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Class Note Summer 2025

Ian Labitue was appointed president and chief executive officer of the Affordable Housing Trust (AHT) for Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio. He has been involved with AHT for six years, including serving as board vice chair and chair of the emerging developers accelerator program committee. Labitue is an attorney with Ice Miller LLP, where he specializes in public affairs and economic development.

Class Note Summer 2025

Carolyn Perez joined Steptoe LLP as pro bono counsel. Before joining the firm, Perez served as program counsel at the Legal Services Corporation, where she conducted programmatic oversight of legal services providers and promoted improvement of the program’s ability to provide effective and efficient legal aid services.

Class Note Summer 2025

Poonam Kumar was promoted to partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Los Angeles. She is a member of the firm’s white collar defense and investigations, litigation, and trial practice groups. Kumar, a former federal prosecutor, focuses her practice on internal, regulatory, and criminal investigations, as well as complex commercial litigation across a wide range of industries.

Class Note Summer 2025

Jedd Bellman was made partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in Washington, DC. Bellman assists banks, mortgage companies, auto lenders, debt collectors, money services businesses, and fintechs on a variety of licensing, regulatory, and enforcement matters.

Class Note Summer 2025

Daniel Martinez joined the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a tax attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel, Associate Chief Counsel (International) in Washington, DC. He advises on tax laws applicable to international persons and transactions, drafts regulations, and other guidance. Before joining the IRS, Martinez was of counsel at Bilzin Sumberg in Miami, where he helped clients navigate complex tax issues, including cross-border business transactions.

Class Note Summer 2025

Sylvia Favretto was promoted from associate general counsel to general counsel of Mysten Labs. Previously, she was global lead regulatory counsel at Block Inc. and counsel at Shearman & Sterling LLP, where she represented banks, financial technology companies, and other financial institutions.

Class Note Summer 2025

Dennis Daniels was appointed partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. He is a litigator and trial lawyer who defends clients in high-profile and high-exposure cases in Texas, California, and throughout the US. Before joining Bradley, Daniels practiced at Fee, Smith, & Sharp LLP.

Class Note Summer 2025

The Hon. Kerene Moore was elected to a six-year term on Michigan’s 15th District Court. Most recently, Judge Moore was the director of the Conviction Integrity and Expungement Unit in the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office, where she helped people work to obtain clemencies, correct wrongful convictions, and expunge their records. She previously was a judicial attorney and referee on the 22nd Judicial Circuit of Michigan in Washtenaw County and has represented clients at the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and the Michigan Advocacy Program.

Class Note Summer 2025

Stephen Merkel was named chairman of the board of directors for BGC Group Inc., a global brokerage and financial technology company. He has been with BGC since the company’s founding and retains his current roles as executive vice president and general counsel. Merkel is also on the board of directors of the company’s FMX Futures Exchange business and serves as the executive vice chairman, executive managing director, and general counsel for the Cantor Fitzgerald LP group of companies, which includes BGC Group Inc., Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., and Newmark Group Inc.

Class Note Summer 2025

Kurtis T. Wilder, a shareholder at Butzel Long in Detroit and former Michigan Supreme Court justice, was appointed to the board of directors of Hastings Insurance. He also serves as a mediator and arbitrator with New Era ADR, a digital advanced dispute resolution platform. In addition, he is chair-elect of the board of directors of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan and will become chair in September.