Justice K Barber
Partner – Real Estate
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Description of field of expertise

Clients face a rapidly changing environment heavily impacted by the advancement of technologies that influence where and how people choose to live, work, and commute—which all affect investment and leasing strategies. Justice has a strong understanding of the traditional matters clients confront. She stays at the forefront of new challenges and opportunities so she can provide timely guidance to clients regarding how their businesses may be impacted and propose appropriate responses.

Justice represents institutional investors, developers, lenders, and private fund sponsors with acquisition, disposition, development, leasing, and financing of office, industrial, retail, senior care, multifamily, and other real estate assets. 

Justice provides counsel regarding the structuring and formation of partnerships, and limited liability companies for the purpose of owning, developing, and managing various real estate assets. Her practice also includes guiding clients in connection with joint ventures and general corporate governance matters. In addition to representing her clients in their core real estate transactions, she also works with clients to develop transactional processes and forms to maximize efficiency, reduce errors, and improve outcomes for her clients.

Justice advises a diverse range of clients. These include institutional investors, developers, lenders, and private fund sponsors in their wide-ranging types of investments. This experience has provided Justice with the insight to properly guide clients to the best result in connection with their acquisition, disposition, development, leasing, and financing of a multitude of asset classes in several different geographic locations.

Justice presents the legal analysis and options to her clients, alongside the practical risks, so they can make informed decisions that are in line with their institution’s objectives and risk profile. She is skilled at communicating both key legal and business matters so that different client stakeholders thoroughly understand the issues and feel confident in their ultimate decisions.

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

Real estate law is a multifaceted practice. Early in your career, take steps to be involved with a variety of the concentrations represented in real estate transactions (such as acquisition, disposition, development, leasing, and financing work) so that you gain a better understanding of the practice areas and how they are important to the success of each client’s business. It’s perfectly normal to feel a bit overwhelmed when you’re starting out. Embrace the learning curve and know that it is a part of your growth process. Take the opportunity to ask questions about changes in drafts. That way, you’ll understand the larger context around the issues and apply that knowledge in future transactions. In addition to refining your craft with coworkers, consider joining industry or legal organizations so that you can make valuable connections outside of work. Those relationships can ultimately benefit you in your professional career and personal life.

Ephraim J. Pierre
Partner – Labor & Employment (New York)
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Description of field of expertise

Effective management of complex employment litigation is key to a productive enterprise, a sustainable workplace culture, and achieving business goals. Clients look to Ephraim for insightful and practical solutions to the legal, strategic, and operational challenges presented by complex employment litigation.

Ephraim has worked with clients in the financial services, media and entertainment, technology, health care, education, retail, energy, and nonprofit industries to manage complex employment litigation. Ephraim’s experience in representing employers in a variety of industries across the nation provides him with unique insights into the challenges that employers face in complex employment litigation. He has extensive experience with single-plaintiff and class action employment litigation in state and federal courts and administrative agencies. For example, Ephraim has won summary judgment or obtain dismissal on a range of claims including, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) interference and retaliation claims, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims under federal and state law, and class action claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Additionally, Ephraim has significant experience with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration proceedings representing broker-dealers.

Ephraim has significant first-chair trial experience in many different litigation and arbitration matters. For example, he once obtained the dismissal of four out of six claims on a motion for directed verdict and secured a defense jury verdict on the remaining claims of gender discrimination and retaliation for a Fortune 25 client. He has also obtained dismissal of eight of ten claims in a FINRA arbitration on a motion to dismiss and then obtained a defense verdict following a 16-day arbitration on breach of contract claims against a Fortune 50 client.

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

Every assignment is an opportunity to demonstrate your critical reasoning and judgment, even though it may seem intimidating to work with experienced attorneys. Young attorneys must demonstrate judgment and take ownership of their cases. You can influence positive outcomes by anticipating the next steps, asking questions, and providing insights.

Final thoughts…

I would like to thank the NBA for being a place for us, a voice for us, and a champion for us in the legal profession.

Description of field of expertise

Arnold’s field of expertise is technology transactions, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, startup financings and tax-exempt associations. Arnold has represented technology clients in a wide variety of venture capital financings, IPOs, joint ventures, strategic investments, and mergers and acquisitions. Arnold has also advised more than 80 technology standards organizations on governance, technology transactions, strategic intellectual property matters, open-source licensing, and trademark enforcement. He is a member of the ANSI Technology Consortium Council and spearheads the firm’s representation of technology consortia, alliances, and open-source software groups.

With an inhouse background in corporate governance and intellectual property law at several leading Silicon Valley technology companies, Arnold brings a proven track record as a trusted advisor in the technology sector. His clients include semiconductor companies, SaaS companies, major automotive companies, medical device companies, and venture and social impact investment firms.

