Class of 2008
(Notes posted in the order they were received, with the newest posts on top.)
Emily O’Reilly Harris '06 and Matthew Morris Mauney were married September 19 at Belle Meade Plantation in Nashville. The couple met at Vanderbilt Law School. Emily is keeping her name. She is an associate in the Charlotte, N.C., office of Mayer Brown, where she helps clients form private investment funds. Matt is an associate in the Charlotte office of McGuire Woods. Posted 10-31-09
George Kun (LL.M), who is currently Rule of Law operations manager with the Iraq Justice Reform Project, has been named the Luther College Young Alumni Award recipient for 2009. The award recognizes recently Luther College graduates who have rendered notable service to their procession and society in their vocation or avocation. A native of Liberia, George graduated from Luther College in 2001, and earned an M.A. from American University's School of International Service and a B.A. in law from Cambridge University before earning his LL.M at Vanderbilt. He is widely recognized for his role in advocating for refugees around the world and has appeared as an expert spokesperson on media outlets, including FOX News Channel, British Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and National Public Radio.
Among other honors George has received, he was named a Leopold Schepp Scholar by American University School of International Service, a McCall-Pierpaolli Fellow by Refugees International, and received the Oversea Scholarship from Cambridge University and the Achievement Award from Vanderbilt University Law School. He is affiliated with the Global Majority organization, serving on the editorial board of the Journal of Dialogue and the international advisory board. He has also been a working member of Amnesty International. George's articles have been published in the New Democrat, the Liberian Daily Observer, on Relief Web, and by Refugees International. Posted 6-18-09
Holly Jessica (Brown) Clemente has joined Johnston Barton Proctor & Rose in Birmingham, Alabama, where her practice includes General Civil Litigation and management Labor & Employment defense. She recently married Giuseppe Eduardo Clemente of Dothan, Alabama. Posted 6-17-09
Ameena Ashfaq has become an associate with Baker & Hostetler in its Houston office. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas. Posted 2-21-09
Buddy A. Meyer has joined the Atlanta office of Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker. His practice will focus on mergers and acquisitions. Posted 2-5-09
Scott Tift, who is a litigation associate with Bass Berry & Sims in Nashville, has been named to the board of directors of the Nashville Chapter of the American Constitution Society for Law & Policy. Posted 1-23-09
Leon Wolf has joined Neal & Harwell in Nashville as an associate. He was previously a research assistant at the law school, and also served as the e-campaign coordinator for the presidential campaign of Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas).
Catherine A. Haines has joined Bingham McHale in Indiana as an associate in the law firm’s insurance litigation department. Catherine holds a B.A. degree from Indiana University, magna cum laude, in political science and criminal justice. She was admitted to the Indiana State Bar in 2008. Posted 12-2-08
William N. Minor has joined Keating Muething & Klekamp’s litigation group in Cincinnati. He earned his B.A. from Southern Methodist University in 2004 and is admitted to practice in the state of Ohio. Posted 12-2-08
Ashleigh M. Harb has joined the litigation practice of Bass Berry & Sims’ Nashville office. She graduated magna cum laude from Wake Forest University in 2005 with a B.S. in business and a minor in political science. She was elected to the Beta Gamma Sigma International Honor Society. She was a member of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, a Chancellor’s Scholar and a semifinalist in the Mock Trial Competition. Ashleigh also received the Vanderbilt Scholastic Excellence Award in International Protection of Human Rights. She is conversational in French and enjoys traveling, politics and modern dance. Posted 11-25-08
Chris Bowles has joined the environmental and litigation practices of Bass Berry & Sims at the firm’s Nashville office. Chris received the Bennett Douglas Bell Memorial Award, given to the graduating student “who is not only well versed in the law, but also embodies the highest conception of the ethics of the profession.” Chris graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 2003 with a B.A. in music performance before attending Vanderbilt, where he was editor-in-chief and co-founder of the Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review. He also earned Vanderbilt Scholastic Excellence Awards in Constitutional Law of Crime and Punishment, Environmental Law and Professional Responsibility. Posted 11-21-08
Ivana B. Shallcross has joined Greenebaum Doll & McDonald as an associate in the tax and finance practice group in the firm’s Louisville office. She received her bachelor’s degree in English from Centre College. Posted 11-21-08
Ramona Louise Kappel Johns
