Issue: Summer 2024
137 results
Graduated in 2020s
2021
Ellen Aldin is now an attorney adviser in the Office of the Chief Counsel for International Commerce in the US Department of Commerce. She joins fellow Michigan Law alumni John Cobau, ’93, (chief counsel), Glenn Kaminsky, ’00, (assistant chief counsel), and Stephanie Zable, ’18, (senior attorney) in providing legal advice to the department’s International Trade Administration.
Hailey Cherepon joined the Michigan State Budget Office’s legal team as associate legal counsel, appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Previously, Cherepon worked as an associate at WilmerHale. She also has clerked for the Hon. Arianna Freeman on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
D. Colby Orton joined Ogletree Deakins as an associate in the firm’s Detroit office. His practice focuses on employment litigation in all areas of labor and employment law. Before joining Ogletree, he worked as an associate attorney on data privacy incident response, litigation matters, and labor and employment matters.
2022
Latazia Carter joined Bass, Berry & Sims PLC in Nashville, Tennessee, as an associate in the litigation and dispute resolution practice group. She represents clients in complex business litigation and government investigations. Before joining the firm, she clerked for the Hon. Susan M. Carney on the Alaska Supreme Court.
2023
Elizabeth Blondin joined Bodman PLC as an attorney in the firm’s banking practice group. She is based in the Troy, Michigan, office and focuses on representing financial institutions in commercial loan organizations and transactional matters.
Daniel Cowan received the second-highest score among his peers who took the July 2023 Texas Bar Exam. He served as a judicial intern for the Michigan Supreme Court and now works as an associate in the corporate practice of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC in Austin.
Spencer Darling joined the Ann Arbor office of Bodman PLC as an attorney in the firm’s intellectual property practice. He represents clients in transactions, dispute resolution processes, trademark registrations, and brand protection.
Sam Poortenga joined Warner Norcross+Judd LLP as an associate in the firm’s Grand Rapids, Michigan, office. He focuses his practice on cybersecurity, privacy, and general corporate law and advises clients ranging from startups to established corporations on a wide range of legal matters.
Joe Rockwell joined Warner Norcross+Judd LLP as an associate in the firm’s Grand Rapids, Michigan, office. He is concentrating his practice on commercial, environmental, and labor and employment disputes. He also counsels organizations navigating the complexities of political lobbying and campaign-related legalities.
Shruti Singh, LLM, joined Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. as a partner in the firm’s New Delhi general corporate practice, where she concentrates on mergers and acquisitions and structured and corporate finance matters. She has advised foreign and Indian corporations, entrepreneurs, private equity funds, and various organizations on legal and regulatory issues. Previously, she was a consultant with Khaitan & Co. in its restructuring and insolvency practice.
Graduated in 2010s
2010
Rabbi Dan Horwitz recently began his tenure as the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville, Tennessee, where he focuses on serving the needs of the local Jewish community through philanthropy. He has experience as a pulpit rabbi in a congregation of more than 900 people. Rabbi Horwitz is a member of OHALAH (the Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal) and the State Bar of Michigan. He also recently released his first book, Just Jewish: How to Engage Millennials and Build a Vibrant Jewish Future (Ben Yehuda Press, 2023).
2012
Christa Wittenberg, a litigation attorney at O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing SC, was recently elected to the firm’s board of directors. She has been with the firm since 2014 as a member of its litigation practice group, where she assists businesses and individuals with pursuing and defending complex civil litigation issues. Wittenberg is the chairperson for the communications committee at the State Bar of Wisconsin and is a member of the boards of directors of LOTUS Legal Clinic, the Association for Women Lawyers, and the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association.
2013
Steven Beigelmacher was promoted to partner at Perkins Coie LLP, based in the firm’s Seattle office. He is a member of the patent prosecution and portfolio counseling practice, where he advises clients on patent analytics, provides strategic portfolio counseling, and supports inter partes reviews and litigation. He leads efforts involving patent due diligence, valuations for sales and acquisitions, and comparative analyses. He joined the firm in 2014 as an associate and was elevated to counsel in 2021.
Michael Malenfant was elected counsel at Vinson & Elkins LLP in Houston. His practice focuses on assisting energy clients in a range of regulatory, litigation, and transactional matters. He has advised clients in the midstream and power industries on issues related to certificate and rate proceedings, state and federal appellate proceedings, transactional matters, and jurisdictional and regulatory matters related to emerging energy technologies.
Brianna Oller was elevated to partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in New York. She is a member of the banking practice and finance department, representing clients in acquisition financing, direct lending, cross-border matters, and other leveraged finance transactions.
Allyson Terpsma, a partner in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, office of Warner Norcross+Judd LLP, was chosen to serve a three-year term on the firm’s management committee. She provides skilled labor and employment counsel for employers in higher education and health care, among other industries, and has handled disputes over disciplinary actions, contract interpretation, and compensation through arbitration and litigation.
Michael Waldman was named a partner in the New York office of Latham & Watkins LLP. He is a member of the banking practice and finance department, where he represents financial institutions in leveraged finance transactions that include acquisition financing, debt restructuring, cross-border transactions, asset-based financing, recurring revenue-based financing, and margin loan financing.
2014
Lee Crain was recently elected litigation partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. He focuses on trial and appellate litigation in both federal and state courts, and he has experience litigating cases involving media and entertainment, tech, employment disputes, and the First Amendment. He also has experience in crisis counseling and leading teams seeking or defending temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions.
Mark Garibyan was promoted to special counsel at Schulte, Roth & Zabel LLP in New York. He specializes in commercial, business, and bankruptcy disputes as well as shareholder activism litigation. He also focuses on internal and government investigations relating to federal securities law, anti-money laundering, and issues relating to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He previously worked in the firm’s mergers and acquisitions and securities group.
