Joseph D. Garrison, managing shareholder of Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Chimes, Richardson & Fitzgerald PC in New Haven, Connecticut, focuses his practice on employee rights. Mr. Garrison graduated from Wesleyan University in 1965 and Cornell Law School in 1968. He served as president of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA, advocates for employee rights) and as a member of the board of directors of NELA for fifteen years. He was a founding Governor, Charter Fellow, and president of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Mr. Garrison has been a speaker at numerous national employment law seminars sponsored by the American Bar Association, BNA Books, and NELA. He serves on the Council for the Labor and Employment Section of the American Bar Association and is its liaison for the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee. In Connecticut, he served as president of the Connecticut Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section, as chairman of the Federal Court Grievance Committee, as the founding chairman of the Connecticut Employment Lawyers Association, and on the Board of Governors of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association. Honored as one of the Best Lawyers In America from 1987 to the present and Super Lawyers from 2006 to the present, Mr. Garrison recently became a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, The American College of Trial Lawyers, and The American Law Institute. He is increasingly active as a mediator and an arbitrator, particularly in employment cases, and is listed as a mediator and an arbitrator on AAA’s employment panels. In 2009, he was appointed to AAA’s board of directors.
George P. McAndrews is a founder and managing partner of McAndrews, Held & Malloy Ltd. His practice focus is on counseling clients regarding all phases of patent, trademark, antitrust, fiduciary duty, unfair competition, warranty, and other intellectual property law, and in litigating such cases, both complex and simple, involving mechanical, electrical, and chemical subject matter, primarily before juries, in federal and state courts and before administrative bodies such as the International Trade Commission throughout the United States. Mr. McAndrews received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering (with honors) from the University of Notre Dame, where he was elected “Engineer of the Year.” He received a doctorate of jurisprudence from the same university, ranking second in his class, having been editor-in-chief of the Notre Dame Law Review and chairman of the National Council of Law Review Editors. He served as law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and currently serves on the Advisory Council of the College of Law at the University of Notre Dame. Lecturing widely before business and academic groups on intellectual property law and on trial techniques before juries and judges, Mr. McAndrews has addressed circuit conferences of U.S. judges on various aspects of trial practice. He is the recipient of honorary doctorates of humane letters and of human biology from academic institutions in the United States. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. Mr. McAndrews has represented clients in billion-dollar patent disputes. Few litigation specialists have achieved the large number of multi-million dollar awards or settlements credited to Mr. McAndrews ($2,000,000,000; $19,000,000; $17,200,000; $14,600,000; $13,000,000; $8,000,000; $8,000,000; $6,000,000; $3,500,000; $2,800,000; $1,000,000). He also represents clients that have been unjustly accused of patent or trademark infringement or to whom exorbitant, unjustified demands have been made. On July 16, 2001, Mr. McAndrews was featured in the National Law Journal as being among ten of the Nation’s Leading Litigators—the only patent trial attorney selected for that year. In 2004, Chambers and Partners, legal publishers, described him as a “preeminent trial lawyer” and ranked him as the number one patent trial lawyer in Illinois. He has been selected for inclusion in An International Who’s Who of Patent Lawyers, as well as Guide to the World’s Leading Patent Law Experts. In 2008 he was designated as a “Band 1” lawyer and “an outstanding trial lawyer” by Chambers USA Client Guide; as a “dean of the Bar” and “one of the chapter’s most nominated professionals” by Who’sWhoLegal; and as “highly recommended” by PLC Which Lawyer? Mr. McAndrews’ clients have included DuPont, General Foods, Laporte, Merck, Weyerhaeuser, Genlyte, American Home Products, Spalding, Heil, Solo Cup, Fort Howard, Beloit, Prestolite, Maremont, Evenflo, Rexam, Belden, Arachnid, Thetford, CSP Technologies Inc., Rockwood Specialties Inc., E.H. Wachs Co., The American Chiropractic Association, and other national and international companies. He was lead trial counsel for the successful plaintiffs in the celebrated fourteen-year antitrust case titled Wilk v. American Medical Association 895 F.2d 352 (7th Cir. 1990).
