Description of field of expertise

Kendall M. Wilson is a corporate and transactional attorney, focusing her practice on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), securities and corporate governance.

Ms. Wilson represents a range of clients, from private and emerging companies to public multinational corporations across various industries, including manufacturing services, consumer products, software and technology, professional services, banking and financial services, healthcare and hospitality.

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

Clients hire attorneys to be their trusted advisor. Strive to embrace that mindset and embody that role early. In the early years as an ambitious associate, that means being reliable, proofreading, meeting deadlines, communicating, and staying engaged. Over time as a successful partner, that means using gained knowledge, strategic thinking, integrity, and good judgment to help clients achieve their goals.

Attorneys learn by doing. Recognize every new client matter as an opportunity to develop and hone your substantive skills, every internal role as an opportunity to lead, and every external event as an opportunity to refine soft skills and build relationships.

Final thoughts…

Outside of their careers, attorneys are uniquely situated to serve their communities through civic engagement, board service, pro bono work, and volunteering. Considering these forms of service as both a duty and privilege complements the more challenging aspects of the career and makes for a meaningful life.

Description of field of expertise

Chauncey M. Lane is a corporate attorney in Holland & Knight’s Dallas office. Mr. Lane structures and negotiates complex transactions for strategic buyers and sellers as well as private equity firms in the technology, financial services and manufacturing industries.

A thought leader on rapidly evolving deal trends and strategies, Mr. Lane is regularly called on to advise clients on their most significant transactions, including stock and asset acquisitions, going private transactions, leveraged buyouts, carve-outs, platform acquisitions, add-on acquisitions and recapitalizations. Mr. Lane regularly leverages his transactional skills and knowledge to advise clients on cross-border transactions in Europe and South Asia, among other international jurisdictions.

Mr. Lane also serves as an adviser to venture capital funds and other alternative financing vehicles, where he regularly leads significant investment transactions into emerging growth companies and strategic partnerships. Often serving as outside general counsel and a trusted business adviser to his fund clients, Mr. Lane has a breadth of knowledge on the many issues that venture-backed operating companies regularly face. 

In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Lane, a U.S. Army veteran, has a passion for helping his fellow veterans and handles several pro bono cases on their behalf each year.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Lane was an attorney at a multinational law firm in Dallas. During law school, he was a member of the Texas Tech Law Review.

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

Build meaningful relationships early and often.  The practice of law, whatever area of practice you go into, is driven by relationships, both internal and external.  Through strong relationships, you will unlock opportunities and through these opportunities you will continuously learn and grow throughout your career.  This is particularly true in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital, whether your role is participating on a deal team or sourcing deal flow.  Never lose focus on the importance of meaningful relationships.

Final thoughts…

Find the learning opportunity to every experience you have.  Learn from failure just as much as you learn from success.  Learn from bad experiences just as much as you learn from good experiences.  In fact, it is often the failures and bad experiences that teach us the most.

Description of field of expertise

Janene Jackson is the executive partner of Holland & Knight’s Washington, D.C. office and a partner in the firm’s Public Policy & Regulation Group. In addition, she is the leader of the group’s D.C. Business Team. Ms. Jackson utilizes her extensive experience to help clients navigate the legislative and regulatory aspects of local government. Having worked in all branches of the government of the District of Columbia, Ms. Jackson brings a 360-degree approach to assisting clients with their government relations and lobbying needs, business development interests and legal representations in administrative proceedings.

Ms. Jackson’s recent successes include:

• Converting the District of Columbia sports wagering regime from a sole operator model to an open competitive model
• Securing $20 million in capital funding from the government of the District of Columbia
• Repealing unfavorable local anti-business tax laws
• Negotiating redevelopment agreements with the government of the District of Columbia
• Negotiating public-private partnership (P3) agreements

Ms. Jackson uses her comprehensive background to understand how to influence and help clients navigate the issues and opportunities they face. Her leadership and experience includes:

• Serving as deputy chief of staff and director of the Office of Policy and Legislative Affairs where she was responsible for the regional, federal and local relationships for the mayor, as well as lobbying the Council of the District of Columbia and Congress.
• Serving as senior vice president for government affairs at the DC Chamber of Commerce, the largest business membership organization in the District of Columbia. As the chief lobbyist for the organization, she was responsible for crafting and executing legislative strategies and negotiating with the executive and legislative branches of government.

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

I’d recommend focusing your energies on setting a solid foundation for your career. And they can do that by doing excellent work, building a stellar reputation, and establishing solid personal and professional relationships. 

I also think it is important to have a learner’s mindset so that you’re always developing and growing. It helps to learn not only from your mistakes but also from your success. In learning from your mistakes, you are guided by what not to do again and in learning from your success you are guided by what you should always do.

Final thoughts…

I would encourage all lawyers to stay abreast of technological advancements that can help them in their practice.

