Class Notes posted in the order they were received, with the newest posts on top.
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Class of 2000
Jeffrey Baker has received appointment to serve as Associate Dean of Clinical Education and Global PRograms on the senior leadership team at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in Malibu, California. Posted 8.2.22
Andrea P. Perry joins Spencer Fane LLP as Partner. Posted 6.6.22
Derek P. Linde was promoted to Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Viad Corp. Read the full press release here. Posted 3.21.22
Simon Gaugush has been elected to Shareholder at Carlton Fields. Posted 3.21.22
Ian Brown has been promoted to Senior Counsel at Bracewell LLP. Posted 3.21.22
Price Thompson has been announced as the Wilson Bank & Trust’s first in-house general counsel. Posted 10.29.21
Anne Lowry Taylor has been named Chief Disciplinary Counsel for the Disciplinary Board of the New Mexico Supreme Court. Posted 1.25.21
Jeff Baker has received a promotion to full Clinical Professor of Law at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law where he also serves as Assistant Dean of Clinical Education and Global Programs and directs the Community Justice Clinic. He and his family have lived in Malibu, California, since 2013. Posted 10.9.20
Maria Lopez Evangelista was elected to a seat on the San Francisco Superior Court. Read more here. Posted 9.23.20
Andrea Perry was named to Nashville Business Journal’s Best of the Bar, a prestigious list that recognizes leading legal professionals from across Middle Tennessee. Posted 7.2.19
Jimm Lasser won an Emmy for his documentary "Long Live Benjamin". It won for the category of "New Approaches in Documentary" at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards, Oct. 1st in New York. "Long Live Benjamin" was distributed by New York Times Op Docs in 2017. Jimm was the director, interviewer and cameraperson for the film. Posted 10.22.2018
Winston King has been named chief administrative officer and general counsel at Guidewire Software. He is responsible for Guidewire's worldwide administrative functions, including human resources, legal, recruiting, and corporate services, while also serving as Guidewire's general counsel and secretary. Posted 07.12.2018
Dr. Zhaoyang (Paul) Li has joined Taylor English Duma as partner in the firm’s intellectual property practice group. With a Ph.D. in chemistry and fluency in Mandarin, Paul helps his clients navigate the complex nature of Chinese trade secrets and intellectual property rights. His practice includes patent prosecution, patent infringement assessment, patent right licensing agreements, patentability and intellectual property counseling and due diligence. Posted 6.4.2018
Kevin Kent , partner at Conrad O’Brien in Philadelphia, was recognized as a “2018 Law Firm Innovator” by The Legal Intelligencer. Kevin was recognized for his work in the firm as a leader in developing and regularly using alternative fee arrangements (AFAs). Kevin’s practice focuses on advising clients nationally on risk management. He represents companies in matters involving civil fraud, fiduciary liability, director and officer liability, professional malpractice, government civil enforcement actions, government audits, employment litigation, and internal investigations. Posted 6.4.2018
Reuben Rosof has joined Husch Blackwell as partner in the firm’s Houston office. Reuben advises financial institutions on workouts and restructurings, LIHTC financings, cash flow loans, asset-based loans, commercial and industrial loans, acquisition financings, construction loans, permanent loans, syndicated loans, letters of credit and the purchase of bonds. Posted 4.24.18
Brant K. Brown (BA '97) has joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher as counsel in the firm’s Washington office. Previously, he was associate general counsel at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. Posted 1.15.18
Angela M. Simpson was appointed vice president, US Government Affairs, of ZTE USA. Angela is based in Washington D.C. and will manage of the company’s government relations and public policy matters in the United States. Posted 9.20.17
Tennessee Speaker of the House, Beth Harwell, has appointed Austin McMullen to the Tennessee Housing Development Agency board of directors. Austin is partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in Nashville, the vice chair of the Tennessee Real Estate Commission and the former mayor of Oak Hill. Posted 4.19.17
Chris Thorsen is a shareholder in the business litigation group for the Nashville office of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz. Posted 7.27.16
Charles Robert Bone has been named president and chief executive officer of Bone McAllester Norton in Nashville. Charles Bone concentrates his law practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and advising emerging businesses, entrepreneurs, officers and directors and governmental entities, including serving as general counsel for the Convention Center Authority of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Posted 4.5.16
Michael Robert Houston was appointed senior vice president and general counsel for Tejon Ranch Co. in Tejon Ranch, California. Mike is currently the city attorney for the City of Anaheim, a position he’s held since 2013, and has experience in corporate governance, municipal law, real estate, land use and environmental issues. Posted 4.5.16
Aaron Cooper will join Washington, D.C.-based company BSA | The Software Alliance Feb. 22nd as vice president, strategic policy initiatives. Prior to joining BSA, Aaron was of counsel at Covington and Burling. Posted 2.25.16
Alicia Griffin Powell was named a "2015 Most Powerful and Influential Woman" by the National Diversity Council for the Pittsburgh region. Alicia is chief counsel of PNC Financial Services Group's asset management group. She also chairs PNC Legal’s award-winning diversity and inclusion council. Posted 12.4.15
Zhaoyang Li joined Duane Morris in the firm’s San Francisco office as a partner in the intellectual property practice group. Paul, who also has a Ph.D. in chemistry, counsels clients on complex intellectual property matters involving Chinese companies, including patent prosecution, patent infringement assessment, patent right licensing agreements, patentability, and intellectual property counseling and due diligence. Posted 12.4.15
Emily Hatch Bowman has been appointed chair of the firm’s real estate group. Bowman is a partner in the firm’s Nashville, Tennessee office, where she represents financial institutions and other companies in commercial and real estate lending and transactional matters. Posted 9.17.15
Rod Kanter has been elected as a Regular Fellow of the American College of Bond Counsel. Rod is a partner in the Birmingham, Alabama office of Bradly Arant Boult Cummings where his primary practice includes serving as bond counsel, underwriter's counsel, and counsel to credit enhancers in all types of tax-exempt and taxable debt financings. Posted 8.10.15
Brian Lee Eftink (BA’96) has been featured in an “In-House Counsel Profile” by the National Law Journal. Brian works for Wacker Chemical Corporation as the company’s vice president for legal. Posted 8.28.15
Ashley Lynne West has received the 2015 Attorney of the Year Award from the State Bar of California’s Solo and Small Firm Section. Ashley was also one of twelve women recognized on a 2014 list for “Women Who Mean Business” in the Sacramento Business Journal, and she was also included on the paper's 2015 “Best of the Bar” list. Ashley is a shareholder and attorney with Carter West in the firm’s Sacramento, California office where she focuses on corporate and real estate transactions. Posted 8.3.15
Andrea P. Perry was included on the 2015 “Best of the Bar” awards list by the Nashville Business Journal. Andrea is a member with Bone McAllester Norton in the firm’s Nashville, Tennessee office. She focuses her practice in the areas of real estate, commercial lending, general corporate, entertainment and tax-exempt organizations. Posted 5.15.15
Brett M. Figlewski is now the first legal director of the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York after more than ten years advocating for victims of gender violence as an attorney with Sanctuary for Families in New York City. Brett will work to envision and implement a City-wide legal program so that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender New Yorkers have meaningful access to legal services and representation. Posted 3.27.15
Jordan Steven Arnold has been elected managing director at K2 Intelligence. In addition to heading K2's Art Risk Advisory Practice, Jordan leads investigative and incident response engagements for corporations, law and financial services firms and family offices. Posted 12.9.14
Daniel Adam Cohen has joined Baker Donelson as a shareholder and chair of the firm’s higher education group. Dan will focus his practice on representing colleges and universities in their legal affairs. Posted 10.17.14
Eleanor Griffith McDonald has been promoted to executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Ingram Industries Inc. in Nashville. She joined Ingram in 2006 and previously served as vice president and deputy general counsel. Posted 7.16.14
Esther Rae DeCambra died March 17. Esther grew up in Hawaii and attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, on a full academic scholarship. She then attended Vanderbilt Law School where she developed lifelong relationships with members of the Elliot family of Cleveland and Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she lived and practiced several years. Since 2004, she lived and worked in Savannah,Georgia. Esther was a warm, witty and intelligent woman loved by many. Her contagious laugh and hard fought smile will be sorely missed. Posted 3.25.14
Jordan Steven Arnold has joined K2 Intelligence, an investigative and risk consulting firm, as a director in the New York office. Jordan previously served as a prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, where he created and headed its Financial Intelligence Unit. Prior to that, Jordan served on the homicide chart and as lead prosecutor for the NYPD Major Case Squad. Posted 2.17.14
Andrew David Kaplan has been elected partner with Crowell & Moring . Andrew is a member of the firm's Washington, D.C. office where he practices with the advertising and product risk management and product liability and torts groups. Posted 1.20.14
Ashley Lynne West founded Carter West on May 1. The firm focuses on corporate and real estate transactional matters. Additionally, in September, Ashley was named to the Sacramento Business Journal's first ever "Best of the Bar," and was recognized as one of 40 women leaders in law in the state of California by The Recorder. Posted 12.13.13
Timothy Louis Meyer (MBA'02) has joined the Nashville office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough as of counsel. Tim will focus his practice on real estate, mergers and acquisitions, corporate and loan transactions. Prior to joining Nelson Mullins, Tim spent six years at Health Care REIT. Posted 11.14.13
Alicia Powell, formerly a partner at Reed Smith, was recently named chief counsel of investment advisers and investment companies at PNC Financial Services Group. In this role Alicia is responsible for all legal and regulatory matters arising from PNC's mutual fund and investment advisory businesses. Alicia resides in Pittsburgh with her husband, Colin, and their two children. Posted 9.23.13
Jeff R. Baker has joined the faculty at Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, California, as an associate clinical professor of law and the director of clinical education. Formerly, he was an associate professor of law and the director of clinical programs at Faulkner University Jones School of Law in Montgomery, Alabama. Posted 7.16.13
William W. Berry III has been named the University of Mississippi's 2013 Teacher of the Year. An assistant professor of law in the University's Khayat Law Center, William was rewarded for his dedication to teaching on April 11, when Chancellor Dan Jones introduced him during the 70th annual Honors Day Convocation as the recipient of the 2013 Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teaching Award. A prolific author, William has published 16 articles in legal journals over the past five years. Posted 5.1.13
Thomas Clark Quinlen was hired in March to handle litigation, claims, safety, and data privacy issues for FedEx Trade Networks. Posted 4.15.13
Jennifer Kirk Dunlap , a partner in Parker Poe's employment and benefits practice group, has been selected to the Charleston Regional Business Journal's 2013 "40 Under 40" list, which recognizes rising young business leaders in the Charleston area. Jenni has been with Parker Poe since 2006 and is the head of the firm's South Carolina Employment team. She focuses her practice on employment litigation and counsels clients in all areas of employment law. Posted 3.6.13
Michael Robert Houston, of Cummins & White has been named the city of Anaheim's interim City Attorney. Mike has a transactional, regulatory and litigation practice that involves advising private parties and public agencies on the nuances of developing property in California's complex regulatory environment as well as on political law and government ethics matters. Posted 3.6.13
Andrea P. Perry has been elected to the board of directors of the Nashville Bar Association. Her term begins in January 2013. Andrea is an attorney with Bone McAllester Norton. In 2012, she received the Athena Young Professional Award, and she was recently honored with the Napier-Looby Bar Association Outstanding Community Service Award. She serves on the board of directors for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), the Youth Life Learning Center and the Rotary Club of Nashville. Andrea was also announced as one of The Nashville Business Journal's "40 under 40." Posted 1.4.13
Robert Louis Strayer II has been announced U.S. Senator Bob Corker's legislative director and general counsel. Rob joins Senator Corker's staff from the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington where he serves as director of the Homeland Security Project. Rob is a veteran Senate aide, previously serving from 2006 to 2011 as deputy staff director of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. As legislative director and general counsel, Rob will supervise the legislative staff and serve as Senator Corker's primary advisor on Senate procedure and legislation. He assumes his position on September 4. Posted 8.31.12
Daniel Adam Cohen has been promoted to special counsel at Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman. Dan focuses his practice on business and commercial litigation; Title IX; labor and employment; products liability; professional malpractice; school and university law; and sports law. Posted 8.29.12
Tania Nicole Archer (BA'97), public affairs attorney with Moore & Van Allen in the firm's Charlotte office, authored an article that appeared on Law360 on July 13 and printed in Law360 newsletters on July 16. The article, "Money as Political Speech in the 2012 Elections," analyzes the national argument on money as political speech and corporations as political speakers following a landmark federal case and leading into the 2012 elections. Posted 8.1.12
William W. Berry III was awarded a Ph.D. in law from the University of Oxford Law School, Green Templeton College, Oxford, United Kingdom, in June. His doctoral dissertation was titled “Assessing Proportionality in Capital Cases: A Case Study of Ohio.” He earned an M.S. in criminology in 2007. He is an assistant professor of Law at the University of Mississippi School of law, having joined the permanent law faculty there in 2009. Before teaching law, he was an associate with Shea & Gardner (now Goodwin Procter) in Washington, D.C. After earning his law degree, he clerked for Judge Thomas A. Wiseman on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee and for Judge Gilbert S. Merritt Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Posted 8.1.12
Austin Lenoy McMullen has been re-elected to the Oak Hill Board of Commissioners. He was unopposed. Austin, a partner at the Nashville office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, was elected to the board in 2008. Posted 6.23.12
Christin Camp Lumpkin has been promoted to vice president and division general counsel of Global Payments Inc. in late 2011. Global is a publicly traded world-wide payments processor headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Christin and her husband, Michael, welcomed a baby girl on May 9, 2011, Caroline Parrish Lumpkin. Posted 5.8.12
Reuben Douglas Rosof has been promoted to partner in the firm Gardere Wynne Sewell. Reuben practices in the firm's Houston office. His expertise is in finance and real estate, including extensive experience representing lenders, borrowers, and corporate trustees in financial transactions. Posted 4.17.12
Jeffrey R. Baker received the 2011-2012 Professor of the Year award at Faulkner University Jones School of Law where he is an Associate Professor of Law and the Director of Clinical Programs. Posted 4.3.12
Doug Abell has been appointed general counsel of Curo Health Services which maintains its corporate support center in Mooresville, North Carolina and provides high-quality home healthcare and hospice services throughout various communities across the United States. Posted 2.20.12
Eleanor Griffith McDonald has been promoted to vice president and deputy general counsel for Ingram Industries in Nashville. She previously served as vice president and assistant general counsel. Eleanor will continue to report to Ingram's general counsel and secretary and continue to provide legal advice on various legal matters of Ingram Industries and its business units. She will add new senior management responsibilities and assist Ingram's general counsel with legal function policies and priorities for the company. Before joining Ingram in 2006, Eleanor was in private law practice at Greenebaum Doll & McDonald and with Boult Cummings Conners & Berry. Posted 1.19.12
Andre Burba has been promoted to managing director of Pine Brook's energy investment team. Andre joined the New York-based energy and financial services investor in 2008, having previously worked for Credit Suisse as a principal investor in the special opportunities group where he was responsible for investments in the energy, metals and mining, renewables and oil and gas sectors. Posted 1.10.12
Rick Garner Sanders Jr. founded the new law firm, Aaron & Sanders, with law partner Tara Mooney Aaron (BA '97) in July of 2011. Aaron & Sanders focuses on technology and intellectiual property law and is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Posted 1.10.12
Kevin Kent, a partner at Conrad O'Brien in Philadelphia, expanded his practice to include service to Irish businesses and law firms that need assistance with legal matters in the U.S. He is also licensed as a lawyer in Ireland. Posted 11.9.11
Jimm Lasser won an Emmy for Outstanding Commercial on TV. Posted 11.9.11
John F. (Jack) Preis, a law professor at the University of Richmond, argued a pro bono case before the U.S. Supreme Court Nov. 1. Jack represented Richard Lee Pollard, who contends that he should have the right to sue employees of privately run prisons over cruel and unusual punishment, a right guaranteed prisoners in facilities run directly by the government by the U.S. constitution, but not currently available to prisoners in privately run institutions, who must confine their complaints to damage claims in state courts. Posted 11.9.11
Mary H. Beard, senior counsel at FedEx Corporation in Memphis, was inducted as a new fellow of the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (TBA YLD) at the association's convention in June. Posted 10.17.11
Meredith Ferguson has joined Northlich's Columbus office as a management supervisor. Northlich is a brand engagement agency, and Meredith works with the Ohio State University Medical Center, the James and the Ohio Lottery Commission. Meredith previously managed account teams for clients such as Champion Windows, Dirt Devil, Hoover and the Cleveland Clinic. She has also worked for University Hospitals of Cleveland and the British Embassy in Washington D.C. Posted 10.17.11
Sondra D. Keys, a public policy advisor at Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz in Nashville, graduated from the Tennessee Bar Association's Leadership Law program in July. The Leadership Law program prepares Tennessee lawyers to serve as leaders in their profession and communities. Posted 10.17.11
Jessica Clancy Crowson, Member at Pennington Law Firm, has been named a 2011 Woman of Influence by Greater Columbia Business Monthly for her outstanding contributions to her profession, company and community. Jessica's handles the litigation for the Pennington Law Firm, focusing on real property disputes, eminent domain, rights-of-way issues, telecommunications law, and easement rights. She handles all aspects of business law as well as represents wireless communications carriers and related industries. Posted 7.15.11
Rob Strayer is the Director of the National Security Preparedness Group at the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC). Led by former 9/11 Commission Chair Tom Kean and Vice Chair Lee Hamilton, the BPC's National Security Preparedness Group is the successor to the 9/11 Commission. Previously, Rob served as the Republican Deputy Staff Director for Senator Susan Collins on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee where he oversaw the development of national security legislation and oversight investigations. Posted 5.6.11
Jennifer Kirk Dunlap has been elected a partner at Parker Poe. Jenni is an attorney in the firm's Charleston, SC office. She practices in the areas of employment and labor law and litigation, with a primary focus on issues within the resort and hospitality industry. Posted 3.10.11
Suzanne C. McNabb has joined the Cincinnati office of Thompson Hine as a member of the Corporate Transactions & Securities practice. Suzanne focuses her practice on general corporate counseling, commercial finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and real estate transactions. She has more than 10 years of extensive experience in transactional and contract work for private companies and commercial banks including capital restructuring, commercial finance, private equity, real estate and strategic business consulting. Posted 2.14.11
Jason C. Elvers has been named partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. Jason is a member of the technology and intellectual property group in the Columbus office. His practice includes assisting businesses to structure technology transactions and safeguard intellectual property as well as working on general copyright and entertainment law issues. He also has extensive experience in software licensing and development agreements, telecommunications services agreements, website development, hosting agreements, technology services and outsourcing agreements. Posted 1.4.11
Class of 2001
Michelle Pettit: Judge Michelle M. Pettit was appointed as a Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Additionally, she serves as a Military Judge in the Navy Reserves. Posted 6.6.24
Dax Lopex has been appointed as the attorney member of the Hearing Panel of the Judicial Qualifications Commission. Posted 7.25.22
Scott Schwieger is now the General Counsel of Summit BHC. Mr. Schwieger was formerly Chief Compliance Officer of Acadia Healthcare. Posted 10.19.21
Scott Burns rejoined Faegre Drinker as counsel in the real estate practice in Fort Wayne. Scott returned to the firm from Sagamore Medical Recovery Services, LLC, and was formerly with Faegre Baker Daniels from 2005 to 2013. Posted 10.19.21
Christopher D. Booth published an article in the Small Wars Journal on Recommitting to Pack-animals Across the Spectrum of Conflict. Read Full Article here. Posted 5.2021
Judge Walter Davis’ work information changed per his 2019 appointment to the bench in Georgia. Read more here. Posted 12.3.20.