Matt Gregory was elected partner in the Washington, DC, office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. He practices in the firm’s litigation department and in the appellate and constitutional law and the administrative law and regulatory practice groups. Before joining Gibson Dunn, he clerked for Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on the US Supreme Court and for the Hon. Raymond M. Kethledge, ’93, on the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Julian Kleinbrodt was elected partner in the San Francisco office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He practices in the firm’s litigation department and is a member of the antitrust and competition practice group. He has particular experience with claims involving price-fixing, monopolization, attempted monopolization, refusals to deal, tying, bundling, exclusive dealing, disparagement, market allocation and division, and no-poach provisions.
Summer 2024 Class Note
Brian Davis, ’14, and Katy McNeil, ’14: Persevering, Together
Anyone who met Brian Davis and Katy McNeil in 2021 would have assumed they led a charmed life. Both had graduated from Michigan Law in 2014 and were climbing their respective career ladders. But behind the scenes, Davis was beginning to experience unsettling health problems.
2015
Justina Chen was elected partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Her practice is based in Weil’s Silicon Valley, California, office and focuses on advising borrowers, private equity sponsors, and other financial institutions in a variety of financing transactions. This work includes first- and second-lien credit facilities, asset-based loans, cross-border and domestic acquisition financing, working capital facilities, and Chapter 11 reorganizations and out-of-court restructurings.
Matthew Evans joined the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota in the Criminal Division’s Fraud and Public Corruption Unit. Previously, he was a trial attorney for the US Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section in Washington, DC, from 2017 to 2023.
Sarah Johnson joined the Washington Innocence Project, formerly Innocence Project Northwest, as a staff attorney. The volunteer organization works to free innocent prisoners in Washington State. Previously, she worked for seven years as a public defender.
Avi Kupfer was elevated to litigation and dispute resolution partner at Mayer Brown. He is based in the firm's Chicago office, where he is a member of the Supreme Court and appellate practice. Kupfer joined Mayer Brown in 2021; before that, he was an appellate attorney in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the US Department of Justice.
Joshua La Vigne was elevated to partner in the corporate and securities department at Mayer Brown, focusing his practice on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and general corporate governance matters. He is based in the firm’s Chicago office. He first joined Mayer Brown as a summer associate and joined the firm full time after graduation.
Bibeane Metsch-Garcia joined the Minneapolis-based law firm Ciresi Conlin LLP as an associate. Previously, she was an assistant US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Her time there included serving as the office’s lead attorney for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.
Leah Mintz was reappointed co-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Appellate Courts Committee, after serving in the same role in 2022 and 2023. She has been an associate at Duane Morris LLP since 2017, where she practices in the firm’s trial practice group. She focuses on appellate litigation, white-collar criminal defense, and complex commercial litigation.
2016
Greg in den Berken recently became an assistant US attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He was previously an associate at Latham & Watkins LLP in Washington, DC, where he focused on appellate and complex commercial litigation.
Emily Cross was admitted as a member of Bodman PLC. She practices in the firm’s Troy, Michigan, office as part of the litigation and alternative dispute resolution and the automotive and industrial practice groups. Her practice spans securities litigation, contract disputes, constitutional litigation, and administrative law matters. She also is active in pro bono matters, such as immigration appeals to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and representing asylum and U-visa applicants in immigration applications and proceedings.
Lauren Dayton has been named partner at MoloLamken LLP. She is now based in Chicago after four years in the firm’s New York office. She focuses her practice on complex disputes and appeals, primarily in business and antitrust matters, and has litigated on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants from trial courts to the US Supreme Court. She joined the firm after clerking for the Hon. Steven M. Colloton on the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the Hon. Brian M. Cogan on the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Brandon Debus was elected as a member attorney at Dickinson Wright PLLC, based in Troy, Michigan. He advises clients on matters related to commercial litigation, live music and entertainment, complex insurance coverage, and bad faith actions.
Angelina Delmastro was elected as a member attorney at Dickinson Wright PLLC, based in Detroit. She focuses her practice on labor and employment litigation, advising clients on employment matters and regulatory compliance. She also has experience negotiating complex severance and settlement agreements.
Rita Feikema, an attorney at Honigman LLP, was recently elected partner in the firm’s Chicago office. She is a member of Honigman’s real estate department, where she focuses on commercial transactions and represents landlords, tenants, buyers, and sellers. She also has cross-disciplinary experience in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, debt finance, statutory risk and compliance, and cross-border transactions.
Jennifer Fischell has been named partner at MoloLamken LLP. She is based in Washington, DC, and focuses her practice on appeals and complex civil litigation, particularly administrative law, energy, and intellectual property. She joined the firm after clerking for the Hon. Raymond M. Kethledge, ’93, on the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the Hon. Ronnie Abrams on the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. In 2021, she left MoloLamken to clerk for Associate Justice Elena Kagan on the US Supreme Court and returned to the firm in December 2022.
Summer 2024 Class Note
Kya Henley, ’16, and Calyssa Zellars, ’17: From BLSA to Business Partners
Henley and Zellars first met as members of the Black Law Students Association at Michigan Law, and the alumnae recently opened a new boutique law firm with offices in Detroit and Washington, DC.
Amy Lishinski joined the Michigan State Budget Office’s legal team as deputy legal counsel, appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Previously, she worked as counsel at WilmerHale. She also has clerked for the Hon. David Tatel on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and for the Hon. Bridget Mary McCormack on the Michigan Supreme Court.
