News Archive

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) was named one of North Carolina’s leading Intellectual Property firms in Managing Intellectual Property’s edition of IP Stars, a legal directory that provides state-by-state analysis of the nation’s IP market. 

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Litigation Associate Sarah Sheridan was selected to Leadership Charlotte’s 45th class. The Leadership Charlotte program, considered a “backstage” pass to the Charlotte community, was established for emerging and existing leaders. It is a two-part program, starting with ten, once-a-month program days where approximately 50 participants explore current issues with a variety of community leaders.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Head of Global Services and Co-head of ESOP Transactions Member Mike Zeller served as a guest speaker at The ESOP Association National Conference in Washington, DC on Friday, May 19. The panel titled, “Private Capital Investments in ESOP’s,” discussed alternative strategies for ESOPs to partner with private equity investors and considerations to factor into your decision making.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) was recognized as a recipient of the Lawyers of Color (LOC) Aspire Diversity Award on May 18. MVA Financial Services Senior Counsel Jonathan Murray and Litigator Jamea Richardson represented the firm at the LOC awards last week in Washington, D.C. Lawyers of Color is devoted to promoting diversity in the legal profession and advancing democracy and equality in marginalized communities.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Zoning, Entitlement & Land Use team was featured in Charlotte Business Journal article titled, “Charlotte law firm Moore & Van Allen adds former city zoning administrator to land-use team,” which was published on May 22. The article discussed MVA Land Use & Zoning Consultant Shad Spencer joining the team and Co-head of Zoning, Entitlement & Land Use Bridget Grant’s recent promotion.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Financial Services Member Kaitlin Powers was profiled for the Charlotte Business Journal 40 Under 40 award. Kaitlin provides insight on her greatest accomplishments, current volunteer activities, and living in the Charlotte region.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Financial Restructuring Member Gabe Mathless served as guest speaker at the 2023 WDNC Bankruptcy Seminar panel titled, “Cryptocurrency and Bankruptcy,” on May 19. The speakers discussed the recent crypto-related bankruptcies and the crypto-related updates to the Uniform Commercial Code.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Litigation Member Tony Lathrop served as moderator for the NC Chamber Transportation & Infrastructure Summit panel titled, “NC DOT Funding,” on May 18. The speakers discussed North Carolina’s transportation funding model, future revenue needs, project delays, and their perspectives on public perceptions and innovative ideas.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) was proud to sponsor Walk A Mile With Safe Alliance 2023, which took place May 13. MVA Associates Taylor Boyles, Aishaah Foster, Precious McLaughlin, and Alexis Narducci served on the Walk A Mile 2023 committee.

Moore & Van Allen PLLC (MVA) is pleased to announce that Felicia M. Gardner has joined the firm’s Employee Benefits & Compensation team as member. She most recently served as associate general counsel at Bank of America, where she advised on benefits, compensation, and litigation management.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) General Counsel Caroline Yingling served as a panelist for the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association’s event, “Reactivating Charlotte’s Central Business District,” on May 9.

MVA was thrilled to once again participate in the North Carolina Legal Feeding Frenzy — a food and fund drive competition among all North Carolina law firms, law schools, and organizations to assist Feeding The Carolinas. The Frenzy, which is held throughout the month of March, is an annual joint program of the NCBA Young Lawyers Division and Feeding the Carolinas food banks that aims to fight hunger across the state. MVA has been named the winner of the Legal Feeding Frenzy’s Large Law Firm Division for three years in a row.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Head of Global Services and Co-head of ESOP Transactions Member Mike Zeller served as a virtual speaker for the Winston-Salem Black Chamber of Commerce's Road to Business Resilience Cohort 3-Road to Business Resilience Training on May 9. Mike spoke on the topic titled, “Funding, Leadership & Management.” The Cohort 3 took a deeper dive into the nuts and bolts of the major forms of EO, EO as a succession planning tool, the benefits of EO, and an overview of the conversion process.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Chair & Managing Partner Tom Mitchell and Head of Civil Rights & Racial Equity Assessments and Co-head of White Collar, Regulatory Defense & Investigations Valecia McDowell were named to Business North Carolina’s Power List 2023. The annual report highlights the state’s most influential leaders from several area industries.

Moore & Van Allen Head of Employment & Labor Wood Lay was quoted in the Human Resources Director article titled, “Secret ballots, independent contractors in spotlight with proposed changes to ERA,” which was published on May 3.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Litigation Associate Sarah Sheridan’s article titled, “ABA Guidance Doesn’t Fully Clarify Ethics and Interstate Practice” was published by Bloomberg Law on May 3. 