E. M. Lysonge has joined Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) as Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary. Posted 4.3.20
Tanya Triche Dawood has been nominated to the Workers' Compensation Medical Fee Advisory Board in Illinois. Read more here. Posted 4.2.20
Matthew Bathon has been promoted to partner at Steptoe & Johnson. Posted 3.24.20
Walt Davis was unanimously confirmed to serve as the first business court judge for the new Business Court for the State of Georgia. Read more here. Posted 8.20.19
Chris Smith has joined Epstein Becker Green as Senior Counsel. Chris’ practice focuses on pharmacy law, drug distribution, and reimbursement issues. Posted 7.2.19
Tiana Raby has been promoted to managing counsel of regulatory affairs at Entergy Mississippi, based in Jackson. Tiana joined Entergy’s legal department as senior counsel in 2014 and was named managing counsel in 2017. Posted 5.8.19
Justin Riess is now serving as partner at Haynes and Boone in Charlotte. Justin focuses on leveraged finance, specialty finance, private equity finance and syndicated lending. As a partner in our Finance Practice Group, Justin represents lenders and borrowers in a variety of complex transactions. Posted 03.13.19
Shahrooz Shahnavaz has been asked to join the faculty of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles as an adjunct Professor, teaching Corporate Tax II and another course in the fall semester. Posted 1.9.18
Chad White received the 2nd place prize at the 2018 Duke Law Tech Lab Demo Day for his work developing innovative legal tech solution for construction professionals. The technology, called Smart Lien, is positioned to continue growing statewide through Tennessee as well as nationally to provide a quick and affordable method for filing liens. Posted 11.09.2018
Gov. John Hickenlooper appointed Juan G. Villaseñor as a district court judge to serve in the 8th Judicial District Court. Villaseñor fills a vacancy occasioned by the retirement of the Honorable Devin R. Odell. Read more: https://www.colorado.gov/governor/news/gov-hickenlooper-appoints-judges-8th-judicial-district-court-and-fremont-county-court Posted 9.18.18
Fred Dusel III died June 5 after a long battle with lung cancer. He was a Special Forces veteran of the Vietnam War and earned his law degree from Vanderbilt at the age of 55. During his time at Vanderbilt he was a member of the Vanderbilt Old Boys Rugby Club, which comprised of graduate students from across the university. He was known as an artist, scholar and true gentleman. Posted 6.28.2018
Rob McGuire has joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee as an assistant U.S. attorney. Posted 4.24.18
Anna L. Barry is now serving as general counsel, senior vice president and corporate secretary at Jounce Therapeutics. Anna has a Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry from Yale University and is experienced in intellectual property and patent law. Posted 2.16.18
Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin has appointed Lauren Adams Ogden, of Louisville, as circuit judge to serve in the Family Court for Kentucky’s 30th Judicial Circuit, Division 4. Posted 1.15.18
Jennifer Graham (BA ’97) has been promoted to counsel for Hughes Hubbard & Reed. Jennifer is a member of the corporate department and a member of the firm’s securities practice. She is based in the firm’s New York office. Posted 1.15.18
Laura Hua Luo has joined the New York office of King & Wood Mallesons as partner. Her practice focuses on corporate transactional matters. Posted 11.14.17
Costin Shamble was appointed university attorney at Austin Peay State University on March 1. Costin provides legal counsel to each of the institution’s organizational units and conducts policy review and monitors the university’s compliance with legal requirements. In addition, Costin chairs the university Accessibility Committee which has oversight of policies related to accessibility. Posted 5.17.17
Michael Bronson is partner at Dinsmore & Shohl in Cincinnati, Ohio. Michael previously worked in the Cincinnati office of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. Posted 7.28.16
Justin Adams is an attorney with Bone McAllester Norton in Nashville where he focuses his practice on business litigation and dispute resolution. Previously, he practiced with Trauger & Tuke for thirteen years. Posted 7.27.16
Joycelyn Ashanti Stevenson has been elected to the lead the Nashville Bar Association—she is first African-American woman to lead the NBA. Joycelyn is a shareholder in the Nashville office of Littler Mendelson where she focuses on labor and employment and business immigration law. Posted 1.27.16
E.M. Lysonge was appointed to vice president, general counsel & secretary for CafePress, Inc. on November 9. Ekumene will report to the CafePress Chairman & CEO Fred Durham. Prior to joining CafePress, he served as vice president, legal affairs for Churchill Downs Incorporated, producer of the Kentucky Derby. Ekumene also previous occupied in-house roles with the Pedcor Companies and Simon Property Group. Earlier this year, he was also recognized in Savoy magazine's 2015 Most Influential Black Lawyers . Posted 11.10.15
Brendan Andrew Thompson has joined Bridgestone Americas as senior counsel. He will manage their NFL, NHL, and IRL sponsorships. Additionally, he recently played the role of M.C. Hammer in a local production of “Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt Em”, which explores the life of M.C. Hammer (Stanley Burrell) and the ups and downs of his friendship and working relationship with fellow rapper, Vanilla Ice (Robert Van Winkle). Brendan received the Fisher-Doorakian award of achievement for his efforts. Posted 9.17.15
Roy Andrew Partain is a reader in energy law within the School of Law at the University of Aberdeen in Aberdeen, Scotland. His research focuses on the impacts of upcoming energy technologies on society, the environment, and on upon law itself. Posted 8.28.15
James Randolph Michels (BA’98) has launched Trust Tree Legal, an online trademark service company that provides four application packages, with two partners. Posted 6.25.15
Joycelyn Ashanti Stevenson , a shareholder in the Nashville, Tennessee office of Littler Mendelson has been elected President-Elect of the Nashville Bar Association (NBA) for a one-year term, which commenced on January 1, 2015. She assumed the role of president in January 2016. Also, she was included on the 2015 “Best of the Bar” awards list by the Nashville Business Journal. Posted 5.15.15
David Wayne Dulabon joined Pennsylvania State University’s office of general counsel as associate general counsel in January 2014. Prior to joining Penn State’s office of general counsel, Dave served as a staff attorney at the Federal Trade Commission’s northeast regional office in New York City. Posted 3.24.15
Milen Saev and Rose Hernandez (JD '07) have announced the opening of Saev Hernandez Immigration Practice, PLLC. The two partners previously practiced immigration law at Rose Immigration Law Firm. They focus on employment-based, family-based and humanitarian immigration law. Rosez and Milen, both graduates of Vanderbilt University School of Law, combine to speak fluent Spanish, Russian and Bulgarian. Milen focuses primarily in business immigration, including temporary work visas, PERM labor certification applications, permanent residence cases, consular visa applications, I-9 compliance and other immigration-related matters for businesses, universities and individual clients. Posted 8.12.2014
Walter West Davis and his wife, Michelle, welcomed a son, Parker Beck Davis, on January 26. Posted 3.25.14
Lesli N. Gaither has joined the Atlanta, Georgia, office of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton as counsel in the firm's complex business litigation team. Prior to joining Kilpatrick, Lesli was an associate with Dow Lohnes & Albertson. Posted 1.20.14
Jeremy Daniel Clark has been appointed vice president of LifePoint Hospitals, based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Jeremy will take on this new role in addition to his current position of associate general counsel. Prior to joining LifePoint, Jeremy was a corporate counsel at Community Health Systems. Posted 12.13.13
Christopher Robert Smith has been named director of federal public policy at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS). Chris began his new role with NACDS on August 27. The new director-level position will further enhance the scope of policy expertise within NACDS' government affairs and public policy department. Utilizing his policy experience, Chris will provide policy guidance on pharmacy issues primarily at the federal level in the area of patient care, including Medicaid, medical homes, health exchanges and accountable care organizations. Chris previously served as director of policy and regulatory affairs for the National Community Pharmacists Association. Posted 9.19.13
Jacquelyn Prickett Maroney has been named shareholder at Ogletree Deakins in Austin, Texas. Jacky represents employers in business immigration matters. Her husband, Patrick Charles Maroney, also class of 2001, is the General Counsel for Moxie Software, Inc. Posted 3.1.13
Todd Giles (MBA'01) was recently promoted to managing director at BMO Harris Bank. Earlier this year, Todd aided in opening a new corporate banking office in Atlanta, where he continues to lead BMO's efforts. Posted 2.5.13
Christopher David Booth and his wife, Lawrie (Wiseman) Booth (MBA'02), welcomed their second daughter, Penelope Wren Booth. Chris is also newly assigned to the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. Posted 11.16.12
Cherron M. Payne was appointed as a magistrate by the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch to serve as a judge for small claims and motor vehicle matters. Cherron is also the founder and managing principal of ACP Law Firm, LLC, is an instructor of law at Northwestern Connecticut Community College, and a contract specialist for the University of Connecticut Health Center. Last fall, Cherron was selected as one of Hartford's “40 under Forty” which honors the top 40 professionals under the age of 40 in Hartford County, Connecticut. She was also honored by the Connecticut Law Tribune as a “Minority in the Law High Achiever.” Posted 8.21.12
Robert L. Hess II (BE '98) has joined the University of Missouri System's general counsel's office, and primarily represents the University, its hospitals and clinics, medical schools, and other health professional schools on health care issues. Before joining the general counsel's office, Robert was an attorney in the Jefferson City office of Husch Blackwell from 2002 to 2012 (and a partner in the firm from 2009 to 2012). Robert's private practice focused on administrative law and health care regulatory work. Posted 8.7.12
Christopher Robert Smith will join Widener University School of Law as a visiting assistant professor of law beginning in the fall of 2012. Chris, whose research, writing and publishing focuses on medical liability and health care payment and delivery system reform, will be teaching health law courses. Chris has published 5 law review/journal articles in the past 2 years. His most recent article was published in June 2012 in the Vermont Law Review and is titled Somebody's Watching Me: Protecting Patient Privacy in De-Identified Prescription Health Information. Posted 6.22.12
Laura H. Luo has been elected partner at Winston & Strawn. She is currently based in the firm's Shanghai office after relocating there from New York in 2009. Laura is a corporate attorney focusing on corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions, foreign direct and outbound investment, capital markets transactions, and U.S. securities compliance and corporate governance matters. Posted 5.15.12
Michael James Bronson, a partner with Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease, has been named a young lawyer to watch in the government contracts industry by national law journal, Law360. Michael was one of only four lawyers nationally to be named a government contracts rising star honoree - a lawyer younger than 40 whose accomplishments in major litigation or transactions belie their age - byLaw360. He was selected for his work securing dismissals of more than a half-dozen False Claims Act (FCA) cases over the past several years and for his work successfully defending a client in FCA suits demanding billions of dollars in damages. Posted 5.8.12
Blaine H. Smith has been elected to membership in the firm Bass Berry & Sims. Blaine's practice includes high-end, sophisticated estate planning, estate administration and probate litigation. Posted 2.20.12
Jeremy Kernodle has been named partner at Haynes and Boone in Dallas. He practices in the firm's appellate practice group in Dallas, where he has represented corporations, boards of directors and individuals in appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court, the Texas Supreme Court and numerous intermediate federal and state courts. Posted 1.19.12
Thomas H. Fusonie has been named a partner in the Columbus office of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. Fusonie is a member of the litigation group and his practice is focused in fiduciary litigation, eminent domain litigation, employment litigation, real property and commercial disputes. Posted 1. 10.12
Jamie Nicholson was promoted to senior vice president and team leader within Nashville Bank and Trust's wealth management services. Jamie worked several years at SunTrust before joining NBT in 2007 as a senior wealth advisor. Posted 11.9.11
Tilley Delquan Wilhite died on September 26, 2011. She was 37. Born in Tuscaloosa, Tilley earned her B.S. in psychology at Yale University before earning her J.D. at Vanderbilt. She was a member of the Alabama bar. She is survived by her parents, a brother and a large extended family.
Walt Davis was promoted to partner in the Atlanta office of Jones Day. Walt's practice focuses on commercial litigation and securities and corporate governance matters. Posted 10.17.11
Jon Christopher Coffman was elected 2011-2012 Treasurer of the Kentucky Bar Association Tax Section. Jon is a member in the Louisville office of Frost Brown Todd and concentrates on civil and criminal tax controversies. Posted 7.15.11
Randy Michels (AS'98) and his wife, Clare Heburn Michels (AS'99, OG'05) are proud and thrilled to announce the birth of a baby boy, William James Michels. James was born on April 4, 2011 in Nashville. A new little Commodore! Posted 7.15.11
Chris Smith recently completed a Legal Fellowship with the Senate Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, and is now Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs with the National Community Pharmacists Association. Smith also has three recent publications:
- "Polarized Circuits: Party Affiliation of Appointing Presidents, Ideology, and Circuit Court Voting in Race and Gender Civil Rights Cases," 22 Hastings Women's L.J. 157
- "I Fought the Law and the Law Lost: The Case for Congressional Oversight Over Systemic Department of Justice Discovery Abuse in Criminal Cases," 9 Cardozo Pub. L. Pol'y & Ethics J. 85
- "The Skeleton Key: Will the Federal Health Care Reform Legislation Unlock the Solutions to Diverse Dilemmas Arising from the State Health Care Reform Laboratories?" 24 J.L. & Health 79
David W. Smith has been named Of Counsel at the Nashville firm Bass Berry Sims. He practices in the firm's real estate group. David's practice focuses on general commercial real estate transactions with a particular emphasis on leasing in the healthcare industry. Posted 4.19.11
Justin Riess (AS'96) joined King & Spalding as partner in the firm's Charlotte office. He will serve as a partner in the firm's finance practice and will focus on asset-based, acquisition and working-capital financing. Justin devotes his practice principally to the representation of banks and commercial finance companies in transactional matters. Posted 3.10.11
Michael L. Sherman, has been named partner at Dechert. He is in the financial services group in Washington, D.C., focusing his practice on counseling investment advisers (including advisers to hedge funds), investment companies and other financial institutions in regulatory, corporate and compliance matters. Much of his work involves helping clients with issues related to investment adviser registration, compliance policies and procedures, marketing and advertising (including Global Investment Performance Standards), investment company status questions and regulatory issues and examinations. Posted 2.2.11
Scott C. Burns has been promoted to counsel at Baker & Daniels. He focuses his practice in business planning and real estate law from the firm's Fort Wayne, Indiana office, helping clients find practical approaches and creative solutions to challenging business problems. Scott is a member of the American and Indiana Bar Associations. Posted 1.18.11
Romina Mulloy-Bossio died tragically in a house fire on November 11, 2009, along with her husband, Michael Levine, and their son, Ariel Levine. Romina was an associate with Baker & Botts in downtown Dallas, where her practice involved complex workouts, bankruptcy reorganizations and litigation. A native of Argentina, Romina was bilingual in English and Spanish. In her early academic career, she studied international relations at the Universidad del Salvador in Argentina and the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain, before earning her undergraduate degree at Stetson University. At Vanderbilt Law School, she was the president of the Spanish Legal Society. After earning her law degree, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable John T. Nixon of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Jack Kinzie, Senior Associate in Baker Bott's bankruptcy division, Jack Kinzie, said, "She was one of those people who touched everyone she knew. The thing that made Romina special was not that she a terrific lawyer, which she was, she was [also] our number one volunteer." Romina led a team of lawyers and staffers who donated their time at Julius Dorsey Elementary School. The team mentored students, tutored, read to them and collected gifts for the children at Christmastime. Her son, Ariel Levine, was about to celebrate his fifth birthday. Her husband, Michael Levine, was an independent contractor. Posted 11.13.09
Class of 2002
Ty Johnson, Bell Nunnally corporate and real estate transactional attorney, was elevated to Partner on January 1, 2024. Posted 2.2.24
Mike Schwegler wrote the Tennessee chapter of the Third Edition of the American Bar Association's best-selling treatise, Commercial Lending Law: A Jurisdiction-by-Jurisdiction Guide to U.S. and Canadian Law. A two-volume compendium outlining the essential information about commercial lending laws in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada. If you have a question about commercial lending laws in Tennessee, the answer (or a suggestion on where to find the answer) is probably in the treatise, which is available for sale from the ABA's Business Law Section. Mike maintains a commercial lending, real estate (including title & escrow), Bankruptcy and creditors' rights, and commercial litigation practice in Nashville, and previously co-authored the Second Edition of the treatise in 2016. Posted 12.11.23
Laina Reinsmith Hammond is a Co-Founder and Managing Director of Validity Finance, a U.S.-based commercial litigation funder. Posted 2.13.23
Todd Overman has been appointed to serve as the managing partner of Bass, Berry & Sims. Posted 6.15.22
Kasey Reisman has taken a new position as Deputy General COunsel, Senior Vice President, Assistant Secretary, and Corporate Secretary at AGNC Investment Corp as of February. Posted 3.21.22
Daniel Crowell joins Jackson Lewis, where he was a partner in the Labor and Employment Group. Daniel collaborates with businesses nationwide to develop and implement practical solutions to workplace problems.
