United States

LOS ANGELES and SEATTLE, January 6, 2025 — Arnold & Porter announced today that two new real estate attorneys have joined the firm as part of its ongoing strategic expansion on the West Coast. Katherine Wax has joined the firm as a partner, resident in Seattle, and Katie McHenry has joined the firm as counsel, resident in Los Angeles. The firm’s Seattle office serves as a hub for regulatory, litigation, and transactional work across key practices, including real estate, as well as class actions, complex commercial litigation, corporate transactions, employment disputes, and healthcare and hospital matters. With Katherine’s arrival, Arnold & Porter’s team in the heart of downtown Seattle has increased to 35 attorneys and staff since opening the office in July 2025. Pallavi Mehta Wahi, Arnold & Porter Chair of Western U.S. Strategic Growth and head of the Seattle office, said: “Katherine and Katie bring an impressive skill set and breadth of industry knowledge in complex real estate transactions. With their deep understanding of the West Coast market, they will help drive our continued growth and ability to deliver sophisticated, results-oriented counsel in the region. We are thrilled to welcome Katherine and Katie to the firm.” In joining the firm, Katherine said: “I am delighted to join Arnold & Porter’s real estate practice, particularly during this period of strategic West Coast growth. I look forward to collaborating with both my real estate colleagues in Seattle and partners across the firm, leveraging my experience to help clients pursue their real estate matters in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.” Katherine Wax focuses her practice on complex real estate transactions across multiple industries, including food and beverage, healthcare, agribusiness, and technology. She represents developers, property owners, and businesses of all sizes in leasing, acquisitions, dispositions, financing, and development-related matters. She has deep experience in representing landlords and tenants in commercial real estate leases for a variety of asset types, including fulfillment and distribution facilities, labs and research and development, manufacturing, office, and retail. Previously in-house counsel for a global e-commerce company, Katherine has significant background working with clients to manage corporate real estate assets, including transactional, compliance, and operational matters. Earlier in her career, Katherine spent more than a decade in private practice in Washington and Oregon. She holds a J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Katie McHenry is a seasoned transactional lawyer with comprehensive experience in all aspects of commercial real estate development, including real property planning and development, multi-family development, secured financing, and real estate acquisitions and dispositions. She has served as lead counsel to prominent shopping center owners and tenants, as well as commercial and residential developers, property management and real estate companies, technology firms, and lending institutions. Katie has particular experience in leasing matters for retail, medical, and standard office buildings, as well as industrial projects. She regularly handles business entity structuring of real property ownership and investment vehicles, limited liability companies, joint ventures, and partnerships. She earned her J.D. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and her B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara. About Arnold & Porter Arnold & Porter combines sophisticated regulatory, litigation, and transactional capabilities to resolve clients’ most complex issues. With over 1,000 lawyers practicing in 16 offices worldwide, we offer an integrated approach that spans more than 40 practice areas. Through multidisciplinary collaboration and focused industry experience, we provide innovative and effective solutions to mitigate risks, address challenges, and achieve successful outcomes.   Contact:            Issara Baumann, 202.942.6682                                 [email protected]

LONDON and WASHINGTON, D.C., December 1, 2025 — Arnold & Porter announced today that George Jenkins has joined the firm’s Corporate & Finance practice as a partner, resident in London. Kathleen Harris, head of Arnold & Porter’s London office, said: “George brings exceptional experience in guiding complex life sciences transactions. His arrival comes at an essential time, as the U.K. and EU markets face rapid change driven by emerging technologies and evolving regulatory frameworks. George’s insight will strengthen our London team and further enhance the firm’s ability to deliver seamless cross-border solutions.” George has extensive experience advising on sophisticated life sciences agreements and transactions that are often cross-jurisdictional. He represents companies of all sizes across the biotech, life sciences, pharmaceutical, and digital health industries, guiding them through the structuring, negotiating, and drafting of their collaborations, joint ventures, IP licensing, and co-development arrangements, as well as agreements for the manufacture, distribution, and supply of goods. George also counsels companies on regulatory issues in the life sciences sector, including licensing and regulatory requirements, to help clients develop and bring their products to market in the EU. In joining the firm, George said: “Arnold & Porter’s reputation for excellence in the life sciences industry, combined with its London presence and global platform, offers an unparalleled opportunity to serve clients in this dynamic sector. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the U.K. and internationally to support clients in navigating their most pivotal transactions.” George holds an M.Sc. from The London School of Economics and Political Science and a B.A. from the University of Oxford. About Arnold & Porter Arnold & Porter combines sophisticated regulatory, litigation, and transactional capabilities to resolve clients’ most complex issues. With over 1,000 lawyers practicing in 16 offices worldwide, we offer an integrated approach that spans more than 40 practice areas. Through multidisciplinary collaboration and focused industry experience, we provide innovative and effective solutions to mitigate risks, address challenges, and achieve successful outcomes.