Mary Lucille “Mary Lu” Noah was promoted to partner at Stites & Harbison PLLC. She is based in the firm’s Nashville, Tennessee, office in the real estate and banking service group, where she represents borrowers and lenders in financing transactions such as acquisition and construction loans, term loan facilities, asset-based secured financing, and revolving credit facilities. She also represents developers, investors, and owners in the acquisition, disposition, and leasing of real property and works closely with businesses to ensure compliance with environmental laws.
Jeffrey M. Smith was promoted to partner at Robison Curphey, & O’Connell LLC in Toledo, Ohio. He represents businesses, health care institutions, and financial institutions in commercial litigation matters. He joined the firm in 2021, bringing experience as a business and tort litigation attorney. Earlier in his career, he clerked for the Hon. Sara Lioi on the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
Adam Uth joined Mansour Gavin’s litigation group, where his work focuses on real estate matters. He has considerable experience representing businesses in various types of litigation and has secured favorable outcomes at both the trial and appellate levels. Uth also has experience providing compliance analysis, both in the private sector and for the City of Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Matthew Worsham has been appointed chair of the Martin County Bar Association’s Wills, Trusts & Estates/Probate Committee for the 2023–2024 term. He is a trusts and estates litigation attorney with Jones Foster, a private and commercial law firm based in West Palm Beach, Florida. His practice focuses on probate, guardianship, trust litigation, and trust and estate administration. (may have submitted a photo that I can’t access - in the email)
2017
Rebecca Seguin-Skrabucha, a member in the Troy, Michigan, office of Bodman PLC, was appointed as vice chair of the firm’s workplace law practice group. She concentrates her practice in advising employers, including municipal governments and businesses of all sizes, on compliance with state and federal employment and labor laws. She also conducts workplace investigations and management training.
2019
Danielle Maldonado joined Benesch’s Chicago office as an associate in the firm’s litigation and labor and employment practice groups. Her experience includes defending and counseling employers in labor and employment matters, such as individual plaintiff and representative action litigation, wage and hour litigation, and compliance and workforce-related matters. Previously, Maldonado worked as a labor and employment associate at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP for four years.
Graduated in 2000s
2000
Dora June has joined Bodman PLC’s real estate practice group in the firm’s office in Troy, Michigan. June represents commercial landlords and tenants in retail and office leasing matters and the analysis, structuring, and negotiation of complex real estate transactions. She has extensive experience as a leasing attorney for significant real estate management and boutique firms.
Alexandra MacKay was recently honored by World Trademark Review for her work with the Stites & Harbison PLLC trademark practice group. MacKay is based in the firm’s Nashville, Tennessee, office and counsels clients in litigation and transactional matters involving intellectual property, including the selection, adoption, and registration of trademarks and copyrights.
Russell McGlothlin was appointed partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP in the firm’s Santa Barbara, California, office. He counsels clients on water rights issues, including disputes and litigation, regulation, and high-stakes transactional work. McGlothlin helped draft the landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and is a frequent speaker and author on issues related to water rights.
Kim Pagotto joined Dentons’ real estate practice as a partner in the firm’s Washington, DC, office. She has extensive experience in commercial real estate and government leasing. Pagotto represents clients nationwide in responding to expressions of interest, requests for proposals, lease negotiations and administration, audit responses, compliance, acquisitions, dispositions, and financing related to government properties.
Elizabeth Rogers, a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, was included in Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s Michigan’s Go To Lawyers Power List in the commercial real estate category. Rogers’s practice involves complex transactions for national and international companies and closely held businesses. Her background is in real estate business and civil litigation matters, and she also has advised municipalities on legal strategy and risk mitigation.
2001
Timothy J. Lane, a staff attorney, legislative liaison, and policy analyst at the Colorado District Attorney’s Council, was appointed to the Gilpin County Court in the First Judicial District by Gov. Jared Polis. Previously, he was deputy district attorney in the same district.
Tara McGrath, nominated by President Biden, was appointed as US attorney for the Southern District of California, making her the chief prosecutor and top federal law enforcement official in one of the busiest federal districts in the nation. McGrath previously served as an assistant US attorney in San Diego and Washington, DC, before spending the past four years working as a legal adviser for the Marine Corps, of which she is a veteran.
Samir Parikh joined Wake Forest University School of Law in North Carolina as a professor of law. Previously, he was the Robert E. Jones Professor of Advocacy and Ethics at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. Also, the Yale Law Journal recently published his new essay, “Opaque Capital and Mass-Tort Financing.”
Vivek Sankaran was named one of the Leaders in the Law for 2023 by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. He is a clinical professor of law at Michigan Law and is the director of the Child Advocacy Law Clinic and the Child Welfare Appellate Clinic. His work is centered on advocating for children’s and parents’ rights during child welfare proceedings. In 2009, he founded the Detroit Center for Family Advocacy, the first organization in the country to provide multidisciplinary legal assistance to families with the goal of preventing children from unnecessarily entering the foster care system.
2002
Brian Gallini was appointed dean and tenured professor of law at Quinnipiac University School of Law, effective June 30. Previously, he served as dean and professor of law at Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Oregon. He is a leading scholar in criminal law and focuses his work on law enforcement discretion issues in the context of interrogation methods, consent searches, and profiling.
Matthew Johnson has been appointed to a three-year term on the management committee at Warner Norcross+Judd LLP. He is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he chairs the firm’s corporate practice group. He represents closely held and family-owned businesses, emerging growth companies, and investors on such matters as mergers and acquisitions, private securities offerings, formation and capital raising, succession planning, and board governance.
