Boston, MA. Nixon Peabody LLP has further strengthened its counsel ranks with the recent additions of five new counsel across the firm’s three departments.
“As we continue to invest in our people and expand our capabilities to align with clients’ needs, our counsel program remains an important pathway for our attorneys to grow and contribute,” said Stacie B. Collier, Nixon Peabody Chief Talent Officer. “This talented group brings a wide range of experience and a shared dedication to excellence. We are excited to welcome them and look forward to the positive impact they will make.”
The five attorneys represent a wide variety of practice areas, including Environmental, Government Investigations & White-Collar Defense, Higher Education, Intellectual Property, and Tax. They have joined Nixon Peabody’s offices in Boston, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.
Business & Finance Department
Arsalan Memon, Corporate, New York City
A member of Nixon Peabody’s Tax team, Arsalan focuses his practice on tax matters arising in a broad range of domestic and international transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, corporate restructurings, and private equity investments in the context of both taxable and tax-deferred structures. Arsalan also has experience advising clients on the tax aspects of capital markets transactions, financial instruments, federal renewable energy tax credits, investment funds, and regulated investment companies. He earned his JD from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, his LLM in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center, and his BBA from the University of Sindh in Pakistan.
Litigation Department
John Havranek, Government Investigations & White-Collar Defense, Washington, DC
John is an experienced security and homeland security professional and proven litigator with more than 35 years of government service with the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the United States Department of Defense (DoD). He served as the Principal Deputy General Counsel for DHS, the Associate General Counsel for the Operations and Enforcement Law Division of DHS, and as Deputy Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. John’s federal government experience provides him with extensive knowledge in government civil and criminal enforcement matters, including international law, cybersecurity, government regulation of foreign investment, supply chain resilience, sanctions, investigations, cross-border authorities and regulations, drone operations, and maritime law. He earned his JD and BSBA from Creighton University.
Alexandra Mitropoulos, Construction & Real Estate Litigation, Boston
A member of Nixon Peabody’s Higher Education team, Allie represents private and public colleges and universities nationwide, serving as a trusted strategic partner to senior leadership while also partnering closely with stakeholders across institutions—from boards and presidents to HR professionals, student affairs teams, deans and chairs, and frontline administrators. She guides institutions through sensitive, high-risk situations where legal exposure, reputational concerns, and institutional mission intersect, ranging from contract negotiations to complex student discipline, internal investigations, tenure issues, and federal regulatory compliance. Allie draws on extensive experience advising senior institutional leadership and serving as a GC-level strategic advisor to colleges and universities navigating governance challenges, regulatory scrutiny, investigations, crisis response, and mission-aligned growth. Allie earned her JD from Boston College Law School, her MA in Higher Education Administration from Boston College Lynch School of Education, and her BA from Boston College.
Sean O’Hanlon, Intellectual Property, Washington, DC
Sean brings more than 25 years of intellectual property experience to his clients, including a decade as an administrative patent judge at the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). During his ten years as an administrative patent judge, he presided over more than 230 America Invents Act (AIA) trials—serving as the authoring judge in more than 80 of those proceedings—and participated in more than 740 ex parte appeals, authoring over 200 decisions. Sean understands how the PTAB evaluates petitions, weighs evidence, construes claims, and exercises its discretionary authority, and he brings that perspective directly to bear in building a compelling challenge or counseling a patent owner on the most effective defensive strategy. Sean earned his JD from George Mason University Antonin Scalia School of Law and his BME from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Project Finance, Infrastructure & Real Estate Department
Allison Smith, Affordable Housing & Real Estate, San Francisco
A member of Nixon Peabody’s Environmental team, Allison works with companies and organizations nationwide on environmental, energy, carbon, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) matters. She leads carbon transactions for the voluntary and compliance markets and advises on the development of carbon offset projects and carbon interventions. Allison regularly counsels clients on air quality and greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations, including California’s climate risk disclosure laws and the cap-and-invest program. She has defended companies in enforcement actions before the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, and California air districts. Allison also has extensive experience in permitting and financing energy, agribusiness, residential, commercial, and industrial facilities, having worked on over a hundred projects across the US. She earned her JD from Tulane University Law School and her BA from the University of Virginia.
