Class Notes are posted in the order they are received, with the newest posts on top.
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Class of 1980
Samuel E. Long, Jr. was honored last week to receive the UNT Dallas Faculty Senate Adjunct of the Year Award for 2022-2023. He has taught Wills, Trusts, and Estates as an adjunct professor since 2015 and continues to practice estate planning and probate law at Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP. Posted 12.8.23
Roy Herron finished his fourth book, Faith in Politics: Southern Political Battles Past and Present and his eleventh 140.6 mile Ironman triathlon. Posted 5.2.22
MIchael P. Coury has been inducted into the Lawdragon Hall of Fame class of 2022.Posted 2.7.22
Michael P. Coury has been named to the 2020 Lawdragon 500 Leading U.S. Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers list. Posted 10.16.20. Read more here.
Michael P. Coury , a member of Glankler Brown, has been appointed to the independent panel of Chapter 11, Subchapter V bankruptcy trustees (a “SBRA Trustee”) by the United States Department of Justice. Posted 9.25.20
Michael J. Davis joined Lyda Law Firm as Of Counsel. Davis brings with him over 30 years of legal experience and a wealth of knowledge related to business law, commercial litigation, and debt resolution. Posted 4.2.20
Dudley West joined Miller & Martin as an attorney in the Nashville office. Posted 7.26.19
Mike Coury was listed as a leader in litigation in the Chambers USA 2019 guide. Posted 6.19.19
Larry Papel has been named community campaign chair for Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands’ 2019 Campaign for Equal Justice fundraising campaign. Posted 4.9.2019
Michael P. Coury has been named Fellow of the Memphis Bar Foundation. He concentrates his practice in bankruptcy and creditors’ rights law, business reorganizations, workouts, and business and commercial litigation. Posted 11.28.2018
Cliff R. Ennico, the author of The Crowdfunding Handbook: Raise Money for Your Small Business or Start-Up with Equity Funding Portals, advises small businesses and early stage companies on the benefits and risks of launching a crowdfunded offering of securities and explains the Jumpstart Our Business Startup (JOBS) Act of 2012. Cliff writes the nationally syndicated “Succeeding in Your Business” column as well as a legal Q&A column for Entrepreneur. He currently practices small business law in his own practice in Fairfield, CT. Read more: http://www.cliffennico.com/ Posted 8.28.18
Keith W. Heard has joined Lennon, Murphy & Phillips in the firm’s Westport, CT office. Posted 8.20.18
Dorothy Kathryn Campbell of Nashville died April 3 after a courageous struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was 62. Dorothy earned her undergraduate degree from Duke University before earning her law degree from Vanderbilt. Residing in Nashville for more than the next quarter-century, she dedicated her intellect and skills in both the legal profession and humanitarian concerns. Dorothy was among the pioneer professional women in Nashville taking leadership roles in business. Her work concentrated on entertainment law, intellectual property and arbitration. She had also been Associate Professor at Middle Tennessee State University and Adjunct Faculty at the University of Tennessee, teaching Entertainment Law. Dorothy was active in a vast array of community service pursuits. Her contributions in the Nashville Area Chapter of the American Red cross are particularly notable. In 1990, she received the Red Cross Clara Barton Honor Award and a Volunteer Service Commendation from President George Bush. Posted 4.24.18
Michael Coury has been appointed regent for the Sixth Circuit of the American College of Bankruptcy. The Sixth Circuit covers Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Michael is a member of Glankler Brown in Memphis. Posted 3.27.18
Gary Brown (BA ’77) has joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough in Nashville as a partner after the New Year. Gary has spent the last six years as chief executive officer of the financial services company CMG Life Services, which specializes in the life settlement industry. Before that, he was a shareholder at Baker Donelson. Gary has also served two stints assisting the U.S. Senate on financial services investigations: as special counsel for the minority to the U.S. Senate's Governmental Affairs Committee during the investigation of the collapse of the Enron Corporation, and assisting the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations with their inquiry into the role of Goldman Sachs in the 2008 financial crisis. During that time, he provided advice on parts of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Posted 12.15.17
Maureen Demarest Murray has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation 2017 and 2018as a “Local Litigation Star”. Maureen is partner at Smith Moore Leatherwood in Greensboro, North Carolina. Posted 10.25.17
Robert Crawford joined Butler Snow in the firm’s Memphis office. Robert joined the firm’s commercial litigation group. Posted 4.21.17
Michael Patrick Coury, member of Glankler Brown in Memphis, Tennessee, was recognized as a leader in litigation in the 2016 edition of Chambers USA. Posted 7.27.16
Maureen Demarest Murray was recognized as one of Super Lawyers’ “Top 50 Women” in North Carolina. Maureen is a partner in the Greensboro, North Carolina office of Smith Moore Leatherwood where she is a leader of the health care practice group. Posted 5.23.16
J. Robert Paulson Jr. has been appointed to the board of directors for Sun BioPharma, a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for pancreatic diseases. Bob currently serves as president and CEO of NxThera, a Maple Grove, Minnesota based medical device company pioneering the application of its convective water vapor energy (WAVE(TM)) platform technology to treat endourological conditions. Posted 11.3.15
Judge Dax Eric López (BA’98) has been nominated to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia by President Barack Obama. Judge López’s nomination to the federal bench was one of seven announced by President Obama July 30. At 34, he became the youngest judge on the county’s state court bench and only the second Latino judge in the state. Before that, he practiced at Foltz Martin (now dissolved) in Atlanta from 2008-10. He worked with the Atlanta offices of two other law firms–Ashe Rafuse & Hill (now Polsinelli) from 2005-08 and with Holland & Knight from 2002-05. See the full news article here. Posted 8.28.15
James L. Kaler Jr. died June 6. He was 63. Raised in Bethesda, Maryland, James earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia before getting his JD from Vanderbilt Law. He then moved to Washington, D.C., where he focused his practice on communications and criminal law. He worked with two firms before becoming a sole practitioner. He advised clients on compliance with FFC rules and statues including transactional work on mergers, transfers and licenses. James is survived by his two daughters, Kelly and Lindsey. Posted 6.25.15
Maureen Demarest Murray was awarded a Band 1 ranking, the highest available, in healthcare law in the 2015 Chambers USA Guide. Maureen is a partner in the Greensboro, North Carolina office of Smith Moore Leatherwood where she focuses her practice in healthcare. Posted 6.25.15
Joel R. Buckberg (MBA'80) has been named a “Legal Eagle” for the ninth consecutive year by Franchise Times. Joel is a shareholder with Baker Donelson in the firm’s Nashville, Tennessee office where he is a member of the corporate/mergers & acquisitions group. He also serves as a leader of the commercial transactions & business counseling practice group and is the co-chair of the firm's hospitality industry service team. Posted 4.26.15
Kenneth Ray Jones Jr. died March 1. Ken was executive editor of the Law Review during his time at Vanderbilt Law School and practiced law at Bass Berry & Sims and Sherrard & Roe before forming the law firm of Jones Hawkins & Farmer. He is survived by his parents; wife; and three sons. Posted 3.24.15
Timothy Louis Takacs has been inducted into president’s cabinet of the Mental Health America of Middle Tennessee. Posted 12.9.14
Michael Patrick Coury has been named president of the Tennessee Chapter of Turnaround Management Association, effective January 1, 2015. Mike now concentrates his practice in bankruptcy and creditors’ rights law, business reorganizations, workouts, and business and commercial litigation. Posted 12.9.14
Joel R. Buckberg (MBA'80) has been named partner at Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz. Joel is based in the firm's Nashville, Tennessee, office, where he is a member of the corporate/mergers & acquisitions group. Prior to joining Baker Donelson, Joel was executive vice president and general counsel at Cendant Corporation. Posted 5-27-14
David Kerr Herzog, a partner at Faegre Baker Daniels, has been named to the American College of Trial Lawyers. Posted 3-25-14
Peter Francis Clark passed away on Wednesday, January 1, after a 14 month battle with cancer. Peter was an accomplished lawyer, most recently serving as executive vice president and general counsel for Continental Energy Systems in Port Huron, Michigan, with operations in Michigan, Alaska and New Mexico. . He was a member of the Rotary Club in Wilmington and on the legal committee for the American Gas Association. Peter is remembered for his love of history, his intellect, sharp wit, infectious laugh, and unwavering devotion to his extended family and friends. He lived in Wilmington, Delaware from 1985-2002 and contributed to many local organizations. He is survived by his mother and two sisters. Posted 1-13-14
Michael P. Coury has joined Glankler Brown as a member attorney. Mike concentrates his practice in bankruptcy and creditors' rights law, business reorganizations, workouts, and business and commercial litigation. Posted 3-29-13
Carol Crossman Honigberg has been announced the new managing partner of Reed Smith's Falls Church office. Carol has a broad commercial real estate and business transactions practice. She has particular experience in aviation-related projects. She represents lenders, investors and developers in real estate finance transactions of all types, as well as landlords and tenants in lease negotiations, including office, retail and industrial lease matters. Posted 2-5-13
Roy Brasfield Herron (MDiv'80), Tennessee Senator, recently finished three endurance events. In 2010, he was the Democratic nominee in Tennessee's Eighth Congressional District. In August 2012, he completed his fourth 140 mile Ironman triathlon, swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and running a marathon (26.2 miles). In November, he finished 26 years of service in the Tennessee General Assembly. Herron now is practicing law and working with a non-profit he started with the late Tennessee Governor Ned McWherter to help children and young people, particularly through education and job opportunities. Posted 11-7-12
Tony George Miller, 59, of Birmingham, died October 9. He attended Auburn University and received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from the University of South Alabama in 1976 before he earned his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School, where he was a Patrick Wilson Scholar and was awarded the Founder's Medalist for graduating first in his class. Tony was a founding member and shareholder of the law firm of Maynard Cooper & Gale, where he served as a litigator for over 25 years. He was a member of the firm's executive committee, and chairman of its legal ethics committee. He received an AV Preeminent rating by Martindale Hubbell, and repeated designations as an Alabama Super Lawyer and one of the Best Lawyers in America. Tony was a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Alabama State Bar Association where he served as Chairman of the Lawyer Advertising and Solicitation Committee, the American Bar Association and the Birmingham Bar Association. A tireless community supporter, Tony served as a Board Member of both the Big Oak Ranch and Nearness Ministry. He attended Mountain Brook Community Church and the Church of the Highlands. Tony is survived by his wife of 32 years, Abbie and their four children. Click here to read his obituary . Posted 10-15-12
Laurence Mitchell Papel has joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, managing the South Carolina-based firm's new Nashville office. Formerly a partner at Baker Donelson, Larry concentrates his practice primarily in the areas of corporate transactions and real estate. Posted 4-23-12
Gary Brown has been named CEO of CMG Life Services in Naples, Florida, a company that manages investments for pension plans and other large institutions. He will oversee the company's next stage of expansion, which includes a possible initial public offering of stock and other efforts to raise capital. Posted 5-23-11
Mark Lowes lost his wife of 31 years, Sara McClenaghan (Sally) Lowes, on August 5, 2007. Sally was competing in the Alcatraz Challenge swim in San Francisco at the time of her death. She was a CPA in private practice in Houston, where Mark is Vice President, Litigation for KBR Inc.
Class of 1981
Kent Halkett - Vanderbilt Law School recognized Kent's advisory role assisting the law student volunteers at the Shade Tree Clinic, Vanderbilt's medical/legal partnership, in a profile "Kent Halkett '81 Finds Mentoring a Rewarding Retirement Job," published in the Fall 2023 issue of the Vanderbilt Law magazine. Posted 12.18.23
Thomas W. Baker died, after the removal of a cancerous tumor and follow-up chemotherapy, in Atlanta, Georgia on October 27, 2023. He lived a very full life that included an undergraduate degree from Syracuse University, a MBA from Georgia State University, and a JD from Vanderbilt Law School. He practiced law in Atlanta for over 40 years and taught as an adjunct professor at Auburn University. Tom travelled the United States and Europe playing for his local rugby club, the Atlanta Renegades. He is survived by his wife Amelia, their four children and grandchildren. Posted 12.12.23
Roger A. Milam died peacefully in his sleep, after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease, on January 17, 2023. After graduating from Washington & Lee University, and starting Vanderbilt Law School, he joined the U.S. Navy and spent three years on active duty, including a tour of duty in Vietnam. Roger came home to Tennessee, graduated from VLS, entered private practice, and then served with distinction as the United States District Court Clerk, Middle District of Tennessee, in Nashville. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Margy Milam, and numerous children and grandchildren. Posted 12.8.23
William H. Leech, Sr. died peacefully at his home, in Jackson, Mississippi, on June 4, 2023. Bill graduated from Millsaps College with the Founders Medal for the highest GPA for his four years in college, and graduated from Vanderbilt Law School as a Patrick Wilson Scholar and a member of the Law Review. Bill returned to his native Mississippi to practice law. He is survived by numerous relatives, including his three children. Posted 12.8.23
Robert "Bob" Clive Marks Sr. passed away on March 27 at his home in Spring Hill, TN. He is survived by his beloved wife, Jene Marie Marks. He is also survived by his four children, Hunter Lee Marks, Robert Clive Marks, Jr. (Jessica), Dempsey Handly Marks and Shadow Wyndom Marks. Bob was a voracious reader and was at times a walking encyclopedia. He especially loved history, the study of law, and Bible study. He was a man of sharp wit and tremendous intellect, with a mind like no other. He loved animals and his many rescues were sources of entertainment and comfort. His ashes will be scattered on the family farm at a later date. Posted 5.9.22
Scott E. Dwyer was elected for the calendar year 2021 to the Management Committee for the law firm Mika Meyers. Posted 8.27.21
Lisa McLaughlin is the Managing Member of MGD Law (a firm located in St. Louis, Missouri), a member of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel, and the Chair of the Missouri Historical Society. She was profiled in the Spring 2021 issue of the VANDERBILT LAW Magazine: Smooth Sailing for Lisa McLaughlin ‘81, Alumni Spotlight by Kent Halkett ‘81. Read more on page 43 here.. Posted 6.1.21
Kent Halkett is an advocate for better education on the mental health challenges in the legal profession. His article, titled A BigLaw partner’s journey through clinical depression, published in the ABA Journal on April 23, 2021, spread the message to a national audience. Read the full article here. Posted 5.25.21
Kent Halkett’s article, titled Stop the “Insanity”: Mandating Mental Health Education in Law School, was published in the Los Angeles Lawyer magazine (April 2021). It calls for the American Bar Association, law schools and state supreme courts to impose mental health education in law schools and required continuing legal education. Read the full article here. Posted 5.5.21
Kent Halkett’s article, titled Mental Health in the Legal Profession: A Crisis, a Case Study and a Call to Action, was published as the cover story in the Tennessee Bar Journal magazine (Jan - Feb 2021 issue). It provides personal insights and a face to a serious crisis. Read the article here. Posted 1.25.21
David Roseman left the office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP, to open a solo practice in San Francisco as the Law Office of David B. Roseman. Posted 12.2.20
Thomas Varlan has been a District Court Judge (E.D.Tenn.) in his hometown, Knoxville, since 2003. He was profiled in the Winter 2020 issue of the VANDERBILT LAW Magazine: Judge Thomas Varlan ‘81, A Profile by Kent Halkett ‘81. Read more on page 38. Posted 4.30.20
Kent Halkett provides advice and guidance on Tennessee laws and procedures to individuals, from anywhere in the world, who call the free legal helpline (1-844-HELP4TN or 1-844-435-7486) operated by the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (https://www.tals.org/1844HELP4TN). Posted 9.3.19
Ben C. Adams is now serving as Chairman Emeritus at Baker Donelson. He served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Firm for a combined total of 21 years (June 1993 – April 1998; October 2003 – April 2019). Under his leadership, Baker Donelson grew from a firm of around 270 attorneys and advisors across ten offices in three states and Washington, D.C. to become one of the 60 largest law firms in the country, with more than 700 attorneys and advisors across 21 offices in ten states and Washington, D.C. Throughout the Firm's significant growth, it created and maintained a strong culture as an exceptional workplace, earning a spot on Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list for nine consecutive years. Ben garnered multiple honors recognizing his leadership, including being named among "America's Most Innovative Managing Partners" by Law360. Posted 8.20.19
NEWSLETTER - The third edition of the Class of 1981 Newsletter, Sometimes You Eat the Bear..., was circulated to members of the class. Posted 5.28.19
Thomas William Baker, a shareholder in Baker Donelson based in Atlanta, has published a book, The Legal Aspects of Health Care Business Transactions: A Complete Guide to the Law Governing Health Industry Business Organization, Transactions and Governance, which he uses in teaching a course in the Auburn University executive MBA program for physicians. Tom is an adjunct professor in the Auburn University Harbert College of Business Tom recently formed Coronat Services, which provides educational, mentoring and independent director services. Posted 5.2.19
Ben Adams has stepped down from his position as Chairman and CEO at Baker Donelson after having served in the role for a combined total of 21 years, first from 1993-1998 and then from October 2003-April 2019. Tim Lupenacci '91 was announced as Ben's successor in October of 2018 and assumed the role in April 2019. Read the story here. Posted 4.24.19
NEWSLETTER - The second edition of the Class of 1981 Newsletter, Sometimes You Eat the Bear..., was circulated to members of the class. Posted 2.13.19
Kent Halkett supports student volunteers providing pro bono legal support to low-income patients of the Shade Tree Clinic, through which students at Vanderbilt Medical School provide free care for uninsured patients. Read the news story here. Posted 1.21.19
1981 Holiday Message to Class from Kent Halkett Posted 12.13.18
