Richard Ressler

Richard "Rick" Ressler serves as Managing General Counsel of the firm. With over 25 years as an attorney, Mr. Ressler's practice includes corporate and tax law, mergers and acquisitions, securities and financing, contract law, real estate, intellectual property oversight and licensing, and labor and employment issues, including stock and other benefit plans. Mr. Ressler has become an indispensable strategist and consultant for clients, helping them use the law as a tool to guide complex decision making.

Mr. Ressler offers clients a unique perspective because he has served both large and small companies, publicly traded and private, simultaneously as attorney and corporate officer; this includes time working for an "incubator" company that was commercializing technology. Mr. Ressler knows from experience that legal advice in a vacuum is not enough. Rather, his strategy and advice must take into consideration and directly help facilitate our clients' business goals in order to be effective and valuable. In addition to directly serving MosterWynne's clients, he serves as General Counsel within the firm and uses his experience to strengthen our General Counsel Program for clients.

Mr. Ressler has worked on over 100 public offerings and private placements, representing underwriters, issuing companies, and large and small investors. He also has extensive experience in venture capital and other start-up investments, bank and other loan financings, structured financing, sophisticated leasing arrangements, and mergers and acquisitions. He has worked on joint venture and financing transactions involving entities in Mexico, Japan, Brazil, Argentina and England, as well as financings for the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Prior to joining MosterWynne, Mr. Ressler served as Vice President and Corporate Counsel to Centex Corporation in Dallas, Texas. He also served a concurrent role as General Counsel to Centex Title and Ancillary Services, a Centex subsidiary. Before his roles with Centex, he served as Assistant General Counsel to Union Pacific and Vice President and General Counsel to FENIX, a Union Pacific Corporation subsidiary. He also worked in private practice for prestigious law firms Sullivan & Cromwell and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for a total of more than 9 years.

During his tenure at Centex, Mr. Ressler managed the legal components of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting and was the primary lawyer for Centex on many mergers and acquisitions. He was responsible for developing a corporate-wide compliance plan that governed all corporate entities and business units. That plan dealt with complex issues like Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, director and officer stock restrictions, corporate governance initiatives, political activity compliance, and Audit Committee interface. Mr. Ressler counseled the outside Board of Centex's public real estate development affiliate, and spearheaded the various legal objectives of the company's title insurance operations.

While at Union Pacific and FENIX, among other things, he directed the legal function for the "incubation" of Union Pacific's technology-focused transportation assets to develop several stand-alone businesses for eventual IPO or sale. He represented these entities in acquisition transactions, strategic investments, and joint ventures, and prepared the legal documents to facilitate capital-raising. He established procedures for protecting intellectual property, and prepared equity plans, compensation and other new benefits plans, and employment and labor agreements for the employees that worked in his divisions.

Mr. Ressler was the primary counsel in charge of all Union Pacific's financing transactions and SEC reporting. He also was a key player in the planning and execution of Union Pacific's strategic initiatives, including acquisitions and sales of business units (including several major public transactions, a hostile tender offer and many smaller transactions), spin-offs, IPO's, regulatory matters, international technology licensing projects, environmental audits, and corporate governance.

Mr. Ressler received his Juris Doctorate cum laude from Harvard Law School and his Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from Princeton University. He is admitted to practice law in Texas, New York and Pennsylvania (inactive in Pennsylvania).

Harvard Law School
Juris Doctorate, 1977

Shari Wynne

CEO + MANAGING PARTNER

Shari Wynne is the CEO + Managing Partner of MWR Legal. Ms. Wynne's entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to helping people achieve success drives the firm's purpose, vision and mission. Ms. Wynne is responsible for strategic planning and manages the execution of firm activities, including client service and development.

Ms. Wynne is a self-made, serial entrepreneur, starting her first business at the age of 16. She co-founded MWR Legal in 1996, with the goal of serving all clients with the same skill, vigor and intelligence that benefits the largest companies in the world. In 2006, she created 6Degrees Connect, a personalized referral match company founded to connect the firm's small business clients with proven, vetted service providers. In October of 2011, Ms. Wynne and MWR Legal launched Incubation Station, an industry focused success-accelerator that connects entrepreneurs with the industry resources and mentorship needed to succeed.

