Davis Polk has announced that 11 lawyers have been promoted to counsel effective May 1, 2020: Sheila Adams, Welton Blount, Mari Byrne, Margarita Clarens, Matthew Cormack, Aryeh Falk, Gabriel Jaime-Bettan, Joseph Kniaz, Eric McLaughlin, Ilona Potiha and Sanders Witkow.      

Ms. Adams is counsel in Davis Polk’s Litigation Department and Antitrust and Competition Group in New York. She has represented clients in a variety of civil litigation and government investigations, and her practice focuses on antitrust investigations and litigation and the antitrust aspects of mergers and acquisitions. Her clients have included firms in the media and entertainment, financial services, pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries, as well as individual corporate directors. Ms. Adams is a 2019 recipient of the National Bar Association’s 40 Under 40 Nation’s Best Advocates Award and one of the association’s five individual 40 Under 40 awards for Excellence in Leadership.

 Mr. Blount is counsel in Davis Polk’s Corporate Department, practicing in the Finance Group in New York. He advises lenders and borrowers in connection with a wide range of financing transactions, including investment-grade and leveraged acquisition financings, cross-border financings, debt restructurings, and other secured and unsecured financings.

Ms. Byrne is counsel in Davis Polk’s Litigation Department in New York. She represents clients in a wide range of civil litigation matters, including complex commercial and contractual disputes, securities litigation, bankruptcy-related litigation and class actions. She has represented major energy companies, telecommunications companies and financial institutions, among others, in both federal and state court.

Ms. Clarens is counsel in Davis Polk’s Litigation Department and White Collar Criminal Defense and Government Investigations Group in New York. She represents companies, financial institutions and boards of directors in civil and criminal matters. Her practice focuses on internal investigations and criminal and regulatory enforcement actions, in areas such as sanctions, anti-money laundering, fraud and the FCPA. She has represented clients in connection with investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, and state regulatory and enforcement agencies. She also advises clients on related governance and compliance matters.

 Mr. Cormack is counsel in Davis Polk’s Litigation Department, practicing in the New York office. He represents clients in complex civil litigation and arbitrations in jurisdictions across the country. He represents financial institutions and corporate clients in a range of disputes, including complex contractual disputes, tort and fraud actions, securities suits, fiduciary duty litigation and bankruptcies. He also advises clients on a variety of issues such as contractual rights and potential litigation. His practice also includes advising hedge funds and fund managers on complex legal issues associated with fund wind-downs. Mr. Cormack also has an active pro bono practice, representing civil litigants in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, petitioners in federal habeas corpus proceedings, and various organizations as amicus curiae in federal and immigration courts.

 Mr. Falk is counsel in Davis Polk’s Corporate Department, practicing in the Restructuring Group in New York. He has substantial experience representing companies, hedge funds, banks and other strategic parties in a wide range of corporate restructuring transactions, including prepackaged and traditional bankruptcies, out-of-court workouts, DIP financings, section 363 sales, liability management transactions and cross-border insolvency proceedings.

Mr. Jaime-Bettan is counsel in Davis Polk’s Litigation Department and White Collar Criminal Defense and Government Investigations Group in New York. He represents clients in criminal and civil enforcement matters, including matters before the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Reserve, Federal Trade Commission, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. His clients include companies in a wide range of industries, including finance, technology, telecommunications, media, energy and pharmaceuticals, and he has had a particular focus on the regulation of multinational financial institutions with operations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. Mr. Jaime-Bettan also works extensively on pro bono matters. He has represented and assisted dozens of asylum seekers and teaches an asylum workshop at Columbia Law School. 

Mr. Kniaz is counsel in Davis Polk’s Litigation Department and White Collar Criminal Defense and Government Investigations Group, practicing in the Washington DC office. He regularly advises clients on national security-related regulatory matters, particularly with respect to national security reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Mr. Kniaz also represents companies and individuals in a wide range of criminal and civil enforcement matters, congressional inquiries and internal investigations involving allegations of fraud, violations of anti-bribery laws, money laundering, economic sanctions and export controls.

Mr. McLaughlin is counsel in Davis Polk’s Financial Institutions Group in New York. His practice focuses on bank regulatory advice, including on financial services reform, regulatory implementation and the preparation of living wills. In this area, he has advised clients on the Bank Holding Company Act, the National Bank Act, the Home Owners’ Loan Act and various other statutes and regulations applicable to financial institutions. His clients include U.S. and non-U.S. SIFIs, regional banks, non-bank subsidiaries of BHCs and investors in financial institutions. 

 Ms. Potiha is counsel in Davis Polk’s Corporate Department, practicing in the Finance Group in New York. Her practice includes representing lenders, financial institutions and borrowers in connection with a wide range of financing transactions, including leveraged and investment-grade financings, acquisition financings, spinoffs, cross-border financings, debt restructurings, and other secured and unsecured financings.

Mr. Witkow is counsel in Davis Polk’s Corporate Department, practicing in the Finance Group in New York. His practice includes representing underwriters, lenders and borrowers in a wide range of domestic and cross-border commercial financing transactions, including leveraged acquisitions, project financings, asset-based lending, bankruptcy and restructuring financings, investment-grade financings, unsecured lending and structured credit products.

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