Stephen B. Hatcher , 62, died Sunday, September 16, 2018, in Tampa, Florida. Born in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 12, 1955, his family moved to Maryville, Tennessee, when Steve was five years old. He grew up playing basketball, running track, and hiking and camping in his beloved Great Smoky Mountains. Steve started his legal career with the firm of Anderson & Rush in Orlando, Florida. In October 1984, Steve joined the law firm of Zimmerman, Kiser & Sutcliffe in Orlando, where he practiced for almost 35 years. He served as president of the firm from 2008 to 2018. As a husband, father, and grandfather, Steve exemplified patience, discernment, and love. He had a gift for listening intently and providing wise counsel. He simply loved life with his family, laughter, music, and playing basketball and golf with his sons and friends. Steve is preceded in death by his parents, Daniel and Wanda Hatcher, and his brother-in-law, John Brannan, Sr. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Rebecca Brannan (Becky) Hatcher; son Nathaniel Stephen (Nathan) and his wife, Kathryn Koczwara (Katie) Hatcher; son Benjamin Brannan (Ben) Hatcher and his wife, Melody Secrest Hatcher; and three grandchildren, Sophie Grace Hatcher, Evelyn Dyess (Evie) Hatcher, and Stephen Alan Hatcher. He is also survived by a large extended family on the Brannan side. Posted 11.28.2018
NEWSLETTER - Class Agent Kent Halkett circulated his first newsletter to the members of the Class '81. Posted 7.20.18
Bryan Echols has joined Thompson Burton as partner. Previously, Bryan was partner at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis. Bryan is an adjunct faculty member at Owen Graduate School of Management. Posted 4.24.18
Mark Fiedler, current board member of Equifax, has been appointed to serve as Non-Executive Chairman of Equifax. Mark is a partner and co-founder of MSouth, a private equity investment firm. Posted 10.18.17
Karin D. Coble of Nashville died August 15. She was 83. Karin earned both her undergraduate and law degree from Vanderbilt. She is survived by her daughters Karin and Elizabeth. Posted 8.24.17
Edward H. Benton of Albany, New York died July 9. He attended Yale University before earning his law degree from Vanderbilt where he was a Patrick Wilson Scholar. Post graduate studies followed in Cross-cultural Negotiation and International Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law 1999. Edward's lifetime employment began as President of POS Corporation in New Haven, CT, a computer systems company. He was Account Executive at Benton and Bowles, NYC, then Associate in international law with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, NYC, Hong Kong, and Singapore. He was Associate in leveraged buyout financings with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, NYC, and moved to become Associate in investment banking with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, NYC. When Edward entered startup businesses in Upstate NY, he cofounded Winding Brook Farm in Copake, NY, raising organic beef cattle. He partnered with his brother Thomas to establish Video Cave, a ten store chain serving Columbia-Greene and Duchess Counties. He became General Counsel for Dynamic Credit Partners, NYC and Legal Search Executive for Alan Roberts & Associates, NYC. Upon his retirement, Edward was an adjunct professor in Criminal Justice and Animal Law for Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. He is survived by his wife, Malu. Posted 8.1.17
Richard Thomas Bruno died November 25 after losing his battle with cancer. Originally from Syracuse, Richard graduated from Dartmouth College before earning his law degree from Vanderbilt. After graduation he returned to Syracuse to practice law. The last few years of his life were spent in Knoxville, where he left law for his true passion, teaching. He is survived by his children David and Sarah. Posted 1.19.17
Jim Browne has joined Barnes & Thornburg’s Dallas office in the corporate department. Posted 11.28.16
Kent Halkett has moved back to Nashville after 35 years of doing business litigation in Los Angeles. Posted 9.22.16
William E. Young (BA’77) has been appointed by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam as chancellor in the 20th Judicial District, which serves Davidson County. Posted 8.23.16
James Michael Redwine is the director of the Water Qualify and Sustainability Program for the Harpeth River Watershed Association in Brentwood, TN. Jim has over 30 years of experience as a corporate executive, and environmental and bankruptcy attorney. Posted 4.5.16
Kevin Clarey Tyra was elected a director for the Defense Trial Counsel for Indiana group. He is the principal in The Tyra Law Firm in Indianapolis, which focuses on insurance defense and insurance coverage litigation. Posted 1.27.16
Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. joined the Nashville School of Law Board of Trustees. Waverly is a partner in the Nashville office of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis as well as a federal district court judge nominee. Posted 1.29.16
Andree Sophia Blumstein has been featured in a Tennesseean article that examines her path into the legal field and her career accomplishments. She is currently Tennessee’s first woman solicitor general. Posted 11.3.15
Karl F. Dean has been appointed to the YWCA of Nashville & Middle Tennessee's board of directors. Also, he was featured in a Boston Globe article discussing the Amp project. Karl is the former mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. Posted 11.3.15
John Randolph Bibb Jr. (BA'77) was included on the 2015 “Best of the Bar” awards list by the Nashville Business Journal. Randy is a shareholder in the Nashville, Tennessee office of Lewis Thomason where focuses his practice in the areas of product liability and toxic tort cases. Posted 5.15.15
Samuel David Lipshie (BA'77) was included on the 2015 “Best of the Bar” awards list by the Nashville Business Journal. Sam is a partner with the Nashville, Tennessee office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings where he focuses his practice in the areas of entertainment, music, intellectual property and commercial litigation and dispute resolution. Posted 5.15.15
Susan Snyder Reeves (BA'78) died April 10, 2015. She was 59. A long-time resident of St. Simons Island, Georgia, Susan earned both her undergraduate and law degrees from Vanderbilt. In her professional life, she managed grants for the MAP International and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. She is survived by her daughter and mother. Posted 4.26.15
James L. Desmond has joined The Nature Conservancy as Oregon State Director. The Nature Conservancy is an international conservation organization committed to protecting the land and waters on which life depends. It has 1.2 million active members and has protected 119 million acres of land across the world. Jim spent several years working for The Nature Conservancy in North Carolina as a regional attorney before moving to Portland in 1993 to work for The Trust for Public Land. After four years with Trust, he spent the next 18 years at Metro, the regional government serving Portland, 24 suburbs, and three counties, as the director of Metro’s Sustainability Center. An article highlighting his new position can be found here. Posted 2.18.15
Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. (BA’78) , a partner at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, has been nominated to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Middle Tennessee by President Barack Obama. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Waverly will fill the seat vacated by Judge William J. Haynes Jr. ’73, who took senior status in December. Posted 2.18.15
John Bryan Echols has joined Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis as a partner in the firm’s real estate group. Bryan previously practiced at Dickinson Wright after almost a decade with Stites & Harbison in Nashville. Posted 2.18.15
Andree Sophia Blumstein will join the office of Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery as solicitor general. She will oversee appellate litigation in state and federal courts, review written opinions, and advise the attorney general. An article highlighting this accomplishment can be found here. Posted 11.4.14
C. Dewey Branstetter Jr. joined Sherrard & Roe as a partner. Branstetter was previously managing member of Branstetter Stranch & Jennings, which was founded by his father, Cecil D. Branstetter, who died in early May. A Nashville native, Branstetter has practiced law for more than 30 years. He concentrates his legal work on utility and municipal issues and complex litigation. He is currently chairman of the Metropolitan Nashville's Charter Revision Commission and the first vice president of the Nashville Bar Association. Posted 7.16.14
Michael L. Dagley , a member with Bass Berry & Sims, recently won a $106 million settlement for North Dakota-based Trinity Medical Center in a faulty software arbitration case against IT giant Cerner. Posted 2.14.14
Two law firms headed by Vanderbilt Law alumni—Baker Donelson, headed by CEO Ben C. Adams '81, and Alston & Bird, headed by Managing Partner Richard Hays '86—were recognized among Fortune Magazine's 2014 list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For." Baker Donelson ranked 31st and Alston & Bird 40th, and both firms were among the top five in the "professional services" category. Posted 1.17.14
Stephen Barclay Hatcher, president of the law firm of Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe (ZKS), was recently named Alumnus of the Year by Lifework Leadership. Lifework Leadership is a national nine-month Christian leadership program. Stephen, a 1994 graduate of the Lifework Leadership program, previously served as secretary for the organization and has been instrumental in assisting with legal issues surrounding its growth into a national program. He previously received the designation of Certified Christian Conciliator from the Institute Christian Conciliation in association with Peacemaker Ministries, a national organization founded in 1982 under the auspices of the Christian Legal Society. Hatcher has more than 30 years of experience practicing law in the areas of complex real estate and business transactions and sophisticated estate and tax planning. Posted 7.18.2014
Scott E. Dwyer , a member at Mika Meyers Beckett & Jones, has been elected to the board of directors for Autism Support of Kent County. Scott serves as a director for the nonprofit and works with the board of directors to support and advocate for persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families. Scott concentrates his practice on labor, employment, trade secrets and noncompetition agreement disputes, shareholder disputes and commercial litigation. Posted 9.6.13
Lisa Edelmann McLaughlin was named the 2013 Professional Advisor Legacy Award recipient by the Saint Louis Planned Giving Council and Youthbridge Community Foundation as an acknowledgement of her significant role in charitable giving in the greater St. Louis, Missouri community over her 32 year legal career. Lisa is a Shareholder of Polsinelli and a member of the firm's wealth planning and nonprofit organizations practice groups. Posted 7.16.13
H. Allen Corey, former president and CEO of Craftworks Restaurants and Breweries, has accepted an invitation to join the board of directors for Quickcue. A well-respected member of the hospitality community, Allen brings valuable insight to Quickcue, a growing startup focused on helping restaurants know and serve their guests better. Posted 7.15.13
Thomas Thorp Pennington has joined Frost Brown Todd as a member in the Nashville office focusing his practice in the areas of financing and restructuring transactions related to the surety industry. Most recently, Tom was a partner at Watt Tieder Hoffar & Fitzgerald. Before that, he worked at Manier & Herod. Posted 6.12.13
Ben C. Adams , chairman and chief executive officer of Baker Donelson, has been named CEO of the Year in the "200-1,000 Employees" category by Memphis Business Quarterly (MBQ), a bi-monthly business magazine. Mr. Adams, who was one of three finalists in his category, was named the winner at the second annual CEO of the Year awards ceremony held on February 20, at the Memphis Botanic Gardens. The awards recognize the extraordinary achievements of executives in Memphis, with the winners chosen by an impartial group of judges selecting finalists from public nominations. Posted 3.29.13
Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. (BA'78), a partner at Waller Lansden, is one of 10 Tennessee individuals and organizations honored in March by the Tennessee Human Rights Commission (THRC) for his career focus on diversity and non-discrimination education. Waverly has contributed to the THRC's Employment Law Seminar for more than a decade and also serves on the boards of the Middle Tennessee Workforce Development Center and on the Governor's Advisory Committee on Equal & Fair Employment Opportunity. Posted 3.13.13
Nashville Mayor Karl Dean has been honored by the Friends of National Service with a national award for encouraging community service. Dean was one of three city leaders from around the United States honored for local leadership at the Friends of National Service reception in Washington. Mayor Dean also received local and national attention in 2012 for his commitment to fight obesity as Mayor of Nashville. An HBO documentary film crew came to Music City to cover Mayor Karl Dean's Walk 100 Miles campaign and numerous other citywide efforts to improve citizens' health. Footage captured during that shoot was featured in The Weight of the Nation, a four-part series by HBO Documentary Films that aired May 14 and 15, 2012 on HBO. Posted 2.13.13
Michael R. McWherter (BA'78), the 2010 Democratic nominee for Tennessee Governor, recently became the newest member of the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors, taking the oath of office in a ceremony in Nashville. His term will expire on May 18, 2016. After being nominated by Barack Obama in 2012, Mike was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate on January 1, 2013 and sworn in by U.S. District Judge Todd J. Campbell of the Middle District of Tennessee during a ceremony at the Estes Kefauver Federal Building and Courthouse. Mike lives in Jackson, Tennessee, and is owner and president of Central Distributors Co. and Volunteer Distributing Co., Tennessee-based beverage distribution companies, since 1989 and 1985, respectively. He worked in private law practice from 1982 to 1985 in Nashville, with a focus on banking and administrative law, and clerked for the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1981 to 1982. Posted 2.5.13
Louise Rankin has American Baptist Homes of the West (ABHOW), which provides housing for seniors, as the company's senior vice president and general counsel. Louise joined ABHOW in January 2013 after spending 17 years with Jones Day. Most recently, she was the Administrative Partner of the San Francisco office of Jones Day. Her private practice of 31 years concentrated in health care, where she has worked with nonprofit hospitals and long-term care organizations to access the capital bond market. Louise helped develop many of the structures available for financing health care organizations today. As general counsel, she is in charge of all legal aspects of ABHOW, including risk management, compliance, and transactions. Posted 01.18.13
Kent Alan Halkett, a partner at Musick Peeler & Garrett in the firm's downtown Los Angeles office, was recently featured on the cover of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's December issue of the Los Angeles Lawyer magazine. His article, "School Rules," discussing California's "educational malfeasance" rule, was featured in the magazine. Posted 1.4.13
Stephen Barclay Hatcher , shareholder and president of Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe, has been appointed to the board of directors for The Jobs Partnership of Florida, Inc. a non-profit corporation meeting the needs of the chronically underemployed in the Central Florida community. Posted 11.14.12
Philip N. Elbert, a member of Neal & Harwell, has been granted certiorari by the U.S. Supreme Court in Maracich v. Spears, No. 12-25. The case docket can be read here. Posted 10.15.12
Eugene James Honea of Nashville died February 25. He was 65 and had retired from private practice in Franklin. He was well known for his sharp wit and legal acumen. He is survived by his wife, Charla. Posted 4.30.12
Wade B. Cowan (A&S '78) has been elected to a three-year term on the executive board of the National Employment Lawyers Association. Wade is of counsel in the Nashville office of Davies Humphreys Horton & Reese. Posted 10.17.11
Margaret "Margie" Schreiber, a former partner at Lowndes Drosdick Doster Kantor & Reed, was announced to the circuit bench for Orange and Osceola counties. Margie is a construction and civil law specialist. Posted 10.17.11
Jim Redwine recently completed a two-year assignment as the Vice President, Environmental, of Motors Liquidation Company (MLC, fka General Motors Corporation) when the plan of liquidation for MLC became effective at the end of March 2011. He describes his role with MLK as “the most challenging and satisfying in my career so far.” He joined MLC on the day General Motors (GM) filed for bankruptcy in 2009, assuming responsibility for all environmental aspects of the largest industrial bankruptcy in U.S. history. Posted 5.11.11
Bill Young (AS'77, JD'81), general counsel at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, was selected to be the next Tennessee Solicitor General, working for Attorney General Bob Cooper. Bill was also serving as head of the commission that helps select judicial nominees for the bench in Tennessee, leaving a vacancy that will lead to shifts on that body as the General Assembly debates how the state should pick judges. He will oversee appellate litigation in state and federal courts, review written opinions, and advise the attorney general. The position of solicitor general became vacant upon the death of Mike Moore in November 2010. Young will assume his new duties in early June 2011. Posted 4.11.11
Michael Lee Williams died November 25, 2010, after a battle with melanoma. He was 54. He was senior counsel in litigation and employment law with the El Paso Corporation in Houston. Mike joined the legal department of Colorado Interstate Gas, a subsidiary of the Coastal Corporation in Colorado Springs, in 1984. When Coastal merged with El Paso Corporation in 2001, Mike joined El Paso's legal department, where he worked until his death. Mike possessed an unsurpassed grasp of the many intricacies of the energy business. He knew the gas pipeline business as well as most of his clients and developed a similar expertise on the exploration and production side of the business. He had a very short learning curve and remarkable analytical skills, which he could apply to a broad range of litigation matters. He sifted through the most complicated sets of facts and legal issues to make them understandable and achieve a logical and sound recommendation. The way he practiced law truly reflected who he was as a person; he was always above board and never felt that the adversarial nature of the profession required a lack of civility. He treated everybody with kindness and respect, no matter what challenge he faced. He had a great sense of humor. Mike is missed by his colleagues at El Paso and by his parents, Jack and Laura Williams, and his sister and brother.
Stephen C. Schuyler, 49, died November 11, 2005. He was born March 25, 1956, in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, to Dr. and Mrs. Walter B.J. Schuyler. His father delivered Stephen. He was a descendant of Gen. Philip Schuyler, one of the four Revolutionary War major generals.
He spent his formative years in State College, Pa., moving to Albuquerque, N.M., in 1970, and he graduated from Albuquerque Academy in 1974. He attended Kenyon College, his father's alma mater in Gambier, Ohio, where he majored in English and graduated in 1978. In 1981, he graduated from Vanderbilt Law School.
He is survived by his loving wife, Priscilla Luce Schuyler; daughters Olivia and Emily; sister Karen Schuyler Sabean and her husband, Dr. Joel Sabean, of Falmouth; brother, Dr. Walter B.J. Schuyler of Scarborough; in-laws, Richard and Gloria Luce of Cape Elizabeth; his brothers-in-law, Richard Jr. of Bangor, Robert and William of Westbrook. He is also survived by nieces and nephews Joel and Shannon Sabean; Walter B.J., Benjamin and Victoria Schuyler, Sage, Ryan and Corey Luce. His parents, to whom he was close, predeceased him.
In 1982, he met and fell in love with Priscilla Jane Luce of Cape Elizabeth. They were married June 11, 1983, at St. Luke's Cathedral in Portland. While pursuing his legal career, Stephen and Priscilla resided in Augusta, Boston and Florida. They returned to Maine once their two beautiful daughters, Olivia Jenneke, 16, and Emily Anna, 12, were born. The Schuyler family has lived in Kittery Point since 1989. Stephen was an avid runner. He completed two marathons, the Maine Coast Marathon in 1982 and the Boston Marathon in 1989. He was a competitive soccer player and faithful fan. He was proud of his two daughters He loved watching them play soccer. He enjoyed traveling with his wife and children.
He was an avid reader and music lover, always seeking out new musical artists.He co-authored a book, "Investor Alert," and was quoted in The Wall Street Journal and other financial publications. Mr. Schuyler passed both his Maine and Florida law boards in 1981. He began his legal career in Fort Myers, Fla.
