5 Holland & Knight Partners Named Rising Stars by Law360
MIAMI (June 4, 2021) – Five Holland & Knight partners have been selected as 2021 "Rising Stars" by Law360. This honor recognizes the top five lawyers under the age of 40 in the country in each of 38 practice areas.
Holland & Knight's 2021 Law360 "Rising Stars" are:
- Chelsea Ashbrook McCarthy – Benefits
- Leila George-Wheeler – Compliance
- Adam J. Paterno – Construction
- Taite R. McDonald – Energy
- David J. Lisko – Sports & Betting
Ms. McCarthy focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation and litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Most recently, she was successful in obtaining a complete dismissal for Willamette Management Associates in a lawsuit involving the Appvion Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) that alleged claims against various directors, trustees and valuation firms. Her client was a third-party valuation advisor to the trustee at the implementation of the ESOP.
Ms. George-Wheeler practices in the areas of white collar defense, government and internal investigations, as well as government contracts and other regulatory compliance. She manages internal investigations and compliance reviews for companies of all sizes across a number of highly regulated industries including defense, homeland security, healthcare and finance. Ms. George-Wheeler handles complex, high-stakes, high-profile matters, often involving all three branches of government. She is currently representing clients responding to Office of Inspector General (OIG), Department of Justice (DOJ) and congressional investigations.
Mr. Paterno is a New York construction law attorney who frequently represents owners, developers, contractors, subcontractors, construction managers and design professionals in contract drafting and negotiations. In particular, he has significant experience representing large academic, medical and commercial institutions on a wide array of public and private projects. Currently, he is assisting Jamestown, an international real estate investment and management company, in connection with the redevelopment of One Times Square, home of the annual New Year's Eve ball drop. He also is actively engaged in representing NYU Langone Health with its construction efforts in the New York metropolitan area and in other parts of the United States.
A member of the firm's Public Policy & Regulation Group in Washington, D.C., Ms. McDonald focuses her practice at the intersection of innovation and government. She is especially well versed in running complex, cross-government matters with intricate legal, policy and financing components and is highly knowledgeable in the areas of energy technology commercialization, federal energy procurement, green hydrogen, biofuels, direct air capture, domestic battery production and materials, innovative Department of Defense contracting, and government grants and loan guarantees. Ms. McDonald is widely recognized as a leading subject matter expert for the Department of Energy Loan Program Office.
Mr. Lisko is a litigator and business attorney who focuses part of his practice on sports law. He serves as a professional sports agent, an outside general counsel to professional athletes in litigation and corporate matters, and as outside counsel to professional sports teams and companies. Over the past year, he has advised professional sports teams, two university sports teams and numerous other sports industry clients on how to shape their employment policies and procedures relating to COVID-19.
Law360 reviewed more than 1,400 submissions for the 2021 "Rising Stars" distinction. The final list includes 180 attorneys from more than 80 law firms. Winners were selected based on their career accomplishments in their respective practice areas.