Husch Blackwell is pleased to announce that Rick Anderson, Joshua Pedelty, and Jonathan Porter have joined the firm as partners.
Based in Houston, Anderson has significant experience as lead counsel in all aspects of litigating through arbitration and federal and state courts. He has successfully handled his client matters from initial filing or defense of a lawsuit through trial and, when necessary, preserving his wins on appeal. Anderson’s background in complex litigation has involved class actions, shareholder disputes, investor disputes, director and officer liability, fiduciary liability, business torts, commercial contract disputes, consumer fraud, professional malpractice, employment, product liability, premises liability, personal injury, regulatory and governmental investigations, catastrophic loss, life sciences, cyber law, construction and design, real estate litigation, as well as residential and commercial construction matters. Rick also represents regulated and licensed professionals in litigation as well as before licensing boards in matters relating to accountant malpractice, legal malpractice, insurance producers and brokerage firm liability, adjusting firm liability, real estate brokers, general and subcontractor liability, and collection firms. Anderson joins Husch Blackwell’s Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation industry team.
Pedelty comes to Husch Blackwell after successful tenures on the corporate side, having served as the U.S. general counsel for a top North American insurance and financial services provider and also previously led non-legal operations and marketing functions at two different industry providers. He uses this extensive background to counsel insurance and financial services clients across a vast array of legal, compliance, operations, and marketing challenges, including corporate, M&A and other transactional matters and regulatory and compliance issues. Pedelty has a specific and deep understanding of challenges related to life insurance & annuities, reinsurance and risk management, and distributor contracting and regulation. Pedelty’s regulatory background is broad, having served as lead contact with insurance departments and other regulatory agencies, and providing sophisticated advice, in connection with various matters, including those involving Insurance Holding Company Act and related insurance company registration requirements; Telephone Consumer Privacy Act (TCPA); various privacy matters including HIPAA, GLBA, California Consumer Privacy Act and the NAIC Model Data Security Law; USA PATRIOT Act; ORSA and CGAD, among many others. He has also guided companies in the transactional setting at all stages of M&A, providing advice in connection with well over $1 billion in transactions. He is based in The Link, Husch Blackwell’s virtual office and is located in Waco, Texas.
Porter joins the firm after a successful tenure as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, where he routinely pursued criminal and civil investigations, particularly those involving the healthcare industry. He brought charges against numerous individuals and companies under federal law, including criminal charges of health care fraud, wire fraud, and violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, and civil complaints alleging violations of the False Claims Act, and was a key member of multiple international healthcare fraud takedowns that targeted healthcare fraud schemes involving billions of dollars in false billings. He also maintained an active False Claims Act practice, obtaining civil settlements and judgments for tens of millions of dollars. Porter is based in the firm’s Link virtual office and is a member of the Healthcare industry team. Porter resides in Georgia.
“We continue to grow key practices around the country and are very pleased to open 2023 with such a strong group of new lateral partners,” said Husch Blackwell Chair Catherine Hanaway.