Faegre Drinker Continues Growth With Addition of Two Partners in Chicago
Faegre Drinker announced today that Lenny Asaro and Alison Baldwin have joined the firm as partners in Chicago. Asaro, a member of the construction and real estate litigation practice, comes to the firm from Dinsmore. Baldwin joins the firm’s intellectual property practice from McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP, where she held senior leadership positions.
“Lenny and Alison are terrific additions to our talented Chicago team,” Patrick Miller and James Sawyer, co-leaders of Faegre Drinker’s offices in the city, said in a joint statement. “As we continue to build a firm ‘designed for clients,’ their exceptional business and legal acumen further strengthen our leading national industry teams and market presence. We are pleased to welcome them to Faegre Drinker.”
Lenny Asaro partners with real estate stakeholders to resolve disputes, protect their assets and move projects forward. With more than 25 years as a real estate adviser and litigator, Asaro works to defend and advance client interests in matters related to land use and zoning, condemnation/eminent domain, tax increment financing (TIF), acquisitions and dispositions, public-private partnerships, government affairs and redevelopment agreements, annexation, title disputes and real estate valuation disputes. He has handled numerous significant real estate development projects in and around Chicago for governmental, private and public-private partnership entities. Asaro has also first-chaired hundreds of bench trials and numerous jury trials since 1995, written Illinois appellate and Supreme Court briefs, and argued before the Illinois appellate court on multiple occasions.
“With deep knowledge of the real estate and Chicago public sectors, and first-chair trial experience in both federal and state courts, Lenny is a top-notch advisor and seasoned litigator whose addition deepens our bench strength and enhances our national practice group’s ability to help clients achieve their business goals,” said Faegre Drinker’s construction and real estate litigation practice group leader Mark Voigtmann.
Asaro earned his bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University and his Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School. He is involved in and committed to diversity and inclusion initiatives and is a participant in Faegre Drinker’s diversity and inclusion committee.
Alison Baldwin advises clients in intellectual property matters in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agricultural sectors. With technical experience in biochemistry and plant science, she has for more than two decades helped clients navigate the unique range of intellectual property disputes facing those industries. Having represented numerous clients in federal district court, the Patent Trials and Appeals Board, the International Trade Commission and private arbitration proceedings, Baldwin is an accomplished litigator with a record of success, including in Hatch-Waxman Act (ANDA) proceedings.
“Alison’s sophisticated capabilities adds to the strengths our national team already brings to our clients in the life sciences and agriculture sectors,” said James Steffen, leader of the firm’s intellectual property practice. “Her trial experience and technical skills will immediately and significantly expand the value our team provides to pharmaceutical and other clients.”
Baldwin earned her bachelor’s degree from Purdue University, master’s degree from North Carolina State University and her Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law. In addition to her private practice career, Baldwin is an instructor in IP trial advocacy at Chicago-Kent College of Law and is on the Board of Directors of the PTAB Bar Association.
Faegre Drinker’s growing presence in the greater Chicago area is supported by its attorneys’ and professionals’ commitment to clients, excellent service and the community. This team of highly experienced attorneys focuses their talents on solving clients’ most critical challenges across many areas including health care, intellectual property, employee benefits and executive compensation, corporate and litigation. The office is also home to Innovative Health Strategies, a subsidiary of Faegre Drinker that provides vital consulting services structured around a powerful legal framework.
Related Professionals
