Blank Rome is pleased to announce that the firm has expanded its
national platform with the opening of a new office in Boston,
anchored by 13 partners with leading corporate, finance, mergers
and acquisitions (“M&A”), tax, litigation, and cannabis
practices. Joining the partners are 12 associates and several
business professionals. The premier team of nationally recognized
attorneys, led by partners Frank A. Segall and Josef
B. Volman, join from Burns & Levinson LLP where for more than
25 years they served as chairs of the Corporate, Finance, and
Cannabis Practice Groups.
Joining as Boston Office Co-Chairs:
- Frank A. Segall, Partner and Co-Chair, Cannabis
Practice, a renowned corporate lawyer known as the
ultimate deal maker and a pioneer within the cannabis industry,
negotiates complex business deals, including mergers, acquisitions,
sales, syndications, loans, restructurings, and equity
investments.
- Josef B. Volman, Partner, a go-to dealmaker in
the middle-market community, advises clients with respect to
M&A, and represents entrepreneurs, venture capital funds, and
other investors through all phases of the fundraising process
including public offerings.
Joining as Partners:
- Michael S. Andreasen focuses on general
corporate, M&A, finance, securities, venture capital, and
private equity matters.
- Caitlin E. Barrett represents lenders and
borrowers in a variety of commercial finance transactions and
advises both purchasers and sellers in the structuring and
negotiation of mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.
- Rodney A. Bedow focuses his tax practice
on planning and transactions involving C corporations, S
corporations, and partnerships, and has extensive background in
U.S. international taxation.
- Max M. Borg focuses his cannabis practice
on M&A, securities offerings, debt financings, restructurings,
securities laws compliance, corporate governance, and related
commercial transactions.
- Gil Breiman represents investors and
entrepreneurs launching, growing, and exiting innovative businesses
in a broad spectrum of high technology and life sciences
fields.
- Alison R. Harrall advises clients on
transactional matters and practices in the areas of corporate
governance, private equity, venture capital financing, debt and
equity financing, and M&A.
- Mark W. Manning serves as a legal and
business adviser across a wide array of practices, including
M&A, growth capital, and intellectual property.
- Scott H. Moskol, Co-Chair, Cannabis Practice,
is nationally recognized as a trailblazer in the cannabis industry
and counsels clients in the cannabis and other industries with
respect to all legal issues that may arise in restructurings,
workouts, bankruptcies, receiverships, and other insolvency-related
matters, including distressed M&A.
- Robert A. Petitt focuses on capital
markets, securities law, M&A, and corporate governance matters
for both public and private company clients.
- Chad J. Porter handles a range of
business law matters including M&A, commercial financing
arrangements, private equity transactions, and securities
transactions and compliance.
- Thomas T. Reith litigates and manages
nationwide complex commercial litigation for clients ranging
from Fortune 100 companies to family-owned
businesses.
Joining as Associates: Austin M. Abir, Lauren
G. Barrett, Naveed Cheraghchi, Lauren Medeiros Forster, Carmen F.
Francella III, Benjamin I. Holman, Michael J. Moyer, Marc A.
Polito, Donald J. Slater, Jr., Kaitlin T. Spurling, Michael W.
Stack, and Gustav Stickley V.
“We are thrilled to welcome this outstanding group of corporate
and finance attorneys—one of the leading corporate teams in the
market—to Blank Rome and have them establish our presence in
Boston,” said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Rome’s Chair
and Managing Partner. “Guided by our strategic plan,
we seek measured growth opportunities that support our national
profile, enable our attorneys to serve our clients at the highest
levels, and strengthen our culture, which is critical to our
success. Our new colleagues are renowned practitioners and great
people who are a perfect fit. Additionally, this powerhouse team is
nationally recognized for their corporate, finance, M&A,
securities, and litigation work, as well as their market-leading
transactional cannabis practice, which Blank Rome has been looking
to develop nationally. This is a very exciting development for our
firm and, under the leadership of Frank and Joe, we look forward to
expanding our presence and capabilities in Boston to continue to
meet the sophisticated business and legal needs of our
clients.”
“There are remarkable synergies between our practices and Blank
Rome’s national platform, making it a natural fit to join the firm
and open its Boston office,” said Frank A. Segall,
Partner and Co-Chair of the Boston Office
and Cannabis Practice. “Blank Rome has
tremendous experience in practices and industries where our clients
need expanded counsel, including banking, bankruptcy and
restructuring, fund formation, real estate, tax, cybersecurity,
technology, and life sciences, to name a few. Working in
collaboration with our new, talented colleagues across the firm, we
can help our clients see around corners, mitigate risk, and capture
new opportunities.”