Katherine Knight has been appointed an expanded role of VP, Chief Legal Officer, Human Resources & Corporate Governance at Mitsubishi Motors. Posted 1.31.22
Mary Kit Dimke was confirmed to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington by the U.S. Senate on December 17th, 2021. Posted 1.31.22
Joshua E. Perry has been promoted to Professor and appointed Chair of the Department of Business Law & Ethics at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. Posted 5.20.21
Deborah Farringer has been promoted to Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Belmont University College of Law. Read more here. Posted 2.11.21
Alexander Lian's new book about Oliver Wendell Holmes is available. It is a major contribution to the Holmes literature. Stereoscopic Law looks at its subject in an original way, while bringing key insights to our understanding of Holmes’s famed Path of the Law article. Read More Here . Posted 1.15.21.
Kevin Cadwell recently launched a new litigation boutique specializing in business disputes and intellectual property matters. Cadwell Clonts & Reeder LLP opened its doors July 1, 2020.Read more here. Posted 1.14.21
Kevin Cadwell has formed a new boutique law firm in Houston to support a wide range of business sectors in complex commercial disputes and corporate transactions. Posted 10.28.20
Joshua E. Perry, J.D., M.T.S., is the co-author of two textbooks exploring issues at the intersection of law and ethics and author or co-author of over thirty published articles, essays, and book chapters that have appeared in a variety of leading law reviews and peer-reviewed journals across the fields of business, medicine, law, and ethics. Read more here. Posted 3.17.20
Stephen P. Louthan died November 22, 2012. Stimulating conversations always seemed to revolve around Steve Louthan at the law school. He was a free spirit intellectual, a deep thinker who pursued all of his passions with intense focus. It was a gift to observe him engaged in discourse, calmly reposed, mulling over a complex question, knowing he would readily offer keen insight. Steve was a gentle, compassionate soul, imbued with a quiet confidence and self-reliant to the core. Enthusiastically, he lived out of his van on and off during law school, blazing a trend that was decades ahead of the Silicon Valley tech bros who today have adopted the spartan lifestyle and made it fashionable.
Steve booked his Philosophy of Law class and published "A Brave New Lochner Era? The Constitutionality of NAFTA Chapter 11" in the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law while a member of its editorial staff. Prior to enrolling at the law school Steve majored in philosophy at Calvin College (now Calvin University), earning his B.A. (1994) as well as a subsequent M.A. in philosophy from Western Kentucky University (1995). After graduation, he completed a prestigious clerkship. In 2004 Steve worked on the Howard Dean campaign for President. He also had a brief stint at the EPA in addition to private practice at an eminent firm in Colorado where he focused on environmental, litigation, taxation, and real estate law.
An intrepid outdoorsman, one college summer Steve bicycled all the way across Canada, coast to coast. True to his nature he chose the most difficult route, cycling against the powerful prevailing westerly winds, all the way from Newfoundland to Vancouver, spending his nights in various interesting locales. A highly competitive and naturally gifted skier, Steve enjoyed every aspect of the slopes, from rough and tumble moguls to casually exploring undiscovered backcountry with nothing more than a compass and chapstick. Steve's ultimate passion was rock climbing, and he was an elite talent by all accounts. He once missed an entire week of classes, having been stranded on a very difficult solo climb in Arizona due to inclement weather. Persevering through arduous conditions, rescued only after his local contacts realized he had missed his scheduled check in time. A few days later Steve was back in classes getting called on by professors, his commitment to studying undeterred.
On November 2, 2012 Stephen P. Louthan passed away after suffering a catastrophic fall at Bastille peak in El Dorado Canyon state park, just outside Boulder, Colorado. His closest friends and family members believe Steve suffered from a mental illness that ultimately led to a protracted period of isolation in his later years. They ask those who wish to honor Steve's legacy of compassion to strive to build better communities, to recognize, sustain, and help in recovery those individuals affected by mental illness.
Steve's funeral was held on April 20, 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland, near where his family originates. At the time he was 41 years old. Steve left behind his mother Susan, his father Robert who passed away shortly afterward from Parkinson's disease, his brother Howard, a distinguished professor of history, his sister Marti, as well as his 5 beloved nieces and nephews.
Few have cherished the splendor of nature's wonders like Steve did in his all too brief time with us. Steve Louthan was an exceptionally generous brother and uncle. He remains very much missed. Posted 12.16.19
Wendy Erdly has been appointed Chief of Staff for the New York State Department of Financial Services. Read more: https://www.dfs.ny.gov/reports_and_publications/press_releases/pr1905151 Posted 7.26.19
Joshua Galante has been elected a partner at White and Williams in New York, where he practices corporate and securities law. Posted 5.8.19
Kevin E. Cadwell is a partner at Kelley Drye & Warren in Houston, where he focuses on complex commercial and technology-related litigation. Posted 5.8.19
Yanika Smith-Bartley was recently named one of this year’s Nashville Bar Journal’s Women of Influence award winners in the Trailblazer category. Posted 4.9.19
Seth Randle is now Chief Legal Counsel and Compliance Officer at RetailMeNot Inc. Seth is responsible for overseeing RetailMeNot’s legal affairs and compliance interests, including legal strategy, litigation and employment matters. He also serves as chief IP counsel at RetailMeNot’s parent company, Harland Clarke Holdings. Posted 2.12.19
Michael Schwegler recently joined Stites & Harbison’s Real Estate & Banking Service Group as a Member (Partner) of the firm. Posted 1.3.19
Katherine Knight has been named vice president, general counsel to USA Truck. Katherine most recently served as senior counsel to Nissan North America. Posted 6.28.18
Michael B. Schwegler, a partner at Ernest B. Williams, IV, PLLC, in Nashville, Tennessee, has co-authored the Tennessee chapter of Commercial Lending Law, Second Edition: A Jurisdiction-by-Jurisdiction Guide to U.S. and Canadian Law , published by the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association. The treatise sets forth the authoritative summary of statutory and case law relevant to commercial lending in the state of Tennessee. Posted 12.13.17
Kevin Cadwell is now partner at Akin Gump Stauss Hauer & Feld in their Houston office. Posted 3.22.17
Robert Charles Bigelow (BS'99) is serving as First Vice-President for the Nashville Bar Association. Robb has his own practice in Nashville, and is an active member of his community. Posted 12.13.17
James A. Beakes, Jim, has been named 2016 Volunteer of the Year by the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. Jim is a member of the pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare group at Butler Snow in Nashville. Posted 1.19.17
Anne-Marie Moyes was featured in a New York Times article, "When Art & Love Save an Innocent" for her involvement in the case of Ndume Olatushani, a man who spent nearly 27 years in prison, 19 of which were on death row, for a crime he did not commit. Anne-Marie served as one of Ndume’s attorneys. She is a federal public defender for the Middle District of Tennessee. Posted 5.30.16
Nicole Brodsky Restivo is now general counsel and chief compliance officer at Key Square Capital Management in New York City. Posted 1.27.16
Benjamin Eugene Quayle , former US Congressman from Arizona, has joined HHQ Ventures, LLC as a partner. Ben was previously a member of the US House of Representatives, representing Arizona's third Congressional District. Posted 1.01.16
Jason Marc Gichner is an attorney with Morgan and Morgan in the firm’s Nashville office having previously worked for Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella. He is an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at Vanderbilt Law School. Posted 12.17.15
Mary Katherine Dimke , an assistant U.S. attorney, was appointed to replace magistrate judge James Hutton for the U.S. District Court in Yakima, Washington. Kit, an assistant U.S. attorney, will begin her eight-year term on the magistrate’s bench January 14, 2016. Posted 12.4.15
Ty Johnson (BS’97) joined the Dallas office of Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman. Ty represents companies in a number of corporate and real estate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, stock and asset sales, exempt private equity offerings, organizational issues, grants and exercises of stock options, real estate purchases and sales and leases. Posted 12.4.15
Ryan William Belville published a post entitled “Your Guide For Making A Lateral Move to New York” on Above The Law.com that outlines the varying barriers to entry for certain practice areas. Ryan is the principal for Lateral Link’s New York office. Lateral Link is a legal search firm. Posted 12.4.15
Matthew A. Thrasher has been appointed to the board for the El Rio Health Center Foundation. Matt is managing partner and attorney for the Thrasher Law Offices of Tucson, Arizona, where he represents entrepreneurs, financial institutions, real estate developers, and other companies and individuals on an array of corporate, finance, real estate and general business matters. Posted 9.17.15
Courtney Hunter Gilmer has been named co-leader of Baker Donelson's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Task Force. A shareholder in the Nashville, Tennessee office, Gilmer represents lenders, businesses, secured creditors and creditor committees in bankruptcy proceedings, financial transactions, corporate reorganizations, and state and federal court litigation. Posted 9.17.15
Mitchell A. Peterson has been named a 2015 “Up and Coming” lawyer in Litigation: General Commercial law by Chambers USA. Mitchell is a partner with Davenport Evans in Sioux Falls, South Dakota where he focuses his practice in commercial litigation. Posted 6.25.15
Robert J. Welhoelter has rejoined Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis as counsel in the firm’s Nashville office where he focuses his practice on bankruptcy law. Posted 2.18.15
Steven R. Sedberry has published Hedging Law School, in which he argues that law school is still worth the investment for students but cautions them to research their decisions carefully. Steven also authored The Reasonable Person: Due Process of Law, Logic, and Faith which studies the claims of Christianity through the lens of the legal process. Posted 2.18.15
Kenneth James Sanney (MTS’02) received a positive vote for tenure and promotion to the rank of associate professor at Central Michigan University, and is awaiting confirmation and approval from the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees. Ken was also recently appointed the founding chairperson of the department of entrepreneurship at Central Michigan University and a member of the board of directors of the Central Michigan University Research Corporation, a business incubator and State of Michigan Smart Zone. A press release about the formation of the department can be found here. Posted 1.26.15
Troy Robert Covington has been appointed to counsel at Bloom Sugarman Everett. Troy focuses on trademark and trade secret claims, contract disputes, corporate governance disputes, partnership disputes, business torts, church governance disputes, and lender liability. Posted 1.26.15
Yufeng (Ethan) Ma (MS'01) has joined the intellectual property practice for Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe as a partner in the Shanghai office. Posted 12.9.14
Todd Robert Overman , a member at Bass Berry & Sims in Nashville, has led the launch of the firm’s GovCon Blog, which will focus on timely cases, protests, and regulatory updates to better inform contractors and others in this complex legal space. Posted 10.22.14
Courtney McCormick has been promoted to vice president, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary at PSEG. Courtney jointed PSEG in 2008 and most recently held the role of corporate secretary and general corporate counsel. She also oversees shareholder services, corporate records management and legal administration functions. Courtney previously had worked at the law firms of King & Spalding as well as Pillsbury Winthrop before joining PSEG. Posted 5.21.14
Willow Eden Fort was profiled in a Nashville Ledger article. The piece highlighted her commitment to public interest law after leaving law school. The article can be found here. Posted 3.25.14
Aaron Drew Lacey has joined Thompson Coburn as a partner in the firm's St. Louis, Missouri, office. Aaron joins the firm from Vatterott Educational Centers, a St. Louis-based postsecondary education company, where he served as senior vice president of regulatory affairs and strategic development. Posted 3.25.14
James Vincent Pascale III was elected partner at Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, where he is a member of the transportation and space group in the firm's New York City office. Jim was formerly special counsel with the firm. Posted 3.25.14
Deborah Reule Farringer has joined the faculty at Belmont University College of Law as an assistant professor. Deborah will focus her teaching and scholarship on topics in health law and healthcare business transactions. Prior to joining Belmont, Deborah worked in Vanderbilt's office of the general counsel. Posted 1.21.14
Robert Leslie Brown, a partner with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, has been selected to the 2014 Mortgage Bankers Association's Commercial/Multifamily Future Leaders Program. Robert is one of 16 professionals nationwide selected to participate in the 2014 class, and was the only attorney selected. Posted 1.14.13
Laina Reinsmith Miller is a litigation associate for Shipley Snell Montgomery. She focuses her practice on litigation and arbitration of a wide range of matters. Posted 12.13.13
Kyrus Lamont Freeman is a partner at Holland & Knight in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. Kyrus was formerly confirmed by the Prince George's County Council to the Prince George's Country Housing Authority. Posted 6.12.13
Paul Anthony Werner III has joined Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton as a partner in the firm's business trial practice group. Paul is a seasoned litigator, whose prodigious representations over the past decade have been before all levels of courts and administrative tribunals, federal and state, and spanned a wide range of complex litigation matters. Posted 6.12.13
Joshua Galante has joined White and Williams as an associate in the firm's business and corporate and securities groups. He will reside in the New York office. Joshua has over 10 years' experience handling corporate and commercial transactional work for his clients, including frequently acting as outside general counsel responsible for overseeing all of his clients' legal needs. Posted 3.29.13
Kit Dimke married Jerod Shelby in Clarkston, Washington, September 1. Kit is an assistant U.S. attorney in Yakima, Washington, and Jerod is the CEO of SSC North America. Posted 11.15.12
Ty Johnson (BS'97)is now of counsel at Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman, P.C.
Miranda K. Kelley has been named a partner at Waller Landsen Dortch and Davis. Kelley represents clients in the financial, healthcare, real estate and manufacturing industries handling issues including mergers and acquisitions and securities law. She joined Waller Lansden in 2002. During her tenure, Kelley assisted in the formation of a hospice company through a $50 million facilities acquisition. Posted 1.10.12
John L. Farringer , a member at Sherrard & Roe in Nashville, graduated from the Tennessee Bar Association's Leadership Law program, which prepares Tennessee lawyers to serve as leaders in their profession and communities, in July. Posted 10.17.11
Tyson Schwerdtfeger has joined Alliance Resource Partners as corporate counsel. Prior to joining Alliance, Tyson was a partner at GableGotwals in Tulsa where his practice focused on energy litigation. Tyson and his wife, Kenna, live with their two children in Jenks, Oklahoma. Posted 10.17.11
Russell A. Miller has been elected to membership in the Nashville office of Bass Berry Sims. Russ devotes his practice to tax-exempt finance where he regularly represents financial institutions, governmental entities and nonprofit corporations in a variety of financing transactions, including serving as bond counsel, borrower's counsel and/or underwriter's counsel in connection with both governmental and nonprofit bond issues. Posted 3.10.11
Daniel I. Fisher has been promoted to partner at the international law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Daniel is a member of the firm's corporate practice. He advises public and private companies on negotiated and contested acquisitions and divestitures, tender offers, exchange offers, joint ventures, spin-offs and proxy contests and handles corporate deals for private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Posted 1.19.11
Class of 2003
William Tuttle is now serving as Partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP as of May 2022. Posted 6.6.22
Jeffery Usman has been appointed by Tennessee Govenor Bill Lee to the Court of Appeals, Middle Division. Posted 6.6.22
Dianna Renea Jones has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Next Fifteen Communications Group plc, (LSE:NFC), a tech and data-driven growth consultancy firm headquartered in London. Posted 4.18.22
Carrie Von Hoff was promoted to AVP / Claims Counsel Manager in the Claims Legal Group for Zurich North America. Posted 3.21.22
Marc Jenkins is now a director of legal data and technology solutions practice at Breakwater Solutions. Posted 10.29.21
Lauren Gaffney was chosen to serve in a national leadership program created by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). Gaffney will be a member in the 2021 class of Fellows. In addition to her legal practice, Gaffney is an active participant in the firm’s pro bono initiatives with a focus on serving those in need in the LGBTQ+ community. Posted 5.13.21
Sheandra Rashida Clark departed this world unexpectedly at the age of 42, on Sunday, July 26, 2020. Sheandra was an active member of Buckhead Church in Atlanta. She donated her time working in the bookstore, served as an Usher and small group leader. She was also involved in Buckhead's Single Gatherings, DO Justice, Be Rich and other philanthropic initiatives. This unexpected loss leaves a void in the hearts of all who loved her, especially her devoted parents Joseph and Carolyn Clark. She is survived by her aunts Robin Denise McKoy of Fayetteville, N.C. and Jewel Fisher (Moses) of Memphis. Read more here. Posted 12.2.20.
