N. Richard "Dick" Janis

Peter E. Ciferri is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Land Use and Zoning Law and Real Estate Law. Peter E., who practices law in Potomac, Maryland, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Peter E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Evangelia (Eve) Pelonis assists clients on U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) matters relating to food, animal feed, food additives and ingredients, and dietary supplements. She helps clients achieve their marketing goals within the relevant legal frameworks and counsels them in all aspects of food development and marketing, from product formulation and manufacturing considerations to food labeling and advertising. Eve helps her clients with issu...

Elizabeth Smith is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs. Elizabeth, who practices law in Washington, District of Columbia, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Elizabeth is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Kevin P. O’Brien is a partner in the firm’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice. His practice has concentrated in employee compensation and benefits for over 30 years. Kevin is widely known as a leader in a wide variety of subjects, including innovative defined benefit plan design, flexible benefits, ERISA fiduciary matters and executive compensation. Before joining the firm, Kevin worked in the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration at the Labor Department ...

Mike Jakes concentrates his practice on patent litigation and related counseling. He serves as lead counsel in federal district courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), before arbitration panels, and on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Mike deals mainly with computer, electronics, semiconductor, software, and medical device technologies. Mike has vast experience at the Federal Circuit, having argued more than 45 appeals and prepared and filed brief...

Jamie's representations have involved the taxation of financial instruments, the timing of income and deductions, corporate reorganizations, deductions for worthless investments, the substance-over-form and economic substance doctrines, civil tax penalties, and other areas of tax law. From 2006 to 2013, Jamie was a trial attorney with the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he was lead counsel for the government in over 100 civil tax cases, and he received two Outstanding At...

Meredith (“Merry”) Campbell serves as a business advisor to local, national and global clients who look to her for counsel on managing their most important asset — their employees. Clients hire her because she successfully resolves workplace-related issues while helping them to maintain a positive and productive workplace. She often serves as outside General Counsel to her clients, advising on personnel matters and ensuring that her clients are up-to-date on compliance, trai...

Joanne Jacobson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law. Joanne, who practices law in Washington, District of Columbia, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Joanne is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Brian has been an energy regulatory practitioner for more than two decades, with a focus on Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulation under Part II of the Federal Power Act (FPA), the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, and the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005. Brian’s legal experience extends to almost all aspects of federal regulation of the electric industry, including cost-of-service and market-based rates, open access transmission rules and polici...

Sean M. Howley is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Construction Law and Litigation - Construction. Sean M., who practices law in McLean, Virginia, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Sean M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.