Brewer Partner Cecelia L. Fanelli Earns 2022 Chambers Recognition
Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors Partner Cecelia L. Fanelli was recently recognized by Chambers and Partners in the 2022 Chambers USA legal directory.
Chambers USA is a leading directory that ranks top lawyers and law firms across the country. A partner in the firm’s New York office, Ms. Fanelli was recognized in the Leisure & Hospitality nationwide category. She has been ranked by Chambers USA in this area since 2011.
Her practice involves a variety of complex commercial litigation matters, with an emphasis on matters relating to the hotel and real estate industries. She focuses her practice on dispute resolution for hotel owners and lenders.
Chambers ranks lawyers based research findings, peer recognition and client interviews. Chambers assesses the information gathered based on factors such as technical legal ability, client service and diligence. Individual lawyers are ranked by practice area based on their legal knowledge and experience, their ability, their effectiveness and their client service.
Ms. Fanelli has decades of experience in litigation and dispute resolution, practicing across the country in federal and state trial and appellate courts. She has been lead counsel in numerous domestic and international arbitrations.
To read Ms. Fanelli’s full bio, click here.
Brewer Firm Welcomes Summer Associates
May 16, 2022 – Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors recently welcomed five summer associates to the Dallas and New York offices.
Three summer associates are joining the Dallas office. James Clarke will graduate from Samford University Cumberland School of Law in 2023 and earned his B.A. in Political Science and Media Arts from the University of New Mexico in 2017.
Sydney Kossow will graduate from the SMU Dedman School of Law in 2023 and earned her B.S. in Marketing with a concentration in Entrepreneurship from the University of Kansas in 2020.
Michael Vera will graduate from the UNT Dallas College of Law in 2024 and earned his B.S. in Finance from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2020. He previously was a summer intern at the firm in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Two summer associates are joining the New York office. Stefan Sultan will graduate from NYU School of Law in 2023. He earned his B.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University in 2019.
Alexander Szarka will graduate from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2024 and earned his B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2019.
Industry Takes Notice: Brewer Increases First-Year Associate Salaries to $235,000, Announces Increases for Other Professionals
February 15, 2022 – The Brewer firm today announced that, effective February 1, 2022, first-year associate salaries increased to $235,000. Also, the firm announced that many other lawyers, consultants, and other professionals will receive salary increases, based on merit and tenure. Adjustments in the firm’s compensation model are designed to benefit professionals at all levels of the organization.
Founded in 1984, the Brewer firm has a unique staffing model in commercial litigation. The firm is comprised of several professional groups – financial and management consultants, researchers & private investigators, and public affairs strategists – who work with the firm’s lawyers to develop insights that shape case strategy. All the groups are poised for expansion in the firm’s Dallas and New York offices.
In a communication to firm employees, firm partner William A. Brewer III congratulated staff members for their “unwavering commitment to winning.” He wrote, in the face of the pandemic, “we remain defined by our expertise – and the manner in which it positions us to handle our clients’ most important legal matters. We remain inspired by the firm’s core mission: advocacy at the highest level imaginable.”
The firm enjoyed a stellar 2021, handling a wide range of legal and regulatory matters for the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), advancing a closely followed case against Virgin Hotels in San Francisco, and advocating against Uber in a rider safety case that has captured national headlines. It has trials scheduled in San Francisco, Dallas, New York and elsewhere over the next three months.
Outside of its commercial litigation docket, the firm continues to actively promote its community legal affiliate, the Brewer Storefront, and the Brewer Foundation. This past year marked the 20-year anniversary of the Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program, which lights a path to college for urban youth, and the Brewer / NYU International Public Policy Forum (IPPF). The IPPF is the first global debate contest that offers high school students the opportunity to participate in written scholarship and oral advocacy on public policy issues.
“The firm has always been defined by a culture of service,” Brewer says. “It is a privilege to work with clients and to help effect change in the community.”
Legal industry outlet Above the Law reported on the salary increase in an article titled, “Elite Firm Shrugs at Milbank Scale, Instead Offers Starting Salaries of $235K – Extremely exciting news!” The article noted that boutique firms are unveiling their generous compensation schemes, and added that the Brewer firm “blew right past” the $215K salary scale. The article added that the Brewer firm “has paid salaries at or above market for years…”
Firm Adds Professionals to Dallas Office
January 10, 2022 - Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors recently announced the hiring of three new employees in the Dallas office.