Andrae Cismon has been promoted to Director of Volunteer Lawyers Program for the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. Andrae has served as a managing attorney of Legal Aid Society’s Murfreesboro office since 2011. Posted 5.20.19
Ashley Palermo is now a Senior Legal Officer for the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Ashley provides employment and higher education counsel regarding M.D. Anderson's 20,000 employees. Posted 03.25.19
Lance Bell has been named Managing Director at BRG Capital Advisors. Lance leads BRGCA's efforts in healthcare services. Posted 2.4.19
Michael C. Hardy, partner in Duane Morris’ Corporate Practice Group is named Co-Chair of the firm's Private Equity Group, Posted 1.15.19
Nicole Y. Silver has joined Greenberg Traurig’s International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Practice in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Silver focuses her practice on international litigation and dispute resolution in a wide array of sectors, including energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, and the environment. Posted 9.06.18
Justin Leach (BA ’99) has been promoted to partner at McKenzie Laird. Justin, a commercial real estate attorney, has been with McKenzie Laird since 2016. Previously, he practiced at Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis. Posted 3.27.18
Simone Wilson-Brito (BA '00), partner at McCarter & English in firm’s Newark office, will co-chair the real estate practice group. Her practice focuses on complex commercial real estate transactions with a concentration in financing, leasing and acquisition of real property. She has been with McCarter & English for nearly 10 years. Posted 3.2.18
Diedre J. Gray is chief administrative officer, general counsel and executive vice president at Post Holdings in St. Louis, Missouri. Posted 2.16.18
Michelle L. Marriott has been named a shareholder at Erise IP in Kansas City, Kansas. She specializes in representing tech clients in intellectual property and patent cases. Posted 2.16.18
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the appointment of James McHenry III (MA '03) as the permanent Director of the Executive Office for Immigration at the Department of Justice. James has served as the Acting Director since May 20, 2017. Posted 1.15.18
Diedre J. Gray was named executive vice president and general counsel at Post Holdings Inc. in November 2017. She has served as the company’s corporate secretary since January 2012. Posted 12.15.17
Joel Henriod has been named managing partner of Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has been a member of the firm since 2007. Joel’s practice focuses on appeals and complex litigation. Posted 8.17.17
Joey Dickson has been appointed to Lead Supplier Diversity Efforts by Health Trust. Joey joined Health Trust in 2007. Health Trust is a leading healthcare improvement performance company in Nashville. Posted 8.17.2017
Michael Hardy has joined Duane Morris as partner in the firm’s Baltimore office. Previously, Michael was with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. Posted 8.1.17
Brian Casper is now counsel at Klemchuk in Dallas. Previously, Brian was counsel with Cantey Hanger in Dallas. Posted 8.1.17
Gerard Stranch IV has been elected to managing partner at Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings. Gerard becomes the youngest attorney in the firm’s 60 year history to assume leadership of Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings’ nationally renowned class action, complex litigation and mass tort practices. Posted 5.18.17
Sisera Monea Daniel has been named chair of the D.C. Public Finance Department at Kutak Rock. Sisera is partner at Kutak Rock's Washington, D.C. office. Posted 4.21.17
Christopher R. Jordan has joined Hunter Maclean in Savannah, Georgia as a partner in their business litigation group. Received 2.23.17
Erica R. Stiff-Coopwood has been elected as the first African American president of the Junior League of Memphis in the organization’s 95-year history. She will begin serving her term as president-elect of the Junior League of Memphis on June 1, 2017, and she will begin her two-year presidency on June 1, 2018. Posted 2.21.17
Blind Akrawi is a member at Neal & Harwell. Blind joined Neal & Harwell in 2011. Posted 1.20.17
James McHenry (MA ’03) was appointed as an administrative law judge in the Executive Office for Immigration Review of the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer. Posted 1.19.17
Sarah Bradbury is now senior counsel at Estes Thorne & Carr in Dallas, Texas. Previously, Sarah was senior legal counsel at Energy Transfer where she focused on labor and employment matters. Posted 11.28.16
Lance S. Bell is now senior vice president at the Nashville office of investment bank Bailey Southwell & Co. Lance previously served as a director with Avondale Partners. Posted 10.17.16
Andrae P. Crismon is a candidate for the Rutherford County general sessions judge seat. Andrae is a native of Shelbyville, Tennessee and is currently the managing attorney of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee’s Murfreesboro Office. Posted 5.23.16
Elizabeth Sara Tipping has been named one of Nashville’s “40 Under 40” by the Nashville Business Journal. She is an associate with Nashville-based Neal & Harwell where she focuses on the areas of white-collar crime and civil litigation. Posted 4.5.16
Kirsten Ann Slape and her husband, Chris, announce the birth of their daughter, Josephine Julianne, Nov. 16, 2015. They have also moved from Melbourne, Australia to Brisbane. Posted 2.25.16
Carrie Anne Von Hoff has been promoted to senior coverage counsel in the claims legal group at Zurich's North America Headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois. She also recently earned the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter professional designation. Posted 1.27.16
Justin William Leach (BA’99) joined Nashville-based McKenzie Laird as partner. He represents institutional owners and users of real estate in a variety of product types, including office, retail, healthcare, logistics, manufacturing and hospitality. Posted 1.27.16
Richard Slade Sevier, Jr. has joined the Nashville, Tennessee office of Dickinson Wright as a member. He focuses his practice on litigation and contract negotiation related to construction, real estate and development and general business. Posted 8.28.15
William Robert Harb was elected partner at Morgan Lewis. William practices in the firm’s Boston office where he is a member of the securities enforcement & litigation practice area. Posted 8.5.15
Elizabeth Gernert Sillay (BS’99) has joined the Memphis, Tennessee office of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis as counsel. Her practice will focus on in the areas of healthcare, life sciences, medical devices, information technology, and emerging companies. Posted 6.25.15
Cara Tuttle Bell, director of Vanderbilt’s Project Safe Center, has received the Road Less Traveled Award from Ms. JD, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to the success of women in law school and the legal profession. The award is given to a woman who is using her law degree in a nontraditional way to pursue an issue or cause about which she is passionate. Posted 3.24.15
Carrie Anne Von Hoff has been named coverage counsel in claims legal group at Zurich North America's corporate headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois. Posted 2.25.15
Blind Akrawi has been selected as a member of the 2015 Class of Fellows, participating in a landmark program created by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity to identify, train, and advance the next generation of leaders in the legal profession. Blind is an associate with Neal & Harwell where he focuses his practice on civil litigation. Posted 2.18.15
Thomas Fetzer (LLM) has been appointed dean of the University of Mannheim School of Law in Mannheim, Germany. He previously taught at the University of Tubingen. Thomas specializes in telecommunications law, media law and privacy/data protection law. Posted 2.18.15
Christopher Michael Phillips , a partner with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, moved from the firm’s Nashville office to its Austin location. Chris represents national and international buyers and sellers in the acquisition, disposition, financing and operation of payment processing and financial technology companies. Posted 12.10.14
Jeremy Dane Ball and Shelley Ball welcomed their child, daughter Dana Claire, on October 13. Posted 10.22.14
Camille Marie Penniman recently became the first in-house counsel for Raising Cane’s, a fast-growing quick service restaurant company. Camille was also the recipient of the 2013 Association of Corporate Counsel and D CEO Magazine award for outstanding associate general counsel – midsized legal department. Posted 10.22.14
Marc Jenkins has been promoted at Cicayda to associate general counsel & executive vice president of knowledge strategy. Cicayda is an electronic discovery software company based in Nashville. Previously, Marc was a partner in the Nashville office of Hubbard Berry & Harris. Posted 5-27-14
Nicholas Andrew Goodling and Ashley Angelle Palermo recently relocated to Austin, Texas. Nick is an assistant city attorney in the land use and real estate division with the City of Austin, and Ashley is an attorney in the office of general counsel for the University of Texas System. Nick and Ashley have two children, Addison (5) and Reid (2). Posted 3.25.14
Joshua P. O'Donnell and Jayme Michelle McKellop (JD'04) welcomed their first child, daughter Catherine Helen O'Donnell, on March 14. Posted 3.25.14
Scott Bryan Lepene has been elected partner at Thompson Hine. Scott practices in the firm's Cleveland, Ohio, office, where he is a member for the business restructuring, creditors' rights, and bankruptcy practice group. Posted 1.13.14
Candice Sherrie Cook and Harry Simmons III were married October 21. The sister of the groom, Reverend Kandace V. Simmons, an interfaith minister, officiated the ceremony which was held at Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York. Candice has opened a legal and business boutique firm, The Cook Law Group, in New York. Harry is a global sales manager for the systems and technology group of IBM, in Manhattan. Posted 10.21.13
Andrae Phillip Crismon has served as the managing attorney of the Murfreesboro Office of the Legal Aid Society since February of 2011. He was recently named as a finalist in the Legal Category for the Nashville Emerging Leader Award for 2013. Posted 7.15.13
David L. Gunn has joined the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Tennessee as an Assistant United States Attorney. Posted 6.12.13
David Raj Nijhawan reports that after clerking for the Indiana Supreme Court and practicing at the firm Barnes & Thornburg, David left law practice in 2006 to pursue a career in business and private banking. Most recently, he left JPMorgan Private Bank for Citizens Bank in Burlington Vermont. On the side, he still plays the drums with various bands and competes in Ironman Triathlons and Marathons. Posted 6.12.13
Cynthia Hubbard Wiel (MS'96) has joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. Cynthia joins the firm as of counsel. She concentrates on insurance regulatory law, business law, healthcare law, municipal utility law, and wine & liquor regulation. Cynthia formerly served as member of Hubbard Berry & Harris. Posted 6.12.13
Simone Petrice Wilson-Brito (BS'00) has rejoined McCarter & English as a partner in the real estate practice in Newark. Since 2008, Simone was real estate counsel with Rockefeller Group Development Corporation, a national owner, developer, and manager of prestigious commercial real estate properties in New York City and throughout the United States. Her practice will focus primarily on complex commercial real estate transactions with a concentration in the financing, leasing and acquisition of real property. Posted 6.12.13
Nicholas Baumgartner was named by Financial News as one of its "40 under 40 Rising Stars" in the European legal profession. Nicholas is head of the EMEA equity capital markets legal team at Citigroup. Nicholas, his wife and their two children live in London. Posted 3.29.13
Amber Lizabeth Ervin has been promoted to partner by Fulbright & Jaworski. Amber handles corporate matters, focusing on mergers and acquisitions for public and private companies in the energy, manufacturing and retail sectors. She has extensive experience in private equity related representations, including fund formations and private equity sponsored mergers and acquisitions and capital financing transactions. Posted 3.6.13
Erin Elizabeth Terrell and her husband, Clay Holloway, welcomed their second child, Sydney Amelia, on December 1, 2012. Sydney joins big brother, Michael, who turns 3 in February. Erin is Vice President and Senior Corporate Counsel at MedAssets, a healthcare IT company based in Alpharetta, Georgia. Posted 2.5.13
Carrie (MTS'03) and Eric Eisnaugle welcomed their second son, Ethan, on October 11, 2011. He joins big brother E.J. In addition, in November 2012 Eric joined the firm of Rumberger Kirk and Caldwell. Carrie is an associate at Holland & Knight in the firm's Orlando office. Posted 1.18.13
William J. Tuttle has been promoted to partner at Dechert. Will is based in Washington, D.C. and focuses his practice on capital markets matters, including the representation of issuers and investment banks in public and private securities transactions. Posted 1.4.13
Diedre Johnston Gray has been named SVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Post Holdings, Inc., effective September 1. Diedre joined Post in December 2011 as SVP - Legal and Corporate Secretary of Post. Prior to joining Post, Diedre was associate general counsel and assistant secretary at MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., a semiconductor and solar wafer manufacturing company. She began her career at Bryan Cave, focusing her practice on M&A and securities. Posted 8.29.12
Cara Tuttle Bell has joined the staff of Vanderbilt University as the Associate Director of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity. Cara and her husband, Lance Bell (JD '03), reside in Franklin, TN. Posted 8.21.12
Ginger Appleberry and her husband, Jason Katz, welcomed their second son, Anderson Nash Katz, on June 24. Nash joins his big brother, Jack, and his parents in Dallas, Texas, where Ginger is a partner in the litigation section of Locke Lord. Posted 7.25.12
Candice Cook was featured in the March edition of Elle magazine. Posted 4.17.12
Sisera Dowdy a partner in Kutak Rock's Atlanta office, has been nominated a Glenda Hatchett Volunteer of the Year by the Truancy Intervention Project. Sisera has volunteered with this nonprofit for seven years, serving as pro bono counsel and mentor to 16 children charged with truancy and as an advocate to parents of grade school students in need of early intervention and truancy prevention plans. Posted 4.17.12
Russell Emery Stair has been named a partner at Bass Berry Sims. Russell focuses his practice on bankruptcy and litigation with an emphasis in commercial litigation, business disputes, financial products and broker-dealer litigation, and corporate and securities litigation. Posted 4.17.12
James Gerard Stranch IV and his wife Patty Daniel Stranch (JD '05) welcomed their second child, Gerard Theodore Stranch (Teddy) in November. Gerard is a managing member in the class action, mass torts and complex litigation group of Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings. Posted 4.17.12
Richard Slade Sevier Jr. has joined Adams and Reese as special counsel. Slade has a litigation and transactional practice that typically involves representing clients with respect to disputes and contracts related to construction, real estate development or general business. Slade is also is a professional engineer with an active license in Tennessee and a patent attorney registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Posted 4.17.12
Carrie Von Hoff has joined the home office of Zurich North America in Schaumburg, Illinois as an environmental claims specialist. Carrie and her husband, Paul, welcomed their third child, Anna Grace Von Hoff, on April 29, 2011. Anna joins big brother, Christopher, and big sister, Chloe Posted 2.23.12
Tara Jean Kilfoyle has joined the Constitutional and Specialized Torts Litigation Division of the Department of Justice as a Trial Attorney. She lives in Alexandria, VA with her husband, Stephen Burks, and their 2-year-old son, TJ. Posted 1.10.12
Justin W. Leach (BA '99) has been named a partner at Waller Landsen Dortch and Davis. Leach specializes in commercial real estate law and works with clients on the acquisition, development and disposition of real property. He joined Waller Lansden in 2002. Posted 1.10.12
Jason Bergeron (AS'99) and Corinne Ciocia were married on October 8, 2011 at Benton Chapel on Vanderbilt's campus, followed by a reception at the Parthenon in Centennial Park. They reside in Nashville. Posted 11.9.11
Jacki Pick is a 2011 Lincoln Fellow of the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy. She serves as counsel for the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution and Deputy Chief of Staff to Congressman Trent Franks, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution. Prior to her work in public policy, Jacki was an Assistant Vice President for Wachovia Corporate Trust and an associate for a prominent litigation firm. She serves on the Capitol Hill Steering Committee of the Federalist Society and on the Board of Visitors of the Fund for American Studies-Legal Studies Institute. Posted 11.9.11
Amy Killebrew Steindorff and her husband, Bert, welcomed a second daughter, Elizabeth Ann, on August 13, 2011. Betsy joins big sister Margaret, 13 months. The family lives in Birmingham where Amy is an associate at Balch & Bingham. Posted 10.17.11
Jeffrey Usman is now on the faculty of the newly created Belmont University College of Law as an assistant professor. He will teach Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure. Posted 10.17.11
Simone P. Wilson will be honored by the YWCA of New York City at the 38th Annual Salute Luncheon on October 28, as one of its leading ladies of business: the Academy of Women Leaders Class of 2011. Simone works on a variety of leasing, financing and real estate transactions for The Rockefeller Group and its subsidiaries. She is a member of the Economic Development Committee of Metropolitan Baptist Church, a group responsible for implementing programs that address economic issues important to the residents of the City of Newark. Posted 10.17.11
Amy Todd Holmes and her husband, Dr. Kevin Craig Holmes (BS'96, MS'98, PhD'02), welcomed their second daughter, Henley Hannah, on June 8, 2011. Henley joins big sister Hadley, 3 years old. The family lives in Houston, where Amy is associate general counsel for Champion Technologies. Posted 7.15.11
Jonathan Stanley has been named shareholder in the Nashville office of Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner. He is a member of the firm's corporate, securities and M&A practice groups, focusing on corporate and securities law and mergers and acquisitions for emerging and growth private and public companies. Posted 7.15.11
Tim Weatherholt has joined Fisher & Phillips as an associate in the firm's Louisville, Kentucky office. Tim focuses his practice exclusively on labor and employer matters. His wife, Emily Turner Weatherholt is employed in the Jefferson County Attorney's Office. They are the proud parents of John Turner Weatherholt, who will turn three in August. Posted 7.15.11
Charles Malone has been named recruiting partner at Walker Tipps & Malone in Nashville, where he has practiced since 2003. Posted 5.5.11
Christopher M. Phillips has been elected partner at the Nashville-based firm, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, where he focuses on mergers and acquisitions, payment processing and financial technology. Posted 4.26.11
Jason A. Penrod will be the recipient of the 2011 Community Leadership Award, to be presented by the Lake Wales, Florida Area Chamber of Commerce at the 53rd annual gala on May 5, 2011. Jason is a partner with the firm of Weaver McClendon & Penrod. He is the Immediate past president of the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce and past president of the Lake Wales Rotary Club. He is also on the board of directors for the Lake Wales Senior Center, the Lake Wales Care Center, and the Lake Wales Library. Posted 4.25.11
Richard Forsberg Haglund III recently became Director of Charter Schools for the Tennessee Department of Education. Rich spent the last seven years working as legal counsel to the Tennessee State Board of Education. Posted 4.19.11
Ryan Stumphauzer will marry Celinet Maldonado on November 11, 2011 in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ryan also left the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami, where he served as the Health Care Fraud Coordinator and Deputy Chief of the Economic & Environmental Crimes Section. He started his own law firm, O'Quinn Stumphauzer, and will concentrate on civil regulatory enforcement, white collar criminal defense, internal investigations and other matters involving fraud or corporate misconduct. Posted 4.19.11
Blind Akrawi , former Tennessee Assistant Attorney General - Civil Litigation & Staff Services Division, has joined Neal & Harwell. Blind, who was associated with the Tennessee Attorney General's office for more than six years, will concentrate his practice on civil litigation. As Assistant Attorney General, he represented state agencies in employment-related litigation. Posted 4.6.11
Merritt Abney has been named partner in the Charleston office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. Merritt practices in the area of complex commercial litigation. Posted 3.10.11
Miles Hall, DVM, has been named to the position of Principal at McKeon Meunier Carlin & Curfman. Miles is a registered patent attorney and also has a doctorate in veterinary medicine. He previously was an associate attorney at the firm. He is a member of the Georgia Bar and the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association, and is active in a number of bioscience and medical device organizations. Posted 2.1.11
Joshua Wolfe has been named a member at Leitner Williams Dooley & Napolitan. He practices out of the Knoxville office and focuses on product liability, construction, premises liability, and workers' compensation defense. Joshua is a member of the Tennessee and Knoxville Bar Associations, the Hamilton-Burchett Inns of Court, and he is also licensed to practice law in Kentucky. Joshua's community involvement includes the Knoxville Bar Association's Hunger and Poverty Relief Committee. Posted 1.18.11
Elizabeth Tipping has been named a partner at Neal & Harwell. Elizabeth, who is a native of Ontario, joined Neal & Harwell in 2003. She concentrates her practice on trial work and has experience in product liability, business litigation and class actions, among others. She is a member of the board of the Nashville Opera Association, Mur-Ci Homes Inc. and the Young Lawyers Division of the Nashville Bar Association. Posted 1.18.11
Class of 2004
J. Eric Holland has joined Duane Morris LLP: as a partner. Posted 6.7.23
Meredith Werner, alongside Leslie Ahari and Douglas Mangel, have announced the launch of a new national boutique law firm, Werner Ahari Mangel LLP. Posted 5.5.23
Timothy A. French was elected partner at Blank Rome LLP effective January 1st 2022 in their firm’s Princeton office. Posted 1.31.22
Damon M. Brown was recently appointed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta to his executive leadership team as Special Assistant Attorney General. Posted 11.11.21
Judge Robert Eric DuFour was appointed to the Superior Court of California on November 13, 2020 by Governor Gavin Newsom. He was sworn in on December 7, 2020.
