Nossaman Expands Industry Leading Pensions, Benefits & Investment Group with Hires in Arizona, California and Texas
Phoenix, AZ | Los Angeles, CA | Austin, TX — We are pleased to announce we have enhanced the depth of our nationally recognized, market-leading Pensions, Benefits & Investments Group with the recent addition of six new members.
The Group works alongside the people entrusted to administer and protect the pension, health and welfare benefits of employees in their plans across the Unites States. The Group leverages decades of experience in the public retirement plan sector–along with the private and non-profit sectors–to offer thoughtful, independent advice on the legal and business issues affecting plans and their members. The accomplished team provides comprehensive legal services to pension, health and welfare benefit plans, as well as other institutional investors. Clients turn to us for fiduciary, governance, administration, investments and benefits counsel. When disputes arise, the Group represents funds and their boards in litigation.
The new additions to the team are:
Emily Smith — Emily is a partner in Nossaman’s Arizona office. She has more than three decades of experience representing institutional investors and government agencies in a broad range of investment matters. Emily advises public pension plans and other institutional investors in connection with domestic and offshore private fund investments in different asset classes. In addition, she has extensive experience in asset-backed securitizations, municipal finance transactions and other structured finance transactions in the primary and secondary markets. She holds a J.D. from Creighton University School of Law and a B.S. and a B.A. from Nebraska Wesleyan University. She is licensed to practice in Arizona and Texas.
Michelle Mellon-Werch — Michelle is a partner in the Firm’s Austin office. She advises pensions, benefits and investment plans on fiduciary governance, operations and compliance. Michelle has counseled government entities and other organizations on retirement and other benefit plans for 18 years. She has experience implementing data privacy and cybersecurity programs, analyzing legislative proposals and assisting systems with compliance with applicable Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) statutes and regulations. She holds a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, School of Law, an M.P.Aff. from the University of Texas at Austin, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and a B.A. in Economics from Brandeis University. She is licensed to practice in Texas and before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Adela Coman — Adela serves as counsel in Nossaman’s Austin office. She has more than a decade of experience representing institutional investors in private fund transactions. Adela brings extensive experience advising U.S. and non-U.S. public pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, fund-of-funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations and family offices in connection with investments across private equity, infrastructure, real estate, venture capital and hedge funds. Throughout her career, she has negotiated and structured hundreds of primary investments in closed-end funds and customized investment vehicles, including fund-of-one structures and co-investments. She holds a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, School of Law, an M.A. from Columbia University and a B.A. from Texas A&M University. She is licensed to practice in Texas and New York.
Brian Wilson — Brian serves as an associate in Nossaman’s Austin office. He represents public pension plans and other institutional investors in connection with private fund investments. He assists the investment team with fund document review, side letter negotiations, MFN elections and LP consents. Brian is experienced in drafting applicable portions of purchase agreements, transition services agreements, Code Section 280G golden parachute issues and equity rollover and cash-out agreements. Brian also has experience in a wide range of executive compensation and employee benefit matters related to mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, private entity investments, restructurings and IPOs along with other corporate transactions. He holds a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame and a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. He is licensed to practice in Texas.
Michael Price — Michael is an associate in Nossaman’s Phoenix office. He advises and represents public pension and benefit systems in a wide range of litigation matters, including cutting-edge and novel disputes involving fiduciary obligations and related duties of those responsible for administering multibillion-dollar public and private pension plans. His practice also encompasses constitutional and public agency law compliance, employee and disability retirement benefit disputes and other complex litigation matters such as intellectual property disputes, insurance coverage issues, real estate and lease disputes and breach of contract claims. He holds a J.D. from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law and a B.A. from the University of Arizona. He is licensed to practice in Arizona and California.
Kendall Sirica — Kendall is a member of the Group in the Los Angeles office and her California bar admission is pending. She holds a J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and a B.A. from Boston University. Kendall has a background in employee benefits, having previously worked as a paralegal at a firm which served as union-appointed counsel to several large multiemployer retirement, health and welfare plans throughout the United States.
“This best-in-class group bolsters our ability to meet the growing demand in the U.S. market for sophisticated, nuanced legal services in the institutional investors sector,” said Yuliya Oryol, co-chair of the Pensions, Benefits & Investments Group. “We are excited to have such an impressive group join our team. They will help our clients successfully navigate challenges and achieve strategic goals.”
“These additions strengthen the breadth and depth of our national team and enhance the scope of services we offer,” added Ashley Dunning, co-chair of the Pensions, Benefits & Investments Group. “Their cumulative skillset and hands-on experience allow them to add immediate value for clients across the country.”
