PHILADELPHIA, October 8, 2024—Duane Morris LLP is pleased to announce that it has promoted five associates to special counsel. These newly named special counsel are:

Corporate Practice Group: J. Blake Hovander Philadelphia; Joel Ruffini, Philadelphia

Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group: Kathryn R. Brown, Philadelphia

Real Estate Practice Group: Louis C. Formisano, Austin

Trial Practice Group: Jessica S. High, San Diego

“We are always interested in developing and advancing our attorneys, and our special counsel program has been an exceptional proving ground,” said Matthew A. Taylor Duane Morris Chairman and CEO. “This year’s group of special counsel promotions represents and enhances an excellent cross section of firm capabilities particularly in key practice areas and industry groups. We are pleased to offer this promotion to these talented attorneys, who have made great contributions to our clients as well as to the Duane Morris via knowledge, leadership and guidance.”

Kathryn R. Brown is admitted to practice in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She advises employers on a range of workplace issues, including compliance with federal, state and local laws governing employees. Brown counsels clients in various sectors including higher education, healthcare, energy, financial services and retail. Brown is a graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School (J.D., 2012) and the University of Pennsylvania (B.A., magna cum laude, 2007).

Louis C. Formisano practices in the areas of environmental and real estate law. He advises clients on a broad spectrum of complex environmental matters arising under federal and state laws, including regulatory compliance, investigation and remediation of contaminated properties, and negotiations with regulatory agencies and third parties. Formisano is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School (J.D., 2011), where he was an associate of The George Washington Journal of Energy and Environmental Law, and the Pennsylvania State University (B.A., 2008).

Jessica S. High counsels private sector colleges and universities in their many specialized relationships, including matters of state and federal regulation, accreditation compliance and advocacy, and student and employee disputes and concerns. Before becoming an attorney, she spent over a decade employed by private sector colleges in their financial aid, admissions, accounting, student services and human resources departments. High is a graduate of Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law (J.D., 2012) and the University of California, Los Angeles (B.A., magna cum laude, 2008).

J. Blake Hovander practices in the area of corporate law. He has advised life sciences clients on securities and corporate governance matters, including ’34 Act reporting, Section 16 compliance and stockholder and board meeting matters. Hovander also represents clients in initial public offerings, spin-off and reverse merger transactions, public equity offerings and establishment of at-the-market offering programs. He is a graduate of New York University School of Law (J.D., 2014), where he was senior executive editor of the Journal of Law and Liberty, the University of Bucharest (M.A., 2011) and Arizona State University (B.A., cum laude, 2009).

Joel Ruffini represents entrepreneurs and emerging growth companies from entity formation through exit, and investors in financing transactions. He regularly represents startups and investors in capital raising transactions, including angel, seed, venture capital, growth equity and strategic financing transactions. Ruffini is a graduate of Drexel University, Thomas R. Kline School of Law (J.D., 2014) and the University of Minnesota (B.S., B.A., 2011).

About Duane Morris

Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to today’s multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 900 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients, spanning all major practices and industries. Duane Morris has been recognized by BTI Consulting as both a client service leader and a highly recommended law firm.