Press Release

Dykema, a leading national law firm, today announced the continued expansion of its Dallas office with the additions of Ferdose al-Taie, Virgil Ochoa and Ian Pesses, who each join the firm as senior counsel.

“We’re thrilled to add Ferdose, Virgil and Ian to our expanding Dallas office,” said Chris Kratovil, Dykema’s Dallas Office Managing Member. “The addition of these three outstanding, experienced lawyers further expands the capabilities of our full-service 44-lawyer office in North Texas. It’s a genuine pleasure to inform our clients about the depth of knowledge and unique backgrounds each of them bring to our firm.”

Ms. al-Taie joins Dykema’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group after spending more than 10 years as a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. Uniquely, she served the United States in criminal prosecution, affirmative civil enforcement, and civil defensive roles. Most recently, Ms. al-Taie was Senior Counsel in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, where she led investigations and prosecutions of federal securities laws violations, including those with parallel criminal actions.

Prior to the joining the SEC, Ms. al-Taie was a U.S. Department of Justice Trial Attorney at the Antitrust Division, and an Assistant United States Attorney in both criminal prosecution and civil defense roles. Ms. Al-Taie is an experienced first-chair federal advocate in trials and appeals of civil and criminal actions involving antitrust law, civil rights, fraud, illegal immigration, intellectual property, labor and employment law, patent infringement, real property, securities and taxation. She received a J.D., cum laude, from the Washington College of Law at American University, and a B.S. from Cornell University.

Mr. Ochoa joins the firm’s Corporate Finance Practice Group and Dental Service Organizations Industry Group after practicing at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP’s Dallas office. His practice focuses on corporate commercial transactions, corporate restructuring and international trade law. Mr. Ochoa has assisted corporations reorganizing in and outside of bankruptcy and has experience representing clients in regards to negotiating with creditors, analyzing contracts, securitization documents, deeds, sales transactions, corporate structures, settlement agreements and other documentation.

Mr. Ochoa also routinely advises clients on a wide-variety of import and export matters, including export control issues and import/export compliance matters. Mr. Ochoa has experience representing clients in import-related matters before U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He received a J.D., with honors, from The University of Texas School of Law, an M.A. in Counseling from Webster University, and a B.A. in Psychology, from The University of Texas at El Paso.

Mr. Pesses joins Dykema’s Corporate Finance Practice Group after practicing in the Dallas and Fort Lauderdale offices of Akerman LLP. He has broad transactional experience, including buying, selling, financing, organizing, restructuring, leasing, licensing, executive compensation, succession planning, and general business counseling to privately held companies.

Mr. Pesses has served as lead general and special counsel to a wide variety of businesses, including service providers (financial, business, health care, professional), manufacturing and technology, and distribution. He serves clients in multiple industries, including automotive, retail, financial services, health care, real estate, and software. Mr. Pesses received a J.D., with honors, from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, and a B.A., with high honors, from the University of Michigan.