Issue: Summer 2025
113 results
Graduated in 2020s
2021
Kyle Fraser, ’21, recently added the title “sole survivor” to his resume after becoming the latest champion on CBS’s long-running reality-television competition Survivor, which finished airing its 48th season in May. Fraser, an associate at Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello PC in New York, married Maggie Turner, ’20, just weeks after the filming wrapped. He first watched Survivor while quarantining with Turner and her family during the pandemic. He is currently filming Survivor 50, which will air in 2026. Read more about Fraser's experience on Survivor on the Law School website.
Keith Ketola joined Allison MacKenzie as an associate. His practice focuses on administrative law, appellate litigation, corporate law, family law, land use, litigation, real property, trusts and estates, and water law.
2022
Joseph Kemp was named to the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 class in the games category. Kemp founded Games that Matter LLC. His debut game, DISBARRED: The Card Game, combines practical legal insights with gameplay. Kemp also is the founder and CEO of JMKemp & Co. LLC, a consultancy for graduate school applicants and startups.
2024
Reem S. Aburukba joined Bodman PLC as an associate in the firm’s litigation and alternative dispute resolution practice group. Before joining Bodman, Aburukba clerked for the Hon. Tracy Van den Bergh of the Washtenaw County Trial Court.
Zainab Bhindarwala joined Katz Banks Kumin LLP as a litigation fellow.
Trenton Buhr-Roschewski joined Mika Meyers PLC as an associate in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Buhr-Roschewski specializes in municipal litigation, zoning and land use planning law, commercial litigation, and real estate.
Yasmine Choucair joined Bodman PLC as an associate in the real estate practice group. She represents businesses and financial institutions in commercial and industrial real estate transactions and finance matters.
Courtney Martin, a public defender in Seattle, was a contestant on Jeopardy! in April. Martin finished second but was the only contestant to correctly answer the Final Jeopardy question. The category was “Around the World”; the clue was, “An online article about this landmark said, ‘The stones themselves look like they are crying’ and mentioned ‘tears of…pain, hope, and joy.’” Answer: The Wailing Wall. Martin is pictured with Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings.
Esmeralda Suarez joined Sidley Austin LLP as an associate. Her practice focuses on financial institutions and the insurance industry. Previously, Suarez was a graduate public interest law initiative fellow at the Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts.
Graduated in 2010s
2010
William Andrichik joined Michael Best & Fredrich LLP as a partner in the firm’s litigation group in Chicago. His practice includes real estate litigation, indemnification claims, shareholder disputes, breach of contract, trade secret issues, business dissolution litigation, and mass and class actions. Before joining Michael Best, he was a partner at Steptoe LLP.
Margia Corner joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a health care partner in San Francisco. Previously, she worked in various roles for the University of California, most recently as acting co-interim deputy general counsel, where she was a principal legal adviser for the Board of Regents Health Services Committee and oversaw legal matters across the university system’s health care network.
Alison LeVasseur, a partner in the Atlanta office of Alston & Bird LLP, has been named to the 40 Under 40 class of 2024 by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. She focuses her practice on general corporate matters, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions for private equity firms, other privately held businesses, and public companies.
Changsheng “Eric” Song has been named counsel at Latham & Watkins LLP in Los Angeles. He is a member of the firm’s transactional tax practice and tax department, advising financial institutions, private equity funds, and public and private companies on domestic and cross-border transactional tax matters. Before joining Latham & Watkins, Song was the international tax manager at Amazon.com Inc., where he oversaw international tax planning for Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios.
Robert R. Teel joined Foster Garvey PC as a principal in the firm’s commercial and intellectual property (IP) practice in Portland, Oregon. Teel’s practice focuses on technology companies, particularly those developing advanced software, electrical circuits, and optoelectronics. He advises clients through complex patent filings and on due diligence and IP-related matters in mergers, acquisitions, and technology transfers. Previously, Teel was a partner at Stoel Rives LLP.
2011
Ray Mangum joined Redgrave LLP in Washington, DC, as a partner and member of the firm’s management committee. He serves as counsel in large-scale litigation, government investigations, and regulatory reviews. Before joining Redgrave, Mangum was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP.
Chad Ray joined Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC as a shareholder with the firm’s intellectual property team in Dallas. Ray is a patent litigation attorney and focuses on trademark and copyright matters in the energy, automotive, life sciences, manufacturing, oil and gas, technology, and telecommunications industries. Before joining Munsch Hardt, he was a partner at Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal LLP.
2012
Phillip Zeeck was appointed assistant general counsel of the Big Ten Conference, where he manages contracts, policy development, legal analysis, intellectual property, and outside counsel coordination. He also serves as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Previously, Zeeck was of counsel at Polsinelli PC.
2014
Corwin J. Carr was elevated to partner in the employment group at Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg (BFKN) LLP in Chicago. Carr is an adviser, litigator, and transactional attorney with a wide-ranging employment practice. Before joining BFKN, he was an associate at Mayer Brown LLP.
