Press Release

Eight Haynes and Boone, LLP lawyers were recognized among Fort Worth Magazine's 2017 Top Attorneys.

The annual listing highlights "the best lawyers in town, as voted for by their peers." The magazine, published by Panther-City Media Group, added: "We asked a group of 25 highly regarded lawyers in the area to review the list prior to publication, and make recommendations on other lawyers who should be on the list, and even ones who should come off for any reason. With this input, we finalized the 2017 Top Attorneys list."

The following Haynes and Boone lawyers were honored:

Brian Barnard, Corporate Finance/Mergers and Acquisitions

Barnard, a partner in the Corporate Practice Group, provides legal advice and business counsel to senior management teams, boards of directors and in-house lawyers of public and private companies on general corporate matters, mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, reporting requirements and corporate governance. He also works to promote entrepreneurship and to help new technology and life sciences projects succeed in North Texas. Barnard serves on the Cook Children's Health Foundation board of trustees and is a former board chairman of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.

Sharon Cooper, Corporate Finance/Mergers and Acquisitions

Cooper, counsel in the Corporate Practice Group, concentrates on mergers, acquisitions, corporate securities, corporate governance, reporting obligations and other general corporate compliance issues for a wide array of publicly traded and private companies. She previously served as in-house counsel for a publicly traded company, giving her the insight to advise corporate clients on how her legal advice affects the bigger picture for their businesses.

Karen Denney, Labor and Employment, Employer

Denney, a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group, represents employers in employment litigation and arbitration involving a variety of claims, including those concerning age, sex, race, national origin, disability, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, retaliation, misappropriation, gross negligence, breach of contract, defamation, tortious interference and covenants not to compete. She has also represented clients in proceedings involving the Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, Texas Workforce Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. She is immediate past board chair for Casa Manana, Inc.

Bill Greenhill, Corporate Finance/Mergers and Acquisitions

Greenhill, counsel in the Corporate Practice Group, has practiced for more than 30 years. He advises corporate decision makers, in-house counsel and financial industry executives on structuring complicated corporate and financial transactions. His clients include established public and private corporations involved in debt, equity, and merger and acquisition transactions; financial institutions involved in structured financings; start-up companies; and businesses, including underwriters, borrowers, collateral agents and trustees involved in sophisticated taxable and tax-exempt municipal bond transactions. He also advises clients on land-use regulation and zoning issues on a statewide basis.

Dustin Johnson, Intellectual Property

Johnson, who also is administrative partner in the Richardson office, focuses on intellectual property transactional matters and strategic client counseling, helping clients protect their technology and industry market space. He prepares and prosecutes patent applications in a wide variety of technology areas and advises clients on freedom to operate or product clearance, patent infringement and patent validity. He advises companies at all stages of growth, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, in areas including medical processes, systems and devices, mechanical and electro-mechanical systems and telecommunications.

Stephen Pezanosky, Bankruptcy

Pezanosky, a partner in the Restructuring Practice Group, has more than 25 years of experience handling complex financial restructurings. He represents debtors, lenders, lender groups and other constituents in insolvency matters across the United States, having handled cases in more than a dozen states. He also represents buyers and sellers of distressed companies. Pezanosky has worked in numerous business sectors over the years and has developed particular knowledge in the energy, real estate and technology industries.

Karen Precella, Appellate

Precella co-chairs Haynes and Boone's Appellate Practice Group and is administrative partner of the Fort Worth office. She has secured favorable rulings in all phases of trial and appellate proceedings, from pre-trial summary judgment to post-verdict motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and has briefed and argued numerous cases in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and various levels of Texas appellate courts. Precella speaks and writes frequently on appellate issues, has worked to improve and teach about jury charge procedures and has been a bar leader at the national, state and local levels.

Tom Williams, Civil Law, Litigation

Williams, a partner in the Litigation Practice Group, has more than 30 years of experience and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has handled cases across a broad spectrum of areas, including libel, invasion of privacy and other First Amendment issues; copyright and trademark infringement; professional responsibility and professional liability claims; oil and gas disputes; employment disputes; and a wide variety of commercial, corporate and business issues. He has twice been appointed to Texas' Board of Disciplinary Appeals, a statewide judicial body that hears certain lawyer discipline cases, and he served two terms as chair of the Tarrant County Bar Foundation.