Job Title Category: Associate

  • Briana L. Johnson

    Briana L. Johnson

    People

    Briana L. Johnson

    Associate

    New York – One Vanderbilt Avenue

    Areas of focus

    Briana L. Johnson focuses her practice on corporate finance matters, representing lenders and borrowers in a wide range of financing transactions. She advises financial institutions and direct lenders on syndicated and bilateral credit facilities, as well as private equity sponsors and borrowers on acquisitions financings, first and second lien structures, and refinancings.

    Briana is adept at drafting, editing, and negotiating all documentation that drive complex transactions, including credit agreements, security documents, commitment letters, guarantees, and board materials. Her experience spans terms loans, revolving and asset-based facilities, and securitizations.

    Bringing a collaborative approach to transaction management, Briana works across legal and operational teams to coordinate due diligence, facilitate closings, and navigate deal structures. She has provided counseling on multiple acquisition financings, including one transaction valued at $7.5 billion, as well as securitizations, the acquisition of a securitized products group, and a subsequent $8 billion purchase of senior secured financing facilities. Beyond her core finance work, she has experience in mergers, corporate governance, and general corporate matters.

    Results
    Recognitions
    Capabilities and industries
    Regional markets
    Community
    Credentials
    Education
    • University of North Carolina School of Law, JD, with honors
    • Susquehanna University, B.A., magna cum laude
    Admissions
    • New York
    Languages
    • English
  • Ethan Downs-Decker

    Ethan Downs-Decker

    People

    Ethan Downs-Decker

    Associate

    New York – 919 Third Avenue

    Areas of focus

    Ethan Downs-Decker focuses his practice on litigation matters.

    Prior to joining the firm, Ethan served as a law clerk for the Honorable John A. Gibney, Jr. of the US District Courts.

    Results
    Recognitions
    Capabilities and industries
    Regional markets
    Community
    Credentials
    Education
    • William & Mary Law School, JD, magna cum laude
    • Southern Methodist University, BA
    Admissions
    • New York
    Languages
    • English
  • Simon D. Rybansky

    Simon D. Rybansky

    People

    Simon D. Rybansky

    Associate

    New York – 919 Third Avenue

    Areas of focus

    Simon D. Rybansky focuses his practice on private client matters.

    While in law school, Simon served as a judicial extern for Senior Judge Michael F. Urbanski of the US District Court for the Western District of Virginia and as a judicial intern for Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Arpert of the US District Court for the District of New Jersey. Simon was also a lead articles editor for the Washington and Lee Law Review.

    Results
    Recognitions
    Capabilities and industries
    Regional markets
    Community
    Credentials
    Education
    • Washington and Lee University School of Law, JD, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif
    • Lafayette College, BA, magna cum laude
    Admissions
    • New York
    Languages
    • English
    • Slovak
  • Brent N. Bartlett

    Brent N. Bartlett

    People

    Brent N. Bartlett

    Associate

    Washington, DC

    Areas of focus

    Brent N. Bartlett focuses his practice on tax controversy and litigation matters involving state, federal, and international authorities. He guides multinational corporations, complex partnerships, and high-net-worth individuals through all stages of tax disputes, including audits, administrative appeals, and litigation before the US Tax Court and other federal and state courts.

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    Results
    • Represented a large multinational technology company in a Section 482 transfer pricing dispute regarding the arm’s-length value of a platform contribution transaction between cost-sharing participants*
    • Resolved on favorable grounds proposed multibillion-dollar adjustments to a wide range of positions on tax returns across multiple years at the IRS Independent Office of Appeals for a publicly traded offshore drilling company*
    • Resolved on favorable grounds a multimillion-dollar dispute for a large online marketplace facilitator involving sales and use tax determinations*
    • Represented a large multinational technology company in multiple related Tax Court cases, including a cross motions for summary judgment concerning a more than $600 million adjustment to partnership basis for a German subsidiary, which ultimately resulted in the Tax Court issuing a precedential opinion (Continental Grand Limited Partnership v. Commissioner, 166 T.C. No. 3 (Mar. 2, 2026))*
    • Resolved on favorable grounds several related multimillion-dollar disputes in the Tax Court concerning computation of certain partnership items*