His association clients include major technology standards organizations across various sectors such as computing, telecommunications, automotive, and IoT. As the first elected chairman of the Board of Directors of the HDMI Forum, the corporation responsible for publishing the HDMI cable specification, Arnold possesses extensive knowledge of the technology development process, international standardization and open-source software development.

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

New attorneys in the technology transaction field should focus on building a strong foundation in intellectual property and commercial contracts. Attorneys interested in working with global technology companies or global technology organizations should build skills in international business transactions, patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. In addition, it is helpful to stay updated on technology trends, engage in conferences in areas that you are interested in developing a client base, and write articles that explore legal issues and topic important to professionals working in that sector. The technology landscape is constantly changing, and it is important to remain flexible and open to new ideas.

Final thoughts…

Arnold is actively involved in issues related to Black land loss in California and providing representation to those impacted by wrongful eminent domain proceeding in California. He has represented venture capital firms that have a focus on investing in entrepreneurs that have been previously denied access to capital. Arnold has been a technology founder and entrepreneur having founded the digital music startup, Mjuice, and an internet browser company, Blackbird Solutions. Arnold is the co-founder of an AI legal tech SaaS company, and is a recognized inventor, holding a registered U.S. patent in artificial intelligence.

Natalie M. Lagunas 
Associate – McGuireWoods

Description of field of expertise

Natalie Lagunas, a McGuireWoods associate in Los Angeles – Century City, focuses her practice on employment litigation.  Natalie represents employers in wage and hour class, collective and representative actions, as well as in state and federal litigation of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation and FMLA/CFRA claims.  Her practice also includes counseling clients on a variety of employment matters.   

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

California employment law is nuanced and fast-paced.  I would therefore encourage new attorneys to stay up-to-date with the ever-changing employment litigation landscape in California by reading, attending seminars and finding mentors in the field.  I would also remind new attorneys to build strong relationships with colleagues and mentors.  These relationships will change your practice, and will serve as an advisory board as you progress in your career. 

Final Thoughts..

Natalie works to champion diversity in the legal industry.  She was the first in her family to go to college, graduating from Northwestern University where she played Division I soccer.  Natalie earned her law degree from Pepperdine University where she served as senior staff editor for the Pepperdine Law Review.

Lawrence R. Jarvis
Principal – Fish & Richardson

Description of field of expertise

Lawrence Jarvis focuses his practice on patent litigation in U.S. District Courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission in the areas of electrical engineering and computer science. His technical prowess is vast, encompassing set-top box technologies, video coding and processing, cellular and wireless technologies, networking and network management technologies, consumer electronics, information security technologies, database and cloud computing technologies, payment and transaction processing, semiconductor fabrication and layout, chip level power management, and home security systems.

His litigation experience includes managing discovery; assisting technical experts with opening and rebuttal reports; taking and defending depositions of fact and expert witnesses; drafting and arguing claim construction positions and dispositive and non-dispositive motions; managing pretrial disclosures, including preparing deposition designations, counter designations, and objections; and examining witnesses at trial.

As a registered patent attorney, Lawrence also practices before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, often assisting clients with patent prosecution, patent due diligence, and other non-litigation patent matters. 

Prior to joining Fish & Richardson, Lawrence worked for several years as a software engineer for a Fortune 100 corporation, where he gained substantial technical experience developing software for high-technology applications. 

In addition to his work as a patent attorney, Lawrence devotes significant time to pro bono work, including handling cases for Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and the Georgia Justice Project. Lawrence also performs pro bono work with the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty to assist with its efforts to combat attempts to criminalize homelessness.

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

My advice for new attorneys interested in patent litigation would be to pursue it whole-heartedly and remain confident in yourself. I would also encourage any new attorneys to not let your technical background or lack thereof deter you from pursuing this field. I have many colleagues and friends in this industry who lack any technical background but have found success in this field. I would also advise any new attorneys to be prepared to learn on the fly as the technologies at issue in each litigation can be vastly different. At the outset of your career, I recommend that you attempt to locate a mentor or two in the field of patent litigation in addition to joining a professional organization, such as the NBA’s IP Section. Being a patent litigator is a rewarding career and it is certainly one in need of more diversity of perspectives and backgrounds.  

Final thoughts…

Lawrence was also recently named to the “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” list for Intellectual Property law.  In addition, Lawrence is a member of the NBA’s IP section and previously served as the section’s Treasurer, Communications Chair, and other roles as a board member for the section in past years.

