Issue: Fall 2022
145 results
Graduated in 2020s
2020
Sinéad G. Redmond joined Bodman PLC as an associate in Ann Arbor, where she is part of the real estate practice group.
2021
Katherine Gordon joined the labor and employment practice group Faegre Drinker as an associate in Indianapolis.
Jeffrey R. May joined Bodman PLC as an associate attorney in Detroit. He is a member of the firm’s litigation and alternative dispute resolution practice group.
Matt Preston, a judicial law clerk in Bay City, Michigan, published an op-ed in USA Today, discussing the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and his belief in the importance of retaining military veterans on the country’s highest court.
Mariah M. Silverste in joined Michigan’s Allegan County Government as an assistant public defender. Most recently, she was a member of the litigation practice group at Foster Swift.
Ian Sterlin joined the Boston office of McCarter & English as an associate in the intellectual property practice group.
Graduated in 2010s
2010
Lara Bueso Bach joined media company TelevisaUnivision as senior vice president of litigation. Based in Miami, she previously served as counsel at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
Blake Gansborg was elected to partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Denver. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation.
Anastasia Niedrich Kaup accepted a position as managing director and partner at Fund Finance Partners, an independent advisory firm serving asset managers, fund sponsors, and their portfolio companies. Before this role, she was a partner and practice leader of the fund financing practice at the international law firm Duane Morris LLP.
David Poell was promoted to partner at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP. He is a member of the firm’s business trial practice group and lives in Chicago.
Rebecca “Reba” L. Rabenstein was elected partner at Latham & Watkins in Washington, DC. A member of the intellectual property litigation practice, she focuses on litigating disputes and providing strategic counseling in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and life sciences areas.
2011
Scott J. Fishwick has joined Butzel Long as a shareholder in its litigation department. Based in the firm’s Detroit office, he represents public and private companies, their officers and directors, and other high-profile individuals in complex business and financial litigation.
Chad Ray joined Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal LLP as a partner in Dallas. He focuses his practice on patent litigation.
Jesse Taylor, a senior litigation associate at Squire Patton Boggs, was selected as a Next Up Columbus honoree, an annual award presented by the Columbus Young Professionals Club. This recognition highlights emerging leaders who are making a positive impact on the future of central Ohio.
2012
Elizabeth Bock became a partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP in Los Angeles. She counsels some of the most prominent companies in the health care industry through enforcement, litigation, and regulatory matters.
Joseph Clementz was promoted to vice president and assistant general counsel for Domino’s Pizza. He returned to Ann Arbor with his family in 2019 after working at Sidley Austin in Chicago and Davis Polk in New York.
Fall 2022 Class Note
Steven Hanton, ’12: Using a Big Law Platform to Give Back
Marathon runner by morning, structured finance attorney by day, and community organizer by night, Steven Hanton, ’12, has time for it all—and then some.
Elizabeth “Liz” Houghton was promoted to partner at Epstein Becker Green in New York. She counsels employers on all facets of employment law, with a specialization in minimizing risk and achieving optimal workplace outcomes.
Nicholas Kyriakopoulos opened NK Law in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he prosecutes civil claims against negligent individuals, corporations, government agencies, and insurance companies.
Zachary F. Proulx was promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins in New York. A member of the complex commercial litigation practice, he focuses on financial institution litigation, insolvency litigation, and other complex business disputes in state and federal courts.
Julie (Milligan) Rhoades joined Croke Fairchild Morgan & Beres as partner. Based in Detroit, she serves clients nationwide on the tax aspects of a range of complex business and financial transactions.
Sean K. Tierney was promoted to partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Los Angeles. He is a member of the firm’s real estate practice group.
2013
Terrill Wilkins was promoted to named partner at the Chicago-based employment firm Abrahamson Rdzanek & Wilkins LLC, which previously was named Abrahamson Vorachek & Rdzanek. He has been with the firm since 2015. His practice focuses on the representation and counseling of individual employees in the private sector across a number of employment matters.
Thomas Bohnett joined Google as competition counsel in Washington, DC. Previously, he served as counsel at Vinson & Elkins, where he focused on antitrust, class actions, and contractual disputes
Fall 2022 Class Note
Jesse Medlong, ’13: Addressing Climate Change across Borders and Sectors
It was only as he sat in Paris at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties that Jesse Medlong realized he might be an environmental lawyer.