Brandon Fetzer was appointed counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York, where he is a member of the commercial litigation group. His practice focuses on securities and shareholder disputes, consumer class actions, and complex commercial disputes.
Stefanie Garibyan was appointed counsel at Leason Ellis LLP in White Plains, New York. She joined the firm in 2021 and has focused her practice on complex intellectual property litigation, often involving patents and trademarks, as well as on disputes over trade secrets, contracts, and licenses.
Devon Holstad was elevated to shareholder at Winthrop & Weinstine PA. Holstad represents clients in complex commercial litigation in a wide range of industries, including media and entertainment, pharmaceuticals, technology, and energy. He serves on the board of directors of the American Mock Trial Association and the board of trustees of the Moran Olsson Michigan Innocence Clinic Trust.
Matthew Kennison joined Kelley Drye & Warren LLP as a partner in the firm’s litigation practice group, based in Chicago. He has experience representing clients in high-stakes litigation and investigations, with a focus on antitrust, white collar investigations, and complex commercial litigation. Before joining Kelley Drye, Kennison was a partner at Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP.
Robert Manhas became a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Suttcliffe LLP in Washington, DC. He is an appellate litigator with a focus on patent law and administrative law and managing appeals across the technology and biotechnology sectors. Manhas also serves as vice chair of the Federal Circuit Bar Association’s administrative law committee and maintains an active pro bono practice.
Katy McNeil joined A&O Shearman as a partner in the firm’s energy, natural resources, and infrastructure practice, where she represents clients across the renewable energy sector. McNeil previously was a partner at Mayer Brown. Additionally, she received the Hope Through Caring Award from the Les Turner ALS Foundation, which also was given posthumously to her husband, Brian Davis, ’14, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2022 and died in January 2025. The award honors their commitment to raising awareness and supporting ALS care and research.
Elise H. Yu was appointed partner at ArentFox Schiff in Ann Arbor. Yu counsels and represents individuals and businesses across industries, including automotive, retail, and consumer products, leading up to and through litigation involving issues ranging from state and local taxation to business disputes to antitrust matters. Before joining ArentFox, Yu was an associate at Schiff Hardin LLP.
2015
Summer 2025 Class Note
Danielle Bass, ’15, Honored By Peers as Influential Woman of the Year
Danielle Bass, ’15, a partner in the technology transactions and data, privacy, and cybersecurity practice groups at Honigman LLP in Detroit, was recently named Influential Woman of the Year by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
Claire Madill joined the appellate division of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Maryland. She previously was an associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, an appellate public defender at the Palm Beach County Public Defender’s Office in Florida, and a staff attorney in the special litigation division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. Madill also clerked at all three levels of the federal judiciary: for US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Hon. William A. Fletcher on the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the Hon. Alison J. Nathan, who at the time was serving on the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Leah Mintz was promoted to partner at Duane Morris LLP in Philadelphia, where she works in the firm’s trial practice group. She is an appellate lawyer and counselor with experience representing clients during strategic motion practice and throughout the post-trial and appellate process in federal and state courts. Mintz also routinely litigates original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction matters in the Commonwealth Court, including in challenges to decisions of various administrative agencies. She joined Duane Morris in 2017.
Sean O’Neill was elected to partner at Cooley LLP. O’Neill is a member of the firm’s emerging companies and venture capital group and represents emerging growth companies at all stages, as well as venture capital firms and strategic investors that finance and acquire these companies. O’Neill’s practice also involves venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and general corporate matters.
Nathan Schuur joined Proskauer Rose LLP as a partner in the firm’s private funds group. He previously was counsel to a commissioner at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where he provided legal and policy advice on rulemaking, enforcement, and litigation, with a focus on investment management issues. Schuur also served in the rulemaking office of the SEC’s division of investment management. At Proskauer Rose, his practice will focus on regulatory and compliance issues related to the Advisers Act and Investment Company Act.
Anna Mouw Thompson was appointed partner at Perkins Coie LLP, where she previously served as counsel and is a member of the firm’s privacy and security practice. Thompson litigates and counsels clients on issues related to state and federal privacy and data protection laws, including laws addressing biometric data and the collection, use, disclosure, and security of personal information. She also has experience drafting at the appellate level and has assisted clients with appeals and amici curiae briefs in matters involving novel issues of state and federal privacy law.
2016
Lori Arakaki was promoted to partner at Hicks Johnson. Based in the firm’s Houston office, Arakaki litigates complex commercial disputes before federal and state courts at both the trial and appellate levels, as well as in arbitration proceedings. Recent client matters have involved trade secrets and complex patent infringement and a contract dispute involving a prominent aerospace and defense company. Arakaki handles all stages of litigation, from drafting pre- and post-trial motions to deposing fact and expert witnesses, arguing motions in court, and trying cases.
