WUERSCH & GERING - Key Persons
Amy Peterson's practice focuses on U.S. immigration and naturalization law. She represents international and domestic companies from a wide range of industries in matters concerning employment-based nonimmigrant visas, employment-based immigration, and permanent residence applications. Amy advises U.S. companies and their human resources representatives on immigration and I-9 compliance issues. Amy also assists individual clients with family-based immigration and U.S. citizenship matters.
Prior to joining the firm in 2014, Amy practiced U.S. immigration and naturalization law at the law firm of Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP in New York City.
Practice Areas
Employment-based immigration
Berwin Cohen has more than 20 years of experience in representing domestic and foreign clients on U.S. and international tax planning, and compliance. Berwin's clients include start-ups, international businesses and investors, hedge funds and private equity funds, not-for-profit entities, and high net worth individuals.
In addition to his tax practice, Berwin is an adjunct professor in the New York Law School L.L.M. Taxation Program.
Practice Areas
International Taxation (Planning, Compliance and Litigation)
Education
New York University, School of Law - LL.M. (Taxation), 2002
New York Law School - J.D., 1999 - cum laude
Ramapo College - B.A., 1996 - summa cum laude
Carl van der Zandt's diverse practice includes U.S. and international corporate and commercial law, intellectual property, and business litigation. Carl focuses on trans-Atlantic transactions and investments. Having served more than 300 European companies with business interest in the U.S., Carl's extensive and unique international and U.S. experience is highly valued among clients, from start-ups to publicly listed companies.
Carl has experience in a wide variety of industries including insurance, industrial manufacturing, luxury and consumer goods, retail, e-commerce, software, and Internet-based services. He often acts as outside general counsel to U.S. affiliates of foreign enterprises, advising management on corporate governance and all legal matters arising from their business operations, including supply chain related and intercompany contracts, commercial contracts and e-commerce transactions, employment law, intellectual property, privacy, and U.S. and international litigation.
Before joining Wuersch & Gering, Carl was a partner of a boutique New York law firm focusing on venture capital and the fashion industry. Earlier on in his legal career, he worked as an associate for several major international law firms in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and New York.
Carl publishes frequently on U.S. legal topics for foreign entrepreneurs and is a recognized speaker and lecturer both in Europe and the U.S. on international transactions, supply chain related legal matters, and intellectual property law. Carl is an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law in New York City.
Practice Areas
Corporate and Commercial Transactions
Claudio Guler is an associate in the firm's corporate group. Claudio advises foreign companies on the formation and operation of U.S. subsidiaries, corporate and commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures.
Prior to joining the firm, Claudio worked for a boutique international business law firm in New York. During graduate school, Claudio interned at a New York-based customs and trade law firm and was a research assistant for Prof. Ruti Teitel at New York Law School and Prof. Jeswald Salacuse and Prof. Michael Glennon at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Claudio also worked as a political risk consultant for Veracity Worldwide with a focus on German-language projects. Prior to pursuing his graduate studies, Claudio worked for three years as an international affairs analyst for ETH Zürich.
Practice Areas
Corporate and Securities
Job Titles:
- Senior Counsel / Real Estate
Erik Tikkanen is an associate in the firm's corporate group. Erik advises domestic and foreign companies on the formation and operation of U.S. subsidiaries, corporate and commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, as well as securities law compliance.
Prior to joining the firm, Erik worked for a boutique international business law firm in New York. During law school, Erik spent a semester in a full-immersion exchange program at Freie Universität in Berlin, Germany. Erik also served as a notes editor to the UC Hastings journal, Constitutional Law Quarterly. As an undergraduate, Erik spent a year studying Political Science at Georg-August Universität in Göttingen, Germany.
Practice Areas
Corporate and Securities
George Fiszer's primary focus is on estate planning and estate administration. He also advises closely-held businesses and private foundations on business and tax issues. In addition to drafting and implementing comprehensive estate planning documents, George regularly assists clients with the preparation and filing of estate tax returns and fiduciary tax returns.
