Issue: Spring/Summer 2023
141 results
Graduated in 2020s
2020
2021
Katherine G. Boothroyd has joined the Midland, Michigan, office of Warner Norcross+Judd LLP as a litigation attorney focusing her practice on appellate matters. She previously served as a judicial clerk for the Hon. David F. Viviano of the Michigan Supreme Court and a judicial intern for the Hon. Thomas L. Ludington of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Jack Igoe recently started a clerkship on the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He began his legal career as an associate in the government enforcement and white-collar crime practice groups at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates in New York.
Martese Johnson delivered the keynote address at Ferris State University on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He is an associate in the real estate practice group at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in New York. He also is a social justice advocate, stemming from his experience as an undergraduate student who was beaten by officers near a bar in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2015.
Matt Preston published an article in the Belmont Law Review titled “The Tweet Test: Attributing Presidential Intent to Agency Action,” in which he discusses a solution for federal courts to invalidate federal agency regulations based on a president's public statements if they show unlawful animus. He is a senior law clerk at a federal district court in Saginaw, Michigan.
2022
Carly Allen joined Freeborn & Peters LLP as an associate attorney in Chicago. A member of the litigation practice group, she previously served with the firm as a 2021 summer associate.
Lauren Cole joined Frost Brown Todd LLP, a national law firm with specialized expertise in the technology industry. Based out of the firm’s Houston office, she is a member of the intellectual property group.
Juliette Collins has joined the Grand Rapids, Michigan, office of Warner Norcross+Judd LLP. She focuses her practice in litigation, trademarks, general corporate, labor and employment, and trusts and estates matters.
Corinne Fombelle joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as an associate in the firm’s intellectual property group. She is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Joseph Kent, JD/MBA, joined Gunderson Dettmer as a corporate law clerk in January. He is based in the New York office. He also is CEO and founder of JMK & Co., a grad school admissions consultancy.
Paula Plaza, LLM, received the 2023 ABA Dispute Resolution Fellowship and is serving as a fellow to the Technology in Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. She is an associate in the Buffalo office of Phillips Lytle LLP and is experienced in international arbitration proceedings and arbitral award enforcement. Before joining Phillips Lytle, she was a senior associate in the litigation group of the largest law firm in the Philippines.
Graduated in 2010s
2010
Dean Baxtresser was promoted to partner in the Washington, DC, office of Latham & Watkins LLP. He is a member of the white-collar defense and investigations practice and the litigation and trial department.
Matt Cronin joined the White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director as director of national cybersecurity. Additionally, he received a Fulbright Scholarship in 2022 to teach in Bulgaria and engage while there in professional projects involving cybersecurity and the rule of law.
The Hon. M. Kendra Klump was selected by the district judges of the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana to serve as a US magistrate judge in Indianapolis. She has served as a federal prosecutor since 2012.
Ofilio Mayorga, LLM, was promoted to partner at Foley Hoag LLP in New York. His practice focuses on public international law litigation, investment treaty arbitration, and international commercial arbitration. He has represented sovereign states and state-owned entities in legal proceedings before the world’s principal dispute resolution bodies.
Anna Rathbun was promoted to partner in the Washington, DC, office of Latham & Watkins LLP. She is a member of the antitrust and competition practice and the litigation and trial department. She advises clients in antitrust litigation and trials, criminal cartel investigations, and merger investigations and litigation.
2011
Charlotta Chung was elected partner in the corporate and financial services department of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and is a member of the firm’s finance department. She focuses her practice on representing private equity sponsors, lenders, and borrowers in a variety of financing transactions. She is based in New York.
Matt Cowen has been promoted to partner at O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles. He represents clients in internal investigations, federal and state inquiries, and litigation in a variety of industries. He also handles pro bono work, including a recent case that resulted in the Nevada Legislature enacting sweeping changes to its public defender system.
Evan Dunn is now general counsel of TuSimple, a global autonomous driving technology company headquartered in San Diego, after serving as deputy general counsel and corporate secretary. Before joining TuSimple, he was deputy general counsel for a publicly traded real estate investment trust company.