Ms. Wynne is a Past President of the Austin Chapter of Entrepreneurs' Organization, a global association of business owners; past co-Chair of the Austin Business Journal's Fast-Fifty Executive Advisory Board and is the current president of RISE: Women, dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs. Ms. Wynne has been honored on multiple occasions for her service to the Austin Entrepreneurial Community.

Ms. Wynne, along with Richard Ressler, the firm's Managing General Counsel, provides legal services to the firm's clients. She often partners with outside consultants to lead Funding Consultations and Strategic Growth Consultations with MWR Legal clients, not only analyzing legal issues but guiding critical business decisions.

Ms. Wynne started her legal career as an attorney for the Plan Benefits Security Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, where she litigated on behalf of the Secretary of Labor, breach of Title I of ERISA, fiduciary duty matters in connection with the investment and/or administration of pension plan assets. Thereafter, Ms. Wynne was associated with the national law firms of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver, and Jacobson, as well as McDermott, Will & Emery. She practiced employee benefits law with a focus on fiduciary issues, and other Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ("PBGC") and Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") issues such as funding, diversification, compliance, tax qualification and plan termination in connection with corporate/real estate transactions.

Ms. Wynne was honored with the Labor Secretary's Exceptional Achievement Award as the co-counsel in one of the leading cases in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals with respect to the fiduciary status and obligations of plan fiduciaries; see, Reich v. Lancaster, 843 F. Supp. 194 (N.D. Tex. 1993), aff'd, 55 F.3d 1034 (5th Cir. 1995).

Ms. Wynne received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Davis and her Juris Doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley "Boalt Hall" School of Law.

University of California at Berkeley School of Law
Juris Doctorate, 1991

Matthew Burr

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COUNSEL

Matthew Burr serves as Patent Counsel with MosterWynne, practicing in intellectual property (IP) and related areas of law. Mr. Burr has been a registered Patent Attorney for more than 13 years and is experienced with all forms of intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights. He has provided counsel on a range of issues for public and private institutions, as well as individual inventors and entrepreneurs. His industry experience spans work with universities and representing companies in the telecommunications, consumer goods, artificial intelligence, health and fitness, biotechnology, medical, pharmaceutical, and oil and gas fields.

Mr. Burr offers MosterWynne's clients his unique ability to identify, capture and leverage the full value of intellectual property. He works with clients and inventors to write, prosecute, and defend business-savvy patent applications, including work to educate employees within our clients' companies about intellectual property, patents and licensing in order to elicit an increase in the number of invention disclosures.

Mr. Burr helps clients do cost-benefit analyses concerning new markets and potential litigation. He also provides advice on corporate and IP matters for startup ventures to enhance company value with copyrights, trademarks and patents as core assets.

Mr. Burr counsels and assists clients with the development and implementation of marketing and branding strategies and programs. He evaluates and screens potential trademarks, service marks and trade names; he also prosecutes, registers, maintains and enforces trademarks and service marks in the United States and major industrial/commercial countries around the world.

When called upon he advises on the evaluation, registration and renewal of domain names; resolution of Internet domain name disputes; the preparation of web site legal documents; intellectual property audits; and the management and maintenance of client intellectual property portfolios.

Working alongside the firm's corporate and litigation attorneys, Mr. Burr assists with the negotiation, transfer and license of intellectual property rights and interests. He was a pioneer of university technology transfers beginning with his tenure at M.D. Anderson, and he has over 15 years of experience negotiating contracts, licenses and multi-million dollar transactions, including work with major public and private universities, Fortune 500 companies, and financing institutions, including venture capital sources.

Mr. Burr has extensive laboratory experience, including work with the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard Medical School. He has served as an Associate Attorney with the boutique IP firm Matthews & Associates in Houston, and immediately prior to joining MosterWynne served in a more senior role with the respected regional firm Gardere Wynne Sewell in Dallas.

Mr. Burr is a member of the State Bar of Texas, admitted to practice in the United States District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas, and is a registered Patent Attorney admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Burr received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology (minor degree in history) from the University of California, San Diego, and did graduate study in cell biology at the Baylor College of Medicine, School of Graduate Studies before receiving his Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston Law Center.

University of Houston Law Center
Juris Doctorate, 1989

Lance Hevizy

ASSOCIATE COUNSEL

Mr. Lance Hevizy practices law in the areas of business litigation, real estate, and corporate law.
Mr. Hevizy has represented hundreds of entrepreneurs and small businesses, and as the founder of his own practice in Maui, Hawaii, he understands the importance of ROI. His depth of experience working with founders and entrepreneurs in analyzing the feasibility of a corporate or litigation solution proves invaluable for MWR Legal clients.