DLA Piper advised Artistic Milliners, a global denim manufacturer, in its acquisition of a majority stake in denim supplier Cone Denim from textile supplier Elevate Textiles. Cone Denim will continue to operate as a standalone portfolio company under Artistic Milliners. The new entity will seek to operate a global platform spanning both hemispheres and will be comprised of a combination of selected assets from each organization. Cone Denim will also now operate mills in Mexico, China, and the US. “We were excited to work with Artistic Milliners on this strategic matter, showcasing the breadth of our cross-border experience,” said deal lead Michael J. McGuinness, US-LatAm Practice Group Regional Co-Leader, Corporate M&A and Private Equity. “It’s not just the firm’s global reach, but it's cohesive service, that helps clients navigate complex deals with clarity.” "Working with DLA Piper has provided us with a comprehensive global perspective,” said Murtaza Ahmed, CEO of Artistic Milliners. “The firm's ability to integrate insights across multiple jurisdictions exemplifies the level of collaboration we seek as we expand our international operations.” In addition to McGuinness (New York), Of Counsel Violeta Libergott (US/Brazil) co-led DLA Piper’s cross-border and multi-practice team across the US, United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, and Mexico. The team also consisted of Partners Nick Klein, Elyssa Kutner, Brian Janovitz, Larissa Bifano, Amadeu Ribeiro (all US), Therese Abou-Zeid (UAE), Jorge Benejam (Mexico); Partner Tina Xia and Senior Legal and Tax Manager Peter Chen (both China); Head of Sovereign and LP Investment, MENA, Kurt Alfrey (UAE); Of Counsel Andy Eklund (US); Associates Regina Esparza (Mexico), Regine Lewis, and Michael Haggerson, and Syeda Kamal (all US). With more than 1,000 corporate lawyers globally, DLA Piper helps clients execute complex transactions seamlessly while supporting clients across all stages of development. The firm has been rated number one in global M&A volume for 15 consecutive years, according to Mergermarket, and ranked as number one in VC, PE and M&A in combined global deal volume according to PitchBook.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An international bank based in Puerto Rico has been sued for fraud over an alleged scheme that attorneys say led to the loss of more than $90 million in deposits, affecting hundreds of clients in the U.S., Venezuela and elsewhere. One of the owners of Nodus International Bank, Juan Francisco Ramírez, was notified this week of the lawsuit filed Feb. 6 in a federal court in South Florida. Attorneys said Tuesday that they expect to notify the other co-owner, Tomás Niembro Concha, in upcoming days.   “You have depositors who have their life savings there, and depositors who have money for dialysis, and they cannot afford it because the money is gone,” said Marta Colomar García, an attorney with Miami-based Diaz Reus international law firm that filed the lawsuit on behalf of Driven, the Puerto Rico-based trustee overseeing the bank’s liquidation. Attorneys for Ramírez and Niembro, who is believed to be living in Spain, could not be immediately reached for comment. Niembro, of Venezuela, owned 60% of Nodus International Bank and served as its president, while Ramírez owned 40% and served as its board chairman, according to the lawsuit. Their wives are among the accused defendants. “They treated depositor funds at Nodus as their own personal piggy bank,” the lawsuit states of the two owners. In 2009, the bank obtained a license to start operating in Puerto Rico and began doing business a year later.   By February 2012, the island’s Office of the Commissioner of Final Institutions began investigating the bank and found violations to anti-money laundering regulations, among other things, according to the lawsuit. By October 2017, the office found “serious financial and managerial deficiencies,” and in March 2023, it presented Nodus with voluntary liquidation alternatives after receiving “multiple claims from depositors related to Nodus’ refusal to complete fund transfers requested by them in amounts totaling millions of dollars,” the lawsuit stated. In October 2023, Puerto Rico’s Office of the Commissioner of Final Institutions appointed a receiver and revoked the bank’s license. Driven, the trustee, has found that Nodus owes clients some $92 million and that more than 95% of its loan portfolio has no collateral. The lawsuit filed by attorneys for Driven focuses on $28.5 million of the roughly $92 million shortfall lost through two alleged schemes. In one of the alleged schemes, the two owners “grant themselves millions of dollars in personal loans,” according to the lawsuit. The average loan was about $14,000, with a borrower base of about 500 clients, the lawsuit stated, adding that while the supposed loans were repaid, $2.3 million remains outstanding for Ramírez and $341,000 for Niembro.   The lawsuit seeks a jury trial.