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Class Note Winter 2024-2025

Lisa Helem, the executive editor at Bloomberg Industry Group, moderated the 2024 DMV Bar Presidents’ Panel in Washington, DC, which included the presidents of the Virginia and Maryland state bar associations as well as Charles Lowery Jr., ’79, who then was the president of the DC Bar. The event commemorated the first time that African American men led all three bar associations. Previously, Helem was editor-in-chief of the National Law Journal, practiced law at an Am Law 100 firm, and wrote for outlets including Newsweek, People, and the Philadelphia Daily News.

Class Note Winter 2024-2025

Jenny Kim joined the University of Connecticut School of Law, where she teaches legal practice as an assistant clinical professor of law. Previously, she was the inaugural clinical fellow with Duke University School of Law’s Immigrant Rights Clinic. She also has worked at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, Church World Service, and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.

Class Note Winter 2024-2025

Brenda Abdelall recently served as deputy director of Arab American voter outreach for the Harris-Walz presidential campaign. Abdelall is an Egyptian-American lawyer who has served in a number of roles at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including chief of staff and senior adviser for the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, assistant secretary for partnership and engagement, and, currently, senior counsel to the secretary. Before joining DHS, Abdelall worked at New York University as a deputy chief compliance officer and resident instructor and at the Washington, DC-based Muslim Advocates as a director. 

Class Note Winter 2024-2025

Elisabeth Brennen was a fellow for the 2024 Law Program of the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics. She is a third-year litigation associate at Milbank LLP in New York. Brennen primarily works in civil litigation and maintains an active pro bono practice, focusing on public international law and immigration assistance.

Class Note Winter 2024-2025

Justin Benson joined Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP as counsel in the firm’s Washington, DC, office. He practices complex federal litigation with an emphasis on the representation and defense of corporations and individuals doing business with, or regulated by, the federal government. Benson has extensive experience in litigation relating to the procurement and performance of government contracts and private sector participation in government programs. In addition, he represents clients in complex trial and appellate litigation in federal and state courts.

Class Note Winter 2024-2025

Kimberly D. Bailey was named associate dean of academic affairs at the University of Cincinnati College of Law (UC Law). Bailey joined UC Law in 2023 and has taught criminal law; criminal procedure; evidence; and sex, gender, sexuality, and the law. Before joining UC Law, she was an associate professor and the Norman and Edna Freehling Scholar at Chicago- Kent College of Law.

Class Note Winter 2024-2025

Ava Jill Morgenstern joined Meltzer Hellrung LLC as an associate attorney in the firm’s Washington, DC, office. She advises clients on employment-based immigration matters, including immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions, and has extensive experience in naturalization matters. Morgenstern represents clients across all industries, with an emphasis on the IT consulting industry. Before joining the firm, she was an associate at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP.

Class Note Winter 2024-2025

John Parsi joined the faculty at Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, where he teaches criminal law, administration of criminal justice, family law, and health law, as well as remedies and science and technology law. His research and scholarship focuses on bodily autonomy at the intersection of health, science, and technology law. Previously, he taught at the University of Nebraska College of Law and Arizona State University. 

Class Note Winter 2024-2025

Julian Kleinbrodt was named one of Law360’s 2024 Top Attorneys Under 40. He is a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where his nationwide labor and employment practice focuses on discrimination and class action claims. He handles a variety of antitrust matters through trial and appeal; he also represents clients in civil and criminal investigations by the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, and he regularly counsels clients on antitrust compliance. 

Class Note Winter 2024-2025

Tara J. Plochocki joined Sequor Law as a partner and head of the firm’s new Washington, DC, office. She is an asset recovery attorney and ICC FraudNet member who handles high-profile cases and unravels complex cross-border financial schemes. In addition to her international civil litigation practice, Plochocki represents individuals in connection with congressional and law enforcement investigations. She also advises on extradition law and regularly serves as an expert in proceedings in the UK and other Commonwealth countries.