Lance passed the Texas Bar in 2001, and has over 12 years of legal expertise in business litigation cases involving contract disputes, business fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, mergers and acquisitions, corporate liability, intellectual property, conversion of property and shareholder derivative lawsuits. His real estate practice encompasses drafting and reviewing real estate contracts, residential and commercial leases, transfer of title, lease with option to purchase, foreclosures and landlord/tenant relations.

Prior to joining MWR Legal in spring 2014, Mr. Hevizy founded Hevizy-Mallios LLC in Maui, Hawaii. Hevizy-Mallios provides a full-range of quality legal services to individual and corporate clients in a timely and cost-efficient manner, across a broad range of legal practice areas. At Hevizy-Mallios, Lance built an experienced trial team representing clients on a full spectrum of cases, including a variety of complex civil litigation matters in the areas of business law, real estate law, personal injury and wrongful death, throughout the Hawaiian Islands and the mainland United States.

Prior to launching his own practice, while working for Krueger-Wong, Trial Attorneys, of Maui, Hawaii, Mr. Hevizy gained substantial trial experience throughout the Hawaiian Islands in state and federal courts under the tutelage of James Krueger, an internationally recognized trial attorney and Fellow of the International Society of Barristers, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and Litigation Counsel of America.

Throughout the five years spent at Krueger-Wong, Mr. Hevizy contributed to numerous bench and jury trials, including a co-chaired trial in the Second Circuit Court that resulted in over a 3.2 million dollar verdict. As part of an experienced trial team, Mr. Hevisy engaged in worldwide aspects of litigation with emphasis on recreational operations and acquatic liability as well as defective design, manufacture and maintenance of roads and products.

More recently, Mr. Hevizy worked at the Dallas office of Baker McKenzie, LLP and served as Special Counsel on the Sprint-Nextel merger litigation, an estimated $1.5 to 3 billion shareholder class action suit. As part of the e-discovery litigation team of Baker McKenzie, Lance managed the document review, production, privilege review and privilege log as well as provided post-production support alongside Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Mr. Hevizy was also tasked with filing securities documents with the U.S. SEC, such as 8K, 10K and 10Q, among others, for Sprint-Nextel.

As a seasoned litigator, Hevizy places top importance on planning and always staying a step ahead of the competition. "From the very start of litigation, MWR Legal makes a point of setting the pace and make sure that our side has absolute command of the facts and issues at play," says Hevizy. "Preparation for trial is the key to our success. Many trials are won or lost before the lawyers even enter the courtroom." MWR Legal understands this and provides formidable resources and cutting-edge trial techniques to help clients succeed in court.


"Our overall success includes adaptive, innovative strategies built to win, as well as the effective utilization of cutting-edge technology," says Mr. Hevizy. "As a boutique litigation firm, MWR Legal offers the resources and experience clients often seek from larger litigation firms, while offering a level of personalized attention to our clients' needs that is often missing from the big-firm models."

Mr. Hevizy is a member of the Austin Bar Association, the Dallas Bar Association as well as a member of the Hawaii Young Lawyers Division. Lance was awarded the Martindale-Hubbell Excellence in Legal Ability and Ethical Standards Award in 2011. Mr. Hevizy received a Bachelor of Arts in the fields of Economics, Public Policy and Political Science from Southern Methodist University, and received an International Law Studies Certificate from University College Oxford before receiving a Juris Doctorate from the Southern Methodist University School of Law.

Southern Methodist University School
Juris Doctorate, 2001

Kenneth Krasny

TAX COUNSEL
Kenneth "Ken" Krasny serves as Tax Counsel with the Firm. He is a senior tax, corporate and transactional attorney who brings over 30 years of experience in accounting, finance and law. Mr. Krasnsy possesses extensive domestic and international experience in leading, developing and structuring projects in all aspects, with a particular focus on structured finance, planning, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and tax controversies.

