Violetta M. Kim

Lavern was named FordHarrison's first Talent and Recruiting Partner in 2018. In this new role, Lavern is responsible for recruiting and developing lawyers firm-wide. She will oversee the hiring and on-boarding of new lawyers, manage utilization and workflow, and design and implement talent development initiatives to support the career growth of our lawyers. Lavern concentrates her practice on defending employers in discrimination, harassment, wage and hour, whistle-blower, retaliation, employ...

Matt Hjortsberg is skilled at assisting clients in managing complex problems from “black swan events” to complex legal issues and multi-party negotiations. He has extensive experience representing commercial contractors, subcontractors, design professionals and owners in disputes, including construction delay, impact and defect claims. Regardless of the nature of the dispute, Matt brings the same core skills to each matter to help clients mitigate and manage risk. An unusually qui...

Steven N. Haas is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Corporate Law. Steven N., who practices law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Steven N. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Elliot Hallak brings extensive experience in handling a diverse array of legal matters, with a focus on commercial and insurance litigation. Based in Albany, New York, Elliot is part of the Harris Beach Murtha team, where he works on significant cases that cover areas such as banking disputes, life insurance issues, interpleader actions, and class-action lawsuits. His practice also involves resolving complex business conflicts, shareholder oppression cases, and property valuation disputes. In...

Leslie Dent is an experienced trial lawyer who has successfully tried cases ranging from individual discrimination matters to complex wage and hour class actions. She represents employers in class and collective actions involving off-the-clock claims, challenges to exempt status and other wage-related claims, as well as Rule 23 class actions alleging discrimination claims. Leslie counsels and represents employers on a broad range of employment law issues, including discrimination, harassment,...

Patrick J. Krebs is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Real Estate Law. Patrick J., who practices law in Cleveland, Ohio, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Patrick J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

With nearly 30 years of experience, Attorney Cindra Dowd focuses her practice on helping individuals affected by personal injury or defective products and employees who have suffered from illegal workplace practices or who are whistleblowers for false claims actions. “Many people feel confused and helpless. They don’t know what to do and feel that they have no choice but to endure the situation. I have been working with victims for years to protect their rights and obtain compensa...

James J. McGraw, Jr. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Corporate Law and Economic Development Law. James J., who practices law in Cincinnati, Ohio, has been recognized since 2017. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which James J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Ashley N. Moore is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law, Litigation - Intellectual Property and Litigation - Patent. Ashley N., who practices law in Dallas, Texas, has been recognized since 2019. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ashley N. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jim Barrett, a partner in Goodwin’s Private Equity group, is a business and securities lawyer who represents life sciences and other technology companies as well as venture capital and private equity funds. He regularly counsels boards of directors and general partners on corporate governance matters and guides their businesses through all stages of development. Accordingly, Mr. Barrett concentrates on investment transactions, mergers and acquisitions, securities law and general corpora...