Mr. Thomas has substantial business, corporate and federal contracts experience with small and middle market companies across a wide range of industries. He has represented clients before federal district and appellate courts as well as before federal agencies, such as the Small Business Administration, the General Accountability Office, Civilian & Armed Services Boards of Contract Appeals, to name a few. He has also represented Government Contractors before arbitration tribunals. The author of more than 80 articles on business and government contract law matters, he has served as the Associate Administrator for Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at NASA and the Executive Director of the National Association of Minority Contractors.
In addition, Mr. Thomas has taught Government Contracts Law at the University of Virginia’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies and was an Adjunct Professor of Law/Course Director for five years at Concord School of Law, now a part of Purdue University Global, where he taught a law course on Government Contracting in the school’s LL.M Program. In addition, he was a Clinical Law Instructor at George Washington University Law School. Moreover, he has drafted and negotiated any number of Joint Venture, Subcontract, and Teaming Agreements on behalf of Government Contractors and has conducted numerous workshops and seminars on such topics. He has also served as Chair of the Federal Bar Association’s Government Contracts Section.
The recipient of numerous awards, particularly when he served in the Government, Mr. Thomas was awarded the Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive (an award limited each year to about one percent of the 6000 Federal Senior Executives – President George W. Bush) and the President Rank of Meritorious Executive (an award limited to 5 percent of all Senior Executives – President Bill Clinton). Mr. Thomas has testified in Congress more than 30 times on small business and Government contracting issues and has been a speaker at small and medium enterprise business conferences across the country, as well as in countries abroad, such as Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South America. Since 2009, he has been a Solicitor admitted to practice in the Senior Courts of England and Wales. His experience also includes four years in the U.S. Air Force where he achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant.
PRACTICES & INDUSTRIES
- Government Contracts
- Business and Corporate
EDUCATION
- Harvard Law School, 1978, J.D.
- University of California at Berkeley, 1975, B.A.
ADMISSIONS
- District of Columbia
- England and Wales
- U.S. Court of Appeals: District of Columbia Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals: Federal Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals: Armed Forces
- U.S. District Court: District of Columbia
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
- U.S. Court of International Trade
- U.S. Supreme Court
Justin serves as Principal Counsel at Apple, where he oversees a diverse portfolio of domestic and international litigation, including consumer and commercial class actions, regulatory inquiries, corporate secretary matters, and finance-related disputes. With more than a decade of in-house legal experience, he has built a strong career at the intersection of commercial litigation, regulatory compliance, technology, and financial services.
Prior to joining Apple, Justin held senior leadership roles at Bank of America, where he managed high-stakes consumer banking litigation and regulatory investigations as Associate General Counsel and Senior Vice President.
He is a graduate of Columbia Law School and Georgetown University.
Seun Awotunde counsels domestic and international clients on regulatory and compliance matters related to food and drug packaging, medical devices, food additives and ingredients, dietary supplements, and pharmaceuticals. She advises clients with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submissions, including food contact notifications (FCNs) and Drug Master Files (DMFs). She assists companies in obtaining food contact clearances for their products in Canada, Asia, South America, as well as the European Union (EU). She also has experience with premarket notifications for medical devices (510(k) notices) and investigational new drug applications (NDAs).
Seun regularly drafts legal opinions for clients evaluating packaging components, including polymers, adhesives, printing inks, and color additives used in plastic, paper and paperboard, and coatings in various global jurisdictions. She also advises clients on establishing self-determined Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) positions in the United States and on regulatory requirements governing the use of recycled materials in food contact applications.
Prior to joining Keller and Heckman, Seun was an associate for a law firm where she represented pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies. Her background in science and experience working in healthcare is valuable in assisting clients with technical aspects of regulatory work and in understanding and interpreting the complex scientific matters as they relate to legal and regulatory requirements.