Mr. Krasny uses his experience to help clients of all sizes achieve optimal tax strategies as part of their business plans, whether an early-stage, middle market or fast growing company. Importantly, he has served in concurrent corporate and legal positions and helps clients maximize his combined points of view. Currently, in addition to his work with the firm Ken is CFO and Vice President of Signet Maritime Corporation where he leads structured financings, acquisitions and disposals, and various tax analyses. There he handles multi-million dollar transactions and has matured the company's infrastructure and created financial tools and procedures that improve profits and lending terms. Under his leadership Signet has grown from $2 million in revenue and assets without profits to $40 million in revenues, $23 million in assets and $4 million in annual profits.

Throughout his career Mr. Krasny has helped his clients achieve a myriad of significant transactions. Those range from the tax planning for a $183 million sale of a LNG fueled power plant to a Spanish energy company, to structuring joint venture agreements for a publicly traded company with its Korean manufacturing operations and the $100 million acquisition of a Panamanian power plant for a privately held client.

Mr. Krasny has also recommended changes to a client's incentive compensation plan to bring it into compliance with IRS and state rules, and led projects that balanced future monetization, income avoidance, partner tax requirements and local ownership mandates.

From 1977 through 1996 Mr. Krasny worked as Corporate Tax Counsel at Tenneco, Inc., eventually becoming the senior-most tax attorney for the $23 billion conglomerate with interests in natural resources, pipelines, manufacturing, real estate and insurance. While there he was responsible for handling multi-million state tax controversies ranging from $560,000 to $36 million, guiding project structuring activities, and developing and implementing over $40 billion of domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and structured financings. One synthetic sale transaction developed in 1992 resulted in a $79 million book gain without taxable income. The transaction generated the majority of Tenneco's earnings for the year.

Mr. Krasny received his Bachelor of Business degree cum laude from the University of Miami where he graduated first in his class in Finance and Accounting with a minor in Economics. He then received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami School of Law where he graduated cum laude. He is admitted to practice law in Texas and Florida, US Tax Court, and the 5th and 11th Federal Circuits Court of Appeal and the Federal Middle District Court of Florida.

Kenneth Krasny

TAX COUNSEL
Kenneth "Ken" Krasny serves as Tax Counsel with the Firm. He is a senior tax, corporate and transactional attorney who brings over 30 years of experience in accounting, finance and law. Mr. Krasnsy possesses extensive domestic and international experience in leading, developing and structuring projects in all aspects, with a particular focus on structured finance, planning, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and tax controversies.

Mr. Krasny uses his experience to help clients of all sizes achieve optimal tax strategies as part of their business plans, whether an early-stage, middle market or fast growing company. Importantly, he has served in concurrent corporate and legal positions and helps clients maximize his combined points of view. Currently, in addition to his work with the firm Ken is CFO and Vice President of Signet Maritime Corporation where he leads structured financings, acquisitions and disposals, and various tax analyses. There he handles multi-million dollar transactions and has matured the company's infrastructure and created financial tools and procedures that improve profits and lending terms. Under his leadership Signet has grown from $2 million in revenue and assets without profits to $40 million in revenues, $23 million in assets and $4 million in annual profits.

Throughout his career Mr. Krasny has helped his clients achieve a myriad of significant transactions. Those range from the tax planning for a $183 million sale of a LNG fueled power plant to a Spanish energy company, to structuring joint venture agreements for a publicly traded company with its Korean manufacturing operations and the $100 million acquisition of a Panamanian power plant for a privately held client.

Mr. Krasny has also recommended changes to a client's incentive compensation plan to bring it into compliance with IRS and state rules, and led projects that balanced future monetization, income avoidance, partner tax requirements and local ownership mandates.

From 1977 through 1996 Mr. Krasny worked as Corporate Tax Counsel at Tenneco, Inc., eventually becoming the senior-most tax attorney for the $23 billion conglomerate with interests in natural resources, pipelines, manufacturing, real estate and insurance. While there he was responsible for handling multi-million state tax controversies ranging from $560,000 to $36 million, guiding project structuring activities, and developing and implementing over $40 billion of domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and structured financings. One synthetic sale transaction developed in 1992 resulted in a $79 million book gain without taxable income. The transaction generated the majority of Tenneco's earnings for the year.

Mr. Krasny received his Bachelor of Business degree cum laude from the University of Miami where he graduated first in his class in Finance and Accounting with a minor in Economics. He then received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami School of Law where he graduated cum laude. He is admitted to practice law in Texas and Florida, US Tax Court, and the 5th and 11th Federal Circuits Court of Appeal and the Federal Middle District Court of Florida.

