Polsinelli PC issued the following announcement on May 4.
Am Law 100 firm Polsinelli congratulates three attorneys who were named to the inaugural 2021 “Midwest Trailblazers” list by The American Lawyer. Shareholders Denise K. Drake, Labor and Employment Department Chair, Matthew J. Murer, Health Care Department Chair, and Kathryn T. Allen, Tech Transactions & Data Privacy Shareholder, were spotlighted in the Trailblazer series for being “agents of change.”
The American Lawyer’s 2021 “Midwest Trailblazers” recognizes professionals in a 12-state region identified as the Midwest who have moved the needle in the legal industry by making significant marks on the practice, policy and technological advancements in their sector.
As Department Chairs of two critical teams of lawyers who were drastically impacted throughout the past year by the COVID-19 pandemic, Drake and Murer manage the firm’s Labor and Employment and Health Care Departments, with deep intersection between the two during 2020. The duo swiftly assembled the firm’s COVID-19 Response Team to become a primary source of critical information for many, ensuring clients’ businesses and employees remained healthy. Hundreds of businesses have benefited from the Response Team’s ability to provide multi-practice information as it became available over the past year, and sometimes even beforehand.
With leadership from Drake and Murer, in a span of nine months, the Response Team assisted clients with significant matters including: established two surge hospitals in major cities to increase capacities; created PPE purchases and distribution hubs; worked with the Federal government to increase availability of COVID-19 resources like ventilators; developed hospital Crisis Care Protocols; developed office shutdown and reopening plans; applied for/reporting CARES Funds grants and PPP loans; created workplace outbreak roadmaps/plans; and established a national COVID-19 testing program.
Allen is a member of Polsinelli’s national Tech Transactions & Data Privacy Practice Group and focuses her practice on the intersecting areas of information security, technology, and intellectual property. Allen represents emerging and established businesses in many industries including healthcare, financial services, insurance and agriculture.
Allen is committed to gender equality in business leadership. She created a “start-up package” at Polsinelli, where companies with strong female leadership can receive high-quality legal services for lower costs during the start-up or seed-funding stage of their business. Through her efforts, she has been able to connect female entrepreneurs to the right resources and in turn, watch their business flourish.
Allen is also in the process of creating a Midwest Startup Club that offers new area businesses legal support, general business guidance, and structured networking opportunities. She has designed a number of Club-member benefits, including access to Polsinelli attorneys in a variety of practice areas under alternative-fee arrangements, legal and industry-specific educational resources through the firm’s business partners, and access to business and thought leaders in the region.
Original source can be found here.