Two judges for Delaware U.S. Bankruptcy Court sworn in
On June 17, Karen B. Owens was sworn in as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Delaware. The oath was administered in a private ceremony before Hon. Leonard P. Stark, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. J
[Not a valid template]Owens along with her new colleague, John Dorsey, fill two newly created seats, which were established by Congress after efforts by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts and the support of the Delaware Congressional delegation, notably Sen. Chris Coons and his staff. This brings the court’s current complement of judges to eight.
Before her appointment, Judge Owens was a Director in the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Group of Ashby & Geddes, P.A.
At Ashby & Geddes, Owens maintained a diverse practice, representing corporate debtors, estate professionals, various secured and unsecured creditor constituencies, and other interested parties in reorganization and liquidation proceedings and bankruptcy-related litigation.
Prior to joining Ashby & Geddes, she started her career at Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
Owens earned her law degree, summa cum laude, from American University,
On June 11, John T. Dorsey was sworn in as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Delaware.
Dorsey practiced complex commercial litigation in Wilmington for the past 28 years.
For the past 16 years, Judge Dorsey was a partner at Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLC, representing debtors and creditors in chapter 11 litigation matters. Judge Dorsey also served as general counsel to Young Conaway for the past five years.
He graduated magna cum laude from Wake Forest University School of Law where he served as research editor of the law review.
Guerke joins Young Conaway as partner
Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP announced that Kevin A. Guerke has joined the firm as a partner in the firm’s Bankruptcy, Commercial, and Complex & Specialty Litigation Sections.
“We are pleased to welcome Kevin to Young Conaway,” said Robert S. Brady, chairman of the Firm. “He is a respected trial advocate whose extensive knowledge of both corporate and commercial issues will be advantageous to our clients as they navigate through Delaware’s courts.”
Guerke has appeared in jury and non-jury trials in every state and federal trial court in Delaware, including multi-million dollar disputes in the Delaware Court of Chancery and Superior Court. He serves as a Commissioner on the Delaware Lottery Commission.
Kevin graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He earned his law degree from Penn State Dickinson School of Law. Superior Court. Kevin is admitted to practice in Delaware.
He was formerly a partner with Baird Mandalas Brockstedt
Messa joins Dorsey & Whitney
The law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP announced that Amelia Messa has joined the Firm as Of Counsel in the Finance & Restructuring Group in Delaware.
Messa’s practice focuses on business transactions using Delaware alternative entities, including limited liability companies, partnerships (limited and general), and statutory trusts.
Prior to joining Dorsey, Messa practiced in the corporate group at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. She previously practiced for several years at Richards, Layton & Finger in Delaware. She received a B.S. in Finance from The Pennsylvania State University and a J.D. from the Villanova University School of Law.
Morris James’ Jones honored at Bench and Bar
The Delaware State Bar Association Bench and Bar Conference honored Morris James partner, Francis J. “Pete” Jones, with the First State Distinguished Service Award.
The award recognizes exemplary leadership and service to the legal profession and community at large.
Morris James is based in Wilmington and has offices in all three counties.
Richards, Layton & Finger earns gold patent ranking
Richards, Layton & Finger, Wilmington, received the gold ranking and firm directors Fred Cottrell, Kelly Farnan, and Jeffrey Moyer were named among Delaware’s top patent attorneys in the 2019 edition of IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Professionals.
Calling the firm “a force to be reckoned with,” IAM reports that “Richards, Layton & Finger is the best choice for Delaware counsel in big-ticket patent litigations that go to trial.”
Cottrell is the head of Richards Layton’s Intellectual Property Group.
Farnan is a nationally recognized litigator with wide-ranging experience in patent cases involving pharmaceuticals, electronics, telecommunications, and consumer products
Jeff Moyer represents some of the world’s leading technology companies in complex patent disputes.
Ballard Spahr ranked as 11thbest firm for women
Law360 has ranked Ballard Spahr one of the top U.S. firms for women, placing it 11th among firms with more than 600 lawyers. Ballard Spahr has an office in Wilmington and is headquartered in Philadelphia.
Law360’s Glass Ceiling Report ranks the top firms for women lawyers based on a survey of more than 300 U.S. firms. To determine the ranking, the publication first grouped firms according to their size, then excluded any firm that had below-average female representation at any level of the firm. Finally, it ranked the remaining firms based on their percentage of women attorneys, both for partners and non-partners.
