K&L Gates Enhances Public Companies Practice with Raleigh Partner Addition

Raleigh - Global law firm K&L Gates LLP welcomes Julie Rizzo as a partner in its public companies practice. She joins the firm’s Raleigh office.
 
With a diverse mix of in-house, regulator, law firm, and accounting experience, Rizzo concentrates her practice on securities law compliance and reporting, with additional focus on corporate governance and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters.
 
Prior to her most recent role with Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, Rizzo served almost seven years as the in-house securities lawyer within Red Hat's corporate legal group, where she was a member of the legal team that navigated the software company through its $34 billion acquisition by IBM and oversaw Red Hat's securities law compliance and managing acquisition-related communications. Previously, Rizzo was an attorney-advisor for five years in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance, where she reviewed Securities Act and Exchange Act filings for compliance with disclosure requirements, assisted in rulemakings related to asset-backed securities, and participated on the Shareholder Proposal Task Force. Earlier in her career, Rizzo served as a staff accountant for PwC, auditing clients in industries that included technology, real estate, and education. Rizzo also has practiced law with a global law firm based out of Washington, D.C.
 
“As our corporate practice in Raleigh continues to expand, Julie will give us additional local and firmwide depth in our public companies practice,” said Lee Hogewood, managing partner of K&L Gates’ Raleigh office. “Julie is an extremely thoughtful and forward-looking lawyer. We are confident she will make remarkable contributions to our office, K&L Gates, and the profession in an era of increased regulatory focus. We are delighted Julie has joined our firm.”
 
Members of K&L Gates’ public companies practice offer a full scope of services in the various matters related to securities law and advise clients in a wide range of international securities, compliance, transactional, and governance matters.
 
“The SEC’s aggressive rulemaking agenda for 2021, including climate change disclosures, human capital management disclosures, global cybersecurity risk governance, and 10b5-1 programs, make someone like Julie invaluable for the public companies that we support,” added Raleigh corporate partner Margaret Rosenfeld. “In addition, her experience with the global technology industry from her years with Red Hat adds to our firm’s technology bench for multinational enterprises.”
 
K&L Gates has welcomed more than 85 partners and of counsel since the beginning of 2020, including in the firm’s corporate; health care; tax; commercial litigation; energy, infrastructure and resources; environment, land and natural resources; asset management and investment funds; banking and asset finance; labor and employment; IP procurement and portfolio management; IP litigation; technology transactions; real estate; government contracts; and investigations, enforcement and white collar practices.