Jennifer Halvas has been appointed to partner of Cityview, an LA-based multifamily investment management and development firm. Posted 2.12.21
Anthony De Yurre was appointed to Co-Chair Robert Traurig-Greenberg Traurig LL.M in Real Property Development LL.M. with Gary Saul. Read More Here. Posted 12.2.20
Peter N. Hall joined Holland & Knight’s newly formed nationwide ERISA Litigation Team. Read more here. Posted 9.25.20
Erika Barnes has been elected to the six-member Management Committee for Stites & Harbison. She will serve a two-year term. Stites & Harbison’s Chair and the Management Committee serve as the firm’s board of directors and are responsible for all matters relating to the management of the firm. Members of the Management Committee are nominated for election by a Nominating Committee drawn from the members of the firm.
Additionally, the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute (MSCLI) recently elected Erika Barnes as a director of its 25-member Board of Directors. She will serve a five-year term. The Mid-South Commercial Law Institute has been conducting annual Continuing Legal Education seminars on commercial and bankruptcy law topics for 40 years. The MSCLI Board of Directors, composed of attorneys from across Tennessee, manage all aspects of producing the annual seminar. Posted 4.21.20
Heather M. Ducat became a partner at Troutman Sanders in Atlanta. Her practice focuses on the representation of public companies in connection with corporate governance, Sarbanes-Oxley, securities regulations, NYSE and Nasdaq listing standards and securities offerings (including 144A debt offerings). She has represented public companies and underwriters in securities offerings, including equity and secured and unsecured debt, exceeding $1 billion. Heather also represents both public and private companies in merger and acquisition transactions ranging in size from under $100 million to more than $7 billion, and she advises public companies on internal restructuring projects, including consolidations, inversions and spinoff transactions. Posted 3.20.20
Amy Todd Holmes has been named Vice President & General Counsel for Express Energy Services, a leading oilfield services company and premier provider of products and services including well construction and well testing services. In this role, Holmes will serve as member of the company’s Executive Team and will oversee the company’s Legal and Risk department. As General Counsel, Holmes is accountable for Express’ risk management strategies and policies and will provide strategic counsel on legal, risk, business and operational matters. Posted 3.20.20
Junaid Odubeko , a partner in the Nashville office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, has been elected to the Nashville Bar Association's (NBA) Board of Directors for a four-year term. Read more here. Posted 3.13.20
Erika Barnes was named to the Rising Stars list of Mid-South Super Lawyers. Posted 1.29.20
Damon M. Brown was appointed City Attorney for the City of Compton, CA on August 1, 2019. In April 2019, he completed his term as President of the California Association of Black Lawyers and in June was installed as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Posted 10.14.19
Akash Desai was named assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia as a member of the Civil Division. Posted 2.11.19
Erika Rose Cramton Barnes was named to the Super Lawyers and Rising Stars list. Posted 11.13.18
Autumn Witt Boyd is featured in Forbes Magazine Q & A. Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyhoey/2018/09/20/podcasting-and-working-with-influencers-is-how-this-attorney-is-scaling-her-practice/#20b6cd9531f5 Posted 09.24.18
Heather Hubbard’s weekly podcast, Hustle & Flow, has been recognized by the ABA Journal as one of the top 25 legal podcasts in the country. You can listen here. Heather founded the company, The Language of Joy in 2014, which became All Rise in July 2017. Heather helps attorneys increase their success and satisfaction through CLEs, online courses, workshops, masterminds, coaching and retreats. Posted 6.4.2018
Peter N. Hall has been elevated to shareholder of Chamberlain Hrdlicka. Peter counsels employers in labor and employment law matters, with an emphasis on litigation.Posted 2.16.18
Julie Skipper married Chris Noone on December 20. Julie practices at Carson Law Group in Jackson, Mississippi. Posted 1.15.18
Anthony De Yurre is now a partner at Bilzin Sumberg in Miami where he is a land development and government relations attorney. Posted 1.15.18
Amy Todd Homes was listed as an honoree of the Houston Business Journal’s 2017 “40 Under 40” Awards. Amy is associate general counsel and assistant secretary for Scientific Drilling in Houston. Posted 4.21.17
Peter N. Hall has been named a 2017 “Georgia Rising Star”. Peter is senior counsel at Chamberlain Hrdlicka in Atlanta where he practices on labor and employment law. Posted 3.22.17
Junaid Odubeko made partner at Bradley Arant Boult in Cummings in their Nashville office. Posted 1.23.17
Adam Ramsay Michael of Nashville died November 22. Adam graduated from MBA before attending Duke where he earned his degree in history. He returned to MBA to teach history for two years. He then enrolled in Hastings Law School in Berkley, California before transferring to Vanderbilt to complete his J.D. Upon graduation, he served as a public defender for Sumner County for two years. Returning to Vanderbilt, Adam became a development officer for Blair School of Music, followed by his most recent employment at the Nature Conservancy of Tennessee. He is survived by his mother, Susan, his daughters Avery, Madelyn and Vera, and his fiancé. Posted 1.19.17
Autumn Witt Boyd ’s firm, The Law Office of Autumn Witt Boyd has joined Nextlaw Global Referral Network, enabling it to connect its clients to high quality lawyers around the world. Posted 11.28.16
Amy Holmes has been named the 2016 Best Deputy General Counsel of a small legal department by the Houston Business Journal. Amy is the assistant general counsel for Scientific Drilling International. Posted 10.17.16
Crystal Love Ball of Vanceburg, Kentucky, died June 5, 2016. She was 36. Crystal was born in Nashville, Tennessee and attended Morehead State University before earning her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School. Crystal worked as a public defender for the Boyd and Mason County offices. She is survived by her parents. Posted 7.25.16
Jonathan Dyer Stanley is now member at Bass Berry Sims in Nashville. Posted 3.21.16
Chandra Noel Torgerson Flint was named member at Nashville-based Neal & Harwell where she focuses on family law and criminal and civil litigation. Posted 1.27.16
Richard Clay Travis (MFA’08) has signed a multi-year deal to continue licensing his “Outkick the Coverage” website to Fox Sports. Clay is a former columnist for CBSSports.com and FanHouse and a former editor for Deadspin. He founded “Outkick the Coverage”, a college football blog, in 2011. Posted 7.8.15
Autumn Joy Witt Boyd has opened a law practice in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Law Office of Autumn Witt Boyd. Ms. Boyd is a lawyer who advises small businesses, online companies, startups, and individuals on their business and intellectual property matters. Posted 6.25.15
Timothy Alden French has been made of counsel with Blank Rome. He represents clients in business, corporate, and securities matters, including corporate finance matters; mergers and acquisitions; public and private offerings; securities regulation, including representation before the SEC, NASD, and state authorities; and SEC filings, statements, and disclosure reports. Posted 1.26.15
James Robert Craig has opened Craig Henry, a firm focused exclusively on the practice of consumer law in Louisville, Kentucky. In July, James was elected to his third term as chairman of the Metropolitan Sewer District board of directors and to the Metropolitan Housing Coalition board of directors. Posted 9.26.14
Lauren Gudritz Brown and John Brown ('04) welcomed a son, Ryan Robinson Brown, on January 16. Ryan joins big sister Elizabeth. Lauren is associate director of the Center for Professional Development and Career Strategy at Emory University School of Law, and John works at Georgia-Pacific as tax counsel in Atlanta. Posted 5-27-14
Timothy J. Weatherholt has been elected partner at Fisher & Phillips. Tim is a member of the firm's Louisville, Kentucky, office, where he focuses his practice on labor and employment issues. Posted 5-27-14
Wendee Marie Hilderbrand, a partner in Bass Berry & Sims' Nashville office, was featured in a recent Nashville Ledger article. The piece focused on Wendee's professional successes as a lawyer and her personal trials as a single mother to her daughter. The article can be found here. Posted 3.25.14
Kyonzte Hughes-Toombs (BA'01) and her husband, DeAngelo Toombs, welcomed their second child, Jayden Christopher Toombs, on September 22, 2013. Jayden joins big sister, Nina Madison Ann. Kyonzté and her husband reside in Nashville, where she serves as assistant general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Health. Posted 3.25.14
Jayme Michelle McKellop and Joshua P. O'Donnell (JD'03) welcomed their first child, daughter Catherine Helen O'Donnell, on March 14. Posted 3.25.14
Raanon Gal has joined Taylor English Duma's Atlanta, Georgia, office, where he will practice with the firm's employment, labor, and immigration practice. Prior to joining Taylor English, Raanon was with Ford & Harrison. Posted 1.28.14
Brendan Joseph Hughes has been elected partner at Cooley, where he works in the trademark, copyright, and advertising practice group and is a member of the litigation department. Brendan has been a member of the firm since 2006 and previously worked as an associate with Morgan Lewis & Bockius. Posted 12.13.13
Jill Jensen Krishnan and her husband, Navaneethakrishnan Kandasamy, welcomed a son, Ajit Donald Krishnan, on August 25. The family lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Posted 12.13.13
Jarrod Forster Reich has joined the faculty of Florida State University College of Law. In addition to teaching Legal Writing, Jarrod will be teaching a one-week orientation and coaching a moot court team for a competition in October at Emory. Posted 8.19.13
R. Clay Travis (MFA '08), co-host of the sports call-in show "3HL" on 104.5-FM, has announced he will be part of Fox Sports 1's new college football pregame show. "Fox College Football Pregame Show," which will go up against ESPN's popular "College GameDay," will air 9-11 a.m. Saturdays throughout the football season. Travis said he would continue to co-host "3HL" at least until his current contract ends next year. Travis' role will include being a part of updates throughout the day as well as postgame coverage for the network, which plans to air three to four games each Saturday. Travis spent the previous two years working with NBC Sports Network covering college sports along with hosting The Clay Travis Show on NBC radio on Saturdays. He will no longer work with NBC television but will continue to host his radio show. He also will continue to write his column for his website, Outkick the Coverage. Posted 8.19.13
James Robert Craig and Jacquelyn Jackson Craig (BS'97) welcomed their second child, Catherine May Craig, into the world on March 18. James was also named one of Louisville's Top Forty Under 40 Businessmen to Watch by Louisville's Business First newspaper. Posted 7.15.13
Rachael M. Crews , a shareholder at Gray Robinson, was listed as a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers. Rachael practices in eminent domain, civil litigation, insurance coverage and defense, professional liability defense, construction litigation and creditor's right in the Orlando office of Gray Robinson. Posted 7.15.13
Nicole Dawidowicz D'Amato Sherwood was married to Patrick Kennedy Sherwood on June 22 in St. Paul R.C. Church, Waterford, Connecticut. The Rev. Joseph Whittel celebrated the afternoon mass, which was followed by a reception in The Branford House Mansion at Avery Point, Groton, Connecticut. The couple is spending their honeymoon on an African safari in Tanzania. Bridesmaids included Ashley L. Fisher (JD'04). Nicole, a member of the New York Junior League, is director and senior counsel of intellectual property at Diageo North America. Patrick, a graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton and Yale School of Management, will soon be a senior associate at Yale Investments Office. Posted 7.15.13
Daniel Jacob Steimel and Natalie Mathews Steimel welcomed their daughter, Annalee Jane, on October 7, 2012. Annie joins her three big brothers, Jake (5), Max (2), and Sam (2). The family resides in Phoenix, Arizona. Natalie is the director of attorney recruiting and development for Snell & Wilmer and Dan is assistant general counsel for Grand Canyon University. Posted 2.20.13
Heather J. Hubbard was recently announced one of The Nashville Business Journal's "40 Under 40." Heather is a partner at Waller in the firm's Nashville office, where she is deputy practice group leader of the firm's trial and appellate group. Heather's practice focuses on business and complex commercial litigation, emphasizing intellectual property litigation and dispute resolution. Posted 2.13.13
Wendy V. Miller has been elected shareholder by Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart. Wendy represents employers in both federal and state courts, concentrating her practice in employment litigation. Posted 2.5.13
Kimberly Donohue joined the California Office of the Attorney General in September 2012 as a deputy attorney general. Kimberley's practice focuses on criminal appeals with the appeals, writs & trials section in San Diego. Posted 2.5.13
Matthew T. Ramenda has been named a firm Shareholder at Jones Foster. An experience litigator, Matthew concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial litigation, business torts, securities law and municipal law. He is currently serving his third term as an elected member of The Florida Bar Board of Governors Young Lawyers Division and also serves on the Executive Board for the Palm Beach County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Posted 2.5.13
Wendee M. Hilderbrand has been elected to membership at Bass, Berry & Simms. Wendee is based in the firm's Nashville office and focuses her practice on complex civil litigation and appeals, including corporate and securities, data security, and intellectual property cases. In 2012, Wendee earned the prestigious Harris A. Gilbert Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award from the Tennessee Bar Association for her pro bono representation of former death row inmate E.J. Harbison. Posted 2.5.13
William J. Tuttle has been promoted to partner at Dechert. Will is based in Washington, D.C. and focuses his practice on capital markets matters, including the representation of issuers and investment banks in public and private securities transactions. Posted 1.4.13
Timothy Carl Klink has been elected to shareholder with Polsinelli Shughart. Timothy's practice focuses on all aspects of real estate development, including planning, zoning, land use and redevelopment law. Posted 11.15.12
Krista Thornton Cooper (BA'00), husband, Toby, and daughter, Annie, welcomed new son, Finn, on June 17, 2012. Krista is an associate with Bass Berry & Sims in Nashville. Posted 10.8.12
Rachael Mahaffrey Crews has been promoted to shareholder in the Orlando office of GrayRobinson. Rachael practices in eminent domain, civil litigation, insurance coverage and defense, professional liability defense, construction litigation and creditor's rights. Posted 9.25.12
Alison K. Brown has joined the West Palm Beach office of Holland & Knight, as part of the firm's South Florida litigation practice group. Posted 9.14.12
Michelle Bedoya Barnett and her husband, Richard, welcomed a daughter on May 11, 2012. Jacqueline Maria joined big brother Rawls. Posted 9.14.12
David Edward Roland (MDV'04), and his wife, Jenifer Zeigler Roland, welcomed Viola Faye Roland into the world on August 31, 2012. Viola weighed 8 lbs., 6 oz., and was 20.5 inches long. Posted 9.6.12
Christine Noelle Rickard and Francisco Reyes welcomed their first child, Elizabeth, on May 18, 2012. Christine has recently joined the faculty of Florida International University School of Law as an assistant professor in the school's legal skills & values program. Prior to joining the school, she had instructed students at Vanderbilt Law School and Nova Law Center. Christine is concurrently employed by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where she serves as a career law clerk for the Honorable Jose A. Gonzalez Jr. Posted 8.31.12
James Robert Craig was unanimously named chairman of the Metropolitan Sewer District Board after having been appointed to board by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer last spring. James is an attorney with Tachau Meek and lives in Middletown. Posted 8.21.12
Akash R. Desai and his wife, Erica, welcomed their son, Siddarth Akash Desai, on April 9, 2012. Baby Sid, mom, and dad are all doing well. Akash and his wife recently relocated to Nashville, where he is currently clerking for U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Posted 5.8.12
Chris James Tardio was elected a member at Gideon Cooper & Essary on January 1. Chris is a trial lawyer, primarily defending hospitals and physicians in medical malpractice actions and other types of litigation, and in administrative proceedings. Posted 5.8.12
Kelly Louis Worman has joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough as a partner in the firm's newly formed, Nashville office. Kelly concentrates his practice in the area of commercial real estate. Posted 4.23.12
Kyonzte Hughes-Toombs (BA'01) and her husband, DeAngelo Toombs, welcomed their first child, Nina Madison Ann, on October 7, 2011. Kyonzte serves as assistant general counsel with the Tennessee Department of Health in Nashville. Posted 4.17.12
Aruna Parthasarathy has joined eBay as commercial and product counsel. Aruna will support eBay's mobile, home and garden and clothing, shoes and accessories business units. Aruna was previously a senior associate at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in Palo Alto, California, in its corporate and securities and technology practice group. Posted 4.3.12
Chad Crews has been named partner in the Orlando office of Shutts & Bowen. Chad focuses on transactions involved in real estate development, including acquisitions, sales, financing, land use matters, water management district and zoning issues. Posted 2.20.12
Damon Michael Brown and his wife, Elizabeth Brown, welcomed their first child, Mason Conner, on December 28, 2011. Damon was installed as president of the John M. Langston Bar Association of Los Angeles on February 4 at the Annual Installation & Awards Gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Damon is of counsel at The Hunt Law Group. Posted 1.27.12
Amy K. Jordan has been named partner in the Birmingham, Alabama, office of Burr & Forman. Amy advises and represents employers in a broad range of labor and employment matters. Posted 1.19.12
Erika Rose Cramton Barnes has been elected a member at the regional law firm Stites & Harbison. Erika is a member of the firm's Creditors' Rights & Bankruptcy Service Group and the Business Litigation Service Group. Erika joined the firm as an associate in 2004. Posted 1.10.12
Autumn Witt Boyd and her husband David welcomed twin boys, Samuel Graham and Tyson Witt, on October 24, 2011. Everyone is healthy and adjusting to the lack of sleep!
