Hirschler Boosts Key Practices With The Addition of Three Attorneys 

11.06.2020

Hirschler announces the addition of three new attorneys, including Jillian A. Bates and Aleksandra Croft Johnson in the firm’s Richmond office and Allison P. Klena in Tysons. Bates joins the firm’s commercial real estate section, and Johnson joins the firm’s business section. Klena joins the firm’s bankruptcy, restructuring and creditors’ rights practice group, which recently announced the addition of partner David Swan in July.

 “As our clients face new challenges and opportunities in this time of uncertainty, we remain committed to a strategy of strengthening core practice areas across our Virginia offices,” said Courtney Paulk, president of Hirschler. “We are pleased to welcome Jillian, Aleksandra and Allison to the firm.”

Johnson joins Hirschler as an associate in the firm’s business section, where she is a member of the investment management, mergers & acquisitions, and general corporate groups. Prior to beginning her legal career, Johnson worked in investor relations and marketing roles within the investment management industry liaising with the legal, compliance, and investment teams. During law school, Johnson was a summer associate at Hirschler and a legal intern at Markel Corporation. Johnson earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and her law degree summa cum laude from the University of Richmond School of Law.

Bates joins the firm’s commercial real estate section, where she represents developers, investors and lenders in transactions related to the acquisition, sale, leasing, development and financing of real estate properties. Prior to joining Hirschler, Bates served as an intern with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and with the Chesapeake City Attorney’s Office. She also interned with a private firm in Suffolk, Va., handling various family law matters. Bates began her legal career with internships at the Virginia Legal Aid Society’s Norfolk and Suffolk offices. She earned her undergraduate degree from The College of William and Mary. She earned her law degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law, where she served as editor-in-chief of the North Carolina Central Law Review and was a semi-finalist at the regional ABA Client Counseling Competition.

Klena joins Hirschler as an associate in the firm’s bankruptcy, restructuring and creditors’ rights practice group and the litigation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practice group. She represents debtors, creditors and trustees in bankruptcy proceedings and in matters related to corporate restructuring. Her practice also includes counseling clients in business disputes, dispute avoidance and litigation. Prior to joining Hirschler, Klena served as a judicial law clerk in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut and for the Court of Common Pleas for the 39^th Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Before these clerkships, Klena served as a judicial law intern in the Pennsylvania Superior Court and as a judicial law extern for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. She earned her undergraduate and law degrees from The Pennsylvania State University. In law school, she also served as the student works editor for the Penn State Journal of Law and International Affairs.