Adams and Reese Announces New Partners for 2012

NEW ORLEANS (January 23, 2012) - Adams and Reese is pleased to announce the election of the following attorneys to partnership, effective January 1, 2012: attorneys Scott Cheatham, Jaimmé Collins, Shelly Spansel and Lauren Tafaro in the firm’s New Orleans office; attorney Andrew Freeman in the firm’s Mobile office; and attorney Quinn Henderson in the firm’s St. Petersburg office.

Scott Cheatham has been practicing with Adams and Reese since 2005 and focuses in the areas of bankruptcy law, including automatic stay disputes, lease and executory contract issues, oil and gas liens, asset sales, voidable preference and fraudulent conveyance litigation and adversary proceedings. As a member of the Commercial Restructuring and Bankruptcy team, he has represented debtors and creditors in Chapter 7, 11 and 13 bankruptcies. He has also litigated cases involving bankruptcy and contractual disputes, complex tort claims and oil and gas matters. Cheatham is licensed to practice in Louisiana and Texas. He received his J.D. from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center of Louisiana State University in 2005 and earned his B.S. from Louisiana State University in 2002.

Jaimmé Collins joined Adams and Reese in 2008 and focuses her practice in the areas of commercial litigation and general business. She has experience in litigating complex matters, defending and conducting depositions, preparing witnesses for trial testimony and interviewing and investigating plaintiff’s allegations. She has argued before the Louisiana Courts of Appeals. Collins earned her J.D. from Loyola University Law School in 2005 and earned her B.A. from Emory University in 2000. Prior to her becoming a lawyer, Collins worked in the Clinton Administration in the Office of Political Affairs. She later moved back home to New Orleans to work for United States Senator Mary Landrieu. She received the Karl Connor Award from the A.P. Tureaud Chapter of the Black Law Students Association at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and also Women of the Year by New Orleans CityBusiness in 2011.

Shelly Spansel joined Adams and Reese in 2006 and practices in various areas of litigation, including labor and employment litigation and healthcare litigation. She has represented employers in EEOC proceedings and in state and federal court. She has defended employers on a variety of claims, including race discrimination, age discrimination, gender discrimination, and disability discrimination; FMLA claims; ERISA claims; and wage claims. Her work in healthcare litigation includes defense of healthcare providers at the medical review panel stage and in post-panel suits. Spansel also has experience in appellate work, including drafting supervisory writ applications and appellate briefs and arguing in appellate court. Spansel received her J.D. from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2005, and earned her B.A. from Loyola University in 2002.

Lauren Tafaro joined Adams and Reese in 2007 and serves on the Labor and Employment team, drawing on her diverse experience in insurance defense, toxic tort and personal injury litigation and also focusing on insured employment claims. In addition to her litigation experience, she has provided human resources guidance and counseling, prepared policies and procedures for employers and drafted employment, severance and noncompetition agreements. Tafaro has representing employers in administrative proceedings before state and federal agencies. Tafaro earned her J.D. from Loyola University School of Law in 2004, and received her B.S. from Louisiana State University in 2001.

Andrew Freeman joined Adams and Reese in 2005 and practices in the areas of corporate securities, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and forestry. He counsels and advises clients in commercial property sales and purchases, timberland transactions, and complex corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, financing, corporate restructurings, and loan workouts as counsel to borrowers and lenders alike. Freeman is an active member of the Alabama State Bar Association, Mobile Bar Association, Baldwin County Bar Association and American Bar Association. He is a graduate of the Mobile United/Leadership Mobile Class of 2011 and serves in the community as a board member of the Child Advocacy Center of Mobile. Freeman earned his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law in 2005, and received his B.S. and B.A. from the University of Alabama in 2002.

Quinn Henderson joined Adams and Reese in 2010 following the firm's expansion into St. Petersburg. He is an attorney in the Special Business Services Practice Group and has been practicing law since 2003. Henderson’s practice focuses on construction, commercial, banking and administrative litigation, representing developers, contractors, business owners and banks. He has experience working for sureties, giving him a broader understanding of the role and relationship that sureties and their bonds have with construction projects and other numerous aspects of the commercial society. Growing up in Tallahassee, Henderson has a familiarity with the operations of Florida’s state government, including its various agencies, boards, divisions and bureaus. During law school at Florida State University College of Law, where he earned his J.D. in 2003, he expanded this knowledge and experience when he interned for the State House of Representatives. He earned his B.A. from Emory University in 1993. In the community, Henderson is actively involved with the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce where he currently serves as the General Counsel and was a member of the Leadership St. Pete Class of 2009. Henderson was also selected “Boss of the Year” for 2010-11 by the St. Petersburg Association of Legal Support Specialists, Inc.

Adams and Reese is a multidisciplinary law firm with offices strategically located throughout the southern United States and Washington, DC. American Lawyer includes Adams and Reese on its distinguished list of the nation's top law firms - "The Am Law 200.” The National Law Journal also includes the firm on the "NLJ 250" list of the nation's largest law firms.