Darshna M. Patel Email & Phone Number

Tampa, Fl, Us

Tampa, Florida, United States

Designs, builds, owns, and operates water treatment and reverse osmosis facilities in multiple jurisdictions across the U.S., Caribbean and Latin American regions.Responsible for providing legal support across multiple business functions including procurement, business development, engineering, human resources, IT, finance and tax.

London, England, United Kingdom

Lead Senior Associate on the Volkswagen emissions scandal class action. First emissions group claim in England & Wales run by a Court-appointed Steering Committee (SC) of three firms, with S&G acting as lead solicitors & representing 70,000 of a 90,000-claimant cohort. Precedent setting case, substantive & procedural law.Responsibility for day-to-day progression of case inc development & management of case strategy at each phase of claim through to trial or settlement, & for key functions of case inc timely progression, management of SC and counsel (barrister) team, expert evidence, disclosure / discovery, case administration. Complex pleadings, contested discovery of millions of documents from multiple defendants, expert witness selection / instruction, settlement strategies & daily adversarial inter-party correspondence. Lead cases strategy, inc selection of lead claimants, individual pleadings / discovery.Assigned / managed work within S&G team & SC. Conducted regular meetings with SC, S&G exec team, associates & senior paralegals for case updates, strategy discussions, guidance, resource management / prioritization, budget & billing.Provided monthly case progress reports to / held monthly meetings with S&G client committee, inc requests for approvals of disbursements / case budget revisions, detailed case progress / planning updates with requests for approval as needed, ongoing strategy and risk assessments as key litigation issues become clearer. Managed case admin, inc setting and monitoring case budgets, negotiating fees / contracts for counsel, experts, and third-party service providers. Ongoing engagement with third-party litigation funder; subject to detailed oversight / approval inc fees and disbursements. Managed hiring / development of a team of associates, paralegals.Assessed merits of a number of potential class action claims for violation of GDPR (UK) data privacy laws, inc considering possible defenses & scope of damages recoverable.

West Sussex, England, United Kingdom

Wood Plastic Composite products, including finishings, decking, cladding, fencing, and flooring. End clients included distributors and construction companies.Created legal framework of contracts for the business, at start up. Held responsibility for contract negotiations with manufacturers (Chinese), and distributors (UK). Prepared lease agreements, non-disclosure agreements, data protection agreements, employee contracts and consultant contracts. Advised managing directors on commercial matters, including with respect to risk mitigation and litigation strategies. Managed legal disputes, from pre-action through to settlement negotiations and agreements. Advised managing directors on data privacy compliance, including preparation for and ongoing compliance with GDPR (UK) May 2018.

London, United Kingdom

American international corporate law firm that is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with offices located in North America, Europe, and Asia with over 1,100 lawyers in 23 offices globally. The firm focuses on mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions, government investigations and white-collar crime, regulatory law, and litigation.Held responsibility for commercial Dispute Resolution, including arbitration disputes under a variety of arbitral rules / governing laws and claims in the High Court of Justice, England & Wales. Primary focus was on complex domestic and international disputes from the initial case assessment phase through the jurisdictional, merits, and enforcement stages. Developed and managed case strategies, including analysis and negotiation of settlement options, consideration of merits of legal claims and commercial objectives, and ongoing trial strategy management. Managed complex disclosure projects in arbitration claims. Responsible for the assessment of enforceability of any judgments or awards secured.Prepared complex legal pleadings, motions / applications, witness statements, legal memoranda, settlement agreements. Conducted legal research and analysis of complex legal issues, including cross-jurisdictional issues. Managed expert and foreign jurisdiction local co-counsel work and relationships along with responsibility for management of multiple client relationships. In addition, oversaw case billing report reviews, including billing detail required by clients and cost cutting recommendations. Managed and developed teams of associates and paralegals.

Tampa, Florida, United States

Mission is to provide an active forum in which Asian American professionals and business owners, through an exchange of ideas and with a unified voice, can (i) communicate, interact, and improve their business propositions within the business community, and (ii) become a source of inspiration by promoting professionalism, excellence through education, and community involvement.As the first female president of this organization, completely revamped and revived this organization’s management and community engagement. The Chamber offered members free monthly educational seminars, with dinner and networking opportunities. Annual fundraiser events - golf tournament, film festival, gala. Managed volunteer team including Executive Committee, planned and controlled organization budget, managed fundraising event planning including logistics, budget-setting and contract negotiations. Reported to Board of Directors on all matters.

Tampa, Florida

A 30-year-old boutique complex commercial litigation firm in Tampa Bay, FL. Customers included local businesses (private and public), high-worth clients, and banks. Responsible for Commercial Litigation, including a wide variety of commercial contract disputes, commercial landlord-tenant disputes, mortgage foreclosure and mortgage fraud, land use and zoning, and real property fraud. Developed and managed case strategies, including discovery and trial strategies, and analysis and negotiation of settlement options.Drafted complex pleadings, motions, and discovery documents such as Subpoenas Duces Tecum, requests for production, requests for admissions and responses. Deposition practice, motion practice, trial and appellate practice including direct and cross examinations. Conducted legal research and analysis, and prepared internal and external legal memoranda. Participated in settlement conferences and prepared settlement agreements. Created firm-wide case management tools and streamlined legal forms. In addition, held varying responsibilities in Transactional Law including legal research and analysis of issues relevant to a diverse range of transactions, preparation of advice memoranda, business formation documents, operating, management and security agreements, and mortgages along with participating in negotiations with client’s business and legal counterparts.

The Hague, The Netherlands

Review and analysis of all Chamber filings, including discernment of legal issues and applicable procedures. Prepared internal memoranda regarding substantive and procedural issues. Constructed weekly reports for Chamber judges analyzing witness testimony and other evidence proffered, for consideration of weight and credibility and weekly meetings.

Tampa, Florida

Prepared monthly and quarterly regulatory reports for Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Paraguay, and Trinidad & Tobago. Provided analysis and approval of all reports submitted to corporate headquarters by the Latin America Financial Center, Citicorp Business Services. Assisted in implementation of new reporting systems.

Doctor Of Law (J.D.), Cum Laude

Honors in Legal Research and Writing, Appellate Advocacy and Trial Practice Study Abroad program - Leiden University, The Netherlands.

Bachelor Of Science In Business Administration, Finance And Economics, Cum Laude