He pursued his professional interest in securities law and was instrumental in running the securities division for the State of Maine during the 1980s. He also worked at the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission, Boston office, and the National Association of Security Dealers in the late 1980s. During the 1990s to the present, Mr. Schuyler worked with prominent mutual funds, banks and initial public offerings for many clients, ensuring securities regulatory state and federal legal compliance from both Boston and New York offices.
Class of 1982
Deborah Taylor Tate plans to step down from her role as the director of the Administrative Office of the Courts for the Tennessee Supreme Court early next year. She has served for the past seven years. Posted 1.31.22
Elijah D. (Ed) Armstrong III has been appointed to the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board. Read more here. Posted 1.14.21
Donovan S. Robertson, 63, of Bettendorf died peacefully on Monday, March 23, 2020 with his wife at his side at the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House, Bettendorf. Read his full obituary here. Posted 9.22.20
William F. Carpenter III (BA ’76) has been elected to the board of FB Financial. Read more here. Posted 4.3.20
Miriam “Missy” Matrangola was elected as President of The American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries. Read more here. Posted 1.15.20
John Beaulieu “Beau” Grenier has joined the firm Jones Walker as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group in the Birmingham office. Read more: https://www.joneswalker.com/insights/john-beaulieu-beau-grenier-joins-jones-walker.html Posted 8.6.19
John Robert Slifko, of Reading, PA., died Friday, January 11th. He was 71. Although he earned a law degree from Vanderbilt, he never worked as a lawyer, preferring to put his legal skills to use on causes that he strongly believed in. John was an advocate for children and the poor. Posted 1.15.19
Augusta S. Dowd , shareholder, vice president, and managing lawyer of White Arnold & Dowd, has been elected by the members of the Birmingham Bar Association to serve on the Jefferson County Judicial Commission. Dowd will serve a six-year term on the Commission. Read more: https://www.whitearnolddowd.com/news/augusta-s-dowd-elected-to-jefferson-county-judicial-commission/ Posted 09.14.18
Governor Rick Scott has reappointed Robert Dietz as Judge of Compensation Claims for a second four year term. Robert is located at the district office in Sebastian, FL and hears all the workers' compensation cases in Brevard, Indian River and Okeechobee Counties. He continues as an adjunct professor at Barry Law School in Orlando and is the 2018 recipient of the David Hammond Professionalism Award of the Judge William Wieland Workers' Compensation Inns of Court. Posted 8.29.18
David A. Beyer has been named 2018 Legal Eagles by Franchise Time. Legal Eagle honorees are attorneys who are viewed as the best franchise lawyers; at the top of their games; and are nominated by their peers, clients, and the Franchise Times’ editorial board as the rainmakers, go-to lawyers, and ethical problem solvers in the franchise community. David is a partner at Quarles & Brady in the firm’s Tampa office. Posted 5.9.18
Emory Reed Sourbeer III died December 12. He was 60. The son of a United States Navy Captain, Emory began his worldly travels at the tender age of 8 months, living sequentially in England, Bahrain, Beirut, Greece, Italy and the US. With an interlude at New College, Oxford University, he received a bachelor's degree in history, cum laude, from Duke University in 1978, where he served as president of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He served as an associate and partner at Alston & Bird for ten years. Posted 1.15.18
Ben W. Blanton has been named vice president and general counsel of Lilly Endowment in Indianapolis, Indiana. Currently Ben is partner at Faegre Baker Daniels in Indianapolis. He will join Lilly Endowment in October. Posted 8.1.17
John M. Johnson has been named a 2017 “Energy & Environmental Trailblazer” by National Law Journal. John is partner at Lightfoot, Franklin, White in Birmingham, Alabama. Posted 6.15.17
Neal Devins, a William & Mary Law professor was honored by William & Mary with a 2017 Plumeri Award for “Faculty Excellence”. Posted 5.18.17
Elizabeth McConnell of Kingsport died November 1. She was 61. After earning her law degree from Vanderbilt, Elizabeth practiced law briefly in western Tennessee before returning to Kingsport to open her private law practice. Elizabeth was an animal lover and handled many cases involving animal welfare. Posted 11.28.16
Alan McLaughlin , shareholder at Littler, has been named to office managing shareholder of the firm’s Denver office. Alan will also oversee the firm’s Indianapolis office, where he has served as office managing shareholder since 2012. Posted 8.23.16
David D. Dowd III was named chairman of the business law section of the Alabama State Bar. David is partner at Burr and Forman in Birmingham, Alabama. Posted 8.23.16
Jay Tobin was featured in Texas Lawyer for his work as Dave & Buster’s senior vice president, general counsel and secretary. In the article entitled, “Game On! Dave & Buster’s GC Levels Up in Legal and Business Role”, Jay is noted for his work spent on the initial public offering (IPO). Posted 7.25.16
John M. Brittingham joined Stites & Harbison as partner in the firm’s Nashville office. His practice focuses on real estate and banking. Posted 1.27.16
N. Clay Robbins has been named chairman of the board of directors for the Lilly Endowment. Clay is president and CEO of the Endowment, an Indianapolis-based private foundation that is committed to the causes of community development, education, and religion. He will continue as president and CEO. Before coming to the Endowment in 1993 he was a partner at Baker & Daniels (now Faegre Baker Daniels) where he focused his practice on tax-exempt organizations, estate and gift tax, and immigration law. Posted 9.28.15
John “Jack” William Fink of Little Rock, Arkansas died February 9. He was 59. Jack grew up in both Florida and Louisiana and was a graduate of Ben Franklin High School in New Orleans. After earning his undergraduate degree from Centenary College of Louisiana, he went on to receive his J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School. Jack was a well-respected practicing attorney in Arkansas and Tennessee for over 30 years as well as a partner in the law firms now known as Jack, Nelson, Jones, and James, House, Downing. Jack was a member of Our Lady of the Holy Souls Catholic Church. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Jane, and his daughters, Mary Ryan Nicholson and Ann Aday. Jack is also survived by his two grandsons, his mother-in-law, brother, and two sisters, in addition to his step-mother and her three children. Posted 8.20.15
Scott S. Thompson is part of an investment/ownership group that recently purchased the Beverly Hills Country Club in Los Angeles. Their financial partner is Singerman Real Estate, and the lender is Security Benefit Life Insurance. The primary legal counsel was Glaser Weil of Century City, California. Scott also performed some of the legal due diligence in connection with the purchase. His practice areas are real estate, corporate, and general business, with a specialty in private club and resort transactions. Posted 6.25.15
Peter M. Oldham (BA'78) was included on the 2015 “Best of the Bar” awards list by the Nashville Business Journal. Peter is executive vice president and chief administrative officer for YMCA Middle Tennessee, which is based in Nashville. Posted 5.15.15
William F. Carpenter III (BA'76), CEO of LifePoint Hospitals, has joined the advisory board of Avondale Partners, a Nashville-based boutique investment banking and wealth management firm. Posted 9.26.14
Elijah D. (Ed) Armstrong III has been appointed to the Southwest Florida Water Management District's governing board, representing Pinellas County. Ed is a partner with Hill Ward Henderson in Clearwater. Posted 7.16.14
Robert Lee Dietz has formed Dietz Mediation, focused on insurance and labor-related cases, in Orlando, Florida. Prior to forming his own firm, Robert was a shareholder at Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe. He is also an adjunct professor at Barry University Law School, where he teaches a course on workers' compensation law.
Additionally, Robert recently received one of only two International Honor Key awards presented at the 93rd Civitan International Convention in Denver on July 3. The award was presented for, "exemplary service as speaker, instructor and officer at the club, district, and international levels, and on several international committees, for building three Civitan clubs and four Junior Civitan clubs, as well as sponsoring 75 new Civitans, and for invaluable service in providing legal counsel, conflict resolution and parliamentary expertise to Civitan leaders." Dietz has been a member of Civitan since 1984 and is currently serving as treasurer of Civitan Lake Eola and area director of the Florida District. Posted 1.14.14
Gary Mayer Dunkel has joined the West Palm Beach office of Fox Rothschild. A board-certified business litigation attorney, Gary's background includes work in business disputes, real estate litigation, creditors' rights, bank litigation, non-compete lawsuits, foreclosures and commercial landlord-tenant disputes. He was formerly with Greenberg Traurig. Posted 9.23.13
Bill Norton , a partner in the Nashville office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummingshas been named to The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers 2013. The list identifies the top legal practitioners in the world in 32 areas of business and commercial law. Bill was recognized for his work in the area of Insolvency & Restructuring. Bill focuses his practice in the business bankruptcy area, dealing in all aspects of bankruptcy cases, creditor rights and insolvency. Posted 8.19.13
Kenton L. Erwin (BS'80) was recently appointed to vice president and general counsel at VTech Communications, Inc. in Portland, Oregon. He has served as general counsel for VTech since 2006. VTech is a Chinese-owned company which manufactures telephones, baby and home monitors, and educational toys. He developed a series of effective strategies for defense against patent trolls. On the personal front, he has joined the Oregon Angel Fund, which invests in promising startups in the Portland/SW Washington area, providing not only funding but also mentoring services. Also, his innovative e-retailer, part-time wine business continues to grow; and with low overhead and no inventory (the business takes custom orders using an off-premises retail wine license), the offered prices are low. He is also continuing experimental plantings of new varieties of hybrid winegrapes, for suitability in the Pacific Northwest. Posted 7.16.13
Charles Robert Wolpoff has joined The Kelly Groupas director of financial planning and research. Charlie has more than 30 years of experience in the areas of financial planning, law, research and writing. He is a past president of the Financial Planning Association of Maryland. Charlie also currently serves as president of the Greater Kingsville Civic Association. He is a member and past president of Parkville Toastmasters and serves on the Bayview Safety Advisory Board. Posted 5.1.13
John Michael Yarborough died April 15, after fighting with brain cancer for almost 3 years. He was 58. Mike worked for over 25 years as a legislative analyst specializing in tax policy for the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis. He was proud of his public service work, and enjoyed being around dedicated people who cared about the State. Mike graduated from Duke University before earning his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School. He went on to obtain his LL.M in Tax from Georgetown. Before joining the Department of Legislative Services in Annapolis, he practiced construction law in Atlanta and Washington, DC. Mike is survived by his wife, Kathleen Sanzo; and three children. Posted 5.1.13
David Allen Beyer , a partner with Quarles & Brady in the firm's Tampa office, has been named a "Legal Eagle for 2013" by Franchise Times magazine. David was also listed in the first-ever Legal Eagles Hall of Fame, featuring 45 attorneys appearing on the list for the 10th year in a row. He is a member of Quarles & Brayd's franchise & distribution group. Posted 4-15-13
Carter Reid Todd has joined XMi Holdings as general counsel. He has also rejoined Adams and Reese as special council. The former Gaylord Entertainment and Ryman Hospitality Properties executive and has been a Metro Council member since 2007. Before joining Gaylord in 2001, he was a partner at Stokes & Bartholomew, which merged into Adams and Reese last decade. Posted 3.29.13
Joseph W. Klein, of Ben Avon, died March 9, 2013 of complications from diabetes. He was 67. Joe graduated from St. Joseph's College, Philadelphia, and received a master's degree in fine arts from the University of Iowa Writers Workshop. He worked as a drama teacher and later as chairman of the Fine Arts Department at St. Mary of the Woods College, Indiana, and as the director of a community theater in Minnesota. After years of teaching acting, Joe changed course to attend law school at Vanderbilt. He started his second career at Reed Smith and became a litigation partner at the firm, where he worked primarily on environmental litigation and on will contests in Orphans Court. For many years, he ran Reed Smith's trial training program. Joe had retired as from practice in 2009. He was a member of several bar associations and charitable boards and worked as a hospice volunteer after he retired.
Meredith Brinegar Cross, former director of the division of corporation finance at the SEC, will be rejoining WilmerHale. Meredith served as director of the SEC's division of corporation finance from June 2009 through the end of 2012. During this time, she led the division's efforts to implement both the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. Under her leadership, the division recommended close to 60 rulemaking releases to the commission, including those relating to say-on-pay, conflict minerals, proxy access, compensation committees and compensation advisers, asset-backed securities, and the new regulatory regime for derivatives. Meredith also guided the division's pragmatic response to numerous issues relating to the IPO "on-ramp" provisions of the JOBS Act. During her tenure, Meredith testified before Congress numerous times on a broad range of issues including corporate governance, capital formation, risk retention in asset-backed securities offerings, executive compensation oversight, and agency management and budget.
From 1998 to 2009, Meredith was a partner at WilmerHale, and served as co-chair of the firm's corporate practice. Her work at the firm focused on advising clients on corporate and securities matters, and working on the full range of issues faced by public and private companies in capital raising and public reporting. Before first joining WilmerHale in 1998, she served as deputy director of the SEC's division of corporation finance. Posted 2.5.13
Bruce Buchanan has joined Siskind Susser in Nashville. Bruce was a senior trial specialist for the National Labor Relations Board for 20 years. He is chair of the Tennessee Bar Association's Immigration Law Section and editor of TBA's Labor and Employment Law Section Newsletter and the TBA's Immigration Law Section Newsletter. He is also a guest blogger for E-Verify and I-9 News on topics of employer immigration compliance. Posted 11.14.12
David Irish Coombs Thomson, LP professor and director of the Lawyering Process Program at Sturm College of Law, has been awarded the University of Denver's Distinguished Teaching Award for 2011-2012. This award is given to one faculty member annually in recognition of outstanding service to the university, the community, and the profession. Posted 9.25.12
David Abeshouse is a business mediator, arbitrator and litigator practicing in Uniondale, Long Island, New York. He recently joined the adjunct law faculty of St. John's University School of Law, teaching alternative dispute resolution law. During 2012, David has been selected as charter member of New York Academy of Mediators & Arbitrators (NYAMA) and became a member of its parent organization, the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN). He has also been selected for membership as a Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators (CCA) and, for the third consecutive year, listed among L.I. Pulse magazine's Top Long Island Legal Eagles: The Top-Rated Attorneys under the category of alternative dispute resolution/arbitration. Posted 7.9.12
Gordon Gore Dean, former managing director and vice chairman at Morgan Stanley, has co-launched Dean Bradley Osborne, a new boutique investment banking firm in San Francisco and New York City. Posted 4.17.12
Betsy G. Ramos has been named to Capehart Scatchard's executive committee. Betsy is a shareholder in the firm's Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, office. Posted 4.17.12
Robert Brody, founder of the employment law firm Brody and Associates, has joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut Legal Committee, which deals with legal issues such as women's rights, racial justice and voting rights. Robert's firm has offices in Westport, Connecticut, and in New York City. Posted 11.9.11
Julius E. Price Jr. died August 31. He was 53. Julius earned his bachelor's degree at Centre College and his J.D. at Vanderbilt. He owned and managed a successful law practice in Louisville. Julius is survived by two sons, a grandson, his mother and stepfather, and a large extended family. Posted 10.18.11
David D. Dowd III has been named president of the Birmingham Sunrise Rotary Club. David is a partner in the law firm Burr & Forman, where he serves as the leader of the firm's Corporate and Tax Practice Group. He counsels clients in all phases of business and corporate law. David has been a member of the Sunrise Rotary Club since 2003, and has held numerous leadership positions including Director of Community Service, Director of International Service and Vice-President - Club Service, before accepting his current position as President. Posted 7.15.11
Peter Oldham has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee. Peter formerly served as the area non-profit's Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel. In his new role he oversees all of the YMCA departments that serve staff, including Human Resources, Information Technology, Marketing and Communications. He continues to serve as chief legal counsel. Posted 1.3.11
Robert E. Mansbach passed away December 25, 2010 after a year long battle with cancer. He was 53. Prior to earning his J.D. at Vanderbilt, Bob graduated with a B.A. from Trinity College in Connecticut. He practiced law in Orlando, Florida and was a partner at the firm of Zimmerman, Kiser and Sutcliffe. The law firm describes Bob as a beloved member of the ZKS family. He had been with the firm since its inception, was a highly esteemed and successful trial attorney and the senior member of the litigation group. He became a Florida Bar Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer in 1992 and held the highest rating of AV by Martindale-Hubbell. Bob was the host member of the Literary Society of the Orange County Bar Association. The firm remembers Bob for his trademark tenacity, attention to detail and sharply focused trial skills. His quiet, calm demeanor always reflected his total preparation, which resonated with judges and jurors alike. He is survived by his wife, Daisy; a daughter; a son; a sister; his parents; numerous in-laws; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Class of 1983
Bruce Taten has been appointed to Aviat Networks, Inc., to it's board of directors. Posted 3.21.22
Mr. Robert Hays, Jr. has been re-elected as chairman of King & Spalding for milestone sixth term. Hays took up the role of chairman in 2006. Under his tenure, which has been bookended by two historical crises - the Great Recession and the current pandemic - K&S has transformed from a regional to a global law firm, opening 17 offices around the world to create a high-value platform that builds on our core areas of strength. Posted 5.6.21
Stephen Pate (BA ’80) was recognized in Chambers USA 2020 Guide. Read more here. Posted 10.9.20
Platte Moring III is now Deputy General Counsel (Legal Counsel) at the Department of Defense. In this position, he supervises all litigation involving the department. He also oversees the Military Commissions involved in the adjudication of the 9/11 detainees at Guantanamo Bay. It is his pleasure to serve with his classmate and fellow Jessup Team Member, Paul Ney (JD/MBA ’84), who is the General Counsel. Posted 9.23.20
Robert C. Goodrich Jr. died March 7 after a long battle with cancer. Read his full obituary here. Posted 5.6.20
Byron E. Leet has been recognized in the 2020 Kentucky Super Lawyers list. Posted 3.27.20
Steven M. Zager (BA ’79) has joined King & Spalding's Trial and Global Disputes practice in Austin as a partner. Steven was previously with Akin Gump in New York. Read more here. Posted 3.25.20
Stephen Pate has been appointed by the State Bar of Texas as a member of the State Bar of Texas Pattern Jury Charges—Business, Consumer, Insurance & Employment Committee. As a member, Stephen will represent the State Bar and lawyers across the state of Texas. Posted 6.19.19
The Honorable Paul Ney Jr. is General Counsel of the US Department of Defense. He is the chief legal officer of the Department and the legal adviser to the Secretary of Defense. Posted 3.13.19
Platte Moring III has received a political appointment as Special Assistant to the General Counsel at the US Department of Defense. Mr. Moring’s main duties are reviewing legislation pertaining to the Department, assisting in the defense of litigation against the Department, and supporting the military tribunals of the detainees from the global war on terrorism. Posted 3.13.19
Claudia Spence Jack ,75, former Maury County public defender, died November 9, 2018. She served as Maury County’s public defender for 20 years. Through her career, she was referred to as both a legend and a giant. She garnered local, statewide and national respect because of her commitment to the practice of law, her advocacy for her clients while in the office of public defender, and her encouragement of the next generation of attorneys through her support of high school and college students. She is survived by her children Robert Jack of Nashville, Laura Jack of Danville, Kentucky, and Edward Jack of Point Washington, Florida, her daughter-in-law Whitney Weeks of Nashville and her son-in-law Jeb Burch of Danville, Kentucky. She is survived by her grandchildren Charlie Hall of Danville, Kentucky, and William, Jane and Frances Jack of Nashville. She is also survived by her brother (Retired) Lt. Col. David Spence and sister-in-law Juli Spence of Montgomery, Alabama. She was preceded in death by Billy Jack, her husband of 37 years. Posted 11.16.2018
Elaine McArdle is the co-author, with Dr. Barbara Lipska, of The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind: My Tale of Madness and Recovery, the story of Dr. Lipska's descent into, and journey out of mental illness following brain cancer. VLS alumna Nan Thornton ‘02 of Aevitas Creative Management was one of Elaine and Barbara's literary agents, and Nan and Elaine have enjoyed bonding over their respective memories of VLS "Bar Review," a tradition that Elaine and Dale Kleber '83 launched as 3Ls. Posted 07.12.2018
The Reverend Marshall Huey married Barbara Rivers on December 29, 2017 at the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul, in Charleston, South Carolina. Classmates, Alan Fister, Platte Moring, and Coleman Miller Legerton were in attendance. Marshall is serving in his twelfth year as Rector of Old St. Andrew’s Parish Church, the oldest church building in the south and fifteenth oldest in the United States. Posted 3.27.18
Mary Jo Dively has been appointed to the Board of Directors of First National Bank Corporation and First National Bank of Pennsylvania. Mary Jo is general counsel for Carnegie Mellon University. Posted 1.15.18
Robert Goodrich has joined nonprofit law firm Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands as staff attorney. Previously, he was partner at Burr & Forman where he represented financial institutions and other parties-in-interest in commercial bankruptcies and insolvencies. Posted 12.15.17
Robert Hays has been elected to a fifth term as chair of King & Spalding. His new three-year term begins on January 1. He is the fifth chairman in the firm’s 130-year history and has been at the helm the firm since 2006, during which time he led a major growth strategy that saw the opening of 15 offices and creation of a global platform.