Allyson Terpsma was promoted to partner at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She focuses her practice on labor and employment law and has been with the firm since 2014.
2014
Peter S. Borock, associate in the real estate practice group at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, received a Cornerstone Award from the Lawyers Alliance for New York. The award is one of the city’s highest business law pro bono honors, and he was recognized for assisting a major nonprofit developer of low-income housing.
Devon Holstad was recognized for his pro bono service by the Minnesota State Bar Association. He is a litigation associate at Winthrop & Weinstine in Minneapolis.
Kelly F. O’Donnell joined private investment company Interlaken Capital as vice president and general counsel in Greenwich, Connecticut. She was previously a member at Pullman & Comley LLC.
2015
Christopher Burtley was reappointed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to serve on the Black Leadership Advisory Council. He is a supply chain litigation and commercial transaction attorney with Barnes and Thornburg LLP.
Alexandra E. Dieck was admitted as a member of Bodman PLC in Ann Arbor, where she counsels individuals and businesses on real estate, corporate, and general business matters. She also practices municipal law and serves as the township attorney for Ann Arbor Charter Township.
Alex E. Haney was accepted as a member of Bodman PLC in Troy, Michigan. He represents business clients with drafting and negotiating a broad range of vendor contracts as part of the enterprise procurement practice group. He has been with the firm since 2015.
Kenneth R. Powell was admitted as a member of Bodman PLC. He practices in the Ann Arbor office as part of the business practice group, where he represents business clients in a variety of general corporate matters.
2016
Emily A. Cross joined Bodman PLC in Troy, Michigan, as an associate. She is a member of the firm’s litigation and alternative dispute resolution practice group and represents clients in complex commercial litigation matters as well as alternative dispute resolution proceedings.
Jake W. Gordon joined Bodman PLC as a member in Detroit. As part of the banking practice group, he represents creditors in commercial loan workouts, corporate restructurings, and other troubled credit matters.
Samuel Nuxoll joined the University of Michigan’s Office of General Counsel as an associate general counsel. He most recently served as an officer in the US Army Reserve. Read more.
Martin C. Topol joined Verrill Dana LLP in Portland, Maine, as an associate in the firm’s litigation and trial practice group. He previously served as an intelligence analyst for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
2017
Shomik Ghosh was hired as a partner at Spiro Harrison. He specializes in commercial litigation and will head the New York office. Previously, he was a trial attorney at Mandel Bhandari LLP.
Tania Morris-Diaz joined Lincoln-Goldfinch Law in Austin, Texas, where she practices immigration law. She previously worked as a staff attorney at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.
Sarah Scheinman joined the Office of Management and Budget as associate deputy general counsel. She previously served as deputy associate counsel at the White House.
2018
Dmetri Culkar joined the private investment firm Fiume Capital as vice president and associate general counsel in Las Vegas. Most recently, he practiced in corporate and securities matters at Maslon LLP.
2019
Megan Giles was selected as a 2022 National Employment Law Council Academy Fellow. As part of this cohort, she is receiving advanced skills training and direct interaction with in-house attorneys and national leaders in minority labor and employment defense. She is an associate attorney at DLA Piper in Atlanta
Graduated in 2000s
2000
Deirdre Hamilton was appointed to the National Mediation Board. Previously, she worked as a staff attorney at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, focusing on the union’s airline division.
Jeff Izzard joined the mergers and acquisitions practice group of Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss in Southfield, Michigan. Before joining Jaffe, he spent more than 14 years with various corporate firms across Chicago.
Dana Jewell was appointed general counsel and corporate secretary to Mixhalo Corp., a San Francisco-based real-time audio streaming company. Previously, she served as vice president, deputy general counsel, and corporate secretary at Chegg Inc.
Jeff Kayes joined Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP as a partner in the firm’s energy and infrastructure practice group. Based in San Francisco, he previously served as partner at Baker Botts. He specializes in energy and renewables project financing and tax equity transactions.
Claire (Holloway) Ness was appointed deputy attorney general for North Dakota. She had previously served as senior counsel and code revisor at the North Dakota Legislative Council since 2016.