Joshua Lee joined Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) as a partner in the firm’s Chicago office. He is co-head of the litigation and disputes department, focusing on product liability, consumer disputes, and environmental and mass tort litigation. Lee joins NRF from Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila, a Chicago-based litigation firm he helped form. He has defended clients across a range of areas, including pharmaceuticals, genetic engineering, and chemical exposure.
Indraneel Basu Majumdar joined KPMG Law UK as director of the firm’s financial services team. His practice is based in London and is focused on payment services and digital assets. Before joining KPMG, Majumdar was the senior financial services solicitor for Harper James Solicitor, a law firm in Birmingham, England.
Markeisha Miner recently became the University of Rhode Island’s vice president for community, equity, and diversity. Previously, she was the dean of students at Cornell Law School. She has been active in community organizations, including the American Bar Association’s Tort, Trial, and Insurance Practice Section Leadership Academy and the State Bar of Michigan’s Character and Fitness Committee. She has served on the board of trustees for the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan Foundation and the board of directors for Alternatives for Girls.
Tina Samanta was recently elected partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. She joined the firm in 2007 as an of counsel attorney in its New York office. Samanta has represented financial institutions, corporations, and individuals in sensitive and high-stakes securities-related investigations and litigation. She is a frequent public speaker and author on matters relating to the enforcement of securities laws.
The Hon. Kyle Seedorf was appointed chief judge in the 17th Judicial District of Colorado. He worked in private practice, and as general counsel and director of legal affairs for the Colorado Department of Higher Education, before being appointed as a district court judge in 2019.
Christopher Timura was recently elected partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Washington, DC. He joined the firm in 2017 as an of counsel legal adviser. He is a member of the firm’s international trade and white collar defense and investigations practice groups, where he advises individuals and companies on how to solve regulatory, legal, and political problems involving national security, trade, and foreign policy. He also assists clients working with emerging technologies in international trade compliance, export control licensing, supply chain, and corporate social responsibility strategies.
2003
Pippin C. Brehler has been elevated to assistant chief counsel with the California Air Resources Board in Sacramento, where he has helped lead California’s groundbreaking requirements for advanced zero-emission vehicle emission standards. Among other previous positions, he clerked for the Hon. Marilyn J. Kelly on the Michigan Supreme Court. This past summer, he returned after a two-decade absence to compete in his fourth Bayview Mackinac Race, sailing from Port Huron to Mackinac Island. Outside of the office, he rallies behind his two daughters to support them through the adventures of high school.
Ken Gish rejoined Stites & Harbison in Lexington, Kentucky, as a partner in the environmental, natural resources, and energy service group and the business and finance service group. His practice focuses on assisting corporate and institutional clients in meeting sustainability goals through renewable energy purchases, advising clients in the energy industry, and assisting renewable developers in all aspects of project development. He also is an active member of his community, currently serving as the director of LexArts Inc.
Brandy Robinson was appointed to the Michigan Appellate Defender Commission by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, representing the State Bar of Michigan. She is a managing attorney of criminal practice for the Neighborhood Defender Service of Detroit. Before her recent appointment, Robinson was chair of the State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section, a member of the State Bar of Michigan Board of Commissioners, and vice chair of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission.
Ryan Walters has been promoted to chief of the Special Litigation Division for the Office of the Texas Attorney General. He previously served as deputy chief and eventually special counsel for the same division. Before joining the Office of the Texas Attorney General, Walters was the assistant attorney general in the Office of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in the Employment Law Section from 2013 to 2016. He then worked as an attorney for the Texas Public Policy Foundation until 2021.
2004
Azadeh Shahshahani delivered the opening keynote speech at the Rebellious Lawyering Conference at Yale Law School, which was the conference’s 30th anniversary. She is a legal and advocacy director at Project South, a nonprofit organization that focuses on developing activist strategies in response to social issues in the US and Global South. She is a president of the National Lawyers Guild.
John J. Tepedino has been promoted to partner at Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf. He is based in the firm’s New York office and focuses his practice on bankruptcy litigation, including as part of the team representing the SIPA Trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. He has led dozens of adversary proceedings resulting in the recovery of millions of dollars for the victims of Madoff’s fraud. He also has handled a variety of matters in Chapter 7 and 11 bankruptcies. Before joining Windels Marx, he was an associate in the New York office of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, where he focused on US and cross-border corporate investigations and securities litigation.
2005
Aaron O’Donnell, a real estate attorney, was recently elevated to partner in Holland & Knight LLP’s Chicago office. In his practice, he represents institutional, private equity, developer, and corporate clients in all aspects of real estate transactions. The primary transaction types he oversees include the acquisition, financing, joint venture structuring, development, and disposition of real estate.
2006
Heba Aref, a member in the Detroit office of Bodman PLC, was appointed as co-chair of the firm’s banking practice group. She represents financial institutions in the structuring, negotiating, and documenting of loan transactions, including syndicated loans, bilateral loans, subordinated loans, and participations. Before joining Bodman, she practiced in the New York, Minneapolis, and Palo Alto offices of Dorsey & Whitney.
Raj Patel joined Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP in Chicago as a partner in the firm’s construction and real estate litigation group. He advises clients on construction, infrastructure, leasing, and supply chain transactions across industries such as education, automotive, aviation, oil and gas, and sports and gaming. Before joining Faegre, he was a partner at Honigman LLP in its Chicago office.
Mei-Li da Silva Vint was appointed chief commercial officer for Brevet Capital Management, where she oversees product development and commercial strategies. She continues to co-manage Brevet’s platform origination businesses, including the operations of the real assets group. She is a longtime executive with the firm, previously serving as the chief compliance officer. Before joining Brevet in 2016, da Silva Vint worked at Morgan Stanley, covering institutional clients in fixed income, equity, and structured private secured loans.
