Washington, DC
Cristell Fortune focuses her practice on global and domestic employment law matters. Cristell has particular experience in managing complex transactions (including mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings), conducting transactional due diligence, providing clients with strategic advice on potential risks and offering practical, business-oriented solutions.
- Represented Siemens in its $700 million acquisition of Supplyframe*
- Represented CarLotz in its $827 million business combination with SPAC Acamar Partners Acquisition Corp.*
- Represented Sitel Group on its $2.2 billion take-private of Sykes Enterprises*
*Matter handled prior to joining McDermott.
- American Bar Association, member
- Association of Black Women Attorneys, member
- LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York, member
- Columbia Law School, JD
- University of Amsterdam, LLM
- New York University, BA
- New York
- District of Columbia
- Englisch
- Französisch
- Haitian Creole
Melvin B. Wu
Los Angeles
Melvin B. Wu focuses his practice on complex civil litigation. He has experience in a broad range of arbitration and litigation matters across industries, including – healthcare, life sciences, medical device, financial services, consumer reporting and construction. Melvin has represented clients in cases involving breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition claims among others.
- Represented hospital provider in challenging inappropriately low reimbursements paid by health plans*
- Obtained dismissals of arbitration demands on the basis that the claims were not properly brought before the American Arbitration Association*
- Represented life sciences company and its directors in the defense of a class action lawsuit alleging breaches of fiduciary duty arising out of a merger acquisition*
*Matter handled prior to joining McDermott.
- Cornell Law School, JD
- University of California, Los Angeles, BA
- California
- US District Court for the Central District of California
Cathy Lee
Washington, DC
Cathy Lee focuses her practice on privacy and cybersecurity matters, advising clients on both domestic and international privacy and cybersecurity laws and regulations, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act, EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and US state data breach notification laws.
- District of Columbia Courts, Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2023
- George Washington University Law School, JD, cum laude
- Johns Hopkins University, BA
- District of Columbia
Ashley Attia
Orange County
Los Angeles
Ashley Attia is an employment advisor and litigator. Her practice includes representing and counseling companies in a wide range of employment-related matters, including litigation and risk management.
- University of Southern California Gould School of Law, JD, magna cum laude
- University of Southern California Gould School of Law, BA
- University of San Diego
- California
- California Superior Court
- US District Court for the Central District of California
- US District Court for the Eastern District of California
- US District Court for the Southern District of California
- US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Englisch
- Spanish
Taylor Edward Hood
Houston
Taylor Hood assists healthcare providers and investors with structuring and executing a wide range of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other strategic arrangements. With a particular focus on the Texas market, he helps clients navigate the unique corporate practice of medicine laws, state licensure issues, Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute matters, as well as rules related to government and private reimbursement. In addition to leading transactions involving physician practice management (PPM) companies and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), Taylor also advises healthcare companies on a variety of regulatory and policy matters. He has advised both payors and providers on issues that arise in the managed care sector, including provider payments, health benefits, and insurance practices, and provided counsel to clients in arbitration and before state medical boards, including the Texas Medical Board.
- Legal 500 US, Recommended, 2025
- University of Houston Law Center, JD, cum laude
- Duke University, MS, cum laude
- Texas A&M University, BS
- Texas
- US District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Charlotte Moorhouse
London – 22 Bishopsgate
Charlotte Moorhouse focuses her practice on employment matters. She advises clients across a broad range of industry sectors in all areas of contentious and non-contentious UK employment law.
Charlotte’s practice covers all aspects of UK employment law and day-to-day employment matters, including appointments and terminations, employment status and worker classification issues, employment policies and staff handbooks, disciplinary and grievance issues, restructuring and redundancy exercises, settlement agreements and employee data privacy.
Charlotte advises on the full range of contentious employment matters, including claims for unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing and breach of contract.
As part of her non-contentious work, Charlotte advises on the employment aspects of all types of corporate transactions, including share sales, business transfers and joint ventures.
- Advising a variety of clients in respect of executive terminations, including pre-termination negotiations and the conclusion of settlement agreements
- Advising a leading global manufacturer in respect of a reorganisation of its UK workforce entailing a collective redundancy consultation
- Successfully defending a whistleblowing claim against a senior executive at a preliminary stage of proceedings
- Advising a global healthcare provider on the exits of its senior leadership team
- Legal 500 UK, Recommended, 2025
- Employment Lawyers Association (ELA)
- BPP Law School, LPC
- University of East Anglia, LLB
- England & Wales
Rafael Calatrava
New York — One Vanderbilt Avenue
Rafael Calatrava is a member of the Firm’s Investment Funds Group. He focuses his practice on advising private fund clients on the structuring, formation and operation of investment funds. Rafael also has a background in corporate advisory matters including mergers & acquisitions and general corporate matters.
- Columbia Law School, LLM
- University of Valencia, LLB
- New York
- Spain
- Englisch
- Französisch
- Deutsch
- Italienisch
- Spanish
Maria Abadia
Miami
Maria Abadia focuses her practice on corporate finance matters. Maria represents private and public corporate borrowers, financial institutions, project sponsors and debt investors in a variety of domestic and cross-border financing transactions. Maria’s experience also includes drafting and negotiating a broad range of credit facilities, including term, revolving, asset-based, secured and unsecured, syndicated, senior and subordinated facilities, which encompass a broad spectrum of industries and business sectors.
- University of Pennsylvania Law School, JD
- University of Pennsylvania Law School, LLM
- Universidad de los Andes, LLM (Tax Law), JD
- Universidad Externado de Colombia
- Universidad de los Andes
- Florida
- New York
- Colombia
- Englisch
- Portuguese
- Spanish
Michèle Gueravetian
Paris
Michèle Gueravetian focuses her practice on employment law, including employee benefits and social security.
She has handled litigation before French civil and labor courts (both collective actions and individual cases).
Michèle has experience in a number of sectors including the pharmaceutical industry.
- Ecole de Formation du Barreau de Paris, CAPA
- Sciences Po
- Sciences Po
- Paris
- Englisch
- Französisch
Benoit Feroldi
Paris
Benoit Feroldi advises both public and private entities on all aspects of public law, including administrative and regulatory law.
Before joining McDermott, Benoit worked in a major French law firm in Paris, focusing on regulatory matters. He was an intern in several major law firms in Paris and at the Conseil d’Etat, the French Supreme Administrative Court.
- Sciences Po, Master’s Degree, Public Economic Law
- Sciences Po, Master’s Degree, Public Affairs
- Sciences Po, BA
- Paris
- Englisch
- Französisch
- Deutsch