McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

Leads firmwide strategy and culture as firm chairman

Advises healthcare clients on high-stakes mergers, acquisitions, and disputes, with a private equity focus

Lisa M. Richman focuses her practice on international dispute resolution matters, with a particular emphasis on international commercial arbitration and public international law.

She has experience representing clients in a broad range of matters, including in the areas of international commercial and investment arbitrations, securities enforcement, securities litigation, general commercial litigation disputes and insurance coverage.

Lisa’s clients have included investors, governments, corporations, corporate officers and directors, and individuals in disputes seated in common law and civil law jurisdictions worldwide. Her work has included disputes conducted under ICC, ICSID, ICSID AF, AAA/ICDR, SIAC, HKIAC, JAMS, DIS, LCIA, CPR, Swiss Rules and UNCITRAL Rules as well as pure ad-hoc arbitrations. She has handled disputes in a wide variety of industries with a particular focus on disputes relating to energy, oil and gas, intellectual property, pharmaceutical, infrastructure, licensing, securities, telecommunications, joint ventures and construction.

Lisa also has represented corporations, corporate officers and directors, and individuals in international and domestic arbitrations and litigations in the US and around the world. Complementing her dispute resolution expertise, Lisa has managed internal investigations worldwide and has helped a variety of companies to resolve government investigations, including World Bank Sanctions proceedings. Lisa is listed on the arbitrator list of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC), in the LCIA’s database of neutrals and is a member of the SIAC Users Counsel, the ITA Americas Committee and the DIS Rules Revision Committee. She is a native German speaker, and also speaks Spanish and French.

She has received recognition for her expertise as a dispute resolution specialist by, among others, Global Arbitration Review, Who’s Who Legal, Benchmark Litigation, the Commercial Arbitration Expert Guide, the National Law Journal, the American Lawyer, Juve, Super Lawyers and Law360.

While in law school, Lisa was a notes and comments editor for The Tax Lawyer. Following law school, Lisa was a law clerk for the Honorable A. Franklin Burgess, Jr. of the District of Columbia Superior Court.

Thomas Sauermilch concentrates in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other complex cross-border corporate/commercial transactions for major multinational corporations, private equity funds and their portfolio companies and medium-sized businesses. He also advises clients in corporate governance and compliance matters. He has led transactions in a wide range of sectors, including aerospace and avionics, automotive industries, chemicals, energy, engineering, food and beverage, manufacturing, media, medical devices and scientific instruments, metals and natural resources, packaging, pharmaceuticals, semiconductor equipment, software, technology and trading in North and South America, Europe and Asia. He has been recognized over many years by leading legal directories and nominated as Lawyer of the Year by The Deal (2018) and Dealmaker of the Year by M&A Advisor (2017). He has also been recognized as a BTI Client Service All-Star 2020 (BTI Consulting Group) and led the McDermott teams winning both the 2020 M&A Advisor Deal of the Year Awards in two categories (Cross-Border Deal of the Year and Materials Deal of the Year; $500million to $1billion) for Evonik Industries’ acquisition of PeroxyChem and the 2021 M&A Advisor Award for M&A Deal of the Year ($500million to $1billion) for Kaiser Aluminum’s acquisition of Alcoa Warrick. Thomas has held various leadership positions in the Firm, including former chair of its global M&A Practice and its Global Industrials Practice as well as a former member of the Firm’s Corporate Practice Leadership Team and its Management Committee.

To read Thomas' full biography in Japanese please click here.

Thomas is a former chair of the Firm’s Global M&A Practice.

Paul M. Thompson is the Managing Partner of the Washington, DC office and also serves as the Firm’s Pro Bono Litigation Partner. Paul previously served on McDermott’s Executive and Management Committees and, from 2011 to 2015, he also served a previous term as Managing Partner of the Washington, DC office.

Paul represents clients in complex criminal and civil matters. He has extensive experience in internal investigations, voluntary disclosures, grand jury investigations, appellate practice and congressional investigations, with a particular focus on clients in the healthcare industry.