Emily Haigh was elevated to shareholder in the New York office of Littler. She represents and counsels employers facing a wide variety of labor and employment law issues and has conducted hundreds of sessions on #MeToo training laws. She also serves as the co-chair of the firm’s veterans initiative affinity group. Before joining Littler, she supervised and reviewed administrative investigations for the US Army as a judge advocate and magistrate judge.
Michael Huston joined Perkins Coie in Washington, DC, as a partner and co-chair of the appeals, issues, and strategy practice group. Previously, he served as assistant to the solicitor general at the US Department of Justice.
2012
Jonathan E. Algor, a former assistant US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, has joined Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP as a partner specializing in white-collar defense and investigations, commercial litigation, and international litigation.
Ryan Ferris was promoted to partner at Mayer Brown. He works with the firm’s corporate and securities practice group in Chicago.
Stephen Gilson appeared on MSNBC to discuss possible Department of Justice charges stemming from the November 2022 mass shooting at a Colorado Springs nightclub. Formerly an assistant US attorney, he is now counsel at KaiserDillon PLLC in Washington, DC.
Siyu Jiang was appointed vice president of legal affairs at Amprius Technologies, which has developed ultra-high energy density lithium-ion batteries. Based in Fremont, California, she previously advised Amprius for several years on corporate governance and transactional matters as senior corporate associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
Nathan J. Moore, who practices transactional and corporate law in the Denver office of WilmerHale, was promoted to partner. He has a broad range of experience representing private equity funds, financial institutions, and public and private companies across industries ranging from life sciences to retail to real estate.
Devika Persaud received the 2022 Rising Star Award from the South Asian Bar Association of Washington, DC. The award recognizes early career Bar members who have achieved distinction in their respective field while demonstrating a strong commitment to the organization and the South Asian community. She is an associate intellectual property litigator at DLA Piper.
Randolph Pistor joined Dickinson Wright in Ann Arbor as of counsel. An experienced corporate and securities attorney, he previously served as chief compliance officer and chief legal officer for an investment advisory corporation.
Victoria “Tori” Roth joined the US Department of Homeland Security as attorney advisor, where she will advise the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office. She previously served at the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a supervisory attorney advisor.
Christopher “Kit” Tholen, who worked as an assistant prosecutor in Grand Traverse County in northern Michigan for the past 10 years, became the new county prosecutor in neighboring Charlevoix County in January.
2013
Andy Alexander was elected partner at Calfee, Halter & Griswold, based in the firm’s Cleveland office. As part of the intellectual property practice group, he assists clients with patent, copyright, and trademark litigation and counseling.
Samuel Hall was promoted to partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. He practices in the firm's litigation department and crisis management group in Washington, DC, representing clients in matters including government investigations, congressional hearings, enforcement actions, sanctions, and anti-corruption issues.
Jennifer Hartnett was promoted to partner at Mayer Brown in Chicago. She first joined the firm in 2018 and works in the banking and finance practice group.
Robert Huff was elected partner at Varnum, a Grand Rapids, Michigan, law firm. He is a member of the firm’s estate planning practice team. He joined Varnum in 2017 after practicing in Florida for several years and frequently counsels clients who own property or relocate to Florida.
John Lister has been elected a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in Chicago. A member of the banking practice and finance department, he advises financial institutions, alternative financing providers, corporate borrowers, and private equity funds on a range of leveraged finance transactions.
Pete Scherer was promoted to counsel in Ropes & Gray’s real estate investments and transactions group. He represents private equity clients, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds, and other financial institutions in a wide variety of commercial real estate matters. Based near Boston, he has been with the firm since graduation.
2014
Joel Bryant has been promoted to partner at Miller Canfield. He is a member of the firm’s litigation and dispute resolution group and is based in the Ann Arbor office.
Kail Jethmalani was promoted to counsel in the antitrust practice group at Axinn. Based in the New York office, he has represented clients before the US Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and competition regulators in Europe and Asia. Additionally, the New York State Bar Association has recognized him for his pro bono contributions.
Katy McNeil was promoted to partner at Mayer Brown in Chicago, where she is a member of the renewable energy, banking and finance, and global projects practice groups. She has been with the firm since 2015.
Elisabeth (Madden) Read completed five years of honorable service as an officer in the United States Air Force JAG Corps and has joined Harrigan Leyh Farmer & Thomsen LLP in Seattle as an associate. Her practice focuses on complex civil litigation.
