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Class Note Summer 2024

Matthew Johnson has been appointed to a three-year term on the management committee at Warner Norcross+Judd LLP. He is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he chairs the firm’s corporate practice group. He represents closely held and family-owned businesses, emerging growth companies, and investors on such matters as mergers and acquisitions, private securities offerings, formation and capital raising, succession planning, and board governance. 

Class Note Summer 2024

Pippin C. Brehler has been elevated to assistant chief counsel with the California Air Resources Board in Sacramento, where he has helped lead California’s groundbreaking requirements for advanced zero-emission vehicle emission standards. Among other previous positions, he clerked for the Hon. Marilyn J. Kelly on the Michigan Supreme Court. This past summer, he returned after a two-decade absence to compete in his fourth Bayview Mackinac Race, sailing from Port Huron to Mackinac Island. Outside of the office, he rallies behind his two daughters to support them through the adventures of high school. 

Class Note Summer 2024

Ken Gish rejoined Stites & Harbison in Lexington, Kentucky, as a partner in the environmental, natural resources, and energy service group and the business and finance service group. His practice focuses on assisting corporate and institutional clients in meeting sustainability goals through renewable energy purchases, advising clients in the energy industry, and assisting renewable developers in all aspects of project development. He also is an active member of his community, currently serving as the director of LexArts Inc.

Class Note Summer 2024

Brandy Robinson was appointed to the Michigan Appellate Defender Commission by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, representing the State Bar of Michigan. She is a managing attorney of criminal practice for the Neighborhood Defender Service of Detroit. Before her recent appointment, Robinson was chair of the State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section, a member of the State Bar of Michigan Board of Commissioners, and vice chair of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission. 

Class Note Summer 2024

Ryan Walters has been promoted to chief of the Special Litigation Division for the Office of the Texas Attorney General. He previously served as deputy chief and eventually special counsel for the same division. Before joining the Office of the Texas Attorney General, Walters was the assistant attorney general in the Office of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in the Employment Law Section from 2013 to 2016. He then worked as an attorney for the Texas Public Policy Foundation until 2021.

Class Note Summer 2024

Azadeh Shahshahani delivered the opening keynote speech at the Rebellious Lawyering Conference at Yale Law School, which was the conference’s 30th anniversary. She is a legal and advocacy director at Project South, a nonprofit organization that focuses on developing activist strategies in response to social issues in the US and Global South. She is a president of the National Lawyers Guild. 

Class Note Summer 2024

John J. Tepedino has been promoted to partner at Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf. He is based in the firm’s New York office and focuses his practice on bankruptcy litigation, including as part of the team representing the SIPA Trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. He has led dozens of adversary proceedings resulting in the recovery of millions of dollars for the victims of Madoff’s fraud. He also has handled a variety of matters in Chapter 7 and 11 bankruptcies. Before joining Windels Marx, he was an associate in the New York office of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, where he focused on US and cross-border corporate investigations and securities litigation. 

Class Note Summer 2024

Aaron O’Donnell, a real estate attorney, was recently elevated to partner in Holland & Knight LLP’s Chicago office. In his practice, he represents institutional, private equity, developer, and corporate clients in all aspects of real estate transactions. The primary transaction types he oversees include the acquisition, financing, joint venture structuring, development, and disposition of real estate. 

Class Note Summer 2024

Heba Aref, a member in the Detroit office of Bodman PLC, was appointed as co-chair of the firm’s banking practice group. She represents financial institutions in the structuring, negotiating, and documenting of loan transactions, including syndicated loans, bilateral loans, subordinated loans, and participations. Before joining Bodman, she practiced in the New York, Minneapolis, and Palo Alto offices of Dorsey & Whitney. 

Class Note Summer 2024

Mei-Li da Silva Vint was appointed chief commercial officer for Brevet Capital Management, where she oversees product development and commercial strategies. She continues to co-manage Brevet’s platform origination businesses, including the operations of the real assets group. She is a longtime executive with the firm, previously serving as the chief compliance officer. Before joining Brevet in 2016, da Silva Vint worked at Morgan Stanley, covering institutional clients in fixed income, equity, and structured private secured loans.