Judith R. Fiorini and Dmitriy Chelnitsky have joined the New York office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as partners in the Tax, Employee Benefits, and Trusts and Estates practice group. Fiorini joins from the Royal Bank of Canada, where she was managing director in the tax department. Chelnitsky joins from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
"We’re thrilled to have Judy and Dmitriy on board. Judy’s in-house background at one of the largest multinational banks and deep experience in a range of tax matters – including domestic and cross-border transactions, structured finance and financial products – combined with Dmitriy’s executive compensation and benefits expertise make them valuable additions to the firm’s already prominent Tax practice," said Jon W. Newby, vice chairman of Sheppard Mullin. "Expanding our transactional practices on the East Coast and firmwide is a strategic focus of the firm, and these two have ideal skill sets that further deepen our bench strength."
In addition to Fiorini and Chelnitsky, Sheppard Mullin has added a number of transactional partners to its growing Private Equity team in key locations this year, including John Booher in Palo Alto, Eric Newsom in San Francisco, Gemma Descoteaux and Evan Williams in Dallas, and Ben Kwon in Orange County.
"I am excited about joining Sheppard Mullin and coming back to private practice. I look forward to being a part of the firm’s dynamic and growing transactional team and working collaboratively with the talented attorneys here," Fiorini commented.
Chelnitsky added, "I was particularly impressed by the depth and breadth of Sheppard Mullin’s tax and employee benefits practice and overall transactional capabilities, as well as firm management’s commitment to support and grow it further. I look forward to working closely with Judy and building on this momentum."
Fiorini spent nearly 20 years at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP before joining the Royal Bank of Canada. She focuses her practice on advising multinational banks and financial institutions, international corporations, private equity funds and high net worth individuals on a wide range of complex tax issues, including domestic and cross-border transactions; mergers and acquisitions; passive foreign investment company (PFIC), controlled foreign corporations (CFC) and foreign tax credit issues; structured finance; financial products and derivatives; and partnership transactions. She also has significant experience in tax controversy matters, including negotiations with the Internal Revenue Service. Fiorini received a J.D., with distinction, from Emory University School of Law in 1996 and a B.A. from Oberlin College in 1985.
Chelnitsky advises public and private companies, executives and boards on executive compensation and employee benefits issues, with a particular emphasis on issues arising in the context of mergers, private equity-sponsored entity management, entity formations, acquisitions, IPOs and other corporate matters. He also counsels companies, executive management teams and individual executives with the design, implementation and termination of compensation and benefit arrangements, including equity investments, executive employment and severance agreements; consulting arrangements; retention, severance and change-in-control plans; cash and equity-based incentive programs; and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. Chelnitsky received a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 2007 and a B.A. from Fordham University in 2004.
Sheppard Mullin has 90 attorneys based in its New York office. The firm's Tax practice includes 30 attorneys, and the Corporate practice includes more than 170 attorneys.