Alumni Newsletter

Moore & Van Allen PLLC (MVA) is pleased to announce that the firm’s Human Trafficking Prevention & Compliance practice, Member Valecia M. McDowell, and Senior Counsel Sarah Dohoney Byrne were recognized for industry contributions and innovations in the 2023 Financial Times North America Innovative Lawyers Report.

MVA Litigation Associates ALLI DAVIDSON and SARAH SHERIDAN presented a CLE during the 2023 Professionalism for New Attorneys program at the NC Bar Center in Cary on Wednesday, December 6.

MVA is pleased to announce that BETH FRIEDRICH has joined the firm’s PUBLIC AFFAIRS team as director of public affairs. Friedrich, who most recently served as senior policy advisor and deputy general counsel to the North Carolina Speaker of the House, Tim Moore, will be based in the firm’s Raleigh Public Affairs office.

MVA Litigation Member NADER RAJA served as a panelist during the TradingHub RegHub Summit 2023, which was held in New York on November 29. The event brought together regulators, senior risk and surveillance professionals, and industry thought leaders for a morning of insightful discussion.

MVA has been recognized by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index for our commitment to LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion. MVA is proud to have been awarded the recognition of Equality 100, the highest possible score for the seventh consecutive year.

MVA Litigation Counsel JONATHAN PRYTHERCH recently had the opportunity to serve as a guest presenter for “The Role of a Compliance Lawyer” at the University of North Carolina School of Law at Chapel Hill. The interactive presentation was part of a Financial Services Compliance class for second and third-year UNC law students.

MVA Litigation Associate SARAH SHERIDAN was selected by the Duke Law Associate Dean for Alumni & Development to serve on the Duke Law Alumnae Leadership Council. The Council fosters an active network of Duke Law women through providing opportunities for women graduates to connect with each other and with current students and faculty at Duke Law School.

The MVA HR Team organized a teambuilding event to benefit Classroom Central. The team organized 800 Kits for a Cause to support Charlotte Mecklenburg School students. Classroom Central fosters equity in education by providing teachers and students with the free resources they need to succeed.

The MVA Business Resource Groups had an opportunity to join a fireside chat sponsored by the MVA Diversity Committee on November 9.

This past Monday, MVA Co-Head of Investment Team Ryan Smith and MVA Client Steve Hale (Hale Capital Management), participated as guest speakers in a fall semester class at Duke Law taught by Co-Head of Bankruptcy & Restructuring Zach Smith. 

MVA Financial Services Associate JORDAN DUNBAR volunteered for the Wills for Heroes event held at the Fire Department Head Quarters on November 11. Jordan joined other area volunteers to interview Mecklenburg County first responders and residents to provide a free legal clinic offered by the North Carolina Bar Foundation to assist with estate planning wishes and drafting wills, health care powers of attorney, durable powers of attorney, and advance directives.

MVA Head of Environmental MARY KATHERINE STUKES presented to the Network of Trial Law Firms for the Napa Litigation SuperCourse: Wine Sips and Trial Tips on November 3. Her discussion titled, “There’s an Acronym for That: Hot Topics in Environmental Litigation,” examined the recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Sackett v. EPA and West Virginia v. EPA.

MVA Litigation Member JIM MCLOUGHLIN, Head of Environmental MARY KATHERINE STUKES and Litigation Associate PIERCE WERNER, co-author the title, “In Loper Bright and Relentless, Supreme Court returns to high-stakes question of viability of the Chevron doctrine” which was published by Thomson Reuters Legal and Westlaw Today on November 7. Additional contributions were made by Litigation Associate CHASSITY BOBBITT. This article discusses the arguments, background and questions surrounding the Supreme Court's upcoming review of the Chevron doctrine.

MVA is honored to be named as one of two area firms selected for the Wells Fargo Legal Department’s 2022-2023 Outside Counsel Diversity Award recipient. This annual award recognizes an outside law firm demonstrating great efforts toward improving engagement of diverse personnel at all levels of participation in Wells Fargo matters and in creating a culture of equity and inclusion in their workplace and community.

MVA Co-head of Financial Regulatory Advice & Response NEIL BLOOMFIELD and Member KATE WELLMAN served as moderators for FMA's 32nd Annual Legal & Legislative Conference which was held on November 2 and 3.

MVA's Commercial Real Estate Group represented TTX in the recent new headquarters space relocation negotiations. Commercial Real Estate Member RICHARD SIMONS advised TTX on their lease, for just under 70,000 square feet of office space at the mixed-use development known as The Line located in South End, which will serve as TTX’s new headquarters in their relocation from Chicago next year. Additionally, Head of Commercial Real Estate EVAN BASS, Litigation Member SCOTT TYLER, Head of Environmental MARY KATHERINE STUKES, and Environmental Counsel LAURA TRUESDALE advised during the relocation negotiations.  

MVA’s Co-head of Litigation and White Collar, Regulatory Defense & Investigations JOHN FAGG JR. is one of five individuals named a Law360's 2023 MVPs of the Year Award in the White Collar MVP category.

MVA is pleased to announce that the firm received national rankings for nine practice areas in the 2024 edition of Best Law Firms®. Additionally, the firm garnered 47 Tier 1 rankings among its 70 metropolitan rankings in multiple practice areas.

MVA Litigation Associate PRECIOUS MCLAUGHLIN served as a guest lecturer for a Race, Law, and Politics class at Francis Marion University.

MVA is pleased to announce it has been ranked #42 by the Charlotte Business Journal in Charlotte’s Largest Private Companies List. The list highlights companies that have made important contributions to the local business landscape.

MVA is pleased to announce that BRIDGET E. GRANT, co-head of the firm’s Zoning, Entitlement & Land team, has been selected as a Connect CRE (Commercial Real Estate) 2023 Women in Real Estate Awards winner in the Atlanta & Southeast region.

MVA Corporate Associate TONI-ANN HINES was selected to join The National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40. The National Black Lawyers is an invitation-only professional development and networking association comprised of African American attorneys from around the country.

The International Trademark Association (INTA) has appointed four MVA attorneys to INTA committees and project teams. The International Trademark Association is a global network of professionals dedicated to supporting trademarks and related intellectual property.

MVA is pleased to announce its success in receiving unanimous approval for a 230-acre annexation and rezoning to ID-1, west of Edgewood Road near I-85.