MVA Alumni Newsletter

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Chair & Managing Partner Tom Mitchell has been named to the North Carolina Lawyers Weekly article: Managing Partners to Watch.

MVA is proud to announce that Financial Services Member Kaitlin Powers and Health Care Associate Kevin Siebs have both been honored with MVA’s Quarterly Pro Bono Hero Award for their outstanding contributions to the CLIMB organization.

MVA is pleased to announce that Member Christopher D. Thompson was selected for Connect CRE’s 2024 Lawyers in Real Estate Awards. Thompson was named a winner in the Atlanta & Southeast region.

MVA Financial Restructuring Member Luis Lluberas served as a panelist at the Restaurant Finance Monitor’s Restaurant Finance & Development Conference in Las Vegas on November 13, held at the Fontainebleau. The panel focused on Franchisees: How to Successfully Navigate Financial Distress Situations.

MVA is pleased to announce further expansion of its leadership structure with the addition of Kelly C. Harbour as the firm’s inaugural Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer. 

MVA Wealth & Estate Planning Member Matt Kain  served as a panelist at the Charlotte Estate Planning Council’s event, Planning and Philanthropy: Tomorrow’s Ideas and Today’s Best-In-Class Strategies, on December 10.

MVA is pleased to announce that Corporate Attorneys D. Ryan Hart and Charles W. Kemp have been named to lead the firm’s Securities and Corporate Governance team.

MVA Financial Regulatory Advice & Response Attorneys Edward O’Keefe, Neil Bloomfield, John Stoker, and Kathryn Wellman, co-authored the Banking Regulation 2025 Law and Practice section, published by Chambers and Partners on December 10.

MVA Head of Environmental Mary Katherine Stukes participated as a panelist at NAIOP Charlotte’s Annual Meeting: Navigating the Horizon in 2025 on December 4.

MVA Co-head of Intellectual Property Kate Cole and Intellectual Property Counsel Sam Merritt were recognized in IAM Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists 2025.

MVA is pleased to announce that David M. Freda has joined the firm’s Charleston office as a member and will practice in the Commercial Real Estate group focusing on real estate equity finance. Freda joins MVA from Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP.

MVA Head of Tax and Co-head of Corporate, Billy H. Moore Jr., has been honored with the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian award.

MVA Litigation Counsel Courtney Duncil was recently featured in Meredith Magazine in the article, “Courtney Duncil, ’99: Discovering Your Strengths.”

Caitlin Horne, MVA Wealth & Estate Planning Member, has been appointed to serve a two-year term as the Chair of the Board of Directors for InReach, beginning January 1, 2025.

MVA Finance Associates John I. Sanders and Will Reeves, along with Menno Baks of Loyens & Loeff N.V. co-authored the article titled, “EU Listing Act Improves Capital Markets Access for SMEs.”

MVA is pleased to announce that the firm acted as lead legal counsel to Bank of America in connection with the financing of CBIZ, Inc.’s acquisition of the non-attest business of Marcum LLP. 

MVA Litigation Member Sarah Sheridan and Financial Regulatory Advice & Response Associate John Lightbourne served as panelists at a Duke Law School event on November 12, organized to support first-generation and low-income law students.

MVA Litigation Counsel Tania Archer has launched an e-course on Behavioral Health Law & Compliance for the American Health Law Association (AHLA).

MVA Financial Services Associate, Haley Sink, participated in the Queens University annual First Gen Celebration & Networking Event on November 7.

MVA obtained dismissal of all claims brought by the Department of Labor against James Kissler, the former CEO of Norco, Inc., for alleged violations of ERISA in connection with the sale of Mr. Kissler’s shares of Norco to the Norco Employee Stock Ownership Plan.  MVA’s Co-Head of Litigation, Mark Nebrig, and Litigation Associate, Drew Newman, successfully defended Mr. Kissler in the litigation.

MVA Co-head of Financial Regulatory Advice and Response, Ed O’Keefe, was recently interviewed by Law360 where he discussed the impact of a change in U.S. administration on bank regulation.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Financial Services Member Chris Fowler was featured in the NCBar Blog’s Pro Bono Spotlight for his dedication and significant contributions to pro bono work.

MVA Black Attorney Resource Group (BARG) hosted a Client Engagement Event on October 30.