Mark Ison has been named a member of law firm Sherrard & Roe. Ison joined the firm's health care and corporate law groups in 2004. Posted 1.10.12
Robert Eric DuFour has been promoted to the position of Deputy District Attorney III, serving as a Senior Felony Trial Attorney, with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Posted 10.17.11
Ashley Jones Johnson was appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry to the Texas Judicial Council for a term set to expire June 30, 2017. The council studies and reports on the organization and practices of the Texas judicial system. Johnson is an attorney at Gibson Dunn and Crutcher. She served as a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. Posted 10.17.11
Jessica Harris Telligman and her husband, Avery, welcomed a son, Henry Miles, on August 8, 2011. Jessica is an associate with Carruthers & Bailey in Winston-Salem. Posted 10.17.11
Damon M. Brown has been recognized by IMPACT and the National Bar Association as a finalist for the "Nation's Best Advocates: 40 Lawyers Under 40.” Damon is an associate at Liebert Cassidy Whitmorein the firm's Los Angeles office where he devotes a significant part of his practice to helping clients anticipate and prevent claims through training, and the drafting of employment and separation agreements, employee handbooks and general employment policies and procedures. The awardees will be celebrated in late July at the Nation's Best Advocates: 40 Lawyers Under 40 Gala during the 86th Annual NBA Convention in Baltimore. Posted 7.15.11
Nicole D'Amato has assumed the position of Global Intellectual Property Counsel at Samsonite, the world's largest luggage brand, following six years as an associate in the New York office of Ropes & Gray. Nicole assumes primary responsibility for management of the "Samsonite" and "American Tourister" brands worldwide and the strategic, tactical and operational policies that protect the company's intellectual property assets. Recently, Nicole became engaged to Patrick Sherwood, an analyst in McKinsey's Investment Office, who will enroll in Yale's School of Management in the Fall of 2011. Posted 7.15.11
Sarah Glasgow Jacobs (AS '01) was married to Dr. Ryan Jacobs on December 4, 2010 at the Belle Meade Plantation in Nashville. The couple lives in Nashville where Sarah is corporate counsel for Community Health Systems, Inc and Ryan is a Resident at Vanderbilt Medical Center. Posted 7.15.11
Nathan Lloyd and his wife, Jamie, announce the birth of a baby boy, Jackson Stephen Hudson, born on December 24, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nathan I an attorney with MGM Resorts International.
Todd W. Hoppe was elected to shareholder at Foster Swift Collins & Smith as of January 2011 and in April was named the new Business & Corporate Law practice group leader. Todd practices in the areas of business organization and planning, business transactions, tax exempt organizations and charitable giving, estate planning and administration and succession planning. Posted 4.6.11
Junaid Odubeko, former legal counsel to Gov. Phil Bredesen, has joined Miller & Martin as an associate will bolster its litigation and government relations practices. Junaid joined the Bredesen administration as deputy legal counsel more than three years before being promoted. Before joining the Bredesen team, Odubeko practiced law at Burch Porter & Johnson in Memphis, focusing on litigation. Posted 2.14.11
Christopher Freeman and his wife Melissa are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Katherine Lily. She was born on December 15, 2010. Posted 1.18.11
Class of 2005
Rachana Desai Martin joined the Center for Reproductive Rights as the Chief Government and External Relations Officer. She previously served in the Biden Administration as an Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor. Posted 5.18.23
Alexandra Pichette was recognized by 2022 Massachusetts Super Lawyers. Posted 10.11.22
Aton Estaver has joined Morrison Foerster as Of Counsel in their Palo Alto office. Posted 10.28.22
Ryan Buchanan has been sworn in to head the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta where he will oversee an office of about 250 prosecutors and staff members. Posted 6.6.22
Romica Singh has joined Akin Gump as a Partner in their New York office. Posted 6.6.22
Auste Graham has been added to Alto Ingredients, Inc. as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Read the full press release here. Posted 3.21.22
Aaron S. Kamlay was featured recently during two webinars on November 12 and 17, focusing on the use of technology for developing an efficient, client-focused IP practice. Hosted by IP Watchdog and Anaqua, the webinars presented panel discussions on how leaders in the IP field use technology to increase the strategic value of their legal advice and their clients’ IP portfolios. Read more here. Posted 2.9.21
Aaron Kamlay has joined Butzel Long law firm as a shareholder. Mr. Kamlay is based in the firms Washington, D.C. office. Posted 10.14.20
Ajay Koduri died February 6 in San Francisco. He was 42. Ajay is survived by his beloved wife, Sowmya Reddy. Posted 2.25.19
Amber N. Hall has joined Wells Fargo as Senior Corporate Governance Counsel and Assistant Secretary in their Charlotte, NC office. Posted 9.26.18
Geoffrey Michael Drake was interviewed in Law.com. Drake is a partner at King & Spalding in Atlanta, where he focuses on product liability litigation. Read more: h ttps://www.law.com/dailyreportonline/2018/06/28/on-the-rise-geoffrey-drake/ Posted 7.02.18
Justin G. Tanner has joined the board of trustees for the Jack and Jill of America Foundation. Justin is the director of Government Affairs for Verizon’s Southeast, South Central, and Great Lakes, State Government Affairs team. Posted 6.28.18
Joni Alexis Poitier is an associate at Moseley Prichard Parrish Knight & Jones in Jacksonville, Florida. Joni was previously a prosecutor in Jacksonville. She currently serves on the board of directors for Family Foundations of Northeast Florida. Posted 5.30.2018
Russell Taber was selected as a winner of the Nashville Business Journal’s 2018 “40 Under 40” Awards. He is a partner at Riley, Warnock & Jacobson, PLC, focusing his practice on business litigation. Posted 2.16.18
Geoffrey M. Drake has published a treatise entitled, Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy. This is the product of a team at King & Spalding, where Geoffrey is partner in the firm’s Atlanta office. Posted 1.29.18
Jasmin Yanghas been promoted to counsel of Snell & Wilmer. She practices bankruptcy, insolvency and business reorganization in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Posted 1.15.18
Julie Samuels was selected for the Class of 2017 “40 Under 40” in Crain’s New York Business . Julie is the executive director at Tech:NYC , a nonprofit major trade organization in New York City. Posted 4.21.17
Jeffrey A. Kershaw has joined Freeman Mathis & Gary as partner in the professional liability and insurance coverage practice in their Atlanta office. Posted 2.21.17
Sudkhet Boriboonsri (LL.M.) has undertaken a position as a counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Thailand to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. He is responsible for Thailand’s works on intellectual property at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. Posted 2.7.17
Kellie Combs was appointed to life sciences partner at Ropes & Gray in Washington, D.C. Kellie has expertise in FDA regulatory issues, regulation of clinical research, and post-approval compliance. Posted 11.28.16
Jenny Howard is general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. She was the department’s deputy general counsel since 2012. Posted 7.25.16
Geoffrey Michael Drake , partner in King & Spalding’s tort litigation & environmental group, was added to the list of the nation’s top talent under 40 by newsletter Law360 in its “Law360 Rising Stars” series. Additionally, Emory University’s Institute for Complex Litigation and Mass Claims recently selected Geoff as a member of its Next Generation Advisory Board, comprised of rising stars, recognized by both plaintiffs’ and defense counsel as leaders who will help define complex litigation in the future. Posted 5.23.16
Joni Alexis Poitier was appointed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott to the state’s elections commission. The appointment, which runs through Dec. 31, 2019, must be confirmed by the Florida Senate. Joni is an associate with Moseley Prichard Parrish Knight & Jones in the firm’s Jacksonville office where she focuses on civil litigation. Posted 1.27.16
Amber Nash Hall was promoted to assistant general counsel of governance and compliance for Cox Enterprises, headquartered in Atlanta. Before joining Cox in 2011 she worked with Bryan Cave. Posted 1.27.16
Justin Gregory Tanner was quoted in a Washington Post article, “Black millenials consider a post-Obama world”. Justin is a member of the board for IMPACT, a nonprofit devoted to helping young professionals of color working in politics and policy, who works in the Obama administration. Posted 1.27.16
Laura F. Ketcham (BA’02) joined the Chattanooga, Tennessee office of Miller & Martin. Laura is a member of the firm's commercial department, focusing her practice in the areas of bankruptcy and creditors' rights, commercial finance and providing general business counsel. Posted 12.4.15
Matthew Adam Kraus has been promoted to partner in the New York office of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman. He focuses his practice on complex commercial and financial products litigation. Posted 9.17.15
Luther Wright Jr. was included on the “Best of the Bar” awards list by the Nashville Business Journal. Luther is of counsel with Littler Mendelson where he practices with the labor & employment team. Posted 5.15.15
Sasha A. Klein has joined Sabadell Bank & Trust in Palm Beach, Florida. Sasha will be responsible for providing wealth and advisory services for high net worth individuals and families at Sabadell Bank & Trust in Palm Beach as senior vice president, director of trust and wealth services. Posted 3.24.15
Linda Du (LL.M.) was elected partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton in New York City in 2014. She will spend much of 2015 working out of the firm's California offices, primarily in San Francisco, to develop its West Coast practice. Posted 2.2.15
Justin Matthew Croniser has been elected partner at Hahn Loeser & Parks in Cleveland, Ohio, where he focuses on complex commercial litigation. Posted 1.26.15
Gerald John Schirato has been made a partner at Duane Morris in Pittsburgh. Jerry represents clients in complex litigation with a focus on property tax relief, non-compete, trade secrets, and banking. Posted 1.26.15
Ryan Robert Baker has been elected to membership Bass Berry & Sims, where he is based in Memphis. He primarily represents FINRA registered brokerage firms and associated persons in disputes with customers, firms and regulators through litigation and ADR proceedings. Posted 1.26.15
Shubham Vinay Arora (BA '00) has been named partner at Akin Gump. Shubhi is a member of the firm’s oil and gas and India practices, working primarily with clients in the energy industry on mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, private equity investments, and joint ventures. Posted 1.26.15
Kenny Bryan Ernstberger married Jennifer Jones, now Jennifer Ernstberger, in October 2010. They live in Murray, Kentucky, with their daughter EmmaRae, born March 2012, and son Don Barton, born April 2014. Bryan is a partner at Gregory Easley & Ernstberger, which he joined in November 2007. In November 2014, Bryan was elected to serve as the county attorney for Calloway County, Kentucky, heading an office that provides legal advice and services to the local government and countywide criminal prosecution. Posted 12.10.14
Kia Wright Roberts, counsel at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, was recently promoted by Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson to the office’s prestigious 12-member Homicide Bureau. Earlier this year, Kia and her husband, Otwane Roberts, welcomed a daughter, Chandler Roberts, on February 15. Posted 12.9.14
Elizabeth Moore Fox and J. Christopher Fox II welcomed a daughter, Frances Flannery, June 17. Chris is a partner with Thompson Hine in Atlanta, where Elizabeth is an associate at King & Spalding. Big sister Annabel (3) is especially thrilled to welcome Franny into the family. Posted 10.22.14
Robert W. Wilson has joined the University of Central Florida as an Associate General Counsel focused on corporate transactions and technology transfer issues. Posted 8.12.2014
Robert B. Harwell has joined Butler Snow in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Harwell will focus his practice on business and commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, business planning and operations, and real estate law. Posted 6.12.14
Deanna Rene Swits and Jason Kunze will be married on July 26. Both Deanna and Jason are associates with Nixon Peabody in Chicago. Posted 6.12.14
Linda Du, an associate with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, was recently honored by the New York State Bar Association as 2013 Empire State Counsel. The Empire State Counsel program recognizes lawyers who donate 50 or more hours of pro bono services in a calendar year.Posted 5.27.14
Adam Calhoun Simpson has joined FedEx Corporation as a senior attorney focusing on intellectual property licensing and technology transactions. Adam has been selected as a Super Lawyers' Rising Star since 2009. Prior to joining FedEx, Adam was a director at Martin Tate Morrow & Marston. Posted 1.28.14
Lucas Ross Smith (MTS'05) has been named a partner with Bass Berry & Sims in Nashville, Tennessee. Luke focuses his practice on antitrust compliance and complex litigation. Posted 1.28.14
James Christopher Fox II was elected partner at Thompson Hine. Chris focuses his practice on business litigation, intellectual property, and product liability litigation, and is a member of the firm's Atlanta, Georgia, office. Posted 1.14.14
Laura F. Ketcham (BA'02), has been named a partner at Husch Blackwell. Laura practices in the firm's Chattanooga, Tennessee, office where she is a member of the financial services industry team. Posted 1.14.13
Julie P. Samuels married Joshua Marc Mendelson on December 20, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. Julie is a senior staff lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Marc is a founder of Engine Foundation, a technology lobbying organization. They will make their home in San Francisco, California. Posted 1.14.14
Jennifer Understahl has been named partner at Perkins Coie, where she is a member of the firm's real estate group. Posted 1.14.14
Geoffrey Michael Drake has been elected partner at King & Spalding effective January 1. Geoff is a member of the firm's tort litigation & environmental group, and was named a 2013 Georgia "Rising Star" in products liability defense by Super Lawyers. Posted 11.14.13
James Brant McOmber has been promoted to senior manager in the advance pricing and mutual agreement program in the large business and international division of the Internal Revenue Service. In this role, he will lead a team of negotiators on transfer pricing issues arising between the IRS and the tax authorities of Canada and Italy. Previously, he served as coordinator of IRS negotiations with the Canada Revenue Agency. Posted 10.21.13
Johnson W. Custer has been named general counsel for Hogan Assessment Systems. After spending eight years in the commercial litigation group at the firm Hall Estill, J.W. joined Hogan as general counsel in 2013. A member of the leadership team, he focuses on contract negotiations, partner agreements, employment and intellectual property law, and process improvements within Hogan's legal operations. Posted 10.10.13
Benjamin Young has been promoted to the executive team of PEER 1 Hosting, where he serves as vice president, general counsel. Ben relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia in 2010 to join the company after working for Troutman Sanders in Atlanta, Georgia. Ben also recently married Jana Minor of Vancouver at a ceremony held in Banff, Alberta, in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Posted 10.10.13
Danny Hart and his wife, Haley, welcomed their fifth child, daughter Eleanor Jane, on June 10. The family lives in the Reno/Tahoe Region, where Danny serves as the deputy general counsel of PDL BioPharma, a NASDAQ company focused on intellectual property asset management and investing in healthcare-related assets. Posted 9.6.13
Amy Olive Wheeler has joined Hilliard Lyons Trust Company as a vice president and estate settlement officer in Louisville, Kentucky. She will focus on the settlement of estates, while supporting trust and estate planning efforts. Posted 8.22.13
Robert W. Wilson, a senior associate in the Orlando and Lakeland offices of GrayRobinson, was recently appointed to the J. Douglas Williams YMCA advisory board of directors in Lake Mary, Florida The board aids the organization in fulfilling its mission to improve lives in Central Florida by connecting individuals, families and communities with Christian values that strengthen spirit, mind and body. Robert is a member of GrayRobinson's wealth transfer and taxation groups. Posted 3.1.13
Monica Pace Messick has been elected partner at Jackson Walker. Monica focuses her practice primarily on mergers and acquisitions, business entity formation and governance, contract negotiations, general corporate work, and energy lending transactions. She is based in the firm's Dallas office. Posted 2.20.13
Damien Andrew Grierson recently joined K&L Gates as a senior associate in the firm's Boston office. Damien recently was most employed at Cooley as a senior associate. Posted 2.20.13
Julie P. Samuels, of The Electronic Frontier Foundation, is the recipient of a newly created chair endowed by Mark Cuban dubbed "The Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents. Posted 2.13.13
Christopher Thomas Murray has joined Thompson Coburn's Washington, D.C. office as part of the firm's new lobbying & policy group that will connect Thompson Coburn's clients to a variety of opportunities at the federal level, particularly in the areas of higher education, intellectual property, and technology. Chris's practice focuses on the political and regulatory issues affecting the education sector. He has extensive experience representing institutions, associations, and companies related to eLearning, Title IV program compliance, medical education, federal workforce and military education programs, education technology, foreign sanctions, and accreditation. Chris is a frequent speaker and author on various education policy topics, most often on the intersection of technology and education. Before joining Thompson Coburn, he served as a member of Dow Lohnes Government Strategies. Posted 2.13.13
