Global law firm McDermott Will & Schulte has announced that Lewis McDonald, a leading figure in the London energy market, will join the firm’s London office as a partner, significantly strengthening McDermott’s global energy and transactions platform.

He is recognised for advising clients at the intersection of traditional energy and the energy transition and has acted for many of the world’s leading energy companies.

Joining from Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, where he led the firm’s Global Energy Practice, Lewis brings more than 25 years’ experience advising energy companies, sponsors and investors on complex cross border M&A, joint ventures and project development across oil and gas, LNG, power and renewables.

His practice spans developed and emerging markets, with particular depth advising Asian clients, having spent more than a decade on the ground in Asia across Singapore, Seoul and Tokyo.

Harris Siskind, global head of McDermott’s Transactions Practice Group, commented: “Energy markets are becoming more complex and interconnected, and clients are looking for clear, commercial advice across the full spectrum of energy and infrastructure. Lewis brings a rare combination of sector depth and transactional experience that will help us guide clients through cross-border M&A and strategic investments with greater precision and confidence.”

Lewis will be instrumental in the continued expansion of McDermott’s European Energy practice. He will work alongside our expanding US Energy team, including recent hires Sebastian Chan and Eli Humphries, to deliver fully integrated support on global growth, investment and consolidation mandates.

Aymen Mahmoud, London office managing partner, added: “Lewis is a standout addition to our London team at a pivotal time for the energy sector. His arrival reinforces our position in Europe and strengthens how we connect our London office with our US platform. For clients, that translates into seamless support across jurisdictions and across the full investment lifecycle.”

Commenting on his move, Lewis said: “McDermott has the scale, platform and ambition to build a leading European Energy practice. I’m excited to join and support clients as they navigate complex global energy markets, drawing on the firm’s strength across traditional energy, renewables and private capital.”

As clients refinance, recapitalize, and buy in a market where every assumption in the model gets tested, McDermott Will & Schulte has added real estate finance partner Paul Kovachev to its Transactions Practice Group in New York.

Paul joins from Greenberg Traurig, where he practiced in the firm’s New York real estate group. Earlier in his career, he worked at Debevoise & Plimpton and in the financial statements audit practices of Ernst & Young and PwC.

For the private equity and healthcare clients who rely on McDermott Will & Schulte’s real estate team for financing and acquisition advice as they invest, Paul adds a lawyer who can work through a deal’s financial structure, bring in colleagues across the firm and draw on the firm’s healthcare, tax, and private equity teams when a transaction calls for it.

“Paul came to the law after years as an auditor and a fund CFO, and it shows in how he pressure-tests a deal’s numbers and structure before a lender or investor does,” said Harris Siskind, Global Head of the Transactions Practice Group. “Clients are refinancing, recapitalizing, and buying at a time when costlier financing and more selective lenders mean deals take more structuring to close. That rigor suits the way our real estate, private equity, and healthcare teams work together.”

Paul advises institutional owners, developers, lenders, and investors in CMBS and other mortgage financings, joint ventures, REIT matters, and workouts and restructurings across multifamily, senior housing, industrial, hospitality, office, and retail properties. He has closed more than $15 billion of transactions and has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for New York Real Estate Law for multiple consecutive years.

Paul’s senior housing work sits where the firm’s real estate, healthcare, and private equity practices converge. He regularly handles acquisitions, dispositions, and financings of senior housing communities and portfolios, giving those clients a lawyer who knows the asset class — an increasingly capital-intensive one as operators face rising labor costs and aging properties coming up for refinancing.

“Good legal and business advice has to hold up in front of an investment or credit committee and an auditor, and that standard has shaped how I approach every deal,” Paul said. “McDermott Will & Schulte brings real estate together with private equity, tax, and a leading healthcare practice, which is how the sponsors, lenders, and senior housing operators I work with do business. That’s the practice I want to build here, and I’m excited to get started.”

