Locke Lord Names Office Managing Partners in Boston and New York, New Members to Board of Directors; Nearly Half of Firm's Offices Led by Women

March 24, 2022 – Locke Lord announced today Christine McCay and Lisa Ruggiero as Office Managing Partners of the Firm’s Boston and New York offices, respectively, and Dave Foster (Austin), Greg Heath (Houston), Andrew Hughes (Providence) and Adrienne Walker (Boston) as new members of its Board of Directors.

“Christine, Lisa, Dave, Greg, Andrew and Adrienne are excellent lawyers and strong leaders who will do an outstanding job in these new roles,” said Locke Lord Chair David Taylor. “Together they will be integral to positioning our Firm for further growth.”

McCay serves as Co-Chair of Locke Lord’s Debt Finance Practice Group, where she represents financial institutions, including banks, investment funds and finance companies, as well as private equity sponsors and public and private operating companies in a broad range of debt financing transactions, such as syndicated senior credit facilities, second lien, mezzanine and subordinated debt financings, distressed debt investments, restructuring and recapitalization transactions and high-yield bond issuances. She is also a member of the Firm’s Finance and Wellness Committees. Joining McCay on the leadership team of the Boston office is Jonathan Young, who will serve as Deputy Managing Partner.

Ruggiero, who also serves as Managing Partner of the Firm’s Newark office, acts as lead counsel in complex litigations filed in federal and state courts in multiple jurisdictions throughout the country. She has extensive experience representing clients in consumer fraud and other putative class actions and manages the defense of mass tort actions and other personal injury cases often involving catastrophic injuries and deaths arising from allegations of professional negligence, product liability and toxic exposures. Ruggiero is also a member of the Firm-wide Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Alan Levin will join her on the leadership team of the New York office serving as Deputy Managing Partner.

These changes reflect Locke Lord’s ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion, with nearly half of its offices across the Firm now run by women: Austin, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Locke Lord has four women on its Executive Committee, including one Vice Chair, and 11 women on its Board of Directors, including both Co-Chairs.

Locke Lord’s Board of Directors helps direct the Firm’s vision and strategy and collaborates on other Firm-wide initiatives. Co-Chaired by Victoria de Lisle (New Orleans) and Nina Huerta (Los Angeles), the Board reports to Taylor and the Firm’s Executive Committee. Remaining on the Board are Al Clark (Los Angeles), Laura Edrington (Houston), Lauren Fincher (Austin), William D. Foley Jr. (New York), Douglas Gray (Providence), Denise Hanna (Washington, D.C.), Ben Henry (London), Elizabeth Mack (Dallas), Hanna Norvell (Houston), Rusty Perdew (Chicago), Benjamin Sykes (Chicago) and Scott Wofsy (Stamford).

New members of Locke Lord’s Board of Directors:

• Foster, a member of the Firm’s Litigation and Financial Services Litigation Practice Groups, regularly represents banks, mortgage servicers and other financial institutions in putative class actions, mass actions and individual actions in state and federal court as well as arbitration proceedings. He has significant experience handling disputes involving real property investment and development as well as representing investors, directors, officers and issuers in cases involving securities fraud and registration irregularities.
• Heath is Co-Chair of Locke Lord’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Practice Group. He concentrates his practice in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, corporate restructurings, private equity financings and general corporate matters, with a particular emphasis on clients in the energy industry. He has primarily focused his practice on mergers and acquisitions, representing public and private clients as well as strategic and financial buyers and sellers.
• Hughes is the Practice Leader of the Providence Corporate Group and a member of the Firm’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Practice Group. He focuses his practice on corporate transactions, advising lower middle market private equity firms, their portfolio companies and large public companies in acquisitions, sales and restructurings. He also provides general counsel to growth stage companies. Hughes closes transactions in many different industries, including technology, services, aerospace and defense manufacturing and health care.
• Walker is a member of the Firm’s Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Insolvency Practice Group. She focuses her practice on corporate restructuring and commercial finance and has significant bankruptcy litigation experience and deep capabilities advancing creditors’ rights and representing debt holders, trade creditors and debtors in bankruptcies, receiverships and out of court workouts. Walker is a frequent speaker and writer on numerous topics of interest in the bankruptcy and commercial lending fields.

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About Locke Lord LLP
Locke Lord is a full-service law firm with global reach and 20 offices designed to meet clients’ needs in the United States and around the world. The Firm has a history that spans more than 130 years and is a leader in the middle market arena. Locke Lord focuses on providing the highest levels of commitment, quality and service to clients across its five Key Sectors: Energy and Infrastructure; Finance and Financial Services; Insurance and Reinsurance; Pharmaceutical; and Private Equity. In addition, the Firm advises clients across a broad spectrum of other industries, including fund formation, venture capital, health care, public finance, real estate, technology, cybersecurity and white collar, while providing a wealth of experience through its complex litigation, intellectual property, tax, regulatory and transactional teams.