• Atlanta
• Boston
• Dallas
• Ft. Lauderdale
• London
• Minneapolis
• New York
• Oakland
• Philadelphia
• Washington, DC

Zelle LLP, a litigation and dispute resolution law firm with offices throughout the U.S. and London, is pleased to announce four attorneys have been elected to the partnership effective January 1, 2017.

Zelle attorneys promoted to the partnership include Kristin Suga Heres, of the firm’s Boston office, Kristin Cummings and Jennifer Gibbs, of the firm’s Dallas office, and Qianwei Fu, of the firm’s San Francisco office.

“We are proud of these exceptional attorneys, and value their hard work and outstanding leadership. They epitomize the diverse talent Zelle brings to client service nationwide,” said Kerry Brown, a member of Zelle’s Executive Committee. “We are pleased to welcome them to the partnership.”

Kristin Suga Heres

Since joining Zelle in 2004, Heres’ practice has focused on the resolution of complex business disputes, including insurance coverage issues, reinsurance matters, and tort and contract claims in the securities context. She has worked on many of the firm’s largest and most challenging cases, including a high-value Hurricane Katrina claim, several 9/11-related coverage matters, and a major securities case involving a prominent U.S. bank. Heres has been involved in a number of liability insurance coverage matters, including environmental- and asbestos-related coverage matters. Heres has also been involved in obtaining successful outcomes in substantial reinsurance arbitrations. She also serves as Zelle’s diversity coordinator.

Kristin Cummings

Cummings’ practice is devoted to representing clients in a wide range of insurance-related issues in both first-party and third-party disputes. She counsels and represents clients in litigation matters in state and federal courts across the country and has significant experience in the areas of commercial property, energy, builder's risk, general liability, errors and omissions, professional liability, workers’ compensation and construction defects. Most recently, Cummings has dedicated a significant amount of her time to assisting clients with coverage disputes arising out of weather-related catastrophes, including the Texas hail crisis. She also works extensively with London-based insurance clients on complex energy and large property losses.

Jennifer Gibbs

Licensed in both Texas and Colorado, Gibbs has over twenty-years’ experience in the insurance industry. As a litigator, her practice is focused on first-party property insurance coverage disputes resulting from catastrophic losses such as hail, wind, ice, water damage, collapse, fire, and explosion. Jennifer started her career in the insurance industry as a risk manager and agent where she specialized in large commercial property accounts, including property management companies, rural electrical cooperatives and publicly-traded corporations. Gibbs’ unique and specialized knowledge of property insurance risks from the perspective of both a lawyer and insurance-industry insider allows her to effectively resolve complex disputes on a cost-effective basis for her clients. 

Qianwei Fu

Fu has in-depth experience in litigating high-stakes antitrust matters with an emphasis on representing consumers and opt-out claimants in class actions involving price-fixing and monopolization claims. She has played a primary role in discovery, class certification, and trial preparation in some of the nation’s largest antitrust cases. She routinely works with economic and industry experts on damages and pass-on issues. Her antitrust experience includes a wide array of industries, including gemstone, energy, automotive, transportation, and consumer electronics. A native Chinese speaker legally trained in both China and the U.S., Fu leads Zelle’s China practice. Her international background and training give her the broad scope and a sophisticated mix of skills necessary to navigate the unique legal and practical challenges that arise in cross-border antitrust disputes. Fu has also represented Fortune 500 companies in arbitration proceedings and pre-litigation negotiations in various complex commercial disputes.