While in law school, Seun was an Executive Board Member for the Howard Law Journal, in addition to serving as a teaching assistant. She also completed an internship for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Enforcement and served as a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Reggie B. Walton on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Representative Matters
- Provided counsel and support in obtaining FCNs for food contact substances from FDA
- Prepared legal opinion letters and submissions to FDA establishing the capability of recycling processes to produce post-consumer recycled material that is suitable for use in food contact applications
- Analyzed various commercial agreements (e.g., NDA, vendor agreements, service agreements) to identify potential contractual risks and business opportunities
- Completed diligence reports for corporate clients
Memberships
- Food & Drug Law Institute (FDLI), 2025 New to FDA Law and Regulation Planning Committee
- Washington Bar Association (WBA)
Education
University of Maryland, B.S., 2018
Georgetown University, M.S., 2019
Howard University School of Law, J.D., 2022 cum laude
Sydnei Jones is an associate in Weil’s Tax Department and is based in Washington, D.C. Sydnei participates in the representation of Firm clients with respect to the tax aspects of a wide range transactions, including matters involving domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, REITs, joint ventures, restructurings and financing transactions.
Sydnei has been a part of the teams advising:
- A major financial institution, as administrative agent and lead arranger, in a $1.25 billion senior unsecured revolving facility for Hasbro, Inc. and Hasbro SA
- CIBC Capital Markets, MUFG, RBC Capital Markets and TD Securities, as joint book-running managers and representatives of the underwriters, in a $1.3 billion investment grade bond offering by The Williams Companies, Inc.
- Citi, Truist, Wells Fargo and another financial institution, as representatives of the underwriters, in a $2.1 billion offering of senior notes by The Williams Companies, Inc.
- The dealer managers in a $3.65 billion exchange offer by Microsoft Corporation of new 144A / RegS unsecured senior notes and cash for unsecured notes of Activision Blizzard
- Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, Mizuho and Morgan Stanley, as joint book-running managers and representatives of the underwriters, in a $1.5 billion investment grade bond offering of The Williams Companies, Inc.
- Diversified Healthcare Trust, a real estate investment trust in a $941 million offering of zero coupon senior secured notes due 2026
- Hayfin Capital Management, as lender, in its senior secured term and revolving facility for Covis Finco S.À R.L. and Covis US Finco, LLC
- JPMorgan Chase, as administrative and collateral agent, lead arranger and joint bookrunner, in its upsized $2.75 billion senior secured term and revolving facility for Clarios Global LP (a subsidiary of Brookfield Business Partners)
- Lineage Logistics, LLC in its $208 million acquisition of Turvo Inc.
- Office Properties Income Trust in its $300 million 144A/Reg S offering of 9.000% senior secured notes due 2029
- Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in $820 million first and second lien facilities to finance its acquisition of Vantage Elevator Solutions
- OUTFRONT Media, Inc., representing the initial purchasers, in a $450 million senior secured 144A/Reg S senior secured notes offering
- Susquehanna Growth Equity in its acquisition of a minority stake in Sawhorse Media LLC (d/b/a Muck Rack Software LLC)
- Trebia Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by affiliates of Trasimene Capital Management and Bridgeport Partners, in $450 million senior secured revolving and term facilities to finance its $1.4 billion business combination with System1, LLC and Protected.net Group Limited (together with Trebia n/k/a System1)
- WEX Inc. in its repurchase of $310 million in principal amount of its convertible senior notes from WP Bronco Holdings, LLC and its $1.4 billion incremental senior secured term and revolving facility
- Willis North America Inc. (a subsidiary of Willis Towers Watson PLC) in its $750 million senior unsecured notes offering
Sydnei is also actively involved in the Firm's pro bono efforts, including work with the Innocence Project. Sydnei is also the D.C. Co-chair for the U.S. Branch of the International Fiscal Association's (IFA) Young IFA Network (YIN).
Prior to joining Weil, Sydnei was Tax Counsel at 3M.
Sydnei received her LL.M and a Certificate in International Tax, with distinction, from Georgetown University Law Center, her J.D. from The University of Iowa College of Law and her B.A. from Mount St. Mary's University.
Admissions
Education
- Mount St. Mary's University (B.A., 2016)
- The University of Iowa College of Law (J.D., 2020)
- Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M., 2021)
Blair is an Associate in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.
Before joining the firm, Blair served as a law clerk to the Honorable Carl E. Ross in the Civil Division at the District of Columbia Superior Court.
While in law school, Blair served as a Law Fellow at the NAACP, assisting the Association in voting rights, redistricting, and civil rights litigation.
Outside of the law, Blair is an avid sports fan and film enthusiast.
Court Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Maryland