Seven Whiteford, Taylor & Preston Attorneys Named Partners
Baltimore – Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP (WTP) is delighted to announce that J. Bradley Aaron, Jennifer R. Busse, Adam Cizek, Emily A. Daneker, Stephen B. Gerald, Kevin A. Kernan, and Kristen B. Perry have been elected as partners of the firm, effective January 1, 2009.
J. Bradley Aaron, a member of the Corporate Department in Baltimore, represents clients in intellectual property matters; mergers and acquisitions; joint ventures and alliances; public and private securities offerings and compliance; venture capital, private equity, and convertible debt financing; research and design, manufacturing and licensing agreements; and government contracting arrangements. He is a member of the Society for International Affairs, the National Contract Management Association, the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council, the Greater Baltimore Tech Council, and the Northeastern Maryland Tech Council as well as the Maryland State Bar Association (Program Committee of the Intellectual Property Section, the Emerging Companies Committee, and International Law Committee), the District of Columbia Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. Aaron serves on the Board of Directors of Moveable Feast. A Certified Licensing Professional from Licensing Executives Society, he graduated from Tulane University School of Law in 1996 and Loyola College in Maryland in 1992.
Jennifer R. Busse, a member of the Real Estate and Land Use section in Towson, represents land owners, companies, and developers in development and zoning matters. She is the current Vice Chair of the Baltimore County Bar Association's State and Local Laws/Zoning Committee, and a participant in the Baltimore County Sustainability Network Team of Advisors. She is a former Board Member of the Greater Towson Committee as well as the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce. Busse is currently a member of the Home Builders Association of Maryland, the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, the Baltimore County Bar Association, the Bar Association of Baltimore City, the Maryland State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. She graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1998 and Randolph Macon College in 1993.
Adam Cizek, a member of the firm's Construction and Surety section in Baltimore, represents owners, developers, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and sureties in construction-related negotiations, litigation and other dispute resolution proceedings. He regularly represents parties in state and federal courts in connection with construction related disputes, including mechanic's lien and breach of contract actions. Cizek also counsels and assists clients with contract drafting and negotiations and claims avoidance. He served as a Judicial Clerk for the Honorable Stephen M. Waldron of the Circuit Court of Maryland for Harford County. Cizek is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association the American Bar Association (Tort and Insurance Law Practice Section, the Forum on the Construction Industry, and the Fidelity and Surety Law Committee), the American Subcontractors Association, and the Washington Building Congress. He graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2000 and Salisbury State University in 1996.
Emily A. Daneker, a member of the firm's Litigation Department and Business Litigation section in Baltimore, represents clients in matters involving intellectual property, personal injury, defamation, professional liability, business competition/solicitation of employees, and unfair debt collection, among others. Her clients include closely-held companies, railroad corporations, businesses, employers, insureds, and insurers. In her pro bono work, Daneker has also assisted children with disabilities with the Disability Law center and helped resolve landlord/tenant disputes. She served as a Clerk to the Honorable Deborah S. Eyler, Court of Special Appeals of Maryland. Daneker is a member of the Defense Research Institute, the Ethics Committee of the ACA (Association of Credit and Collection Professionals), the Bar Association of Baltimore City (BABC), and the Maryland State Bar Association. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Young Lawyers' Division of the BABC and also serves as chair of its CLE Committee. Daneker graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law in 2000 and Franklin and Marshall College in 1996.
Stephen B. Gerald, a member of the firm's Bankruptcy section in Baltimore, represents debtors, trusts, trustees, creditors' committees, and individual creditors in a variety of chapter 11 and chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. Gerald's representation ranges from cases involving simple business entities to large complex cases, and his practice includes bankruptcy litigation, business transactions, and pre-bankruptcy planning. Prior to joining Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, he served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Christian M. Kahl of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. Gerald is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, the Maryland Bankruptcy Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Turnaround Management Association, the Baltimore County Bar Association, the Bar Association of Baltimore City, and the American Bar Association. He obtained his J.D. and B.A. from the University of Baltimore in 2000 and 1996, respectively.
Kevin A. Kernan, a member of the firm's Litigation Department in Washington, D.C., represents community associations, employers, and nonprofit organizations in matters involving litigation, insurance, employee relations, commercial issues, operational compliance, and general business affairs. He is a member of the Alexandria Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar Association. Kernan is a member of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce's Legislative Committee and the Washington Metropolitan Chapter of the Community Association Institute's Legislative Committee. He is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Alexandria Law Library. Kernan graduated from Widener University School of Law in 1995 and S.U.N.Y. Albany in 1989.
Kristen B. Perry, a member of the firm's Bankruptcy section in Baltimore, represents Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 trustees; businesses in Chapter 11 reorganization cases; national creditors' committees and creditors in complex bankruptcy proceedings; and debtors, trustees, and creditors in bankruptcy litigation matters, including prosecution and defense of preference and fraudulent conveyance litigation. She has also handled a variety of general business litigation matters, including external collection matters. Through her pro bono work, Perry has successfully represented students in need of specialized instruction under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. She is a member of the Howard County Public Ethics Commission, the Howard County Bar Association, the Maryland State Bar Association, the Maryland Bankruptcy Bar Association, and the American Bankruptcy Institute. Perry graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2000 and the University of Maryland College Park in 1996.