John C. Muhs was appointed partner at Warner Norcross+Judd LLP, where he is a member of the firm’s impact investing group. Muhs specializes in securities and investment matters and works with community development financial institutions, church extension funds, charitable loan funds, and other organizations to finance community development activities. He serves as board secretary of Detroit Phoenix Center and is a member of Opportunity Finance Network, Denominational Investors and Loan Administrators, and the Michigan Venture Capital Association.
Melanie Neary became a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in San Francisco. She practices in the firm’s corporate transactions group, where she represents life sciences companies and investors and advises clients on a wide range of complex transactions and other matters, with a focus on capital markets, private company financings, securities regulation, and corporate governance. She joined Gibson Dunn after graduation.
Divya Taneja was promoted to partner at Perkins Coie LLP in Seattle, where she is a member of the firm’s technology transactions and privacy law practice. Taneja advises clients on structuring and negotiating complex transactions related to developing, licensing, and distributing technology and media content. She also provides counseling throughout the product development lifecycle, from business strategy and product launch to commercialization and contract negotiations.
2017
Sam DeBaltzo was elevated to partner at Tonkon Torp LLP, where he focuses on real estate transactions. He represents clients on purchases and sales, leases, easements, and secured and unsecured financing. He also negotiates construction and architect agreements and frequently advises on real estate aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and dispositions.
Serena Rabie was named partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP, where she represents clients in complex business disputes involving banking and financial services, antitrust, commercial, and constitutional law. Rabie also has significant appellate experience and has successfully handled state, federal, and administrative appeals. She joined the firm in 2023.
Rebecca Seguin-Skrabucha, a member of Bodman PLC’s workplace law practice group, recently became the group’s co-chair. She advises employers, including municipal governments and businesses of all sizes, on compliance with state and federal employment and labor laws.
Valerie Stacey joined Honigman LLP as a partner in the firm’s business litigation practice group. She focuses her practice on high-stakes commercial litigation and complex tort disputes in state and federal courts. She also has an active pro bono practice counseling asylum seekers, including developing case assessments and preparing refugees for credible fear interviews, as well as first-chairing evidentiary hearings to secure restraining orders. Before joining Honigman, Stacey was an associate at Jones Day.
2019
Trevor Parkes joined the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) as the counsel and project director of its First Step Act Resource Center, which advocates for the full implementation of the 2018 First Step Act. Before joining NACDL, he clerked in two federal district courts and was a litigation associate at a large law firm in Minneapolis.
Graduated in 2000s
2000
Paul J. Astolfi joined A&O Shearman as a partner in the firm’s US energy, natural resources, and infrastructure practice. He has extensive experience in greenfield and brownfield power projects, energy and infrastructure finance, mergers and acquisitions, and reorganizations. Astolfi is based out of the firm’s Dallas office.
Daniel Canine rejoined Bodman PLC in Troy, Michigan, where he began his legal career. He is a member of the firm’s banking and finance practice group and focuses on the structuring, negotiation, documentation, and closing of equipment and trade finance transactions. Canine also has served in a number of in-house roles and most recently was executive vice president and general counsel for Mitsubishi HC Capital America Inc.
Asim Rehman recently published “The NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings: Forty-Five Years of Delivering Impartial Adjudications and Providing Access to Justice” in the Cardozo Law Review. Rehman is the commissioner and chief administrative law judge at the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings.
2001
John D. Myer was named a fellow at 5 Lakes Institute, where he will help entrepreneurs, researchers, and businesses in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions identify and overcome challenges to the commercialization of technology. Myer is a senior counsel at Husch Blackwell LLP, where he helps clients develop, fund, and deliver advanced science and engineering technologies. He previously served as general counsel and corporate secretary at the US Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
David K. Porter was named the special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Honolulu Field Office. He most recently served as the chief of staff for the deputy director at FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC. Porter has held numerous roles within the FBI, including at the field offices in Detroit and Pittsburgh, the Public Corruption and Civil Rights programs, the Cyber Division, and the Counterintelligence Division’s Foreign Influence Task Force. Before joining the FBI, Porter served as counsel for the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Nicole Snyder was appointed chief operating officer at Holland & Hart LLP, where she oversees the leadership and strategic oversight of the firm’s operational and administrative functions, including financial management, enterprise risk, and department operational teams. Snyder is based in Boise, Idaho.
Rhonda Stowers was appointed partner at Plunkett Cooney in Flint, Michigan, where she maintains a litigation practice that includes general and commercial liability claims, governmental law, transportation law, and real estate. She also advises and defends municipalities on issues such as the Freedom of Information Act, the Open Meetings Act, federal and state constitutions, civil rights, cannabis, zoning, charter amendments, ordinance drafting, and employment-related matters.