2008
Chase Cantrell was reappointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to represent the general public on the Michigan Board of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons. He is the executive director and founder of Building Community Value, a Detroit-based nonprofit dedicated to implementing and facilitating real estate development projects in underserved Detroit neighborhoods. His term runs through June 30, 2027.
Susan Bassford Wilson was recently promoted to assistant general counsel II at Ryder System Inc., a leading logistics and transportation company. Since joining the company in 2021, she has focused on labor and employment matters in North America. Previously, she was a labor and employment partner and co-chair of the digital workplace and data privacy practice group at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete LLP.
2009
Samuel Duncan was promoted to partner at Ropes & Gray LLP. He is a tax lawyer based in the firm's New York office. Duncan joined the firm in 2021 as counsel. Previously, he worked as counsel at the New York law practice Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.
Brett Gelbord was named among the Top 200 Global Psychedelic Lawyers and Policy and Regulatory Experts of 2024. Gelbord is a member of the labor and employment group at Dykema Gossett PLLC in Detroit, where he is spearheading the firm’s work in the emerging psychedelics industry. He advises clients on the legal risks of doing business within the industry, as well as advocating for legislative and policy changes. Previously, he was a senior counsel at the firm.
David Kowalski was elevated to counsel at Latham & Watkins LLP in San Diego. He is a member of the complex commercial litigation practice and litigation and trial department, in which he represents clients through trial in complex litigation matters in federal and state courts. He joined Latham & Watkins after graduation as an associate and had previously worked there as a summer associate.
Gregory Lavigne joined Sidley Austin LLP as a partner in the firm’s energy, transportation, and infrastructure group, based in New York. Before joining the firm, he was a partner at Allen & Overy. He advises private capital providers and major sponsors in tax and private equity, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, project finance, and structured finance transactions. He also has extensive experience in renewables, alternative energy, and energy transition markets.
Graduated in 1990s
1990
Kenneth M. Dintzer, a 30-year US Department of Justice veteran, is the lead counsel on United States v. Google LLC. The trial is ongoing in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. He is a senior trial counsel at the US Department of Justice Washington DC-Baltimore Area Antitrust Division and was assigned to the Google case during the Trump administration.
Peter Jaffe joined Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in Washington, DC, as vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary. He joins MCC from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where he provided legal advice and strategic guidance on complex international matters and served as deputy chair of the firm’s anti-corruption practice group. He began his career at the US Department of Justice, where he served as a trial attorney, special assistant US attorney, and counsel to the US Senate Judiciary Committee.
Randall E. Kay was recognized by The Legal 500 as a member of its hall of fame for work in the area of intellectual property and trade secrets for litigation and noncontentious matters. He practices intellectual property litigation as a partner with Jones Day, where he leads the firm’s global trade secret practice. He is based in San Diego.
Melodie Rose was appointed president of Fredrikson & Byron in Minneapolis, the first woman to serve in the role in the firm’s 75-year history. She is the co-chair of the public companies and capital markets group and the corporate governance group. She also has served on the firm’s board of directors and elected compensation committee, as president of the executive committee, and as chair of the business division.
James Rowader was appointed executive director of the Cannabis Expungement Board by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The board reviews eligible felony and misdemeanor-level convictions related to cannabis and determines eligibility for expungement or resentencing. He is the director of people and culture for the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and previously served as the city attorney for the City of Minneapolis. Before public service, Rowader worked with Target Corporation as vice president and general counsel for employee and labor relations.
Carolin Chenoweth Shining was appointed as a trustee to the Los Angeles County Bar Association's board of trustees for the 2023–2024 term. She is a principal in Shining Law Firm and specializes in complex civil litigation, including consumer class actions and multiparty litigation with a focus on representation of plaintiffs. She has served on the board of governors for the Consumers Attorneys of California since 2022.
Ronald E. Wheeler was promoted to associate dean of law libraries at Boston University’s Fineman & Pappas Law Libraries. He joined the faculty of the Boston University School of Law in 2016 as director of the law libraries and associate professor of law and legal research. In his 22-year career as an academic law librarian, he has taught and mentored law students and aspiring law librarians at law schools throughout the US, in Shanghai, and through study abroad programs in Germany and Brazil. He served as the first Black male president of the American Association of Law Libraries from 2016 to 2017. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island.
1991
Joseph Kowalsky, senior financial consultant at Upstream Investment Partners LLC, founded Organs for Life, a charitable organization dedicated to making organ transplants safer, less costly, and more widely available. The organization is an expansion of the Organ CryoPreservation Prize, which Kowalsky founded in 2013.
Lauren Krasnow is the founder of Lauren Krasnow LLC and serves as an executive coach, consultant, and speaker to senior leaders and members of global law firms. She also writes “The Fully Human Lawyer” for the American Lawyer and Law.com, a column that shares real, anonymized stories about the legal profession. She holds a leadership position in the International Coaching Federation, the world’s largest professional coaching organization, and lives in West Hartford, Connecticut.
Peter Manning has been promoted to deputy attorney general of the Michigan Department of Attorney General, which he joined in 1994. Manning has worked in the department’s Environment, Natural Resources & Agriculture division for most of his career, including as a division chief for 17 years. Previously, he was bureau chief of the Environment and Government Operations Bureau. Manning also has served as the attorney general’s representative on the Great Lakes Commission and as the department’s emergency management coordinator for nearly two decades.
1992
Michelle Thurber Czapski was recognized by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a leader in business litigation on its Michigan’s Go To Lawyers Power List. Czapski is a member at Bodman PLC, where she chairs the insurance practice group and co-chairs the litigation and alternative dispute resolution practice group. She has represented major corporate clients in litigation and alternative dispute resolution proceedings for more than three decades.
