Taft, one of the nation’s fastest-growing law firms, announced today the continued expansion of its corporate practice with the addition of four professionals in Cleveland, with three joining from Benesch and one from McDonald Hopkins.

The additions reflect Taft’s continued investment in its M&A, private equity, and employee benefits practices and commitment to growth in the Cleveland markets.

The new team members joining are:

• Mike Mozes joins as a partner, formerly with Benesch. He partners with financial sponsors to execute their investment strategies, handling everything from high-stakes, billion-dollar platform acquisitions and divestitures to million-dollar tuck-ins for buy-and-build strategies to post-investment integration and day-to-day corporate governance.
• Jason Klein joins as a partner, formerly with Benesch. He has extensive experience advising privately held companies and private equity platforms on complex transactions, including leading clients through mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, sales through bankruptcy, and out-of-court restructurings. He is recognized for delivering practical, business-focused counsel to clients and C-suite executives across a range of corporate issues.
• Jacob Debus joins as an associate, formerly with McDonald Hopkins. He advises private equity funds and private companies in various types of transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, lending matters, and strategic transitions of ownership to employees through employee stock ownership plans (ESOP), employee ownership trusts (EOT), or grants of ownership interests to key employees.
• Dorothea Carleton joins as an associate, formerly with Benesch. She focuses her practice on corporate governance and securities and has experience in conducting due diligence for transactional deals including asset acquisitions, special purpose acquisition companies, and stock purchases.

“Mike, Jason, Jacob, and Dorothea bring the kind of transactional and M&A experience our clients value,” said Howard Bobrow, Taft partner and Cleveland business practice group lead. “They understand how to structure and execute complex transactions efficiently while maintaining a strong focus on client objectives.”

“We are pleased to welcome Mike, Jason, Jacob, and Dorothea to Taft,” said Jill Helfman, partner-in-charge of Taft’s Cleveland office. “They are highly regarded, business-focused attorneys whose ability to align legal strategy with client objectives strengthen our growing platform. Their experience and market perspective makes them a valuable addition to our Cleveland team.”

Following the completion of three mergers in 2025, Taft is one of the fastest-growing law firms in the nation with more than 1,250 attorneys in 25 offices and projected revenues exceeding $1 billion.