2002
Ann Marie Byers joined Dorsey & Whitney LLP as of counsel in the firm’s intellectual property litigation group. Previously, Byers was an alternative dispute resolutions specialist at AB-Conflict Resolution Services and founding attorney at Byers Law LLC. Her practice covers a range of US and global matters involving intellectual property, regulatory compliance, data privacy and security, and complex civil and commercial disputes. Byers is based in Denver.
Shermin Kruse has published Stoic Empathy: The Road Map to a Life of Influence, Self-Leadership, and Integrity (Penguin Random House, 2025). Her approach to balancing resilience and compassion draws from lessons she learned surviving missile attacks and political oppression in Iran and leading high-stakes legal teams and negotiations in corporate America. Kruse is the founder and executive producer of TEDxWrigleyville and has taught at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
Matthew Meyer was elected governor of Delaware. Meyer entered politics in 2017 when he was elected executive of New Castle County, the largest local government in Delaware. Earlier in his career, Meyer taught math in the Washington, DC, public schools, was a Skadden Fellow with the Delaware Community Legal Aid Society, worked in private practice as a mergers and acquisitions specialist, and served as a senior economic adviser for the US Department of State while based in Mosul, Iraq.
2003
Demian Ahn was elected partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Based in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, he has 20 years of experience in investigations and litigation with a focus on cybersecurity and privacy matters, including 12 years as a federal prosecutor at the US Department of Justice. Ahn represents and advises companies confronting cybersecurity incidents, litigation risks related to data privacy regulations and data breaches, and other legal and compliance risks related to cybersecurity and data collection programs.
Alexis L. Cirel, founding partner of the fertility law group at Warshaw Burstein LLP in New York and a partner in the firm’s matrimonial and family law group, was recently admitted to practice in Michigan. The firm’s fertility law group was formed in response to a surrogacy law in New York that went into effect in 2021. Cirel will expand the scope of the practice and consult on cases related to Michigan’s new surrogacy law, the Family Protection Act, which went into effect in April.
Ellen Gish joined Stites & Harbison PLLC as counsel in the construction service group in the firm’s Lexington, Kentucky, office. Gish represents owners, contractors, and subcontractors in all aspects of the construction process. Before joining Stites & Harbison, she served as associate general counsel for the University of Kentucky (UK), where she focused on capital projects, real estate, procurement, data privacy, economic development, and charitable gifts. Gish also has served in development, gift planning, and fundraising roles for UK Philanthropy and the Lexington Philharmonic.
Roger H. Stetson has become the sole managing partner of Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP in Chicago, where he has served as a co-managing partner since 2022. Stetson’s clients include real estate investment trusts, manufacturers, financial institutions, distributors, developers, and the fiduciaries who work in these industries. He acts as primary counsel on disputes concerning capital markets transactions, the creation of joint ventures with institutional investors, acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, and partnership issues.
Ryan D. Walters was appointed deputy attorney general for legal strategy by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Before assuming this new role, Walters was associate deputy attorney general for civil litigation and previously served in the special litigation division, including as chief. He also has served as an attorney with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an assistant attorney general in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, and a commercial litigator at two international law firms.
2004
Azadeh Shahshahani was the spring 2025 Daynard Public Interest Law Fellow at Northeastern Law School. Twice a year, the fellowship program brings nationally recognized public interest leaders to campus, serving as role models for students.
2005
Nicholas Bronni was appointed to the Arkansas Supreme Court by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Previously, Bronni was the solicitor general of Arkansas; he also has served as a senior litigation counsel at the US Securities and Exchange Commission and as an associate with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Washington, DC.
Elizabeth A.N. Haas was appointed senior vice president and general counsel for the Milwaukee Brewers, a Major League Baseball team. Haas’s oversight includes the Brewers and their minor league affiliate, the Carolina Mudcats, as well as the club’s operations in Arizona and the Dominican Republic. Previously, she was a partner at Foley & Lardner LLP and national chair of the firm’s antitrust and competition practice group.
The Hon. Kerene Moore was elected to a six-year term on Michigan’s 15th District Court. Most recently, Judge Moore was the director of the Conviction Integrity and Expungement Unit in the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office, where she helped people work to obtain clemencies, correct wrongful convictions, and expunge their records. She previously was a judicial attorney and referee on the 22nd Judicial Circuit of Michigan in Washtenaw County and has represented clients at the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and the Michigan Advocacy Program.
2006
Dennis Daniels was appointed partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. He is a litigator and trial lawyer who defends clients in high-profile and high-exposure cases in Texas, California, and throughout the US. Before joining Bradley, Daniels practiced at Fee, Smith, & Sharp LLP.
Sylvia Favretto was promoted from associate general counsel to general counsel of Mysten Labs. Previously, she was global lead regulatory counsel at Block Inc. and counsel at Shearman & Sterling LLP, where she represented banks, financial technology companies, and other financial institutions.
