About Our Experts
Katalina M. Bianco, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST
Katalina M. Bianco is a Senior Legal Analyst with Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. She has more than 20 years of experience analyzing regulatory and legal developments in the banking and financial services arenas. Katalina has significant experience tracking and explaining the evolution of consumer financial protection as it relates to the financial industry. Katalina authored Identity Theft: What You Need to Know and co-authored the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Law, Explanation, And Analysis; Financial Services Modernization – Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 – Law and Explanation, Federal Privacy Rules for Financial Institutions, Guide to Anti-Money Laundering, and Bank Secrecy: Compliance and USA PATRIOT Act. She also has authored a number of banking law white papers and has co-presented in several webinars. Katalina earned a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law and a B.A. from Marquette University. Prior to joining Wolters Kluwer, she practiced law in California and Illinois.
Glenn Borst, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST
Glenn Borst is a Senior Legal Analyst for Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. He has worked in the legal publishing field since 1992, with a focus on federal tax law since 2001. He has written tax news stories and analytical material for numerous legal and tax publications. His areas of primary focus include tax practice and procedure, exempt organizations, IRS examinations and procedures, partnerships, and individual taxation. Before entering the legal publishing field, he practiced general law. He is a graduate of Thomas M. Cooley Law School, with honors, and obtained an LL.M. in Tax Law from IIT-Chicago Kent College of Law. He has an undergraduate degree in Linguistics and Philosophy from Michigan State University. He joined Wolters Kluwer in 2001 and, after a brief hiatus, rejoined in 2021.
Cathleen Calhoun, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST
Cathleen Calhoun is a Senior Legal Analyst with 15 years of experience in product development and in analyzing significant legal developments in health law and tax law, including U.S. Supreme Court cases, White House and federal agency developments, and state and federal regulations and legislation. She has expertise in health care compliance, Medicare, health care fraud, and state tax, and has spoken on legal topics at webinars. Cathleen authored the original Legislative Developments software tool on Wolters Kluwer’s VitalLaw. She previously worked as a judicial clerk for an Illinois Appellate Court justice in Chicago and in the Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting Division. She graduated magna cum laude, in history, from Loyola University Chicago, and has her law degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Cathleen is licensed to practice law in Illinois and joined Wolters Kluwer Legal and Regulatory, U.S. in 2019.
Thomas A. Foley, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST
Thomas A. (Tony) Foley is a Senior Legal Analyst for the Securities group of Wolters Kluwer Legal and Regulatory US with 30+ years’ experience in content creation and new product development. Tony specializes in privacy and data security issues, with responsibilities focused on development and maintenance of global, U.S. and state privacy law content, including federal and state laws and regulations, federal enforcement actions, and actionable, customer-focused tools and trackers. He has extensive editorial experience with Wolters Kluwer, including coverage of Medicare and Medicaid and state taxation. Tony holds a B.A. in political science from the University of South Dakota and a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame.
Matthew Garza, MANAGING EDITOR & LEGAL ANALYST
Matthew Garza is a Managing Editor in the Insights & Enrichment group of Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. Matt has tracked and analyzed securities law, corporation law, and corporate governance issues for more than twenty years. He manages a team of experts in WK’s securities, commodities & derivatives, corporation, blockchain, and cybersecurity & privacy portfolios. Matt is a graduate of Michigan State University and Valparaiso University School of Law.
Deirdre Kennedy, SENIOR WRITER ANALYST
Deirdre Kennedy is a Senior Writer Analyst in the Legal & Regulatory U.S. division of Wolters Kluwer. She has been with the company since 1999. Deirdre’s areas of content expertise include withholding tax law and wage hour issues. Her publication credits include the Payroll Management Guide; the annual Master Payroll Guide; Payroll Law Jurisdictional Compare Smart Charts; HIPAA Guide for Employers; COBRA Guide; and contributions to Intellectual Property Law Daily. Deirdre graduated from the University of Toledo College of Law, earned a Master’s degree in German from Bowling Green State University and has undergraduate degrees in psychology and German from the University of Cincinnati.
Thomas A. Long, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST
Thomas A. Long is a Senior Legal Analyst at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. with nearly 25 years of experience in legal content management and product development. His areas of focus include intellectual property, advertising and marketing law, privacy and data security, consumer protection, and competition law. Thomas graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law and has a bachelor’s degree in political science and journalism from Northern Illinois University. Prior to joining the company, Thomas worked as a technical writer and editor.
Sheila Lynch-Afryl, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST
Sheila Lynch-Afryl is a Senior Legal Analyst, with more than 13 years of experience analyzing legal developments in health law. Her areas of expertise include Medicare and Medicaid benefits and reimbursement, health reform, health care compliance, state health laws and regulations, and climate change and health. She is the lead editor of the Medicare and Medicaid Guide. Sheila earned her undergraduate degree and J.D. from Valparaiso University and her Master of Arts in Writing (with distinction) from DePaul University. Sheila previously worked in private practice and as a judicial clerk for an Illinois Appellate Court justice.
Jeffrey May, MANAGING EDITOR & LEGAL ANALYST
Jeffrey May, J.D., is a managing editor for the Insights & Enrichment team within Wolters Kluwer Legal and Regulatory U.S. who has spent much of his career tracking, analyzing, and writing about antitrust and consumer protection law developments. Jeff has also served as associate managing editor for the antitrust, banking, and IP portfolio. He is a frequent contributor to the AntitrustConnect blog. A member of the Illinois and Pennsylvania bars, Jeff is a graduate of American University and Boston College Law School.