Gregory Gulia has joined the international law firm Womble Bond Dickinson as a partner in the trademarks, copyrights, and transactions practice group. Gulia is an intellectual property litigator and practitioner who has counseled major media companies, retailers, consumer product companies, entertainers, and luxury goods brands.
1993
Brad Keywell was appointed to the board of directors of the sports and entertainment company TKO Group Holdings Inc. Keywell has co-founded and led several companies, including Groupon, Echo Global Logistics, Lightbank, and MediaOcean. He is the founder and executive chairman of UpTake Technologies Inc., an artificial intelligence software company, and the founder of SkillHero, a workforce technology company.
Melissa Malkin-Weber is a founding co-director of the North Carolina Clean Energy Fund, an independent nonprofit financial institution focused on accelerating decarbonization, particularly for underserved sectors and low-wealth communities. The fund is part of the capital deployment network under the federal Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which was created as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Malkin-Weber has experience working as an environmental scientist at RTI International, where she led the company’s Hazardous Materials Committee. She also has worked as the research director of Advanced Energy Corp. and sustainability director at Self-Help Credit Union.
1994
Dominic Cianciolo is the story and voiceover director for NetherRealm Studios. He wrote and developed the performances for Mortal Kombat 1, the 2023 reboot and 12th installment of the video game series. Cianciolo joined the studio's creative team in 2007. In his current role, he has directed a number of notable actors and performers, including J.K. Simmons, Sylvester Stallone, Keith David, and John Cena.
Noelle Cooper was elected shareholder of Lane Powell PC. She is based in the firm’s Seattle office, and her practice focuses on acquisition and financing transactions and general corporate matters for health care clients. Cooper represents buyers and sellers of senior housing facilities in complex transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, loan financing, joint ventures, sale-leasebacks, general corporate and securities law issues, and health care regulatory compliance.
Jeffrey Gerish was elected to a three-year term as the president and CEO of Plunkett Cooney, one of the oldest and largest law firms in the Midwest. Gerish works in the firm’s headquarters in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. His expertise is in insurance coverage, commercial and employment liability, and medical malpractice cases. Gerish has participated in appellate cases that have resulted in more than 100 published opinions in Michigan and Indiana.
Kyle R. Hauberg has been appointed to the executive board for a three-year term at Dykema Gossett LLP. Hauberg is a real estate lawyer whose practice focuses on development transactions, property acquisitions and sales, leases, financing projects, partnerships, and joint ventures related to real estate. He advises private equity companies on real estate and environmental issues and represents a wide range of industries. Hauberg was formerly the director of the firm’s real estate and environmental department for 10 years.
Bentina Terry was named president and CEO of Southern Communications, a Southern Company subsidiary. In the role, Terry leads Southern Linc and Southern Telecom Inc., which provide LTE wireless and dark-fiber networks and services to electric utilities as well as a variety of businesses and public sector agencies. Terry previously was senior vice president of customer strategy and solutions at Georgia Power, also a Southern Company subsidiary.
1995
Marc A. Howze, senior adviser to the office of the chairman at Deere & Company, has been elected to Lincoln Electric’s board of directors. In this role, he serves as a member of the compensation and executive development committee and the finance committee. At Deere & Company, Howze counsels the CEO and other leaders on strategic and operational matters and supports external advocacy efforts for the organization.
Maureen Moran recently became the collection strategy and research librarian for the D'Angelo Law Library at the University of Chicago. She previously spent two years as the collection development librarian for the E.B. Williams Library at Georgetown University Law Center. Moran worked as a practicing attorney for more than 10 years after graduating from Michigan Law. She began her career as a research librarian at university law libraries in 2010.
Todd Wade joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP as a partner in the firm’s Atlanta office, where he works with the firm’s mergers and acquisitions team. Wade has advised domestic and international clients on corporate transactions, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, and financing, for more than 25 years.
1996
Christopher Cahill joined Dykema Gossett LLP as senior counsel in the firm’s corporate and finance practice group. Cahill joins Dykema from Aegis Law and previously was a partner with L&G Law Group LLP for more than a decade. Cahill led the bankruptcy groups at his two previous firms and represented principal lenders, creditor manufacturers, and commodity suppliers.
James Caserio joined Jones Day as a partner and member of the firm’s real estate practice in its Chicago office. He advises clients on complex commercial real estate transactions, real estate finance, joint ventures, development projects, and loan restructurings. Caserio represents institutional investors, public and private real estate companies, real estate investment trusts, developers, retailers, hedge funds, and other investment funds and financial institutions.
Todd A. Schoenhaus, a personal injury attorney, has been promoted to shareholder at the Philadelphia law firm Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck PC. His practice concentrates on product liability, premises liability, construction accidents, and industrial machinery defects. Schoenhaus also has experience litigating cases involving vehicle accidents, professional malpractice, nursing home negligence, and civil rights.
1998
Adam Epstein was appointed co-chief executive officer and president of adMarketplace, an online search advertising company. He works alongside founder and chairman Jamie Hill in the new role. Epstein joined the company in 2003 as a part-time general counsel and was appointed chief operating officer and president in 2006.
1999
Russell Abrutyn was recognized by the American Immigration Lawyers Association with the Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award for excellence in advancing the practice of immigration law. He currently serves as the chair of the Michigan chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He began his career as an attorney with Marshal E. Hyman & Associates PC before founding his firm, Abrutyn Law PLLC, in 2016.
Jeffrey C. Gifford was selected to serve a three-year term on the executive board at Dykema Gossett LLP. Gifford, who has been with the firm since 2004 and is based in San Antonio, works with clients in negotiating and closing complex public and private transactions. Gifford previously led Dykema’s corporate and finance practice group.