The Hon. Asim Rehman was appointed commissioner and chief administrative law judge at the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, the nation’s largest administrative tribunal, which holds approximately 400,000 trials and hearings a year. He is the first Muslim American and the first person of South Asian descent to hold the position. Previously, he served an appointment as general counsel and deputy commissioner for legal matters of the New York City Department of Correction.
The Hon. Sarah Radke Smisek was appointed an administrative law judge for the Social Security Administration at the Office for Hearings Operations in Livonia, Michigan.
2001
Fall 2022 Class Note
Khalilah Spencer, ’01: Fighting for Voting Rights
As president of Promote the Vote 2022, Khalilah Spencer, ’01, is leading the campaign for an amendment to Michigan’s state constitution that would expand voting rights.
Bill Burdett joined the specialty tax and incentives practice group at Winthrop & Weinstine, which is headquartered in Minneapolis. Previously, he was with Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC.
Monalisa Dimalanta, LLM, was hired as chief legal and compliance officer at AboitizPower, a leading energy corporation in the Philippines. She previously served as the chairperson for the country’s National Renewable Energy Board.
Nina Gupta was selected to co-lead the Atlanta office of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP. She joined the firm as partner, having previously served at Nelson Mullins.
Brian Mulcahy joined BakerHostetler as a partner in the firm’s Chicago office. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions with a particular emphasis on private equity. Before this position, he was a partner with Jones Day for 20 years.
2002
Daniel J. Doron joined national employment law firm Jackson Lewis PC as a principal in New York. He was previously a partner with McDermott Will & Emery, where he led the firm’s transactional employment and executive contracts practice. He focuses his practice on representing private equity firms and strategic acquirers in connection with the labor and employment aspects of mergers and acquisitions.
Shermin Kruse was featured in Formidable Women Magazine for her recent TEDx talk on negotiating through cognitive empathy. She is a professor at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, where she teaches courses on empathy, negotiation, leadership, and global transactions.
The Hon. Marty Lentz was appointed a judge of the New York City Civil Court and is assigned to criminal court. Before her judicial appointment, she was a public defender with the Legal Aid Society—with a specialized practice in diversion and restorative justice at the Red Hook Community Justice Center in Brooklyn, New York.
2003
Demian Ahn joined the privacy and cybersecurity practice at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as of counsel in Washington, DC. He previously served as an assistant US attorney in the District of Columbia for nearly 12 years. Read more about his time at the DOJ in the In Practice section of this issue.
Ilona Cohen recently was named chief legal officer and chief policy officer at HackerOne, a cybersecurity and bug bounty platform based in California. Before joining HackerOne, she worked as Aledade’s chief legal officer, chief compliance officer, and corporate secretary for five years.
Sean Etheridge has joined global public health and safety organization NSF as chief legal officer. He previously was corporate secretary at Stryker Corp. NSF, whose world headquarters is in Ann Arbor, has clients in more than 180 countries. The company tests and certifies products for the food, water, health sciences, and consumer goods industries.
Melissa (Hinds) Root was named managing partner of the Chicago office of Jenner & Block. In this role, she oversees more than 330 lawyers and is co-chair of the firm’s restructuring and bankruptcy practice group. She has been with the firm since 2005.
2004
Aaron Cutler was named the practice area leader for the government relations and public affairs practice group at Hogan Lovells in Washington, DC. He has been a partner at the firm since 2014.
Maren R. Norton was named office managing partner at the Seattle office of Stoel Rives LLP. She first joined the firm as a summer associate in 2003.
2005
Reena Bajowala was named chair of the data security and privacy practice group at Ice Miller LLP. She is a partner at the firm’s Chicago office.
Erin Dickinson was appointed to serve as a member-at-large on the Summit County Council in Akron, Ohio. She was formerly a business litigation associate at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP.
Daniel Fazio joined DLA Piper as a partner in the firm’s employment practice in Chicago. Previously, he was with Winston & Strawn LLP for 12 years.
2006
Tracy (Schloss) Combs was named director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Salt Lake Regional Office. She first joined the agency in 2015 and most recently served as a trial attorney.
Christian Grostic was named an assistant federal public defender with the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Ohio.