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    Recognitions
    • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, 2023-2026
    Capabilities and industries
    Regional markets
    Community
    • American Bar Association, Tax Section, member
    Credentials
    Education
    • Georgetown University Law Center, LLM, Taxation, with distinction
    • Emory University School of Law, JD
    • Emory University, BA
    Admissions
    • District of Columbia
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Indiana
    Courts/Agencies
    • US Tax Court
    • US Court of Federal Claims
    Languages
    • English
  • Varun Kukreja

    Varun Kukreja

    People

    Varun Kukreja

    Associate

    Los Angeles

    Areas of focus

    Varun Kukreja focuses his practice on project finance and other transactional matters in the infrastructure and renewable energy sectors. He represents sponsors, lenders, and investors in the development, financing, and acquisition of energy generation projects.

    Varun has experience advising clients on construction, term, bridge and back-leverage financings, tax equity investments, equipment supply financings and related project development matters. He also has experience advising financial institutions in domestic and cross-border financing transactions, including acquisition financings and debt capital markets transactions.

    Results
    • Represented lenders in construction and term loan facilities for a 550 MWac solar and 2,200 MWh battery energy storage project in Arizona.
    • Represented tax equity investors in the financing of a portfolio of 1.2 GW utility-scale solar projects.
    • Represented tax equity investors in the financing of a 675 MWdc solar project in New York.
    • Represented lenders in construction, bridge and term loan financings for utility-scale solar and battery energy storage projects in Arizona, Texas, Mississippi and Indiana, including multiple term conversions and financing amendments.
    • Represented lenders in an equipment supply financing supporting utility-scale solar, wind and battery energy storage projects across the United States.
    • Represented lenders in construction and term loan facilities for an 85.5 MW greenfield wind project in California.
    Recognitions
    • 2020 – Senior Technical Editor, Santa Clara Law Review
    • 2020 – Production Editor, Santa Clara High Technology Law Journal
    Capabilities and industries
    Regional markets
    Community
    Credentials
    Education
    • Santa Clara University School of Law, JD
    • Northeastern University, BS
    Admissions
    • California
    • New York
    Languages
    • English
  • Amin F. Hamza

    Amin F. Hamza

    People

    Amin F. Hamza

    Associate
    Areas of focus

    Amin F. Hamza focuses his practice on executive compensation and employee benefits matters. He also advises clients on the benefits and compensation issues that arise in connection with corporate transactions, as well as employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) transactions.

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    Results
    Recognitions
    Capabilities and industries
    Regional markets
    Community
    • National Center for Employee Ownership, member
    Credentials
    Education
    • University of Virginia School of Law, JD
    • The University of Texas at Dallas, BS
    Admissions
    • Illinois
    Languages
    • English
  • Audrey Bischoff

    Audrey Bischoff

    People

    Audrey Bischoff

    Associate

    New York – One Vanderbilt Avenue

    Areas of focus

    Audrey focuses her practice on corporate advisory, corporate finance, and transactional matters.

    During law school, Audrey was a senior web editor for the NYU Journal of Intellectual Property & Entertainment Law.

    Results
    Recognitions
    Capabilities and industries
    Regional markets
    Community
    Credentials
    Education
    • New York University School of Law, JD, 2025
    • Columbia University, BS, magna cum laude, 2021
    • Georgetown University, BA, magna cum laude, 2021
    Admissions
    • New York
  • Adele Martin

    Adele Martin

    People

    Adele Martin

    Associate

    New York – 919 Third Avenue

    Areas of focus

    Adele Martin focuses her practice on corporate and transactional matters.

    During law school, Adele was a staff member for the Columbia Business Law Review. She also served as a law clerk for the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office.

