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Class Note Spring/Summer 2023

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.

Class Note Spring/Summer 2023

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.

In Memoriam Spring/Summer 2023

Sam Zell, ’66

Sam Zell, ’66, an entrepreneur and maverick in the business world, died May 18, 2023, at his home in Chicago. He was 81. 

In Memoriam Spring/Summer 2023

Professor Emeritus Carl E. Schneider, ’79

Carl E. Schneider, ’79, the Chauncey Stillman Professor Emeritus of Law, died on May 6, 2023. He was 75. 

Class Note Spring/Summer 2023

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.

Class Note Spring/Summer 2023

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.

Class Note Spring/Summer 2023

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. 

Class Note Spring/Summer 2023

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.

Class Note Spring/Summer 2023

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.

Class Note Spring/Summer 2023

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.