Philadelphia, PA – January 3, 2012 – Pepper Hamilton LLP announced that four associates have been elected to the partnership and three have been elected of counsel, effective January 1, 2012. All were promoted from within the firm.
Those elected as partners are:
Joy A. Barrist – Wilmington, Financial Services
N. Nicole Endejann – Pittsburgh, Intellectual Property
Joseph T. Helmsen – Pittsburgh, Intellectual Property
Justin G. Weber – Harrisburg, Commercial Litigation
Elected as of counsel are:
James C. Carignan – Wilmington, Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy
Kurt A. Kissling – Detroit, Environmental
Evelyn J. Meltzer – Wilmington, Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy
Details about the new partners are as follows:
Joy A. Barrist is a member of the Financial Services Practice Group of Pepper Hamilton, resident in the Wilmington office. Ms. Barrist regularly represents financial institutions in various types of secured and unsecured commercial loan transactions, and as participants and lead lenders in syndicated loan transactions. She also represents investors and developers in real estate sales and acquisitions, and landlords and tenants in the negotiation, drafting and termination of leases for office and retail properties. Ms. Barrist is a 2001 graduate of Villanova University School of Law. She received her undergraduate degree from The College of New Jersey in 1998, with a B.A. in political science. Ms. Barrist resides in Newtown Square, Pa.
N. Nicole Endejann is a member of Pepper Hamilton’s Intellectual Property Practice Group, resident in the Pittsburgh office. A registered patent attorney since 2002, she concentrates her practice in intellectual property law, including strategic patent prosecution and counseling and due diligence in the pharmaceutical, chemical, medical and other life sciences fields. Ms. Endejann is a 1999 graduate of Ohio Northern University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and graduated with high distinction. She is a 2002 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Akron School of Law. Ms. Endejann lives outside of Akron, Ohio.
Joseph T. Helmsen is a registered patent attorney and a member of the Intellectual Property Practice Group of Pepper Hamilton, resident in the Pittsburgh office. He helps clients identify, protect and maximize the value of their intellectual property. Mr. Helmsen assists his clients in developing and securing their intellectual property assets, including acquiring patents and trademarks, protecting their trade secrets and prosecuting intellectual property matters. His clients have a wide variety of technological specialties in the electrical and computer arts, including biometric authentication and authorization, high-speed digital networking applications, project management software applications and social networking Web site development. Mr. Helmsen received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University (B.S., cum laude, 1992; and M.S. 1994), and his law degree from George Washington University Law School (J.D., cum laude, 2002). He is a resident of Cranberry Township, Pa.
Justin G. Weber is member of Pepper Hamilton’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group, resident in the Harrisburg office. Mr. Weber represents businesses and business owners in litigating and resolving disputes in both state and federal courts and before administrative agencies. He has successfully tried both jury and bench trials, arbitrations and administrative agency hearings. Mr. Weber graduated magna cum laude from the Dickinson School of Law in 2002 where he was a member of the Woolsack Honor Society, the Speakers Trust and the Student Faculty Hiring Committee. He received his B.A. from Goshen College in 1999, with a focus on business administration and economics. Mr. Weber resides in Dillsburg, Pa.
Details about the new of counsel are as follows:
James C. Carignan is a member of the Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy Practice Group in the Wilmington office of Pepper Hamilton. He concentrates his practice primarily in the areas of bankruptcy, reorganization, creditors’ rights and out-of-court workouts. Mr. Carignan is experienced in representing debtors, creditors’ committees, estate representatives, as well as secured and unsecured creditors and commercial lessors in bankruptcy cases. Mr. Carignan received his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law and his B.A. in political science from the University of Central Florida. He lives in Philadelphia, Pa.
Kurt A. Kissling is a member of Pepper Hamilton’s Environmental Practice Group, resident in the Detroit office. He also is a member of the Sustainability, CleanTech and Climate Change Team. Mr. Kissling focuses his practice on environmental law and specializes in addressing issues under the Clean Air Act and its state/local counterparts. He counsels regional and national clients regarding regulatory compliance, defends them in civil and criminal enforcement proceedings, assists with shaping and challenging regulatory changes, and represents them in environmental litigation. Mr. Kissling received his undergraduate degree, with honors, from Valparaiso University in 1996, with a B.S. in civil engineering and chemistry minor. He received his J.D. and a master’s degree in environmental law, cum laude, from Vermont Law School in 2000, where he was managing editor of the Vermont Law Review. Mr. Kissling is a resident of Royal Oak, Mich.
Evelyn J. Meltzer is a member of the Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy Practice Group of Pepper Hamilton, resident in the Wilmington office. Ms. Meltzer has experience in representing debtors, trustees, committees of unsecured creditors, post-confirmation trusts as well as individual creditors in bankruptcy proceedings. Additionally, she acts as counsel for both plaintiffs and defendants in various bankruptcy related litigation matters. Ms. Meltzer is a 2001 graduate of Northwestern University School of Law. She received her undergraduate degree from Drew University, summa cum laude, with a B.A. in sociology and political science. Ms. Meltzer lives in Aston, Pa.
About Pepper Hamilton
Pepper Hamilton LLP (www.pepperlaw.com) is a multi-practice law firm with more than 500 lawyers nationally. The firm provides corporate, litigation and regulatory legal services to leading businesses, governmental entities, nonprofit organizations and individuals throughout the nation and the world. The firm was founded in 1890.