Stephen P. Pate (BA'80) is partner at Cozen O'Connor and co-chair of the Global Property Insurance Group. In addition, Stephen was elected to a three year term as a regent on the Board of Regents of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel. Posted 6.9.17
Marc Ward Joseph was named to the board of trustees, general counsel and secretary of The Family Place Foundation, which provides funding to The Family Place, Inc. The Family Place, Inc. is a Dallas nonprofit that works with clients and the Dallas community to stop family violence. In addition, Marc was elected to the board of directors of Haggar Clothing Co. where he is the senior vice president, human resources, general counsel and secretary. Posted 1.20.17
Sharon K. Roberson (BA ’78), has been chosen as the new president and chief executive officer of Nashville and Middle Tennessee’s YWCA. Previously, Sharon was vice president and general counsel for Direct General Corporation. Posted 11.28.16
Byron Leet , partner at Wyatt Tarrant & Combs in Louisville, Kentucky, was recognized as a leader in litigation in the 2016 edition of Chambers USA. In addition he was recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a "litigation star". Posted 10.17.16
Glen Civitts has joined Bone McAllester Norton as a member in Nashville. Posted 3.17.16
Margaret J. Davino is now a partner with Fox Rothschild in the firm’s New York and New Jersey offices where she practices in the health law practice group. Previously, she was general counsel to hospitals in New York and New Jersey. Posted 2.25.16
Robert C. Goodrich Jr.was published as a co-author of a Norton Bankruptcy Law Adviser newsletter titled, “In RE ICL Holding Co.: Roadmap for Avoiding the Absolute Priority Rule.” The newsletter discusses a recent third circuit opinion dealing with the application of the priority scheme of the bankruptcy code and the mootness doctrine in the context of a 363 sale. Additionally, Bob has been chosen to be inducted as a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. Bob is a partner in the Nashville office of Burr & Forman where he represents creditors, creditors' committees, landlords, and other interested parties in bankruptcy and insolvency related matters in state and federal courts. Posted 12.3.15
Steven J. Eisen (MBA’83) has been elected president of the Economic Club of Nashville, a local civic and service organization. Steve is a shareholder in the Nashville, Tennessee office of Baker Donelson where he focuses his practice in corporate and securities transactions with an emphasis in banking and financial institution law. Posted 7.8.15
Claudia Spence Jack was featured in the Columbia Daily Herald for her work as the district public defender for the 22nd Judicial District covering Giles, Lawrence, Maury and Wayne counties, all in Tennessee. She serves five circuit courts, five general sessions courts and juvenile courts by request of the juvenile judges.
Stewart Marshall Huey, Jr. became a trustee of the Diocese of South Carolina this spring. Marshall has been the rector of Old St. Andrew’s Parish Church in Charleston, South Carolina since 2006. He is also one of the founders of the Barrier Islands Free Medical Clinic, which serves the rural poor of Johns and Wadmalaw Islands. Posted 5.15.15
Henry A. Callaway has been appointed U.S. bankruptcy judge for the southern district of Alabama in Mobile by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appointment begins in May and is for a 14-year term. Currently Henry practices primarily in the field of bankruptcy and business litigation with Hand & Arendall in the firm’s Mobile, Alabama office. Posted 4.26.15
Robert C. Goodrich Jr. has joined Burr & Forman as a partner in the firm’s Nashville, Tennessee, office. Bob focuses his business services on workouts and restructurings and his litigation services on bankruptcy. Posted 3.24.15
Philip Nathan Krause has launched a new law firm, Krause Law, to serve businesses in the Kansas City region. Krause Law is a boutique regional Kansas City business law firm. Posted 2.18.15
Sam Sutter was elected mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts, on December 16 and sworn into office on December 30. Sam was previously praised for turning around the troubled Bristol County District Attorney’s office after being elected to that county-wide post in 2006. Posted 1.26.15
Robert Daniel Hays Jr. has been re-elected chairman of King & Spalding for a fourth term. His new three-year term begins on January 1, 2015. In his role as chairman, Robert oversees the strategic growth and direction of the firm and focuses on building relationships with clients. During his tenure at King & Spalding, Robert has held a variety of leadership positions within the firm, including 15 years as a member of the firm's governing policy committee, which he now also chairs, and 12 years as leader of the firm's tort and environmental practice group which includes more than 200 lawyers whose practices are devoted to defending product liability and mass tort litigation, where he was a leading trial lawyer in that practice group. Posted 9.26.14
Bruce Frederick Rogers has been elected by the Birmingham-Southern College Board of Trustees to serve as its new chair. Rogers has been a member of the board for 12 years. He is a partner and attorney with Bainbridge Mims Rogers & Smith in Birmingham. He earned his B.A. in history at Birmingham Southern in 1980. Posted 7.16.14
Margaret J. Davino has been named a new section chair by the New York State Bar Association. Margaret is a partner at Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan, where focuses on health care law. Posted 7.16.14
Keith Loveless (BA'79) has retired from his position as executive vice president and general counsel at Alaska Air Group. He and his wife, Beth (BA'79, JD'82), look forward to traveling, hiking, spending time on their boat, listening to music, and spending more time with their daughters and friends. Posted 5-27-14
Byron E. Leet, a partner in Wyatt Tarrant & Combs' Louisville, Kentucky, office, has been named 2014 president-elect by the Louisville Bar Foundation, the charitable giving arm of the Louisville Bar Association. Posted 1-20-14
Henry Carey Strickland III has been named dean of Samford University's Cumberland School of Law, effective July 1, 2014. Corky currently is professor of law and teaches courses in alternate dispute resolution, arbitration, civil procedure, constitutional law and conflict of laws. He previously served as associate dean for academic affairs from 2001-11. He joined the Cumberland faculty in 1988 after practicing with a Charlotte, N.C., firm for three years. Posted 12-16-13
Stephen Patrick Pate (BA'80), a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright has been elected a Fellow of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel (ACCEC). The ACCEC is composed of preeminent lawyers representing both insurers and policyholders involved in coverage and extra contractual matters. Stephen focuses his litigation practice on construction litigation, first-party insurance litigation, commercial coverage litigation, fraud, extra contractual and insurance litigation. Posted 7-15-13
Gary M. Lawrence has been named Executive Chairman of Pacific Financial Group and Chief Investment Officer of Pacific Venture Investments. Posted 6-10-13
Andrew J. Wertheim, representing Sorwathé Ltd. of Rwanda, a company founded by his father, Joseph Wertheim, received the Secretary of State's 2012 Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) on behalf of his company.The ACE is an annual award recognizing U.S.-owned businesses that exhibit exemplary corporate citizenship, promote innovation, and advance democratic principles around the world. The award was presented to Wertheim on November 28 by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Wertheim's U.S. firm, Tea Importers, is the majority shareholder of Sorwathé, which is, located in Kinihira, Rwanda. Sorwathé won the 2012 ACE for small-medium-size companies. The company was honored for its efforts to support adult literacy, worker association and collective bargaining rights; sustainable agriculture, forestry and water management; and to produce socially and environmentally responsible high quality teas. Sorwathé also distinguished itself by leading the charge for the eradication of child labor in Rwanda's tea sector.
"I am extremely proud to accept this award on behalf of the employees of Sorwathé, Tea Importers, my family, and especially on behalf of the 4,573 small farmers that we support through tea production in Rwanda," said Wertheim. "We are committed to maintaining the standards we have set in corporate social responsibility and stewardship and hope our efforts will serve as a model for others."
Sorwathé was one of 83 firms nominated this year for the ACE selection process.
Wertheim, who earned his undergraduate degree from Carleton College, practiced securities law in both the private and public sectors before he entered the tea business. Posted 1-4-13
Dianne F. Neal has joined Lighthouse Counsel's Tennessee office in Franklin as a senior consultant. Dianne will assist the group in their work with nonprofits to boost fundraising, strategic planning and board development. In 2011, Dianne was hired as assistant instructor at Nashville School of Law. She is teaching the Tennessee Bar Exam Skills and Review course. After starting her career at a private law firm, Dianne spent six years as Tennessee assistant attorney general. She was also chief legal counsel to Gov. Ned McWherter and general counsel to the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. After nearly a decade of state service, she served as president and CEO of the Cumberland Science Museum, which is now the Adventure Science Center. Posted 4-16-12
David J. White has joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough as a partner in the firm's newly formed Nashville office. David concentrates his practice in the areas of corporate, municipal and structured finance, portfolio real estate transactions, and airport and aviation-related finance and development projects. Posted 4-16-12
Stephen Pate (BA '80) has been elected to The American Law Institute (ALI), an organization known for its preparation of Restatements of the Law and Principles of the Law, among other scholarly works. Pate's induction will be held at the ALI's 89th annual meeting in May 2012 in Washington D.C. He has been a partner in the Houston office of Fulbright & Jaworski since 1994 and is currently the chair of the firm's Insurance Litigation Practice Group. Posted 1-10-12
Stephanie R. Reevers, the former middle Tennessee commissioner on the Tennessee Claims Commission, has been named the next attorney for Austin Peay State University. She succeeds Richard Jackson, who retired in May 2011. Stephanie is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association, the Nashville Bar Association and the Napier-Looby Bar Association. She has served on the editorial committee of the Nashville Bar Journal and is a master of the newly formed Belmont University College of Law American Inn of Court. Posted 10-17-11
Sharon K. Roberson, senior vice president and chief operations officer, American General Life and Accident Insurance Company, is one of seven Nashville women being inducted into the 2011 Academy for Women of Achievement today. She will be honored at the 20th annual Academy for Women of Achievement celebration and induction dinner, presented by YWCA of Nashville & Middle Tennessee and First Tennessee, to be held October 25. The Academy for Women of Achievement was launched locally in 1992 by the YWCA of Nashville & Middle Tennessee. The Academy honors women who, through excellence and leadership in their chosen fields, serve as role models for other women. Posted 7-20-11
Henry A. Callaway III was named the American Bar Association's 2011 Pro Bono Publico Award recipient recognizing his work in delivering legal assistance to low-income residents of Mobile, Alabama. Henry is a partner in the Mobile law firm Hand Arendall where he is chairman of the firm's bankruptcy practice group and spends a significant amount of his time representing creditors in all three bankruptcy courts in Alabama. He is the first Alabama lawyer to receive the Pro Bono Publico Award, devoting more than 1,000 hours of time to the Volunteer Lawyers Program, which provides legal assistance to Mobile's poor population. Posted 7-15-11
James (Jim) Priester has been named Senior Vice President of External Affairs and Chief Legal Officer for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. Jim will be responsible for Blue Cross' Corporate Communications and Community Relations, Governmental Affairs and Legal divisions. He previously served as a shareholder with Maynard, Cooper & Gale, where he has practiced for 26 years. His concentration included commercial litigation involving financial, lending and contractual issues and corporate counseling involving contract formation and regulation of insurers and environmental concerns. Posted 1-03-11
Adrian von Hassell died on July 6, 2009 at New York Hospital Cornell Weill Medical Center of complications related to his treatment for leukemia. He was 52. He was born in 1956 in Rome, Italy, where his father, Wolf Ulrich von Hassell, a former West German ambassador to the United Nations, was serving in a diplomatic post. His grandfather, Ulrich von Hassell, was the last Weimar Republic ambassador to Italy and was executed by the Nazis in 1944 for his involvement in a plot to overthrow Hitler. A graduate of Wagner College, he earned a master's degree in economics from Fordham University before earning his law degree at Vanderbilt. He worked in corporate litigation at several law firms, including Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon, the former Miller Singer Raives & Brandes, and Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler until succumbing to his illness. Survivors said this week that he was a consummate lawyer in the best sense of the word, passionate about the law, the Constitution and current events. He is survived by his mother, Christa von Hassell, a brother and a sister.
