Press Releases
SGR Expands New York Office with the Addition of Two New Attorneys
NEW YORK (January 13, 2009) — Smith Gambrell & Russell (SGR) today announced the addition of two attorneys to its recently opened New York office, expanding the firm’s bankruptcy practice and international trade capabilities. SGR is a full-service, international law firm with offices in New York, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Washington, DC and Frankfurt, Germany.
Heidi J. Sorvino, former Co-Chair of Katten, Muchin & Rosenman’s New York Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Practice, will head SGR’s New York Bankruptcy Practice. Mark K. Neville, Jr., formerly of DLA Piper, will join the firm’s Customs & International Trade Practice.
“In opening our New York office, we made a commitment to offer a range of services to new and existing clients, as well as to build on and expand our practice strengths,” said Stephen Forte, the firm’s Managing Partner. “The addition of Heidi and Mark, both highly respected in their fields, reaffirms that commitment, and adds strong resources to our New York office.”
Sorvino will join the firm’s already highly regarded Bankruptcy Practice, which has played a major role in numerous complex and high profile bankruptcies. She regularly represents debtors and secured creditors, including banks, financial institutions, hedge funds, distressed debt investors and indenture trustees in restructurings, workouts and bankruptcies. Sorvino is Co-Chair of the New York Network of the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation, and a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Turnaround Management Association, and frequently lectures on bankruptcy and restructuring issues. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Hamilton College and a Master of Social Work from New York University. She earned her law degree from St. John’s University, and is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit; U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey; U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York; and the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York.
Mark K. Neville, Jr. has vast experience in international trade and customs affairs and will be a valuable addition to the firm’s international practice, helping companies address the regulatory aspects of exporting and importing in today’s global marketplace. He has advised numerous US and foreign-based companies on strategic matters of planning, compliance and enhanced efficiencies, and is a veteran in all areas of trade and customs. He served as a trial lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice representing the Customs Service and the Treasury Department and has practiced on Wall Street and at a Fortune 100 company, where he founded and ran its US trade and customs consulting practice for five years. He also counts a two year assignment in Brussels with responsibilities for Europe, Africa and the Middle East in his professional background. He is a licensed customhouse broker, and serves as an adjunct faculty member of the Walter A. Haas School of Business of the University of California. A member of the Board of Advisors of the Journal of International Taxation, he writes a monthly column for the publication on trade and customs issues, and has also been widely published in other journals and law reviews.
Neville holds law degrees from the University of San Francisco and New York University, and earned history degrees from Fordham University and UCLA. He is currently admitted to practice in New York.