Moore & Van Allen PLLC (MVA) is pleased to announce that Shad Spencer, former zoning administrator for the City of Charlotte’s Planning, Design & Development Department, has joined the firm’s Zoning, Entitlement & Land Use team as a zoning consultant. Additionally, the firm has elevated Land Use & Zoning Consultant Bridget Grant to co-lead the team, along with veteran Commercial Real Estate Member Jeff Brown.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) is pleased to announce that four attorneys of the Charleston office have been selected to the 2023 South Carolina Super Lawyers list. Financial Restructuring Member David Wheeler has been selected as a South Carolina Super Lawyer in the Bankruptcy: Business category. Health Care Member Jessica Simpson has been selected to the 2023 South Carolina Rising Stars list in the Health Care category.

Moore and Van Allen’s Human Trafficking Pro Bono Project was recognized by United States Attorney Dena King during the National Crime Victims’ Rights Week event hosted by the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. MVA attorneys Sarah Byrne, Jennifer Braccia and Kristin Arnold represented the firm at the event.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Member Beth Buckner served as a guest speaker for the SME Business Development Conference panel titled, “Scaling your US footprint: Opportunities & challenges when growing in the USA,” which was moderated by MVA German Desk Director Daisy Birtalan on April 24.

Moore & Van Allen PLLC (MVA) is pleased to announce that Head of Derivatives Edward “Ed” H. Ivey has been selected as one of The Daily Report’s 2023 Southeastern Legal Awards “On the Rise” honorees. Honorees will be presented at a gala in Atlanta on June 22. Also in June, The Daily Report will publish a special report highlighting the accomplishments and skill of this year’s winners.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Members John Fagg and Jim McLoughlin, both Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators and Chambers-ranked practitioners, recently provided commentary to Lawdragon regarding the White Collar Enforcement Under the Biden Administration. They provided their take on the Administration’s enforcement efforts so far, and what might be coming down the pipeline as the Biden Administration follows through on campaign promises to pursue more white collar criminal cases. Federal prosecutors have been pursuing COVID-related frauds, giving prosecutors significant trial experience and the Department of Justice numerous victories in court.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) was honored on April 19, 2023, for its dedication to supporting survivors of domestic violence and sexual violence through the delivery of pro bono legal representation. The MVA Domestic Violence Pro Bono Partnership - in collaboration with the Safe Alliance Legal Representation Project and Wells Fargo legal department - work alongside clients to secure domestic violence protective orders and advocate for their rights and safety.

Moore & Van Allen PLLC (MVA) is pleased to announce that Financial Services Member Kaitlin D. Powers has been selected for the Charlotte Business Journal’s 2023 class of 40 Under 40 honorees. All honorees will be formally recognized at an awards event on May 17 and featured in a CBJ special report on May 19.

MVA Member Charles Jordan serves on the Charleston Regional Development Alliance (CRDA) Board of Directors and its Leadership Development Committee. CRDA assists businesses that are located elsewhere around the country and outside of the United States to relocate or expand their operations into the Charleston region and also provides resources for local businesses to expand their operations. 

MVA Health Care Associate Kevin Siebs served as a guest speaker for the AHLA podcast titled, “ACO REACH: Exploring CMMI’s New ACO Model,” which was published on April 14. The podcast focused on the ACO Realizing Equity Access and Community Health (REACH) Model discussing reasons for participation in ACO REACH, aspects of the model’s benchmark methodology, the model’s payment mechanisms, and key compliance issues related to the model.

MVA Litigation Associate Sarah Sheridan served as guest speaker for NCBA Antitrust & Complex Business Disputes Law Section CLE on February 2. This CLE provided insight on insurance and the effective use of experts, challenges lawyers face in complex business disputes, mental health issues, and how to build trust with clients and colleagues. 

MVA and CRDA Board of Directors Member Charles Jordan and Associates Michaela Cronin and William Stroud attended the Charleston Regional Development Alliance (CRDA) Quarterly Investor Briefing event on April 11. Attendees heard from a panel of three local entrepreneurs about how they’ve grown their businesses in an unsteady economic time.

MVA Wealth & Estate Planning Member Caitlin Horne was elected as a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Established in 1949, ACTEC is a national, nonprofit association of approximately 2,400 lawyers and law professors from throughout the United States and abroad. ACTEC Fellows are peer-elected on the basis of professional reputation and expertise in the preparation of wills and trusts, estate planning, probate, trust administration and related practice areas.

MVA Member Ryan Smith served as a guest lecturer at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Law. The class, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, is taught by MVA Senior Counsel Beth Grimes.

Moore & Van Allen Employment and Labor Member John Zaloom quoted in the SHRM article titled, “When Fitness-for-Duty Examinations Are Allowed” which was published on April 7.  

