FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Lindsey McReynolds
lmcreynolds@schwabe.com
(206) 979-8663

Advancing Industry Focus: Five Schwabe Lawyers Elevated to Shareholder Positions

January 26, 2024 – Schwabe, a leading Pacific Northwest law firm, announced today that Nellie Barnard, Matthew Berry, Tyler Hall, Samantha MacBeth, and Michael Mahoney have been voted shareholders at the firm. Attorneys at offices in Portland, Vancouver, and Seattle were promoted. 

Collectively, these five attorneys practice across Schwabe’s Consumer Products, Manufacturing & Retail; Healthcare & Life Sciences; Natural Resources; Real Estate & Construction; and Technology industry groups. Highlighting Schwabe’s extensive expertise in each industry, these promotions acknowledge these legal professionals’ dedication to their clients’ business, industry, and objectives.

“The expertise of these five Schwabe attorneys strengthens our extensive industry capabilities, providing clients with a world-class experience,” Schwabe CEO Graciela Gomez Cowger said. “This talented group represents Schwabe’s collaborative spirit, incredible work ethic, and commitment to client service in the Pacific Northwest.”

The promoted lawyers are: 

Nellie Barnard 

Nellie delivers legal ethics and risk management counsel to lawyers, law firms, students, and in-house legal teams. Representing Oregon and Washington lawyers in discipline matters, including appeals, she draws on a background in complex business and financial services disputes. Nellie guides clients from case inception to resolution, and handles conflicts of interest, sanctions, privilege, confidentiality, and more. In collaboration with law firms, she minimizes liability risks that cover such areas as attorney advertising, social media, client solicitation, and fee disputes. A frequent CLE speaker on ethics and risk management, Nellie also serves as Assistant General Counsel to the firm.

Matthew Berry
Real Estate & Construction 

Matthew helps owners, developers, contractors, and design professionals resolve legal disputes that arise from private and public construction projects. A determined advocate, Matthew works with his clients to develop the precise strategy to meet their objective, and uses his past experience prosecuting and defending a variety of cases throughout each phase of litigation.

Tyler Hall
Consumer Products, Manufacturing & Retail
Technology
Natural Resources

Tyler is a brand management attorney who advises consumer product and software companies on intellectual property, data privacy, and commercial transactions. He excels in trademark and copyright prosecution and enforcement, IP rights transfers, IP due diligence, and marketing review. Tyler’s software and data privacy practice involves negotiating development, implementation, and licensing agreements, reviewing privacy practices, preparing privacy statements, and responding to data breaches and government investigations. 

Samantha MacBeth
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Technology

Samantha specializes in estate planning, estate and gift taxation, probate, and trust administration for individual clients. She also advises nonprofit organizations and private foundations on general governance and tax compliance matters. Samantha is dedicated to comprehensively helping individuals and families navigate the complexities of planning their estates in order to confidently plan for the future. Her experience extends to crafting comprehensive estate plans tailored to clients’ unique needs, minimizing tax impacts, and facilitating the seamless administration of trusts and probate proceedings. She also assists clients with charitable gift planning and business succession planning. Samantha’s commitment to her clients goes beyond legal experience; she strives to provide compassionate guidance during challenging times, offering peace of mind and security. Known for her meticulous attention to detail and strategic approach, Samantha is a trusted advocate for those seeking comprehensive and effective solutions in the realm of trusts and estates.

Michael Mahoney
Consumer Products, Manufacturing & Retail
Natural Resources

Michael guides clients through intricate environmental challenges, with an emphasis on compliance matters. Armed with a wealth of experience, he routinely advises on environmental aspects of corporate and real estate transactions and environmental regulatory matters, including permitting, compliance program development, responding to government inquiries and investigations, and citizen suit defense. Well-versed in environmental law, Michael employs a business-focused approach to help clients anticipate risks and navigate toward their goals.  A member of Schwabe’s carbon transactions team, Michael also regularly counsels clients on carbon transactions, carbon markets, and carbon disclosure obligations.  

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About Schwabe

Schwabe is a Pacific Northwest law firm that offers a new type of client experience based ‎on a ‎deep industry focus. We provide a wide range of legal services to our clients through ‎‎‎comprehensive, ‎proactive, and industry-focused advice to help them achieve their goals. We ‎‎focus on seven industry sectors: Real ‎‎Estate and ‎Construction; Consumer Products, Manufacturing, and Retail; Indian Country and Alaska Native Corporations; Healthcare and Life Sciences; Technology; Natural Resources; and Ports and Maritime. Staffed by more than 160 attorneys, Schwabe is one of the largest Pacific Northwest ‎regional law firms, ‎with ‎offices in Portland, Bend, and Salem, Oregon; Seattle and Vancouver, Washington; Mountain View, California; and Anchorage, Alaska.