Nathaniel West has been appointed senior oversight counsel in the US Department of Agriculture’s Office of General Counsel. He previously served in the US House of Representatives as counsel for the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. Earlier in his career, he practiced at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York.
Carlyn Williams has been elected as a partner in the Denver office of Arnold & Porter. A member of the firm’s corporate and finance practice, she has worked extensively with emerging-growth companies and represented private investors and venture capital funds making investments across a number of industries, with particularly deep experience in the high-technology sector.
2015
George Barchini recently became an assistant US attorney for the District of New Jersey. For the past three years, he has been counsel at Perry Guha LLP, a litigation boutique in New York. There, his practice focused on complex commercial litigation, white-collar criminal defense, government and internal investigations, and regulatory and enforcement matters.
Erin Whitney Cicchetti was named a partner in the tax department at Nutter in Boston. She serves on the Tax-Exempt Organizations Steering Committee of the Boston Bar Association, was a member of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Leadership Program Class of 2022, and is a member of the Women’s Bar Association.
Collin Gannon was promoted to shareholder at Beveridge & Diamond PC in Baltimore. He maintains a national practice concentrated on complex environmental and toxic tort litigation.
Jake Gatof was elected to partner at Wilson Sonsini. Based in Boston, he represents life sciences and technology companies, as well as their sponsors, through all stages of growth and investment.
Milo Midole became a member of Dykema in January. Based in the real estate practice in the Detroit office, he handles commercial leasing and purchase and sale work on a nationwide basis. He also has a passion for working with developers and lenders in Detroit on complex development transactions, generally involving multiple lenders and various other financing sources.
Aaron Schaer is now a shareholder at Lane Powell. He is based in the Seattle office, where he counsels clients on matters involving commercial litigation, class actions, health care law, franchise matters, and environmental law. He also serves on the board of trustees for the Frankel Jewish Academy.
2016
Ryan Hebert joined Lewis Roca in July as an associate in the firm’s litigation practice group in Denver. He represents clients in complex commercial litigation, class actions, regulatory investigations, securities, intellectual property, and product liability.
2017
Spring/Summer 2023 Class Note
Eric Cox and Rob Burnett, ’17: On the Ground Floor in FinTech
Eric Cox and Rob Burnett, ’17, first met in their Law School supersection, and the self-described best friends now work alongside one another at Netcapital, a tech firm in the nascent but beginning-to-boom financial technology sector.
LaToya Felton became the director of career services and diversity initiatives at Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law in January. Previously, she was in private practice and before that, she served as an assistant district attorney in Kings County, New York.
Stevin George, a senior associate at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP who co-founded an affinity group for first-generation lawyers at the firm, was profiled in the LinkedIn column “The Starting Line” in February. The story, “One first-gen lawyer’s leap of faith—and how it changed his life forever,” chronicles how his fascination with the Supreme Court on a class trip set him on his professional path.
Deeva Shah received the State Bar of California’s 2022 Jack Berman Award of Achievement for her work to promote accountability and reform within the federal judiciary. She co-founded Law Clerks for Workplace Accountability and has advocated for avenues to address sexual harassment and workplace misconduct within the judicial branch. She is an associate at Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP.
2018
Dmetri Culkar is now associate counsel for Ultimate Fighting Championship, based in Las Vegas. Most recently, he served as vice president and associate general counsel at Fiume Capital in Las Vegas.
Christopher L. Gordon joined Fox Rothschild LLP in San Francisco as an associate in the real estate department. Previously, he was an investment officer for a San Francisco real estate company.
2019
Joshua LeVasseur joined the Los Angeles-based trusts and estates litigation firm Sacks, Glazier, Franklin & Lodise LLP as an associate. He previously served as a litigation associate at O’Melveny & Myers LLP.
Kyle D. Smith has joined Dentons in Portland, Maine, as an associate in the restructuring, insolvency, and bankruptcy practice group.
Graduated in 2000s
2000
Adam Michael Becker joined the board of directors of the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium earlier this year. The organization provides education, networking, and collaboration opportunities to in-house legal professionals worldwide, with the goal of improving the financial management of legal departments both large and small. He is director of legal operations at Cockroach Labs.
