News Release

McGlinchey Names New Office Managing Attorneys

March 10, 2021

New leaders announced in eight of the firm’s fifteen offices

McGlinchey Stafford is pleased to announce that in 2021, the following attorneys have been promoted to Office Managing Attorneys within the firm.

• Charles Adams (Houston)
• Jeffrey Barringer (Albany)
• Magdalen “Mag” Blessey Bickford (New Orleans)
• Shanna Boughton (Boston)
• Kim Israel and Will Grimsley (Ft. Lauderdale/Jacksonville)
• Kelly Lipinski (Cleveland) *effective April 1
• Drew Patty (Baton Rouge)

As the new Office Managing Attorneys, the attorneys will focus on the day-to-day operations and management of the employees and each office. McGlinchey’s office leadership now comprises 47% diverse attorneys.

“I want to thank all of the attorneys that have served as Office Managing Attorneys,” said Michael Ferachi, firm Managing Member. “Managing an office requires a significant investment in time and allows all of us to continue delivering valuable services to our clients. Also, as equitable representation and inclusion are pillars of the #McGlincheyForward initiative, I am very proud we have diversity reflected at this level of firm leadership.”

Charles Adams counsels clients in transactions and represents financial institutions in matters relating to commercial real estate, troubled debt restructuring, and finance. “I’m honored to lead the firm’s Houston office and look forward to growth this year in our Texas offices,” said Charles.

Jeffrey Barringer is a consumer finance attorney who often advises financial institutions, mortgage companies, sales finance companies, and other providers of consumer financial services on compliance with state and federal law. “McGlinchey has served clients from the Albany office since 2004,” said Jeff. “Later this year, we will move our offices to downtown Albany, renewing our commitment to excellent client service here in the capital city.”

Magdalen “Mag” Blessey Bickford also chairs the firm’s Labor and Employment group. She represents businesses and management in labor and employment litigation and provides general legal counsel on a variety of workforce matters. About her new role, Mag said, “Despite the pandemic and its challenges, we had a successful year here in the firm’s founding office. I am excited to take those lessons learned and apply them to my role as the New Orleans Office Managing Attorney.”

Shanna Boughton is a litigator who defends banks, loan servicers, commercial lenders, and financial institutions in complex litigation and bankruptcy matters, with a primary focus on lender liability defense, complex commercial litigation, insurance defense, and creditors’ rights work. “Boston is McGlinchey’s newest office, and we see tremendous opportunity here in New England. I look forward to continuing to grow the office as its Managing Attorney,” said Shanna.

Will Grimsley and Kim H. Israel will co-manage the Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville offices. Will is a commercial litigator. He focuses primarily on representing financial services institutions in a wide variety of matters, including litigating consumer protection statutes as well as foreclosures, collections, and bankruptcy actions involving mortgage and automobile lenders and credit card companies. “McGlinchey is committed to growing its strong presence in Florida, and Kim and I are excited to expand the firm’s presence here,” Will said.

Kim is a litigator who represents clients in Florida state and federal courts, including bankruptcy and appellate courts. Handling jury and non-jury trials and appeals, Kim advocates on behalf of organizations and individuals in general civil and commercial matters. “I look forward to co-managing our Florida offices with Will. We will be a great team and continue the excellent service our clients receive from our Florida attorneys,” said Kim.

Kelly Lipinski advises clients throughout the U.S. on regulatory compliance matters involving the consumer financial industry. She counsels a full range of financial institutions including depository institutions and their affiliates, mortgage companies, sales finance companies, and lenders partnering with fintech companies, with a special focus on motor vehicle finance and private education lending entities. “McGlinchey has a strong team of regulatory attorneys and litigators here in Cleveland. I look forward to working with my colleagues here and across the firm in this new capacity,” Kelly said.

Drew Patty also is the team leader and co-team leader of the firm’s intellectual property and cybersecurity and data privacy groups, respectively. He handles a broad range of transactional intellectual property matters and related litigation. Drew serves clients in several sectors, including chemical, medical device, health care, oil and gas, energy storage, financial services, manufacturing, aviation, hospitality, insurance, and software sectors. “I am excited to lead our Baton Rouge office. I’ve spent nearly 15 years with the firm, and I look forward to working with the other Office Managing Attorneys and Michael in this new era to sustain McGlinchey’s success,” said Drew.

These eight new leaders join incumbent Office Managing Attorneys Chris Bottcher (Birmingham), Dwayne Danner (Cleveland), Brian Paino (Irvine), Dewey Hembree (Jackson), Shaun Ramey (Nashville), Mikelle Bliss (New York City), and Megan Ben’ary (Washington, DC).