Kevin R. Pinegar is a co-founder of the law firm Durham Jones & Pinegar and since July 2007 has served as its president. He also serves as chairman of the firm’s board of directors; he is former chair of the firm’s Corporate and Securities Practice Section. Mr. Pinegar joined the firm in 1994; he previously was a shareholder in the Salt Lake City law firm Kesler & Rust. In 2008 and 2009, Mr. Pinegar was recognized by Chambers’ “America’s Leading Lawyers for Business” in the area of Corporate Law. For more than twenty years, Mr. Pinegar’s practice has included advising public (reporting) company clients and their executive management and boards of directors in connection with regulatory disclosure obligations, corporate governance, and general corporate matters and transactions. Mr. Pinegar represents public and private companies in a broad range of corporate finance and business combination transactions, including public and private securities offerings, debt and equity financing transactions, mergers, stock and asset acquisitions, and other corporate partnering transactions. He has been involved in a number of public and private business transactions, including public and private acquisitions, registered and private securities offerings, licensing and marketing transactions, and general legal advice. Mr. Pinegar is a member of the Board of Governors of the Salt Lake Chamber and is active in community and state bar organizations. He is a former member of the J. Rueben Clark Law School Alumni Association Board of Trustees and served previously as an officer in the International Section of the Utah State Bar. Mr. Pinegar received his law degree from the J. Rueben Clark Law School in 1982 and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brigham Young University in 1979. He is admitted to practice in Utah, Idaho, and Washington and before the United States Supreme Court.
Ronald H. Shechtman is Pryor Cashman’s managing partner and chair of the firm’s Labor and Employment Group. Before joining Pryor Cashman, he was a partner with Gordon & Shechtman PC. Mr. Shechtman represents diverse clients in labor-management relations matters and in employment matters dealing with the increasing legal complexity of today’s workplace. He litigates labor-management, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), wrongful discharge, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and related matters and assists clients in developing strategies to mitigate exposure to litigation and liability arising from the employment relationship. Named a “Super Lawyer” in the area of Employment and Labor Law, Mr. Shechtman frequently lectures and publishes in this area. He is on the faculty of New York University Law School, where he has taught labor law courses. In addition, he is a board member of the Law School’s Center for Labor and Employment Law. Mr. Shechtman also represents many companies, non-profit organizations, and artists in the entertainment, insurance, and restaurant industries, among others. He is active on a pro bono basis with a number of non-profit organizations, primarily in the performing arts. As Pryor Cashman’s managing partner, Mr. Shechtman focuses on enhancing client relationships, attracting and retaining top legal talent to serve clients, and developing the firm’s strategic direction. Since assuming the role in 2007, he has focused on preserving a culture at Pryor Cashman that fosters collegiality and an entrepreneurial spirit, allowing partners independence in how they develop and maintain their practices. The firm has recently been named by The American Lawyer as one of the forty “hot” mid-sized firms in the United States and by Crain’s New York Business as one of the fifty best places to work in New York City. A 1972 graduate of New York University School of Law, where he was an Arthur Garfield Hays Fellow and editor of the New York University Law Review, Mr. Shechtman has been a member of its faculty since 2004. He received his BA from Amherst College. Mr. Shechtman is AV Peer Review Rated, Martindale Hubbell’s highest peer recognition for ethical standards and legal ability.
