The law firm of Goldberg Kohn recently announced the promotion of Anne Marie Pisano, 34, Brian D. Fagel, 38, and Jeremy M. Downs, 32 from associate to principal.

Anne Marie Pisano is a principal in the firm’s Commercial Finance Group. Her practice focuses on representing financial institutions in the documentation, negotiation and closing of loan transactions. Her work has included single lender and syndicated asset-based and cash-flow loans, workouts and restructurings, and working capital and acquisition financings. She has international lending experience, having worked on several transactions involving the laws of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Prior to pursuing her legal career, Ms. Pisano worked as a coordinator of international relations in Nagai, Japan. Ms. Pisano is admitted to practice in Illinois and Maryland. She received her law degree, with honors, in 1999 from the University of Chicago and her B.A. in political science, summa cum laude, in 1995 from Villanova University.

Brian Fagel is a principal in the firm’s Litigation and Intellectual Property Groups. His experience includes a broad range of commercial litigation. Mr. Fagel has represented Fortune 100 and 500 companies, small businesses, and individuals, and he has litigated matters before state and federal courts, arbitration panels, the United States International Trade Commission, and the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Prior to joining Goldberg Kohn, Mr. Fagel worked as a researcher at a management consulting firm and as a publications attorney at an information technology law firm in Chicago. His writings on law and information technology have appeared in legal journals, newspapers, trade journals, and conference proceedings.

Mr. Fagel is admitted to practice in Illinois, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He is a member of the American and Chicago bar associations. Mr. Fagel received a Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from the University of Chicago in 2000, a master’s degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Chicago in 1995, a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1994, and a B.A., with honors, from Stanford University in 1991.

Jeremy Downs is a principal in the firm's Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Group. Mr. Downs primarily represents secured lenders in corporate bankruptcies and workouts, and a growing portion of his practice involves the representation of equity and creditor committees. Having successfully navigated several secured lending clients through automotive restructurings and liquidations, Mr. Downs has developed a particularly strong set of skills related to distressed manufacturing and supply situations.

His bankruptcy experience includes the negotiation, documentation and litigation of debtor-in-possession financing orders, cash collateral orders, orders authorizing the sale of assets, motions for relief from the automatic stay and various related procedural matters. His workout experience includes the negotiation and documentation of out-of-court restructurings and liquidations through forbearance agreements and UCC sales. Mr. Downs works closely with the firm's Litigation Group in connection with disputes that arise in the course of his practice, as well as with the firm's Commercial Finance Group related both to debtor-in-possession and non-distressed financing arrangements. Mr. Downs has taken a lead role in the negotiation of access and accommodation agreements in several recent automotive bankruptcy cases and workouts.

Mr. Downs is admitted to practice in Illinois and the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois, the Western and Eastern Districts of Wisconsin, and the Eastern District of Michigan. He received his A.B. in Government, cum laude, from Harvard University in 1997 and his law degree from Northwestern University in 2000.

Goldberg Kohn Bell Black Rosenbloom & Moritz, Ltd. is a mid-sized commercial law firm located in downtown Chicago with principal concentrations in business litigation, commercial finance, creditors' rights and bankruptcy, corporate, federal and state taxation, intellectual property, Internet and e-commerce, labor and employment and real estate. The firm is the Chicago member of Meritas - an international alliance of 200 business law firms dedicated to providing business clients access to superior legal advice and exceptional services around the globe. Please visit www.goldbergkohn.com for more information.