Setting the tone for another year of strategic growth, Morse Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, PC (Waltham) began 2016 with the expansion of its litigation group and the enhancement of its PIFA team with the respective additions of Amanda R. Phillips and Weatherly Ralph Emans. We are pleased to welcome them to our firm.Weatherly Ralph Emans, Corporate Senior Attorney - As a member of the firm’s PIFA team in the corporate group, Weatherly focuses her practice primarily on private investment funds, including private equity funds, venture funds, hedge funds and funds of funds. Weatherly’s practice also includes venture capital transactions and providing general corporate advice to early stage companies. A magna cum laude graduate of Yale University, Weatherly earned an M.Phil. at Oxford University in England before acquiring a J.D. at Harvard Law School, where she was the senior editor of theHarvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. Prior to joining our firm, she worked as a corporate associate at Pepper Hamilton, LLP, and previously as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group.Amanda R. Phillips, Litigation Associate - As a member of the firm’s litigation practice, Amanda focuses her practice on commercial civil disputes and securities litigation, and has broad experience working with clients under investigation by federal and state government agencies.  A cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, and a summa cum laude graduate of Bentley University, she also holds an A.S degree from the Community College of the Air Force. Prior to law school, Amanda, who holds a bachelor’s degree in accountancy, was a financial accountant for large publicly traded companies in a variety of industries. Previously, she served as a Special Agent in the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and worked in counter-terrorism, where she protected President Clinton and other heads of state.