Harmony Gbe
Senior Associate – Hogan Lovells US LLP

Description of field of expertise

Harmony is a Senior Associate in the Litigation, Arbitration, and Employment Practice of Hogan Lovells in Los Angeles, CA. Her practice focuses on class actions, complex commercial litigation, media and entertainment employment matters, and internal investigations. Harmony’s recent experience includes representing a health insurer in a multimillion-dollar payment dispute with a hospital system, defending a television studio against allegations of discrimination, responding to a government subpoena on behalf of a Fortune 500 office supplies company, and investigating a food company for potential Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations in Thailand.

Harmony Gbe graduated from Dartmouth College in 2010 with a B.A. in Government and Sociology and a minor in French. After graduation, Harmony served as a litigation paralegal in the Pro Bono Practice of Hogan Lovells in Washington, DC. In that capacity, she assisted attorneys handling wrongful conviction cases and immigration matters, coordinated staffing for legal aid clinics and free public information sessions. She also taught monthly workshops designed to familiarize high school students with the legal system through mock trials, roundtable discussions, and interactive case studies. Harmony now serves on the firm’s recruitment and diversity committees and devotes significant time to impactful pro bono matters.

Harmony earned her J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. During law school, she served as a judicial extern in the Eastern District of Virginia – known nationwide as the “Rocket Docket” – and in the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District. Harmony also interned in the Business & Legal Affairs department of a major Hollywood film studio, where she handled global licensing disputes and facilitated content distribution across international platforms. Harmony recently served as a law clerk in the Central District of California and worked closely with the U.S. District Court Chief Judge.

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

My main piece of advice for new attorneys is to take the time to learn your client’s business. In law school, we learn how to “think like a lawyer.” We spend years honing our critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills by dissecting complex legal theories in textbooks. But court decisions are not issued in a vacuum. Your clients will often turn to you for legal advice to make real-world business decisions. As a result, learning everything you can about their business concerns and understanding how to “think like a business person” can only help you become a more effective advocate.

Final thoughts…

Harmony was recognized this year as one of the Top 40 under 40 attorneys in Los Angeles by the National Black Lawyers.

Harmony was part of a pro bono team recognized by one of the most prominent non-profit legal organizations in Los Angeles for representing a vulnerable resident who had been fraudulently led to signing over the title to his home.

Jerry D. Hamilton ​​
Managing Partner – Hamilton, Miller & Birthisel, LLP​

Description of field of expertise

Jerry Hamilton is a managing shareholder of Hamilton, Miller & Birthisel, LLP (“HMB”) which is the largest black owned civil defense law firm in the country.  He has been nationally recognized as one of the Top Ten Defense Lawyers in the country by one of the largest insurance companies in the world.  He is a Board Certified Trial lawyer and also Board Certified in Admiralty & Maritime Law and also a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only trial honorary society composed of less than one half percent of lawyers in the United States.  He has been recognized as America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators® — this is by invitation only and is reserved to identify the nation’s most exceptional trial attorneys in high value and high stakes legal matters and was selected as Lawyer of the Year for 2022 by Best Lawyers.  Jerry was re-elected in 2023 as a Top 100 Black Lawyer in the state of Florida. This honor is awarded by The National Black Lawyers association and given in each state or region to only 100 recipients with reputations for providing excellent legal representation in their respective practice areas. Jerry has a 90%-win rate at trial. 

HMB is consistently ranked among the top ten most diverse law firms in South Florida.  It is a proud member of the NBA and Jerry sits on the Board of Directors for NAMWOLF.   For the past 25 years, Jerry has dedicated his practice to defending his clients in complex litigation matters, including business litigation and other commercial disputes, class actions, catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, product liability claims, insurance coverage and bad faith disputes, legal, medical and professional malpractice claims, maritime disputes, hospitality and transportation claims.

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

Find a good mentor in your Firm.   Invest the time to learn from them.  Insist on it.  Learn a practice area and learn it well.  Do presentations in that practice area and go to conferences in that practice area and network.  Stay involve and attend meetings such as the NBA.  Volunteer and work to rise to leadership positions in the associations.  Do these things and you will indeed succeed.

Michele L. Stocker
Shareholder – Greenberg Traurig

Description of field of expertise

Michele L. Stocker is Co-Chair of the Consumer Financial Services Litigation Practice and is a commercial litigator with a broad range of experience representing clients in the financial services industry including regional and national banks, loan servicers, consumer finance companies, mortgage bankers, credit card issuers, debt buyers and third-party debt collectors.

