Bess, Potter Take New Management Positions at Sonnenschein
June 22, 2005
Law firm names new managing partner for Washington office, announces first vice chairman
(WASHINGTON, June 22, 2005)--Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP today announced Amy L. Bess as managing partner of the Washington, D.C., office. Bess had shared responsibilities for the office with co-managing partner Caryl A. Potter, III since July 2004. Potter becomes the firm’s vice chairman.
Bess joined the firm in 1988 and has been an active member of a variety of firmwide leadership committees. Previously, she co-chaired the Strategic Planning Committee and was a member of the Legal Development Committee. She is currently a member of the Policy and Planning Committee.
“Amy is a talented attorney and an influential leader. Her knowledge and experience about where the firm has been, coupled with her exceptional vision, are strong assets to our strategic growth for the future,” said Duane C. Quaini, Sonnenschein chairman.
Potter joined the firm in 1991 and has served as the managing partner of the Washington office for the last nine years. He is Sonnenschein’s first vice chairman, a position that has been created as a result of the enormous growth of the firm within the last few years. Potter will assist the chairman with firm management, including working with the Diversity Committee, managing partners and practice group chairs to assure further success in reaching objectives and goals.
“Cap Potter’s notable success in achieving remarkable growth in the Washington office make him ideal for assuming this new role and responsibility,” said Quaini.
Bess is a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment and Corporate Diversity Counseling groups. Her employment litigation experience includes the representation of employers before state and federal courts and administrative agencies, defending against claims of race, sex, disability and age discrimination, sexual harassment, whistle-blowing, wrongful termination and wage and hour violations.
Potter is a member and former head of the firm's government contracts practice. He has represented McDonnell Douglas Corporation as lead trial counsel in an action against the United States for $2 billion arising out of the Navy's 1991 termination of the A-12 stealth attack aircraft contract and GTE in a favorable Court of Federal Claims action arising out of the Challenger disaster in 1986.
Bess earned a J.D. degree from Northwestern University and a B.S. degree, summa cum laude, from Illinois State University. She recently was elected to a two-year term on the Board of the Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia, and serves as co-chair of the Litigation Forum of the WBA. Potter earned a J.D. degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia and a B.A. degree from Stanford University.
Sonnenschein, with more than 700 attorneys and other professionals in nine U.S. cities and a global reach throughout Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Canada, serves the legal needs of many of the world’s largest and best-known businesses, nonprofits and individuals. For more information, visit www.sonnenschein.com.
Media Contact:
Linda Butler
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP
(312) 876-3453
LButler@sonnenschein.com
