Barnes & Thornburg Welcomes New Attorneys and Legal Professionals

Barnes & Thornburg has added new corporate and litigation attorneys and legal professionals to its Atlanta, Chicago and Grand Rapids offices.

Christian Exner, a native German speaker who hails from Switzerland, is a business transaction advisor who works with the firm’s corporate clients and attorneys to expand business development efforts and facilitate relationships with existing and potential German, Swiss and Austrian clients doing business in the U.S. and overseas.

Working out of the Chicago office, Christian consults with attorneys in the areas of contract and corporate law, providing focused business insight and support. He serves as a liaison between German, Swiss and Austrian clients and firm attorneys to help advise clients through the spectrum of corporate work.

He earned his LL.M. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in 2020 and his Licentiate in Law from Universitaet Zuerich in 2004.

Abraham Llama, an associate in the Atlanta office, helps clients work through issues and patterns to effectively generate state and federal tax credits for his clients’ private equity investments. Abraham strives to seek the best outcome for the entities he guides through the project development and financing process.

Abraham provides tailored guidance to corporations, limited liability companies and investors in general corporate matters and offers dedicated counsel to syndicators, developers, lenders and investors in tax-incentivized transactions, particularly in affordable housing, historic rehabilitation and renewable energy developments.

He earned his J.D. from Emory University School of Law and his B.A. in history from the University of Florida.

Through his practice, Brian Saling advises a range of clients in virtually all stages of tax-incentivized corporate and real estate transactions. What he enjoys most about his work is that he understands the broader impact, the end goal – for the businesses themselves and in turn the individuals and communities whose lives are directly affected.

Brian, an associate in the Atlanta office, focuses his practice on representing syndicators, developers, lenders and investors in tax-incentivized transactions involving federal and state tax credit private equity investments.

He earned his J.D. from Emory University School of Law and his B.A. in journalism and mass communications from the University of Iowa.

Coming from a family of attorneys, Anthony Sallah knew early on that practicing law was what he wanted to do. Diligent and approachable, Anthony is able to build bridges between parties facing commercial or construction disputes to find a way to reach the most desired result.

As an associate in the Grand Rapids office, Anthony counsels institutional and individual clients in complex commercial litigation and construction matters in federal and state court, at the trial and appellate level.

He earned his J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law in 2014 and his B.A. in economics from the University of Michigan in 2011.

Diligent and efficient in his work, Devin Schoonmaker knows how to get the job – and the deal – done. In crafting tax-incentivized transactions, Devin works collaboratively across the table to help his clients build and restore properties that impact individuals, businesses and their communities.

Devin, an associate in the Atlanta office, represents developers, syndicators and investors in the acquisition, financing, and syndication of transactions that utilize federal and state low-income housing tax credits, historic rehabilitation tax credits and renewable energy tax credits.

He earned his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and his B.A. in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

With more than 600 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from offices in Atlanta, California, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, Ohio, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, Texas and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us online at www.btlaw.com or on Twitter @BTLawNews.