Drinker Biddle Announces New Managing Partners and Executive Partners

Drinker Biddle has elected seven new partners to its Managing Partners Committee, which serves as the firm’s governing board, in a vote that brings representation of women on the committee to 50 percent.

The newly elected managing partners are Bonnie A. Barnett, Mary Devlin Capizzi, Edward A. Gramigna, Sandra D. Grannum, Lisa S. Presser, F. Douglas Raymond and John G. Smith. They join managing partners Daniel J. Collins, John J. D’Andrea, Joshua B. Deringer, Cheryl D. Orr, Kimberly K. Rubel and Andrew C. Kassner, who continues as a member in his capacity as the firm’s Chairman and CEO.

The percentage of women now serving on Drinker Biddle’s most senior committee far exceeds the industry average of 25 percent reported by the 2017 National Association of Women Lawyers Survey on Promotion and Retention of Women in Law Firms and McKinsey’s 2017 Women in Law Firms report.

“We are pleased to see the continued increase in the percentage of women appointed and elected to senior leadership positions, and appreciate the willingness of our colleagues to contribute time and effort to the management of the firm,” said Mr. Kassner. “Our partners recognize that the firm and its leadership should reflect our profession, clients and society.”

“Our new managing partners represent the very best of our firm,” said Lynne A. Anderson, co-chair of the firm’s Women’s Leadership Committee. “I am proud that Drinker Biddle is a leader in recognizing the talent and leadership of women.”

Additionally, the firm has announced that Judith E. Reich and William M. Connolly have been appointed Executive Partners and will join the firm’s Executive Management Team, which is responsible for day-to-day firm management. The Executive Management Team, which also includes Mr. Kassner and Chief Operating Officer Jane C. Koehl, is now 50 percent female. Ms. Reich will assume responsibility for overseeing the firm's business and regulatory practices, while Mr. Connolly will be responsible for the firm's litigation practices and will also serve as the Executive Management Team’s liaison with the firm’s financial function and CFO.

Here are brief biographies of the newly elected managing partners and executive partners:

Bonnie A. Barnett focuses her practice on environmental litigation and counseling clients on regulatory compliance and the environmental implications of a wide range of business and real estate transactions. She advises a diverse array of clients, from major pharmaceutical, energy and manufacturing companies to universities and small businesses. Ms. Barnett chaired the Environment and Energy Group for more than 20 years. This will be her fourth term serving as managing partner.

Mary Devlin Capizzi is part of the firm’s Government and Regulatory Affairs Group and a member of the Pharmaceutical Consortia Management team. She counsels individual corporations and consortia clients (comprised of industry, government and academia representatives) on a range of compliance matters involving regulatory, legislative, scientific and policy issues in the U.S., the EU and other countries around the world. Ms. Capizzi formerly served as an executive partner of the firm; this is her third term serving as a managing partner.

William M. Connolly defends companies in complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country, with an emphasis on consumer class actions, claims against professional service firms, and commercial litigation involving issues of business valuation or complex economic damages. Mr. Connolly has served as chair of the Audit Committee, as a member of the National Hiring Committee and as partner in charge of evaluating proposed alternative fee arrangements for litigation matters.

Edward A. Gramigna assists clients with all areas of taxation, with a particular emphasis on estate planning, estate administration and probate litigation matters. He has extensive experience in the preparation of wills, trusts and other estate planning documents, including sophisticated wills, insurance trusts, living trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, charitable trusts, qualified personal residence trusts and asset protection trusts. Mr. Gramigna is a former partner in charge of the Florham Park office and serves as chair of the firm’s Allocations Committee.

Sandra D. Grannum is co-chair of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Team and concentrates her practice on securities, broker/dealer arbitration, litigation, mediation and regulatory defense. She has tried complex multimillion-dollar arbitrations before FINRA, AAA and JAMS across the country. Ms. Grannum has also represented brokerage firms, banks, clearing firms and associated persons in more than 60 arbitrations before the NASD and FINRA that have been tried through award.

Lisa S. Presser chairs the firm’s Private Client Group and works with clients to develop estate plans to meet their personal and financial goals. She advises individual and corporate fiduciaries with respect to probate matters, trust accountings and the ongoing administration of trusts and estates, as well as post-mortem tax planning and income tax planning. This is Ms. Presser’s second term as a managing partner.

F. Douglas Raymond advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings and joint ventures. He works extensively on matters of corporate governance for both public and private companies, and advises boards of directors and special board committees across a range of governance challenges. Mr. Raymond served as chair of the Corporate and Securities Group for more than 10 years and is a former chair of the Allocations Committee. He has also served on the Strategic Planning, Technology and Marketing Committees. This is his second term serving as a managing partner.

Judith E. Reich is co-chair of the Financial Services Industry Group. She advises clients on corporate finance, bankruptcy and creditor-debtor relations law, and counsels public and private companies in connection with senior and subordinated debt facilities and receivables financing, including factoring transactions and securitizations and the issuance of true sale and non-consolidation opinions. Ms. Reich is a former managing partner and has served on the firm’s Allocations, Audit and Opinion Committees.

John G. Smith counsels clients on intellectual property issues, focusing on patent matters in the electrical, computer, telecommunications, optics, semiconductor, electro-mechanical and mechanical arts matters. He oversees the patent programs of a broad spectrum of domestic and international clients, providing assistance in the areas of patent strategy, prosecution, litigation, negotiations and licensing. Mr. Smith is a former co-chair of the Intellectual Property Group and has served on the Allocations Committee.