Rossa Fanning, LLM, was appointed attorney general of Ireland in December. Before entering government service, his legal practice focused on commercial litigation and insolvency. He has represented various multinational technology companies, including Facebook, Google, and Twitter, as well as champion golfer Rory McIlroy and many other high-profile figures in Ireland. Earlier in his career, he was on the faculty at University College Dublin, lecturing in company law and constitutional law.
Spring/Summer 2023 Class Note
Allie Maldonado, ’00: Making History
When Allie Greenleaf Maldonado, ’00, first donned the robes of a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals at her January swearing in, she became the first tribal citizen to sit on the court.
Daniel M. Ventrelle joined WWE as executive vice president of talent. He formerly served as president of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
2001
Samir Parikh, a professor at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, has been invited to join the American Law Institute and the American College of Bankruptcy. He joins a group of fewer than 15 individuals who are members of both policy-shaping organizations.
2002
Jessica (Dvorak) Whitney was appointed deputy attorney general in the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General in February. She is an 18-year veteran of the Office of the Iowa Attorney General, where she served as deputy attorney general for public policy and consumer protection. As one of four deputy attorneys general in Minnesota, she co-leads the office’s consumer protection work.
2003
The Hon. Michael C. Brown was named chief judge of the First District Court in Monroe County, Michigan. He also serves as a Veterans Treatment Court judge and was first appointed to the bench in 2018.
Spring/Summer 2023 Class Note
Virginia Morrison, ’03: From Lawyer to Brewery Owner
Virginia Morrison, ’03, left her employment law practice to become CEO of Second Chance Beer Company, based in San Diego, which not only produces award-winning craft brews but also gives rescue dogs a second chance at life.
Travis Townsend was named to Atlanta magazine's Atlanta 500 list, which represents the city's most powerful leaders, and is part of Leadership Atlanta’s Class of 2023. He is co-founding partner of Townsend & Lockett and chair of the firm’s corporate practice group. He also serves as president of the National Black MBA Association, Atlanta and has been an adjunct professor at Michigan Law.
2005
Janelle Beavers joined Alvarez & Marsal in February as a managing director in its disputes and investigations practice. Most recently, she served with the Civil Fraud Section of the US Department of Justice, where she led investigation and litigation teams comprising agents from seven federal agencies.
Adam Grant was elected as a member of Dickinson Wright in January and is based in the Detroit office. His practice centers on commercial litigation and real estate/landlord-tenant litigation. He also has significant experience in the areas of financial services litigation and products liability litigation.
The Hon. Ariana Heath was appointed to the Genesee County Probate Court in January by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She is a fourth-generation county resident and most recently served as a circuit court referee for the Genesee County Family Court. Before that, she was an assistant prosecutor for Lapeer County and Tuscola County and a domestic relations referee for Tuscola County.
Mona M. Youssef was appointed as division chief of children and youth services by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Her legal work focuses on child abuse and neglect, as well as overseeing juvenile criminal and civil cases. She is the first Arab American to hold this position.
2006
Amanda Garcia-Williams was recognized on the Michigan Lawyers Weekly 2022 Influential Women of Law list. The award honors women attorneys and judges for their excellent work on behalf of the justice system, their commitment to their communities, and their service to the profession. She is the chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at Husch Blackwell.
Kamal Ghali has co-founded Chaiken Ghali LLP, an Atlanta-based boutique firm focused on white-collar trials and investigations. Most recently, he was a partner at Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP, where he also led that firm's white-collar defense practice. Before that, he worked as a white-collar and cybercrime prosecutor and as deputy chief of the US Attorney's Office in Atlanta.
Richard Kim, co-chair of Greenberg Traurig LLP’s global finance practice and co-chair of the New York corporate practice, was honored by Crain’s New York Business on its 2022 Notable Asian Leaders list. He also serves as the office’s co-hiring chair and co-career development liaison. He is active in mentoring programs through the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York.
Michael Vardanian was promoted to partner in the New York office of Latham & Watkins LLP. He is a member of the private equity practice and the corporate department. His practice focuses on advising private equity firms on transactions involving the retail, media, telecommunications, waste management, manufacturing, technology, and energy industries.