Mark S. Nelson, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST
Mark S. Nelson, J.D., is a Senior Legal Analyst with more than 20 years of experience analyzing and explaining securities regulations and the laws in several adjacent practice areas, including blockchain law, ESG disclosure, and banking law. Mark has been a featured speaker on securities law topics in numerous webinars and has published over 50 white papers and other strategic briefings on a multitude of securities law and adjacent topics. Mark also is a co-coordinator of Securities Regulation Daily, a contributor to the flagship Federal Securities Law Reporter, co-author of a treatise analyzing the Dodd-Frank Act, and co-creator and co-author of a book on blockchain law. Mark received a B.A. in political science from Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, Illinois and a J.D. from University of Illinois Chicago School of Law (formerly The John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois). Mark is admitted to practice in Illinois.
Linda O’Brien, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST
Linda O’Brien is a Senior Legal Analyst on the Insights & Enrichment team of Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. She has 24 years of experience researching and analyzing significant legal developments in tax law, including federal and state law and regulation implications as well as tax legislation which impact individuals and businesses. O’Brien also provides practical and planning articles and white papers on the Wolters Kluwer VitalLaw research platform, which discuss current tax trends and hot topics, as well as tax issues in emerging practice areas, such as cryptocurrency and cannabis. She has managed editorial groups which produced the daily federal tax news service and numerous legal and accounting subscription, book, and newsletter publications. O’Brien received a B.S. degree in accounting from the University of Illinois, J.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law (The John Marshall Law School), and an LL.M. in Taxation from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Barbara O’Dell, MANAGING EDITOR & LEGAL ANALYST
Barbara S. O’Dell is a Managing Editor in the Legal & Regulatory U.S. division of Wolters Kluwer. She has been with the company since 1994. Barbara’s areas of content expertise include payroll, pensions, and welfare benefits. Her publication credits include Employee Benefits Management; Individual Retirement Plan Guide; Payroll Management Guide; Pension Plan Guide; Unemployment Insurance Reporter with Social Security; and the annual U.S. Master Payroll Guide and U.S. Master Pension Guide. Barbara graduated from Northern Illinois University College of Law and has an undergraduate degree in political science and legal studies from Illinois State University. She previously taught as instructor for the Certified Employee Benefits Specialist Program and the paralegal program at Roosevelt University. Barbara also worked as an attorney for a third-party administrator.
John M. Pachkowski, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST
John M. Pachkowski is an attorney and Senior Legal Analyst at Wolters Kluwer Law & Regulatory U.S. and has over 30 years of experience tracking and analyzing banking developments for the suite of U.S. banking products within Wolters Kluwer’s portfolio, with special emphasis on the Federal Banking Law Reports and the Banking and Finance Law Daily. He also led a team in the development of a practice tool, the Federal Banking and Securities Smart Charts—Volcker Rule, that provides information about the ability of banking entities to engage in proprietary trading activities or have relationships with hedge funds and private equity funds requirement under the Volcker Rule regulations. John earned a J.D. from the Delaware Law School of Widener University and a B.A. from Temple University. John offers insight on a wide range of issues affecting the changing financial services industry.
Lene Powell, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST
Lene Powell is a Senior Legal Analyst with over 20 years of experience in securities and derivatives law. Her current areas of focus include ESG/sustainability, SPACs, retail investing, and SEC/CFTC enforcement. She tracks regulation, legislation, and litigation, and has authored commentary on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Lene received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.
Brad Rosen, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST & CONTENT STRATEGIST
Brad Rosen is a Senior Legal Analyst and Content Strategist for the Insights and Enrichment group of Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. For over 25 years, Brad served as general counsel for a number of firms involved in the financial markets and provided legal counsel across a vast spectrum of transactional and litigation matters. At present, Brad seeks out, develops, and grows relationships with law firms, attorneys, and thought leaders across legal practice areas in connection with Wolters Kluwer’s various legal and regulatory portfolios. Brad’s areas of expertise and focus include legal and regulatory developments related to climate change, sustainability, and ESG matters, futures and derivatives, and digital assets. Brad also keeps close tabs on matters related to legal practice and technological innovation. Brad has also been a contributing writer for Chess Life magazine. Brad is a graduate of the University of Illinois and received his J.D. from IIT-Chicago Kent College of Law.
Pamela Wolf, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST
Pamela Wolf is a Senior Legal Analyst for Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. For more than 16 years she has tracked and analyzed employment law issues, including White House and federal agency developments, federal regulations, court decisions, state and federal legislation, and labor and employment trends. She is a contributing editor to Labor and Employment Law Daily. Pamela has moderated webinars and prepared special briefings on topics of interest such as sexual harassment and opioid and cannabis issues in the workplace. Her publication credits also include Employment Practices Guide, EEOC Compliance Manual, and Labor Law Reports. As a practicing attorney, her experience includes employment and civil rights matters. She graduated from IIT-Chicago Kent College of Law with High Honors and has an undergraduate degree in psychology with a minor in business from San Jose State University. Pamela is licensed to practice law in Illinois. She joined Wolters Kluwer in 2005.