MVA represented ATCO in a transaction recently honored with the Charlotte Business Journal’s Heavy Hitters Commercial Real Estate Award in the “Top Mixed-Use Development” category, for Camp North End Phase 2.

MVA White Collar, Regulatory Defense & Investigations Members John Fagg and Jim McLoughlin were recently interviewed in Lawdragon discussing the trends in the White Collar Criminal Enforcement and Investigations space in the last quarter of 2024.

MVA White Collar & Government Enforcement Members John A. Fagg, Jr., James P McLoughlin, Jr., Tanisha Palvia, and Jenny G. Sugar, co-authored the White Collar Crime 2024 Trends and Developments section that was published by Chambers and Partners on October 24.

MVA Head of Derivatives P. Barrett Morris and Litigation Associate Jules W. Carter co-authored the article, “The CFTC starts moving on Voluntary Carbon Credits”, published by Westlaw Today on October 25.

During National Pro Bono Week, MVA is proud to announce a partnership with KIND’s (Kids in Need of Defense) Labor Exploitation Prevention Programs (LEPP) to provide research, support, and advice to address child labor abuses.

MVA was ranked number 34 of 54 largest Charlotte-area-based private companies, ranked by 2023 revenue, among the Charlotte Business Journal’s Charlotte's largest private companies list.

MVA Litigation Associate, Aishaah Reed Foster, has been presented with the Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Pro Bono Hero Award.

MVA Financial Services Member Sonny Ha and Corporate Member Carolyn Meade have been named to The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers In America. 

MVA Finance Associates John I. Sanders and Yiran Jiang, along with Italian Counsel Stefano Bandini co-authored the article titled, “Financial Incentives Aim to Boost Italian IPOs.”

MVA HR team was recently featured in the Charlotte Business Journal’s Future Workforce in Focus segment for winning the 2024 Best in HR Awards.

MVA Member Kaitlin Powers and Associate Kevin Siebs served as panelists along with CLIMB Executive Director Casey Burke and former CLIMB client Julie Alvarado Onekanda, for an informative Lunch & Learn Panel Discussion on Charlotte Legal Initiative to Mobilize Businesses (CLIMB) on October 1.

MVA represented Catalyst Capital Partners, a leading multi family real estate development and investment firm in the Southeast, and Chicago based Origin Investments during their recent closing on an Asheville development site, announcing plans for their new joint venture: Catalyst Biltmore Village, located at 115 Fairview Road, in proximity to the renowned Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.

MVA Head of Environmental Mary Katherine Stukes, and Counsel Laura Truesdale, co-authored the article “Implications of PFAS Regulation on the Commercial Real Estate Industry”, published by the national NAIOP Development magazine.

MVA Co-head of Financial Regulatory Advice & Response Member Edward O'Keefe served as a panelist for the SIFMA Charlotte C&L Regional Seminar on September 23.

MVA Finance Associates John I. Sanders, Yiran Jiang, and Italian Counsel Nicola Brunetti co-authored the article titled, “Italian Reforms Reward Long-Term Investors with Voting Power.”

MVA is pleased to announce that the firm has elevated P. Barrett Morris as head of the firm’s Derivatives team. Barrett joined MVA in 2022 and brings his in-house legal experience from both a swap dealer and a large regional bank to guide clients on OTC and exchange trades swaps, options, futures and other derivatives.

MVA Head of Employment and Labor Wood Lay named to The Lawdragon 500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers.

MVA Co-heads of DEI Advice, Audits & Assessments Valecia McDowell and Josh Lanning, and Associate Elena Mitchell, co-authored a Law360 article titled, “What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs,” which was published on September 17, 2024.

MVA Finance Associates John I. Sanders and Yiran Jiang and Italian Counsel Francesco Ferrini co-authored article titled, “Foreign Institutional Investors Await Italian Government Action on Corporate Governance Reforms.”

MVA is pleased to announce that members John A. Fagg, Jr., Valecia M. McDowell, James “Jim” P. McLoughlin, Jr., and Frank E. Schall were named to the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America list.

MVA is pleased to announce that Environmental Member Lesley A. Firestone was selected as a Charleston Regional Business Journal 2024 Women of Influence Award winner. Honorees will be formally recognized during a ceremony on Oct. 24 and in a special section of the publication.