Six Attorneys Promoted to Members at Charlotte's Helms Mulliss & Wicker

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (January 15, 2008)—Helms Mulliss & Wicker, PLLC (HMW), a law firm practicing in corporate law, finance and litigation, announced today that six associate attorneys: Jill Crawley Griset, J. Kate Harris Hatcher, Matthew John Hoefling, Brian Kahn, Ingrid Olson McClintock and Amy Reeder Worley have been elected to member status. All newly elected members are based in the firm’s Charlotte office.

Equivalent to a partner status, election to membership at HMW from associate attorney is based on professional excellence, leadership, commitment to client service and the individuals's demonstrated ability to thrive in a culture of teamwork and collaboration. Including those announced today, the firm has 67 member attorneys.

“This is an outstanding group of attorneys who have distinguished themselves in many ways – doing excellent work for our clients, contributing to the community and helping in every way to build our firm,” said HMW Chairman and Managing Member Peter Covington.

Jill Griset joined the litigation practice group in 1997. Griset has particular expertise in the area of electronic discovery, with experience representing corporate clients responding to e-discovery requests, as well as corporate clients propounding e-discovery. She is the editor-in-chief for E-Discovery, a monthly newsletter that highlights e-discovery issues, strategies in handling these issues and recent notable cases related to e-discovery. Griset graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before attending law school at the University of Virginia, she worked for a law firm in Washington D.C.

Kate Hatcher, a member in the corporate practice group, routinely represents licensors, licensees and joint owners in a variety of Internet and computer-related issues, including software, e-commerce, licensing, distribution, trademarks, service marks and copyrights. Hatcher frequently handles issues involving Web site development, maintenance and hosting agreements from both the vendor and customer perspectives, as well as allocation of rights in domain names and other matters regarding trademark usage, copyright infringement, defamation and privacy rights on the Web and in e-mail. Prior to joining the firm, Hatcher served as in-house counsel for two large publicly traded North Carolina-based companies. Hatcher received her J.D. from Wake Forest University, and her B.A. from the University of Virginia. IP licensing chair for the North Carolina Bar Association, Hatcher is also the vice chair for the Alexander Youth Network Board of Directors, and a founding member of TEN, a Charlotte women’s networking group.

Matt Hoefling, a member in the litigation practice group, specializes in the areas of securities litigation, regulatory and internal investigations and white-collar criminal defense. From 2002-2004, Hoefling served as an assistant U.S. Attorney in Charlotte, where he was responsible for investigating and prosecuting money-laundering, identity theft, bank fraud and wire fraud crimes, among others. Hoefling served as a law clerk for the Honorable Richard L. Voorhees of the U.S. District Court for the western district of N.C. from 2000-2001. He also previously practiced in Washington, D.C. with Jones Day. Hoefling received both his J.D., cum laude, and his B.A., cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame.

Brian Kahn’s litigation practice focuses on complex business litigation and products liability. He also has experience handling wrongful death, insurance coverage, environmental, construction and employment cases. Kahn represents clients in a wide array of industries including manufacturing, retail, insurance, media, financial services, information technology, and telecommunications. A 2001 class member of the Charlotte Chamber Leadership School, Kahn is also the co-founder and principal writer of Charlotte SQUAWKS, an annual satirical musical review poking fun at the city of Charlotte, that recently won the Metrolina Theater Award for Best Special Event.

Ingrid McClintock is a member in the finance practice group, specifically the syndicated finance team, which includes syndicated lending facilities for leveraged, recapitalization and acquisition transactions. McClintock received both her undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of Virginia, where she served as articles editor for the Virginia Tax Review during law school. In addition, she received her Masters in Planning from the University of Virginia School of Architecture. Prior to joining HMW, McClintock practiced in the area of financial services with McGuireWoods in Charlotte.

Amy Worley, a member in the litigation practice group, focuses her practice on commercial and financial services litigation. She also has experience in employment discrimination, wage and hour, ERISA, civil rights, securities, and personal injury litigation. Worley has tried cases in state and federal court. She has represented clients in arbitration, state administrative hearings and at the state and federal courts of appeals. Worley received both her J.D. and B.A. from Mercer University, where she was the valedictorian of her law school class. She is a former vice chair for the Regional HIV/Aids Consortium and received the Governor's World Aids Day Award for Volunteer Service. Worley also represents domestic abuse victims pro bono.

For more information on Helms Mulliss & Wicker, visit www.hmw.com.

Media Contact:
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About Helms Mulliss & Wicker:
HMW is recognized as one of America’s Best Law Firms by Corporate Board Member magazine, ranked as a Top Ten Bond Counsel by The Bond Buyer, ranked "Highly Recommended" in Benchmark: Litigation, The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys and is named a "Go-To Law Firm" by Corporate Counsel magazine. The firm is comprised of 145 lawyers, 20 who are designated Super Lawyers in the 2007 North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine, 23 who are recognized by Best Lawyers in America and 13 are designated Legal Elite by Business North Carolina magazine. HMW focuses on three primary practice areas: commercial litigation, complex finance and corporate law. Within these practices, specialty areas include: government relations, securities, intellectual property, mergers & acquisitions, employer services, private equity and others. The firm represents Fortune 100 companies and the nation’s largest financial institutions as well as many high-growth and start-up companies. Helms Mulliss & Wicker’s offices are in Charlotte, Raleigh and Wilmington, NC. For additional information, visit www.hmw.com. www.hmw.com.

This release was published on openPR.