Gates S. Hurand was promoted to senior counsel to Commissioner Caroline D. Pham at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Previously, he served in the commission’s enforcement division as senior trial attorney.
2007
Guy-Uriel Charles, the Charles Ogletree Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard, was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He teaches and writes about election law, race and law, constitutional law, and civil procedure.
Shella Neba became the first chief counsel for Gem, a human resources tech startup based in San Francisco. She previously was the head of global employment law at Slack.
Sara (Church) Nicholson became a partner at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She is an estate and tax-planning attorney who has been with the firm since 2018.
Andrew Vouziers was named co-head of the Americas lending group and a partner in the banking and finance group at Mayer Brown LLP in Chicago. Previously, he was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP.
2008
Marcus Bach Armas was elected to serve as a judge in Florida’s Miami-Dade County Court. He previously was an executive with the Miami Dolphins for 12 years.
2009
Samuel Brenner was promoted to partner at Ropes & Gray in Boston. He has been with the firm since 2011 and practices intellectual property litigation.
Amber Elliot Chandler was featured on the Black Women Lead podcast to discuss solutions to homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is a systems improvement adviser with Community Solutions Inc., a nonprofit organization headquartered in New York.
Christopher R. Mykytiak joined Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP as of counsel in the real estate practice group. Based in Cleveland, he was previously a partner at Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP.
Anthony Ramirez was promoted to partner at Morrison & Foerster in New York. He advises clients on commercial and transactional matters relating to intellectual property.
Shannon Shin was promoted to partner at Dentons US LLP in Chicago, where she is a member of the firm’s litigation practice.
Graduated in 1990s
1990
Donald Armin Blome was confirmed as the new US ambassador to Pakistan. Well versed in Middle Eastern affairs, he previously served as the US ambassador to Tunisia.
Dan Kim accepted a position as senior vice president for communications, marketing, and external relations at Brandeis University, which is in the greater Boston area. Prior to this role, he was vice president of communications at College of the Holy Cross.
1991
Lisa J. Bernt was appointed to the Massachusetts Commission on the Future of Work. Previously, she served as director of the Fair Employment Project in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and as a visiting scholar at Northeastern University School of Law. Her most recent article, “Workplace Disclosure: What’s Blocking the View” was published in the Marquette Law Review.
Christine Webber was appointed co-chair of the civil rights and employment practice at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll in Washington, DC.
1992
Charlie K. Maier was named leader of the litigation practice group at Lathrup GPM in Minneapolis. Before the combination of Lathrop Gage and Gray Plant Mooty (GPM), Maier served as a practice group chair, board member, and managing officer of GPM.
Steven R. Rosenblatt was appointed managing partner of the New York office for Segal McCambridge. Along with this new role, he serves on the firm’s executive committee and chairs the associate development committee.
Sylvia A. Stein was appointed to the board of directors of Luxfer Holdings PLC, a global industrial company that specializes in materials engineering. She is the vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary, and chief compliance officer of Modine Manufacturing Company in Racine, Wisconsin.
1993
Jack Bailey was named as secretary to the University of Rochester’s board of trustees. Having previously served as an attorney in the university’s office of general counsel, he has 30 years of experience in regulatory and compliance issues.
Robert “Bobby” Lee joined Clouse Brown, a boutique firm in Dallas that specializes in employment law, as senior counsel. Board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, he represents employers, executives, and other employees in all facets of the employment relationship.
Kevin O’Gorman was named head of arbitration at Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP in Houston. He practices international and domestic arbitration, both as counsel and arbitrator.
1994
Ann-Marie Anderson served as chairperson and keynote speaker on securities regulatory matters at the State Bar of Arizona’s annual convention in June 2022 and was reelected chairperson of the Securities Regulatory Council. She serves as the longtime general counsel of a national structural engineering and architectural corporation.
The Hon. F. Kay (Courter) Behm was nominated to serve on the bench of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She has been a judge for the Genesee County Circuit and Probate Courts in Flint, Michigan, since 2009.
Brent Fassett joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as a corporate partner in Boulder, Colorado. He represents emerging-growth companies and their investors, focusing on the life sciences and medical technology industries.
Veena Jain was promoted to partner at Faegre Drinker in Chicago, where she focuses on investment management.
