DLA Piper announces new office and practice group leadership

DLA Piper is pleased to announce several recent changes to the firm's US office and practice group leadership. They include:

• Chicago – Raj Shah joins Jesse Criz as co-managing partner of the office.

• Los Angeles – Angela Agrusa becomes managing partner.

• San Francisco – Dean Fealk becomes managing partner.

• Silicon Valley – Victoria Lee becomes managing partner of the office, and Carrie Williamson joins Lee as deputy managing partner. Lee also takes on the role of regional managing partner for Northern California.

• Wilmington – Matthew Denn becomes managing partner.

• Real Estate – Barbara Trachtenberg becomes co-vice chair of the practice, joining Richard Klawiter.

• Restructuring – Thomas Califano becomes sole US chair of the practice.

“This group of leaders brings far-reaching experience across a number of practice areas, as well as strong institutional knowledge and an ambitious vision for the future of the firm,” said Roger Meltzer, DLA Piper's global co-chair and co-chair for the Americas.

“As we strive to continue to improve the service we provide to clients across the country, we look forward to their guidance and leadership as we continue to evolve and grow as a firm,” said Jay Rains, DLA Piper’s global co-CEO and co-chair for the Americas.

Shah, who is currently the chair of the firm’s Chicago Litigation and Regulatory practice, co-national hiring partner for associate recruiting and a member of the Policy Committee, represents clients involved in complicated disputes across a variety of highly regulated industries, including pharmaceuticals and medical devices, manufacturing and retail, telecommunications, transportation and financial services.

Agrusa represents international brands, major companies and prominent individuals in high-stakes, complex commercial cases and class actions. She also serves as co-chair of the Business and Commercial Litigation sub-practice and co-chair of the Food and Beverage sector.

Fealk, who is co-chair of DLA Piper’s International Labor and Employment practice, advises leading multinational companies on complex legal, regulatory and strategic issues related to global expansion, cross-border transactions and international executive compensation. He is also active in leadership across politics, public policy and the business community.

Lee represents emerging growth and public companies in complex technology and commercial transactions across industries. She also serves as global co-chair of the firm’s Technology sector and is a member of the Executive and Policy committees. Williamson, a trial lawyer and partner in the Patent Litigation practice, tries and resolves patent litigation matters in district court and the International Trade Commission for both large and small clients.

Denn is the former Attorney General of Delaware, where he supervised more than 200 attorneys who were responsible for representing all state agencies and boards, prosecuting all criminal and juvenile delinquency cases, and enforcing consumer protection, data privacy and other statutes. He oversaw Delaware Department of Justice investigations and participated in numerous multi-state AG investigations involving data breaches, improper debt collection and banking practices, false advertising and antitrust issues.

Trachtenberg has led the Boston Real Estate practice for many years. While she has extensive experience in all aspects of real estate transactions, her primary focus is in the formation and operation of complex joint ventures for the development and ownership of real estate, and she works on these transactions and projects throughout the US.

Califano, who is also a member of the firm’s Policy Committee and has been US co-chair of the Restructuring group for the past four years, represents large private and public companies in distress in and out of court, buyers of distressed companies and significant creditor constituencies.