BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (January 13, 2020) — Maynard Cooper & Gale (Maynard Cooper) is pleased to announce the promotion of five attorneys, effective January 1, 2020: Sarah S. Glover, James “Jay” C. Lester, John A. Little, Jr., and Finis E. St. John V were promoted as shareholders, and Chitra M. Kalyanaraman was promoted to partner.

“Sarah, Jay, John, Finis and Chitra are an integral part of what makes Maynard Cooper grow and thrive in the industry,” said Jeff Grantham, Managing Shareholder. “These individuals have consistently displayed the values of excellence, teamwork, integrity, service and loyalty in their work. Their strong commitment has earned them the position of shareholder and we take pride in recognizing them and watching their future contributions to the Firm.”

Sarah Glover is a member of Maynard Cooper’s Cybersecurity & Privacy practice, where she focuses on cybersecurity risk assessments; incident response planning; cybersecurity and privacy compliance, training, and policy development; vendor management and contract negotiation; and data breach response. Sarah also helps clients analyze cybersecurity risks associated with new technologies and potential acquisition targets. Her clients include businesses from a variety of industries, from Fortune 500 companies to technology start-ups. She is a frequent speaker and author on cybersecurity risk management and has been published in the Sedona Conference Journal and The Alabama Lawyer. Sarah received her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Alabama School of Law, where she teaches a course on privacy and data security law, and she holds a B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Alabama. Sarah practices out of Maynard Cooper’s Birmingham office.

James “Jay” Lester focuses on complex litigation matters, including commercial business litigation, class actions, mergers and acquisitions litigation, research misconduct litigation, and false advertising litigation. He has represented clients around the country, with experience ranging from defending putative class actions in federal courts to representing plaintiffs in shareholder disputes in the Delaware Court of Chancery. His appellate work includes handling appeals to the Fourth, Sixth and Eighth Circuits and the Alabama Supreme Court. Recently, Jay presented oral argument before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and served as trial counsel in a three-day bench trial before the Delaware Court of Chancery. He received his J.D. summa cum laude from the University of Alabama School of Law, and he holds a B.A. magna cum laude from Washington and Lee University. Jay practices out of Maynard Cooper’s Birmingham office.

John Little is a member of Maynard Cooper’s Insurance & Financial Services Litigation practice. He defends leading financial services and insurance institutions in high-stakes cases involving a wide variety of coverage lines, including professional and commercial liability, life, disability, and property coverage. His practice focuses primarily on the bad faith arena. John has been recognized by Mid-South Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” in Insurance Coverage. He received his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law, and he holds a B.A. magna cum laude from Wake Forest University. John practices out of Maynard Cooper’s Birmingham office.

Finis St. John is a member of Maynard Cooper’s Corporate Section and devotes a significant amount of his practice to mergers and acquisitions, venture capital investments, and providing general counsel services to private companies. He also has extensive experience advising both individuals and businesses on a wide range of general corporate matters, including drafting and negotiating commercial agreements, entity formations, and business restructurings. Finis partners with his clients, particularly those operating in the entrepreneurial sector, to provide strategic advice on legal and business issues they face on a daily basis. Finis received his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law, and he holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia. Finis practices out of Maynard Cooper’s Birmingham office.

Chitra Kalyanaraman is a member of the Firm’s Intellectual Property practice, where she counsels clients in a variety of industries on their intellectual property strategy. Chitra partners with her clients to build strategic patent portfolios, and has extensive experience drafting and prosecuting patents in the computer, electrical, and mechanical arts over a wide range of technical areas. She has represented clients in matters relating to artificial intelligence, financial technology, computer hardware and software, computer networks, digital cameras, imaging, semiconductors, and medical devices, among others. Chitra received her J.D. from American University Washington College of Law, and she holds a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University. Chitra practices out of Maynard Cooper’s San Francisco office. Maynard Cooper practices law in California through Maynard Cooper & Gale, LLP.