Daniel Martinez joined the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a tax attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel, Associate Chief Counsel (International) in Washington, DC. He advises on tax laws applicable to international persons and transactions, drafts regulations, and other guidance. Before joining the IRS, Martinez was of counsel at Bilzin Sumberg in Miami, where he helped clients navigate complex tax issues, including cross-border business transactions.
2007
Jedd Bellman was made partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in Washington, DC. Bellman assists banks, mortgage companies, auto lenders, debt collectors, money services businesses, and fintechs on a variety of licensing, regulatory, and enforcement matters.
Poonam Kumar was promoted to partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Los Angeles. She is a member of the firm’s white collar defense and investigations, litigation, and trial practice groups. Kumar, a former federal prosecutor, focuses her practice on internal, regulatory, and criminal investigations, as well as complex commercial litigation across a wide range of industries.
Carolyn Perez joined Steptoe LLP as pro bono counsel. Before joining the firm, Perez served as program counsel at the Legal Services Corporation, where she conducted programmatic oversight of legal services providers and promoted improvement of the program’s ability to provide effective and efficient legal aid services.
Summer 2025 Class Note
Samantha Shipp Warrick, ’07: A Lifelong Creative Breaks New Ground at LVMH
Samantha Shipp Warrick, ’07, has a creative bent that has served her well as an entertainment lawyer, entrepreneur, and branding strategist. Now she’s bringing blank-slate energy to LVMH Inc. as its first chief strategy and operations counsel.
2008
Ian Labitue was appointed president and chief executive officer of the Affordable Housing Trust (AHT) for Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio. He has been involved with AHT for six years, including serving as board vice chair and chair of the emerging developers accelerator program committee. Labitue is an attorney with Ice Miller LLP, where he specializes in public affairs and economic development.
Luke Meier was appointed co-leader of the government contracts group at Blank Rome LLP. He is a litigator and counselor with experience in government procurement law and has represented contractors in contract disputes and claims, bid protests, and False Claims Act litigation. Meier serves on Blank Rome’s partner board and as a vice chair of the American Bar Association’s bid protest committee and procurement fraud and false claims committee.
Michael Melzer joined Nixon Peabody LLP as a partner in the firm’s project finance and public finance practice. His practice focuses on helping clients navigate complex and novel financial structures for public finance matters. In addition to his financing practice, Melzer helps clients with regulatory enforcement actions, interest rate swaps, and other transactions.
Matthew Raymer was appointed senior vice president and general counsel at Dartmouth College, his undergraduate alma mater. Before his current role, Raymer served as chief counsel at the Republican National Committee (RNC), where he oversaw a large team of in-house attorneys and outside counsel while managing the RNC’s legal affairs.
2009
Megan Chan joined Hogan Marren Babbo & Rose Ltd. as a partner in the firm’s education practice group, where she advises clients on higher education law, policy, and government and regulatory compliance. She previously served as the associate dean of financial aid, compliance, and training at the University of Southern California (USC). Before her work at USC, she clerked for the Hon. Audrey B. Collins on the US District Court for the Central District of California.
Samantha Funk joined the permanent legal writing faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder Law School. Before teaching, Funk practiced commercial litigation, where she represented clients at the trial and appellate levels in state and federal court and conducted civil rights and Title IX investigations at the University of Washington. She has maintained an active pro bono portfolio throughout her career and has represented clients seeking asylum, argued for protective orders in criminal cases, and researched state statutes for a reproductive justice organization.
Graduated in 1990s
1990
Kenneth Dintzer joined Crowell & Moring LLP in Washington, DC, as a partner in the firm’s government contracts, antitrust and competition, and litigation groups. He spent more than 30 years at the US Department of Justice (DOJ), serving attorneys general during six presidential administrations; most recently, he was deputy branch director in the National Courts Section of the Civil Division and senior trial counsel in the Antitrust Division. He also taught for more than 20 years at the DOJ’s training center at the University of South Carolina.
David Rugendorf was named pro bono committee co-chair at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP in Los Angeles. He has served as an immigration and nationality attorney at the firm for more than 25 years, providing representation to employers, entrepreneurs, and individuals in administrative petitions to governmental agencies. Rugendorf serves a range of industries and counsels his international clients on travel and global mobility issues pertaining to admission to the United States.
1992
Daniel Brubaker was named chief operating officer of the Michigan Supreme Court. Brubaker served as chief commissioner of the court for 13 years, coordinating the flow of cases through the court from filing to disposition. Before that, he served for a decade as a commissioner, reviewing applications for leave to appeal and preparing summary reports for the justices.
Phyllis Marcus was named vice president of BBB National Programs, a nonprofit that oversees more than a dozen national industry self-regulation programs that provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution. She leads a team of attorneys and professionals in the programs national advertising division. Most recently, Marcus was a partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP in Washington, DC, where she was a member of the antitrust and privacy groups. She also has served as chief of staff for advertising practices and as leader of the children’s privacy regulatory and enforcement program at the Federal Trade Commission.