Concentrations

• Telephone Consumer Protection Act
• Contested mortgage foreclosures
• Fair Credit Reporting Act
• Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
• Truth in Lending Act and Regulation
• Mortgage loan origination and loan servicing issues
• Unfair and deceptive trade practices
• Consumer fraud
• Identity theft
• Predatory lending
• Force-placed insurance
• Class action defense

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

The most important career advice that I can give to new lawyers is to choose a specialty and become an expert in your field. This will make you significantly more valuable to a law firm and will make it a lot easier to generate business from clients. Master the practical legal skills such as advocacy and drafting and remember that the early years of your career are critical to learn your craft and begin developing confidence in yourself as an advocate for clients. By choosing the right practice area, you will be best positioned to enjoy job security, career satisfaction, and overall long-term success. Think through your personal goals relating to finances, family, geography, and work environment because the practice area you choose at the beginning of your career will set you on the right path to meet these goals.

Enjoliqué Aytch Lett
Shareholder – Greenberg Traurig

Description of field of expertise

Enjoliqué Aytch Lett leads bet-the-company litigation on behalf of drug and medical device manufacturers. She has worked as lead counsel in all aspects of mass tort and multi-district litigation, and has substantial experience and background defending high-exposure medical malpractice actions for physicians and hospitals. Enjoliqué has also represented high-profile clients in complex commercial litigation, including Under Armour.

Enjoliqué is passionate about service and devotes her time and efforts to professional organizations and to the community as a whole. She serves as Pro Bono Chair for the South Florida Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and the DRI Products Liability Committee, and mentors students at the University of Miami and Florida International University. She also mentors a former prisoner returning to society through a partnership with the Southern District of Florida’s Court Assisted Reentry (C.A.R.E.) Program.

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Enjoliqué received her J.D. cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2007, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law and was a Best Brief winning member of Georgia’s Black Law Student Association Thurgood Marshall Moot Court team. Prior to law school, Enjoliqué earned her undergraduate degree, cum laude, from The American University in Washington, D.C.

Concentrations

• Litigation
• Products liability
• Pharmaceutical, medical device, and health care litigation
• Medical malpractice
• Commercial litigation

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

For the initial answer, I will define my field as pharmaceutical and medical device products liability defense. Pharmaceutical and medical device is a highly regulated industry. Thus, my advice to new attorneys is to become intimately familiar with the rules and regulations that govern your client and its products so not only is your defense more robust, you don’t mistakenly trigger any other of your client’s obligations that may be tangential to the litigation, but equally, if not more so, important. Also keep top of mind that the legal industry though broad, is relatively small, especially when you specialize in a particular area. Treat people with the respect they are afforded for simply being human and approach everyone genuinely and not transactionally.

Final thoughts…

Pro Bono work is important and meaningful – especially to your client. We are all fortunate to do the work we do and should happily assist those who are less fortunate. Please approach pro bono work with this attitude and not as a requirement imposed by your bar that must be met.

Enjoliqué has amassed a number of awards and recognitions, including:

• Listed, Legal 500 United States, 2021
• Dispute Resolution – Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action – Defense: Consumer Products (Including Tobacco), 2021
• Dispute Resolution – Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action – Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, 2021
• Listed, The National Black Lawyers, “Top 40 Under 40,” 2015-2020
• Listed, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, “40 Under 40 Outstanding Lawyers of South Florida,” 2018
• Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Florida Super Lawyers, “Rising Stars,” 2019-2021
• Recognized, Daily Business Review, Professional Excellence Awards, “Young Lawyer on the Rise,” 2017
• Listed, Legacy Miami magazine, “Miami-Dade County’s 40 Under 40 Black Leaders of Today and Tomorrow,” 2014
• Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Georgia Super Lawyers, “Rising Stars,” 2011

Excylyn J. Hardin-Smith
Associate – Fish & Richardson

Description of field of expertise

Excylyn Hardin-Smith’s practice focuses primarily on patent litigation and she has experience litigating patents in the fields of biotechnology, medical devices, financial services and computer software. Her experience spans various phases of litigation and includes discovery management, motion practice, pre-trial preparation and trial.

In addition to her work for her clients, Excylyn has maintained an active pro bono practice focused on criminal justice, employment law, civil rights, voting rights and women’s rights.

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

Though it is often preferred to have a specialized technical background to be a patent litigator, my advice to new attorneys interested in patent litigation is to go for it—even if you don’t have a technical background. I have always loved science, but I don’t have a technical degree, and initially I was hesitant about my ability to tackle all of scientific and technical aspects that came with patent litigation—especially being surrounded by colleagues who had advanced technical degrees. But what I learned is that for every case, everyone has to learn the specific technology at issue and I could learn it just like everyone else does.

I offer this advice particularly to new Black attorneys—there are so few of us in patent litigation and I would love to see more Black faces in the field.