Global law firm McDermott Will & Schulte secured a significant trial victory on behalf of United Therapeutics Corporation (UTC) in its Hatch-Waxman litigation against Liquidia Technologies in the US District Court for the District of Delaware.

On September 30, 2026, US District Judge Richard G. Andrews issued a Trial Opinion in United Therapeutics Corporation v. Liquidia Technologies, Inc., C.A. No. 23-975-RGA. The court held that Liquidia failed to prove claims 1 and 14 of US Patent No. 11,826,327 (the ’327 patent) invalid and found that Liquidia infringes.

The case concerned the ’327 patent, which describes methods of treating pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD) by administering treprostinil. Following a four-day bench trial in June 2025, the court found that Liquidia infringes and rejected Liquidia’s invalidity challenges to claims 1 and 14, including obviousness, prior sale, and inherent anticipation. The win puts Liquidia’s continued ability to market YUTREPIA® at risk.

This follows a series of wins for UTC in litigation involving Liquidia in which UTC has relied on the McDermott team to enforce its IP rights including in federal district courts, North Carolina Business Court, the PTAB, Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Supreme Court.

The team was led by Doug Carsten, Adam Burrowbridge, and Art Dykhuis, and included Ian Brooks, Katherine Pappas, Lillian Spetrino, Courtney Seams, Jake Vallen, Benjamin Ediger, and Keval Amin, with additional support from Allison Shook, Erick Ramirez, and Joanie Rice.

McDermott Will & Schulte announced that Seth Flaum has joined the firm as a partner in its Health & Life Sciences Practice Group in New York, bringing deep experience in strategic transactions across the life sciences sector.

Seth provides critical insight to clients as they increasingly look to licensing and collaboration deals to address anticipated near-term pipeline gaps. Earlier in his career, Seth spent 16 years as in-house counsel at a global pharmaceutical company, giving him a practical, client-side perspective on how life sciences deals are structured and closed.

“Life sciences companies are confronted with more market complexity than ever before. Seth helps clients navigate this environment with sophisticated licensing and collaboration experience and real-world transactional strength,” said Kristian Werling, global head of the Health & Life Sciences Practice Group. “His arrival creates new opportunities to grow our work with mid-market innovators, and we’re excited to welcome him to the firm.”

Seth’s arrival comes amid heightened biopharma deal activity across M&A, licensing, collaborations, and other strategic transactions, often involving complex structures designed to allocate development, regulatory, and commercial risk. Seth’s experience advising on both the transactional and strategic aspects of these arrangements strengthens the firm’s ability to counsel life sciences clients across this evolving deal landscape.

“McDermott gives me opportunities to expand beyond the practice I’ve built, leveraging a brand that carries real weight across the US and abroad and a deep bench of life sciences partners to collaborate with,” Seth said. “I’m eager to bring my experience to an even broader client base across the McDermott platform and join colleagues who share my global mindset.”

Seth joins from Wilson Sonsini. He guides global pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and diagnostic companies through complex strategic transactions while also leading organizations through critical supply-chain, licensing, and collaboration agreements. Among areas of focus, Seth is known for representing Japanese life science companies pursuing growth abroad.

About McDermott Will & Schulte’s Health & Life Sciences Practice Group
McDermott Will & Schulte’s internationally recognized health and life sciences practice addresses the critical legal and business needs of leading industry players. The global team leverages deep market intelligence and decades of experience representing clients across all subsectors, including health systems and other providers, payors, private equity and other investors, major healthcare and life sciences companies, health technology developers, and new market entrants. It is the only healthcare practice to receive top rankings from Best Law Firms, Chambers, Legal 500, and Law360, while also ranking among the leading life sciences law firms.

Kamal Nesfield has joined McDermott Will & Schulte as a corporate finance partner in New York, complementing the firm’s established work for private equity sponsors and borrowers.

Kamal advises financial institutions and borrowers on complex financing transactions, experience that strengthens the firm’s finance capabilities with lender-side expertise across leveraged finance, private credit and acquisition financings.

