Wanda C. Townsend

Chris Douglas is active in Alston & Bird’s pre-grant and post-grant patent practice areas. Chris represents both petitioners and patent owners in post-grant proceedings and is recognized as one of the more active post-grant practitioners nationwide. Chris remains one of the few practitioners to tout confirmation of all claims in an inter partes review in a final written decision on behalf of a patent owner. In addition, he maintains a robust pre-grant patent prosecution practice. Hi...

Rebecca S. Chaffin is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Banking and Finance Law. Rebecca S., who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2019. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Rebecca S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

John C. Gilson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law. John C., who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which John C. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Felicia Gardner is a seasoned practitioner with extensive experience advising employers on employee benefits, executive compensation, and other employment-related matters as outside counsel and as an associate general counsel at a large financial institution. Felicia focuses her practice on employee benefits and executive compensation matters. She works closely with employers of all sizes and types to design programs and packages to help them attract and retain high-level talent. She has over...

C. Melissa Owen is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: General Practice and Criminal Defense: White-Collar. C. Melissa, who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which C. Melissa is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

To his clients, Russ Sizemore is a problem solver. With a focus on employment law, Russ serves as an extended member of his clients’ human resources departments, providing legal counsel on a range of employment issues and litigating complex employment cases. A true partner, Russ invests the time to deeply understand his clients’ business models and corporate cultures. He appreciates that clients often face time-sensitive challenges and need an attorney they can turn to on short no...

Bill Macurda is a partner in the Finance Group of Alston & Bird. Bill is the senior partner in the firm’s trust practice, one of the largest trust, agency and asset servicing practices in the country. He represents all major trustees, in a wide variety of product types, including structured finance (CMBS, RMBS, ABS, CDO, CLO and REO), corporate debt, municipal debt, hedge fund transactions, lending and project finance. He advises clients in all roles: trustees, master servicers and ...

Matthew B. Covington is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Workers' Compensation Law - Employers. Matthew B., who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Matthew B. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

John D. Cole is a litigator with broad experience across the spectrum of employment law and labor law. For more than 20 years, John has represented employers of all sizes in cases throughout the eastern United States. He has handled numerous cases involving virtually all aspects of employment law before various federal courts, federal and state administrative agencies, and the state courts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. He has also handled employment arbitration cases before A...

David Walls has extensive experience representing banks, lenders, agents and other financial institutions in workout transactions, restructurings and large corporate bankruptcies. He also has experience in structuring and documenting complex syndicated lending transactions. David has been admitted to practice in various bankruptcy courts and federal district courts throughout the United States. His client services include: Defense of avoidance actions Representation of secured creditors in wo...