Five attorneys elected as Members at McDonald Hopkins
CLEVELAND (October 1, 2025) — McDonald Hopkins is proud to announce that, effective October 1, 2025, five attorneys have been elected to the firm’s membership. Eric Benson, Alec Davidson, Alaina Karsten, Patrick O'Meara, and Jennifer Torrez are all proven leaders in their respective fields, including data privacy and cybersecurity, commercial finance, real estate, and litigation.
Beyond their legal expertise, each of the new Members embodies the firm’s entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to being a Destination Firm for clients and community support.
“At McDonald Hopkins, our greatest strength is our people. Eric, Alec, Alaina, Pat, and Jen exemplify the talent, dedication, and entrepreneurial spirit that defines our Destination Firm,” said James Giszczak, Co-President of McDonald Hopkins. “We are proud to welcome them as Members and excited to see them start this next chapter of their careers.”
Jim Stief, also Co-President of McDonald Hopkins, adds, “Clients come to McDonald Hopkins for the legal expertise we offer, and they stay because of the trusted, long-standing partnerships they build with attorneys like Eric, Alec, Alaina, Pat, and Jen. Each of them brings exceptional talent that strengthens our firm and will help us deliver even more value to our clients.”
Eric Benson is part of the firm’s national Data Privacy and Cybersecurity team, residing in Connecticut and representing clients across the country, working remotely for the Detroit office of McDonald Hopkins. His practice includes advising on breach response obligations, including compliance and notification to individuals and government regulators as required under state and federal breach notification laws. Eric also represents clients in state and federal investigations that arise from data privacy incidents and provides guidance on crisis communications and management issues.
“The support of my colleagues at McDonald Hopkins, who inspire and encourage me every step of the way, allows me to remain laser-focused on achieving the best outcome for our clients,” said Benson.
Alec Davidson is part of the firm’s Business Department in Cleveland, with a practice primarily focused on commercial finance and commercial real estate acquisition, development, leasing and finance. Alec has extensive experience in real estate and finance matters, including representing corporate clients, real estate developers, real estate investment trusts and other business entities in the acquisition of real property throughout the United States, and borrowers and lenders in commercial finance and real estate finance transactions.
“What I like most about McDonald Hopkins is that, while we are a large law firm that handles complex matters, we are still deeply involved in the Cleveland market and community,” said Davidson. “McDonald Hopkins is the perfect firm for me to grow my practice and become a strong member of the local business community. I could not be more excited to become a Member of the firm.”
Alaina Karsten is part of the Litigation Department in West Palm Beach. She has broad expertise that spans national commercial litigation and trial practice. Her areas of specialization include general commercial litigation, non-competes, trademark disputes, defamation cases, and large-scale lease disputes. Alaina also handles corporate matters such as internal investigations, executive workouts, corporate governance, and insurance coverage disputes across diverse industries like aviation, automotive, medical, and food services.
Patrick O’Meara is also part of the Litigation Department at McDonald Hopkins. Working in Chicago, Pat has extensive experience representing clients in a wide variety of disputes in federal and state courts nationwide, and specializes in complex commercial litigation, including the defense of consumer class actions and high-stakes contractual disputes. He has a particular focus on representing clients in the healthcare, financial services, and technology industries.
“McDonald Hopkins is a group of very talented lawyers who have managed to create a firm that is great to work at while providing top-tier legal services. It’s an honor to be named a member of the firm, and I look forward to helping my colleagues continue to grow what they have built,” said O’Meara.
Jennifer Torrez is part of the firm’s national Data Privacy and Cybersecurity team in Chicago. Her practice runs the gamut of data privacy and cybersecurity matters, including compliance, incident response, and litigation. She is accredited by the International Association of Privacy Professionals as a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) for the United States, the gold standard certification for information privacy professionals. In approaching data privacy and cybersecurity matters, Jen draws upon her significant litigation experience and advises clients with an eye toward the future, aiming to minimize exposure.
“My colleagues at McDonald Hopkins have been instrumental in the development of my career, and I look forward to helping shape our firm’s bright future,” said Torrez.
About McDonald Hopkins
McDonald Hopkins is an entrepreneurial business law firm founded in 1930 that has today grown to include more than 215 attorneys across offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Baltimore, and West Palm Beach. We are a destination for clients seeking exceptional legal services and for attorneys driven to deliver them. Learn more about the firm and our over 50 service and industry teams at mcdonaldhopkins.com.