“We have a strong finance practice serving sponsors, borrowers and lenders.  Kamal brings a lender-side perspective that adds significant depth to that segment of our finance practice,” said Harris Siskind, Global Head of the Transactions Practice Group. “He has spent his career on sophisticated financing transactions across the bank and private credit markets, and his experience will be a real asset as we continue to grow our finance practice in New York and across the private capital market.”

“I was drawn to the breadth of McDermott’s private capital platform and the opportunity to help continue to grow its finance capabilities,” Kamal said. “I’m looking forward to working with the team to advise lenders, sponsors and companies on increasingly complex financing needs.”

Kamal’s practice covers syndicated bank loans, private credit, high-yield debt, distressed debt and liability management transactions, preferred equity, investment-grade loans and note purchases, with extensive experience in acquisition finance. He has represented financial institutions and borrowers throughout his career, as well as private equity sponsors and portfolio companies.

Leslie Hung has joined McDermott Will & Schulte as a partner in its investment management practice in New York, strengthening the firm’s fund formation and complex investment structures capabilities as it continues to expand its New York and broader private markets platform.

Joining from Kirkland & Ellis, Leslie advises private fund sponsors and institutional investors on the formation, structuring, offering and operation of private investment funds, as well as regulatory and compliance matters. Her arrival comes as fundraising in the asset class remains resilient, with managers increasingly turning to experienced counsel to navigate a more active regulatory environment and evolving fund vehicles.

“Leslie is exactly the kind of lawyer we want to keep adding to our private markets bench: technically strong, experienced across a broad range of fund structures and able to step into sophisticated matters from day one,” said Harris Siskind, Global Head of the Transactions Practice Group. “She strengthens an already strong team and adds important capacity in New York as we continue to grow alongside our clients.”

McDermott’s focus on the full breadth of the private funds landscape was a primary factor in Leslie’s decision to join the firm.

“McDermott Will & Schulte has built real momentum in this space, and I was drawn to the opportunity to join a growing practice with broad capabilities and a strong global reach,” Leslie said. “I’m excited to work with the team in New York and throughout the firm, and to bring my experience in fund formation and related transactions to clients as their needs evolve.”

Her work spans a range of strategies, including buyout, credit, GP stakes, growth and real estate funds, as well as co-investments, secondary transactions and other strategic and operational matters.

Global law firm McDermott Will & Schulte secured a significant $27.6 million jury verdict for Stratasys, Inc. in its patent infringement litigation against Bambu Lab in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Following a week-long trial, the jury found that Bambu Lab infringed asserted claims of four U.S. patents and rejected Bambu Lab’s challenges to the validity of those claims. The jury further found that Bambu Lab’s infringement was willful.

The verdict represents an important milestone in Stratasys’s broader efforts to protect and enforce the innovations underlying modern fused deposition modeling 3D-printing technology.

The team was led by Syed Fareed and Doug Carsten, with support from Aashish Kapadia, David Tobin, Ian Brooks, Adam Burrowbridge, Brian Oaks, and Dexter Hamilton.

McDermott Will & Schulte announced that David Jamieson has joined the Firm as a partner in its Tax Practice Group in London. David joins from Baker McKenzie and brings deep experience in complex VAT and indirect tax disputes, adding further strength to the Firm’s growing tax disputes capabilities in London and across EMEA.

David is a highly experienced tax disputes lawyer whose practice focuses on complex VAT and indirect tax controversy matters. He advises multinational corporations, financial institutions and global businesses on high-value disputes, investigations, audits and litigation involving HMRC and other tax authorities. His experience spans the financial services, pharmaceutical, technology and e-commerce sectors.

“We have been looking to grow our tax disputes capabilities in London, and David brings exactly the kind of experience we want to add,” said Tim Shuman, global head of McDermott’s Tax Practice Group. “His deep expertise in VAT will be a real asset to our clients and complements the strength of our tax controversy practice in the US and internationally.”