Practice Areas
Tax
Gregory Hauser's litigation practice includes domestic and international commercial litigation and arbitration, especially for business entities with foreign affiliations, including product liability defense, intellectual property disputes (patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets), insurance coverage issues, employment disputes (terminations and discrimination claims), contract disputes (such as distributorship, mergers and acquisitions transactions, purchase and sale of goods), and business torts (including fraud, unfair competition, and defamation).
He has written a number of law review articles on various topics, including aspects of international litigation. Gregory has also lectured on product liability law, civil procedure (particularly evidence and other trial practice issues), and the differences between the civil law and common law legal systems.
Prior to joining the firm, Gregory was a litigation partner at Walter, Conston, Alexander & Green, P.C., and at the New York office of Alston & Bird LLP. Previously, he was a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
He has been named a New York "Super Lawyer" twelve times.
Practice Areas
Commercial litigation
Hilde Holland's practice focuses on U.S. immigration and naturalization law. For more than 25 years, she has represented individuals and foreign and domestic companies from a variety of industries in matters concerning U.S. work visas and permits, permanent residency (Green Card) applications, family-based immigration, and (dual) citizenship matters. As part of her practice, Hilde provides consultations on U.S. immigration matters and advises her clients on compliance with U.S. immigration laws, including training of human resource representatives. She also develops innovative and long-term immigration strategies and synergies for a variety of employment scenarios.
Hilde has written and published numerous articles on U.S. immigration law and related topics. She is a regular speaker on immigration topics such as U.S. work visas, visa compliance, permanent residency applications and naturalization matters and their cross-border implications. Her presentations and workshops on immigration are well-received among practitioners and clients.
Jake Brown is a corporate and securities attorney who represents established and emerging corporations, entrepreneurs, investment firms and other investors on a broad range of topics, including mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, investment management, securities laws and general corporate matters.
Jake began his legal career at Fried Frank in New York, concentrating in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. Next, he served as internal counsel for the private equity divisions of Goldman Sachs, then Soros Fund Management, where he supported their investment and financing activities (including public and private investments and exits, late-stage venture capital and public and private debt financings), internal and external investment vehicle formation and offering, and general investment management legal matters. After Soros, he served as general counsel for three different private investment management firms - Atticus Capital, then Hoplite Capital, then Hudson Executive Capital - where he was responsible for all legal and compliance matters.
Before law school, Jake served as a U.S. Army Infantry officer, and he is a combat veteran of the Gulf War.
Practice Areas
Mergers and Acquisitions
Janet Murtha's practice focuses on investment and fund management. Janet advises financial institutions, investment advisers and commodity trading advisors on securities, commodities and derivatives regulatory matters, including SEC and CFTC registration, and securities law compliance in fundraising. In her practice she also advises her clients on corporate and commercial matters related to their investment management activities, including seeding arrangements, solicitation arrangements and marketing materials used to raise capital. She regularly structures and documents a variety of sophisticated and complex investment funds and is experienced in establishing registered investment companies, bespoke structured products and broker-dealer regulation.
Prior to joining the firm, Janet was a partner in the Financial Services and Structured Products Groups of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and in the corporate group of Warshaw Burstein Cohen Schlesinger & Kuh, LLP. Janet started her career as an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Seward & Kissel LLP.
Practice Areas
Hedge fund formation and compliance
Mr. Preuss has provided pro bono services to various not for profit organizations
Job Titles:
- Inc. - Former Junior Board Member
Josh Dachs is an Associate in the firm's Litigation and Arbitration group. Josh's practice includes the defense, prosecution and management of complex commercial disputes throughout multiple forums and jurisdictions, including both state and federal courts located within New York and New Jersey.
Prior to joining Wuersch & Gering, Josh worked at Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP where he represented banks, insurance companies, and mortgage servicers against claims arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"), a variety of federal consumer protection and consumer finance laws, and other business disputes involving breach of contract, fraud and professional liability.
