Legal News

Sokenu joins Unisys from Cognizant, a Fortune 200 information technology company, where he served as senior vice president, global deputy general counsel and chief of staff to the general counsel. Prior to joining Cognizant, Sokenu served as deputy general counsel, global head of ethics and compliance and global head of litigation and investigations at Andeavor, a then-Fortune 100 energy company. Previously, he was a partner with three Am Law 100 law firms: Shearman & Sterling, Arnold & Porter and Mayer Brown. Earlier in his career, Sokenu served in the Honors Program at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, first as a staff attorney before concluding his government service as senior counsel. He is a fellow with the American College of Governance Counsel.

Sokenu earned an LL.M in securities and financial regulation from Georgetown University Law Center, where he has also taught classes as an adjunct professor, an LL.M in corporate and commercial law from the University of London’s London School of Economics and King’s College London and an LL.B with Upper Class Honors from London South Bank University.

He succeeds Gerry Kenney, 70, who is retiring from Unisys effective April 30 after nearly nine years with the company.

“Claudius brings significant in-house, private practice and government legal experience to Unisys. Beyond his legal experience, Claudius possesses both the personal skills and gravitas that have been hallmarks of our general counsel, and I am excited to welcome him to the company,” said Altabef. “I would also like to thank Gerry for his many years of exceptional service to Unisys. Gerry has been masterful at forging and maintaining a strong sense of partnership with our businesses and leaders. I will miss both his wise counsel and good humor.”

At McKesson, Chang was Vice President of Regulatory Policy and Chief Legal Counsel.  He led cross-functional teams that focused on enterprise priorities in key regulatory spaces.  Chang advised the wide spectrum of McKesson’s businesses, including U.S. pharmaceutical distribution, medical-supply distribution, specialty and independent-community pharmacy, physician-practice management, prescription-technology services, medication access-and-adherence programs, and electronic health records.

At HHS, Chang served as Deputy General Counsel for public health, litigation, and investigations.  Chang was one of the lead attorneys supporting Operation Warp Speed, working with public and private partners to build nationwide distribution and administration solutions for COVID-19 vaccines.  Chang worked closely with the Deputy Secretary, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the HHS Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Justice to reform the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law in order to facilitate value-based care.

“Protecting our most vulnerable patient populations, paying for better health outcomes, and enabling medical professionals to work at the top of their training have guided my career in healthcare,” said Chang.  “Those goals are all central to UpStream’s mission—to coordinate and reward better patient outcomes, from payor to provider and everyone in between.”

At the Department of Justice, Chang led healthcare-fraud investigations of public and private companies and individuals, and his cases spanned several districts and involved multiple state and federal agencies as well as parallel civil proceedings.

Chang has been repeatedly recognized for his contributions to healthcare.  In 2022, he was the National Winner of the American Pharmacists Association Friend of Pharmacy Immunization Champion Award.  The award recognized Chang for his extraordinary contributions toward fully enfranchising the pharmacy workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic.  For his public-health service, including during the pandemic, Chang received the Assistant Secretary for Health Exceptional Service Medal.  The Medal is the highest decoration awarded to a civilian by the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.  For his service at the Department of Justice, Chang received numerous accolades.  Among those accolades, he twice received the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service; the HHS Inspector General’s Award for Excellence in Fighting Fraud, Waste, and Abuse; and the Commendation for Demonstrated Excellence from the FBI Director.

“We are fortunate to have Will Chang join our company that is built on the highest levels of professionalism and ethics, as we continue to create outstanding value and outcomes for patients through our partnership with physicians and their clinical networks. Will has incredible knowledge and expertise as a healthcare leader and that will benefit UpStream and the healthcare community at large,” said UpStream CEO, Dr. Sanjay Doddamani.

“I have been deeply impressed by Will for his commitment to advancing American healthcare, especially his understanding of value-based care and regulation of clinicians, including pharmacists,” said Fergus Hoban, UpStream founder. “At the core of the UpStream process is a thorough therapeutic work-up by prescribing pharmacists and coordination nurses, supported by data insights and full risk payment model; a culmination of strong clinical and financial models for Will to focus his expertise.”