2007
Laura Appleby, a finance and restructuring partner at Faegre Drinker, has been elected office leader of the firm’s New York office. Her practice focuses on complex bankruptcy proceedings, out-of-court restructurings, and distressed transactions.
Adam Deckinger became general counsel and secretary of Tyson Foods Inc. in January. He has worked for Tyson since 2018 and recently served as senior vice president and head of law and compliance. He worked in The Boeing Company’s global litigation and investigations team and as an attorney in private practice before joining Tyson.
Kamao Shaw joined Riemer & Braunstein LLP as a partner in Newport Beach, California. He previously served as a commercial real estate finance partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP in Orange County.
Michael Strong has joined Chicago-based Fox Swibel Levin & Carroll LLP as a partner and chair of the firm’s new energy law group, working primarily with developers and long-term asset owners in the solar industry and retail energy providers. His previous experience includes serving as the first in-house chief legal counsel at the Illinois Power Agency.
2008
Lyzzette Bullock became general counsel of FOLX Health in January. She previously spent four and a half years as associate general counsel of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. FOLX Health provides virtual health care services for the LGBTQ+ community.
Christine Clemens, JD/MPP, has been named a partner at Rhode Island-based law firm Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick Ltd. She joined the firm in 2019. Her current practice focuses entirely on advocating for disabled veterans. Previously, she managed the veterans practice for a large general litigation firm in New York.
Aghogho Edevbie became Michigan’s deputy secretary of state in March. For the last three years, he served as the Michigan state director for All Voting is Local, a nonpartisan voting rights organization. As deputy secretary of state, he leads the development and implementation of the state’s election policy, which includes outreach and education through engagement with state and local elected officials.
Michelle Gomez was selected as a co-chair of Littler’s Career Advocacy Program, a firmwide mentoring program that helps diverse associates advance to shareholder. She is a shareholder in Littler’s Denver office and senior director of onboarding and integration.
Christal Phillips was appointed as the executive director of the City of Detroit Board of Ethics. She previously served on the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission in Honolulu and the Detroit Public Schools Community District as an assistant director of employee relations.
Michelle (Sharpe) Silverthorn was part of the delegation representing the United States at the G20 Summit's Women20 (W20) in India earlier this year. W20 ensures that gender considerations are mainstreamed into G20 discussions. She is the founder of Inclusion Nation, which offers interactive, educational programs to build diverse, inclusive, and equitable cultures in workplaces.
2009
Drew Clary was promoted to partner at Ropes & Gray in New York. He advises insurance companies, hospitals, health systems, and other providers on a broad range of regulatory, transactional, and compliance issues.
Alexis (Grant) Guinan was named a partner in the international trade group of the Washington, DC, office of Akin Gump. Her practice centers on sanctions and other international trade laws and corporate and special situations transactions and restructurings.
William Krauss, who practices out of Ann Arbor, joined virtual law firm FisherBroyles LLP in January after practicing at Butzel Long, where he founded the firm's digital asset practice. He focuses his practice on the legal and regulatory issues surrounding digital assets and blockchain.
Joseph T. Neely was a 2022 Missouri Lawyers Media Up & Coming Awards honoree. The award recognizes early career legal professionals who demonstrate professional accomplishment, skill, and leadership beyond their years, and an extraordinary commitment to the community. He is a partner at Behr McCarter in St. Louis.
Sam Zun joined Shopify as director and associate general counsel of product. Based in San Francisco, he previously served as director and associate general counsel of strategic response at Meta.
Graduated in 1990s
1990
Andrew Doctoroff was nominated to serve on the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority, representing Independents. He is an adjunct professor at Michigan Law and operates his own consultancy, Andrew S. Doctoroff Consulting. He is a former senior adviser to then–Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, ’81, and an equity partner with Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn. He previously served on the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority.
Chris D. Slater was reappointed to a four-year term as a magistrate on the State of Michigan’s Workers’ Compensation Board of Magistrates by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. He lives in Grand Rapids.
1991
T. Michael Johnson joined CIFC Asset Management LLC in New York as global co-head of business development. He has nearly 20 years of experience in alternative investment sales and most recently served as a managing director and head of investor relations at Carlyle Global Credit.