Josh has written a number of articles on various legal topics, primarily concerning the consumer financial services, securities and real estate industries. During law school, Josh was a writer and editor of the Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law, engaged in pro bono work as a member of the Bet Tzedek Civil Litigation Clinic and served on the Board of the Cardozo Real Estate Law Association.
Josh was named as a "SuperLawyers" 2022 New York Metro Rising Star.
Practice Areas
Litigation and Arbitration
Education
Yeshiva University, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, J.D. - 2017
Justin Lee - Chief Legal Officer
Justin Lee is a dispute resolution attorney who represents domestic and international clients in arbitration and business litigation matters across a number of sectors, including banking, finance, technology, construction, oil and gas, mining, casino gaming and factoring.
Justin began his legal career as an appellate attorney at the nationally acclaimed Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia where he managed all aspects of appellate litigation in Public Defender Service cases before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. His next two roles were as a litigation associate at Hogan Lovells US LLP, where he managed complex disputes and investigations for Fortune 500 companies, and as a foreign associate in the international arbitration group at Philippi, Prietocarrizosa, Ferrero DU & Uría, where he managed domestic arbitrations and international arbitrations for clients with disputes in Chile. His most recent position was as an associate in the international arbitration group at White & Case LLP, where he was responsible for managing commercial and investor-state arbitrations, including ICC, ICSID, SIAC, AAA and JAMS.
Practice Areas
Litigation and Arbitration
Kevin Murphy's practice encompasses international and domestic litigation, as well as intellectual property and commercial transactions. As an experienced trial lawyer, Kevin is representing global companies - with a particular focus on Asia - in a variety of litigation, including product liability defense, patent litigation, civil RICO, trade secret, trademarks and copyright disputes, contractual disputes, securities fraud, and business torts (including fraud, unfair competition, and defamation). Kevin has successfully tried dozens of cases to verdict. Kevin has also represented global media, software and medical device companies in licensing negotiations.
Kevin is frequently called to speak on such matters around the world. He has addressed the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce on Hatch-Waxman patent litigation in Mumbai, India, and the inter partes review process at the 13th Annual IPR Conference in Admedabad, India. Kevin has addressed the Indian Pharmaceutical Association, and has also served as guest lecturer on civil litigation at the Cardozo School of Law in New York.
Prior to joining the firm, Kevin was a partner at Frommer Lawrence and Haug LLP and at Garson Segal Steinmetz Fladgate LLP, both in New York. Previously, he was a litigation associate at Lowenstein Sandler PC in New Jersey, and was proud to serve at the behest of Robert Morgenthau as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
Practice Areas
Intellectual property litigation
Marco Palmese's practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, securities law and growth company representation. He has handled numerous business combinations, ranging from cross-border joint venture transactions to multi-billion dollar private equity acquisitions. He also has significant experience in corporate finance transactions, including debt and equity institutional offerings and private placements. Marco regularly represents non-U.S. clients in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance transactions and general corporate and commercial matters.
Prior to joining the firm, Marco practiced in the mergers and acquisitions department of Shearman & Sterling LLP, corporate group of Latham & Watkins LLP and most recently was a partner in the corporate group of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP.
Practice Areas
Mergers and acquisitions
Maria Luisa Palmese has over 25 years of experience representing clients in patent litigation, patent prosecution and trademark and design protection matters. She maintains a global practice focused on assisting companies with their U.S. IP matters. Her focus is to efficiently and effectively create and maximize value through IP. Maria Luisa is adept at handling intellectual property matters in a wide range of industries, including chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, food, cosmetics, agricultural, as well as design, fashion and entertainment. A skilled litigator, Maria Luisa has represented clients in some of the busiest patent jurisdictions in the U.S. in jury and bench trials, including the Southern District of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Northern District of Illinois, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and other courts. She is adept at litigation complex IP disputes across a range of subject matters, including chemicals and chemical processes, pharmaceuticals (including Hatch-Waxman disputes), and cosmetics, materials and designs. She is also an experienced practitioner before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including inter partes proceedings.