Class of 1984
Blaine Sanders has been named to the North Carolina Lawyers Weekly’s Icons and Phenoms list. Posted 6.5.23
Paul Ney, a longtime Nashville attorney and government official, has joined Momentus Inc. as chief legal officer and corporate secretary. Posted 10.19.21
Melissa Friedman was appointed to serve as Roanoke juvenile court judge and is scheduled to take her oath Nov. 30 and begin hearing cases Dec. The General Assembly is expected to elect her to a full term in the Regular Session in January 2021. Posted 2.12.21
Chris Giancarlo announced the launch of the "Digital Dollar Project" at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland. The Project is a think tank devoted to the public discussion of the merits of a US Dollar central bank digital currency. Read more here. Posted 12.3.20
Michael A. Sullivan is serving as the General Counsel to the Volkswagen AG Monitorship, which is led by former Deputy Attorney General and PepsiCo General Counsel Larry D. Thompson. His responsibilities include working with counsel across the globe to advise on legal requirement of countries in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America. Posted 9.23.20
The Honorable J. Christopher Giancarlo will serve as an independent director on the American Financial Exchange (AFX) Board of Directors. Read more here. Posted 1.7.20
Robert Keezel died December 10. He was 60. Bob earned his undergraduate degree at Rice University in Houston, TX before earning his law degree at Vanderbilt. Surviving him are his wife, Michelle and daughter, Mary. Read more: https://www.gendronfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Robert-Keezel/#!/Obituary Posted 5.20.19
Drew Parobek has been elected partner in the Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease Cleveland office and has been included on the 2019 Ohio Super Lawyers List. Drew focuses his practice in the areas of bankruptcy, restructuring and workouts, commercial finance, commercial transactions and business law, with a strong emphasis on the representation of banks and other financial institutions. Posted 12.19.18
Paul Ney (MBA '84) has been nominated to serve as general counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense. Paul has served as chief deputy attorney general in the Tennessee Attorney General's Office since September 2016. Posted 1.15.18
William H. Mathieu, Bill, joined Jernigan Capital, as senior vice president and general counsel in September of 2015. Jernigan Capital is headquartered in Memphis. Posted 10.18.17
L. Vincent Williams has been elected Chair of the West Virginia State University Board of Governors for the 2018 fiscal year that began July 1, 2017. Posted 8.1.17
William Francis Hagerty IV (BA’81)has been appointed as U.S. ambassador to Japan by President Trump. William is the co-founder of a private equity firm based in suburban Chicago, Hagerty Peterson and Co. Posted 4.19.17
James Christopher Giancarlo has been appointed by President Trump to be the next Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Posted 3.22.17
Bill Andersen died on October 29. He was 62. As a young man, Bill was an Eagle Scout. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point where he was the head of the honor committee during the 1976 West Point cheating scandal and received the Cleland Leadership Award. After graduation, Bill went on to serve in the United States Army commanding infantry units in the 101st Airborne Division and Second U.S. Infantry Division in Korea. After his military service, he earned his law degree from Vanderbilt where he was senior managing editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review. He later received his LL.M. in estate planning at the University of Miami School of Law. Early in his career, he began his political career in Washington D.C., serving under Secretary of Labor, Elizabeth Dole. Afterwards he returned to Tennessee where he ran for US Senate. After his political career, he and his wife, Jane, opened The Andersen Firm, and grew the firm together into a multi-state firm with operations spanning from Florida to New York. Bill practiced law for 34 years. In addition, Bill was the lead author of The Pocket Guide to Trusts & Estates: Understanding Estate Planning, Estate Settlement, Estate Litigation, Asset Protection, and Elder Law. He is survived by his wife, Jane and his son, Will. Posted 11.28.16
Katie Kennedy has been appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to a three-year term on the Texas Ethics Commission. Katie is a former state district judge in Harris County who now has a private mediation and arbitration practice. Posted 10.17.16
James Christopher Giancarlo gave the keynote address before the Markit Group 2016 annual customer conference and the American Cotton Shippers Association annual conference in New York and Dallas, respectively. In addition, he gave the opening statement before the CFTC Staff Roundtable on Regulation Automated Trading. His visit to Dickinson, North Dakota for a conversation about North Dakota’s oil and energy industry was mentioned in The Bismarck Tribune, and The Dickinson Press. His article “Op Ed: Unneeded Mandate Would Hurt N. J. Consumers” was published on NorthJersey.com, and his statement regarding the implementation date for margin for uncleared swaps was published on the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission website. Finally, he gave a speech at the American Enterprise Institute during a conference entitle “21st Century Markets Need 21st Century Regulation”. Posted 9.15.16
Paul C. Ney Jr. (MBA ’84) has joined Tennessee Attorney General Herb Slatery’s office as chief deputy attorney general. Paul was previously a partner with Patterson Intellectual Property in Nashville. Posted 9.15.16
William Francis Hagerty (BA ’81) has been appointed to the advisory boards overseeing Hall Capital, a private equity affiliate of Nashville-based Hall Capital Partners, and its automotive affiliate, The Fred Jones Companies. Bill was the former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. Posted 8.23.16
James Christopher Giancarlo gave two lectures-one on international finance at Harvard Law School, and another on the six major threats to global markets at Thomas R. Kline Law School. In addition he delivered the keynote address at The Cato Institute, “Cryptocurrency: The Policy Challenges of a Decentralized Revolution”. Finally, his articles “Op-Ed: Vibrant, Highly Liquid Markets Are the Path to Prosperity” and “Op-Ed: With Blockchain, Regulators Should First Do No Harm,” were published on the site Real Clear Markets and in The Wall Street Journal, respectively. Posted 5.23.16
William F. Hagerty (BA’81) has been elected to the board of directors of Ryman Hospitality Properties, which owns the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. He is on the advisory board of Avondale Partners, a Nashville-based employee-owned investment banking and asset management firm. Bill previously served under Gov. Bill Haslam as Tennessee’s commissioner for economic development. He is managing director of Hagerty Peterson & Co., a merchant bank and private equity firm he co-founded. He currently serves on the board and chairs the governance committee of R.J. O’Brien, an independent futures and commodities merchant. Posted 4.5.16
Governor Gregory W. Abbott has written his first book, Broken But Unbowed: The Fight to Fix a Broken America. This book links his perseverance after the accident that put him in a wheelchair to public-policy battles including his push to amend the U.S. Constitution. Posted 4.5.16
James Christopher Giancarlo’s article “American Prosperity Requires Capital Freedom” was published in the CATO Institute Journal. He also interviewed with Fox Business about market volatility and CNBC Asia about foreign exchange markets and swaps trading rules. Finally, he delivered two speeches—one in Chicago also on foreign exchange markets and swaps trading rules and another in Hong Kong about how new banking regulations are harming market liquidity, algorithmic trading and cyber security. Posted 12.4.15
F. John Stark III is CFO for Telkonet Inc. John has practiced law at Briggs and Morgan in Minneapolis, served as CEO and general counsel of a company through an initial public offering, led investment groups both in selling and purchasing businesses and served as a director for several companies. Most recently, John was managing principal at Water Tower Capital. Posted 12.3.15
Stephanie Ethel Parker is a Law 360 MVP—she has won in her category, product liability, for four straight years. Stephanie is a trial attorney who has extensive experience in the defense of product liability and mass tort cases. Posted 12.3.15
John Francis Robertson stepped down as chairperson of the department of accounting and the department of computer and information technology this past summer at Arkansas State University. John served for six years and will be returning to teaching full time. Posted 12.3.15
James Christopher Giancarlo, commissioner for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, released a six-month report detailing the lack of progress to fix key issues he raised in his January 2015 whitepaper about the CFTC’s flawed swaps trading rules. This came after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee (EEMAC) met for the second time in 2015 under the Commissioner’s sponsorship. The EEMAC is tasked with discussing issues and making recommendations to the Agency about policy related to the U.S. oil, natural gas, electricity, and environmental markets. His statement from this meeting focused on energy and agricultural producers managing risk during a time of declining commodity prices. Posted 9.17.15
Paul C. Ney Jr. (MBA’84) was appointed to the LaunchTN Board of Directors by Speaker Beth Harwell. LaunchTN is a public-private partnership focused on supporting the development of high-growth companies in the state of Tennessee with the ultimate goal of fostering job creation and economic growth. Paul is a shareholder in Patterson Intellectual Property Law, which is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Posted 8.28.15
William Francis Hagerty IV (BA'81), the former Tennessee economic and community development commissioner has been named to the board of RenaissanceRe Holdings, a 20-year-old company based in Bermuda. An article highlighting the news can be found here. Posted 3.24.15
James Christopher Giancarlo delivered the keynote address at The Global Forum for Derivatives Markets at the 35th Annual Burgenstock Conference in Geneva Switzerland on September 24, 2014. Posted 10.17.14
Paul C. Ney Jr. (MBA '84) is one of three recent inductees to the Tennessee Bar Foundation's Board of Trustees. Paul, shareholder at Waddey Patterson in Nashville, is a registered patent attorney and has a career that includes leadership roles with the military and local government. He will serve the board as treasurer for a three-year term, 2014 through 2017. Posted 8.12.2014
Howard William Herndon has joined the Nashville, Tennessee, office of Frost Brown Todd where he will lead the firm's new payments industry team. Prior to joining Frost Brown Todd, Howard was counsel at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis. Posted 5-27-14
Hans A. von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow at The Heritage Foundation and former Justice Department counsel and FEC commissioner, has coauthored a new book with John Fund, the national affairs columnist at National Review Online, where Hans is also a contributor. Titled Obama's Enforcer: Eric Holder's Justice Department, the book is a publication of Broadside Books, an imprint of HarperCollins, and is available starting June 10. It is the first investigative look inside the powerful Justice Department under the tenure of Attorney General Eric Holder. The book centers on a series of chapters analyzing the DOJ's activities, including national security, Fast and Furious, civil rights, and more. Posted 5-27-14
Greg Abbott and Mark Phariss ('85) have been in the news as friends on opposing sides of the Texas case for same-sex marriage. A recent LA Times article discusses their friendship. Documents related to the case are available for download here. (Case documents were updated in November 2014.) Posted 3.10.14
Michael J. Quinan has been elected managing partner of Christian & Barton. Michael practices principally in the areas of business litigation, administrative law, and public utility regulation. Posted 1.20.14
James Marshall Lord (BA'81) has joined the Denver, Colorado, office of Jackson Lewis as a partner. Jim will focus his practice on the newly-formed white collar & government enforcement practice group. Prior to joining Jackson Lewis, Jim was an assistant U.S. attorney for over 20 years. Posted 11.14.13
J. Christopher Giancarlo has been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Chris' nomination is subject to Senate confirmation. Chris is currently executive vice president of the wholesale brokerage firm, GFI Group, and was a founding board member and former chairman of the Wholesale Markets Brokers' Association, an industry trade group. Posted 10.10.13
Jefferson Whitaker Brown , a partner in the real estate practice group Moore and Van Allen, was recently elected by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors to serve on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Board of Trustees. Jeff was sworn in on July 25, following a day and a half of orientation. His current term of service is from 2013 to 2017. Jeff currently serves on the board's finance & infrastructure committee, working with other committee members in connection with the University's budget, revenue and expenses, information technology, buildings/grounds and campus master plan, architect/designer selection, and campus security, among other matters. He also currently serves on the board's innovation & impact committee, working with other committee members to provide support in areas such as research, entrepreneurship, technology transfer, licensing, economic development, early stage funding and industry relations. Posted 8.19.13
J. Christopher Giancarlo, of New Jersey, has been named Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for the remainder of the term, expiring April 13, 2014. Posted 8.19.13
Howard A. Mavity , a partner with Fisher & Phillips in Atlanta, has been named among the 50 most influential occupational safety, health, environment and risk management leaders by EHS Today, a trade magazine for environment, health and safety professionals. The ranking appeared in the magazine's June 2013 edition. Howard co-chairs Fisher & Phillips' workplace safety and catastrophe management group. Posted 6.10.13
David Neil Morrison has joined the Naples office of Quarles & Brady as a partner in the real estate practice group. Prior to joining the firm, David was a partner at Wilson & Johnson in Naples. His practices includes the representation of financial institutions, entities, and individuals in buying, selling and financing real and personal property throughout Florida. Morrison was also a founder of Triumph Development Corporation, a Naples luxury home builder and two other Naples law firms, Morrison & Conroy and Morrison & Caudill. Posted 5.1.13
Kenneth B. Cole, Jr. (BA '81), has returned to the full time practice of law by joining the firm of Eyster, Key, Tubb, Roth, Middleton & Adams in Decatur, Alabama. Kenny attended Vanderbilt University on a football scholarship, played middle linebacker for the Commodores, and earned Academic All-SEC honors.
For 28 months beginning in January, 2011, Kenny took a sabbatical from the practice of law so he could concentrate his efforts on starting a non-profit corporation, the purpose of which is to establish a private, faith-based school system in Huntsville, Alabama, to provide a college preparatory education to underserved children. The 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation is 29:11, Inc. The school system is called New Beginnings Academy. The organization's goal is to have 3 neighborhood elementary schools which will feed into a more centrally located middle/high school. The Board hopes to have the first location open in August 2013.
Kenny's 29 years of litigation experience includes the prosecution and defense of numerous varieties of civil lawsuits. Additionally, because of his involvement in litigation involving the release of vaporous acid from a manufacturing facility, he appeared on the Home Box Office documentary Death on the Job. He has written articles on federal jurisdiction, punitive damages, asbestos litigation, hospital liability, and settlement strategies in personal injury litigation; and also has lectured at continuing legal education seminars. Cole has been recognized by the nationwide organization Million Dollar Advocates, and his cases have resulted in large corporations changing their safety programs to make this Country a safer place. Posted 4.15.13
David Wells Morgan, 53, of Greenville, South Carolina, died February 6, 2013. David was Professor of Modern Language at Furman University where he taught French and Humanities for 20 years. Students and colleagues valued him for his erudition and especially for his kindness. He was cherished by his family, by the faculty and students of Furman University and by many friends and colleagues throughout the world. He earned his legal degree from Vanderbilt Law School and his Ph.D. from Princeton University. A gifted linguist, David was internationally known not only for his work in French, but also for his expertise in Latin. He was a beloved member of the spoken Latin community and the author of an important groundbreaking dictionary informally known as the Morgan Lexicon. He is survived by his parents, Thomas and Dorothy; and a brother.
Stephanie Ethel Parker has been elected president of Vanderbilt Law School's Board of Advisors. Stephanie will assume this position in the fall of 2013 following the term conclusion of current president-elect, W. Patrick Mulloy II (BA'74, JD'77). In addition, Stephanie has also been named one of Law360's “Top Female Trail Attorneys”. The national law journal has announced a new series honoring top female trial attorneys and will be highlight the achievements of 15 female litigators. Stephanie is a partner at Jones Day in the firm's Atlanta office. Posted 5.8.12
G. Daniel Shealer has been appointed vice president and general counsel of The Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation and The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Shealer served as the Health System's deputy general counsel for the past seventeen years and will continue to serve as the vice president for compliance, deputy general counsel for John Hopkins Medicine and secretary of the boards of Johns Hopkins Medicine, the Health System, and The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Posted 01.10.12
Edward Cassady joined Robins & Morton in Birmingham, Alabama, as chief financial officer. Ed was previously with The Martin Companies, a venture firm in Nashville focused on providing financial and other support to startup companies. Before that, Ed held a number of roles with BE&K Inc., ultimately serving as the firm's executive vice president in charge of strategic planning, sales and marketing. He began his career in Birmingham as a clerk to Judge James H. Hancock at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama and a partner of Bradley Arant Rose & White (now Bradley Arant Boult Cummings). Posted 11.9.11
Fred Frost is a 2011 inductee into the Huntingdon College Athletic Hall of Fame. Fred, who earned his undergraduate degree at Huntingdon, lettered for four years in golf, served as captain of the golf team for three years, and was the team's MVP his senior year, all while graduating cum laude with a degree in finance and a minor in history. Fred now serves as assistant chief attorney for production for ExxonMobil in Houston, where his wife, Kem, is a judge on the Texas Court of Appeals. They have four sons. Posted 11.9.11
J. Christopher Giancarlo was called to testify in October 2011 before the US House Agriculture Committee on implementation of financial reform in the US swaps markets under Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Chris is Executive Vice President of GFI Group Inc., a global provider of wholesale brokerage services, clearing services, electronic execution and trading support products for global financial markets. He is also a founding board member and former Chairman of the Wholesale Markets Brokers Association, Americas, which addresses issues of public policy common to the wholesale brokerage industry. Posted 11.9.11
Michael J. Quinan, a partner and vice chair of the energy law group at Christian & Barton in Richmond, Virginia, was elected president of the HARPS Foundation, which provides conservatory-level training to young harpists from all over the United States, offers music lessons to students in several low-income communities and offers therapeutic music programs at hospitals and hospices in the Richmond area. The organization's flagship performance group-the American Youth Harp Ensemble-has played at the White House, the United Nations, Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and presented concerts in many foreign countries. Posted 10-17-11
David Khorey is one of four Michigan attorneys to become a newly-elected fellow of the prestigious College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. David is a partner at the regional law firm, Varnum, where he has cultivated a client-centered practice focused on complex labor and employment matters. He represents employers in a number of industries across the nation, including automotive, health care and transportation. Posted 7-15-11
Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General formally began his third term as the State's chief legal officer and top law enforcement official. Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson administered the oath of office during a ceremony performed at the Attorney General's Office in the presence of agency employees. U.S. Senator and former Texas Attorney General John Cornyn delivered remarks at Abbott's inaugural ceremony today. After swearing to defend the laws and constitution of the State of Texas, Greg renewed his commitment to tough law enforcement and thanked agency employees for their service to Texas citizens. Posted 1.28.11
William F. Hagerty, IV, was sworn in as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development by Governor Bill Haslam on January 15, 2011. As head of the state agency primarily responsible for job creation in Tennessee, Commissioner Hagerty is on leave from Hagerty Peterson, a merchant bank and private equity firm he founded. Posted 1.25.11
Gail Goodman Greenfield died October 17, 2010. She was 72. Gail grew up in New Orleans, where she graduated valedictorian of Isidore Newman School. She attended Newcomb College before marrying Ronald N. Greenfield and graduating from Vanderbilt University magna cum laude, where she was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Gail worked for Project Opportunity in Nashville before spending several years in fundraising at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. After rearing her two children, she earned her J.D. Vanderbilt Law School, graduating Order of the Coif in 1984, and then practiced law at Boult Cummings Conners and Berry, and later at Sherrard and Roe. She served as general counsel for the Foster Foundation until the time of her death. Gail was honored as one of the Women of the Year by the Davidson County Business and Professional Women's Club in 1988. She was active in the National Council of Jewish Women, the Nashville Symphony Guild, the League of Women Voters, Senior Citizens, Family and Children Service, and the Nashville Adult Literacy Council. Gail was an independent-minded woman who deeply valued education. She is survived by her son and daughter, Jill Ethridge and Jeff Greenfield, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
Maureen Breen Gerhardt died July 16, 2005, at her home, with her family, after an almost two-year struggle with cancer. Maureen was born in New York City, grew up in West Hempstead, Long Island, and graduated with honors from the University of Virginia School of Nursing in 1978. She worked as a coronary care nurse until entering Vanderbilt Law School in 1981. After her graduation in 1984, she served as St. Thomas Hospital's first in-house legal counsel and later as an associate with the Nashville law firm of Howell, Fisher and Branham. She moved to Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1989, and in 1992 became an associate with a predecessor firm to Stern Klepfer & Wright. In addition to her professional activities, Mrs. Gerhardt served her community through volunteer work with a number of organizations and served on the Board of Trustees of the Greensboro Day School. She is survived by her husband of 23 years, Edward B. Gerhardt, and their children, Margaret and John.
Class of 1985
Gregory D. Smith has earned Chambeers USA High Net Worth in its 2022 guide in the category of Family/Matrimonial for USA: Tennessee. Posted 8.2.22
David Dallas Willoughby, age 61, passed away at his home on April 9, after a long battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Lisa, money Betty Jane, and father James Dallas. Read his full obituary here. Posted 4.18.22
Brad Wahl of Atlanta, passed away on July 21, 2020, after a six-year battle with cancer. Brad was born in Bay Shore, New York on March 8, 1960. He spent most of his professional career at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, where he became a leader in the commercial finance group, excelling in his work, while building close relationships with both colleagues and clients Please find his obituary here. Posted 10.16.20.