has joined Hawley Troxell law firm in Idaho where she will offer services to clients in the areas of real estate and corporate law. She obtained her degree in economics from the University of New Mexico, summa cum laude, and has served as a volunteer in a variety of programs, including Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, which helps low income individuals prepare their taxes, and she has taught classes through Street Law, which helps homeless individuals understand their legal rights. Posted 11-21-08
Joseph Goldman has joined Lewis and Roca in the firm's intellectual property and commercial litigation practice groups. During law school, he was an intern with the legal and compliance division of Aozora Bank in Tokyo, Japan. He is also a certified CEFL and TESOL language instructor. Prior to joining Lewis and Roca, Goldman was an English teacher in Barcelona, Spain. He received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Southern California (cum laude). Posted 11-3-08
Ryann M. Schneider has joined the Bass, Berry & Sims technology group. Posted 11-3-08
Nesrin Garan has joined the Bass, Berry & Sims health care group. Posted 11-3-08
Douglas M. Wolford has joined the Bass, Berry & Sims health care group. He served as president of the Health Law Society as well as co-editor for the Health Law Newsletter. Prior to law school, Doug worked as a staff assistant and legislative correspondent for U.S. Senator Jim Bunning in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Vanderbilt University, cum laude, in 2003 with a B.A. in political science and history. Posted 11-3-08
Deepa Nagam Subramanian has joined the Atlanta office of Fisher & Phillips, a leading national labor and employment law firm. Deepa was a clerk for the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania in 2007. The tribunal conducted criminal trials for suspects charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Rwanda. She also has held intern positions with an Atlanta law firm, Legal Aid of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands and the Georgia Law Center for the Homeless. Deepa earned a B.A. in philosophy and religion with a minor in violence studies from Emory University. She also has studied in Rome. Deepa’s practice will be focused on labor and employment law representing management. Posted 11-3-08
Harriet Goodrich Workman has joined the Bass Berry & Sims commercial transactions and real estate practice of the Nashville office. Harriet was a board member of the Women Law Student Association and a Westlaw student representative, and received the Scholastic Excellence Award in Federal Tax Law. She also attended the University of Tennessee College of Law where she was the recipient of Certificates of Academic Excellence in Contracts I and Legal Process II. Prior to law school, Harriet served as a product support manager at Aspect Communications, formerly TCS Management Group. Harriet also graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1997 with a B.A. in English and a minor in theater. Posted 11-3-08
Julia Gorodetsky and Hugh F. Hill IV were married in a private, family-only ceremony in the early evening of September 4, 2008 at the Ashby Inn in Paris, Virginia in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. They are grateful that so many of their Vanderbilt friends could attend the reception held in honor of their marriage the following Saturday in Washington, D. C. The couple met on their first day of law school at Vanderbilt and have been inseparable ever since. "I felt like I had met my other half that day," said the groom. "We've opened up new doors for each other." Julia recently joined the New York City office of Andrews Kurth, a Houston-based law firm, as an associate in the corporate department. Hugh is currently a restructuring and insolvency associate in the New York City office of Lovells, a London-based multi-national law firm. They both hope many of their Vandy friends will visit them in New York. Posted 10-3-08
Emma L. Dill joined the Bryan Cave Kansas City office in the commercial litigation and labor and employment client service groups. She received her B.A. from Miami University, magna cum laude, in English literature and French, with a minor in business legal studies, in 2005. She is licensed to practice in Missouri. Posted on web 10-3-08
Sunita Shirodkar has joined the commercial litigation practice group of Winstead, one of the largest business law firms in Texas.Posted 10-1-08
Ben Wickert has joined the commercial litigation practice group of Winstead, one of the largest business law firms in Texas. Posted 10-1-08
Stuart McMahen has joined the corporate, securities/mergers & acquisitions practice group of Winstead, one of the largest business law firms in Texas. Posted 10-1-08
Samantha Lee Symonds and Joseph Baruch Shear were married at the Church of St. John the Divine in Houston. The Rev. Benjamin T. S. Phillips, an Episcopal priest, performed the ceremony. The bride and bridegroom graduated from Stanford, where they met. Each received a law degree in May, she from Vanderbilt and he from Harvard, cum laude. In October Samantha will become a corporate associate in Gunderson Dettmer, a law firm in Menlo Park, California and Joseph will become a litigation associate in the Redwood Shores, California office of the New York law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges. Posted 8-29-08