Maria Luisa has been named a New York "Super Lawyer" from 2016 - 2020, and Top Woman Attorney in the New York Metro Area since 2016.
Practice Areas
Intellectual property litigation
Michelle Goldstein is a seasoned attorney who represents companies and individuals on Human Resources related matters with a focus on compensation and employee benefits. Her practice includes regularly counseling clients on negotiating and drafting compensation and benefits arrangements, equity-based and other incentive plans, and corporate transactions support as to employee benefits and labor matters. Michelle has extensive experience working with multinational companies helping non-US based clients navigate US laws and US-based clients navigate foreign laws.
Prior to joining Wuersch & Gering, Michelle served as in-house counsel for Time Inc., First Solar, Inc. and Witco Corporation. Michelle has also worked in the Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits practices of several large multinational law firms.
Practice Areas
Labor and Employment
Languages
English
Orla McCabe represents corporate clients and individuals with respect to all aspects of labor and employment law. Her practice includes negotiating and drafting agreements and policies related to employment, including executive employment agreements, employee offer letters, non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements, separation agreements, settlement agreements, and employment handbooks and policies. Orla regularly counsels clients on compliance with labor and employment laws and conducts management and employee training on discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Orla also supports the firm's corporate department by performing employment law due diligence pertaining to corporate transactions.
Orla represents employers before Federal and State Courts and Administrative Agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the New York State Division of Human Rights, and the New York City Commission of Human Rights. She has represented employers in cases involving claims of sexual harassment, hostile work environment, retaliation, and discrimination based on race, sex, age, pregnancy, disability, national origin, and religion.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. McCabe was an employment attorney with Jackson Lewis P.C. and also worked in-house in the legal department of Metro-North Railroad.
Practice Areas
Labor and Employment
Priscilla Bonsu focuses on providing memoranda on a wide variety of complex issues to our firm's attorneys who represent domestic and global companies seeking to expand operations internationally.
Priscilla interned at the German Embassy and the Legal Vice Presidency (INT) of the World Bank in Washington D.C. She also worked for international law firms in Frankfurt, Germany and Atlanta, Georgia where she assisted in international arbitration proceedings as well as international business transactions.
Priscilla earned her undergraduate degree in German law from the Ruprecht-Karls Universität Heidelberg and her LL.M. degree and Business Law Certificate from the University of California, Berkeley. She received her J.D. degree from the Emory University School of Law. She also received her Intellectual Property Law Certificate from Stanford Law School.
During her time at Emory, she was the President of the Emory Communications and Media Law Society as well as the Vice President of the Emory Sports and Entertainment Law Society. Priscilla was recognized with the Woman of Excellence Award by the Emory University. Upon graduation she received the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) Award.
Priscilla is active in the community and in various professional organizations. As a member of the American Bar Association, she served as a law student reporter for the ABA Forum on Sports and Entertainment Industries. She also served the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys as a board member (Student Member-at-Large) and co-chair of the Interbar-Relations Committee.
Practice Areas
International Business Transactions
Stephen McNally's practice focuses on representing foreign and domestic companies in matters related to insolvency, debt restructuring and bankruptcy, including Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. As part of his practice, he regularly represents creditors and investors in reorganizations and restructurings, both inside and outside of bankruptcy proceedings, and structures financing transactions in connection with bankruptcy proceedings and corporate reorganization, including debtor-in-possession (DIP) financings.
Stephen also regularly assists creditors in asserting claims in bankruptcy and other insolvency proceedings. In these proceedings he also represents recipients of payments and assets in preference and fraudulent conveyance claims. He routinely represents creditors and other parties in large U.S. bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings such as the Kodak, Lehman Brothers and Madoff bankruptcies.