Greg Smith was named to the Super Lawyers list of Mid-South Super Lawyers. He was also named to the Top 50 Nashville and Top 100 Tennessee lawyer lists. Posted 1.29.20
Jack Case Wilson of Nashville died Oct. 24, 2018. He was 63. A native of Greenville, Mississippi, Jack received his master’s degree in classical archaeology from the University of Mississippi, which he used to go to England on digs, finding period artifacts, including skulls and coins. After earning his law degree at Vanderbilt, Jack built a thriving real estate practice, practicing law for more than 25 years. His passions included history, genealogy and storytelling. He is the published author of Faulkner's Fortunes and Flames, a highly regarded book on the history of Oxford, Mississippi. Jack is survived by his wife, Anne, and their two children. Posted 5.2.19
J. Robert Paulson, Jr. is now serving as President and CEO at VentureMed Group and a member of the company's board of directors. Read more: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/venturemed-group-names-j-robert-paulson-jr-chief-executive-officer-300789965.html Posted 2.12.19
Gregory Smith was named to the Super Lawyers and Rising Stars list, Top 50 Nashville and Top 100 Tennessee lawyer lists. Posted 11.13.18
Sara J. Finely has been added to the board of directors for Tivity Health. She is principal of Threshold Corporate Consulting, a consulting services firm that she founded in 2015. Sara formerly served as senior vice president and general counsel of CVS Caremark Corporation. Posted 6.28.2018
Greg Smith , was honored by the Nashville Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar” award. Stuart is a member of Stites & Harbison. Posted 5.9.18
Reber “Mitch” Boult has been elected to the executive committee of regional law firm Adams and Reese. This is Mitch’s second stint on the six-member executive committee; his first was from 2014 through 2016. Posted 1.15.18
Val Ellsworth Winter was named chief assistant state attorney for the Office of the State Attorney, Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, Monroe County, Florida. Posted 11.14.17
The Centre College Board of Trustees elected Jennie P. Carlson as a member. She will be sworn in at the January 2018 meeting in Louisville. Jennie is the executive vice president and director of human resources at U.S. Bancorp in Minneapolis. Posted 11.14.17
Sara Finely has been appointed to the board of directors for the Oak Paper Products Company, Inc. Posted 3.22.17
Lucian Pera , partner at Adams and Reese in Memphis, was elected president of the Southern Conference of Bar Presidents at its 2016 annual meeting. Lucian will serve as the Tennessee Bar Association president during the 2017-2018 bar year. Posted 11.28.16
Jonathan Mackhas joined the Minneapolis firm of Hellmuth & Johnson as a partner in the Complex Litigation Group. Posted 7.27.16
Lucian T. Pera will serve as president-elect of the Tennessee Bar Association during the 2016-2017 bar year, supporting TBA president Jason H. Long of the law firm of Lowe Yeager & Brown in Knoxville, Tennessee. Lucian is partner at Adams and Reese in Memphis, Tennessee. Posted 7.25.16
Peter McCorkle Goodloe is of counsel with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck in Washington, D.C. where he focuses on health-related public policy issues. Before entering private practice in 2009, Peter was an attorney for the U.S. House of Representatives, first with the House Office of Legislative Counsel for many years, and later with the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Posted 2.25.16
John Bailie Scherling was appointed to a judgeship on the San Diego Superior Court bench by California governor Jerry Brown. John was partner at Sughrue, Mion since 2008 and served as an Assisant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of California 1990 to 2005. Posted 1.29.16
G. Wilson Horde III (BA’82) is a partner in the Atlanta office of Burr & Forman. Rocky joins the real estate practice group where he represents clients in commercial real estate matters for a range of properties, including hotels, multifamily developments, resorts, golf courses, country clubs, stadiums and marinas. Posted 12.4.15
J. Robert Paulson Jr. has been appointed to the board of directors for Sun BioPharma, a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for pancreatic diseases. Bob currently serves as president and CEO of NxThera, a Maple Grove, Minnesota based medical device company pioneering the application of its convective water vapor energy (WAVE(TM)) platform technology to treat endourological conditions. Posted 11.3.15
Lucian Thaddeus Pera has been appointed to chair the governing body of the American Bar Association’s Center for Professional Responsibility, the umbrella group that is home to the ABA’s legal ethics and lawyer discipline work. Lucian will chair the Center’s Coordinating Council, which oversees and directs the policies and programs of the Center and facilitates in-depth strategic discussions on legal and judicial ethics and regulation issues that come before the ABA’s policymaking body, the ABA House of Delegates, and on other important national initiatives. He is a partner in the Memphis, Tennessee office of Adams and Reese, where he focuses his practice on commercial litigation, legal ethics work and media law. Posted 9.17.15
Joseph Anthony Di Julio died July 30. He was 56. Joe was a resident of Virginia Beach, Virginia. After earning his undergraduate degree from Indiana University, he earned his JD from Vanderbilt Law School where he served as an associate editor of the Journal of Transnational Law. Joe was a member of the Virginia State Bar and a fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth "Betsy" DiJulio (MA’91). Posted 8.28.15
Lucian Thaddeus Pera is vice president of the Tennessee Bar Association. After serving a year as vice president, Pera will ascend to president-elect in 2016-2017 and then lead the association as president in 2017-2018. Lucian is a partner in the Memphis, Tennessee office of Adams and Reese where he focuses his practice on commercial litigation, legal ethics work and media law. Posted 7.8.15
Jennie P. Carlson has been elected to the board of directors for the YMCA of the USA, the national office for the 2,700 Ys across the country. Jennie is the executive vice president of human resources for U.S. Bancorp and is responsible for the corporation's employee benefits design and administration, employee relations, payroll and all other human resources-related activities. Posted 6.25.15
Robb S. Harvey (BS'85) was included on the 2015 “Best of the Bar” awards list by the Nashville Business Journal. Robb is a partner with the Nashville, Tennessee office of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis where he focuses his practice on complex intellectual property, entertainment, media, commercial and franchise litigation involving substantial damage claims in federal and state courts across the country. Posted 5.15.15
Reber Mitchell Boult was included on the 2015 “Best of the Bar” awards list by the Nashville Business Journal. Mitch is a partner in the Nashville, Tennessee office of Adams and Reese and a member of the Adams and Reese Executive Committee. His practice focuses in intellectual property matters. Posted 5.15.15
Gregory Dye Smith has been named executive member for Stites & Harbison’s Nashville, Tennessee office. Greg has been a partner with the firm since 1998. He will continue to serve as a member of the firm’s family law service group. He was also included on the 2015 “Best of the Bar” awards list by the Nashville Business Journal. Posted 5.15.15
Charles K. McKnight Jr. has recently joined Taylor English Duma's Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group. Charles brings with him more than 25 years of experience in representing Fortune 500 companies, privately-held companies and individuals in business disputes and litigation, including domestic and international arbitration and mediation. He was previously with Nations, Toman & McKnight. Charles is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta. He is a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He received his undergraduate degree from Emory University and his law degree from Vanderbilt. Following law school, Charles clerked on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Posted 8.12.2014
Palmer Leon Whisenant 54, of Moore, South Carolina, died April 11. He earned his law degree from Vanderbilt after earning his undergraduate degree from Duke University. He was an attorney at Cryovac for 20 years. Palmer is survived by his wife, Pennie Jean Vandever; a son; and a daughter. Posted 6.12.14
Mark Phariss and Greg Abbott ('84) have been in the news as friends on opposing sides of the Texas case for same-sex marriage. A recent LA Times article discusses their friendship. Documents related to the case are available for download here. Posted 3.10.14
Jerome M. Organ, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, has been named to National Jurist's 2013 list of the most influential people in legal education for his continued work in making law school retention rates more transparent. More about Jerry's achievement can be found here. Posted 1.28.14
John Talbot Sant Jr. has joined Affinity Law Group in St. Louis, Missouri, where he is business transaction and finance attorney and litigator. Posted 1.14.14
Verna Celeste Anderson (MBA'84), of Nashville, died July 3. Celeste was a graduate of Fisk University and earned her Juris Doctorate at Vanderbilt Law School. She worked for AIG in Nashville for over fifteen years. She was a member of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church where she served as clerk of session numerous times, was a member of the choir and led the youth activities. Celeste is survived by her father, Rev. Dr. Grady L. Anderson; son; and her brother. Posted 7.16.13
Kevin M. Doherty has joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. Kevin joins the firm as a partner and practices in the area of insurance regulatory law, with particular emphasis on captives, risk retention groups, self-insurance funds and other alternative insurance vehicles. Formerly a partner in the Nashville office of Burr & Forman, Kevin also represents recording artists, publishers, songwriters and music-related companies in industry agreements and transactions. Posted 6.11.13
Greta Wilson Schnetzler, a well-respected attorney with extensive experience in higher education, has been appointed chief campus counsel at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Greta was jointly appointed by UCSF and the UC Office of the General Counsel. She has served UCSF as deputy campus counsel since 2005. Prior to that, she was a partner at Gordon & Rees, where she specialized in representing universities in all aspects of employment, civil rights and education law. Posted 4.8.13
Lucian Pera , partner at Adams and Reese in the firm's Memphis office, was inducted as a Fellow into the College of Law Practice Management, which was formed in 1994 to honor and recognize distinguished law practice management professionals, to set standards of achievement for others in the profession, and to fund and assist projects that enhance the highest quality of law practice management. Lucian was inducted at the 2012 Futures Conference and Annual Meeting, held October 26-27 in Washington, DC, as 18 new fellows were inducted as the Class of 2012. Fellowship in the College is the highest honor bestowed upon individuals involved in law practice management. Lucian is also the treasurer of the American Bar Association, taking office in 2011 and serving through August 2014. His tenure also includes service on the ABA Board of Governors and the Executive Committee. Posted 1.31.13
Amy W. Templeton has been named CEO of McWane Science Center. Amy, who previously worked at Birmingham Museum of Art for 13 years, most recently as the museum's chief operating officer, was selected after a national search that began in April for McWane, the nonprofit hands-on science museum in downtown Birmingham. Amy also previously worked at Vanderbilt University as director of planned giving, where she and her team raised $400 million in outright gifts, pledges and trusts, and $100 million in planned bequests. Posted 1.29.13
Laurel C. Williams has been named to the board of trustees at Christian Brothers University. Laurel is a member of the firm Burch Porter & Johnson. Posted 4.3.12
Stephen Alexander Bernheim was recently recognized for his service as an Edmonds City councilman. Steve was elected to position No. 6 on the council in 2007. He and his family moved to Seattle, where he worked with the law firm of Bogle & Gates and taught at UPS Law School after teaching English with his wife, Susan Bauer, in Wuhan, China, Steve moved his law office to Edmonds in 1998, where he practices commercial litigation and immigration law. Berheim has lived in Edmonds since 2003. Posted 1.10.12
Jonathan Mack joined Kurtzman Carson Consultants. Jon has more than 15 years of experience in a wide range of complex litigation matters, and he will support the company's growth initiatives as a member of the class action business development team. Most recently, Jon was Of Counsel with Zelle Hoffman Voelbel & Mason in Minneapolis. Posted 11.9.11
Jerry N. Smith has joined Jones Day as a tax practice partner in the firm's Atlanta office. Jerry, whose practice extends to international, federal, and state taxation of corporations and partnerships, previously practiced at another law firm in Atlanta and spent over 20 years with one of the largest professional services firms in the world. Posted 3.10.11
Patricia Q. Robertson is an associate professor of business law in the College of Business of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Ark. Her research interests include tax, real estate and employment law. Prior to joining the academy in 2005, she practiced as a member of the law firm Yost and Robertson in Franklin, Tennessee.
Kevin Jacobs has been named Deputy Commissioner in District 3 Oklahoma County. Kevin has served as president of Oklahoma Christian University and maintained a private law practice, where he focused on business planning, real estate and estate planning. He lives in Edmond, Oklahoma, with his wife and their four children. Read more.
Class of 1986
Weldon WIlson and his wife Elaine are donating a generous gift of $17.5 million to add to their scholarship fund at Vanderbilt Law School. Posted 6.6.22
John Hoskins Foster is now serving as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at Falck Renewables Spa as of February 2022. Posted 3.21.22
Karen A. Reardon, Associate Professor, and her colleagues at La Salle University have edited and published In Living Color: An Anthology of Contemporary Student Writings on Race (2020) available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites. Read more about the book here. Posted 10.9.20
Kitty Delany and her husband Jim Delany, recently retired Big Ten Conference commissioner, have returned to Nashville after 30 years in Chicago. They are building a home in Nashville. Posted 9.22.20
Henry P. Dove, longtime chief trial counsel for the Talbot County State’s Attorney’s Office, has joined the Easton law firm Kopen & Collison. Posted 4.2.20
Turney P. Berry has been recognized in the 2020 Kentucky Super Lawyers list. Posted 3.27.20
Cynthia Reisz (BA’80) has been named president-elect of the American Health Lawyers Association. Cynthia is a member at Bass Berry & Sims, where she serves on the firm’s executive committee.
John Quinn has joined locally based firm Neal & Harwell as of counsel. Read more: https://www.nashvillepost.com/business/legal/article/21025990/notes-neal-harwell-adds-of-counsel. Posted 10.11.18
A second career academic after practicing law for 25 years, Dr. Karen A. Reardon (‘86) was tenured and promoted to associate professor in the Department of Management and Leadership of La Salle University in Philadelphia. Posted 9.14.18
Karen Reardon successfully defended her doctoral dissertation entitled “Examining the Critical Role of Social Capital in Entrepreneurship: A Qualitative Study of Emerging Nonprofit Organizations” on July 29, 2016. On August 19, 2016 she received her Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology from the University of Michigan. Karen is an assistant professor in the Management and Leadership Department of the La Salle University School of Business in Philadelphia where she teaches business law, ethics and dispute resolution. Posted 11.14.17
Jeffrey L. Deitch of Durango, Colorado died June 25. He was 60. He earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University before earning his law degree from Vanderbilt. In Durango he assumed many roles. He was a KDGO radio disk jockey, a broadcast news TV journalist, a lawyer, a political activist who ran for a seat in the state legislature, a writer, a playwright, actor, director and local musician. As a serious lawyer, he fought hard to help as many people as he could. After retiring as a lawyer, he traveled the world, conducting wine tours of Germany, and studied and received accreditation as a wine expert. He is survived by his brother Mark, and sister, Marcia Kalman. Posted 8.1.17
Adam Peck has been named to the Chambers USA 2017 Guide for Litigation: General Commercial. Adam is partner at Lightfoot, Franklin, White in Birmingham, Alabama. Posted 6.15.17
Beverly Salhanick will chair Helldorado Days, a western-themed festival held annually in Las Vegas. Beverly is the sole practitioner of Beverly Salhanick, Esquire in Las Vegas. Posted 3.23.17
Robert Lee Hines Jr. (MBA '86) is now serving as general counsel and corporate secretary at On-Ramp, Inc. Robert was previously general counsel and secretary of Radiant Logistics, Inc. Posted 9.15.16
Judge Jeffrey Scotty Bivins was unanimously elected by his fellow jurors to serve as the new Tennessee Supreme Court chief justice. He replaces current chief justice Sharon Lee. Posted 9.15.16
Henry Phillips Dove married Nancy Ruth Tabor December 14, 2015 in Easton, Maryland. Posted 5.3.16
Jonanthan Neal Ledsky , principal in the Chicago office of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, is co-leading the firm’s class action litigation team. Posted 5.3.16
Turney P. Berry joined the Louisville office of Wyatt Tarrant & Combs as partner where is leader of the firm’s trust, estates & personal planning service team. Turney has been recognized by the Texas Bar Foundation for co-authoring the “Outstanding Law Review Article” of 2015, titled “Retaining, Sustaining and Obtaining Basis,” and published in Texas Tech’s Estate Planning and Community Property Law Journal in January 2015. Posted 4.5.16
Phillip Hampton Street (BA’82) joined the Atlanta office of King & Spalding as partner in the firm’s healthcare and FDA & life sciences practices. Previously, he was the chair of the Atlanta healthcare practice at Paul Hastings. Posted 2.25.16
Barbara Dale Holmes was sworn in as a federal magistrate judge at a ceremony October 7 in Nashville, Tennessee. She started work as a magistrate judge in August and replaced Magistrate Judge Juliet Griffin, who retired July 31. Additionally, she has been installed as the 34th chair of the Tennessee Bar Foundation, a philanthropic organization. Posted 11.3.15
Richard Evans Gazala's (BA’83) short story collection, Trust and Other Nightmares, has been released internationally as an audio book. The collection is narrated by Roberto Scarlato of Chicago, who has over 30 audio book narrations to his credit. Richard is currently working on his third book, following publication of his award-winning thriller, Blood of the Moon, and Trust and Other Nightmares. Posted 8.25.15
Mary Barrett Brewer was part of a panel of attorneys that nominated this year’s recipient of the George Barrett Award, an honor named for her father, George Barrett, a well-known Nashville attorney famed for his role in the civil rights and labor movements. Mary is an attorney with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Nashville, Tennessee. Posted 4.26.15
Patrick Beauregard Mason, former principal of the Mason Law firm in Memphis, has formed the Mason Zoccola Law Firm with partners William Zoccola and John Zoccola. The merged firm will offer legal and accounting services, including trust and estate administration, probate matters, tax consulting and preparation, and business planning. Posted 1.2.15
Judge Jeffrey S. Bivins was sworn in Wednesday by Gov. Bill Haslam as the newest justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court. He took the oath during a standing-room-only ceremony at the Franklin Theatre in downtown Franklin. Judge Bivins succeeds Justice William C. Koch Jr., who retired July 15 to become dean of the Nashville School of Law. Bivins' judicial experience includes serving on the state Court of Criminal Appeals since 2011. He has also served as circuit court judge in the 21st Judicial District and assistant commissioner and general counsel in the state Department of Personnel. In addition, he has worked in private practice with Boult Cummings Conners & Berry in Nashville. Posted 8.12.2014
Beverly Salhanick was elected and installed as chair of the board of directors for the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge 1468. Beverly is an 18-year Lodge member and also serves as co-chair of the Whiskerino Committee of Helldorado, a community event that celebrates Las Vegas heritage and raises funds to benefit Las Vegas organizations for children. Posted 8.12.2014
Two law firms headed by Vanderbilt Law alumni—Baker Donelson, headed by CEO Ben C. Adams '81, and Alston & Bird, headed by Managing Partner Richard Hays '86—were recognized among Fortune Magazine's 2014 list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For." Baker Donelson ranked 31st and Alston & Bird 40th, and both firms were among the top five in the "professional services" category. Posted 1.17.14
Ralph Peter Dudziak has joined Loeb & Loeb's Chicago office as a partner in the finance department. Ralph will focus his practice on a wide array of matters for U.S. and international institutions, including banks, leasing companies, investment banks, aircraft companies, insurance companies and other institutional investors. In addition to his position with the finance department, Ralph will also be a member of the firm's energy practice group. Prior to joining Loeb & Loeb, Ralph was a partner in the Chicago office of Foley Lardner. Posted 1.14.14
John William Hargrove , a Birmingham partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummingsand chair of the firm's labor and employment practice group, has been elected as a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Election as a Fellow is the highest recognition by one's colleagues of sustained outstanding performance in the profession, exemplifying integrity, dedication and excellence. John will be formally installed as a Fellow November 9, in New Orleans, at an induction dinner during the American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section's Continuing Legal Education Conference. Posted 7.15.13
Cynthia Young Reisz (BA'80), partner at Bass Berry & Sims, has been elected to the board of the American Health Lawyers Association, becoming the first attorney from the firm to do so. Cynthia has been with Bass since 1986 and is a member of its health care and corporate/securities practice groups. She has served in several previous roles with the AHLA. She is the past chair of the association's Physician Organizations Practice Group and was the chair of the Planning Committee for the 2013 AHLA Physicians and Physician Organizations Institute. Cynthia also co-chaired an AHLA task force that wrote a handbook on representing physicians in 2006 and continues to serve as an editor of subsequent editions. Posted 5.21.13
Joan B. Tucker Fife has been named managing partner of Winston & Strawn's San Francisco office. Joan leads the firm's San Francisco labor and employment group and is known for her representation of companies in wage-and-hour class actions. Posted 9.24.12
Karen A. Reardon, a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of Michigan, has been appointed Assistant Professor of Business Law in the Management and Leadership Department of LaSalle University's School of Business in Philadelphia. Karen, an attorney and mediator, joins the faculty at LaSalle after practicing law for twenty-five years in Chicago. Karen and her husband, Dan Luchay together with sons, Robert (15) and Walter (13) now make their home in Margate , New Jersey. Posted 8.1.12
Jeff Bivens was appointed by Governor Bill Haslam to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. He will serve on the court for the middle section of Tennessee. As a circuit court judge, Jeff presided in Hickman, Lewis and Perry counties. Before becoming a judge, he was a partner with Boult Cummings Conners & Berry (now Bradley Arant Boult Cummings) in Nashville. Posted 10.17.11
Richard Gazala (A&S '83) recently released his second book, Trust and Other Nightmares, an anthology of five scary short stories published exclusively as an e-book. Posted 10.17.11
Peter Sutherland has joined Lee Smart in Seattle as a shareholder. He will focus on insurance defense and general litigation. Posted 10.17.11
Stuart Starry has founded a new company, Quickpoles, that will debut his invention - a ski pole that attaches to the ski binding to make skis easy to carry -- at the Snow Sports Industries of America's 2011 Snow Show in Denver. After earning his J.D. at Vanderbilt, Stuart practied aviation law for 17 years, arguing cases for American Airlines, TWA and others, before founding his own residential contracting business, Contemporary Classic Homes. His "Quickpoles" a result of two years of tinkering during 2007 and 2008 while in business as a residential contractor. A native of Twin Falls, Idaho, Stuart has been an avid skier since childhood. Posted 3.10.11
Jeanna Brannon has retired from the practice of law after 25 years with the firm of Morris, Manning & Martin. Jeanna and her husband Robert intend to travel and work with a non-profit organization, Start With One International, Inc., which focuses on water, health and education matters in Kenya. Posted 1.28.11
Mary Barrett Brewer has been appointed as Chief Counsel for the Nashville Field Office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. After earning her J.D., she worked as a clerk for the Honorable Thomas A. Higgins, U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee, practiced at Branstetter, Stranch and Jennings in Nashville, TN and then was a Staff Attorney for the Tennessee Supreme Court. In 1991 Mary joined the Nashville HUD office as an Attorney Advisor. She has spent the last nineteen years working with all program areas in all three Tennessee Field Offices. Posted 1.3.11
Geraldine Skupien '86 died at her home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania October 7, 2009 after a valiant battle with cancer. She is survived by her sister Janet, and brother and sister-in-law Charles and Deborah.
