Michael Best is proud to announce the election of eight attorneys to the Firm’s partnership, effective July 24, 2024. The newly named contract partners are: Travis Albea, Andy Andrews, Emily Haas, Angela Lam, Jonathan Luljak, Katelyn Pellitteri, Michael Sokolowski, and Michael Yeh.
Travis W. Albea, Transactional, Greenville
Albea advises businesses, executives, and investors on a range of matters, including mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, and contracts. He also serves as primary outside counsel to several privately held companies in a diverse range of sectors, including real estate investments, property management, transportation, manufacturing, technology, and professional services, among others. Additionally, Albea represents faith-based and other tax-exempt organizations, advising on governance, operational, and policy issues. Business leaders and in-house counsel alike rely on his proactive approach, judgment, business acumen, responsiveness, and broad experience to solve problems and drive value for their organizations.
Andy Andrews, Corporate, Raleigh
Andrews assists clients with transactional, regulatory, and operational matters. He has significant experience with healthcare matters including business transactions, acquisitions, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law, HIPAA and privacy matters, contract drafting, and due diligence. Andrews also has a robust practice counseling faith-based institutions and other nonprofit organizations on a range of legal, transactional, and strategic matters.
Emily M. Haas, Intellectual Property, Raleigh
Haas focuses her practice in the areas of trademark and copyright law. She counsels clients on prosecution, portfolio management, clearance, enforcement, and dispute resolution, helping businesses protect and defend their valuable brand assets. In the U.S., Haas has represented clients before state and federal trial and appeals courts, including the North Carolina Supreme Court, as well as the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. She also works closely with clients to help coordinate international protection programs around the world, including a number of major brands with significant IP portfolios. Haas has particular expertise representing clients in the fintech, pharmaceutical, tourism, and retail sectors, and has built a strong enforcement and defense practice in the ever-evolving internet, social media, and e-commerce space. Additionally, Haas advises and defends clients with respect to trade secrets and unfair competition disputes, contracts and related business torts, and litigation.
Y. Angela Lam, Labor & Employment, Chicago
Lam represents corporations across numerous industries and non-profit organizations regarding compliance with ever-changing employment laws for an increasingly multi-state workforce. She has extensive experience serving as employment counsel, where she advises clients on hiring, termination, wage and hour compliance, employee handbooks, investigations into discrimination, harassment and retaliation, and various other issues. Yam is also a subject matter expert on California employment laws and regularly provides compliance training to her clients. She has successfully litigated employment cases in federal and state court in California and Illinois, in arbitration, and before administrative agencies nationwide. She regularly defends employers facing claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, the Illinois Human Rights Act, and the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.
Jonathan T. Luljak, Real Estate, Milwaukee
Luljak represents real estate developers and businesses in the acquisition, entitlement, financing, and construction of commercial real estate projects. He helps his clients navigate state and local government issues, including zoning and tax issues. Additionally, Luljak also advises clients who are seeking to limit capital gains exposure in their sale of property by structuring 1031 exchanges.
Katelyn A. Pellitteri, Transactional, Milwaukee
Pellitteri assists private companies and healthcare organizations with a variety of corporate and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and contract negotiations. Working closely with Michael Best’s Healthcare practice, she helps health industry clients navigate transactional, governance, regulatory, and information security issues. Pellitteri leverages a deep understanding of the complex issues healthcare organizations face to provide tailored, actionable counsel to clients. Pellitteri advises clients in the healthcare industry including payors, providers (physician groups, hospitals, and systems), device and software developers, and healthcare technology (HealthTech) companies on day-to-day matters related to vendor contracting, compliance matters, and governance and board relations. She routinely counsels clients on the unique operational and regulatory hurdles they face being in a heavily regulated sector and is well-versed in the areas of corporate practice of medicine, HIPAA/HITECH, state data privacy/security laws, antitrust, and Antikick-back/Stark law issues.
Michael K. Sokolowski, Labor & Employment, Chicago
Sokolowski is a trusted advisor to businesses, not-for-profits, and management in some of the most challenging labor and employment issues facing clients. Clients appreciate the strategic vision he brings to his work in state and federal courts across the country. Sokolowski’s counseling work focuses on identifying practical, business-focused solutions for clients.
Michael C. Yeh, Corporate, Manitowoc
Yeh’s substantial in-house business experience with domestic and international corporate matters shapes his practice at Michael Best. Clients rely on his insights and guidance regarding new and changing areas of law and analyzing and resolving a variety of general business issues. Yeh represents clients in a wide range of corporate and technology transactions, including commercial contracts, SaaS agreements, software development and licensing agreements, professional service agreements, business formation, and more.
These new partners bring unique skills to their respective practice groups and a commitment to developing client-centric solutions, contributing to Michael Best’s mission of providing a high level of service to our clients.