David’s arrival is the latest step in McDermott’s continued investment in its London office and growing UK tax bench following the arrivals of partner and UK head of tax Alex Jupp and counsel Elizabeth Spencer last year.

“We have been very deliberate about building our London office with leading practitioners who share our ambition and entrepreneurial mindset,” said Aymen Mahmoud, managing partner of the Firm’s London office. “That’s what David brings. He is a highly regarded tax disputes lawyer with deep VAT expertise and a real appetite to grow. He is a natural addition within both our London and global teams and fits nicely into what is one of the pre-eminent tax teams in the world.”

Alex Jupp added “”High-end tax disputes work is a growing area of demand, and David is exactly the calibre of lawyer we want on our team. He strengthens our VAT offering, adds real depth to our disputes bench, and is another example of the quality of talent we’re attracting to London.”

A Solicitor Advocate, David regularly represents clients in tribunal proceedings and appeals. His practice encompasses strategic advice, investigations and litigation involving complex VAT and indirect tax issues, as well as advising on the indirect tax aspects of business operations, supply chains and international transactions.

“What attracted me to McDermott was the ambition of the Firm and the opportunity to be part of what Alex and the wider team are building in London,” said David Jamieson. “There is a real appetite for growth, alongside a collaborative approach that gives people the freedom to develop their practices. I’m looking forward to bringing my VAT and disputes experience to the team and working with colleagues in London and internationally.”

McDermott Will & Schulte welcomes Andrea D’Ettorre to its tax practice. He joins the firm as counsel, bringing over 13 years’ experience working on complex tax matters. Prior to joining McDermott, Andrea built his career at leading national and international law firms.

Andrea D’Ettorre advises domestic and international corporate groups, banks and private equity funds on a broad range of tax matters. His practice focuses on the tax aspects of M&A transactions and corporate reorganisations, corporate and international taxation, as well as pre-litigation tax proceedings and tax litigation.

“We are delighted to welcome Andrea back, who originally started with us as a trainee and already stood out for his abilities,” said Andrea Tempestini, partner and head of McDermott’s Italian Tax Practice. “His arrival is another important step in strengthening our tax practice and reflects our commitment to building an environment that attracts and develops exceptional talent within a dynamic, international firm.”

On September 1, 2026, global law firm McDermott Will & Schulte filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF) in Wepplo v. Commissioner, a pending US Tax Court case testing whether the IRS correctly calculated underpayment interest that accrued during the COVID-19 disaster period. The brief responds to the Tax Court’s July 2, 2026 order inviting amicus participation.

At issue is the scope of Internal Revenue Code Section 7508A(d), which generally requires the IRS to disregard a federally declared disaster period when calculating interest, penalties, and additions to tax. The petitioners argue Section 7508A(d) required the IRS to disregard interest accruing from January 20, 2020 through July 10, 2023, even though their underlying tax liabilities predate the pandemic. The Commissioner disagrees, citing a 2021 Treasury regulation that caps the relief period at one year.

McDermott’s brief argues the Tax Court should independently determine the statute’s best reading under Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, rather than defer to an agency’s regulatory interpretation. The brief contends Congress prescribed a mandatory, self-executing relief period in subsection (d) distinct from the discretionary relief Congress separately authorized Treasury to grant under subsection (a) and that Treasury’s general rulemaking authority or discretionary authority under subsection (a) cannot be used to narrow relief Congress itself provided by statute. The brief further argues that Treasury’s one-year cap exceeds its delegated authority and is invalid under Loper Bright and the Tax Court’s decision in Abdo v. Commissioner.

NTUF is a non-partisan research and educational organization whose Taxpayer Defense Center litigates and files amicus briefs challenging administrative overreach by tax authorities.

The McDermott team representing NTUF includes Brent Bartlett, Ed Froelich, Samuel Hamer, Charles Moll, Shawn O’Brien, and Susan Ryba.