David T. Burrowes, 47, died Dec. 27, 2007 after a courageous battle against Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He was preceded in death by his father, Robert E. Burrowes. He is survived by his wife Jennifer, his children Colin and Lindsay, his mother Irene Allegar, his step-mother Ona Burrowes, and his sister Sarah Dupree. A resident of Glenview, IL, and a West Coast transplant, David worked as an attorney for the Chicago law firm Boundas Skarzynski Walsh & Black. He was a UCLA Bruin fanatic. He was an avid golfer, a great story-teller, a loving husband, a devoted father, and a generous friend.
Laura Turea Hanson of Atlanta, wife of Bradley E. Wahl and loving mother of Evan Russell Wahl and Julia Lynn Wahl, died March 7, 2007, after a long and courageous struggle with cancer. Born February 2, 1959, in Macon, GA, Laura graduated from the Colorado Rocky Mountain School in 1976 before attaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History and English from the University of Oregon. She later earned her JD at Vanderbilt University Law School, where she also met her husband. Laura practiced law in New York City before devoting herself to her children and community activities. She actively participated in her children's schools by reading to classes and regularly assisting teachers.
Laura was a gracious, witty woman with an adventurous spirit. Among her many interests, Laura loved to travel, had a great appreciation for art and was an accomplished equestrian. An avid reader, Laura was a dedicated member of several book clubs, including her beloved Sofa Babes Book Club, through which she met some of her closest friends. A lifelong Shakespearian devotee, she was an active member of the Anne Hudgins Shakespeare Class. All of those who knew her were inspired by her elegance, style, courage, strength of will and character.
In addition to her husband and children, Laura is survived by her mother Deyerle Anderson of Seattle, Washington; her brother Dr. Reid Hanson of Auburn, Alabama; her cousin Denny and husband Sam Jones of Macon; her great aunt Laura Nelle Anderson O'Callaghan of Macon; her aunt Katherine Anderson; cousins, Josh, Adam, Jason, and Sarah Bleibtreu of California as well as an adoring extended family and a vast circle of close friends. She was predeceased by her father Russell Hanson and her brother Peyton Anderson Hanson. Laura's family extends its gratitude to their many friends, colleagues and neighbors for all of their help over the years.
Beth Waters, 45, of Tampa, Florida, died peacefully at home surrounded by her children and friends December 8, 2006, after a courageous battle against breast cancer.
A graduate of Cornell University and Vanderbilt Law School, Beth was general counsel, vice president and secretary of Lykes Bros., Inc. Caring and committed to her family, friends and community, Beth was Chair of the board of directors of The Spring of Tampa Bay, on the board of trustees of the mayor's beautification program, vice president and board member of the FE Lykes Family Foundation, board member and counsel of Dream A Dress, board member of the John D. Gorrie Foundation at Gorrie Elementary School, and a member of the Athenian Society. She also was a member of Leadership Florida and Leadership Tampa and selected to Florida Trend's 2006 Legal Elite.
She is survived by her children Austin and Esme Yarnell; parents, Lloyd and Ruth Waters; grandmother, Mae Iskin; sister, Debra Waters; and brother, Stephen; sister-in-law, Sharon; and nephew, Travis Waters.
David F. Gore passed away May 9, 2006. David was an attorney in Nashville for 20 years, most recently with Stewart, Estes and Donnell.
Class of 1987
Cherie Fuzzell has joined Technology Associate of Georgia's Board of Directors. Posted 6.6.22
Dianna Baker Shew will assume the role of Chief Deputy in the State of Tennessee Office of the Attorney General. Posted 6.6.22
David Walston , a partner at Christian & Small, was recognized by Chambers USA in 2020. Read more here. Posted 9.25.20
David Melloh has joined Taft as Partner and health care business lawyer in its Minneapolis office. Posted 9.21.20
Donald Harrison Caldwell, Jr. of Charlotte, NC died in his home November 15, 2019. Read his full obituary here. Posted 3.25.20
Jean M. Stallard , who practices of counsel at Vandeventer Black in Norfolk, Virginia, has been elected to the board of the Tidewater Community College Educational Foundation. Jean also serves on the board of the Samaritan House Foundation. Posted 5.3.19
Robert K. Baldwin has been elected to the International Society of Barristers. Bob is a partner with Goetz Baldwin & Geddes in Bozeman, Montana. Posted 5.3.19
Dianna Baker Shew was sworn in as an Assistant Attorney General at the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Tennessee State Capitol. Posted 12.19.18
Daniel Wilson, managing shareholder of Maynard Cooper's Huntsville office, will also serve as managing shareholder of the firm's new Washington, D.C. Posted 5.9.18
Albert E. Dotson, Jr. has been named Bilzin Sumberg’s next managing partner. He will succeed John Sumberg, who has served in this capacity since its inception 20 years ago. Al will succeed him effective, January 1, 2019. Al is Chairman Emeritus of 100 Black Men of America and a board member of the Orange Bowl Committee and Alonzo Mourning Family Foundation. He will continue to maintain his robust government relations practice and serve as Chair of the firm’s Land Use & Government Relations Practice Group Posted 12.15.17
Thomas Clear plays piano at the University of Texas and Ballet Austin. Posted 9.20.17
Jane Pine Wood is now chief legal and compliance officer of PKO Health’s subsidiary, BioReference Laboratories. Posted 9.20.16
John Beiter is now partner at Leavens Strand & Glover in Nashville. Previously he was partner at Shackleford Bowen Zumwalt & Hayes. He has spent more than two decades in entertainment law. Posted 7.27.16
Neal H. Weinfield started his own firm, Dedendum Group, after practicing law for 28 years in large Chicago firms. DedendumGroup, focuses on developing large class actions such as the case brought against the engineering firms and government officials allegedly responsible for the Flint Michigan water crisis. Posted 7.27.16
J. B. Hardcastle, Jr. was included on the 2015 “Best of the Bar” awards list by the Nashville Business Journal. Jay is a partner in the Nashville, Tennessee office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings where he focuses his practice in health care matters. Posted 5.15.15
Nancy Lewis Choate’s law firm, The Law Office of Nancy L. Choate, is celebrating its 25th anniversary which she is the founder. Choate began practicing law at the age of 24. Posted 3.07.16
Garry K. Grooms has joined Burr & Forman as a partner in the firm’s Nashville, Tennessee, office. Garry focuses his practice on commercial litigation. Posted 3.24.15
R. Christion Hutson began a two-year term January 1 as chairman of the board of directors for the Baptist Health system, a seven-hospital system based in Louisville. Chris is a partner in the Paducah law firm of Whitlow Roberts Houston & Straub where he works primarily in worker’s compensation. Posted 1.26.15
Davis Turner (MBA '85) has been appointed as vice president and associate general counsel of Capella Healthcare. He will provide legal support for the company's hospitals and corporate office. Previously, Davis was vice president and assistant general counsel for Vanguard Health Systems. He has also worked as in-house counsel at Quorum Health Group, OrNda Healthcorp and HCA and was a member of Frost Brown Todd and Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis. Posted 8.12.2014
John N. Bolus , has been elected to the board of governors of the Association of Life Insurance Counsel to serve a four-year term. The board of governors is the governing body of the Association, providing long-term direction for meeting the Association's goals that include effective delivery of legal services to the life insurance industry, both internally and through external counsel, and furthering the education and professional abilities of life insurance lawyers. John is a member at Maynard Cooper & Gale, where he co-chairs the firm's general litigation practice as well as serving on the firm's executive committee. Posted 5-27-14
Albert Bates Jr. (MBA'87), a partner with Duane Morris, has been appointed chair of the firm's construction group. Albee focuses his practice on the resolution of domestic US and international construction claims, as well as advising clients on project planning and execution strategies, project management and project controls strategies, and change management on large construction projects. Posted 1.28.14
Albert E. Dotson Jr. is one of 15 appointees to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence. Since 1998, Albert has been a partner at Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price and Axelrod in Miami, Florida, where he currently leads the firm's government relations and land development practice group. Before joining Bilzin Sumberg, Dotson was a partner at Eckert Seamans from 1995-98. More about Al's appointment can be found here. Posted 1.20.14
Staci Michelle Yandle has been nominated to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Hers was one of four federal judicial nominations announced by President Barack Obama on January 16.From 1987-2003, Staci was an associate with the law firm of Carr Korein Schlichter Kunin Montroy Glass and Bogard. She became a partner with the Rex Carr Law Firm in 2003. She has been a solo practitioner in southern Illinois since 2007, where her practice focuses on civil litigation in federal and state court.Staci served by appointment on the Illinois Gaming Board from 1999-2001 and on the Illinois Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil rights from approximately 1992-96. Click here for more on Staci's nomination. Posted 1.20.14
Cherie Fuzzell has been named chief executive officer of Parkmobile USA, a market leading in mobile parking solutions. Cherie previously served as president and CEO of FirstView Financial and has also held senior positions with USBancorp, NOVA Information Systems (now Elavon) and Magellan Health Services. She began her career with Jones Day. Posted 11.30.12
Jane Pine Wood, a member of the healthcare practice at McDonald Hopkins in Sacramento, California, has been elected to the firm's board. Jane joined the firm in 1988. Posted 11.15.12
Robert J. Misey Jr. (MBA'87) is the chair of the international department for the Milwaukee-based law firm of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren. CCH recently published the Eighth Edition of his first book, A Practical Guide to U.S. Taxation of International Transactions. Rob and his wife Monica (MBA'88) live in Rob's boyhood home near Lake Michigan where they deal with the joy of raising four teenagers! Posted 8.1.12
Albert (“Albee”) Bates Jr., a partner with Duane Morris, has been named vice-chair of the firm's highly regarded national construction group. Albee focuses his practice on resolving disputes on large and complex construction projects, and regularly serves as an arbitrator and mediator for domestic and international construction and commercial disputes. Posted 10.17.11
Darlene T. Marsh, a partner in Burr & Forman's commercial real estate and banking group based in Nashville, has been elected president of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys (ACMA). She is being inducted as the organization's first woman president at the ACMA's annual meeting in San Francisco October 13-15. Posted 10-17-11
Richard Lagani, formerly of Chartis Insurance, has joined MMRGlobal, Inc. He will serve as an Executive Vice President in charge of insurance, employee benefits and banking products. Richard's office will be located in New York City. Posted 1.18.11
Reverend Helen Alexandra "Alix" Evans passed away October 12, 2008 at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. Alix was still waging a fearless and determined battle with breast cancer when she succumbed. Born November 28, 1958 in Charleston, West Virginia, she is survived by her father, James Ray Evans, and her stepmother, Jackie, who remain in West Virginia, and her sister, Ame Evans, and stepsister, Kim Smith Dieckhorner. Alix received her bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia in 1981 and both a Juris Doctor and a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt University in 1987. She was admitted to the bar in California and established a decade-long legal career while also a devoted church and choir member, pro bono volunteer, and social activist involved with social justice, prisoners' rights, anti-death penalty, and animal issues. After losing her mother, Anne Hutchison Evans also of St. Albans, to cancer, Alix changed career paths, completing her seminary studies at the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas in 1998. She returned to Los Angeles, was ordained at St. James Episcopal Church in Los Angeles and served the rest of her life at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, first as assistant and, from 2002, as rector.
Class of 1988
Ivan Reich has joined South Florida full-service law firm Nason Yeager Gerson Harris & Fumero, P.A. as a partner and lead of the firm's new Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Restructuring Practice Group. Read more here. Posted 10.8.20.