Rachana Desai Martin has been promoted to Deputy Chief Counsel of the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Financial Stability, where she manages litigation and oversight matters related to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Posted 2.11.13
Courtney Lynn Bru has been named partner in the firm Doerner Saunders Daniel & Anderson. Courtney's areas of practice include labor and employment law, as well as commercial and civil litigation. Posted 2.5.13
Jenny L. Howard has joined the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation as senior counsel for legislative affairs. Posted 10.9.12
Robert Warren Wilson has been promoted to a senior associate in the Lakeland office of GrayRobinson. Robert is a member of GrayRobinson's wealth transfer and taxation groups, focusing his practice on estate, gift, generation-skipping and income tax planning, including the implementation of sophisticated estate plans for high net worth individuals, trust and probate administration and asset protection. Posted 9.25.12
Katherine Lamb Cronin has joined the faculty of the University of Kansas School Of Law after spending six years of practice at Legal Aid of Western Missouri. Katie will join the faculty as a Clinical Associate Professor and the Director of the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic. Posted 8.6.12
Andrew Kulpa and his wife, Carolyn, welcomed their second child, daughter Samanatha Anne, who was born April 12, 2012. The family lives in Bloomfield, Michigan, where Andrew serves as an in-house counsel for ETC Capital, a private venture fund. Posted 7.9.12
Kathryn V. Whitfield and her husband, Adam L. Fotiades, welcomed their first child, son Wyatt Whitfield Fotiades, on March 18, 2012. Kathryn and Adam reside in Washington, DC. Posted 5.15.12
Julie Schreiner-Oldham has joined Arrowood Peters as a senior associate. Julie practices in the areas of employment disputes, business litigation, personal injury and medical malpractice. Posted 5.8.12
Patty Daniel Stranch and her husband James Gerard Stranch IV (JD '03) welcomed their second child, Gerard Theodore Stranch (Teddy) in November, 2011. Posted 4.3.12
Justin Gregory Tanner has recently been named a legislative analyst in the Intergovernmental Affairs and External Relations department of the City of Atlanta, Office of Mayor Kasim Reed. A recent inductee into Outstanding Atlanta, he served as the Reed Administration's senior communications specialist. Justin currently serves as the national co-chair for President Barack Obama's Generation Forty Four program. Posted 1.10.12
Christine “Christy” Allen Pauley Bratten, age 36 of Bell Buckle, Tennessee died on Oct. 20, 2011 at Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro from injuries she sustained in an automobile accident. Christy was an attorney at Finklestein Kern Steinbergof and Cunningham in Knoxville. She loved cooking, traveling, family and friends. She is survived by her husband, Phil Bratten; her parents, Jim and Freida Pauley; two sisters; and several nieces and nephews.
Matthew Adam Kraus was married to Emily Rebecca Sweet on June 18, 2011 at the Inn at Bay Harbor in Bay Harbor, Michigan. The couple lives in New York where Matthew is an attorney at Kasowitz Benson Torres and Friedman.His practice focuses on antitrust, commercial, and complex financial products litigation. Posted 7.15.11
Elizabeth Moore Fox and James Christopher Fox are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter Annabel Jane Fox. Annabel was born January 19, 2011. Chris is an associate in the Atlanta office of Thompson Hine, practicing in the business and product liability litigation and bankruptcy groups. Elizabeth is an intellectual property associate at King & Spalding. Posted 7.15.11
Michael Mellen has joined the Washington, D.C. office of Bryan Cave as an associate in the International Trade group. Michael previously practiced international trade compliance as an Associate with Patton Boggs. Posted 2.14.11
Class of 2006
Nick May is now the Assistant Director of the Federal Trade Commission's Southeast Region, based in Atlanta, GA. Posted 12.11.23
Jay Campbell has joined Dickinson Wright PLLC's Nashville office as a Member. Posted 3.21.22
Lori Wright has been appointed to the Advisory Board of the international non-profit organization Women Who Code. Posted 10.19.21
Matthew McCarthy is now Chief Legal Officer and Secretary for U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. Matthew has primarily supported the Wealth Management and Investment Services business line at U.S. Bank as Senior Corporate Counsel or as Securities Regulatory Counsel since 2013. Matthew resides in Minneapolis with his wife, Alex McCarthy (MA ’07), and their son David. Posted 9.29.21
Vivien F. Peaden has joined the Atlanta office of Baker Donelson in the firm’s privacy and technology practices. Posted 9.29.21
Whitney Brown is now a shareholder with Lehr Middlebrooks Vreeland & Thompson PC firm. Whitney represents employers in a range of employment litigation, including harassment and discrimination cases, Family Medical Leave Act, and cases involving state law claims. Over the past few years, Whitney’s practice has led her to manage the defenses of three multi-plaintiff race or national origin discrimination and retaliation cases. Whitney also counsels and educates employers on all employment related topics and especially navigating employee health issues at the intersections of the FMLA, ADA, PDA, and attendance policies. Posted 4.30.21
Sayler A. Fleming was appointed by Attorney General William P. Barr on December 11, 2020, to replace U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen. Fleming, as United States Attorney, is the top-ranking federal law enforcement official in the Eastern District of Missouri. The district serves 49 counties within three divisions – Northern, Eastern and Southern. The office is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in the district, including crimes related to terrorism, public corruption, child exploitation, firearms and narcotics. Posted 2.15.21
Tranny Arnold was appointed by the Alabama Governor, Kay Ivey, and confirmed by the Alabama State Senate to the Alabama State Banking Department Board in March. Read more here. Posted 12.12.19
Tyler Edmonds has been appointed associate judge of the First Judicial Circuit in Southern Illinois. Read more: http://www.annanews.com/news/edmonds-appointed-associate-judge
Matthew McCarthy and his wife, Alex McCarthy (MA ’07), welcomed a baby boy, David Max McCarthy on July 10, 2019. Posted 7.18.19
Stephen Lund has joined the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Civil Division where he will be handling the county’s litigation in state court. Posted 5.8.19
Robert A. Peal has joined Sims Funk in Nashville as a partner. Rob previously practiced for 10 years at Neal & Harwell. Posted 5.8.19
Kevin Mausert is partner at Kirkland Ellis in the firm’s Chicago office. Posted 3.27.18
Steven E. Bartz has joined the corporate practice group of DLA Piper as a partner in the firm’s Dallas office. Steve has extensive experience advising private equity funds and privately owned companies in a variety of complex transactions, including private equity fund formation transactions, mergers and acquisitions, control and minority investments, private placements of securities, strategic alliances, and joint ventures. Posted 3.9.18
Brook Mestre (BS ’03) was elected counsel in the corporate & securities practice at Baker McKenzie in Dallas. Brook represents publicly traded and privately held businesses in a range of corporate transactions, including advising purchasers and sellers in cross-border mergers and acquisitions transactions from the inception of a deal through any post-acquisition restructuring and integration matters that may arise. Posted 1.29.18
Brian Jason Fleming has joined Miller & Chevalier in Washington D.C. as member. Prior to this, Brian served as counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the Department of Justice. Posted 10.18.17
Robert A. Peal has been selected as a member of the 2017 class of Fellows, participating in a landmark program created by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) to identify, train and advance the next generation of leaders in the legal profession. Robert is a member at Neal & Harwell in Nashville. Posted 3.23.17
Jennifer Schiffer (BA’ 03) is now a shareholder of Bean, Kinney, & Korman. Posted 2.21.17
Andrew “Drew” Warth is now partner at Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis in their Nashville office. Posted 2.21.17
Brian Winfrey, the founder of The Winfrey Firm, is merging his firm into Morgan & Morgan. Brian will launch and lead Morgan & Morgan’s statewide labor and employment practice group, and will work with the firm’s other attorneys in the employee rights group, including in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. Posted 2.21.17
David Bullington is associate chief counsel at Oak Street Funding in Indianapolis. Prior to joining Oak Street, David practiced as a creditor’s rights and litigation attorney at Indianapolis-based law firm, Blackwell, Burke & Ramsey. Posted 1.23.17
Lori Brewer made partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough in Nashville. Posted 1.20.17
Tyler Edmonds was re-elected to a third four-year term as state’s attorney of Union County, Illinois. Posted 1.19.17
Matthew Sharp was awarded the 2016 Department of Business Distinguished Alumnus Award for Lee University. Matt serves as legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he plays a key role on the Freedom of Conscience Team. Posted 1.19.17
Justin Wood (BA’03) is a partner at Troutman Sanders in Raleigh, North Carolina. Posted 10.17.16
Joycelin L. Randle has been named the University of Central Arkansas' executive director of development in the advancement division. Joycelin will coordinate all of UCA’s development programs. She previously served as development director at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Posted 8.23.16
Stephen Hinton (BA’03) has joined the corporate and securities team at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in Birmingham, Alabama, as counsel. He previously practiced with Maynard Cooper & Gale in Birmingham. Posted 8.23.16
Sarah Geneve Reisman is now member, Board of Directors at Legal Aid Association of California (LAAC). Posted 4.5.16
Steven Edward Bartz was elected partner at Thompson & Knight in Dallas. Steve’s practice focuses on the representation of private equity funds, family offices, and their investors as well as private companies, capital funding sources, financial institutions, and other qualified investors in connection with domestic and international transactions. His experience encompasses a broad array of industries and a wide range of M&A and private equity transactions, and he has counseled clients on numerous cross-border transactions. Steve also has extensive experience in complex joint venture transactions, including fund formation transactions, private equity sponsor platform formation, and strategic alliances. He has been selected for inclusion in Texas Rising Stars® by Thomson Reuters (2014-2016). Posted 3.16.16
Samar Subhi Ali (BA’03) was recognized as a 2016 Truman Project Security Fellow. The Truman National Security Project identifies, organizes and positions next-generation leaders to communicate, advocate and lead on issues of national security and foreign policy. Samar is a member of the Nashville office of Bone McAllester Norton where she focuses on cross-border transactions, international law and private diplomacy. Posted 2.25.16
Grayson Todd Walter was elected member at Bond, Schoeneck & King in Syracuse, New York. Grayson represents businesses and their stakeholders in connection with a wide variety of business and transactional matters, with a focus on issues relating to company formation, ownership, governance and transition. Posted 1.27.16
Andrew Archer Warth is counsel with the Nashville office of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis. He assists a wide range of corporate entities and individuals, including hospitals and other healthcare providers, with their litigation needs, as well as with internal investigations and government investigations. Posted 12.17.15
Samar Subhi Ali (BS’03) director of Lodestone Advisory Group and attorney with Bone McAlester Norton has been named to the 2015-16 class of Leadership Tennessee. The leadership education program is designed to cultivate a network of business, nonprofit, education and government leaders who are committed to addressing the state’s challenges and opportunities. Posted 9.17.15
Robert Patrick Dempsey (EXMBA'14) has joined the Nashville, Tennessee office of Polsinelli where he focuses on buying and selling health care and senior living companies including companies that may be struggling. Formerly he was a senior associate attorney with Frost Brown Todd. Posted 4.26.15
Tyler Roderick Edmonds was recently featured for his work serving the southern Illinois community as Union County State’s Attorney. Read the article here. Posted 3.24.15
Casey Gill Summar has been named one of Nashville Business Journal’s “40 under 40.” Casey works as the executive director for the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville. Posted 2.18.15
Iain Wood has been named partner at Akin Gump. Iain practices as a member of the firm’s corporate practice, concentrating on mergers and acquisitions, focusing in particular on transactions for financial sponsors, including private equity and hedge funds. He also provides corporate and governance counsel on financial restructuring matters. Posted 1.26.15
Stephen Joseph Obermeier was promoted from associate to partner in the litigation, appellate, white collar defense and government investigations, government contracts, and communications practices. He is currently with Wiley Rein in Washington, D.C. Posted 12.19.14
Justin Arthur Wood (BA'03) and his wife Kelly welcomed their daughter, Cannady Ava, on December 11, 2013. The family resides in Raleigh where Justin works as an associate for Troutman Sanders, specializing in the representation of lenders and borrowers in all aspects of financial transactions. Posted 11.19.14
Samar Subhi Ali (BS'03) has joined Bone McAllester Norton's Nashville, Tennessee, office, as a member of the firm's administrative law, business and corporate law and international law practices. Samar comes to Bone McAllester after spending two and a half years as assistant commissioner for international affairs at the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. She also previously served as a White House fellow, working on foreign and domestic policy issues related to national security and as an advisor to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Samar's extensive foreign policy experience and her work advising the Obama Administration on issues related to foreign terrorist group ISIS was profiled in a recent Tennesseean article. Posted 9.26.14
Casey Gill Summar has been named a finalist for the Nashville Emerging Leader Award by Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and YP Nashville. Casey is executive director of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville. Posted 7.16.14
John Benjamin Vitale has been named shareholder at Gurley & Associates. The firm has also announced that it will be changing its name to Gurley Vitale. Ben was previously a senior associate at the firm. Posted 5.27.14
Kristen Ann Larremore (MTS'06) has joined Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis as an associate in the firm's Birmingham, Alabama, office. Prior to joining Waller, Kristen was an associate with Bradley Arant Boult & Cummings. Posted 2.14.14
Robert Anthony Peal has been named partner at Neal & Harwell. He has been with the firm since 2009. Prior to joining Neal & Harwell, Robert served as a major in the U.S. Marine Corps for 13 years, first as an F/A-18D flight officer, followed by three years of service as a senior prosecutor. He was deployed three times and saw combat in Operation Southern Watch and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He continues to serve in the Marine Corps Reserves. Posted 2.14.14
T. Jay Campbell Jr. , a partner with Adams & Reese, has been named partner-in-charge of the firm's Memphis, Tennessee, office. Jay joined the firm in 2006 and is a member of the transactions and corporate advisory services practice group. Jay is also a member of the Leadership Memphis executive class of 2014. Posted 1.28.14
Joel David Eckert has been named partner with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in Nashville. Joel is a member of the firm's litigation practice group. Posted 1.20.14
Ann D. Wiles has been promoted to counsel at BuckleySandlers. Ann was previously an associate in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. Posted 1.14.14
Raven Alexandria Winters has been elevated to shareholder with Littler Mendelson. Prior to joining Littler Mendelson, Raven served as a federal judicial law clerk to the Honorable Curtis L. Collier, Chief United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Posted 1.14.14
Ben Vitale has joined the Sarasota, Florida, firm of Gurley & Associates as a senior associate. Prior to joining Gurley, Ben was with the Atlanta, Georgia, office of Morris Manning & Martin. Posted 11.7.13
D. Matthew Foster was recently named a shareholder at Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner. Matt is a part of the firm's real estate, commercial finance, and corporate practice groups. Posted 8.19.13
Gary E. Hirschberg (MBA '06), an investment professional with Goldman, Sachs & Co., has been named to the second annual "Double Chai in the Chi: 36 Under 36" list of young Jewish movers and shakers in Chicago. The list is presented by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago's Young Leadership Division (YLD) and Oy!Chicago. The young professionals featured are noted for making a difference through their work, giving back in their free time, and earning notoriety in the Jewish community and beyond. The 36 winners were honored at a YLD event held in Chicago on August 15. Posted 8.19.13
Sarah Beth Krause has joined Bass Berry Sims' employee benefits and executive compensation practice in the firm's Nashville office. Previously, she was in-house employee benefits counsel at Amgen. Posted 3.14.13
Laura Ford Rose has been named partner in the Jackson office of Adams and Reese. Laura joined Adams and Reese in 2006 and focuses her practice on commercial and employment litigation. Laura was recently accepted into the 2012-2013 Class of Leadership Madison County, a signature leadership program by the Madison Chamber of Commerce designed to develop potential leaders through workshops involving education, government, law and order, diversity and economic development. Posted 2.5.13
Steven Edward Bartz has joined the Dallas office of Thompson & Knight. Steven joins the firm's corporate and securities practice group. He focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, other corporate transactions, and corporate governance matters. Posted 10.8.12
