Nashville, Tenn., (January 10, 2024) – Bass, Berry & Sims is pleased to announce the following eight attorneys have been promoted. Elaina Al-Nimri, Susan K. Bilbro, Alexandria Wood Davenport, Richard Eiler, Jeanne Marie Evans, David W. Harper, Jr. and Marc A. Rigsby were promoted to Member. Briana Sprick Schuster was promoted to Counsel.
"These eight attorneys have demonstrated a strong commitment to the firm, the broader legal industry, and our clients. Their promotion is a direct reflection of all they have accomplished thus far in their career and we look forward to working alongside each of them as we continue the firm's 100-plus year legacy of providing excellent client service," said Todd Rolapp, managing partner of Bass, Berry & Sims.
Elaina S. Al-Nimri (Member,
Nashville) counsels clients on complex business litigation across a
diverse range of areas including environmental, construction, real
estate, securities, and general commercial disputes. Al-Nimri has
successfully litigated and resolved matters in a variety of
industries including construction, energy, healthcare,
manufacturing, education, hospitality, and financial services.
Al-Nimri is actively also involved in the firm's pro bono
initiatives, devoting her time to assisting with civil rights
matters and adoptions. Al-Nimri earned a law degree from Emory
University School of Law (2015) and a B.A. from Providence College
(2012).
Susan K. Bilbro (Member,
Nashville) advises clients on all aspects of employee welfare
benefit and retirement plans, including design, structure,
implementation, day-to-day administration and termination of
retirement and health and welfare benefit plans. In her practice,
Bilbro collaborates with human resources teams, in-house counsel,
and other benefits professionals to navigate the myriad complex
federal and state government regulations as they intersect with a
variety of employee benefits plans. Prior to joining Bass, Berry
& Sims in 2015, Bilbro practiced in the employee benefits
groups at Holland & Knight (then Waller) in Nashville,
Tennessee and at Morris, Manning & Martin in Atlanta, Georgia.
Bilbro earned a law degree from Washington and Lee University
School of Law (2005) and a B.A. from Transylvania University
(2001).
Alexandria Wood Davenport (Member,
Nashville) focuses her practice on intellectual property matters to
help companies leverage use of technology and data. Davenport
counsels on a range of data privacy and information management
issues in the context of compliance, business strategy, technology
transactions, industry best practices, and regulatory strategy. Her
work includes advising on data privacy and security efforts,
including the development of information technology policies and
compliance with U.S. and international data privacy laws. Davenport
earned a law degree from Belmont University College of Law (2015)
and a B.A. from the University of Tennessee (2012).
Richard Eiler (Member, Nashville)
assists healthcare clients in complex operational, compliance, and
transactional matters. Eiler has a depth of experience helping
clients navigate regulatory issues involving alternative payment
models, including accountable care organizations, bundled payment
and service delivery models, and managed care arrangements. In
addition, he counsels clients regarding healthcare fraud and abuse
issues and compliance issues related to the federal Stark Law and
Anti-Kickback Statute, as well as similar state laws with respect
to the corporate practice of medicine and fee-splitting. Eiler
received a law degree from the University of Tennessee College of
Law (2015) and a B.S. from the University of Tennessee (2012).
Jeanne Marie Evans (Member,
Nashville) focuses on mergers and acquisitions as well as
regulatory, compliance and operational issues for healthcare
companies. In both her healthcare regulatory and transactional
work, Evans counsels clients on federal healthcare fraud and abuse
laws, such as the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law, as well
as state laws related to licensure and the corporate practice of
medicine. She works with a range of the firm's healthcare
clients, including hospitals and health systems, physician practice
management companies, specialty pharmacies, infusion companies,
private equity firms, health plan providers, and others. Prior to
joining Bass, Berry & Sims in 2017, Evans was an associate at
Kutak Rock LLP in Missouri. Evans earned a law degree with a
Certificate of Health Law from Saint Louis University School of Law
(2015) and a B.A. from Loyola University Chicago (2012).
David W. Harper, Jr. (Member,
Nashville) represents borrowers, lenders and private equity funds
in structuring and negotiating new credit facilities, as well as
refinancings of existing credit facilities. In particular,
Harper's national practice focuses on representing private
equity funds in connection with capital call facilities,
acquisition facilities, and working capital facilities for their
portfolio companies, and representing the credit arms of private
equity funds to provide senior and/or subordinate financing, with
extensive experience representing SBIC funds. He also represents
clients in a variety of financings in the healthcare and real
estate sectors. Harper earned a law degree from the University of
Kentucky College of Law (2015) and a B.A. from the University of
Kentucky (2012).
Marc A. Rigsby (Member, Nashville)
focuses his practice on healthcare transactions, with an emphasis
on advising private equity and other investors in forming and
scaling physician and dental practice management platforms,
including through acquisitions, and leverages his healthcare
background to navigate complex regulatory issues and compliance
risks. Rigsby likewise handles buy-side and sell-side transactions
and joint ventures for a range of other healthcare providers,
including ambulatory surgery centers, diagnostic imaging centers,
clinical research organizations, home health and hospice agencies,
and behavioral health facilities. Prior to joining Bass, Berry
& Sims in 2017, he practiced with Flaherty Sensabaugh Bonasso,
PLLC in Charleston, West Virginia. Rigsby earned a law degree from
Wake Forest University School of Law (2012) and a B.A. from
Vanderbilt University (2009).
Briana Sprick Schuster (Counsel,
Nashville) concentrates her legal practice on complex business and
commercial litigation matters, helping companies achieve
cost-effective, creative and favorable resolutions no matter how
challenging the dispute. Sprick Schuster also counsels clients in
their contract and business negotiations to help them avoid costly
future disputes, advising clients related to breach of contract,
fraud, misrepresentation, interference with business relations, and
other business torts. Prior to joining the firm in 2020, she was an
associate at Jenner & Block LLP in Chicago. Sprick Schuster
earned a law degree from Harvard Law School (2012), an M.A.T. from
National Louis University (2009), and a B.A. from the University of
Missouri (2007). Following law school, she served for two years as
a law clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
Illinois.
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC is a professional limited liability company rather than a partnership. Professional limited liability companies have 'members' instead of 'partners.'