Thompson Coburn Bounds into 2024 with Lateral Additions, Continuing its National Growth

Building on its growth momentum, Thompson Coburn begins the new year with three lateral additions in its Washington, D.C., New York, and St. Louis offices.

The firm is delighted to welcome White Collar Defense and Investigations partner Kenyen Brown in D.C., Health Care partner John Howard in St. Louis and Labor and Employment counsel Liz DiMichele in New York.

“We’re very excited to continue growing the Thompson Coburn family with these exceptionally talented attorneys,” Firm Chair Roman Wuller said. “The addition of Kenyen and Liz and the return of John to the firm enhances our capabilities in several key practice areas, and their diverse experience will be invaluable to our clients throughout the country.”

Brown is a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, making history as the first African American to serve in that post when he was appointed by President Obama in 2009. He earlier served as Assistant U.S. Attorney in Mobile, Ala., and spent a decade on staff for the Ethics Committees of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House. He joins Thompson Coburn from Hughes Hubbard & Reed and focuses his practice on white-collar criminal litigation and compliance counseling, including matters involving internal and government investigations. He is also a member of the firm’s Lobbying & Policy team, with close ties to members of Congress, former Congressional colleagues, Department of Justice colleagues and former U.S. Attorney colleagues nationwide. A highly regarded public servant in Alabama, Brown is currently conducting an investigation at the request of Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson into the Mobile Police Department.

Howard’s Health Care practice is centered on advising health systems, large physician groups, health plans and health care executives on a full range of regulatory, transactional and organizational issues, drawing on his prior experiences to counsel clients on strategic planning, hospital-physician alignment, population health initiatives and fiduciary board engagement. He has served in C-suite executive and general counsel positions at major health care systems, including Novant Health, Wellmont Health System and Mercy East. Howard was previously a partner at Thompson Coburn for five years before moving to his most recent post as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Physician Network at Novant Health in 2019.

DiMichele is an experienced labor and employment attorney, providing comprehensive counsel to clients in all aspects of employment law. She is a trusted advisor to human resources professionals and in-house counsel navigating complex local, state and federal laws related to anti-discrimination practices, reasonable accommodation obligations, wage and hour issues, reductions in force, restrictive covenants, hiring practices, termination decisions and personnel policies. DiMichele also has extensive transactional experience, providing personalized employment law advice on issues that arise in the structuring, negotiation, drafting and implementation of corporate sales, mergers, acquisitions and other transactions.

DiMichele was previously special counsel at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, where she worked closely with Howard Lavin, a labor and employment partner who joined Thompson Coburn’s New York office last year. The addition of Lavin and DiMichele sets the stage for continued expansion of the firm’s labor and employment services on the East Coast.