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About Us

The commercial law services we provide are wide ranging and include outsourcing, technology transfer and licensing, media law, supply chain management and intellectual property (IP). Our breadth of experience helps identify risks around critical contract provisions such as indemnification, limitation of liability and data privacy and mitigate them quickly.

On the corporate deal side, we understand that the sale of your company may be the most important business transaction of your life. Mergers & Acquisitions is one of our specialties, with decades of experience closing deals of all sizes, from small roll-up acquisitions to multi-million-dollar mergers. We can also advise, in a cost-effective manner, on employment, technology and IP issues affecting both buyers and sellers.

Our Team

Richard Scully

Richard specializes in commercial technology transactions, including licensing, SaaS, vendor and outsourcing contracts, for large public companies such as Best Buy, ADP and Open Text, mid-size enterprises Victoria Beckham Beauty and ACell, large private equity concerns Vista Equity Partners and Crosspoint, and nimble start ups Maisonette and Cabinet. In addition to commercial contracts, Richard also handles a wide range of corporate transactions, providing strategic legal solutions to startups and established public and private companies. Prior to founding Rock-Hurst Astor, Richard was a partner at Fluet Huber & Hoang, practiced at the global firm Baker & McKenzie and served as in-house counsel at XO Communications, handling commercial and corporate transactions and securities filings.Earlier in his career, Richard served as a diplomat for the US State Department, negotiating the acquisition of embassy real estate holdings abroad, while holding a top-secret security clearance. He was also an Attorney Adviser in the Visa Office. Richard received his JD from the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America. Richard is a member of the Maryland and DC bars.

Avra Kutcher

Avra Kutcher is of counsel with Rock-Hurst Astor PLLC, where her law practice focuses on commercial transactional work, including technology, vendor, and non-disclosure agreements. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston University, with a major in Linguistics and a double minor in French and Art History. She studied abroad in London, England, and Paris, France, is a French dual citizen and speaks French fluently. Avra obtained a master’s degree from Hofstra University, with a major in Forensic Linguistics. Avra earned her Juris Doctor from New York Law School, with a concentration in business and intellectual property. To further her involvement in the legal community, while at law school, she served as a senator for the Student Bar Association, as a research assistant for Constitutional Professor Nadine Strossen, as a student attorney representative for the USPTO Trademark Clinic, and interned at TheStreet, Inc. Since graduating, Avra has been volunteering for various organizations such as LiveHelpNY as a chat operator and for The Tenants Law Firm in Los Angeles, CA as a law clerk. She is also an advocate for thyroid cancer awareness as a survivor of the disease. In her spare time, Avra enjoys walking outdoors, baking, reading, and dancing. She is currently admitted in New Jersey, New York and California.
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Diane Holt

Diane Holt’s practice centers on business law, specializing in private equity, venture capital, commercial, and technology transactions in the US and internationally. She previously led a team of transactional lawyers at Bloomberg Industry Group, publishing legal trend analysis and building a state-of-the-art library of guidance covering M&A, capital markets, finance, and commercial contracts. While at Bloomberg, she spearheaded the creation of Bloomberg Law’s Transactional Intelligence Center, and shesupported the development of Bloomberg Law’s AI-powered technology tools including Draft Analyzer and Precedent Search.

Previously, Diane worked as in-house counsel for Enel, SpA, the Italian electric company, in Rome, Italy. There, she ran the transaction team during the company’s de-monopolization and diversification, leading several transformative acquisitions and divestitures around the world. In that role, she also advised the company’s venture capital subsidiary. Prior to that, Diane served as Managing Consultant of Central European Advisory Group, the regional legal and business consultancy based in Prague.

Diane provides thought leadership on a broad range of emerging business and international law topics. An active member of the American Bar Association’s Legal Analytics and M&A Committees, she regularly speaks about deal and technology trends, privacy and data security, ESG, and the transnational practice of law.

A graduate of Wesleyan University, she earned her JD at the University of Michigan, and she speaks Spanish and Italian. Diane is a member of the Maryland and DC bars.