Ellen S. Cappellanti has been elected the first female Managing Member of Jackson Kelly. Cappellanti takes on this position after serving the Firm as Deputy Managing Member since August 1, 2013. Prior to that, she served as Vice Chair of the Firm’s Executive Committee and as the Leader of the Commercial Law Practice Group. Cappellanti has been with the Firm for more than 30 years and focuses her practice on assisting clients in a wide variety of commercial transactions, including financings, leasings, acquisitions and real estate development projects. She also regularly represents debtors, creditors and trustees in business bankruptcies and out of court restructurings. Cappellanti succeeds Mike Foster, who has stepped down from the CEO position and returned to practicing law full time. Brian Swiger, Assistant Managing Member said, “I’ve truly enjoyed working with Mike Foster during his tenure as Managing Member. The Firm has seen exponential growth – the opening of our Evansville, Indiana, and Akron, Ohio, offices and our merger with Rudolph, Fine, Porter and Johnson – under his leadership, and I look forward to being part of the growth and advancement that the Firm will see under the lead of Ellen Cappellanti.”
In addition to the Managing Member change, Kristin R. B. White has been named Managing Member of the Firm’s Denver, Colorado, office. White focuses her practice on occupational safety and health and mine safety and health and represents general industry, construction, coal, oil and gas, energy, automotive, manufacturing, chemical, warehousing and mining clients with regard to their regulatory safety and health matters and in crisis management.
Al F. Sebok and Marcia A. Broughton have been elected to serve on Jackson Kelly’s Executive Committee, and Karen L. Johnston has been re-elected to serve an additional three year term. Members of the Committee are charged with short-term and long-term strategic planning for the Firm as well as implementation of the plans. The role of an Executive Committee member also involves ensuring that business affairs are managed efficiently, balancing the interests of the Firm and its clients.
Sebok is a Member of the Firm practicing in the Industrial, Environmental and Complex Litigation Practice Group in the Charleston, West Virginia, office. He represents and consults with employers on labor and employment matters.
Broughton is a Member of the Firm practicing in the Tax Practice Group in the Clarksburg, West Virginia, office. Her practice is concentrated in the areas of estate planning, tax planning and business practices.
Johnston is a Member of the Firm, resident in the Denver, Colorado, office. Johnston focuses her practice on occupational safety and health and related civil, criminal and administrative litigation. She counsels and represents mining industry (including metal, nonmetal and coal mine operators and contractors), construction, energy and general industry clients in all aspects of their regulatory safety and health matters and in crisis management.
In the Firm’s Charleston, West Virginia, office, Michael M. Fisher was appointed head of the Firm’s Industrial, Environmental and Complex Litigation Practice Group. Fisher is a Member with extensive civil and criminal trial experience in federal and state courts.
These changes come on the heels of the Firm’s election of four female partners. Last month, Jackson Kelly was again awarded the “Gold Standard Certification” by the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF), a designation for law firms that have integrated women in top leadership positions. It has also been recognized for the high percentage of female Equity Members and its commitment to gender equality in Law360’s, The 25 Best Law Firms for Female Partners.
Client Focus, Industry Insight, National Reputation. Jackson Kelly PLLC is a national law firm with more than 200 attorneys located in twelve offices throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Colorado and the District of Columbia. With a focus on companies working in and around the energy industry, the Firm works with its clients to help resolve their operating challenges by teaming to develop and implement strategies that minimize risks, quickly and effectively. Focusing on clients’ industry-specific needs, the Firm serves a wide variety of corporate and public clients and enjoys a national reputation in business, labor and employment, litigation, government contracts, tax, safety and health, permitting, natural resource and environmental law. The Firm’s clients and peers recognize its commitment to providing superior client service as Jackson Kelly has repeatedly been selected as a Go-To Law Firm for the Top 500 Companies in the U.S. and is regularly named to BTI’s Client Service A-Team.