1992
Bruce Goldner received a 2022 Cornerstone Award from the Lawyers Alliance for New York for his pro bono work helping nonprofits protect their intellectual property. He is co-head of the intellectual property and technology group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates.
Ronald Hall was appointed to serve on the Grand Valley State University Board of Trustees by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. He is the president and chief executive officer of Bridgewater Interiors LLC, an automotive interior manufacturing firm. He serves on several executive boards, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago–Detroit Branch and the Detroit Regional Chamber.
Andrew Manitsky has been elected president of the Vermont Bar Association. He was also recently elected to the American Law Institute. He is a litigator in Burlington, Vermont, with the firm Lynn, Lynn, Blackman & Manitsky.
Jean M. McCarthy has been named chief diversity officer at Quinn IP Law in suburban Detroit, where she also is a shareholder and patent attorney. She will provide strategic leadership to the firm’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, working with attorneys, staff, and administration to advance recruitment efforts, provide professional development, and implement DEI programs and initiatives throughout the firm.
Peter T. Mooney was elected chair of the University of Michigan’s Board for Student Publications. The board is made up of nine members appointed by the president of the University and supervises the operations of The Michigan Daily, the Michiganensian yearbook, the Gargoyle humor magazine, and the Shei fashion magazine. He is a member at Simen, Figura & Parker PLC in Flint, Michigan.
1993
Susanne Baer, LLM, has stepped down from the Federal Constitutional Court, Germany’s highest court, after her 12-year term as justice in the First Senate. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier subsequently awarded her the Grand Cross of Merit for services to the Federal Republic of Germany. She returns to Humboldt University Berlin and is the L. Bates Lea Global Law Professor at Michigan.
Jamie Jorgensen was named vice president for legal affairs and general counsel at the University of Iowa in fall 2022. Previously, he served as senior counsel at Husch Blackwell LLP in Denver and was chief of staff and chief legal counsel at Pitzer College in Claremont, California.
1994
Beth C. Manes, co-founder of Manes & Weinberg, Special Needs Lawyers LLC, was named in the NJBIZ Best 50 Women in Business 2022, an annual list honoring women in New Jersey who excel in their industries and in the work they do for their communities. She was recognized, in part, for her advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities.
Chris Ware was promoted to senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary at Itron, a technology provider for energy and water utility services. He is based in Austin, Texas.
1995
David Arroyo was named chief legal officer at Buzzfeed Inc. in New York. He previously served as the company’s chief compliance officer and head of litigation.
The Hon. LaShonda Hunt has been confirmed by the US Senate for a seat on the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She currently serves as a US bankruptcy judge for the Northern District of Illinois. Before assuming her current role in 2017, she worked in private practice and government service, including in the US attorney’s office and as chief legal counsel for the Illinois Department of Corrections.
David Slovensky is serving as senior vice president and general counsel for Georgia Power. He previously served as senior vice president, general counsel, and chief ethics and compliance officer for Southern Company Gas. Among other responsibilities since joining Southern Company Gas in 2004, he created and led the information and records management functions.
1996
Kincaid Brown is the 2022 recipient of the Kenneth J. Hirsh Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contributions in legal innovation and technology from the American Association of Law Libraries’ legal innovation and technology special interest section. He is director of the University of Michigan Law Library.
Melanie Plowman was promoted to partner at the Texas appellate firm Alexander Dubose & Jefferson LLP. A former Texas assistant solicitor general, she has handled appeals in Texas state appellate courts, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the US Supreme Court.
Randy Shoemaker has been elected a shareholder of Reising Ethington, an intellectual property firm based in Troy, Michigan. Specializing in chemical and biotechnology technologies, he prepares and prosecutes patent and trademark applications worldwide.
1997
Michelle Moore was named on Mergers & Acquisitions’ Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A list for 2023. She is a partner and member of the global corporate group in the Chicago office of Reed Smith.
Dara Pincas was recognized on the Savoy list of Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America. She is vice president of health care law at Genentech in San Francisco.
