Barnes & Thornburg has added corporate, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation and real estate attorneys and legal professionals to its Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and New York offices.
An associate in the Los Angeles office, Alexandra Ascione focuses her practice on advising on a wide variety of litigation matters. Ascione defends clients in matters including toxic tort litigation, general liability matters involving high-exposure catastrophic injury and wrongful death, professional liability, construction defect, and product liability. She earned her J.D. from Loyola Law School Los Angeles in 2017 and her B.A. in political science from San Diego State University in 2012.
Bertie Cheng, of counsel in the New York office, is a corporate attorney who assists clients in negotiating corporate agreements and transactions. Cheng drafts and negotiates various business agreements, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), and related documents for her clients. She earned her J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2005 and her B.A. in biology from Harvard University in 1998.
A paralegal in the Chicago office, Melanie Fagan supports attorneys and clients across a range of legal matters. She performs document drafting, proofreading, corporate filings, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) liens, and due diligence matters. Fagan earned a degree in paralegal studies from Loyola University Chicago in 2005 and her B.A. in radio and theater from Columbia College Chicago in 1993.
Noel Gordanier, a patent agent in the Minneapolis office, supports Barnes & Thornburg’s intellectual property and patent matters. His technical knowledge includes artificial intelligence, robotics, audio processing, computer graphics, telecommunications, computer security and blockchain technologies. Gordanier earned his M.S. in software engineering from the University of St. Thomas and his B.S. in industrial technology from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
A paralegal in the Dallas office, Liza Hogue assists the firm’s Real Estate Department in a broad range of matters. Hogue offers over 30 years of transactional experience handling real estate matters, including reviewing title and surveys, drafting objections and managing closings. She offers in-depth knowledge of leases, commercial acquisitions and site location. Hogue earned her B.A. in political science from the University of Oklahoma, her real estate license from the University of Texas at Arlington and her paralegal certificate from Southeastern Paralegal Institute.
Heather Mullins, a paralegal in the Boston office, assists clients and attorneys in the firm’s Intellectual Property Department. Mullins has experience and proficiency in intellectual property, trademark, patent establishment, enforcement and prosecution. She earned her B.S. in legal studies from Kaplan University in 2011.
An immigration coordinator in the Atlanta office, Camyla Muniz assists attorneys and their clients with visa and other immigration application processes and procedures. She assists with client intake, case initiations, data management, reporting, writing, I-9 and compliance projects, and immigrant and non-immigrant petitions. Muniz earned her B.A. in international relations and affairs from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2020 and her AAS in political science and government from Georgia State University Perimeter College in 2017.
Samantha Pugh, an associate in the Columbus office, is skilled in trial preparation, including consulting with witnesses, taking and defending depositions, and preparing witnesses and experts for trial testimony. Additionally, she assists in drafting legal memoranda, motions and briefs. Pugh has served as lead counsel on bench and jury trials, argued before numerous Courts of Appeals, and conducted a variety of contested pre-trial hearings. Pugh earned her J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 2021 and her B.A. in political science from Wright State University in 2018.
Madeline Blaney San Jose, an associate in the Indianapolis office, works with clients on cutting-edge analyses of their data processes, along with effective data security strategies and incident response support. Her experience includes developing privacy policies, preparing state of the art cybersecurity training materials and drafting terms of use documents for clients. Blaney San Jose earned her J.D. from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2022, her M.S. in cybersecurity risk management from Indiana University in 2022, and her B.A. in political science and Spanish language and literature from Loyola University Chicago in 2019.