Eversheds Sutherland Appoints New Partners in Charge for Four US Offices

Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce the appointment of new leadership for our offices in Atlanta, Houston, New York and Washington DC. As of January 1, 2021, Partners Kristina Kopf Thomas, Marlene C. Williams, Dodie C. Kent and Susan G. Lafferty are the Partners in Charge for their respective offices. They succeed Partners Daniel J. Warren, Robert E. Copps and Amish M. Shah, respectively. 

"Kristina, Marlene, Dodie and Susan are not only outstanding with clients, they have become leaders in their offices and practice areas. I have every confidence that their leadership will bring continued success and growth to our offices and the firm," said Mark. D. Wasserman, Co-CEO of Eversheds Sutherland. "I also want to thank Dan, David, Bob and Amish for their stewardship and contributions over the past few years."

Atlanta – Kristina Thomas, partner in the Real Estate Practice Group, is a commercial real estate and fund formation attorney with more than 15 years of experience working with real estate industry clients on a broad spectrum of transactions. Kristina has a strong background in the structuring and formation of private equity real estate investment funds and joint ventures for the acquisition, operation and development of real estate assets. Kristina succeeds Partner Dan Warren, who led the Atlanta office for nearly 12 years. 

Houston – Marlene Williams, partner in the Litigation Practice Group, is a seasoned litigator who guides her clients through complex labor and employment matters, defending Fortune 100 companies in class action disputes and collective action litigation. With clients spanning a variety of industries, including energy, chemical, media, retail, manufacturing and healthcare services, she has served as lead counsel in bench and jury trials, in appeals in federal and state appellate courts, and in arbitrations, including cases involving multiple parties and millions of dollars in claims. Marlene succeeds a partner who held the position for the past four years.

New York – Dodie Kent, partner in the Insurance Practice Group, has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry and advises clients on a wide range of regulatory and compliance topics. She counsels a wide range of insurance companies and industry participants on product design, implementation and administrative issues as they relate to variable, index-linked and fixed life insurance, and annuity products. Dodie succeeds Partner Bob Copps who led the New York office for nearly two years. 

Washington DC – Susan Lafferty, partner in the Energy Practice Group, advises clients on an array of energy and environmental issues impacting the petroleum, biofuels and energy trading industries. Susan’s extensive practice covers regulatory, commercial and policy issues related to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), renewable identification number (RIN) trading, state low carbon fuel standards (LCFS), gasoline and ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) requirements, and shipping all types of commodities by rail, vessel or truck. Susan succeeds Partner Amish Shah, who served in the position for five years. 

About Eversheds Sutherland
As a global top 10 law practice, Eversheds Sutherland provides legal services to a global client base ranging from small and mid-sized businesses to the largest multinationals, acting for 75 of the Fortune 100, 68 of the FTSE 100 and 113 of the Fortune 200.

With more than 3,000 lawyers, Eversheds Sutherland operates in 68 offices in 32 jurisdictions across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. In addition, a network of more than 200 related law firms, including formalized alliances in Latin America, Asia Pacific and Africa, provide support around the globe.

Eversheds Sutherland provides the full range of legal services, including corporate and M&A; dispute resolution and litigation; energy and infrastructure; finance; human capital and labor law; intellectual property; real estate and construction; and tax.

Eversheds Sutherland is a global legal practice and comprises two separate legal entities: Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP (headquartered in the UK) and Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP (headquartered in the US), and their respective controlled, managed, affiliated and member firms. The use of the name Eversheds Sutherland is for description purposes only and does not imply that the member firms or their controlled, managed or affiliated entities are in a partnership or are part of a global LLP. For more information, visit eversheds-sutherland.com.