Firm News
Sep 8, 2010
Anita Ponder, Prominent Government Contracts and Construction Attorney, Joins Seyfarth Shaw’s Chicago Office
Contact:
Kevin Livingston, National Director of Public Relations
(212) 218-5272, klivingston@seyfarth.com
CHICAGO (September 8, 2010)— Seyfarth Shaw LLP, one of America’s leading full-service law firms, announced today that Anita Ponder has joined the firm’s Chicago office as a partner in the Government Contracts and Construction Practice Groups. She arrives from Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP in Chicago, where she was a partner.
Ponder concentrates her practice in government contracts, government procurement and government relations. She represents major corporations, mid-sized and small businesses as well as government agencies. Her law practice focuses on advising bidders and contractors on government regulations, laws, policies and legislation; preparing responsive bid proposals, small business subcontracting plans, bid protests and equitable contract claims; drafting and negotiating contracts; resolving contract disputes; obtaining contract payments; facilitating contract compliance, including assisting clients to meet contract participation goals for small businesses; representing contractors in suspension and debarment proceedings; and structuring competitive strategic alliances and relationships between majority- and minority-owned businesses.
Ponder is known as one of the foremost attorneys in Illinois in government contracting at the city, county and state level. She is nationally renowned for handling a range of supplier diversity issues involving minority, women-owned and small businesses, which includes assisting these companies obtain certification eligibility with federal, state, local and non-profit certifying agencies nationwide.
“Anita is a skilled and respected government contracts attorney and is nationally renowned for handling a range of diversity issues for suppliers. She also has significant experience advising clients in the construction industry,” said Katherine E. Perrelli, chair of Seyfarth Shaw’s Litigation department. “Anita adds tremendous value to our national government contracts and construction practices, and we are thrilled to welcome her to our team.”
The Government Contracts practice group helps clients obtain, retain and manage federal (primarily), state, and local government contracts. The group services range from handling bid protests to litigating claims against the government to compliance counseling, M&A, IP, and export control issues, in addition to internal investigations and white collar fraud cases.
The Construction practice group advises and assists companies through all phases of the construction process. Attorneys in the practice have backgrounds in engineering and architecture, coupled with the group’s breadth of experience in construction law, which means that the firm can serve its clients as pragmatic business partners – helping them successfully navigate regulatory, technical and business issues. The group assists clients with issues that arise in the drafting, negotiation, and performance of contracts and have extensive experience in developing contract documents that are designed to preclude costly disputes as projects progress.
“Anita’s impressive background, in addition to her commitment to teamwork and superior client service, is a perfect fit in our Chicago office and across the firm,” said David J. Rowland, managing partner of the firm’s Chicago office. “Her practice will not only further expand our government contracts and construction platforms to the national, regional and local level, but also contribute to our firm’s ongoing diversity initiatives.”
Seyfarth Shaw was founded in Chicago in 1945. Today, the Chicago office remains the firm's largest office and has grown in depth and breadth. The Chicago office is dedicated to representing clients, many of whom are the country's most prominent companies, in a wide spectrum of areas, including corporate and banking, environmental, estate planning, finance, real estate, intellectual property and litigation. The office retains its nationally recognized strengths in labor and employment and employee benefits law, but its remarkable growth outside those areas has made it a full-service Chicago powerhouse. The Chicago office has maintained its nationally recognized strength in the areas of labor and employment and employee benefits law, while greatly expanding and strengthening its practices in the areas of corporate and banking, environmental, estate planning, finance, real estate, intellectual property and litigation.
“I’m thrilled to join Seyfarth and contribute to the firm’s strong government contracts and construction practices,” said Ponder. “I look forward to working with my colleagues across the country to continue providing exceptional service to my clients.”
Ponder has received several awards for her significant contributions to the business community, including the distinguished Sage Award from Mayor Richard M. Daley and the Chicago Commission on Human Relations Advisory Council on Women for Excellence and Leadership in forging the advancement of women in business, government and economic development. She was also honored as a 2009 Business Leader of Color by Chicago United. Ponder is a past recipient of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s “Woman in Business Advocate of the Year” award.
Ponder earned her B.A. from Fisk University and her J.D. from University of Florida. She is admitted to practice law in the state of Illinois and the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois.
Seyfarth Shaw has over 750 attorneys located in 10 offices throughout the United States, including: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Washington D.C., as well as Brussels, Belgium. Seyfarth Shaw provides a broad range of legal services in the areas of labor and employment, employee benefits, litigation, corporate, and real estate. The firm’s practice reflects virtually every industry and segment of the country’s business and social fabric. Clients include over 300 of the Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, newspapers and other media, hotels, health care organizations, airlines and railroads. The firm also represents a number of federal, state, and local governmental and educational entities. For more information, please visit www.seyfarth.com.