1995
Amy Bennett was named to Crain’s New York Business’s Notable Women Business Owners list for 2021. She is the owner of artisan grocer Greene Grape Provisions in Brooklyn, New York.
Michael Carrier was named Professor of the Year at Rutgers Law School, where he has taught since 2000. He is a leading authority in antitrust and intellectual property law with expertise in the pharmaceutical, high-tech, and music industries.
Lawrence Garcia joined Miller Canfield as senior counsel in the firm’s employment and labor group. He previously was corporation counsel for the City of Detroit.
Scott Garland joined independent integrity monitoring firm Affiliated Monitors Inc. as the managing director of sanctions, cyber, fraud, and ethics compliance and monitoring in Boston. He previously served as acting chief of the National Security Unit in the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Walter Lanier was hired as the president and chief executive officer of the African American Leadership Alliance of Milwaukee. He most recently served as an executive at Milwaukee Area Technical College, where he led the creation of the college’s Men of Color Initiative, as well as the student resource center and the counseling and psychological services department. Lanier is also in his 11th year of service as the senior pastor of the Progressive Baptist Church.
Colin Owyang assumed the position of senior vice president and chief operating officer at Vermont Electric Power Company. Previously, he served as general counsel and head of strategy at Franklin Energy.
Fall 2022 Class Note
Dana Schmitt, ’95: Building a League of Her Own
Dana Schmitt, ’95, has had a passion for baseball ever since she and her father were invited to a Detroit Tigers game by a family friend. Thirty years later, she’s still wearing her baseball cap—but now she wears it as the president of the United Shore Professional Baseball League, the first professional developmental baseball league in Metro Detroit.
1996
Thomas B. Cochrane joined the Chicago office of the United Airlines Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association as senior labor relations counsel. He has nearly 26 years of experience representing labor unions.
Michael J. Thomas, while at the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, spearheaded litigation resulting in a $74,000 judgment against a defendant who unlawfully killed a deer. The judgment, which is the largest ever obtained under a department-specific statute allowing for civil restitution regardless of criminal charges, was attributable to the deer’s trophy-level antlers. The New Mexico Court of Appeals upheld the judgment in fall 2021. Thomas recently transferred to the Criminal Appeals Division of the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General.
1997
Dina Bakst, co-founder of A Better Balance, was a 2021 recipient of the Heinz Award, which recognizes individuals who make lasting contributions to the arts, the economy, and the environment. Her organization conducts policy work and provides direct legal services and public education to advance worker protections on issues such as equal pay, paid family and medical leave, protections for pregnant and breastfeeding workers, and affordable quality child care and elder care.
Brian Bernhardt joined Fox Rothschild LLP in Charlotte, North Carolina, as counsel in the firm’s tax controversy and litigation department. Previously, he was a partner at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP.
Enoh Ebong was appointed director of the United States Trade and Development Agency. In this role, she leads the agency’s efforts to develop sustainable infrastructure, foster economic growth in emerging economies, and support job growth through the export of goods and services.
Angela Onwuachi-Willig co-edited Critical Race Judgments: Rewritten US Court Opinions on Race and the Law (Cambridge University Press, 2022), which reimagines some of the most influential legal cases in US history using a racial justice lens. She is dean and Ryan Roth Gallo & Ernest J. Gallo Professor of Law at Boston University.
1998
Laura Mate was nominated to serve as commissioner and vice chair of the United States Sentencing Commission. Before this appointment, she was the director of the Sentencing Resource Counsel, a project of the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Jason Mendelson published How to Be a Lawyer: The Path from Law School to Success (Wiley, 2022), which includes contributions from guest authors Lynne Davis, ’98, and Greg Mann, ’98. Outside of writing, Mendelson is a full-time musician performing under the stage name Jace Allen. In 2020, he retired as a co-founder and managing director of Foundry Group, a venture capital firm based in Boulder, Colorado.
Tiffany Pollard has joined Davis+Gilbert as a partner in the firm’s corporate and transactions practice. Most recently, she was head of domestic and international mergers and acquisitions at Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS), where she helped lead Paramount Global’s acquisition of a 49 percent stake in Miramax and its joint venture with Tyler Perry to launch its first direct-to-consumer offering (BET+ streaming). Her practice will focus on representing public and private companies in M&A, joint ventures, minority investments, and general corporate matters.
