Andrews Kurth Kenyon Elects New Partners for 2017

(Houston, Texas)—Andrews Kurth Kenyon announced today the election of J. Russel Denton, Thomas R. McCulloch, Harve Truskett and Michael S. Turner to the partnership. They will assume their new positions on January 1, 2017.

“The addition of this new group of partners strengthens our ability to offer great service and value to our clients every day,” said Bob Jewell, Managing Partner. “Their election to the partnership is a reflection of the firm’s commitment to excellence."

J. Russel Denton | Austin

Russ has experience representing clients in mergers and acquisitions, proxy solicitations and other contests for corporate control, corporate governance and SEC compliance and disclosure matters. In addition, Russ has experience representing issuers and investors with respect to venture capital and private equity financings and other equity offerings, including initial public offerings. Recent representations include the representation of a publicly traded medical device company in its $1.1 billion sale, the representation of a private medical device company in its $130 million sale, the representation of an investor in connection with threatened proxy contests and subsequent settlements by two publicly traded companies, and the representation of a venture capital fund in connection with multiple primary and secondary transactions. Russ received his J.D. in 2008 from Stanford Law School. In 2005, he earned his B.S., magna cum laude, from Duke University.

Thomas R. McCulloch | Houston

Thomas is a trial lawyer practicing complex civil litigation in federal and state courts throughout the country. He has defended managed care entities and administrators in many aspects of benefits litigation, including ERISA, Medicare, FEHBA, bad faith insurance allegations, prompt pay and contractual and extra-contractual disputes with providers and hospitals. Recent representations include final arbitration rulings for less than 1% of $200 million in alleged statutory penalties, complete summary judgment against a multi-million dollar claim for tortious interference, and defending HMOs in Florida state court against one of the largest hospital systems in the country alleging $150 million in underpayments under the Affordable Care Act. Thomas was Briefing Attorney for Justice Phil Johnson at the Supreme Court of Texas after receiving his J.D. in 2007, summa cum laude, from Texas Tech University School of Law where he was Order of the Coif and Articles Editor of the Texas Tech Law Review. He earned his B.A. with honors, from The University of Texas in 2004.

Harve Truskett | Houston

Harve's practice encompasses a broad range of energy transactions. His experience includes the representation of buyers and sellers in both upstream and midstream oil and gas transactions, the representation of companies in the energy industry with respect to the negotiation of material commercial agreements, the representation of owners of mineral royalty interests, and the representation of borrowers and lenders in credit facilities (ranging in size from middle market secured credit facilities to investment grade credit facilities), including oil and gas reserve-based and midstream lending transactions. Harve recently represented an oil and gas midstream master limited partnership in the amendment of its credit facility to support a $2 billion merger with another oil and gas midstream master limited partnership. Harve has extensive experience in transactions involving oil and gas assets in the major United States shale plays, including the Eagle Ford Shale, Bakken Shale, Barnett Shale, Haynesville Shale, Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale. Harve received his J.D. in 2008, magna cum laude, from University of Houston Law Center where he was Executive Editor (2007-2008) of the Houston Journal of International Law, Order of the Coif and Order of the Barons. He earned his B.A. in 1994, from The University of Texas.

Michael S. Turner | New York – Battery Park

Michael is an intellectual property attorney with experience in patent litigation, prosecution, counseling and post-grant review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Michael handles litigation and Patent Office matters for clients in a variety of technical fields, including the electrical, mechanical, telecommunications and software industries. Recent representative matters include defending a large automotive manufacturer against patent infringement allegations in federal district court and the International Trade Commission. Michael has also helped to resolve several patent infringement matters by challenging patent validity at the Patent Office, and he has recently succeeded in petitioning the Patent Office to cancel an asserted patent, a decision he will soon defend at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Michael also has an active patent prosecution practice, and has represented industry leaders before the Patent Office in a number of diverse fields. Michael earned his J.D. in 2007 from The George Washington University Law School. In 2004, he received his Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Northwestern University.

As released by the former Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP