Whitley Mann focuses her practice on litigation matters.

While in law school, Whitley was a fellow at the Clínica de Trabalho Escravo e Tráfico de Pessoas in Minhas Gerias, Brazil. She previously volunteered  as a survivor advocate at the Harbor House of Central Florida, a nonprofit domestic violence shelter.

Jean-Baptiste Afchain focuses his practice on corporate transactions, with particular focus on mergers & acquisitions and private equity mandates. He advises French and international companies as well as managers or funds on all aspects of corporate law.

• Represents the chapter 7 trustee in the bankruptcy case of Tricolor Auto Group, one of the largest used car retailers in Texas and California with more than $950 million of funded debt and $1.1 billion of securitized debt, in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas
• Represented a Dallas-based commercial real estate company in its successful defense against a $45 million fraudulent transfer lawsuit brought by a chapter 7 trustee, resulting in a final judgment denying all claims
• Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the chapter 11 bankruptcy case of Paragon Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of steel pipes for the oil & gas industry
• Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of Voyager Digital Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded cryptocurrency company and one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms in the world
• Represented Midwestern healthcare service provider Sunland Medical Foundation d/b/a Trinity Regional Medical Center Sachse in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings
• Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the chapter 11 bankruptcy case of Global Clean Energy, a vertically integrated renewable energy company with $2.1 billion of funded debt
• Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the chapter 11 bankruptcy case of Plenty Unlimited, an AgTech company with a platform focused on indoor vertical farming
• Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors appointed in the chapter 11 bankruptcy case of TreeSap Farms one of the largest horticulture producers in the US with a network of 15 farms covering 6,700 acres
• Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the chapter 11 cases of Rhodium Encore, an industrial Bitcoin mining company with 227.5 MW of deployed capacity and more than 53,000 deployed miners
• Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 Cases of Big Lots, a discount retail chain with around 1,400 locations and $5 billion of annual revenue

• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 2027

• Dallas Association of Young Bankruptcy Lawyers, board of directors
• Honorable John C. Ford American Inn of Court, member
• Young Lawyers Committee for the Bankruptcy Section of the State Bar of Texas, non-lawyer outreach liaison

Dr. Katharina Hoffmeister advises clients on health-related matters with a particular focus on the pharmaceutical, medical device, and food industry. She has special expertise in cross-border projects and regularly supports clients in transactions, complex regulatory matters, digital solutions and industry-specific data protection and compliance issues in the healthcare market. In addition, Katharina Hoffmeister advises healthcare providers and strategic investors with respect to medical care centers and medical practices, including areas of contract physician law as well as statutory health insurance law.

Katharina Hoffmeister studied law at the University of Göttingen and the University of Nottingham in the UK. After her first state examination, she wrote a doctoral thesis on the topic of “Reproductive Travel and Parenthood” in the field of assisted reproductive medicine as well as international private and procedural law. During her doctoral studies, she worked as a research assistant at the chair of Prof. Dr. Volker Lipp and in the legal department of the German Medical Association. Before joining McDermott, she also worked as a research assistant in an international business law firm in the field of healthcare in Düsseldorf.

• Handelsblatt/Best Lawyers™, “Ones to Watch” in Germany: Biotechnology Law and Life Sciences Practice, 2026-2027

Marion Dalvai-König advises national and international clients on complex investments and transactions in the Private Equity sector. Her focus lies in structuring and executing private equity deals, including legal due diligence, contract negotiations, and the development and implementation of tailored exit strategies. Marion has been involved in several high-profile transactions, such as the acquisition of powerdata by CONUTI and the acquisition of SoftProject by Main Capital Partners. Her extensive expertise covers the acquisition and sale of business units and subsidiaries, as well as all related legal matters.

In addition to her private equity work, Marion advises on real estate law, particularly in individual and portfolio transactions and across transaction types such as share and asset deals.

Before joining McDermott, Marion worked as Legal Counsel at a globally operating company in the mountain sports industry based in Bolzano, and later worked for three years at an international law firm in Munich specializing in real estate. Her legal training and experience as a research associate and trainee lawyer at leading international law firms in Germany and Italy provide her with a broad perspective on various legal areas and jurisdictions.

• Handelsblatt/Best Lawyers^™, “Ones to Watch” in Germany: Real Estate Law, 2025-2027

• Frauen in der Immobilienwirtschaft e.V. (Women in the real estate industry)

Benjamin Paulsen focuses his practice on private client matters and controversies involving trusts and estates. He is experienced in contentious, multimillion dollar proceedings, with experience litigating in both state and federal court.

While in law school, Benjamin was a judicial extern for the Honorable Eric I. Long, Magistrate Judge of the US District Court for the Central District of Illinois. He also served as the editor-in-chief for the University of Illinois Law Review.

• University of Illinois College of Law, Rickert Award for Excellence in Advocacy, 2018
• University of Illinois College of Law, Rickert Award for Excellence in Service
• 2018 World Champion, Brown Mosten International Client Consultation Competition, 2018

• Order of Protection Appeals Project, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, Volunteer of the Year (2021)

• Legal 500 UK, Recommended, 2024-2027
• The Best Lawyers in United Kingdom, Insolvency and Restructuring Law, Ones to Watch, 2024 – 2025
• Pro Bono Recognition List of England and Wales, 2026