Barnes & Thornburg Welcomes New Attorneys and Legal Professionals

Barnes & Thornburg has added corporate, intellectual property, labor and employment, and litigation attorneys and legal professionals to its Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and San Diego offices. 

A staff attorney in the Los Angeles office, Jose Barajas provides tailored guidance and representation primarily in the areas of complex commercial litigation, Chapter 11, Subchapter V bankruptcies for small businesses, and general creditors’ rights, as well as assisting with multimillion dollar commercial real estate purchase and sale transactions. Barajas earned his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in 2016 and his B.A. in political science and international relations from the University of California in 2012.

Andrea Calvert, an associate in the Chicago office, focuses her work in the areas of worldwide trademark clearance, prosecution, enforcement, and portfolio management. Calvert also provides counsel regarding trademark and copyright litigation in federal court, including representing trademark owners in opposition and cancellation proceedings before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. She earned her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2018 and her B.S. in English language and literature from the University of Michigan in 2014.

Colin Hayes, an associate in the South Bend office, counsels on mergers and acquisitions, and related transactions, as well as other general business matters. Hayes guides clients through successful deals and drafts transactional documents including, but not limited to, asset purchase agreements, entity governance documents, independent contractor agreements, and real estate purchase agreements. He earned his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame in 2020 and his B.A. in accounting from Grace College in 2017.

An of counsel in the Indianapolis office, Kian Hudson assists clients throughout the litigation process. At the outset of cases, Hudson works to spot issues and arguments other lawyers may miss, and as cases proceed, he provides clients with clear and compelling dispositive motions and appellate briefs – including, if necessary, cert-stage and merits-stage briefing before the U.S. Supreme Court. He earned his J.D. from the Yale Law School in 2015 and his B.A. in communication studies and political science from Northwestern University in 2012.

Pegah Karimi, an associate in the Boston office, prepares and prosecutes patent applications globally in the fields of physics, electrical and mechanical engineering, and medical devices. She also advises clients of virtually all sizes in developing and managing patent portfolios to maximize the value of their patent protection. Karimi earned her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, a Ph.D. in mechanical/electrical engineering, an M.S. in physics from Northeastern University, and a B.S. in physics from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran.

Brandon Miller, a staff attorney Los Angeles office, advises and represents employers with issues related to employee overtime, termination, meal and rest breaks, retaliation, misclassification, and unsafe work environment violations, and he provides counsel regarding compensation, contract review, benefits, and retirement. Miller also develops and reviews employer policies and procedures in response to legislative changes. He earned his J.D. from The Ohio State University College of Law in 2020, his MPP from The Ohio State University in 2020 and his B.A. in political science and international relations from the University of California, Davis in 2017.

A staff attorney in the Atlanta office, Nicola Rossi assists a wide array of insurance policyholders as they face disputes. Rossi provides guidance with insurance recovery issues, such as coverage denials, claim presentation, and bad faith matters. She earned her J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2015 and her B.F.A. in theatre from New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2009.

Zacharia Mohamed Sonallah, an associate in the San Diego office, advises clients on secured transactions, secured lending and related financing agreements, equity purchase agreements, and various forms of promissory notes. He also lends his time and knowledge to deal opening and negotiation for financing companies dealing in science and technology. Sonallah earned his J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law in 2019 and his B.S. in political science from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2016.

Julia Stepanova, an associate in the Atlanta office, represents a diverse mix of clients, including Fortune 100 companies, in a variety of complex commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts and arbitration proceedings. Stepanova’s practice focuses on sensitive and high-stakes disputes in highly regulated industries, such as medical device, pharmaceutical, timeshare, and financial services. She earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2011, her B.A. in English from Florida International University in 2008, and attended Siberian State Technological University in Russia for linguistics.

With more than 700 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, Boston, California, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, New York, Ohio, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, Texas and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us online at www.btlaw.com or on Twitter @BTLawNews.