Five Commercial Litigators Join Ballard Spahr

DENVER (June 24, 2013) – Ballard Spahr has significantly enhanced its litigation capabilities in the West with the addition of a team of five commercial litigators in Denver, firm Chair Mark Stewart announced today. The attorneys―two partners, one of counsel, and two senior associates―moved to Ballard Spahr from Featherstone Petrie DeSisto LLP in Denver.

The team is led by partner Andrew J. "Drew" Petrie, a highly regarded attorney with more than 30 years of experience in complex commercial litigation. Mr. Petrie and his team have experience in a wide range of significant litigation cases, including the representation of businesses and their officers, directors, and employees in insurance coverage disputes. They also handle creditors’ rights/lender liability matters.

At Ballard Spahr, they join a deep bench of skilled litigators who advise clients nationwide on cases ranging from securities class actions and white collar defense to patent infringement matters and federal and state appeals. Ballard Spahr litigators are fully experienced in taking the largest and most complex cases to trial, as plaintiff or defense counsel. Their clients include Fortune 100 companies, major manufacturers, franchisors, and other leading businesses across the country.

"We have the highest regard for Drew and his group and know that they will further burnish our reputation in the West for providing litigation services of the highest caliber,” Mr. Stewart said.

Said Roger P. Thomasch, Managing Partner of Ballard Spahr's Denver office: "We are fortunate to be able to bring into the firm five outstanding litigators with an outstanding practice. Our team of trial lawyers in our western offices has immediately become even stronger."

Ballard Spahr's Litigation Department is the largest in the firm with more than 200 lawyers. With the addition of the Denver attorneys, the firm now has approximately 60 litigators in its western offices. Recent additions in the West include trial lawyer Jeffrey Cohen in Denver, labor and employment litigator Elisabeth Blattner-Thompson in Salt Lake City, and intellectual property litigators Brian W. LaCorte and Kimberly A. Warshawsky in Phoenix. And the firm opened its 13^th office in San Diego two years ago with the addition of a team of white collar and commercial litigators. That office recently added former federal prosecutors John J. Rice and Sanjay Bhandari.

"We look forward to being a part of such a well-regarded national firm," Mr. Petrie said. "We believe our clients will benefit from Ballard Spahr's national platform and geographic reach, and from the wide range of legal services that the firm offers."

The new Ballard Spahr attorneys in Denver are as follows:

Andrew J. "Drew" Petrie, partner, has significant experience in creditor's rights cases, including banking, real estate, structured finance, leasing, and UCC transactions and the representation of creditors in bankruptcy proceedings.

Sarah B. Wallace, partner, focuses on commercial litigation and appeals, including trade secret, breach of contract, insurance coverage, and employment litigation.

Lisa A. Lee, of counsel, represents corporate and individual clients in commercial litigation, arbitration, and appeals.

Courtney A. Levkulich, senior associate, focuses on general civil litigation, including toxic tort and insurance coverage litigation.

Matthew A. Morr, senior associate, is experienced in cases involving breach of contract, lender liability, fraud, torts, trade secrets, and non-competition agreements.

About Ballard Spahr

Ballard Spahr LLP, a national law firm with more than 500 lawyers in 13 offices in the United States, provides a range of services in litigation, business and finance, real estate, intellectual property, and public finance. Our clients include Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, life sciences and technology companies, health systems, investors and developers, government agencies and sponsored enterprises, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations. The firm combines a national scope of practice with strong regional market knowledge. For more information, please visit www.ballardspahr.com.