Roetzel & Andress is proud to announce it has appointed five attorneys across three offices in Akron, Cleveland and Fort Myers to serve in the following leadership roles:
- Sean M. Ellis (Fort Myers) has been appointed shareholder-in-charge of the Fort Myers office.
- Aretta K. Bernard (Akron) has been selected to serve as practice group manager of the Employment Services Group.
- Lori L. Moore (Fort Myers) has been appointed practice group manager of Real Estate.
- Rachael L. Russo (Cleveland) has been selected as practice group manager of Business Litigation.
- Albert N. Salvatore (Cleveland) will serve as practice group manager of Corporate, Tax & Transactional.
“Sean, Aretta, Lori, Rachael and Al each possess tremendous leadership skills and have a strong vision for our future,” said Bob Blackham, Roetzel Chairman. “They are highly respected within our firm and in the industries in which they practice. We are grateful to them for stepping into these key roles.”
Sean Ellis has more than 20 years of experience in real estate law, development, condominium and community association law, and closing and title services. His real estate clients include developers, homebuilders, individuals and financial institutions. His association clients include both residential and commercial condominium associations and HOAs. Ellis has represented multiple developers in the creation and development of condominium projects, including residential, commercial, and complex mixed-used and hotel condominiums.
With decades of experience in labor and employment litigation, Bernard has handled a wide range of cases, from non-compete and trade secret violations to complex, multi-party employment and public accommodation discrimination cases. Bernard is also well-versed in traditional labor issues, such as contract negotiation, arbitration, and unfair labor practice charges. With extensive experience in state and federal laws prohibiting discrimination and harassment, Bernard represents both private and public employers, as well as individuals accused of discrimination based on age, handicap, race, sex and housing. Bernard has a wealth of experience in trying both individual and multi-party cases, successfully bringing many to verdict. She has served as lead counsel in numerous employment law and discrimination cases for local and national clients. In addition, Bernard represents clients in administrative actions before both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC).
In addition to her work as a litigator, Bernard counsels employers across a number of industries on employment-related matters, recognizing that prevention and compliance minimize the risk of future litigation. She also aids employers by conducting and/or supervising employee investigations when circumstances in the workplace warrant.
Lori Moore focuses her practice in banking and commercial real estate, with extensive experience handling financial transactions and loan workouts from both the lender and borrower perspectives. Her practice also includes representation of owners, developers, and companies in real estate transactions, including acquisitions, sales, leasing, and title claims work, and corporate governance and transactional matters.
She spent a number of years practicing in real estate and commercial litigation, and has been involved in both trials and dispute resolution in connection therewith. Moore’s exposure and litigation experience allows her to uniquely analyze real estate issues from both a litigation and transactional perspective.
Rachael Russo focuses on complex commercial contract disputes, construction litigation, white collar criminal investigations, antitrust litigation, claims arising out of Ponzi schemes and other alleged frauds, securities litigation, and trade secret/noncompetition litigation.
Russo has experience handling complex construction litigation matters, including disputes involving public construction contracts and public school projects. She has successfully argued construction litigation issues at the appellate level. Russo has considerable experience in multidistrict litigation and class action defense, including representing a national bank in a federal multi-district commercial fraud case. She has also successfully defended a major manufacturer in an action to prevent the public disclosure of confidential information produced during the discovery process. Russo has litigated civil and criminal actions in state and federal courts throughout the U.S., and has represented clients in arbitration, mediation and other alternative dispute resolution proceedings.
For more than 35 years, Albert Salvatore has been using his business and tax expertise to help clients navigate legal and business challenges. He provides guidance to clients throughout the entire business lifecycle, from early stage startups to high-growth private companies and publicly traded entities. Salvatore advises on entity selection and formation, corporate governance, debt and equity structuring and financings, divestitures, joint ventures, strategic alliances, and succession planning. Salvatore has also facilitated the acquisition of U.S. businesses and operations by international corporations and has helped companies navigate the complexities of corporate reorganizations.
Salvatore is experienced in representing shareholders whose interests and assets are at risk when disputes arise over breach of operating agreements, self-dealing, breaches of fiduciary duty, or failures to act in a company’s best interest. He has successfully resolved numerous shareholder disputes with corporate directors and C-suite officers, often avoiding costly litigation.
Roetzel made additional firm leadership announcements earlier this year with shareholders Jason Dodson, Michael Scotti III, Justin P. Markey, Lewis W. Adkins, Jr. and John J. (Jay) Rutter taking on new roles to better position the firm for the future.
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