UpStream Healthcare’s unique model offers support to practices of any size or historic experience who do not have the resources or ability to take the heavy financial risks currently associated with value-based models. Participating providers receive Guaranteed Advanced Payments for Quality or GAP-Q™ as financial incentives on a schedule basis for their quality performance, taking out guess work in an otherwise unpredictable environment.

Louise is a game changer, a brilliant lawyer whose unceasing passion for bettering the lives of others feeds her remarkable ability to affect major change,” said Ken Lore, chair of Katten’s East Coast Real Estate practice.

“Louise has a keen understanding of the policies and processes that developers and project owners must navigate, and she has the depth of experience to steer clients through the financial and legal complexities of various housing projects and a range of related matters,” Lore added.

“Owners, developers, lenders and other deal participants choose Katten to address stubborn challenges others cannot solve. In this way, Louise is a perfect fit. Our clients will benefit greatly from the knowledge and skills she acquired during her 20+ years of top-notch work in public service.”

Carroll starts at Katten on March 1. Last year, she and other New York City officials announced that the number of affordable housing units preserved or constructed there in recent years had reached 200,000 while Carroll was commissioner. In that role, she pushed for and helped develop policies to strengthen the department’s processes for public/private rezonings and requests for proposals, while improving enforcement efforts to protect tenants and prevent displacement. She also increased opportunities for minority- and women-owned business enterprises in the affordable housing space.

Carroll helped design and implement the city’s groundbreaking Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program (MIH) requiring that permanently affordable housing be part of residential rezoning. She recently was awarded the James W. Rouse Civic Medal of Honor for using housing as a platform for economic opportunity, collaborating on urgent work related to the effects of the pandemic and empowering Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) developers in New York City.

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Carroll as housing commissioner and chair of the Housing Development Corporation (the city’s bond financing agency) in 2019 after she had served as associate commissioner for housing incentives and before that, assistant commissioner for inclusionary housing. The former mayor placed Carroll in charge of the city’s ongoing affordable housing plan that aims to deliver a total of 300,000 affordable housing units by 2026. Carroll briefly left the city housing department in 2018 to serve as general counsel and senior vice president for the New York City Housing Development Corporation.

Carroll began her career as an attorney for the Business Law Division of the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, followed by four years as associate counsel, Litigation, in the Enforcement Division of the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board and then six years as associate general counsel for Tax Incentives and Inclusionary Housing. She was chair of the board of directors of the New York City Housing Development Corporation and was an active member of the boards of several civic organizations, including The United Nations Development Corporation, the Housing Partnership Development Corporation, and the Center for New York City Neighborhoods.

Katten’s Affordable Housing and Community Development group comprises real estate and tax attorneys who have helped create innovative financing structures for affordable housing, workforce housing, mixed-income housing and community development projects, utilizing public-private partnerships, federal and state tax credits, taxable bonds, tax-exempt bonds and private equity, much of it in New York City, where these types of transactions originated and are most prevalent. The firm’s innovation in the space also includes the creation of several unique tax structures that began in New York and have since spread nationwide. It is this experience and innovation that separates Katten real estate attorneys from those at other firms.

Newsom joins Providence from The Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV), where she has worked since 2013. Most recently, she served as group general counsel for the Fortune 100 company’s Staff Counsel operations and led more than 1,000 legal professionals in over 50 domestic and international offices. She previously was vice president with the Strategic Resolution Group and second vice president with Enterprise Major Case and International Claim.

“I am inspired to join Providence and serve the health care workers who care for the most vulnerable members of our communities,” said Newsom. “I plan to use my legal background to advocate for the fundamental right to health care and to champion health equity.”

Newsom specializes in creating valuable business partnerships between legal teams and the clients they serve. She is experienced in accelerating and scaling organizational transformations to ensure productivity, efficiency and engagement. She also maintains a keen focus on diversity at the leadership level to innovate decision-making, gather support for a shared vision, and create joint accountability for strategic priorities. Educated in the Jesuit tradition, she received her Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from Fordham University.

“We are fortunate to have Anna join Providence’s senior executive team at this important time,” said Rod Hochman, M.D., president and CEO of Providence. “Anna’s experience and education will advance Providence’s commitment to pioneering new and better ways to bring health to more people in need, especially those who are most vulnerable.”

Newsom begins her new role with Providence next month and will be based in Renton, Wash.