Practice Areas
Bankruptcy and reorganization
Tiffany Tsai's practice focuses on cross-border and domestic corporate and commercial matters. She advises U.S. and foreign companies as well as high net worth individuals on structuring, drafting, and negotiating various corporate and commercial agreements relating to corporate finance, private equity, securities compliance, merger and acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances.
As a multilingual international attorney who is licensed both in New York State and in Taiwan, Tiffany provides tremendous legal expertise with a deep understanding of cultural nuances and business needs. With in-house and law firm experience in the U.S. and in Taiwan, Tiffany strives to offer legal advice from a practical standpoint. Her most recent role has been as Assistant Vice President for a leading Taiwanese venture capital investor, where she supported its investment activities (from early to late-stage financing across borders) as well as fund operations and regulatory compliance matters. Another recent role of Tiffany was with a New York based real estate developer, where she acted as Deputy General Counsel and helped build its legal department from scratch. Before obtaining her Master of Laws degree from Columbia Law School, Tiffany was an attorney at a top Taiwanese law firm known for litigating infrastructure disputes, where she represented both domestic and international clients in cases that made headlines. This litigation background enables Tiffany to identify red flags early on when preparing contracts to prevent potential disputes from happening.
An avid art lover outside of work, Ms. Tsai served as Co-Chair of the Pro Bono Committee of the Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section (EASL) of the New York State Bar Association and volunteers for multiple non-profit organizations. Ms. Tsai constantly blogs and publishes articles to share legal developments that are relevant to the creatives in different languages. She continues to combine her passion in art and law by helping professionals in the creative world navigate legal issues and use regulations to their advantage.
Practice Areas
Mergers and Acquisitions
Travis Gering's practice focuses on international corporate and securities matters, mergers and acquisitions and financing transactions. He advises public and private companies, private equity funds, hedge funds, commodities funds, on-shore and off-shore investment companies, mutual funds, family offices, broker-dealers, financial intermediaries, banks, investment advisors, trusts and individual investors. In addition, Travis has extensive experience in structuring, negotiating, drafting and establishing international special purpose companies, joint ventures, strategic alliances, partnerships, licensing arrangements, distribution and franchise agreements, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission registrations and compliance, national stock exchange listings and many other complex legal and business matters.
Prior to joining the firm, he practiced in the corporate department of the law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in New York, served as in-house counsel to a NASDAQ National Market listed company and also served as Chairman of a FINRA-registered broker dealer.
Practice Areas
Private and public equity and debt financing
David Rivkin is a commercial litigation attorney specializing in cross-border business disputes. Many of the matters David handles involve allegations of intellectual property infringement, shareholder and joint venture conflicts, and executive employment agreements. David also has considerable international arbitration experience, and is an expert in obtaining discovery in the United States for use in non-U.S. legal and administrative proceedings. Much of David's work involves representing clients from around the globe, with an emphasis on Latin America and Europe.
In addition to his commercial litigation and arbitration practice, David enjoys acting as outside general counsel and advisor for a variety of business enterprises, many of which are based outside the United States. These include established brick-and-mortar companies, financial institutions, technology companies, and startups. He counsels on intellectual property, licensing, corporate governance, employment, investment financing, and other day-to-day business and transactional matters. David maintains extensive contacts with business people and attorneys worldwide, and is well-attuned to the differences in custom, culture, sensibilities, and legal systems that may impact representation of non-U.S. clients.
Prior to joining Wuersch & Gering in 2017, Mr. Rivkin was a partner in the New York office of Carlton Fields, a national litigation firm. Prior to 2012, Mr. Rivkin was a partner at Fox Horan & Camerini, a New York firm with a prominent international practice. In the mid-1990s, before beginning his legal career, Mr. Rivkin gained hands-on business and management experience as the director of operations at a media technology company. This enables him to advise clients practically - focusing on core business objectives when crafting effective legal solutions.
Practice Areas
Commercial Litigation