About Us

Stephen M. Forte is the Managing Partner and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. In his role as Managing Partner and Chairman, Steve oversees the strategic growth and direction of the firm by cultivating strong relationships with clients and the community. As a leader, he understands the importance of being connected to the business community in order to develop a strategy for the anticipated business needs of the firm’s clients. With more than 35 years ...

Beau Grenier is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group. He provides comprehensive legal and strategic counsel on M&A, capital raising, and other business transactions; securities matters; and corporate governance. Beau is a leading corporate and securities lawyer with more than 35 years of experience. For more than 17 years, he also served as the managing partner and board chairman for a diversified AmLaw 200 law firm, guiding the organization through a significant period of growth and...

Kimberly Leach Johnson has been practicing trusts & estates law for more than 30 years. She specializes in post-mortem tax-mitigation techniques, comprehensive estate planning, which includes understanding the client's wishes, explaining and reducing the tax impact to carrying out the estate plan after a client's death.

In addition to his responsibilities as managing partner, Mr. Pearlman advises and represents clients in private equity transactions, as well as in the corporate aspects of corporate restructuring and bankruptcy. Mr. Pearlman’s private equity experience over the past 35 years has included representing leveraged buyout sponsors, management and providers of debt financing in complex and often high-profile LBO transactions. He also has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions involv...

Don Boyd is a consultant and former Global Deputy Chief Executive of Norton Rose Fullbright. Prior to becoming Global Deputy Chief Executive, Don was Chief Executive Partner of Deacons Australia from 2000 - 2009. Don was National Executive Chairman of Deacons from 1995 to 2000 and was Managing Partner of Deacons’ Brisbane office from 1991-1995. Between 1996 and 2000, he was also Chief Executive Officer of Deacons in Asia where he was responsible for devising the strategy, management and opera...

Professor Stanislaw Soltysinski completed legal studies (1961) and acquired further academic titles (Ph.D. in 1965, doctor hab. (doktor habilitowany) in 1970, associate professor (profesor nadzwyczajny) in 1979 and full professor (profesor zwyczajny) in 1988) at the Law and Administration School of Poznan University. Professor Soltysinski is a renowned specialist in civil law, intellectual property rights, commercial law and foreign investment law.

Deborah is Thompson Hine's firmwide managing partner. In this capacity, she serves as the firm's chief executive officer. She is also a member of the firm's Executive Committee, the principal governing body responsible for its strategic direction, financial affairs and the oversight of its seven-office operations. Deborah also spends some of her time as a practicing lawyer in the tax exempt, nonprofit corporate, and health care areas. She functions as outside general counsel to two large exem...

Don Lents' practice focuses on corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, securities law and general corporate matters with particular emphasis upon responsibilities of boards of directors, multinational and domestic mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, anti-takeover planning, and related matters. He is co-author of a treatise on Missouri Corporation Law and Practice and of articles on various corporate law issues. He has been an adjunct professor at the Washington University Law School.

Debra Kuper joined Kubota in 2016 as Vice President, General Counsel. As a member of the senior executive team, Kuper will preside over corporate governance, regulatory/compliance, data security and legal business strategies. With extensive legal knowledge and industry experience, she will oversee and direct the company’s risk management and compliance initiatives. Kuper is an industry veteran, having previously held in-house corporate counsel positions at several Fortune 500 companies within...

Cristian Mitrani is an expert in international business law, with particular emphasis on M&A, joint ventures, various types of business transactions, corporate governance, international arbitration, competition law and white collar crime. He has acted as lead counsel in record-setting privatizations, acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances in various countries. He assists clients on corporate investigations, on the implementation of procedures for the prevention of white coll...

Chief executive of Shepherd and Wedderburn, Stephen is responsible for the management and strategic direction of the business across the UK. He has been deputy CEO since 2009 and in May 2012 was appointed as CEO. Before taking on the role of CEO Stephen's focus was primarily on the renewables, property, drinks and leisure industries.

Mr. Negri is a partner of Negri, Busso & Fariña Attorneys, a major Argentine law firm, where he practices in the areas of Domestic and International Banking, Financial Transactions, Privatization, and International Mergers and Acquisitions. He received the Argentine Legal Profession Award granted by the Argentine Press Association and the Argentine Federation of Bar Associations in 1990.