigation and transactional matters. As a former US Environmental Protection Agency senior attorney, he uses his deep agency, regulatory and enforcement knowledge to assist clients in solving complex environmental matters, with particular experience in CERCLA/Superfund, brownfields, RCRA, FIFRA and TSCA legal issues. He also represents clients on the evolving regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other emerging contaminants. Wall received his undergraduate degree from Tufts University and his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law.

 

About Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

With over 900 lawyers in the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP serves clients across a broad range of complex transactional, litigation and regulatory matters. We are known for our strength in the energy, financial services, real estate, and retail and consumer products industries, as well as our considerable experience in more than 100 distinct areas of practice, including privacy and cybersecurity, intellectual property, environmental, and mergers and acquisitions. Our full-service litigation practice is one of the largest in the country, with particular depth in key litigation markets such as Texas, California, Florida and the Mid-Atlantic.