Jeffrey L. Stec recently published Humanizing Public Conversation: Building Trust and Cooperation with Your Constituents. The book is designed to offer insights from 20 years of helping local governments engage the public in civil, productive conversation. Stec is the executive director of Citizens for Civic Renewal, a Cincinnati-based nonprofit that works to build collaborative community governance by engaging citizens in public policy deliberation, government and institutional partnerships, and neighborhood empowerment projects.
Rocco Testani was named US general counsel at Eversheds Sutherland, where he is a partner in the firm’s litigation practice group and most recently served as the firm’s co-head of global litigation. Testani focuses his practice on class actions, commercial litigation, dispute management, and real estate disputes. Testani also has served as outside general counsel to two large public school districts and as a special assistant attorney general. Additionally, he works on civil justice reform in Georgia, was a leader in establishing the statewide business court, and chairs the amicus curiae committee of Georgians for Lawsuit Reform.
The Hon. Michael Warren was reelected to a six-year term on the Oakland County [Michigan] Circuit Court. He presides on the business court and general criminal dockets and has served on the bench since 2002. In 2009, Warren co-founded the Patriot Week Foundation with his daughter, who was 10 years old at the time. The organization aims to deepen American understanding of history and the US Constitution through programming that culminates with Constitution Day each September 17. The Patriot Week Foundation has worked with state and federal legislatures and other groups to pass resolutions and encourage schools, municipalities, and other organizations to promote American constitutional values.
1993
Otto Beatty began serving on the Columbus [Ohio] City Council in January. He has worked extensively in economic development, small business support, and real estate investment, focusing on increasing access to affordable housing and expanding opportunities for underrepresented entrepreneurs. He served as president of Otto Beatty Companies and Otto Beatty Real Estate, is the owner and managing director of Intelligent Office of Columbus, and is a principal with OB3 Advisory and Management Ltd.
Kevin O’Gorman was appointed global co-chair of international arbitration at Norton Rose Fulbright. He is based in Houston and Washington, DC, and acts as counsel and arbitrator in international and domestic cases.
Phillip Wilson published his seventh book, The Leader-Shift Playbook: 4 Simple Changes to Score Big and Unleash Your Team’s Potential (Fast Company Press, 2025). Wilson is a national expert on leadership, labor relations, and creating positive workplaces. He is the founder of Approachable Leadership and serves as CEO and general counsel of LRI Consulting Services.
1994
Peter Hardy joined Holland & Knight LLP as a partner in the firm’s litigation practice in Philadelphia. Hardy advises corporations and individuals across a range of industries against allegations of financial fraud. He also counsels financial institutions and businesses on their anti-money-laundering obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act and other compliance requirements. Hardy previously served as an assistant US attorney in Philadelphia, where he focused on fraud and financial crime cases. He also was a trial attorney for the US Department of Justice’s Tax Division.
1995
Hillary J. Moonay, a partner at Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and co-chair of the firm’s family law group, is serving a six-year term on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s domestic relations procedural rules committee. In this role, she advises the court in developing and revising procedural rules for matters including divorce, custody, support, paternity, and protection from abuse. She is active in numerous professional organizations and currently serves as the immediate past chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association family law section and co-chair of the Bucks County Bar Association family law section.
1996
Scott Delacourt was appointed chief of staff for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He joins the FCC from Wiley Rein LLP, where he was a partner and chair of the wireless practice group. Earlier, Delacourt served in leadership positions at the FCC, including deputy bureau chief and chief of staff of the wireless bureau, senior counsel in the office of general counsel, and legal adviser to the wireless bureau chief.
1997
Timothy W. Brown was named president of Venerable Investment Advisers. He joined Venerable in 2018 as executive vice president, chief legal officer, and secretary. Brown leads Venerable’s investment advisory business and will continue to lead the law, compliance, insurance regulatory, and government affairs teams. Before joining Venerable, Brown was chief counsel for corporate transactions and government affairs at Voya Financial Inc.
Lucy Dougherty is now named general counsel of Eaton Corporation PLC. She joined the company from Polaris Inc., where she was senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary. Before that, she held several leadership roles with General Motors Corp. Earlier in her career, she served as counsel at the US Department of Justice and as associate general counsel and, later, as chief legal officer and counsel to the secretary at the US Department of Homeland Security.
Matthew Miner was named vice chair and general counsel of KPMG LLP. He also serves on the firm’s US management committee, oversees legal and compliance for the Americas region, is secretary to the KPMG US board of directors and a member of the Americas management committee, and oversees the firm’s governance matters. Miner joined KPMG from Walmart Inc., where he was executive vice president, global chief ethics and compliance officer, and special counsel.
Kelli Turner was appointed interim president and chief executive officer of Audacy Inc., an audio content and entertainment company. She is a current board member of Audacy and has served on the boards of directors for several advertising and music technology companies. Turner was most recently managing director and chief financial officer of Sun Capital Partners, a private investment firm.
