Covington Promotes Nine Lawyers to Partnership

Covington Promotes Nine Lawyers to Partnership

October 1, 2013

WASHINGTON, DC, October 1, 2013 — Covington & Burling is pleased to announce that it has elected nine lawyers to its partnership effective today.

“We’re delighted to welcome these nine lawyers to our partnership,” said Timothy Hester, chair of Covington’s management committee. “They are all excellent lawyers who will bring great value and service to our clients on a wide array of legal matters. We see them as important parts of the next generation of the firm.”

The new partners and their practices are:

Chris Bracebridge (London) advises employers on global mobility and international employment issues, including the expatriation and other issues involving senior employees who work abroad or across borders. He heads and coordinates a team providing the employment, tax and immigration advice required in these complex situations. Mr. Bracebridge’s domestic practice includes contentious, commercial and advisory employment experiences. He advises on the HR aspects of business acquisitions and dispositions, and outsourcing transactions, defends financial institutions and other major employers in dismissal, discrimination, equal pay and whistle-blowing cases, and advises corporate clients on the full range of day-to-day employment issues, as well as data privacy and pensions matters. Mr. Bracebridge received his undergraduate degree from the University of Leicester and his law degree from Nottingham Law School.

Alexander Chinoy (Washington) focuses on the resolution of international intellectual property disputes, with an emphasis on Section 337 unfair import investigations before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), as well as on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement of intellectual property rights. Mr. Chinoy has been involved in more than thirty Section 337 investigations, including numerous trials on violation, enforcement hearings, and temporary relief proceedings. His experience spans every phase of 337 litigation, from pre-complaint counseling through appeal of final ITC determinations to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as well as CBP enforcement of ITC exclusion orders. He is the immediate past President of the ITC Trial Lawyers Association, the leading bar association for Section 337 practitioners. Mr. Chinoy earned both his B.A. and J.D. from the University of Virginia, where he was the production editor of the Virginia Journal of Sports and the Law.

Phyllis Jones (Washington) focuses on matters involving the complex legal issues facing the firm’s pharmaceutical and healthcare clients. Ms. Jones has a wide-ranging civil litigation practice with a particular emphasis on the representation of pharmaceutical clients in high-stakes mass tort proceedings at all stages, including at trial. She has represented clients in state and federal courts and before arbitral panels and regulatory bodies. Ms. Jones received her undergraduate degree from University of Oklahoma and her law degree from Yale Law School, where she was a member of the Yale Law Journal.

Michael Kennedy (Washington) is a litigator with broad experience representing clients at all stages of litigation before federal district courts and the Federal Circuit. Mr. Kennedy’s practice is particularly focused on representing pioneer pharmaceutical companies in Hatch-Waxman patent litigation. Mr. Kennedy also has significant litigation experience in the areas of breach of contract, business torts, and insurance coverage. A cum laude graduate of Northwestern University School of Law, Mr. Kennedy was senior articles editor of Northwestern University Law Review. He received his undergraduate degree from University of Virginia, and is admitted to practice in D.C. and New York.

Robert Lenhard (Washington) is a member of the firm’s election and political law practice group and advises corporations, trade associations, not-for-profit organizations, and high-net-worth individuals on compliance with federal and state campaign finance, lobbying, and government ethics laws. Mr. Lenhard routinely assists clients in establishing and operating federal and state PACs, compliance programs associated with campaign finance and pay-to-play laws; advises advocacy groups and their donors; conducts compliance trainings and audits of federal and state lobbying and political programs; and counsels clients on compliance with congressional gift and travel rules. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Lenhard served as Chairman of the Federal Election Commission. Mr. Lenhard received his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and his law degree from University of California at Los Angeles School of Law.

Carmen Martinez Lopez (London) focuses on international commercial and investment treaty arbitration, with a particular focus on matters involving Latin America and Spain. She has particular expertise in the oil and gas, energy and infrastructure industries. Ms. Martinez Lopez handles contentious work in English, Spanish, and French. She holds a master of laws from Columbia Law School, a master’s degree in European law from the College of Europe and a Licenciatura en Derecho con Premio Extraordinario y Premio Nacional from the University of Murcia, Spain. She is admitted to practice in England and Wales (Registered European Lawyer), New York and Spain.

David Pinsky (New York) practices in the firm’s international arbitration and litigation practice groups. Mr. Pinsky’s arbitration practice focuses on the oil and gas industry and includes both investor-state and commercial disputes. In a significant representation on the investor-state side, Mr. Pinsky successfully represented investors in the Yukos Oil Company in an arbitral claim against the Russian Federation arising from the expropriation of the company. In U.S. litigation, Mr. Pinsky’s practice focuses on complex contractual disputes and securities litigation. He received his undergraduate degree from Washington University and his law degree from New York University School of Law.

Jennifer Plitsch (Washington) practices in the firm’s government contracts practice group where her practice includes a wide range of contracting issues for large and small businesses in both defense and civilian contracting. Her practice involves advising clients on contract proposal, performance, and compliance questions as well as transactional and legislative issues. Her practice also includes bid protest and contract claims and appeals litigation before GAO, agency boards and the federal courts. Ms. Plitsch advises a range of pharmaceutical and biologics manufacturers on Federal Supply Schedule contracts, including the complex pricing requirements imposed on products under the Veterans Health Care Act, as well as research and development contracts and grants with various federal agencies. She also has significant experience advising on the requirements of various programs under which vaccine products and biodefense medical countermeasures are procured by the Government. Ms. Plitsch is a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and summa cum laude graduate of Drew University.

Jennifer Zachary (Washington) practices in the firm’s food and drug practice group. She advises companies and industry associations on compliance with FDA requirements for the manufacture and sale of drugs, biologics, medical devices, foods and dietary supplements and assists clients in responding to FDA enforcement actions, warning letters, inspections, recalls and import detentions. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Zachary served as an Associate Chief Counsel for Enforcement in the FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel, where she served as an Associate Chief Counsel for Enforcement. While at FDA, Ms. Zachary brought numerous enforcement actions in conjunction with Department of Justice as co-counsel against adulterated and misbranded drugs, medical devices, foods and dietary supplements. In addition, she served as counsel to investigators and compliance personnel in FDA’s district offices, reviewing warning letters for legal sufficiency and advising on potential enforcement actions. She is a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and summa cum laude graduate of Arizona State University.