1998
Jessica Silbey joined the tenured faculty of Boston University School of Law in 2021 as the Yanakakis Faculty Research Scholar, teaching constitutional law and intellectual property law. Her most recent book, Against Progress: Intellectual Property and Fundamental Values (Stanford Press, 2022), was published with support from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
1999
Jennifer Diamantis joined the US Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Strategy and Innovation as special advisor and counsel. She focuses on artificial intelligence and advanced analytics strategy, governance, compliance, and technology products.
Graduated in 1980s
1980
Peter Maassen was selected by his fellow justices to serve as chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court. He served in private practice in Anchorage before his appointment to the court in 2012.
Rodney Martin was recognized by Comprehensive Therapy Center as one of its 2022 Legacy Award winners for his 25 years of service on its board of directors. He is of counsel at Warner Norcross+Judd in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
1981
Valerie Jarrett was elected as a new member of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees. She currently serves as CEO of the Barack Obama Foundation and was the longest-serving senior adviser to the Obama administration.
1982
The Hon. Mark Boonstra published In Their Own Words: Today's God-less America…What Would Our Founding Fathers Think? (Liberty Hill Publishing, 2021–2022). The three-volume series details the words and religious lives of all 118 signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. He is a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.
1983
Michael Heck was reappointed to a four-year term as a magistrate on the State of Michigan’s Workers’ Compensation Board of Magistrates by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. He lives in Troy and before becoming a magistrate operated his own law firm for more than 25 years.
Ron Lopez has retired after 40 years at Thelen LLP and then Nixon Peabody LLP in San Francisco as a commercial and intellectual property litigator. He tried cases all over the US, as well as internationally, including the largest patent case ever tried in the Thailand IP Court, which involved disk drive patents and resulted in a complete victory for his client. He is now general counsel and chief licensing officer for OneD Battery Science, a company based in Palo Alto, California, that is developing next-generation silicon anode technology for electric vehicle batteries. He and his wife, Angela Karikas, split their time between Bainbridge Island, Washington, and Piedmont, California.
1984
The Hon. Stephen Bushong was appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court in December by then-Gov. Kate Brown. He had served on the Multnomah County Circuit Court since 2008, including as presiding judge and chief civil judge. Previously, he litigated civil cases as an attorney at the Miller Nash law firm and as chief trial counsel and attorney-in-charge of the Special Litigation Unit at the Oregon Department of Justice.
Anita Fox has been named chair of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Health Insurance and Managed Care Committee, which ensures Michigan has a strong voice in determining health insurance policy on the national level. She is the director of the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services.
Rob Portman retired from the US Senate in January after 30 years of public service, including 12 years in the US House and representing Ohio in the US Senate since 2011. He leaves the Senate with a reputation of working across the aisle to address policy issues. He has established the Portman Center for Policy Solutions at the University of Cincinnati—which will promote civility, bipartisanship, and finding common ground through programming, an annual symposium, internships, scholarships, and research opportunities on policy issues. He is donating his congressional papers to the center. He also joined the think tank the American Enterprise Institute as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow in the practice of public policy and recently was named to the board of directors of Proctor & Gamble.
The Hon. Kurtis T. Wilder, a shareholder at Butzel in Detroit and a former justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, has been elected chair of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for a one-year term. He concentrates his practice in litigation, appeals, and mediation and facilitation. He serves as a neutral mediator/arbitrator with New Era ADR, a digital advanced dispute resolution platform.
1985
Robin Walker-Lee has joined the board of directors of Regal Rexnord Corp. She also has been appointed chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of the board of EMCOR Group. She served as executive vice president and general counsel of TRW Corp., as well as assistant general counsel of General Motors Corp.
1986
Susan Vogel-Vanderson became chief wealth management officer at Macatawa Bank in January. She spent more than 15 years as an estate planning attorney before assuming various leadership roles in the banking sector. Based in Holland, Michigan, Macatawa Bank has branches throughout Kent, Ottawa, and Allegan counties.
1987
John Cahill joined the New York-based law firm of Wilk Auslander LLP in February as an expert in litigating art cases and guiding clients through the whole range of art transactions. Previously, he was a lawyer in private law firms and was the chief operating officer of Sotheby’s when it was a public company, overseeing commercial transactions and financial services.