1998
Richard P. Darke joined Dykema Gossett PLLC as a member of the firm’s litigation department in Chicago. His practice focuses on commercial litigation with an emphasis on real estate, construction, financial services, and health care. Before joining Dykema, Darke practiced at Duane Morris LLP for more than two decades.
1999
Jacob Mendoza joined Rimon Law as a partner in the firm’s global private credit practice. Mendoza focuses on corporate finance and the representation of clients in a range of financing transactions. Mendoza previously was of counsel at Morrison & Foerster LLP and Faegre, Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP and was an associate at Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLC.
Graduated in 1980s
1980
Julian Izbiky has retired. He began his career at several Denver firms before founding Izbiky & Langer PLLC in 1988. In 2021, he joined Fortis Law Partners LLC as a partner. Izbiky’s practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, business and transactional law, real estate, litigation, employment law, and trademark law. He has served on the board of the Jewish Family Service of Colorado and has been active in numerous other community organizations.
John I. Tsiros retired in December 2024 after practicing plaintiff’s personal injury law for more than 40 years at Hurlburt, Tsiros & Allweil PC in Saginaw, Michigan. Over the course of his career, Tsiros secured tens of millions of dollars in jury verdicts in personal injury cases, settlements in personal injury and workers’ compensation cases, and awards in social security cases.
1981
Eric Gressman joined Fowler White Burnett PA as a shareholder. His litigation practice focuses on medical malpractice, property and casualty insurance defense, wrongful death, products liability, and civil rights. Before joining Fowler White, Gressman held leadership positions at several law firms; he also dedicated more than 35 years to the Miami-Dade County Attorney’s Office, where he served as chief of the Torts Section. Gressman has been an adjunct law professor at the University of Miami for more than a decade, teaching courses in legal writing, appellate practice, pretrial civil litigation, and oral advocacy.
Howard Kramer published his first novel, Hitching to Bowie: A ’70s Road Trip Tale of Music, Miles, and Discovery (Mascot Books, 2025). Kramer is a retired financial regulatory attorney who worked in government and private practice. He has published extensively on the topics of financial market regulation and securities law. Kramer currently serves as the senior adviser to the board of SEDA Experts LLC, a consulting firm specializing in financial services.
Deborah “Debbie” Levy has published three new books for children and young adults: A Dangerous Idea: The Scopes Trial, the Original Fight Over Science in Schools (Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2025); Photo Ark 1-2-3: An Animal Counting Book in Poetry and Pictures (National Geographic Kids, 2025); and The Friendship Train: A True Story of Helping and Healing After World War II (Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2025). Levy’s previous books have made the New York Times bestseller list and earned numerous awards, including the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, the National Jewish Book Award, and the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award.
1982
Elise Bean posthumously published her second book in April: Congress Investigates: George Washington to January 6 (Miniver Press, 2025), co-authored with Kyle Buler. Bean served more than 30 years on Capitol Hill, most of them as Sen. Carl Levin’s counsel on the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI). She was staff director and chief counsel of PSI from 2003 to 2014. She retired from the Senate in 2015 and helped establish the Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy at Wayne State University, including serving as director of its Washington, DC, office. She died in January.
Daniel J. Bergeson was named one of the leading commercial litigators of 2025 by The Daily Journal. The list recognizes the top litigators nationwide who handle bet-the-company cases. Bergeson founded Bergeson LLP, a California-based law firm with offices in San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles, in 1990 after helping establish the litigation practice at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. He also has co-founded two venture capital firms, Ascolta Ventures LLC and Al Shugart International.
1983
Denise J. Lewis was named a 2025 Distinguished Warrior by the Detroit Urban League for her impact in civil rights, law, business, and community service. Also, she was recently appointed chairperson of the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust Board. Lewis, a retired senior partner at Honigman LLP, is a fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and the American College of Mortgage Attorneys. She serves on the boards of the Wayne State University Foundation, the Detroit Opera, Invest Detroit, and the Motown Museum.
1984
Stephen Merkel was named chairman of the board of directors for BGC Group Inc., a global brokerage and financial technology company. He has been with BGC since the company’s founding and retains his current roles as executive vice president and general counsel. Merkel is also on the board of directors of the company’s FMX Futures Exchange business and serves as the executive vice chairman, executive managing director, and general counsel for the Cantor Fitzgerald LP group of companies, which includes BGC Group Inc., Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., and Newmark Group Inc.
Kurtis T. Wilder, a shareholder at Butzel Long in Detroit and former Michigan Supreme Court justice, was appointed to the board of directors of Hastings Insurance. He also serves as a mediator and arbitrator with New Era ADR, a digital advanced dispute resolution platform. In addition, he is chair-elect of the board of directors of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan and will become chair in September.