Darlene Marsh was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Posted 3.13.20
Denson N. Franklin III has been appointed senior vice president and general counsel of Birmingham-based Vulcan Materials Company. Read more here. Posted 12.19.19
Kirk Seufert of Nashville, Tennessee, died unexpectedly on June 17. At Rhodes College, Kirk won the football All American of the Year title and was recruited by the Dallas Cowboys for a short stint. After he earned his law degree, he worked in Denver and Nashville. His passion was defending and helping teens at juvenile court; he became fluent in Spanish to more capably serve immigrant children. In recent years he became an abstract painter, selling many of his paintings locally and abroad. Posted 12.3.19
Bob McKinney has been appointed as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Babcock & Wilcox. Read more here. Posted 8.20.19
Darby Dickerson, Dean of The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, was named President-Elect of the Association of American Law Schools for 2019 and will serve as President during 2020. She was unanimously selected for the position. Posted 1.15.19
David Myers Rudolph was sworn in as an Assistant Attorney General at the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Tennessee State Capitol. Posted 12.19.18
Carla Lovell, a member of Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison in Nashville, has been elected to membership as a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Carla is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Probate Study Court and a member of the Nashville Bar Association’s Probate Court, Estate Planning and Tax committees. Posted 4.24.18
Kathryn Ottensmeyer has joined Maynard Cooper & Gale in Birmingham Alabama, where she specializes in the structuring and issuance of tax-exempt bonds. Posted 2.16.18
Bennett Ross has been appointed to the Board of Trustees for the George C. Marshall Foundation. Bennett is a partner with Wiley Rein in Washington, D.C., where he represents clients before the Federal Communications Commission and in federal court and state public service commissions. Posted 1.22.2018
Nick Valencia is vice president, talent management at Intergrace in Sykesville, Maryland. Integrace oversees a family of retirement communities throughout Maryland. Previously, Nick was vice president of human resources and general counsel for Dunbar Armored in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Posted 12.15.17
Sloan Schickleris the legal and legislative counsel for the National Vehicle Leasing Association, NVLA. She represents clients in the areas of finance and corporate law. Her career began at Holland & Knight as a commercial litigation associate. Sloan was a partner in the boutique commercial firm of Schickler & Schickler, for 20 years before forming Schickler and becoming of counsel to Wong Fleming. Posted 11.29.17
Mary Beirne Touchstonehas been elected partner of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York, effective January 1, 2018. Posted 11.27.17
Darby Dickerson, Dean of John Marshall Law School, will receive the 2018 Association of American Law Schools Section Award from the Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research. Created in 1995, the award, sometimes described as “a lifetime achievement award in legal writing education,” will be presented on January 4 at the AALS Annual Meeting in San Diego. Posted 11.14.17
David M. Rudolph(BA ’85) has been appointed by Governor Bill Haslam as a Shelby County Circuit Court Judge. David has been at the Memphis law firm Bourland, Heflin, Alvarez, Minor & Matthews since 2009, and an attorney in private practice since 1989. Posted 10.18.17
Darlene Marsh has opened a boutique, virtual law office specializing in commercial real estate an environmental law. The new firm is supported by an international network of attorneys providing a broad range of legal representation and solutions. Posted 4.21.17
Bradley Gordon Smith (BA ’83) died December 15. He attended University School of Nashville from the third grade through graduation, and earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Vanderbilt. In early life he studied composition at the Blair Academy and guitar with John Knowles. He was an original member of the Young Nashvillians group and last year participated in their reunion performance. In the 90's he frequently appeared with the Dino Bradley group, along with Bill Buechler and Scott Kinney at the landmark Silver Dollar Saloon on Broadway. Later, he received international attention as an early proponent of the fretless guitar, and for performances teamed with his pal John Hughes featuring computer generated music intermingled with live guitar and electronic horn. His law practice emphasized intellectual property, music, and entertainment. He is survived by his life companion, Rebecca G. Rhodes, his parents Gretchen and Bradley Smith, and his sister, Ione L. Smith (BS’84). Posted 1.23.17
David Pugh was identified by Who’s Who Legal as being among the world’s leading construction lawyers. He is a partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in Birmingham. Posted 1.20.17
Denson Nauls Franklin III was elected by The Board of Trustees at Birmingham-Southern to serve as vice-chair for a two year term. D. is a partner in the Birmingham office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings where he focuses his practice on corporate counsel, mergers and acquisitions, finance transaction and federal and state securities matters. Posted 5.23.16
Kenneth E. McKay joined the Houston office of Baker Donelson as a shareholder where he is a member of the business litigation group. Posted 1.27.16
Jason Rosch Brown was appointed to the position of Circuit Judge for the 31st Judicial Circuit, which covers Greene County, Missouri by Governor Nixon. Jason has served as Associate Circuit Judge for the 31st Judicial Circuit since January 2005. Posted 8.3.15
Jason Rogers was included on the 2015 “Best of the Bar” awards list by the Nashville Business Journal. Jason is university counsel (ex officio) for Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Posted 5.15.15
Brent Warren Yessin was recently featured for his involvement in labor policy and union related legislation. Brent is the CEO for MODUS Healthcare Manufacturing in Tampa, Florida, a company that provides hospitals and healthcare facilities. Posted 4.26.15
Tammy L. Kennedy has been named acting general counsel of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. Tammy previously was the department's principal deputy counsel. Posted 7.16.14
Dana Perry, a shareholder with Chambliss Bahner & Stophel has been appointed to the board of directors for Meritas, a global alliance of independent business law firms. In her new role, Dana will be responsible for reviewing and establishing policy and setting strategy for the alliance. She will also act as an organizational leader, serving as a liaison to member firms on administrative issues. Dana will serve a three-year term, during which time she will also serve on the finance committee. Posted 5.7.14
Ann Wilson Wilczynskihas been appointed senior vice president in Northern Trust's Minnesota office. Ann was previously a senior personal trust relationship manager with Northern. Posted 1.14.13
Thomas Cutting Gean, former US attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, has been named Wal-Mart's golobal compliance officer for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The global FCPA compliance officer position is new for Wal-Mart. Tom was appointed U.S. attorney by President George W. Bush in 2001 and served in that position until he joined Wal-Mart's legal department in 2004. He was elected Sebastian County's prosecuting attorney in 1996, according to Tovar. Posted 7.15.13
Timothy A. Palmer has been named a shareholder in the Nashville office of Ogletree Deakins. Tim joined Ogletree Deakins in 1997 as a founding shareholder in the firm's Birmingham office. He transferred from the Birmingham office to the Nashville office this month. He specializes in both employment litigation and general civil litigation in state and federal courts. Posted 4.08.13
Dave C. Bromund, partner and co-chair of Taft Stettinius & Hollister's health and life sciences practice group, has been elected to the board of directors of the Healthcare Financial Management Association's Indiana Pressler Memorial Chapter. He will begin his term June 1. Dave also serves as chair of the public policy committee of the board. Posted 6.01.12
Ivan Jac Reich (BA'85), shareholder in the Fort Lauderdale office of GrayRobinson, was sworn in as president of the Commercial Law League of America (CLLA) on May 5 at the 80th annual CLLA Chicago/Spring meeting. A member of the CLLA since 1991, Ivan has served as an attorney board member and southern region chair. He has also served on its board of governors and is the immediate past chair of its Young Members Section and past chair elect of its Bankruptcy section. Posted 5.15.12
Steven E. Anderson has left the firm Walker Tipps & Malone to form the new law firm of Anderson & Reynolds. Steve has significant experience in various types of litigation, including commercial, product liability, civil rights claims, and medical malpractice. He focuses his practice on serious personal injury and wrongful death cases, as well as a variety of commercial litigation. Posted 1.10.12
David J. Mooney died suddenly on September 16. He was 48. David graduated from West Irondequoit High School in 1981, and earned his undergraduate degree at the State University of New York College at Cortland in 1985 before earning his J.D. at Vanderbilt. He was admitted to the Bar Association in New York, Connecticut, and the District of Columbia. David is survived by his mother, two brothers, a sister and a large extended family. Posted 10.18.11
Col. Maritza Ryan, professor and department head of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point is one of five women whose accomplishments have opened doors for women in law, while shaping the lives of people throughout the world, and will be honored with one of the legal profession's most prestigious awards. The American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession will honor Maritza at an award ceremony and luncheon on August 7 in Toronto during the ABA Annual Meeting. The Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, established in 1991, honors outstanding women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence in their area of specialty and have actively paved the way to success for others. The award is named for Margaret Brent, the first woman lawyer in America. Posted 7.20.11
Darby Dickerson is the new Dean of Texas Tech University School of Law, where she assumed her new duties in early July 2011. Formerly, Darby was Dean of Stetson University College of Law, where she joined the faculty in 1995. Posted 7.15.11
Darlene T. Marsh, a partner at Burr & Forman, has been named to the Nashville Business Journal's "Best of the Bar" list. Marsh practices with the Burr & Forman's environmental law group, as well as the commercial, real estate and finance groups. She is President-Elect of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys and will succeed to the Presidency in 2012. Marsh is also a Member of the Board of Directors of the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute, the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors and the Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women. Posted 7.15.11
Robert F. Corrigan Jr. , has been named vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Baylor College of Medicine. The appointment was made by the BCM Board of Trustees. Corrigan was a partner and business attorney with the Health Care Law Group at Fulbright & Jaworski since 1988. In that position, he has served as an adviser to BCM on a variety of issues.Robert serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center and has served as chair of the Health Law Section of the State Bar of Texas 2006-2007. He is a frequent lecturer on a variety of health law regulatory topics, including heath care reform, medical privacy and non-profit governance. Posted 1.28.11
Bennett Ross has been appointed to the Board of Trustees for the George C. Marshall Foundation. Bennett is a partner with Wiley Rein in Washington, D.C., where he represents clients before the Federal Communications Commission and in federal court and state public service commissions.
Class of 1989
Robin Bicket White has joined Latitude, a globally ranked flexible legal talent company, as Director of Legal Recruiting & Placement in the company’s Nashville office. In her new role, Robin finds exciting flexible engagements and permanent roles for outstanding attorneys and helps legal department and law firms expand their teams to meet fluctuating demand. Latitude is a full-service flexible legal talent company serving corporate legal departments and law firms nationwide. Posted 2.22.24
Tom Kruse joined Arnold & Porter in Houston as a Partner. Posted 6.6.22
Lonnie T. Brown Jr. has been named dean of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Law and Elvin E. Overton Distinguished Professor of Law. Posted 1.31.22
Jill Hai has joined the Norman Rockwell Museum board of trustees. Read more here. Posted 12.12.19
Tracy Powell , member at Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison, has been selected to serve as council member-at-large of the Health Law Section of the American Bar Association effective October 2019. Powell will serve a three-year term ending in 2022. Read more: http://www.tnledger.com/editorial/Article.aspx?id=118871 Posted 7.2.19
Jennie Scudder-Levin has been promoted to senior counsel at national plaintiff’s law firm Motley Rice in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Jennie primarily represents clients harmed by environmental contaminants and is involved in the firm’s medical device and opioid epidemic litigation. Posted 1.30.19
Thomas L. Parker of Memphis has been confirmed by the Senate as federal judge for Tennessee’s Western District. Posted 1.15.18
Henry G. Burnett, Harry, taught a short course at Vanderbilt Law School on Investor –State Arbitration in February. In addition, he recently co-authored a book on Oxford Press entitles “Arbitration of International Mining Disputes-Law and Practice”. Harry is a partner at King & Spalding in New York in the Global Disputes-International Arbitration Practice. Posted 8.24.17
Thomas Kruse has joined Baker McKenzie as partner in the firm’s Houston office. Tom joins the firm’s litigation and government enforcement practice group. Posted 8.1.17
Jeffrey W. Shea has joined Best & Flanagan in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He will practice in the firm’s real estate practice group. Posted 8.1.17
Michael Ostermeyer has joined Polsinelli as a shareholder in the firm’s real estate practice in Chicago, Illinois. Previously, Michael was partner in the Milwaukee office of Quarles & Brady. Posted 4.19.17
Thomas L. Parker of Baker Donelson has been inducted as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Posted 10.17.16
Judge Joyce Grimes Safley (BSN’77, MSN’83) will join the Knoxville-based boutique firm, The Law Office of Melinda Jacobs, in their new Nashville-area office in September. The boutique firm will specialize in representing school districts. Judge Safley has served on Tennessee’s Central Panel of Administrative, Administrative Procedures division for the past 15 years. Posted 8.23.16
Jordan Dean Mathies died April 22, 2016 in Portland, OR. Jordan was born in Florida, TX outside of Lubbock and relocated to Portland when he was nine. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 1976 and went on to obtain his masters of public administration from Portland State University. Soon afterward he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He went on to earn his J.D from Vanderbilt in 1989 and continued to practice law in Nashville before recently returning to the Portland area. He is survived by his son and three grandsons. Posted 5.18.16
Steven Mark Wells is running as a candidate in the Republican primary for the 22nd congressional district of New York. He and his brother Martin are founding partners in American Food and Vending Corporation (AFV) based in Syracuse, NY. Posted 4.5.16
Susan V. Sidwell is now member at Bass Berry Sims in Nashville. Posted 3.21.16
Michale R. Parham heads the trust division—Poplar Trust—for The Bank of Fayette County. Mike has an office in the Piperton, TN headquarters. He launched his own estate law firm in 2009. Posted 2.25.16
Louis Theros has joined MGM Grand Detroit as vice president, general counsel. Louie has nearly twenty-six years of experience in the areas of employment litigation, labor, advising and counseling clients on statutory employment compliance and gaming law. He is also active in his community as a member of Grosse Pointe Farms City Council and vice president of the Michigan Ice Hawks Hockey Association. Posted 9.17.15
John D. Buchanan has been named executive vice president for legal affairs by Comerica Incorporated. He is expected to assume the role on January 1, 2016. Prior to joining Comerica, John was with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, where he served as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas's board of directors, a position he had held since March 2012. Posted 9.17.15
Olen McCadoo Bailey Jr. has received his masters of laws (LLM) in elder law with honors or distinction from Stetson University College of Law. Mac is the president of The Bailey Law Firm in Memphis, Tennessee where he focuses his practice in the areas of estate taxation and planning, asset protection planning, charitable gift planning, business succession planning and elder law. Posted 7.8.15
Kim Harvey Looney was included on the “Best of the Bar” awards list by the Nashville Business Journal. Kim is a partner with the Nashville, Tennessee office for Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, where she focuses her practice in the healthcare industry. Posted 5.17.15
Howard Henry Lamar III (BA'83) was included on the 2015 “Best of the Bar” awards list by the Nashville Business Journal. Howard is a member in the Nashville, Tennessee office of Bass Berry Sims where he practices corporate law. Posted 5.15.15
Robert George Evans has been appointed the Freudenberg North America president and the group's regional representative. With this appointment, he also becomes the member of Freudenberg's Global Executive Team, representing the North American region. As president of Freudenberg North America, Bob heads the regional corporate center, a team of functional specialists who provide services and guidance to all Freudenberg businesses with operations in North America. As the regional representative, he is responsible for representing the Freudenberg Group's interests in the region while working on cross-divisional cooperation of all Freudenberg entities in the region. At the same time, Bob continues his current responsibilities as the Group's general counsel for the region. Posted 1.26.15
Stephen Craine Mahon (BA'86) was reappointed managing partner of Squire Sanders. He is a member of the firm's Cincinnati, Ohio, office, where he focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and hedge fund investing, and corporate financing activities. Posted 1.13.14
Louis Theros, a shareholder at Butzel Longhas been named a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Louis is a shareholder, vice president and serves on Butzel Long's board of directors. He concentrates his legal practice in the areas of employment litigation, labor, advising and counseling clients on statutory employment compliance and gaming law. Louis has more than 24 years experience, including first chair trial and appellate responsibilities, in employment discrimination and harassment matters and large class action lawsuits, throughout Michigan and the Midwest. Posted 8.19.13
Paul Wendell Kruse, a member at Bone McAllester Norton, researched and co-wrote an article that has been published in a leading intellectual property journal. "Is Profiting from the Online Use of Another's Property Unjust? The Use of Brand Names as Paid Search Keywords" appears in IDEA: The IP Law Review, Vol. 52, p. 131, 2013. The article sets out to answer whether Google's profiting from the use of others' brand in its AdWords program is unjust. Paul's co-authors included Vanderbilt Law professor, Daniel Gervais; and Martin L. Holmes (JD'12), attorney with Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein. Posted 5.1.13
Michael Adam Ketover was recently honored with the Peace Corps' Director's Distinguished Service Award for outstanding achievement. The Director's Distinguished Service Award is the Peace Corps' highest form of recognition for distinguished achievement. The Award is granted for distinguished service, creative ability, initiative, and courage under difficult circumstances. Mike was honored along with other members of a team that assessed safety and security conditions at several Peace Corps' posts and the impact on management, programs, and training. Mike is a former Peace Corps staff member (Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Ecuador, Peru, and Tanzania) and Peace Corps volunteer (Honduras, Guyana, and Dominican Republic).
Mike also received a Silver Medal from the Secretary of the Department of Commerce in 2009, the second highest honorary award given by the Department, for evaluative work related to federal fisheries management and was honored by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity & Efficiency in 2010 (efforts conducting critical security penetration testing at the U.S. Census Bureau's Decennial Census data capture centers nationwide) and 2009 (fisheries management). He presently manages a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) poverty-reduction project in Ghana, West Africa. Posted 3.1.13
Troy Blinn Froderman, chair of the insurance coverage/bad faith litigation and environmental litigation practice groups at the national law firm of Polsinelli Shughart has been recommended by Benchmark Litigation as a 2013 Arizona Litigation Star." Posted 2.13.13
Henry G. Burnett has joined the New York office at King & Spalding, continuing the firm's expansion of its leading international arbitration practice. An experienced trial lawyer, Harry concentrates on international commercial and investor-state arbitration matters and ADR proceedings as well as domestic and international litigation in state and federal courts. Posted 8.21.12
Michael J. Ostermeyer, a partner at Quarles & Brady, has been recognized in the Chambers USA 2012 directory for his excellence in real estate law. Posted 6.12.12
Bradley Gerson Siegal has joined Retail Specialists Inc., the Birmingham-based commercial real estate firm, as the firm's chief investment officer and general counsel. The position was formed specifically for Brad, who has been practicing law for more than 22 years and counted the firm among his clients. Posted 5.8.12
John D. Buchanan was appointed senior vice president, general counsel and secretary to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Previously, John served as the general counsel of several S&P 500 banks. Posted 4.3.12
Steve Mahon has been named Global Managing Partner of Squire Sanders and will join the firm's global board. Steve will be based at Squire Sanders' U.S. offices in Cincinnati, Ohio, and New York. He has previously served as leader of the firm's global practice and as managing partner of the firm's Cincinnati office. He served on the firm's management committee from 2004-08,. Posted 1.23.12
Scott Finch has recently joined the management team of Pernix as Vice President, Finance and Corporate Strategy. Finch brings extensive financing and M&A experience to Pernix, having completed nearly 100 transactions totaling in excess of $40 billion in gross proceeds, as a banker or member of management for both publicly traded or privately held companies. Pernix Group, Inc. is a global company with its international headquarters located in Lombard, Illinois. The company is engaged in three primary business segments: construction services as a Design-Build General Contractor in the Federal Government market; building, managing and investing in credit-worthy and bankable Energy Projects as an Independent Power Producer and General Contractor; and as a provider of RF Transmitter Design, Installation, and Service. Posted 1.10.12
Charles J. Biederman, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Manatt, has joined the board of directors of the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Los Angeles. Jeff served on the board of the High Hopes School from 2000-05, and has served on the board of the Los Angeles Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Man & Woman of the Year Campaign since 2009. At Manatt, his entertainment practice focuses primarily on the representation of artists and entities in the areas of music, film, television, books and new technologies, as well as on negotiating entertainment industry agreements. Jeff is also co-author of the casebook, Law and Business of the Entertainment Industries (5th edition). Posted 10.17.11
Kathy Hunt Pennington is a staff attorney with Waller Lansden. She focuses her practice on corporate real estate. Previously, Kathy was an attorney beneath Chief Judge Todd J. Campbell of the U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Posted 10.17.11
Anne Owings Ford has been named a member of McDonald Hopkins, based in Cleveland, where she focuses on litigation. Anne serves as co-chair of the firm's Pro Bono and Public Service Committee. Her litigation experience includes products liability, insurance, employment, state and federal discrimination and more. Posted 10.17.11