Pryor Cashman has announced partner Ali Panjwani co-chair of its Corporate Group, and partner Dennis Sughrue co-chair of its Real Estate Group. The firm also promoted Kimberly Grant, Rachel Shaw, and David Smith to the firm’s partnership, and elevated Kaveri Arora, Matthew Barkan, Shusmita Chowdhury, Daniel Devine, Desiree Goldfinger, Dustin Nofziger, and Joshua Weigensberg to counsel. All promotions were effective on January 1, 2021.
“Our firm’s resilience and success rely on the excellence and leadership of our team, and so it is with the utmost pride that we announce the promotion of these twelve attorneys,” said Pryor Cashman Managing Partner Ronald H. Shechtman. “We celebrate the caliber of excellence that they each uphold and look forward to their continued success and achievement on behalf of our clients and firm.”
New Pryor Cashman Practice Group Co-Chairs:
Ali Panjwani, partner and co-chair of the Corporate Group, focuses on securities and capital markets, representing clients in a wide variety of transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, initial public offerings, public and private financings, and Securities and Exchange Commission reporting. Ali was named a “Rising Star” in the Super Lawyers – New York Metro list four times in a row. He has since been called a “top lawyer” by The Legal 500 US four times, most recently in 2020.
Dennis Sughrue is a partner and co-chair of the Real Estate Group and a Banking & Finance Group member. His practice spans the range of disciplines within real estate, from the acquisition, financing and capitalization of prominent development projects in New York and other major cities to the acquisition and renegotiation of distressed debt. Dennis melds technical expertise with the pragmatism required to transact in the real estate space. Dennis is also a member of the firm’s Diversity Committee.
Newly Elected Pryor Cashman Partners:
Kimberly N. Grant is a partner in the award-winning Immigration Group, where she is known for her expertise in the healthcare/life sciences and financial services sectors. She has been selected as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers – New York Metro five times, most recently in 2020, and has lectured on corporate immigration to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the NYC Bar Association. Kimberly is a trusted advisor to companies in securing visas and green cards, and guides them in developing strategic global mobility and compliance programs.
Rachel E. Shaw is a member of the Real Estate and Litigation Groups. She is also the Chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee. She was named ‘One to Watch in 2020’ by the New York Real Estate Journal. Rachel provides forward-thinking and cost-effective counsel to New York City’s largest commercial landlords, retail tenants, property owners, and others on a wide variety of real estate litigation matters.
David Smith is a member of the Corporate Group and Corporate Trust practices and is a member of the firm’s Diversity Committee. David has extensive experience with public and private debt financings, project finance, and structured finance. His clients have included various trustees and collateral agents in multi-billion dollar transactions on domestic and international fronts in numerous industries, including financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, oil service conglomerates, branded consumer products, and more.
Newly Promoted Counsel:
Kaveri Arora is a member of the Litigation, Intellectual Property, and Media + Entertainment Groups, representing clients in a diverse range of complex commercial and intellectual property litigation matters. Kaveri regularly counsels art, music, fashion, and luxury goods companies and has significant experience in all aspects of litigation at both the state and federal level.
Matthew Barkan is a member of the Litigation, Intellectual Property, Media + Entertainment, and FinTech Groups. He has handled a broad range of civil litigation, representing public media and real estate companies, financial institutions, energy companies, and their officers and directors in complex commercial litigation in federal and state courts, in matters including breach of contract, securities, and breach of fiduciary duty, among others. He also focuses on emerging cryptocurrency and blockchain legal matters.
Shusmita Chowdhury is a member of the Investment Management Group. She advises pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other institutional investors on their domestic and international private equity funds and other customized investment vehicles. Specifically, Shusmita brings a wealth of experience in advising clients on all matters related to their products and firms’ formation and ongoing operation, including developing and negotiating all documentation, policies, and procedures, structuring general partner and incentive allocation entitlements, and more.
Daniel Devine is a member of the Real Estate Group and the Banking & Finance Group. He represents clients ranging from developers to joint ventures and institutional lenders on complex transactions involving commercial, multi-family, and mixed-use properties. For three consecutive years, he was named a “Rising Star” in real estate in the Super Lawyers New York Metro list between 2018-2020.
Desiree Goldfinger is a member of the Immigration Group. She practices exclusively in federal immigration and nationality law with a focus on nonimmigrant visas and permanent residence. Desiree has over 20 years of experience advising corporations, universities, hospitals, small businesses, and individuals on all aspects of corporate immigration law.
Dustin Nofziger is a member of the Financial Institutions Group, where he counsels financial institutions, executives, and investors on a wide range of regulatory, enforcement, and complex commercial matters. He currently serves as Chair of the Committee on Banking for the New York County Lawyers’ Association.
Josh Weigensberg is a member of the Litigation, Intellectual Property, and Media + Entertainment Groups. He litigates various commercial disputes for clients in the music, art, technology, information services, beauty, banking, and real estate industries. In intellectual property, Josh has handled disputes involving copyright, trademark, and trade secrets. His IP practice also includes defending against and bringing infringement claims, litigating rate-setting proceedings on behalf of copyright owners, and prosecuting trademark applications.
About Pryor Cashman
Pryor Cashman is a premier, midsized law firm headquartered at 7 Times Square in New York with offices in Los Angelesand Miami. With broad and sophisticated transactional and litigation practices, Pryor Cashman provides a full range of services to meet the complex legal needs of institutions, mid-market businesses, bold, emerging entities, entrepreneurs, and individuals.
