Hodgson Russ Announces New Partners

Hodgson Russ is pleased to announce that John A. Alessi, Ronald J. Battaglia Jr., Elizabeth D. Carlson, Margaret M. Cmielewski, Robert J. Fluskey Jr., John D. Lopinski, and Marla Waiss have been elected to the firm’s partnership.

John A. Alessi represents counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts, fire districts, utility districts, underwriters, and trustees on a wide range of general obligation bond financings. He works on complex refunding matters, tax and revenue note financings, and large capital project financings. He is involved with planning various school and municipal projects, working closely with various financial advisors, architects and engineers, bond insurers, verification agents, escrow agents, and other professionals.

Ronald J. Battaglia Jr. represents public and private companies in the sale of debt and equity securities, the purchase and sale of businesses, venture capital financings, and commercial transactions. He also counsels corporate clients on compliance with securities laws and on general corporate issues. Before joining Hodgson Russ, he practiced with a major firm in Boston. Prior to law school, he was employed by a prominent Boston financial institution, where he managed various departments.

Elizabeth D. Carlson represents both public and private sector employers regarding the full range of labor and employment-related issues under the law. Ms. Carlson counsels management clients regarding their rights and obligations under various labor and employment statutes, including counseling them regarding wage and hour issues, the Family Medical Leave Act, the National Labor Relations Act, and state and federal anti-discrimination laws. She has significant experience negotiating collective bargaining agreements and representing employers in arbitrations under collective bargaining agreements.

Margaret M. Cmielewski concentrates in civil litigation at the trial court and appellate court level, including insurance coverage, product liability, and commercial matters involving substantial financial exposure to various insurance companies and their insureds.

Robert J. Fluskey Jr. handles complex litigation and alternative dispute resolution. He has broad experience representing clients before federal courts, state courts, and arbitration panels. His practice covers many areas of commercial litigation, including intellectual property disputes, such as patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation. He also represents whistleblowers and corporate defendants in False Claims Act cases and government investigations.

John D. Lopinski, Ph.D., focuses his practice on patent preparation and prosecution in the areas of genetics, immunology, and molecular biology. He has a particular focus on inventions related to disease diagnostics and therapeutics, including chromosomal and gene expression analysis used in the prognosis and treatment of a variety of cancers and other human and animal disorders. He also has experience in patent opinion matters and regularly provides advice on copyright and trademark matters.

Marla Waiss focuses her practice on cross-border tax matters and tax controversy matters with the IRS. She has extensive experience advising international clients on business expansion into the United States, structuring considerations in purchasing U.S. real estate, tax considerations in private and public offerings, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, tax implications of relinquishing U.S. citizenship or residency status, trust and estate planning for individuals resident abroad, and the application of the U.S. anti-deferral regimes.