To read Paul's full biography in Japanese please click here.

• Complex Criminal and Civil Healthcare Matters: Paul represents healthcare clients that are the subject of criminal investigations and civil enforcement proceedings. A significant part of Paul’s practice is devoted to representing clients in matters involving allegations under the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law. In addition, Paul helps clients conduct internal investigations, file self-disclosures, update compliance programs and litigate cases under Administrative Procedure Act.
• Complex Criminal and Civil Antitrust Matters: Paul also represents clients in criminal antitrust investigations conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ), and civil antitrust investigations conducted by State Attorneys General. Paul represents these same clients in parallel civil antitrust class actions. Additionally, he regularly trains clients on antitrust compliance issues, assisting them in revise their antitrust compliance programs.
• Congressional Investigations: Paul represents clients in high-profile congressional investigations, including before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
• Appellate: Paul has served as lead appellate counsel in more than 100 cases in nearly all of the US courts of appeals and before the US Supreme Court, including handling cases at the certiorari and merits stages. Among other significant matters, Paul represented Arthur Andersen before the US Supreme Court in a case involving the interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act.

In addition, Paul serves as the Firm’s Pro Bono Litigation Partner. In this role, Paul works with the Firm’s Pro Bono and Community Service Partner, senior management, and other stakeholders to identify and develop pro bono litigation projects in a wide array of substantive areas that impact the communities in which we work and live.

From 2002 to 2005, Paul served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Appellate Section of the United States Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Pennsylvania. From 2005 to 2007, he worked as counsel to the US Senate Judiciary Committee, where he worked on the Senate confirmation hearings for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. Paul has also served as a law clerk to the Honorable D. Brooks Smith, former Chief Judge of the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and former Chief Judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Paul has published articles in the National Law Journal, Roll Call, Executive Counsel, Corporate Counsel, the Yale Law Journal Pocket Part and the Vanderbilt Law Review. He has been quoted in top legal and business publications such as the Washington Business Journal, The Hill, Roll Call and Am Law Daily, and has served as a panelist at the National Press Club.

Jake Townsend focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital transactions and general corporate representation. He is experienced in matters involving mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, private equity and venture capital financing, and complex commercial transactions involving multiple jurisdictions for a broad range of private and public clients. He also provides continuing general corporate legal advice to a number of the Firm's clients. Jake focuses on the delivery of efficient and cost-effective corporate services and products at the highest level of quality that integrates multiple jurisdictions and multiple practice areas.

Jake also focuses his practice on representing family offices and family-owned businesses. Jake has a broad range of experience assisting owners of closely held businesses and their family offices with the full range of corporate and transactional needs. He regularly advises family and family office clients on corporate transactions, recapitalizations and other liquidity events, direct investing, corporate governance, general commercial counseling, succession planning, wealth transfer planning and family office structuring. In addition, he frequently counsels family investors in connection with their investments in private equity, venture capital and hedge funds. Jake regularly teams with McDermott colleagues in the Private Client and Tax Practice Groups to create cross-disciplinary solutions for families and family offices.

Jake frequently represents private equity funds and their portfolio companies in their acquisitions, recapitalizations and exit transactions. In addition, he counsels investors in connection with their investments in private equity, venture capital and hedge funds.

Dr. Boris Uphoff has 24 years of experience representing companies in both court and arbitration proceedings. His practice focuses on intellectual property disputes (patents, trademarks, unfair competition), product liability law, insurance law and D&O disputes.

Many of the disputes he handles are cross-jurisdictional and involve other European countries, the US or Japan. He represents national and international companies, particularly within the automotive, electronics, food and insurance sectors.

To read Boris' full biography in Japanese please click here.

He also regularly acts as an arbitrator in international arbitration proceedings.

Boris is admitted as a lawyer (Rechtsanwalt) in Germany and as a solicitor in England and Wales. He is a certified specialist in intellectual property law (Fachanwalt für gewerblichen Rechtsschutz) and acts as an honorary judge at the Lawyers’ Disciplinary Court (Anwaltsgericht) for the District of the Munich Bar.