Dykema Elects Nine New Members

Dykema, a leading national law firm, announced today that its Executive Board elected nine new members to the firm effective January 1, 2019. Dykema’s new partners, their resident office and practice descriptions are listed below.

John C. Dulske – Government Policy & Practice, San Antonio

Dulske’s practice focuses primarily on representing federal and state government contractors with a concentration on procurement litigation, contract administration, claims litigation, and bid protest work. He has experience in both State and Federal Courts and also litigates before the United States Court of Federal Claims and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Washington, D.C. Dulske also provides professional legal services in the areas of business litigation, construction litigation and corporate law.

He received a J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law and a B.A. in Economics from Kenyon College.

Brandon E. Durrett – Corporate Finance, San Antonio

Durrett is a Board Certified oil and gas attorney in Dykema’s Corporate Finance Practice Group. He maintains a diverse upstream industry practice focused on identifying and solving problems his clients encounter in the exploration, development, operation, production, sale, and leveraging of oil and gas properties. Durrett has broad experience in all phases of acquisition and divestiture of oil and gas assets, including negotiation, drafting, and closing of purchase and sale agreements, associated financing transactions, and large-scale due diligence projects.

He received a J.D., cum laude, from Texas Tech University School of Law and a B.A., with honors, from Brigham Young University.

Abirami (Abi) Gnanadesigan – Business Litigation, Los Angeles

Gnanadesigan’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and intellectual property litigation. She represents individuals, corporations, financial institutions, employers, and court-appointed receivers in a variety of litigation matters in state and federal court, and in mediation and arbitration proceedings. She has extensive experience handling state and nationwide class action lawsuits on a variety of issues, including wage and hour claims, California's Unfair Competition Law, and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act. Gnanadesigan also has extensive experience counseling companies regarding compliance with California’s Proposition 65.

She earned a J.D. from Loyola Law School and a B.A., with honors, from the University of Southern California.

Kristina H. Kaluza – Business Litigation, Minneapolis

Kaluza represents companies and individuals in state and federal courts and focuses her practice on general commercial litigation, employment law, and financial services litigation. Her commercial and business litigation experience includes contract claims, fraud claims, negligence claims, and products-liability claims. In the area of financial services, Kaluza represents lenders and mortgage servicers in a broad range of disputes arising under state and federal law, including contested foreclosures, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claims, and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) claims.

She earned a J.D., with distinction, from The University of Iowa College of Law and a B.A., magna cum laude, from Colgate University.

Adam R. Nunnallee – Financial Services Litigation, Dallas

Nunnallee utilizes his diverse experience as a former federal law clerk by representing financial services and related business, both nationally and throughout the state of Texas, at the trial and appellate level. In addition to his extensive litigation experience, he also advises and represents businesses regarding state and federal reporting and compliance matters. Nunnallee provides businesses the tailored, practical, and efficient advice essential to running a successful business.

He earned a J.D. from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and a B.A. from Rhodes College.

Jason M. Ross – Commercial Litigation, Dallas

Ross focuses his practice on complex litigation, with an emphasis on white-collar criminal defense and securities law. He guides clients throughout various stages of government action, including whistleblower complaints, initial government investigations, negotiations for immunity, grand jury proceedings, indictments and trials. Ross also counsels clients in proceedings brought by agencies such as the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Labor and the Federal Trade Commission. He has experience in several industries, including health care, telecommunications, software, electronics, banking, insurance, network marketing and commercial aviation.

Ross earned a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and a B.A., with highest distinction, from The Louisiana Scholars’ College at Northwestern State University.

Mark A. Silverman – Business Litigation, Chicago

Silverman’s practice covers a wide range of complex commercial financial services litigation, lender liability defense, banking, fraudulent conveyance and general fraud litigation, class action litigation, contract disputes, commercial foreclosures, commercial real estate transactions, post-judgment collections proceedings, and general business disputes. He regularly advises creditors such as banks, CMBS special servicers, landlords, and alternative lenders on a wide range of workout, creditor’s rights, and bankruptcy issues, including negotiating forbearance agreements, handling asset-based and non-asset-based loan workouts, negotiating loan sales, liquidating collateral, and facilitating settlement negotiations. Silverman also regularly advises clients on litigation risk and bankruptcy implications of ABL, C&I and CRE loan transactions. He has experience helping Financial Technology (FinTech) companies navigate complex litigation relating to a broad range of issues, including the enforcement of online Terms of Services Agreements. 

He earned a J.D. from the Chicago - Kent College of Law and a B.A. in Speech Communications, cum laude, from the University of Illinois.

Jarrod T. Smith – Public Finance, Lansing

Smith is a public finance attorney who has helped structure some of the most complex public finance transactions in Michigan over the past several years—including the $3 billion Unemployment Obligation Assessment Revenue Bonds transaction, as well as a $288+ million bond sale that funded the completion of a much needed county criminal justice complex, each of which were recognized as “Deals of the Year” by The Bond Buyer. Prior to joining Dykema, he was an Assistant Attorney General with the Michigan Attorney General’s Office for more than 12 years.

Smith received a J.D., cum laude, and a B.S. from Michigan State University.

Dawn N. Williams – Financial Services Litigation, Grand Rapids

Williams’ practice focuses on financial services litigation and bank regulatory compliance, in which she represents some of the nation’s largest financial institutions. She represents clients in a variety of litigation matters, including claims relating to loan origination, foreclosure, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), as well as other related consumer finance claims.

She earned a J.D., cum laude, from Wayne State University and a B.A. from the University of Chicago.