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Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Named As Legislative Counsel

The NCBFAA has retained Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, as Legislative Counsel, led by Nicole Bivens Collinson.

Collinson leads the International Trade and Government Relations Practice of ST&R, in Washington, D.C., and serves as managing principal of the Washington, D.C., office. She is also a member of ST&R’s Operating Committee and a commentator on trade matters on MSNBC and NPR.

Collinson has over 30 years of experience in government, public affairs, and lobbying. She has drafted and guided the successful implementation of several pieces of key international trade legislation positively affecting the bottom line of many United States companies.

“Recent events have highlighted just how crucial well-operating supply chains are to our economic health. The NCBFAA’s members play an indispensable role in making that happen, and for almost 125 years the Association has worked tirelessly to make it easier for those companies to do their jobs,” Collinson said.

“ST&R looks forward to aiding this work by using our decades of experience building effective relationships with Congress and federal agencies to advance the priorities of the NCBFAA and its members.”

Collinson is a well-known international trade authority in Washington, regularly called upon by members of Congress and the Administration to help explain complex trade programs. Her decades of work with the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security committees and the Senate Finance; Commerce, Science and Transportation; Foreign Relations; and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees has established deep and lasting relations with members of Congress and their staffs.

Prior to joining Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, Collinson served as assistant chief negotiator for the Office of the United States Trade Representative, responsible for the negotiation of bilateral agreements with Latin America, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, the Sub-Continent and Africa.

She also served as a country specialist in the International Trade Administration at the Department of Commerce, where she was responsible for the preparation of negotiations on specific topics between the United States and Latin America, Eastern Europe, China, and Hong Kong, as well as the administration of complex textile agreements.

Collinson holds a master’s degree in international relations from The George Washington University and a triple bachelor’s degree in political science, European studies, and French from Georgetown College.

“I have known Nicole for a number of years and find her to be utmost professional and extremely knowledgeable of the legislative process in Washington, D.C.,” NCBFAA President Jan Fields said. “The association will certainly benefit from her talent and expertise as we navigate current and future legislative matters that impact our industry.”

“On behalf of the association, I am thrilled to see Nicole join our team,” said NCBFAA Legislative Chair Laurie Arnold. “Nicole’s reputation as an expert in our industry precedes her and we are thrilled to be able to deepen our relationship with Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg.

We look forward to working closely with her to effectively advocate for our members’ needs before Congress, the Administration, and beyond.”

About Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.

ST&R is a leading international trade, customs, export, and trade policy firm that has set the standard for international trade lawyers and consultants since its founding in 1977.

Clients worldwide, including governments, manufacturers, importers, exporters, customs brokers, freight forwarders, and sureties, rely on ST&R’s comprehensive and effective services to succeed amid the constantly changing demands of global trade.

DLA Piper Advises Cofense on Latest Acquisition

DLA Piper represented Cofense, the leading provider of phishing detection and response solutions, in its recent acquisition of Cyberfish, a provider of next-generation phishing protection powered by Computer Vision and advanced machine learning technology.

DLA Piper is a multinational law firm with offices in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

By integrating innovative machine learning capabilities from Cyberfish with Cofense’s detection and response technology, Cofense will bring to market a holistic, advanced automation solution for email protection, detection and response.

“We were thrilled to partner with Cofense, bringing our extensive cybersecurity and technology sector mergers and acquisitions experience to advise on its acquisition of Cyberfish,” said Marc Samuel, the DLA Piper partner who led the deal team.

“This successful transaction will enable Cofense to continue developing transformative solutions to address issues of phishing and email security through advanced artificial intelligence and automation.”

Cofense is the leading provider of protection, detection and response email security solutions, and the only company to combine a global network of 30 million people reporting phish with advanced AI-based automation to stop phishing attacks.

In addition to Samuel (Washington, DC), the DLA Piper deal team was led by Shirley Qin (Washington, DC).

With more than 1000 corporate lawyers globally, DLA Piper helps clients execute complex cross-border transactions seamlessly while supporting clients across all stages of development.

The law firm has been rated number one in global mergers and acquisitions volume for 11 consecutive years, according to Mergermarket.

Latham Advises Berkeley Lights in IPO

An initial public offering (IPO) refers to the process of offering shares of a private corporation to the public in a new stock issuance. An IPO allows a company to raise capital from public investors.

Berkeley Lights, Inc., a leader in Digital Cell Biology, has announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 8,100,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $22.00 per share. All of the shares of common stock are being offered by Berkeley Lights.

Latham is an American multinational law firm. Founded in 1934 in Los Angeles, California, Latham is the second-largest law firm in the world by revenue.

In addition, Berkeley Lights has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,215,000 shares of common stock at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. Berkeley Lights’ common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on July 17, 2020, under the ticker symbol “BLI.”

The gross proceeds from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by Berkeley Lights, are expected to be approximately $178.2 million, excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares.

Latham represents Berkeley Lights, Inc. in the offering with a life sciences capital markets team led by Bay Area partner Brian Cuneo with Bay Area associates Alexander White, Meredith Peake, Raul Gonzalez, Theresa Bloom and Amanda Dillon.

Advice was also provided on tax matters by Bay Area partner Grace Lee, with Bay Area associate Abigail Friedman; on benefits and compensation matters by Bay Area partner Ashley Wagner; on intellectual property matters by Bay Area partner Judith Hasko, with Bay Area associate Gavin Liu; and on regulatory matters by Washington, D.C. partner Elizabeth Richards and Bay Area counsel Betty Pang, with Washington, D.C. associate Chad Jennings.

Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP Recognised by Best Lawyers® in 2018

Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP, one of the world’s largest immigration law firms, has been named “Immigration Law Firm of the Year” by Best Lawyers®.

Best Lawyers® “Law Firm of the Year” awards are country and practice area specific. They are determined based on a handful of factors, including: feedback from lawyers recognised by Best Lawyers® on individual lawyer and firm-wide work, the size and coverage of the firm in a specific practice area, historical analysis of the firm’s “Lawyer of the Year” awards in this area, and research surrounding the firm’s overall scope and areas of expertise.

Only one law firm per legal practice area receives this recognition, making the award a significant achievement. Berry Appleman & Leiden has also received a First Tier ranking in Houston, San Francisco and Washington, DC by Best Lawyers®.

The award caps a tremendous milestone year for the firm:

  • Opening of a 60-person office in mid-town Manhattan.
  • Establishing an unprecedented strategic alliance with Deloitte UK that combines the best of Deloitte’s scale, expertise and breadth outside of the United States with BAL’s unparalleled legal expertise and high quality immigration services in the United States.
  • Launching a large-scale Centre of Excellence in Richardson, Texas to support over 600 cross-functional professionals including attorneys, legal and operational staff, as well as expansions of offices in Boston, Houston, McLean, Va. and Walnut Creek, Ca.
  • Unveiling of the industry’s first mobile immigration app, enabling anytime, anywhere case management across Android and iOS devices. The app is a component of Cobalt® the firm’s innovative digital immigration platform.

About Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP

Berry Appleman & Leidenis singularly focused on meeting the immigration challenges of corporate clients around the world in ways that make immigration more strategic and enable clients to be more successful.

Established in 1980, the firm provides immigration expertise, top-notch information security and leading technology innovation like its Cobalt® digital immigration services platform.