CHICAGO – July 27, 2010 – Baker Hostetler announced today that John M. Touhy and George J. Tzanetopoulos have joined the firm's Chicago Office as Partners in its Litigation Group. Both Mr. Touhy and Mr. Tzanetopoulos are experienced litigators who were Partners with Mayer Brown LLP.
"The addition of John and George to our outstanding core of attorneys in Chicago demonstrates Baker Hostetler's commitment to smart growth in Chicago and nationwide," said Steven Kestner, national Executive Partner of Baker Hostetler. "In recent weeks we also added partner Tara Kamradt in Chicago and several other partners across our eleven offices, bringing our firm to 650 lawyers and growing. This is particularly significant considering the challenging economic environment in the legal profession and the economy as a whole. Growth in Chicago under the direction of Partner-in-Charge Ron Okada will remain a priority for us," Kestner said. Almost 50 new attorneys have joined Baker Hostetler within the past year.
"This is another important step for us as we continue to build our Chicago presence," said Okada. "We are using the growth strategy that has been successful for our firm in New York City, where we started with three lawyers in 2001 and now have almost 130 attorneys. The approach we are taking – adding the highest quality attorneys, most recently John, George and Tara – is one that we believe works best for us, for our lawyers, and most important, for our clients."
Mr. Touhy focuses his practice on commercial litigation. He has represented clients in approximately 35 jury and bench trials, arbitrations and evidentiary hearings in federal and state courts. He also has extensive experience involving emergency relief. Mr. Touhy litigates across a broad range of business and commercial disputes, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, non-competition agreements, defamation, misappropriation of trade secrets, ownership of intellectual property, trademark infringement, Lanham Act claims, ownership and value of closely held corporations, Uniform Commercial Code controversies and lender liability.
Mr. Tzanetopoulos is a widely experienced trial and appellate litigator whose practice focuses on commercial litigation and tort defense. Mr. Tzanetopoulos represents businesses and individuals in administrative, trial and appellate proceedings throughout the country. Notable engagements include representation of clients in contract disputes, class action litigation, construction and real estate disputes, environmental actions, health care industry litigation, energy industry disputes, trade secret cases, mass tort and product liability claims, and major fires and explosions.
"With over 25 years of experience, John and George are both seasoned attorneys who join an already strong practice which includes more than 200 litigators across all 11 of our offices," said Ray Whitman, Group Chair of the firm's national Litigation Group. "They will provide even more depth to our team which represent clients in virtually every type of case and proceeding, nationally and around the world," said Whitman.
About Baker Hostetler Founded more than 90 years ago in 1916, Baker Hostetler is among the nation's 100 largest law firms with 650 attorneys coast to coast. The firm has offices in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Costa Mesa, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando and Washington, D.C. Its five primary practice groups are Business, Employment, Intellectual Property, Litigation and Tax.
Contact: Christine L. Gill Communications Manager (216) 861-7852 cgill@bakerlaw.com