National law firm Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP has added four new members to its Executive Committee. Two of the new members, partners Cheryl Wilke (Ft. Lauderdale) and Ronald E. Mallen (San Francisco), have been appointed by Hinshaw Chairman Donald L. Mrozek to three-year terms. The other two new members, Todd M. Young (Chicago) and Mark F. Palma (Minneapolis), have been elected to the committee by the firm partners to serve two-year terms.
The partners selected to the Executive Committee include:
Ronald E. Mallen – San Francisco Office - Ronald Mallen is nationally recognized for his practice in lawyer professional liability, risk management and insurance coverage. During more than 35 years of practice, he has counseled numerous attorneys on issues of lawyers' professional responsibility. Mr. Mallen joined Hinshaw in January 1998. He leads the firm's national Lawyers for Professionals practice group. Mr. Mallen has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, and holds Martindale Hubbell’s highest rating, “AV,” for legal ability and professional ethics.
As a recognized leader in the field of lawyer professional liability, Mr. Mallen has chaired the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability. He was a member of the ABA’s Standing Committee on Professional Competence, and chaired the Special Committee on Medical Professional Liability.
He is a fellow of The American Bar Foundation and a member of The American Law Institute. He was a member of the consultative group on the Restatement (Third) of The Law of Lawyering. Mr. Mallen is co-author of the leading treatise in the field. The five-volume work, "Legal Malpractice" (5th ed. 2000), is published by West Group and supplemented annually. Mr. Mallen also has authored "Preventing Legal Malpractice" (2d ed. 1996) and the 2002 edition of "The Law Office Guide to Purchasing Legal Malpractice Insurance". He has written more than 50 articles on a wide range of topics concerning lawyers' professional liability, ethical issues and lawyers' liability insurance.
Mark F. Palma – Minneapolis Office - Mark Palma represents businesses and their owners from the conception of the idea through the ultimate exit strategy. He works closely with clients as a member of their management team to provide invaluable counsel to their growing business needs.
Mr. Palma counsels clients through entity selection, tax matters, the development and successful retention on intellectual property, practical day-to-day business problem-solving, financing, acquisitions, contracts, business agreements, licensing, technology transfer, shareholder harmony and business sales. Mr. Palma represents several regional and national trade associations and is considered one of the nation's experts in the underground utility infrastructure. He often assists in creating legislative or regulatory solutions on this topic, and has served this industry for more than 15 years. He served as one of the participants in the National Transportation Safety Board's Common Ground Study He has consulted on several high profile incidents throughout the United States involving underground utility damage.
Todd M. Young – Chicago Office - Todd Young focuses his practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, securities law, loan and financing transactions, and contract negotiation. Mr. Young has represented purchasers and sellers in a wide variety of complex acquisition and disposition transactions. He also regularly counsels a number of companies on day-to-day corporate governance issues.
Mr. Young has represented lenders and borrowers in various types of finance and loan transactions, and he has assisted several overseas corporations in the purchase and sale of U.S. entities. He has extensive experience representing issuers in private offerings of securities, and has worked on various SEC filings for a number of public company clients. Mr. Young’s clients are from a broad array of industries, and have annual sales ranging from $5 million to $400 million.
Mr. Young is also active in the community. He is the Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, and is an adjunct professor at Seabury Western Theological Seminary. He previously served as a board member of the Bailiwick Theater Company and the Church of Our Saviour, as well as a benefit board member of Access Living.
Cheryl Wilke – Ft. Lauderdale Office - Cheryl Wilke is partner in charge of the firm's Ft. Lauderdale office and the Chair of Hinshaw & Culbertson's national Workers' Compensation Defense practice group. She focuses her practice in the representation of self-insured employers in workers' compensation defense matters, including providing comprehensive risk management programs and safety-related legal advice. She counsels on all areas of workers’ compensation, including exposure claims and complex compensability disputes. In addition to her trial work, Ms. Wilke also handles all of the firm’s workers’ compensation appellate cases.
Existing Executive Committee Members Appointed to New Terms Include:
Dan L. Boho (Chicago office)
Terese A. Drew (St. Louis office)
J. William Roberts (Springfield/Chicago offices)
Robert J. Romero (San Francisco office)
Carlton D. Fisher (Chicago office)
Hinshaw is governed nationally by a Management Committee comprised of seven capital partners who set the strategic direction of the firm and make all key decisions relating to the governance of the partnership. The firm's Chairman, Donald Mrozek, runs the day-to-day operations of the firm with the assistance of the Managing Partner, J. William Roberts, and the Executive Managing Director, Paul Boken. Each office is managed by a partner in charge, who reports to the Management Committee.
An Executive Committee of 24 members exists to approve partner compensation decisions and to hear proposed nominations of firm members in consideration for election to partnership. On decisions that require a vote of the partnership (including partnership elections), the Management Committee will make proposals first to the Executive Committee before bringing these to the partnership for a vote.
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is a national law firm with 475 lawyers in 25 offices coast-to-coast. The firm offers a full-service practice, with an emphasis in commercial and defense litigation, corporate, environmental, employment and construction law, as well as the representation of professionals in their liability matters. The firm provides services to a range of clients in financial services, construction, health care, not-for-profit, insurance, legal, manufacturing, real estate, transportation and other industries. Firm clients also include government agencies, municipalities and schools.
Hinshaw was founded in 1934. The firm is headquartered in Chicago, and maintains offices in 12 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.