Major Expansion at Ward & Berry

NEWS RELEASE

Ward & Berry PLLC

Major Expansion at Ward & Berry

Ward & Berry announced that David Panzer, chair of the Government Contracts practice from Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, has joined the firm’s Tysons Corner office as a Partner.  Along with David, Ward & Berry welcomes the other members of David’s team: Michael E. Hatch and James Hilboldt, Jr., as Senior Counsel, John W. Supina as a Contracts Analyst, and Philip Niedermair as Managing Director of Alliances and Development.

• With more than 20 years of government contracts and litigation experience, David brings the experience of a senior in-house counsel at a major government services contractor, a partner at a global law firm, and the experience building and leading the practice at Whiteford. He will focus his practice on litigation and government investigations.
• Mike is a traditional government contracts lawyer, and retired Army JAG officer. Before entering private practice, Mike devoted his career in government and in the defense industry to serving as a government contracts SME in various legal departments and ultimately served as a Chief Compliance Officer.  Mike will focus his practice on bid protests, government contracts disputes, contract negotiations and day-to-day FAR/DFARS counseling.
• Jim’s practice focuses on international transactions and related issues for multinational clients. Jim has more than 30 years’ experience in-house at major companies, including 10 for a major defense contractor. Before re-entering private practice, Jim assisted U.S. companies selling their products and services overseas and handled related investigations and compliance issues.  Jim will focus his practice on international transactions, investigations, and Ward & Berry’s compliance practice.
• John is a non-attorney contracts professional, who has spent 35 years in the aviation and defense industries. Before joining this team in private practice, John was responsible for the contracts, procurement and trade compliance functions of a multi-billion defense contractor.  John assists clients with bid protests and government contracts disputes.
• Philip has over 35 years of experience in helping companies expand their potential through corporate development, strategic alignment, and relationship building. Philip is a board director or advisor for many organizations, including: U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission, Army Cyber Institute, University of Baltimore Merrick School of Business, Platform Aerospace, NSION Technologies, Gula Tech Foundation, and OccamSec.

“We are delighted to integrate this experienced team into Ward & Berry.  David and his team complement our existing primary practice areas of compliance, investigations, government contracts counsel and disputes, litigation, and corporate/M&A. In addition, the team brings international transactions experience that is a welcome addition. Including the hirings in the past year of Partner Eric Kronman, Counsel Mike Kostiw, and Associate Chelsea Padgett, we continue to demonstrate our broad ability to compete with larger firms. We remain a nimble firm built to ever-better serve the changing needs of our clients in the Government Contracting and Technology industries.” Managing Partner, Ryan Berry.

Beyond all of the substantive experience our of team at Ward & Berry, we have a deep understanding of the industries in which our clients operate, and the issues they face. We pride ourselves on working to understand our clients’ businesses in their entirety, not just their legal problems.  Our team has held senior in-house positions at:

• AECOM
• DynCorp International
• DXC Technology
• Constellis
• KBR
• MITRE
• Patriot Group International
• Raytheon
• Triple Canopy
• Spaceflight Industries
• URS

“Combining this unique industry perspective with our team’s military service, security clearances, and technical skills honed by practice at some of the largest law firms in the country, Ward & Berry can offer our clients a package that few can match.”  Co-Founder, Dan Ward.

“If I were going to start my own law firm, I would want it to be just like Ward & Berry.  The firm treats its members like family; everyone is pulling in one direction; and we’re all excited about the opportunities to better serve our clients through teamwork.  I look forward to helping to carry out our collective vision to become the preeminent law firm for Government Contractors.” Partner, David Panzer

About Ward & Berry

Ward & Berry PLLC is a Washington, D.C. law firm with deep roots representing government contractors and technology companies of all sizes. In both our advisory and litigation roles, Ward & Berry’s clients entrust us with their most critical and sensitive legal matters, exciting growth opportunities, and serious corporate threats. We are creative and tenacious problem solvers who meet our clients’ legal needs in a practical and personalized manner. We have extensive connections and experience where our clients need it the most: at the intersection of government and technology. We know the players, the workings of government, law, and business throughout the federal government – particularly within the Defense Industrial Base and the Intelligence Community. We bring that know-how, experience, and our personal relationships to bear in solving our clients’ tough problems.

May 2, 2022