GPM Welcomes Four New Associates

Gray Plant Mooty is pleased to announce the addition of four associates: Joy Reopelle Anderson, Samuel W. Diehl, Ashley M. Ewald, and Katherine L. Wallman.

Joy Anderson joins the firm’s Minneapolis office in its Business and General Litigation practice group. She earned her J.D., summa cum laude, from William Mitchell College of Law, where she graduated first in her class and was the recipient of a William Mitchell Trustees’ Merit Scholarship. Anderson earned her B.A., summa cum laude, in English and Print Journalism from the University of St. Thomas. Prior to joining GPM, she was a research assistant to Professor Daniel Kleinberger at William Mitchell College of Law and a city government reporter for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead.

Sam Diehl joins the firm’s Minneapolis office in its Employment Law practice group. He received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2007 where he was an Editor on the Minnesota Law Review and a recipient of the Royal Stone scholarship. Sam earned his B.A. in History from Princeton University in 1999. Prior to joining Gray Plant Mooty, he served as a political appointee at the U.S. Department of Labor and a Subcommittee Staff Director at the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, among other positions.

Ashley Ewald joins the firm’s Washington, DC office where she focuses her practice in the areas of Franchise & Distribution and White Collar Crime. Ashley earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School, where she was an articles editor at the Minnesota Law Review, a 2005-2007 Fellow at the Silha Center for Media Ethics and Law, the 2006-2007 editor-in-chief of the Silha Bulletin, a recipient of the Law School Public Service Award, and a student attorney in the Misdemeanor Prosecution and Defense Clinics. She earned her B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in International Studies and Spanish as well as a Certificate in International Journalism, from Hamline University. Prior to joining GPM, Ashley served as a law clerk with MoneyGram International and completed a judicial externship with the Honorable Judge Steven Z. Lange, Fourth Judicial District of Minnesota.

Katherine Wallman joins the firm’s Washington, DC office in its Franchise & Distribution practice group. Her practice focuses on the litigation of business and commercial disputes that involve claims arising between franchisors and franchisees. Katherine also handles system standards enforcement litigation and represents clients in federal and state court cases pertaining to contract disputes, employment law violations, trademark violations, tax fraud, products liability, and other types of civil litigation. Prior to joining Gray Plant Mooty, Katherine worked as an associate for a mid-sized law firm in Washington, DC, where she represented clients on a range of issues in the energy regulatory and energy transactional fields, including proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Katherine also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Bruce E. Kasold in the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. She received her J.D., cum laude, from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in Washington, DC; her M.Sc. in European and International Politics from the University of Edinburgh; and her B.A. in Political Science from Bryn Mawr College. Katherine is also admitted to practice in California.

With the addition of Ashley and Katherine, GPM’s Franchise & Distribution Practice Group grows to 37 attorneys, which reinforces the firm’s position as one of the top providers of legal services to franchisors on a national and international basis.