University of Miami School of Law
Juris Doctorate, 1976

Roland Wiederaenders

CORPORATE COUNSEL

Mr. Wiederaenders provides legal advice to businesses with respect to their formation, growth, and operations. His practice focuses on corporate and securities law matters, and specifically on legal work concerning the formation and operation of private investment funds (i.e., hedge, private equity and real estate). Other practice areas include mergers and acquisitions, corporate transactions, debt and equity financings, partnership and limited liability company agreements, strategic alliances and general contracts law, including employment contracts and advice respecting equity compensation plans for corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships.

Prior to joining MWR Legal, Mr. Wiederaenders acted as Assistant General Counsel at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, providing legal support to its investment team. Before his time at TRS, he served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Austin Capital Management, an investment adviser to a family of hedge funds with total assets under management of approximately $1 billion (2006).

Mr. Wiederaenders began his career at the international law firm of Baker & McKenzie in Dallas, representing large corporate taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service in connection with federal income tax controversies. Following his time in Dallas, he moved home to Austin to join the Palo Alto, California-based law firm, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, representing early stage technology companies and investment funds in connection with private equity and debt financings. Next, he served as an associate attorney in the Austin office of Winstead Sechrest & Minick in its corporate and securities section. Representations included private equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions, and public company Securities Exchange Act compliance. Additionally, his representations included federal and state income tax planning in connection with the foregoing transactions.

Mr. Wiederaenders graduated from the University of Texas in Austin with a Bachelor of Arts, Plan II Honors Liberal Arts and from Southern Methodist University School of Law with a Juris Doctorate, cum laude. At SMU, Roland served as Editor in Chief of the NAFTA: Law and Business Review of the Americas and staff editor of the International Law Review Association. He also attended Georgetown University School of Law where he earned a Masters of Laws in federal income taxation.

Mr. Wiederaenders has four children, Cormac, Ava, Ella and Coen.

Southern Methodist University School of Law
Juris Doctorate, 1998

Richard Radbil

CASE MANAGER

Richard Radbil joined MWR Legal as a Paralegal in July, 2013. Mr. Radbil is previously from Wisconsin where he founded a restaurant that morphed into the largest corporate catering business in the state. After many successful years of operation, Mr. Radbil, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, sold the business and moved to Austin.

After moving to Austin, Mr. Radbil held a supervisor position at The University of Texas. He concurrently began a path toward a Master's Degree in Legal Studies at Texas State University. Mr. Radbil left his supervisor role at the University to join MWR Legal.

Mr. Radbil's experience guiding a small business from startup to annual sales of over $1.2 million makes him a valuable asset to MWR Legal clients. In his role as Founder and CEO of the catering company, Richard developed numerous state-of-the-art and innovative practices and was a featured speaker and educator at the 2011 Catersource National Convention in Las Vegas, NV.

During his years as an entrepreneur, Richard gained a genuine respect for the law, and realized a desire to increase his legal knowledge. He is currently enrolled in a university program which has yielded ABA Paralegal Certification and will eventually earn a Master of Arts in Legal Studies.


Mr. Radbil also organized, managed and played in the popular blues band, "The Midwest Blues All-Stars," from 1999-2009. Under Richard's direction, the band recorded three critically acclaimed CDs and toured the Midwest.

Richard hopes to impart his knowledge and experience to a new generation of entrepreneurs.

John Miller

EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATOR

John Miller is the Executive Administrator at MWR Legal and supports Ms. Wynne in helping run the business aspects of the firm. He originally joined the law firm with the intention to attend law school, and after spending time providing both legal and administrative support, he focused his attention on business school.

After his time at graduate school, Mr. Miller worked with the Seton Healthcare Family as a Financial/Data Analyst. There he was responsible for analyzing and forecasting the impact of hiring new physicians, expanding practice areas, and acquiring private practices to fill needs throughout the Seton Family Network. In 2013, Mr. Miller came back to work for MWR Legal as the Executive Administrator.

Mr. Miller is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin where he holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Government with a minor in Business Administration. In 2009, he moved to New York to attend graduate school to get his MBA at the University of Rochester. He finished his program in 2011 with concentrations in Finance, Corporate Accounting, Marketing, and Corporate & Competitive Strategy.