Cory Ford joined the office as an associate. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Miami School of Law and his bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in business from Southern Methodist University. Prior to joining Brewer, Mr. Ford was a litigation associate at an AmLaw 100 firm representing national business entities in complex commercial disputes and catastrophic loss scenarios. During law school, he interned in the chambers of Chief Magistrate Judge John O’Sullivan in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Brett Beaver joined the office as a consultant. He previously worked as a lead accountant for Pioneer Natural Resources in Irving and also previously was a senior auditor for Deloitte & Touche LLP in Fort Worth. He received a master’s degree in accounting from Texas Christian University (TCU) and a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Texas A&M University.
Randee Rogers joined the firm as a senior legal analyst. She previously worked as a senior litigation paralegal for Brackett & Ellis, P.C. Prior to that, she was a contract specialist and in-house paralegal for BNSF Railway. She received a paralegal certificate from the University of North Texas.
William Brewer Recognized by Best Lawyers
August 19, 2021 – Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors announced that Partner William Brewer received recognition in the 28th edition of “The Best Lawyers in America.”
Brewer is recognized for professional excellence in the area of commercial litigation in New York and Dallas. Brewer has been recognized annually in this category since 2007. Best Lawyers is known as the oldest and most respected peer review publication in the legal profession. First published in 1983, Best Lawyers aims to reflect the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about their peers’ professional abilities within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The recognition process begins with a nomination, followed by peer review, analysis of feedback, eligibility feedback, and then announcement of results. As part of the peer review voting stage, ballots are distributed to listed lawyers. Best Lawyers asks voters the question, “If you were unable to take a case yourself, how likely would you be to refer it to this nominee?” Nominees are then given a 1-5 rating, with space to leave comments.
As part of the eligibility check, the Best Lawyers editorial staff reviews votes and comments. Selected lawyers are checked to make sure they are in good standing with the ethics committee of their state bar.
William Brewer
Firm Announces Hiring of Professionals in New York and Dallas
July 26, 2021 – Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors announced the hiring of two professionals in the New York and Dallas offices.
David Partida joins the firm as a senior associate in the New York office. He most recently worked as an associate in the San Francisco office of Hanson Bridgett LLP. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Notre Dame.
Katherine Kus joins the Dallas office as an investigator. She previously worked as an information analyst at Digital Intelligence Systems. She received a master of science in health studies degree and a master of library science degree from Texas Woman’s University, and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
Brewer Firm Featured in Law360 Reporting: Competing With Big Law
On July 12, 2021, Law360 highlighted Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors as among a group of leading boutique law firms who compete with Big Law. The article, “How Boutique Firms Kept In Front of The BigLaw Salary War,” explores how boutiques compete for top talent through compensation and professional opportunity.
The article mentions that Brewer raised salaries in June for first-year starting associates to $205,000 – and also increased pay for other lawyers, consultants and professionals at the firm.
"We aim to keep our salaries commensurate with the demands on the professionals, which is at the highest level," Brewer Partner William Brewer told Law360. He added that that the firm employs many in-house business professionals, including consulting experts, investigators and communications specialists.
"We don't wait till the end of the day to figure out what the experts are going to say about cases," Brewer said. "We have those professionals in-house to start thinking through those issues that are typically only handled by outside consultants or experts."
Brewer added that this means young lawyers can “be the captain on a case” early on in their career.
Brewer Firm Increases First-Year Associate Salaries to $205,000; Announces Other Compensation Increases
June 14, 2021 – The Brewer firm today announced that, effective July 1, 2021, first-year associate salaries will increase to $205,000. Also, the firm announced that many other lawyers, consultants, and other professionals will receive salary increases, based on merit and tenure. Adjustments in the firm’s compensation model are designed to benefit professionals at all levels of the organization.
In a communication to firm professionals, managing partner William A. Brewer III said the adjustments reflect the hard work and many contributions made by firm professionals over the recent past. Brewer recognized that many professionals had made “sacrifices to ensure that the firm continues to provide the brand of advocacy for which it has always been known.”
Several media outlets, including American Lawyer, Law 360, Above the Law, and Reuters reported on the firm announcement. Commenting on the firm’s compensation model, Brewer told American Lawyer, “Our environment is designed to be performance-based and progressive. Those who practice here welcome a future they define, versus being bound to a ‘track’ during the formative years of their career.”