David Guenther published his first book, The Art Dealer’s Apprentice: Behind the Scenes of the New York Art World (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2024). The book is a nonfiction account of the New York art business and was inspired by his time as gallery director for art dealer Carla Panicali. He is a clinical professor of law and director of the International Transactions Clinic at Michigan Law.
Damali Sahu was recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business as a 2023 Notable Leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Sahu is an attorney at Bodman PLC and represents financial institutions in general commercial loan and real estate transactions. She has been co-chair of the firm’s DEI committee for more than a decade. Sahu also serves as chair of the board of directors for Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan, vice president and treasurer of the board of directors for the New Paradigm College Prep School, and on the board of directors for the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion.
Graduated in 1980s
1980
Adele Rapport Seymour was added to the A. Felch Pendill Wall of Excellence at Marquette (Michigan) Senior High School, her alma mater. Honorees must distinguish themselves in a chosen profession, be involved in public or community service, and demonstrate philanthropy. She is the regional director for the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights in Chicago and previously was the regional attorney for the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Detroit District office.
1981
Robin L. Harrison, a partner at Hicks Thomas LLP in Houston, was named one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America for 2024. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in trials and arbitrations in America and Europe for more than 35 years and is a member of the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the American Bar Association, and the Texas Bar Association. He served as a director of the litigation section of the Houston Bar Association from 1997 to 2001 and the Houston Trial Lawyers Association from 2002 to 2004; he remains a member of both organizations.
Howard Kramer joined SEDA Experts LLC, a financial witness firm, as a senior adviser. Kramer, who is retired from practice, was a financial regulatory attorney for more than 40 years. He has experience in securities and derivative products and markets, equity, options and debt market trading, broker-dealer compliance, US financial regulatory structure, and US securities law and regulations. He spent 14 years with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and later worked in private practice as a partner at Schiff Hardin LLP, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, and Murphy & McGonigle PC.
1982
Clarence Armbrister was elected chair of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health’s National Board of Trustees, of which he has been a member since 2013. He was president of Johnson C. Smith University from 2018 until his retirement in 2023, and he previously served in leadership positions at Temple University, Johns Hopkins University, and Girard College. Before that, he held various roles in the Philadelphia city government and was a partner at Saul, Ewing Remick & Saul.
Ross Crown joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as of counsel in the firm’s Albuquerque, New Mexico, office. His focus is on government contracts and commercial litigation at the federal, state, and local levels in New Mexico, Colorado, and the broader Western region. Before joining Brownstein, Crown was a government contracts lawyer at Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie.
Stuart Streichler authored Presidential Accountability in Wartime: President Bush, the Treatment of Detainees, and the Laws of War (University of Michigan Press, 2023). He has taught constitutional law and human rights at the University of Washington and as a Fulbright scholar at Tohoku University in Japan. He also is the author of Justice Curtis in the Civil War Era: At the Crossroads of American Constitutionalism (University of Virginia Press, 2005).
1983
W. Gregory Voss, associate professor at Toulouse Business School, was cited in two foreign courts recently. His co-authored work The Right to Be Forgotten in the European Union: Enforcement in the Court of Justice and Amendment to the Proposed General Data Protection Regulation (Aspen Publishers Inc., 2015) was discussed in the High Court of the Indian State of Kerala judgment in K.G. Vysakh vs. Union of India and connected cases. His co-authored work on EU general data protection regulation sanctions was cited in a Court of Justice of the European Union opinion in a case related to the Lithuanian National Public Health Center.
1984
Kurtis T. Wilder was honored during a special session of the Michigan Supreme Court in November 2023. The special session, which was hosted by the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society and featured his portrait dedication, recognized Wilder for his service as a justice on the Michigan Supreme Court and for the 25 years he served as a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Washtenaw County Trial Court. He is an attorney and shareholder at Butzel Long in Detroit and currently is serving a one-year term as chair of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
1985
Andreas Fabritius, LLM, joined ADS-TEC Energy’s board of directors. For more than 30 years, he has served as a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, based in Frankfurt, Germany, where he specializes in public and private mergers and acquisitions and general corporate law. His clients include German and international companies, banks, financial investors, and government agencies. He also serves as British honorary consul in Frankfurt.
Reed Rubinstein has been appointed senior vice president of America First Legal. He joined the organization in 2021 as senior counselor and director of oversight and investigations after spending more than 30 years in private practice representing manufacturing and retail corporations, financial institutions, and trade associations. He also has served as deputy associate attorney general at the US Department of Education and senior adviser to the US secretary of the treasury.
1986
Ronald S. Betman joined Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP as a partner in the firm’s Chicago-based litigation group. He focuses his practice on complex litigation and class action matters, and he has extensive experience in securities, commodities, class action and derivative litigation, antitrust, fraud, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, bankruptcy, and commercial litigation. He also has experience handling regulatory investigations from federal agencies and state attorneys general.
John B. Thomas, a co-founder of the Houston-based boutique law firm Hicks Thomas LLP, was named one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America for 2024. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation related to oil and gas, securities, environmental matters, banking, transportation, intellectual property, and health care.
1987
Suzanne Hard was named the associate dean of professional development and career strategies at the George Washington University Law School. Previously, she was the director of the Center for Career Development at the University of Connecticut School of Law, director of education and section programming with the Connecticut Bar Association, and an associate professor of legal studies at Post University.
