Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP announced today that it has elected 12 associates as members of the Firm effective January 1, 2006. The new partners are: Richard A. Fenyes (Corporate-NY), Bryce L. Friedman (Litigation-NY), Marcy G. Geller (Tax-NY), Jennifer L. Hobbs (Corporate-NY), Peter E. Kazanoff (Litigation-NY), Michael D. Kibler (Litigation-Los Angeles), Linda H. Martin (Litigation-NY), Jaime Mercado (Corporate-NY), William B. Sheehan (Corporate-NY), Andrew W. Smith (Corporate-NY), Youngjin Sohn (Corporate-Hong Kong) and Thomas A. Wuchenich (Corporate-Los Angeles).
RICHARD A. FENYES is a member of the Firm’s corporate department and is based in New York. His practice focuses on high yield financings, including acquisition financings, IPOs, other securities offerings and general corporate and securities law matters. Mr. Fenyes received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1995 and his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1992. Mr. Fenyes joined Simpson Thacher in 1995.
BRYCE L. FRIEDMAN is a member of the Firm’s litigation department in the New York office. His practice focuses on a wide range of complex commercial litigation, with emphasis on insurance coverage disputes, product liability, general commercial disputes and government investigations. Mr. Friedman graduated from Dartmouth College in 1994, cum laude and received his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1997 where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. After clerking for the Hon. Shirley Wohl Kram, United States District Court, Southern District of New York, from 1997 to 1999, Mr. Friedman joined Simpson Thacher in 1999.
MARCY G. GELLER is a member of the Firm’s tax department in the New York office. Her areas of concentration are federal income tax with an emphasis in financial instruments, mergers and acquisitions, international joint ventures and private equity and real estate opportunity funds. She graduated magna cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1994 and received her J.D. magna cum laude from New York University School of Law in 1997 where she was elected Order of the Coif. Ms. Geller earned an LL.M. in 2000 from New York University. Ms. Geller joined Simpson Thacher in 1997.
JENNIFER L. HOBBS is a member of the Firm’s corporate department and is based in New York. Her practice includes a broad range of bank and bridge financings, with an emphasis on leveraged acquisition finance. Ms. Hobbs received her J.D. from New York University Law School in 1997 where she was an editor of the Law Review. Ms. Hobbs also received a Master’s of International Affairs from Columbia University in 1992 and a B.A. from The University of Texas in 1989 where she was elected Phi Beta Kappa. Ms. Hobbs joined Simpson Thacher in 1997.
PETER E. KAZANOFF is a member of the Firm’s litigation department in the New York office. He works primarily on antitrust matters, securities, derivative, and shareholder litigations, and government and other investigations. He graduated magna cum laude from Bowdoin College in 1992 and received his J.D. cum laude from the University of Chicago Law School in 1997. Mr. Kazanoff joined Simpson Thacher in 1997.
MICHAEL D. KIBLER is a member of the Firm’s litigation department and is based in Los Angeles. His practice focuses on a wide range of complex commercial litigation, with a particular emphasis on insurance coverage litigation, securities litigation and general commercial disputes. Mr. Kibler received his J.D. magna cum laude from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1997 and his B.A. cum laude from Seton Hall University in 1992. After clerking for the Hon. Robert B. Kugler, U.S.M.J., from 1998 to 1999 and for the Hon. Garrett E. Brown, Jr., U.S.D.J., from 1999 to 2001, Mr. Kibler joined the Firm's New York office in 2001.
LINDA H. MARTIN is a member of the Firm’s litigation department in the New York office. Her practice focuses on a wide range of complex commercial litigation, including international arbitration, securities litigation, bankruptcy-related litigation and reinsurance. She is a graduate of Harvard University cum laude and received her J.D. cum laude from Duke University School of Law, where she was also a member of the Duke Law Journal. Ms. Martin joined the Firm in 1996.
JAIME MERCADO is a member of the Firm’s corporate department in the New York office, where he specializes in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and project finance transactions. Mr. Mercado graduated from Columbia University in 1989 and received his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1995. He joined Simpson Thacher in 1995.
WILLIAM B. SHEEHAN is a member of the Firm's corporate department in the New York office. He regularly represents large financial institutions and companies in connection with syndicated commercial lending transactions, including acquisition financings. Mr. Sheehan is a 1993 graduate of Brown University and received his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1996, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. Mr. Sheehan joined the Firm in 1996.
ANDREW W. SMITH is a member of the Firm’s corporate department in New York, where he specializes in mergers and acquisitions and corporate law. Mr. Smith received his J.D. in 1996 from Columbia Law School and his B.A. in 1992 from Brown University. After clerking for the Hon. Roger J. Miner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Mr. Smith joined the Firm in 1997.
YOUNGJIN SOHN is a member of the Firm’s corporate department and is based in Hong Kong. Mr. Sohn regularly represents issuers and underwriters in securities offerings and also works on mergers and acquisitions transactions, with a focus on Korea. Mr. Sohn received his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1996, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and his M.B.A. from University of California, Los Angeles. He received his B.A. magna cum laude from Seoul National University. Mr. Sohn joined Simpson Thacher in 1998.
THOMAS A. WUCHENICH is a member of the corporate department in the Los Angeles office. His practice focuses on securities transactions, representing both issuers and underwriters, and on transactions involving private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Mr. Wuchenich graduated cum laude from Bucknell University in 1992 and received his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1996 where he was a member of the Journal of Transnational Law and a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He also received a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University. Mr. Wuchenich joined Simpson Thacher in 1996.