Andrew Tavi was promoted to senior vice president of legal, external affairs, and sustainability for Nissan Americas. In addition to serving in his current roles as chief legal officer and head of government affairs, as head of sustainability he will have overall responsibility for leading the strategy and implementation of the company’s goals to achieve zero fatalities and carbon neutral status in North and South America.
1999
Michael T. Cahill was appointed to serve on New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. He is president and Joseph Crea Dean of Brooklyn Law School, where he also is a tenured professor of law.
Brian Horne has been named partner in charge of the Los Angeles office of Knobbe Martens. He has been with the firm since graduating from law school and is a litigator who handles patent, trade secret, trademark, trade dress, and breach of contract cases.
Elliot Regenstein published Education Restated: Getting Policy Right on Accountability, Teacher Pay, and School Choice (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), which offers a pragmatic approach to education improvement at the local and state level. He is a partner at Foresight Law+Policy in Chicago.
Graduated in 1980s
1980
George Higgins was named the Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at Cornell University Law School. Formerly a public defender and trial lawyer, he also is an avid dramatic improviser and taught a seminar titled Improv, Storytelling, and Trial Advocacy during the fall 2021 semester.
Tillman “Tim” L. Lay joined Best Best & Krieger LLP in Washington, DC, as a partner in its telecommunications and municipal law practice groups. He has more than 35 years of experience handling complex telecommunications matters.
Stephen Selbst was elected to the Greenwich Board of Estimate and Taxation in Connecticut. He is a partner at Herrick Feinstein LLP, where he co-chairs the firm’s restructuring and finance litigation practice.
Myra Selby was honored by the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession with the 2022 Margaret Brent Award, which recognizes women who have achieved professional excellence and paved the way for other women in the legal field. She is a partner at Ice Miller LLP in Indianapolis.
1981
John Glowney published his debut full-length poetry collection, Visitation (Broadstone Books, 2022). His work has received recognition from organizations including the Poetry Society of America. He lives in Seattle.
1983
Mark L. Jones published Professions and Politics in Crisis (Carolina Academic Press, 2021), which suggests that encouraging people to pursue a life of meaning and purpose can remediate professional and political crises of well-being, distress, and dysfunction. He is a professor at Mercer University Law School in Macon, Georgia.
Patricia “Trish” Refo received the Medal of Honor from the World Jurist Association for her leadership and efforts to promote the rule of law around the world, particularly for her service as president of the American Bar Association from 2020 to 2021. Read more.
1984
The Hon. Manuel I. Arrieta of the Third Judicial District of the State of New Mexico published “Solving the Puzzle: The Water Court Structure and Process of Water Administration in New Mexico” in the University of Denver Water Law Review. The article is an analysis of the legal regime for water administration in New Mexico. Judge Arrieta also recently walked the Camino Frances and the Camino Portugal, a 740-mile trek that ended in Santiago de Compestela in northern Spain.
Cheryl Bush, founding member of Bush Seyferth PLLC, was sworn in for a four-year term as a regent of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Meg Waite Clayton published her eighth novel, The Postmistress of Paris (Harper, 2021), a work of historical fiction set during the German occupation of France during World War II. She resides in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
Anita (Raby) Fox was recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business in its annual 50 Names to Know in State Government list. She has served as the director of the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services since January 2019.
Anthony M. Spaniola, a Southeast Michigan attorney and co-chair of the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network, received the Equity and the Environment Leadership Award from the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. He is a leading national advocate for communities affected by toxic PFAS contamination and testified before the US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in December 2021, calling for heightened scrutiny of the Department of Defense as the largest known PFAS polluter in the nation. He also served as a consultant to Pulitzer Prize winner Sara Ganim on her critically acclaimed documentary, No Defense: The US Military’s War On Water.
Kurtis T. Wilder was named to the executive committee of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Formerly a justice on the Michigan Supreme Court, Wilder is a shareholder at Butzel Long in Detroit.
1985
Benedicte Bayi-Mathijsen took on a new role as senior director of privacy and compliance with Christian Dior Couture in New York. She previously held privacy counsel positions in the San Francisco area, including with Facebook, Twitter, and PayPal.