Description of field of expertise

Victoria Forson is a strategic litigator who helps clients solve complex business disputes with clarity and results. A partner in the Dallas office of K&L Gates LLP, she focuses her practice on financial services litigation, business torts, and intellectual property disputes. Her experience includes representing clients in trade secret litigation, patent infringement matters, and high-stakes commercial conflicts across industries. Victoria is known for her practical, solutions-oriented approach, whether advising clients on early dispute resolution or navigating cases through trial and appeal. She partners closely with clients to protect what matters most: their reputation, their innovations, and their bottom line.

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

Litigation has a reputation for being all about conflict and confrontation, but it does not have to be personal. We are advocates. We argue legal positions on behalf of our clients, not against each other as individuals. The lawyer on the other side is also advocating and trying to achieve the best result for their client. When you keep that perspective, it is easier to have empathy for your opponent while staying focused on your own work. I see myself as a problem solver. My job is to help resolve disputes, and when you do the work well, the problem often goes away. Concentrate on the legal issues, present your strongest argument, and avoid taking the process personally. When you can separate your identity from the role, the work becomes more sustainable, more professional, and ultimately more rewarding.

Final thoughts…

As a first-generation lawyer, mentorship and representation means everything in my career. Some of my most meaningful mentors were people I had nothing in common with on paper. But they saw my work and believed in me. Show up as your authentic self and do great work and people will root for you. We all have a role to play in building a more inclusive and supportive profession. The work we do matters, but so does how we show up for one another.

Description of field of expertise

LaToya Parker is a partner in the Real Estate and Commercial Development Group of Parker Poe. Across the board, clients value her practical, solution-oriented approach, her dedication to understanding their business, and her natural ability to connect with them. LaToya advises companies and individuals on the acquisition, sale, development, leasing, and financing of commercial real estate across the country. Her practice covers the full spectrum of commercial real estate projects, including retail, general and medical office, industrial, mixed-use, and planned community projects. LaToya works closely with colleagues in the corporate, health care, and tax practices at Parker Poe and has advised clients on a broad spectrum of commercial transactions related to the transfer of property involved in mergers and acquisitions. 

LaToya has been a guest speaker at industry conferences and has taught real estate courses to professionals seeking to acquire, sell, or lease commercial real estate. She oversees the attorney training curriculum for the Real Estate and Commercial Development Practice Group. LaToya participates in several industry-oriented organizations, including Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) of Charlotte and the Urban Land Institute’s Charlotte Chapter. She was a member of the inaugural class of “Leaders Under 40,” a program for emerging leaders through Charlotte’s Community Building Initiative, and she is a graduate of the Arts & Science Council’s Cultural Leadership Training Program. She has been recognized consecutively in The Best Lawyers in America publication (2022-2025). In 2024, she received the Mecklenburg County Bar and Mecklenburg Bar Foundation’s rarely awarded Extraordinary Service Award, in recognition of her instrumental role as counsel in critical real estate transactions for those organizations. 

When LaToya is not practicing law or serving the community, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their two young daughters, working on her latest interior design project, and vocal performance

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

As a new attorney entering a law firm, it’s easy to fall into the mindset that your role is simply to do what’s asked. You may not yet have clients of your own, and you’re likely working within someone else’s systems, book of business, and way of doing things. But here’s a powerful mindset shift: Think like a solo practitioner, even if you’re not one. This means approaching every task, matter, or project as if it’s yours — one day it will be. Ask yourself: If this were my client, firm, and reputation — how would I handle this? This perspective creates a sense of ownership that’s easy to lose when you’re just starting out, but invaluable to your growth. Ownership breeds responsibility and invites creativity and resourcefulness. You’ll find yourself thinking not just about what you’ve been asked to do, but what’s best for the client, the transaction, and the business.

Description of field of expertise

Paul Sweeney is a partner in the commercial litigation group of K&L Gates, where he focuses his practice on handling complex business disputes, both individual and class action lawsuits, involving unfair business practices, false advertising, consumer fraud, trade regulation, privacy violations, civil rights, and violations of various federal and state statutes and regulations. He  also handles employment lawsuits and arbitrations involving claims of discrimination, wage-hour violations, wrongful termination, and theft of trade secrets. His litigation matters have included numerous jury and bench trials, and he has served as a temporary prosecutor in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, Criminal Branch.  He represents clients primarily in the manufacturing, retailing, technology, financial services, food and beverage, medical device, and entertainment industries.

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

Be prepared and knowledgeable. Ensure that the work you perform is consistently excellent. You need to listen to your clients’ needs and become a trusted advisor to them. Become active in local and national professional and public service organizations. Know the capabilities of other practice groups in your firm in order to be able to also offer their services.  And be knowledgeable about, or contact me about, new privacy laws.

Final thoughts…

Invest in yourself — don’t expect to be compensated for every step you need to take to position yourself to succeed in your career. Be bold and take risks. Always do the right thing, ethically.