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) was ranked within the 2022 Leopard Law Firm Index ("LLFI") top 200 law firms by legal intelligence provider Leopard Solutions. The top 200 law firms consistently performed well in the Leopard Law Firm Index throughout 2022, resulting in this top-ranking achievement. The Index objectively ranks the overall growth and stability of law firms using hard data. MVA ranked #144 in the 2022 Index.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Co-head of Financial Regulatory Advice & Response Ed O’Keefe and Senior Counsel John Stoker served as guest speakers at the UNC Banking Institute CLE for the panel titled, “Developments in UDAAP As an Enforcement Tool” on March 31.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Senior Counsel Financial Regulatory Advice & Response Sarah Byrne and Head of Civil Rights & Racial Equity Assessments Valecia McDowell served as guest speakers for the Corporate Counsel Symposium 2023: ESG for In-House Lawyers webinar on Friday, March 31. Sarah and Valecia discussed analysis of opportunities to advance “social” goals through governance mechanisms; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) external audits, internal privileged reviews, and related interventions; recent backlash to DEI initiatives; anti-human trafficking practices; supply chain due diligence to identify forced labor, and overview of common key performance indicators (KPI) for S-linked loans.

Moore & Van Allen PLLC (MVA) has been recognized as a Global Competition Review (GCR) 2023 “Behavioural Matter of the Year – Americas” award winner. MVA, along with other defense firms, received the award for securing complete acquittals in a high-profile U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal antitrust prosecution of executives in the chicken industry.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Co-heads of Trademark Michele Glessner, Members Kate Cole, Arlene Hanks, and Mark Wilson, and Senior Counsel Ellen Andelman receive 2023 World Trademark Review 1000 (WTR 1000) recognition.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Financial Regulatory Advice & Response Senior Counsel John Stoker served as guest speaker for The University of North Carolina School of Law CLE titled “ABCs of Banking Law” on March 29. This CLE provided an introduction, or a primer, for attorneys seeking an understanding of the regulatory framework governing the banking industry.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Co-head of White Collar, Regulatory Defense & Investigations Valecia McDowell was named to the 2023 North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Power List for Business Defense. The Power List program recognizes top lawyers in a particular practice area. These attorneys are experts in their field, known for their expertise, and accomplishments.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Financial Restructuring Member Luis Lluberas served on two panels for the 2023 Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute (SBLI) 49th Annual Seminar which took place March 22-24 in Atlanta, Georgia. 

MVA celebrated International Women’s Day Program by gathering for a TED Talk Video titled, “A Girl Who Demanded School” by Kakenya Ntaiya. Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya is the founder and president of Kakenya’s Dream, an international nonprofit organization leveraging education to empower girls, end harmful traditional practices, and transform communities in rural Kenya.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Firm Chair Tom Mitchell has been named to the Class of 2023 Leaders in the Law by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly. “Leaders in the Law” is an annual award that celebrates those lawyers who are setting the standard for other lawyers.

Moore & Van Allen PLLC (MVA) is pleased to announce that F. Eugene Allison has joined the firm’s Commercial Real Estate team as senior counsel.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Co-head of Financial Regulatory Advice & Response Member Ed O'Keefe served as speaker at the SIFMA C&L Annual Seminar which took place on March 12-15 in San Diego, CA. Ed joined as a panelist for the session titled “Prudential Bank Regulators’ View of Compliance Programs” on March 13.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Litigation Counsel Tiffany Payne was quoted in the Law360 article, “Mob Mentality: DOJ Wields RICO With Mixed Results” which was published on February 17.

MVA Senior Counsel Beth Grimes continues to serve as Adjunct Professor in her sixth year of teaching Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation at UNC Chapel Hill School of Law. This semester long course focuses on non-cash employer provided benefits designed to help employees save for retirement and cover health care costs through the use of plans that are qualified under the Internal Revenue Code.

Moore & Van Allen White Collar, Regulatory Defense & Investigations Member Frank Schall was quoted in the Law360 article titled, “White Collar Attys Brace For More Latin America FCPA Action” which was published February 8.

Moore & Van Allen Intellectual Property Member Suzanne Gainey served as a guest speaker for the Association of Corporate Counsel webinar on February 9 titled, “Emerging Issues in Third Party Contract Negotiation Webinar.” Over 150 members attended the webinar. 

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) has ranked top for Charlotte largest law firms and most female attorneys in the recent Charlotte Business Journal article for 2023. MVA, which remains Charlotte’s largest law firm, has the most female attorneys in its local office with 126, including 31 partners.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) represented an investor and executive during the recent transaction of Groundworks, LLC , a leading foundation repair and water management services company, and KKR, a leading global investment firm, in which KKR made a significant investment in Groundworks as part of a new strategic partnership. The transaction was highlighted in M&A Weekly on February 2nd.

Moore & Van Allen’s (MVA) Finance team has ranked at the top of the Refinitiv Loan Pricing Corporation’s (LPC) 2022 U.S. Law Firm League Tables for representing Lead Arrangers on syndicated loan transactions. Through 2022, MVA advised on 185 syndicated loan transactions, which generated over $126 billion in aggregate gross proceeds and earned the firm a first-place position on the league table for all syndicated loans based on number of deals.