Kent Matsumoto and his wife, Constance, will publish their debut novel, Of White Ashes, in early 2023. Inspired by the true stories of the authors’ family, the story follows two Japanese Americans during World War II as they endure internment camps and other hardships. After spending 36 years as legal counsel for several publicly held companies, Matsumoto was recently appointed director of Peoplesbank, an independent community bank that operates financial centers in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
1986
Laura L. Romeo joined Plunkett Cooney in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, as a senior attorney and co-leader of the firm’s environment, energy, and resources law practice group. She has extensive expertise in environmental and sustainability issues and previously served as assistant division counsel for the US Army Regional Environmental and Energy Office.
1987
The Hon. Gilbert M. Román became the chief judge of the 22-member Colorado Court of Appeals in January and is the first Latino to hold the position. He has served on the state’s intermediate appellate court since 2005.
Brad Weber, a partner at the Dallas office of Locke Lord LLP and co-chair of its antitrust practice group, was elected to serve as the 2022 chair of the Dallas Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Dallas Bar Association.
1988
Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla, LLM, was appointed energy secretary of the Philippines. Having previously held a number of public and private positions, he is also a law professor at the University of the Philippines.
John A. Nixon, a partner at Duane Morris LLP in Philadelphia, is serving as president of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys for 2022–2023. He previously served as vice president of the organization and chair of its tax section.
Eric Acker, a patent litigation partner at Morrison & Foerster, was the lead trial lawyer in a case involving one of Japan’s leading research-based pharmaceutical companies, for which he recently helped secure a $775 million patent litigation settlement. He has been with the firm since 1999 and is based in San Diego.
Monica Barrett received a 2022 Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of College and University Attorneys in recognition of her “extraordinary service both to the association and to institutions of higher learning.” Barrett is the co-managing member of Bond, Schoeneck & King’s New York office, where she provides legal advice to educational institutions.
Daniel H. Golub joined Volpe Koenig as a shareholder in Philadelphia. He advises clients on a range of matters related to global patent strategy, protection, licensing, and litigation. Most recently, Golub served as counsel at Rembrandt IP Management.
1989
Earl Barnes was named general counsel at Sentara Healthcare, which is based in Norfolk, Virginia. He previously served as executive vice president and chief legal officer for Amita Health in Chicago.
Tim Reiniger was honored by the National Notary Association at its annual convention for his work spearheading remote online notarization. He serves as digital counsel at eNotaryLog, which provides nationwide remote online notarization and electronic signature solutions.
Graduated in 1970s
1971
Robert A. Stein, of The Stein Law Firm PLLC, was recognized by the New Hampshire Bar Association for 50 years of practice and continued excellence in the legal profession.
1975
Rick Bendix was named the 2021 Volunteer of the Year by Legal Aid Chicago for his work assisting pro se consumer debtors with bankruptcy cases. He is a partner at Advocate Capital Advisors, a boutique investment bank.
Nancy Schiffer was awarded a Distinguished Service Award by the State Bar of Michigan Labor and Employment Law Section, which is presented to individuals who have made major contributions to the practice of labor and employment law. Schiffer spent several decades representing unions and most recently served a term on the National Labor Relations Board.
1978
Fred Krupp, leader of the Environmental Defense Fund for 37 years, was elected to serve a six-year term as an alumni fellow of Yale University’s board of trustees.
1979
The Hon. Hildy Bowbeer retired after eight years as a magistrate judge in the US District Court for the District of Minnesota. Before this position, she served as the assistant chief intellectual property counsel at 3M Co. In retirement, Bowbeer, along with her husband, Bill Klein, ’79, plans to travel internationally. She will remain involved in continuing legal and judicial education through the US Department of Commerce’s Commercial Law Development Program, as well as with the Sedona Conference and the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
Charles R. Lowery Jr., director of legislative policy and external affairs at New American Funding, was chosen as president-elect of the DC Bar for the 2022–2023 term. He will serve in that position for one year before becoming president in 2023. Read more.
Jim Shaughnessy joined software company DocuSign as chief legal officer. He previously served in various corporate affairs roles, including an eight-year stint as general counsel at Workday, an enterprise management software company.