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Class Note Summer 2026

Wycliffe “Wyc” Grousbeck was elected to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s board of trustees for a three-year term. He was the owner of the Boston Celtics from 2002 to 2025 and is an experienced investor, CEO, and founder. Grousbeck began his career as a venture capital investor before leading the acquisition of the Boston Celtics. He also serves as a trustee of giving for the Grousbeck Fazzalari charitable foundation that supports initiatives related to health care, education, and justice.

Class Note Summer 2026

Donica T. Varner stepped down from her position as vice president and general counsel of Cornell University in February. She was the first Black person to serve as the university’s chief legal officer; she also mentored undergraduates in the Meinig Family National Scholars Program and was an executive sponsor of the Women of Color Colleague Network. Varner previously held leadership roles at Oberlin College, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University. 

Class Note Summer 2026

Gabriel J. Chin and three other University of Michigan alumni connected at a recent conference at UC Davis School of Law. Chin, the Edward L. Barrett Jr. Distinguished Professor at UC Davis School of Law, is pictured, left to right, with Christiana Ochoa, BA ’93, dean at Indiana University Maurer School of Law; Angela Onwuachi-Willig, ’97, dean at Boston University School of Law; and Meera E. Deo, ’00, the Honorable Vaino Spencer Chair at Southwestern Law School.

Class Note Summer 2026

David Plunkett, a shareholder with business law firm Williams Williams Rattner & Plunkett PC, was included in the commercial dispute category of Legal 500’s Elite City Focus regional list for Detroit. Plunkett is a litigator and business lawyer who handles contract disputes, shareholder disputes, land use and zoning, employment law, and real estate matters. He also is an experienced probate litigator, including will and trust disputes.

Class Note Summer 2026

Paul Eugene Escobar recently joined the Rise Group Inc. in Cranston, Rhode Island, as its chief legal officer. The Rise Group is an efficiency and engineering services company. Previously, he was a senior corporate and securities attorney for Hasbro Inc.

Class Note Summer 2026

James “Jim” Steffen, a partner in the Minneapolis office of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, was appointed leader of the firm’s technology practice group. Steffen partners with clients to protect and enhance their brand assets through comprehensive trademark, advertising, and marketing law strategies.

Class Note Summer 2026

Claudio Visco, LLM, assumed the presidency of the International Bar Association (IBA) for the 2026 calendar year. Visco has held multiple senior positions in the IBA and has been a member of the management board since 2015. He is a senior partner in the Rome office of Lipani Legal & Tax.

Class Note Summer 2026

Walter Sutton reassumed the chairmanship of the board of trustees of Wiley University, a historically Black university located in Marshall, Texas. Sutton previously served as chairman from 2010 to 2022. 

Class Note Summer 2026

Arnold “Arnie” Brier recently became the chief operating officer and chief legal officer at Yardi Systems. Yardi, based in Santa Barbara, California, is a property and asset management software company servicing the apartment and office industries. Brier joined Yardi 14 years ago as general counsel and participated in the company’s growth from 2,000 employees to more than 10,000 employees worldwide. He serves on the boards of Yardi and WeWork Inc.

Class Note Summer 2026

Michael Cowan, following his retirement as general counsel of TPX, a telecommunications services provider, published his debut novel, John B. Peoples (Köehler Books, 2026). A character study wrapped in a thriller, its subjects include lawyer-client relations and the limits of legal remedies. He surprised himself by being able to build a website (michaelcowan.net) with the assistance of one of his daughters, and he now maintains it by himself—part of an invigorating life, even after retirement.