Vanderbilt University Law School

Class of 1997

(Notes posted in the order they were received, with the newest posts on top.)

Lucibeth Mayberry has been promoted to vice president, deputy chief development officer for Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). Lucibeth began her career at CCA in 2003 as a senior director, customer relationship manager (CRM). She has since served as managing director, state customer relations and most recently was vice president of research, contracts and proposals. Before joining CCA, Lucibeth served as a senior associate of the taxation and estate planning practice group at the Nashville-based law firm Stokes, Bartholomew, Evans and Petree. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee and a master of laws in taxation degree from the University of Florida. CCA was the first company in the private corrections management industry and represents the nation's fifth-largest corrections system.
Posted on web 8-26-08

Alan C. Perkins, a top Tonkon Torp immigration attorney, has been selected by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) to serve on a national committee that works with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) on policy and adjudication issues, and the USCIS California Service Center Liaison Committee. Perkins has more than a decade of immigration law experience. A Portland native, he recently returned to Portland after practicing immigration law for eight years in San Francisco.
Posted on web 8-19-08

Vanessa Scott has joined the tax practice in Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan's Washington, D.C. office. After graduation, Vanessa worked as an associate at a Birmingham, Alabama law firm, then served tax counsel for Congressman Artur Davis (D-AL). Before joining Sutherland, Vanessa served as corporate secretary and counsel for the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC). Her article on tax code section 409A was recently published in The Tax Lawyer.
posted 7/9/08

Carter R. Brothers was recently promoted to Senior Attorney in the Roanoke, Virginia office of Spilman Thomas & Battle. His primary areas of practice are estate planning and administration, taxation, bond finance, and corporate law.

Cynthia Webb Fitzgerald was honored as a Top Lady of Distinction for 2008. Cynthia was one of ten women selected for the honor, which is bestowed by the Top Ladies of Distinction on ten African-American women whose professional accompishments support the organizations focus on promoting scholarship opportunities for today's youth, assisting the aged, improving the status of women, and promoting community beautification.

Darin M. Klemchuk founded the Intellectual Property practice of Cash Klemchuk Powers & Taylor in 2004. His Dallas practice includes all aspects of intellectual property with emphasis on patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation. Darin also assists companies by identifying and protecting branding, technological innovation, software and other property by procuring patent, trademark, and copyright registrations and through employment agreements. Darin is an avid country music and film fan who enjoys boxing and running and lives in Dallas with his wife and three children.

Amy Moss was named firm partner at Haynes & Boone in the firm's Houston office. A partner in the Corporate Securities Practice Group, Amy focuses on corporate and securities law, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financing and AIM offerings. Representing public and privately-held companies, Ms. Moss advises clients on matters including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures, private placements of stock and debt and venture capital transactions.

Phillip Fowler has been named Chair of the Indiana State Bar Association's Litigation Section.

Lara Peirce has left her position as a Felony Chief Prosecutor in Dallas to become a Policy Advisor with the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, SMART Office in Washington, D.C. The SMART Office assists in the implemenation of the Adam Walsh Act, concerning sex offender sentencing, monitoring, apprehension, registration and tracking.

Cheryl Johnson-Hartwell has been named a partner with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis. Cheryl practices in the areas of labor and employment, commercial litigation and trademark prosecution in the Los Angeles office.

Rebecca (Swanson) Jacobs has been named a partner with Ulmer & Berne in its Columbus, Ohio, office. Ms. Jacobs also serves as a lecturer on "Employment Practices and the Law" for the Masters in Labor and Human Resources program at the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business.

Phillip Fowler has been elected chair of the Indiana State Bar Association’s Litigation Section. The Litigation Section has over 1,200 member lawyers and is one of the largest sections of the State Bar.

Alan C. Perkins has joined the immigration practice group of Tonkon Torp, where he will focus on employment-related immigration and naturalization matters.

Phillip Fowler has been appointed chair of USLAW Network’s Electronic Discovery Committee. Phillip, an attorney with Bingham McHale in Indianapolis, focuses his practice in the representation of corporate clients and their owners, officers and directors in federal and state court litigation and in alternative dispute resolution, and also represents a variety of clients in other complex litigation. He actively participates in the Indianapolis Bar Association, and is the vice chair of the Litigation Section of the Indiana State Bar Association. He also does volunteer work for the Indianapolis Zoo, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the Justice Center Task Force and other local non-profit organizations.

Maxwell N. Barnes of Indianapolis was elected partner at Baker & Daniels. Max, who joined the law firm in 2003, practices in corporate finance and corporate transactional matters.

Chris Robbins has been detailed to the office of FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate to assist in handling media issues. Prior to joining the FCC, Chris was an attorney in the media practice group at Wiley Rein & Fielding.

Jim Hippe was named deputy chief of staff by Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). Jim has been a member of the senator's staff since July 2000, and previously served as Frist's legislative director and directly handled telecommunications and intellectual property issues.

Paul Larsen and his partner, Blake Humphreys, welcomed a baby girl, Camille Larsen-Humphreys, on April 22, 2006. Camille joins older brother Aidan, who is 15 months. They live in Washington, D.C.

Robert F. Morris and Hilary Claire Trought married May 6, 2006 at the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury, New Jersey. Robert is an associate at the Brennan Law Firm in Cranbury, but from 1998 to 2001 he served in active duty as a member of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps at Fort Knox. Hilary teaches mathematics in the sixth and seventh grades at the Morristown-Beard School.

David Johnson is a member of Miller & Martin in Nashville, where he focuses his practice on civil litigation.

Jack W. (Jay) Campbell IV was selected as the new executive director of the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy, a state organization that exists to protect the public's health, safety, and welfare in the practice of pharmacy. Jay joined the staff of the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy on February 1, 2006. A native of Sanford, NC, Jay is a 1993 graduate of the UNC School of Pharmacy. After graduating from UNC, he worked in pharmaceutical research and in a community pharmacy before entering Vanderbilt Law School. Upon completion of his law degree, he served in a clerkship for The Honorable Bruce Selya on the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He has practiced law with Jones Day, a large multi-national firm in Washington, D.C., and most recently in Charlotte with Helms Mulliss & Wicker, a large North Carolina-based law firm, and served as an adjunct professor at the Wingate University School of Pharmacy.

Danny Van Horn has joined the firm of Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens & Cannada in East Memphis. Danny serves as the president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Tennessee Bar Association and is active in the ABA/YLD. He is serving as clerk of the National Assembly for 2005-06, and he will be the assembly speaker (the second-ranking position) in the ABA/YLD next year.

Thomas Wang has founded the law firm of Sedor, Wendlandt & Wang in Anchorage, Alaska.

Renee M.H. Yuen married Iain J. Juden on May 28, 2005 in Honolulu. The happy couple reside in Orlando, Florida, where Renee is employed by Walt Disney World Co. VULS alumni attending the wedding included Edward Carlisle and Christine (Davitz) Connolly from the class of 1997 and Daniela Stoia and Virgilio Crespo from the class of 1998.

Ellen Armentrout and Glen Staszewski, '96, welcomed a daughter, Nora Armentrout Staszewski, on May 10, 2005. She joined her big brother, Benjamin, now 3.

Adam Pechter and his wife, Lauren, welcomed a baby girl, Sasha Miriam, on April 23, 2005. Big sister Lila is two and a half.

Do you have news you would like to share or just want to let everyone know what you are up to these days? Submit your class note online, e-mail Grace Renshaw or call 615-322-2606.

Please check the "Alumni MIA" list to see if you can help us find any of your "lost" classmates!