    Results
    Recognitions
    Capabilities and industries
    Regional markets
    Community
    Credentials
    Education
    • Columbia Law School, JD, 2025
    • University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, JD/LLM, 2025
    • University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, LLB, 2022
    Admissions
    • New York
    Languages
    • English
    • French
  • Benjamin M. Gleitman

    Benjamin M. Gleitman

    People

    Benjamin M. Gleitman

    Associate

    New York – One Vanderbilt Avenue

    Areas of focus

    Benjamin (Ben) M. Gleitman focuses his practice on commercial real estate transactions, including debt and equity financing, acquisitions, dispositions, and joint ventures. He has significant experience representing private lenders and financial institutions in complex, highly structured development and construction-related real estate transactions.

    During law school, Ben was an articles editor for the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal.

    Results
    • Advised on the financing of a hotel and condominium resort in Hawaii
    • Advised on the acquisition of a distressed mortgage loan secured by California real estate assets and the subsequent restructuring in connection with a development site in New York
    • Advised on the disposition of a self-storage portfolio and related 1031 exchange transaction
    • Advised on the establishment of a revolving credit facility secured by commercial real estate interests
    Recognitions
    • Super Lawyers, New York Metro Rising Stars, 2025-2026
    Capabilities and industries
    Regional markets
    Community
    • New York City Bar Association, member
    • New York State Bar Association, member
    Credentials
    Education
    • Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, JD
    • Queens College, City University of New York, BA
    Admissions
    • New York
    Languages
    • English
  • Raphaël Hendrickx

    Raphaël Hendrickx

    People

    Raphaël Hendrickx

    Associate
    Areas of focus

    Raphaël Hendrickx focuses his practice on the intersection of technology, communications and regulation, with particular experience in EU cybersecurity frameworks, data privacy, digital services regulation and telecommunications law. Raphaël regularly advises multinational technology companies, cloud service providers, content delivery network operators and online platforms on compliance with evolving European regulatory requirements, including the GDPR, NIS 2 Directive, the Cyber Resilience Act and cybersecurity certification schemes.

    He has extensive experience assisting clients with the implementation of regulatory frameworks governing electronic communications networks and services, data protection, digital infrastructure and audiovisual media services. His work includes advising on licensing and regulatory compliance, incident response preparedness, supply chain requirements, communications secrecy obligations and data access procedures. He has also represented leading technology and media companies in strategic regulatory and litigation matters before Belgian and European authorities and courts.

    Results
    • Advised multinational US and EU technology companies operating in the digital infrastructure sector (cloud computing, content delivery networks (CDNs) and telecommunications networks), as well as online platforms, on compliance with new EU cybersecurity regulations (NIS 2 and CRA), including registration, cyber incident response planning and supply chain compliance*
    • Provided strategic guidance to a leading non-EU (Asian) cloud computing and CDN service provider to help them achieve the highest level of conformity under the EU cybersecurity certification scheme for cloud services*
    • Assisted major telecoms service providers in Belgium with establishing electronic communications services and networks, addressing regulatory, contractual, data retention, transmission, and communications secrecy requirements*
    • Supported a leading satellite communications and connectivity provider with regulatory implementation across Belgium and the EU, including band frequency allocation, cybersecurity measures, and licensing compliance*
    • Managed a data access request procedure for a major online payment service provider involving the Luxembourg Data Protection Authority*
    • Represented global AVMS and video-sharing platform providers in annulment proceedings before the Belgian Constitutional Court, challenging the local implementation of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (Directive 2018/1808)*

    *Matter handled prior to joining McDermott

    Recognitions
    • Legal 500, EU Regulatory: Information Technology, 2023-2025
    Capabilities and industries
    Regional markets
    Community
    Credentials
    Education
    • KU Leuven, LLM, Intellectual Property & ICT Law
    • Brussels School of Competition, LLM, Competition Law
    • Université Libre de Bruxelles, MA, Economic & Social Law
    • Université Libre de Bruxelles, BA, Law
    Admissions
    • Belgium
    Languages
    • Dutch
    • English