Reginald “Reggie” Turner is one of four recipients (along with the Hon. Roger Gregory, ’78) of the American Bar Association’s 2023 Spirit of Excellence Award. The award honors the struggle of racially and ethnically diverse lawyers and celebrates those who navigate their own way while paving the way and assisting those who follow. He also received the 18th Annual Dennis W. Archer Public Service Award from the Detroit Bar Association for exemplifying the ideal of the law as public service. He is the immediate past president of the American Bar Association.
Mary Jo Wiggins received the Bernard E. Witkin Award for Excellence in Legal Education from the San Diego Law Library Foundation. The award recognized her contributions as a faculty member and former vice dean of the University of San Diego School of Law.
John Zavitsanos was named a Titan of the Plaintiff’s Bar by Law360 for winning several recent health care-related jury verdicts. He is a co-founder of the AZA law firm, based in Houston.
1988
Daniel H. Golub has joined Volpe Koenig in Philadelphia as a shareholder. Experienced in intellectual property law, he most recently served as counsel at Rembrandt IP Management.
Frank Shaw is now deputy general counsel, Americas, at First Solar Inc., a US-based solar module manufacturer. Previously, he was corporate and energy counsel at Skadden, Arps.
Jay Soled was promoted to the rank of distinguished professor at Rutgers University. He has directed the school's Master of Taxation Program for more than 25 years.
Nina Srejovic briefly returned to law firm practice through an OnRamp Fellowship after focusing her energies on the unpaid labor of child rearing for 18 years. She is now a visiting professor and acting director of the Intellectual Property and Information Policy Clinic at Georgetown University Law Center.
1989
The Hon. Timothy P. Connors was assigned to serve as a business court judge in the 22nd Circuit Court in Washtenaw County, Michigan, for a term expiring in 2025. He has served several judicial appointments and currently is a lecturer on the Michigan Law faculty.
Michael M. Parham was appointed by President Biden in September to serve as a member of the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts. He is the senior vice president and general counsel of RealNetworks, the company that pioneered streaming media on the internet. He is active on many boards, including leadership roles on the boards of the Seattle Art Museum, the United States-Canada Fulbright Foundation, and the Seattle Public Library. He also co-founded the Black Boardroom Initiative to increase corporate board diversity.
Graduated in 1970s
1970
Walter Sutton was awarded the 2023 Cora T. Walker Award. The National Bar Association’s Commercial Law Section presents the award to those with a history of supporting the section and championing diversity. He also is a past president of the National Bar Association.
1971
Robert A. Stein’s firm, The Stein Law Firm PLLC, received special acknowledgements in the 2023 rankings of Best Law Firms by U.S. News and World Report. The firm is recognized in the areas of family law, commercial litigation, trusts and estates litigation, and personal injury litigation–plaintiffs.
1972
James M. Moore received the Distinguished Service Award from the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. He has been in private practice for 50 years, representing labor unions and workers, after beginning his career as a clerk for the Hon. John Feikens, ’41, on the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
1974
The Hon. Elizabeth P. Hines has been appointed chair of the Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She is retired from the 15th District Court for the City of Ann Arbor.
1978
The Hon. Roger Gregory is one of four recipients (along with Reginald “Reggie” Turner, ’87) of the American Bar Association’s 2023 Spirit of Excellence Award. The award honors the struggle of racially and ethnically diverse lawyers and celebrates those who navigate their own way while paving the way and assisting those who follow. He is the chief judge for the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
1979
The Hon. Susan Segal was reappointed in November as chief judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals by Gov. Tim Walz. She was appointed to the court in 2019 and appointed chief judge in 2020. Before her appointment to the court, she served for 12 years as the Minneapolis city attorney, managing an office of more than 100 employees.
Graduated in 1960s
1961
Richard Leslie will be elected chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Senior Lawyers Division Council at the ABA annual meeting in August. He currently serves on the council as chair-elect and previously was vice chair. He has served in the ABA House of Delegates, currently on behalf of the Miami-Dade County Bar, for 20 years.
1964
Alan Croll and his son, Bobby, recently won their sixth national father-son United States Tennis Association (USTA) Championship. They now have a “career slam,” with victories on hard, grass, and clay courts. They are currently the No. 1 father-son team in the country in the USTA’s Ultra Senior Division.