Stites & Harbison names four new members and four new counsel for 2013
by Stites & Harbison, PLLC
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC, announced today that four attorneys have been elected to membership in the law firm, effective Jan. 1, 2013. The new members are: Elizabeth Ann Johnson from the Lexington, Ky., office; Amy Sullivan Cahill from the Louisville, Ky., office; and William Charles Ferrell, Jr., and Madison L. Martin from the Nashville, Tenn., office. Those elected to counsel include: Kenneth J. Gish, Jr., from the Lexington, Ky., office; W. Robert Meyer from the Louisville, Ky., office; and Jennifer L. Kovalcik and Brian C. Neal from the Nashville, Tenn., office.
Elizabeth Ann Johnson is a member of the firm’s Health Care Service Group. She concentrates her practice in health care law and regulatory issues. Immediately prior to joining Stites & Harbison, she was the Medicaid commissioner for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. She has testified before numerous committees of the Kentucky General Assembly, most notably the Joint Committee on Health & Welfare, Medicaid Oversight & Advisory Committee, as well as presenting Medicaid’s budget to the Appropriations & Revenue, Human Resources Subcommittee. Ms. Johnson served as Counsel of Record in the case of Kentucky Association of Health Plans v. Miller, 538 U.S. 329 (2003), successfully defending Kentucky’s state Any Willing Provider statute against a federal ERISA preemption challenge. She is admitted to practice in Kentucky.
Amy Sullivan Cahill is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property & Technology Service Group. Her practice focuses on trademark and copyright litigation, advertising review, trademark prosecution, trade secret counseling and litigation, licensing and transactional matters. She has represented major companies in the beverage, automotive, household goods and fashion industries in U.S. District Courts and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). She is admitted to practice in Kentucky, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
William Charles Ferrell, Jr., is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property & Technology Service Group. He is a Registered Patent Attorney with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. His practice primarily focuses on patent litigation, however, his practice frequently involves other aspects of intellectual property including trademark and copyright litigation, patent drafting, patent prosecution, and counseling clients on the validity of a patent or the patentability of new ideas. He is admitted to practice in Tennessee, Kentucky, and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Madison L. Martin is a member of the firm’s Creditors’ Rights & Bankruptcy Service Group. Her experience concentrates on commercial bankruptcy matters, including the representation of secured and unsecured creditors, including but not limited to financial institutions, trade vendors, committees, landlords, defendants in preference actions, and parties involved in out of court restructurings and distressed asset sales. She has significant experience representing financial institutions throughout the loan transaction process, including loan documentation and renewals, as well as loan re-works and reorganizations. She is admitted to practice in Delaware, Illinois and Tennessee.
Kenneth J. Gish, Jr., is a member of the Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Service Group, where his practice focuses on complex facility permitting, electric utility regulation, sustainability, hazardous waste remediation, renewable and alternative energy development, compliance with regulatory requirements and environmental litigation. He represents the firm’s clients in all stages of the permitting process from application to appeals and in matters before administrative bodies and in state and federal court. He also assists clients in managing regulatory compliance matters arising from federal, state and local laws. He is admitted to practice in Kentucky and Washington.
W. Robert Meyer is a member of the firm’s Creditors’ Rights & Bankruptcy Service Group. His practice focuses on creditors’ rights, commercial foreclosure, receiverships, workouts, judgment enforcement, collections, and bankruptcy. He represents national and regional lenders and loan servicers in complex commercial foreclosure and bankruptcy matters in state and federal courts throughout Kentucky and Indiana. He is admitted in Kentucky and Indiana.
Jennifer L. Kovalcik is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property & Technology Service Group. Her practice concentrates on designing and implementing intellectual property protection plans, enforcing intellectual property assets and software licensing. Ms. Kovalcik is involved in a variety of litigation in both federal and state courts. She also prosecutes trademark and copyright registration applications, litigates trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings, handles domain name and internet content disputes, as well as negotiates and drafts licenses and other contracts that implicate intellectual property or technology rights. She also interacts with U.S. Customs & Border Protection to enforce trademarks through seizure orders. She is admitted to practice in Tennessee and Kentucky.
Brian C. Neal is a member of the firm’s Business Litigation and Torts & Insurance Practice Service Groups. He concentrates his practice on trial work in connection with complex commercial disputes, bad-faith insurance defense, products liability and general litigation. Mr. Neal has served as first-chair litigator in a wide range of matters, and he has experience litigating matters on appeal before the highest courts in Tennessee. He is admitted to practice in Tennessee.