DarrowEverett has appointed Ashwini Jayaratnam and Gabriel Saade as Co-Chairs of the firm’s Business Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group. They join existing Chair Michael Burke in leading the practice group, with the expanded leadership team based across the firm’s Boston, New York, and Miami offices.
DarrowEverett said the leadership expansion reflects growing demand from the firm’s commercial real estate, corporate, finance, and mergers and acquisitions clients to protect their business and personal interests within litigation matters. The firm framed the moves as recognition of the department’s expanding scope and a commitment to practitioner driven leadership. The changes follow DarrowEverett’s additions of the South Florida based Saade Law Firm and the Tampa based Saxon Gilmore team, transactions completed since April 2025.
Michael Burke, based in Boston, brings more than a decade of trial and arbitration experience, with a practice covering partnership and contractual disputes, complex financial fraud, intellectual property, securities and consumer class actions, trade secret misappropriation, and governmental and internal investigations. He has built a nationally recognized internet privacy litigation practice, handling more than 60 matters in 2025 involving claims under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the California Invasion of Privacy Act, and other state privacy statutes.
Ashwini Jayaratnam, based in New York, has more than a decade of litigation experience centered on complex commercial disputes, including fiduciary breach, restrictive covenants, freeze out mergers, and shareholder buyouts involving owners of closely held entities. Gabriel Saade, based in Miami, also chairs the firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology Practice Group. His litigation practice covers complex business and real estate disputes, while his corporate practice serves clients in the construction and hospitality industries. Saade serves as outside general counsel to more than 100 businesses and is admitted to practice in twelve jurisdictions.
KEY QUOTE:
“Michael has done an outstanding job leading the department, and the strength of that leadership is reflected in the exceptional talent and team that continues to emerge under his direction. This appointment recognizes not only Ashwini’s and Gabriel’s outstanding legal abilities, but also the judgment, initiative, and influence they have consistently demonstrated across the firm. Time and again, they have stepped forward when leadership was needed, delivered exceptional results for clients, and championed initiatives that have strengthened both the department and the firm.”
Jon Restivo, Managing Partner, DarrowEverett LLP