Benjamin F. Wilson is the managing principal of Beveridge & Diamond PC. He joined the firm as a principal in 1986 and has been a past member of the firm’s Management Committee and past chairman of the Litigation Practice Group. His present litigation practice encompasses a wide range of activities in both state and federal courts, including commercial litigation matters, environmental litigation, employment litigation, and regulatory matters. He has been lead counsel in several complex commercial and environmental litigation matters for major corporations and developers. Mr. Wilson also has represented a number of cities and local government agencies on Clean Water Act enforcement and wetlands development matters. Mr. Wilson draws his litigation expertise from experience in both the public and private sectors. A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Mr. Wilson graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1973 with an A.B. degree in history. While at Dartmouth, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and named both a Rufus Choate Scholar and a Senior Fellow. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1976. Currently, Mr. Wilson is serving as lead counsel in a major chromium cleanup litigation in New Jersey. He served as lead counsel for a number of municipalities, including the City of New Orleans; the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans; the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority; the Metropolitan Water District of Greater Chicago; the San Antonio Water System; and the City of New Haven, Connecticut, among others. Mr. Wilson also has served as lead counsel on several major environmental litigation matters, on behalf of municipalities, which involve construction law claims and disputes. These included lawsuits against a manufacturer of heat treatment systems and sludge drying systems for wastewater treatment plants. Mr. Wilson is experienced in dealing with cases involving the impact of the filling of wetlands and the obligations to comply with federal and state environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. Specifically, he has become involved in both regulatory and litigation issues arising out of the filling of wetlands as part of the expansion of airports and stadium projects. He has served as lead counsel in numerous Superfund cases and on environmental audits and assessments pertaining to the sale of corporations and their assets. Mr. Wilson has served as lead environmental counsel to the District of Columbia Sports and Entertainment Commission on the project to build the new Verizon Center for the Washington Wizards professional basketball team and Washington Capitals professional hockey team. He also represented prospective developers on the proposed football stadium for the Washington Redskins. He has addressed issues related to the siting of the arena, as well as environmental issues related to historic preservation, soil contamination, air, ground traffic, noise, visual impacts, and wetlands. Mr. Wilson has represented financial bodies on a wide variety of environmental issues pertaining to the sale and ownership of real property and on wetlands and Endangered Species Act litigation, as well as several complex commercial litigation matters. After several years in private practice with the Atlanta, Georgia, law firm of King & Spalding, specializing in litigation and tax matters, Mr. Wilson joined the Civil Division of the Department of Justice in 1979. At the Justice Department, he gained substantial trial expertise in commercial litigation matters, appearing on behalf of the government in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Claims and district courts throughout the United States. While at the department, he received Special Achievement Awards in recognition of his performance in 1981 and 1982. Prior to joining Beveridge & Diamond P.C., Mr. Wilson joined the law firmof Rose, Schmidt, Chapman, Duff and Hasley as an associate in 1983. In 1985, he became a partner in the firm, specializing in civil litigation. Mr. Wilson has counseled small and developing businesses throughout his career. He has also counseled on a variety of commercial contract matters and negotiated player contracts on behalf of professional athletes. A member of the bars of Georgia and the District of Columbia, Mr. Wilson is active in the American Bar Association, the National Bar Association, where he has served for fifteen years on the Environmental, Energy, and Public Utilities Section (including serving as past chairman), and the Washington Bar Association. Mr. Wilson serves as an adjunct professor in environmental law at the Howard University Law School, where he teaches courses on environmental law and environmental justice. He was also appointed to the National Environmental Justice Committee as one of three representatives of corporate America in 2004. Mr. Wilson also serves as cochairman of the American Bar Association Environmental Justice Committee, which received the Committee Excellence Award in 2004 for the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities. In February of 2010, Mr. Wilson received the National Bar Association Corporate Law Section’s coveted Outstanding Outside Counsel Award for his excellent work on behalf of his clients and his work promoting diversity in the profession. In 2009, he received the Wiley Branton Award for outstanding achievement in civil rights law by the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Development (WLC). The Environmental Leadership Program’s (ELP’s) Mid-Atlantic Network also honored his work with “A Celebration of Leadership: Remembering Dr. King’s Environmental Legacy with Benjamin Wilson.” In 2008, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) published a profile on Mr. Wilson in The Environmental Forum. In the profile, “The Defender,” ELI notes that he “sees representing business and governmental clients not only as a mandate to achieve their goals but as an opportunity to benefit the environment and civil rights.” Mr. Wilson has served as both a member (2003) and chairman (2004) of the Policyowners’ Examining Committee for Northwestern Mutual. From 1990 to 2004, he served as chairman of the board of Elections and Ethics of the District of Columbia. He has served two terms as co-chairman of the Washington Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. He has served as the chairman of the board of directors of Healthy Babies Inc., chairman of the board of the Dwight A. Mosley Memorial Fund, chairman of the Advisory Board of WAMU public radio, and member of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, and he has also served on the boards of funds for the Community’s Future and the Advisory Board of the National Association for Public Interest Law. He is AV Peer Review Rated.