1988
Janet Welch, founder and owner of Impetus Law Consulting, was appointed to the Michigan Appellate Defender Commission by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Previously, she was the general counsel for the Michigan Supreme Court and served as the executive director of the State Bar of Michigan for 15 years. She currently serves as a co-chair on the Regulatory and Practice Reform Committee for the Michigan Justice for All Commission, as a delegate of the American Bar Association House of Delegates, and as a board member for the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society.
1989
Lisa Batey retired in 2022 after a career working on immigration issues for the federal government. Following her retirement, she ran for and won the mayoral race in Milwaukie, Oregon, a Portland suburb. She previously served the Milwaukie community as a planning commissioner and city councilor for nearly 18 years.
Steven J. Cernak will become chair of the American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section in August. He has been an intermittent lecturer at Michigan Law since 2009 and has taught a number of classes on antitrust and in-house practice. He is a partner in the Detroit office of Bona Law PC.
Robert D. Gordon joined New York firm Herrick Feinstein LLP as a partner in the restructuring and finance litigation department. He has more than three decades of experience as lead counsel advising companies, creditors, and directors in complex corporate and public sector restructurings. He has worked with retirement systems and pension funds and most recently acted as lead counsel to a committee of independent directors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of global satellite communications provider Intelsat SA.
Anne Kiley was appointed to serve as a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. She has been a partner at Elkins Kalt Weintraub Reuben & Gartside LLP since 2016. She began her career as an associate at O’Melveney & Myers LLP and later joined Trope and Trope LLP.
Victor King, who has served on the California Law Revision Commission since 2011, was reappointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. He is the legal counsel and information privacy officer for California State University, Los Angeles. Previously, he was a partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard and Smith LLP.
Kate St. Vincent Vogl co-authored two books that were recently published. Lady Ref: Making Calls in a Man’s World (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023) tells the story of the National Football League’s first female official. The second book, Iron Horse Cowgirls (McFarland, 2023), explores the events that led to the founding of the Women’s International Motorcycle Association. She is a longtime writer and teacher who most recently served as a creative writing instructor at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.
Graduated in 1970s
1971
Jules Crystal, a labor and employment arbitrator and mediator, was inducted into the National Academy of Arbitrators. The not-for-profit honorary and professional organization seeks to advance the field of arbitration while enforcing the highest level of ethical conduct. He has participated in a variety of mediations involving alleged wrongful termination, employment discrimination and sexual harassment, alleged violations of labor and employment agreements, noncompete agreements, whistle-blowing statuses, and the Fair Labor Standards Act.
1974
Alan Hoffman co-authored Come Fly with Me: The Rise and Fall of Trans World Airlines (Missouri Historical Society Press, 2023). The book traces the origins of the airline from the 1920s to the 21st century and focuses on the involvement of Charles Lindbergh, Howard Hughes, and Carl Icahn. He is a historian and the author of a 2019 self-published book, Up There with the Biggest: The Story of Ozark Airlines.
Bruce Frederick Howell received a 2023 Distinguished Service Award from the Texas State Bar Health Law Section. He counsels clients on a broad range of health law issues, including reimbursement, fraud and abuse, managed care issues, physician practice management issues, and the Affordable Care Act. Previously, he served as a health care industry group leader and shareholder at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC. He is a co-founder of the Dallas Bar Association’s Health Law Section and a distinguished professor from practice at Willamette University College of Law.
Larry Thompson received the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award from Michigan State University. He is a former US deputy attorney general, US attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, and general counsel and executive vice president of PepsiCo Inc. Upon his retirement from PepsiCo, the company created the Larry Thompson Fellowship Program to honor his life’s commitment to adding diversity to the legal profession.
1975
Connye Y. Harper was appointed to the advisory board of directors for the College of Southern Nevada School of Business Administration. She began her career as a litigator as associate general counsel for International Union in Detroit. Today, her practice, Harper Strategies, focuses on implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs for organizations, management and staff training, policy development, and nonprofit management. She also has served on the boards of the Southern Nevada Society for Human Resource Management, 50/50 Women on Boards Inc., the Nevada Equal Rights Commission, and the ACLU of Nevada.
1978
William “Bill” R. Bay is president-elect of the American Bar Association (ABA). He will assume the position in August. He is a partner with the St. Louis office of Thompson Coburn LLP and is a longtime leader in the ABA, having served as chair or co-chair of several committees and as a fellow in the American Bar Foundation. He also is a past president of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and a Missouri Bar Board of Governors member.
1979
Monica Hargrove, a veteran aviation attorney, was reelected secretary to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. She previously served as general counsel for the North America region at Airports Council International and associate general counsel at US Airways. Before her work in the private sector, she was a trial attorney in the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice.
Graduated in 1960s
1966
Ron Olson, name partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, was recognized by the Daily Journal in its 2023 Top 100 Lawyers list. The publication cited his representation of high-profile clients in complex litigation and corporate transactions, including labor and employment litigation on behalf of Activision Blizzard and McDonald’s and representing Berkshire Hathaway in its $11.6 billion acquisition of Alleghany Corp. Olson is a director of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Western Asset Trusts, Provivi Inc., and several nonprofit organizations, including the California Institute of Technology.
1969
George Elworth received a 2023 National Attorney General Career Staff Award from the National Association of Attorneys General, recognizing his 49 years of public service to the Michigan Department of Attorney General. He currently serves in the State Operations Division and is on the Attorney General’s Opinion Review Board. He previously held roles within the military affairs and finance divisions.
Graduated in 1950s
1958
Martin Pompadur joined Diamond Lake Minerals Inc. as a strategic adviser. The company specializes in digital assets and SEC-registered security tokens. He has worked in media and broadcasting for more than 50 years and has held leadership positions with American Broadcasting Companies Inc., Ziff Davis, and News Corporation, among others.