1985
Samuel Dimon received the annual Community Service Award from the YMCA in Rye, New York. He was the founding board chair of the International Justice Mission in Washington, DC, an anti-trafficking, anti-oppression organization; founded and serves on the board of Grove Park Renewal, an affordable housing organization in Atlanta; and was on the board of A House on Beekman, an early childhood education and afterschool program in the South Bronx. Dimon also served on the board of Sanctuary for Families, a New York City organization that fights domestic violence and human trafficking, and was an active member of Rye Presbyterian Church. He is the current board chair of Meals on Main Street in Port Chester, New York.
Stanley P. Jaskiewicz recently published “Wellness for Beginners” in the American Bar Association’s January 2025 Voice of Experience e-newsletter. He also received the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s St. John Neumann Emblem in recognition of his support of Catholic Scouting. He has served as the parish representative to Pack and Troop 303 since 2009, served as a counselor for scouting’s Catholic religious awards, and participated in or helped arrange many troop religious observances. Jaskiewicz is a member of the Philadelphia-based firm Spector Gadon Rosen Vinci PC.
Timothy Stubbs co-authored his second book, Emerging Markets Debt Restructuring: Effectively Navigating Local Institutional Frameworks (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024). He is a banking and finance partner at Dentons Europe LLP in the firm’s London office, focusing on cross-border origination and restructuring-stage emerging-market transactions. He has worked on transactions in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and other emerging markets.
1987
Nancy King retired from Vanderbilt Law School after serving as the Lee S. and Charles A. Speir Professor of Law from 2003 to 2024. She joined the faculty in 1991 and was the associate dean of research and faculty development from 1999 to 2001. During her time at Vanderbilt, she received awards for teaching, research, and service. King has authored or co-authored two leading multivolume treatises on criminal procedure, a leading criminal procedure casebook, dozens of articles and book chapters, and several books. She is an associate reporter for, and former member of, the advisory committee on the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and a member of the American Law Institute.
Donn Meindertsma retired from Conner & Winters LLP, where he was a partner. He began his career as an associate at Winston & Strawn LLP, where he worked for 18 years before joining Conner & Winters. As an employment law counselor and litigator, he accumulated extensive experience defending discrimination and whistleblower retaliation claims. Meindertsma also authored a number of published works related to employment law and the nuclear energy industry.
1988
Ross A. Leisman was included in Crain’s Grand Rapids Business Notable Litigators and Trial Attorneys 2025. Leisman is chair of the litigation practice group at Mika Meyers Beckett & Jones PLC, where he has worked for more than 35 years. He focuses on commercial, banking, municipal, and land use litigation.
1989
Barron F. Wallace, a partner at Bracewell LLP in Houston, was selected to serve a three-year term on the firm’s management committee. Wallace focuses his practice on project finance conduit transactions involving state agencies, cities, school districts and higher education, airports, housing, industrial development, and other authorities and organizations. In June 2024, he completed a five-year term as chairman of the Houston Parks Board; he is a member of the board of directors of the Discovery Green-Downtown Park Corporation and the Houston Social Justice Fund.
Graduated in 1970s
1971
Jeffrey H. Smith, senior counsel for the national security and government contracts practice at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, received the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from The National Law Journal. Smith has been influential in the field of national security law for more than 50 years. He served at the Pentagon and the US Department of State; he also was general counsel for the US Senate Committee on Armed Services and for the Central Intelligence Agency.
1973
Robert Hirshon was elected president of the board of the Maine Jewish Museum and to the board of directors of Pine Tree Legal Aid. Hirshon, who recently retired as the Frank G. Millard Professor from Practice at Michigan Law, spent 30 years in private practice and served as president of the American Bar Association before joining the Michigan Law faculty in 2009. He is the CEO of the Arthur B. Wein Charitable Foundation and counsel at Verrill Dana LLP.
1976
Richard Epling recently published “Where Do We Go After Purdue Pharma?” in the Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law & Practice. Epling was a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP for more than two decades before his retirement from the firm in 2016. He continues to practice as a mediator for bankruptcy and complex commercial disputes, with a focus on domestic and cross-border bankruptcies and out-of-court financial restructurings.
Graduated in 1960s
1968
Stephen Hrones recently published his first novel, Hypnosis on Trial: The Anatomy of a Murder Case (Small Batch Books, 2024). Hrones, who spent his career as a criminal defense attorney, previously published a number of nonfiction books on criminal law.
Graduated in 1950s
1959
John M. Barr Sr. retired in January. Most recently, he was the principal of Barr Anhut & Associates PC, where he focused on municipal law, estate planning and probate, real estate, and corporate law. He also served as city attorney for Ypsilanti, Michigan, for 43 years. An avid traveler throughout his career, Barr and his wife, Marlene, have boated on the Great Lakes; biked the US, New Zealand, and Europe; downhill skied in the US and Europe; and visited all seven continents and 51 countries.