Four New Partners Join Bryan Cave in Charlotte

The international law firm Bryan Cave LLP welcomes Partners Chris Kupec, Rick Brown, Mark Vasco and Ben Sidbury to its Charlotte office. Kupec and Brown will practice with the firm’s Banking Group; Vasco will practice with the firm’s Commercial Litigation Group; and Sidbury will practice with the firm’s Intellectual Property Group.

“We are excited to be expanding the Charlotte office’s capability to serve our clients needs in banking, intellectual property and commercial litigation and look forward to working with Chris, Rick, Mark and Ben,” said Keith Dunsmore, Charlotte managing partner.

Kupec focuses his practice on middle market lending transactions involving banks, hedge funds and other financial institutions. Representative transactions include asset-based and leveraged lending transactions. He also has significant experience in second lien and mezzanine financings.

Kupec received his J.D., with high honors, in 1980 from the University of North Carolina and was a member of the Order of the Coif and the North Carolina Law Review. He received his B.A. in 1975 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was all-ACC football quarterback and academic all-American.

Brown’s practice primarily is focused on syndicated credit facilities, asset-based financing and other secured financing transactions, and also includes equipment finance and leasing, bank treasury services, as well as letter of credit transactions. In addition, he has represented administrative agents and lenders in restructurings and workouts of syndicated credit facilities.

Brown received his J.D., magna cum laude, in 1987 from Quinnipiac University/University of Bridgeport and his B.S. in from the University of Vermont.
 
Vasco is a commercial litigator who handles complex business disputes for clients across the country, with a special emphasis on prosecuting and defending actions concerning trade secret misappropriation and breach of noncompetition agreements. Previously, he had started and led the commercial litigation practice in the Charlotte office of another international law firm.

Vasco received his J.D., with honors, in 1993 from the University of North Carolina and his B.A., magna cum laude, in 1990 from Syracuse University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He is licensed to practice in North Carolina and New York.

Sidbury, a registered patent attorney, focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation. Sidbury has a wide range of experience litigating patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret disputes in trial courts and appellate courts. He also counsels clients on obtaining, protecting, licensing and enforcing intellectual property rights across a variety of technologies and industries.

Sidbury received his J.D., magna cum laude, in 2001 from Syracuse University, where he served as the senior notes and comments editor of the Syracuse Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. He earned his B.A., with honors, in 1998 from Wingate University.
 
Bryan Cave LLP (www.bryancave.com) has a diversified international legal practice. The firm represents a wide variety of business, financial, institutional and individual clients, including publicly held multinational corporations, large and mid-sized privately held companies, partnerships and emerging companies. Subsidiary Bryan Cave International Consulting provides trade and customs consultancy. Aided by extensive investments in technology, Bryan Cave’s more than 1,100 lawyers and other professionals in over 30 offices across the United States, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe and Asia efficiently serve clients’ needs in the world’s key business and financial markets.