Corporate and Finance Practice
The corporate and finance attorneys joining Blank Rome counsel
clients across a broad range of legal services including acting as
corporate counsel, and advising on mergers, acquisitions,
securities law, private equity, venture capital, and finance. They
serve an expansive range of clients including local, national, and
international corporations in a wide variety of industries from
emerging businesses to established commercial entities. More
specifically, the team works with public companies, middle-market
companies, closely held private businesses, family-owned
enterprises, financing sources, entrepreneurial start-ups, and
individuals to help them create and achieve their business goals in
an ever-changing environment. The team also represents many
financial institutions including banks and private credit funds in
sophisticated lending transactions. They are committed to building
strong relationships with their clients, being responsive to client
needs, and providing the highest quality legal services.
“We are thrilled to bring our entire corporate and finance team
of 25 attorneys to Blank Rome and have the opportunity to support
our clients from the firm’s national platform with offices in key
markets,” added Josef B. Volman, Partner and Boston
Office Co-Chair. “It is rare to have a team like ours
that has practiced together for 25 years. We are proud of the
family like atmosphere we have fostered among our team and are
fortunate to have found an Am Law 100 firm that has the same
collegial culture and values. We look forward to collaborating with
our new colleagues to serve our clients and community.”
The corporate and finance team has received countless awards for
their work. For example, Frank, Josef, Caitlin, Alison, Mark, and
Chad were recently named to the 2024 Lawdragon
500 Leading Dealmakers in America list, and Frank and Josef
have been recognized as Go To Business Transactions Lawyers
by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
“Adding an office in Boston with this highly skilled corporate
and finance team, which includes several lawyers representing a
number of common banking and finance clients, adds exceptional
depth and talent to our leading national Finance practice,”
said Lawrence F. Flick II, Blank Rome’s Vice Chair and
Chair, Financial Services Industry
Team.
Cannabis Practice
The cannabis team joining Blank Rome was among the first in the
Country to develop and utilize its extensive corporate and finance
experience to create a practice specifically targeted to the
cannabis industry. Today, the attorneys advise clients navigating
the complex legal and business framework surrounding the rapidly
growing cannabis industry. They offer unrivaled experience and a
full scope of services including cannabis business formation and
legal and regulatory compliance; corporate structuring; joint
ventures; M&A; fund formation; debt and equity financing; real
estate acquisitions and leasing; restructurings, workouts, and
receiverships; labor and employment issues; intellectual property
protection; 280E taxation issues; and, if necessary, litigation
services.
In recognition of their leading position in the cannabis
industry, the team has received numerous accolades,
including Law360’s prestigious 2023 Cannabis Practice
Group of the Year, which was presented to only five groups
nationwide. Additionally, Frank was named the 2022 Cannabis MVP of
the Year by Law360. Over the years, the team and its members
have also been recognized for leadership in the field of cannabis
law, earning titles such as New England Trailblazer by The
American Lawyer and Cannabis Trailblazer by The National
Law Journal.
“Blank Rome is committed to establishing and supporting a
national Cannabis practice, which aligns with what Frank
and I and our dedicated cannabis team have built over the last 12
years,” said Scott H. Moskol, Partner and Co-Chair of
the Cannabis Practice. “We have been at the forefront
of the industry and as the cannabis market continues to
mature, cannabis businesses, investors, and ancillary
companies that sell products and services to the cannabis community
will need increasingly sophisticated corporate, M&A, tax,
regulatory, finance, restructuring, and litigation counsel in key
markets across the country. At Blank Rome, we look
forward to expanding the legal and business support that we provide
to clients operating in the cannabis space to help them
succeed in this constantly shifting maze of rules.”
About Blank Rome
Blank Rome is an Am Law 100 firm with 16 offices and more than
700 attorneys and principals who provide comprehensive legal and
advocacy services to clients operating in the United States and
around the world. Our professionals have built a reputation for
their leading knowledge and experience across a spectrum of
industries and are recognized for their commitment to pro bono work
in their communities. Since our inception in 1946, Blank Rome’s
culture has been dedicated to providing top-level service to all
our clients and has been rooted in the strength of our diversity
and inclusion initiatives. For more information, please visit
blankrome.com.
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- Blank Rome Launches in Boston with Prominent 25-Attorney
Corporate and Finance Team
Abby Moriarty
Blank Rome LLP
3127762597
abby.moriarty@blankrome.com