Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is pleased to announce eight elevations effective Jan. 1, 2025. Courtney Bartkus (Denver), Emily Dyer (Las Vegas), Christopher Hand (Denver), Claire Havelda (Denver), Brooke Holmes (Las Vegas), Gregory Janssen (Denver), James Leighton (Denver) and Andi Stader (Denver) will all become shareholders.
At Brownstein, clients receive access to the top legal minds in the industry, powerful policy knowledge and best-in-class business acumen to solve businesses’ toughest challenges. Brownstein is a law and lobbying firm that has been making moves for more than 50 years to stay at the vanguard of its industry. The firm is at the heart of many of the most important cases, the most significant deals and the country’s most pivotal legislation. At Brownstein—we’re all in.
Shareholders
Courtney Bartkus, a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, helps clients navigate the complex world of consumer finance and other highly regulated industries. She has expertise in financial compliance and litigation and has successfully guided many companies through both state and federal regulatory investigations. Well-versed in handling regulatory enforcement actions and consumer litigation, she represents a wide range of clients including banks, lenders, servicers and debt collectors, among others.
Emily Dyer, a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, is a commercial litigator with experience representing clients in a variety of disputes, including complex contracts, securities, fraud, fiduciary duty, appellate, employment, commercial construction and attorneys’ fees issues. Her broad experience and strong legal research and writing skills have made her a go-to for tackling difficult issues across industries.
Christopher Hand, a member of the firm’s Corporate & Business Department, assists his clients with complex financing transactions and other corporate matters. In his finance practice, Hand represents both lenders and borrowers in a broad range of secured and unsecured financing arrangements, including acquisition financings, asset-based revolving credit facilities, project financings and other middle-market credit facilities. He also advises issuers in connection with high-yield debt offerings.
Claire Havelda, a member of the firm’s Real Estate Department, draws on her experience in municipal planning and development in northern Colorado to offer direct insight into the interpretation and application of land use codes, planning and zoning approvals, housing and transportation development, and historic preservation concerns. As a former assistant city attorney for Fort Collins and Loveland, she worked with developers, non-profit entities, planners and engineers to review complex development projects to ensure compliance with city strategic plans, city code, and state and federal regulatory laws.
Brooke Holmes, a member of the firm’s Real Estate Department, brings extensive expertise and experience in commercial real estate, zoning and land use matters. She has served as counsel to various prominent developers, owners, investors, landlords, tenants and institutional clients—including some of Nevada’s most distinguished companies—in high-profile transactions around the Las Vegas valley. Her practice includes representing clients through various stages of a real estate transaction.
Gregory Janssen, a member of the firm’s Corporate & Business Department, applies his business and tax background in his practice. He assists clients with a broad range of tax and corporate needs, including mergers and acquisitions, tax aspects of real estate transactions, partnership and corporation formation and taxation, tax controversies, tax-exempt organizations, tax lobbying, and other tax planning and advice for business entities and individuals.
James Leighton, a member of the firm’s Corporate & Business Department, primarily focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, representing private equity sponsors, entrepreneurs and strategic companies in both buy-side and sell-side engagements. His work includes leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, minority equity investments, and general corporate matters. Specializing in middle market and lower middle market deals, Leighton works with clients spanning industries from consumer products and manufacturing to construction and hospitality.
Andi Stader, a member of the firm’s Real Estate Department, is a highly effective real estate attorney primarily focused on development projects ranging from acquisitions to entitlements to development of a site to the sale of the asset. Her practice is also informed by her extensive lending experience, providing an all-in-one service for projects spanning all asset classes. Stader has particular expertise with multifamily, industrial, mixed-use, transit-oriented and master-planned projects.