Joseph Pierre Roger is engaged to Courtney Denise Wilcher, of Mississippi. The couple will marry in an intimate ceremony September 29 at Schwabacher's Landing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Posted 9.25.12
Grayson Todd Walter has joined Bond Schoeneck & King in the firm's Syracuse office. Grayson is a business law and bankruptcy attorney who counsels individuals, corporations and other business entities and institutions with respect to a broad range of business issues. Posted 9.25.12
Samar Subhi Ali (BS'03) and Justin E. Giboney (BS'03) have been named to three-year terms on the Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board. The board's mission is to engage alumni in the life of Vanderbilt University, its schools and its students, and encourage lifelong connections among alumni and support of the university's goals. Posted 8.3.12
Alisa Childers Peters and her husband, Tyree Peters, welcomed a son, Judson Tyree Peters, on January 1, 2012. Alisa is currently an associate at Burr & Forman in Nashville, specializing in creditor's rights and bankruptcy. She concentrates her practice on the representation of lenders in commercial matters, working in bankruptcy cases under Chapters 7, 11, and 13 as well as transactions taking place outside the courts. Alisa is chair of the Local Rules Subcommittee for the Bankruptcy Court Committee of the Nashville Bar Association. The Bankruptcy Court Committee of the Nashville Bar Association serves as the liaison between the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee and the bar. She also serves on the Tennessee Bar Association's Special Committee for Foreclosure Procedure as a representative from the Bankruptcy Section. In 2011, Alissa was selected to serve as Secretary of the Nashville Bar Association. Posted 6.22.12
Samar Subhi Ali (BS'03) Samar Ali has been named international director for the Tennessee State Department of Economic and Community Development. Samar was formerly an associate with the law firm Hogan Lovells US, where she was a founding member of the firm's Abu Dhabi office and where her practice addressed mergers and acquisitions, cross-border transactions, Shari'a compliant transactions, project finance and international business matters. Her role includes overseeing TNTrade as well as ECD's other international initiatives, such as managing four international offices. In 2010, Samar was appointed a White House Fellow. She was one of 13 men and women appointed to the 2010-11 class of White House Fellows, a program created in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to give promising American leaders "first hand, high-level experience with the workings of the Federal government, and to increase their sense of participation in national affairs." Fellows also take part in an education program designed to broaden their knowledge of leadership, policy formulation, military operations and current affairs. Community service is an important component of the program, and Fellows participate in service projects throughout the year in the Washington, D.C. area. Posted 6.1.12
Andrew Warth has joined the law firm of Neal & Harwell as an associate focused on civil and criminal litigation matters. Prior to joining Neal & Harwell, Drew worked as a law clerk for Judge Aleta A. Trauger '76, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Before moving to Nashville, he worked in the Dallas office of the Jones Day law firm. Posted 1.10.12
Jeremy Smuckler (BS '02), corporate counsel for CAN, Inc., along with several colleagues has created an email service to simplify your inbox. Mermailer, which combines multiple subscription emails into one condensed summary delivered at a designated frequency, took its inventors approximately nine months to develop and is now a successful free internet service. Jeremy and his wife, Ashley, live in North Carolina with their two young children and one on the way. Posted 11.9.11
Amy Gentry, has joined the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston as a legal officer, providing legal counsel to institutional clients on general business matters, higher education law, employment law and human resources issues. She was previously an associate with Bracewell & Giuliani. Posted 7.15.11
Amanda Schlager Wick has joined the Atlanta US Attorney's Office. Previously, Amanda was an attorney at Bloom Law Firm in Atlanta. Posted 7.15.11
Jessica Bennett is now an Associate in the Denver, Colorado office of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. She will practice in the firm's real estate group. Posted 4.19.11
Todd Koretzky is now an Associate with Milbank's Leveraged Finance Group. Posted 4.19.11
Ryan Pry has been named a partner at Brumberg, Mackey & Wall in Roanoke, Virginia. Ryan concentrates his practice in elder law, business succession planning, probate, and related matters. He is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and currently serves on the board of the Community Foundation of the New River Valley. Posted 4.6.11
Class of 2007
Vivien F. Peaden has earned the Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP) credential from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). She is among the first cohort of AI governance professionals to pass the certification exam. Posted 6.5.24
Michelle Martinez was named 2022 Rising Star by the MCCA (Minority Corporate Counsel Association). Posted 9.13.22
Ashley Ebersole departed the partnership at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, and joined San Francisco-based decentralized finance software firm 0x Labs as General Counsel. Posted 7.29.22
Joseph Chase currently serves as the President of the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches. Posted 3.21.22
Ashlee Gray is joining Transforming Age and will serve as General Counsel. Transforming Age is a nationally recognized leader in nonprofit senior living and care dedicated to creating unlimited possibilities to enhance the lives of older adults by integrating housing, community services, technology, philanthropy, and partnerships. Posted 1.31.21
Ashley Kasarjian has been promoted to Director, Employment Services and Investigations at Republic Services. She has also been named to the Phoenix Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” for 2021 and serves as the Immediate Past Chair of the Employment and Labor Law Section for the State Bar of Arizona. Posted 10.29.21
Whit Kilgroe has been hired by The Stephens Group, LLC, the private investment firm backed by the Witt Stephens and Elizabeth Campbell families, as General Counsel. Posted 10.19.21
Mrs. Lori Branyan Metrock is now a Shareholder at Maynard Cooper & Gale. A Shareholder in the Firm’s Corporate, Securities & Tax Practice, Lori concentrates her work in the areas of corporate and securities law and mergers and acquisitions. Posted 5.20.21
La Keisha Wright Butler , Former Executive Director of The Milwaukee Fire And Police Commission, Joins Maynard Cooper. La Keisha is Of Counsel in Maynard Cooper’s Correctional Litigation Practice Group. She focuses her practice on general and complex litigation. She has extensive experience representing clients in civil rights litigation and in government relations. Posted 9.23.20
Michael P. Hodes was elevated to partnership at Boyd Collar Nolen Tuggle & Roddenbery. Read more here. Posted 3.26.20
Michelle Martinez has joined DigiCert Inc. in Lehi, Utah, as corporate legal counsel. She previously practiced patent law at Maschoff Brennan in Salt Lake City. Posted 3.17.20
J. Ashley Ebersole and Susan Ambler Ebersole (JD'08) happily welcomed twin girls, Gracie and Eliza, on October 25, 2019. Jay, their big brother, is pictured holding them in the hospital. Posted 12.19.19
Ashley Ebersole joined Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner in their Washington, D.C. office as partner in the Investigations, Financial Regulatory, and White Collar group. Posted 12.19.19
Alan Bean joined Starnes Davis Florie's Nashville office as partner. Alan represents numerous hospitals, medical groups, clinics, physicians, nursing homes, and other health care providers in all phases of health care liability, premises liability, products liability, and personal injury cases in Tennessee, Florida, Texas, New Hampshire, West Virginia, and Alabama. Read more here. Posted 10.14.19
Jordan Arnot Leahey was honored with a 2019 Women, Influence & Power in Law Award by Corporate Counsel. Formerly known as the National Women in Law Awards, the WIPL Awards honor general counsel, in-house leaders and law firm partners who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing the empowerment of women in law. According to Corporate Counsel, “these women are business strategists, complex problem-solvers, and of course, great lawyers.” Jordan is partner at Partridge Partners, a Chicago-based Intellectual Property firm. Posted 10.9.19
Mark Hosemann joined Butler Snow’s Ridgeland office as partner. He practices in the business services group. Posted 7.2.19
Lori Branyan Metrock (BA’03) has rejoined Baker Donelson’s corporate finance and securities group. She lives in Nashville with her husband, James Bradley Metrock (BA’03, MBA’05), and their son, Mason. Posted 5.8.19
Sonya Jindal Tork was listed on the Ohio Rising Stars 2019 list, which recognizes the state’s top -up-and-coming attorneys. Sonya is a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister in Cincinnati. Posted 5.8.19
Huong Lam joined Williams Kastner as an associate in their Washington office. Posted 1.15.19
Brian Manookian has been certified as a life member of both the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Millions Dollar Advocates Forum. The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is recognized as one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States. Membership is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts, awards and settlements. Brian is one of two founding partners of Cummings Manookian in Nashville. Posted 4.24.18
Jeffrey Chesnut has joined Underwood Law Firm in Fort Worth as senior associate. Jeffrey’s practice focuses on public finance, economic development and municipal law. Posted 10.18.17
Matt Leggett has been announced as chief counsel of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public works by U.S. Senator John Barrasso, chairman of the committee. Matt has served as the committee’s deputy chief counsel since January. Previously, he served as policy counsel for the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee for Chairman Barrasso. Posted 9.20.17
Jordon Arnot Leahey was honored by the American Bar Association as a “2017 On the Rise- Top 40 Young Lawyers”, a group recognized for exemplifying a “broad range of high achievement, innovation, leadership, and legal community service”. Jordan is partner at Partridge Partners, a Chicago-based Intellectual Property firm. Posted 9.20.17
Andrew Kemp-Gerstel became shareholder at Liebler Gonzalez Portuondo in Miami, Florida. His practice focuses on representation of banks, insureds and Lyft. Posted 8.17.2017
Joseph P. Chase has been named “Young Professional of the Year” by the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce. Joseph is a shareholder at Gunster Yoakley & Stewart in West Palm Beach, Florida and chairman of the board for the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches. Posted 6.15.17
Brian Manookian and Brian Cummings (JD '98) founded the Nashville plaintiffs firm, Cummings Manookian. Posted 4.19.17
Darren Rumack is partner at The Klein Law Group in New York, New York. He is the chair of the firm’s employment law practice. Posted 4.19.17
Lauren Loew made partner at Foley & Lardner. Lauren is a litigation lawyer and member of the firm’s Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice and Automotive Industry Team in their Chicago office. Posted 1.23.17
Michael P. Hodes has joined Boyd Collar Nolen & Tuggle in Atlanta, Georgia as counsel. He joins Boyd Collar Nolen & Tuggle from Mayoue Gray Eittreim. Posted 9.20.16
Michelle Kennedy (BA ’92), executive vice president, general counsel and chief financial officer for the Nashville Predators, was honored as one of 10 “Women in Business” selected by Nashville Lifestyle magazine. Posted 8.23.16
Joseph Patrick Chase is a shareholder in the West Palm Beach office for Gunster where he is a member of the corporate practice group. Posted 5.3.16
Don H. Nguyen , has joined The Expert Network, an invitation-only service for distinguished professionals. Nguyen has been chosen as a Distinguished Lawyer based on peer reviews and ratings, recognitions, and accomplishments achieved throughout his career. He specializes in real estate law and business law. Posted 3.07.16
Stephen Ryan Goler (BA’04) is now a shareholder in the Chicago office of Greenberg Traurig where he focuses his practice on joint venture, foreclosure and construction matters. Posted 2.25.16
Stephen Michael Montgomery (BA’03) was named partner at Nashville-based Neal & Harwell where he focuses on commercial law, bankruptcy and corporate transactions. Posted 1.27.16
Todd Ryan Hambidge is a partner in the Nashville office of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis where he focuses on business and intellectual property litigation. Posted 1.11.15
Sonya Singla Jindal has been elected to partnership by one of Cincinnati's largest law firms, Taft Stettinius & Hollister. Sonya focuses her practice on tax and succession planning, including entity formations, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships, amongst others. Posted 1.27.16
Courtney Blaire Glaser has been elected partner in the Houston office of Andrews Kurth. Courtney has a diverse civil litigation background, with an emphasis on commercial and business litigation. Posted 12.17.15
Peyton Alexander Cooke joined the United States Institute of Peace as senior program officer for rule of law at the Institute's Kabul, Afghanistan office. In this capacity he will oversee a variety of programs including court observation, legislative monitoring, Afghan constitutional research, and land law reform. Posted 11.16.15
Ainka Sanders Jackson will deliver the initial lecture for the Plan 2 Plan workshop series at Concordia College Alabama. The series is designed to provide attendees with information on how to plan for the future and key aspects of what they can do now to get where they want to be. A Selma, Alabama native, Ainka is an assistant public defender in Nashville, Tennessee. Posted 8.28.15
Ashley T. Kasarjian, a labor and employment attorney, has been elected as Vice Chair of the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation Board of Directors. Ashley practices as counsel with Snell & Wilmer in the firm’s Phoenix office. Posted 6.25.15
Lori Branyan Metrock (BA’03) has been elected shareholder at Baker Donelson in the firm’s Nashville, Tennessee office. Lori concentrates her practice in the areas of corporate and securities law and mergers and acquisitions. Posted 5.15.15
Bryan Andrew Jacobs has been included in those selected as “Leaders in Their Fields” in the 2015 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers. Bryan practices with Keatin Muething & Klekamp in Cincinnati with the firm’s business representation and transactions practice group. Posted 2.18.15
Alan Stuart Bean has been named a member of Gideon Cooper & Essary where he has practiced as an associate since 2007. Posted 1.26.15
Joseph Patrick Chase was named to the board of directors of the YMCA of the Palm Beaches for a three-year term, beginning in 2015. Joseph has been with the Gunster law firm since 2010. He handles numerous complex business transactions and assists clients with their day-to-day business and corporate law needs. Joe has represented clients in numerous industries, including health care, agriculture, technology, beverages and publishing. Besides this achievement, Joe was recently accepted into Class V of Leadership Florida's young professional program, Connect Florida. Additionally, Joe has been named secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches for the 2014-15 terms and will serve as the Chamber's chair during the 2016-17 term. During the 2015-16 term, he will serve as the Chamber's chair-elect. Posted 1.26.15
Scott Edward Atkinson was named a director of Carr McClellan, a business and business litigation boutique firm in the San Francisco Bay Area. Scott practices business litigation with particular focus on trade secrets, employee mobility, and complex commercial contract disputes. Posted 1.26.15
Rose Hernandez and Milen Saev (JD '01) have announced the opening of Saev Hernandez Immigration Practice , PLLC. The two partners previously practiced immigration law at Rose Immigration Law Firm. They focus on employment-based, family-based and humanitarian immigration law. Rose and Milen, both graduates of Vanderbilt University School of Law, combine to speak fluent Spanish, Russian and Bulgarian. Rose focuses on permanent residence through employment, particularly the labor certification process. She also works on family-based immigration and humanitarian cases, such as U visas for victims of certain crimes who have cooperated with law enforcement, waivers, deferred action for childhood arrivals and special paths to citizenship. Rose speaks and writes on the immigration regulatory environment in Tennessee, immigration options for children, citizenship and comprehensive immigration reform. She volunteers for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) as the supervising attorney for its Welcoming Tennessee Naturalization Clinics. Posted 8.12.2014
Sonya S. Jindal, an associate at Taft Stettinius & Hollister, has been selected as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by The National Trial Lawyers. Membership into the organization is by invitation only and is extended to those individuals who exemplify superior qualifications, trial results, and leadership in criminal defense or civil plaintiff law. Jindal is an attorney in Taft's Tax group and concentrates her practice on a broad range of tax matters, including state and federal tax planning and civil and white collar criminal tax litigation. She has experience in all aspects of tax planning and dispute work, including federal and state tax controversy matters, criminal tax investigations, and sensitive government examinations of complex tax shelters and other tax-advantaged strategies. Posted 7.18.2014
Adam L. Herman has been named general counsel at Prestige Equipment Corporation in Melville, New York. Posted 7.16.14
Hinna Lamba Bailey has joined the White Plains, New York, office of Goldberg Segalla as an associate. She is a member of the firm's workers' compensation practice group. Prior to joining Goldberg Segalla, Hinna was an associate with Malapero & Prisco. Posted 1.28.14
Kelly Schulz has joined Husch Blackwell as an associate in the firm's Kansas City, Missouri, office. She is a member of the firm's healthcare, life sciences, and pharmaceuticals industry team. Prior to joining Husch Blackwell, Kelly was an associate at Skadden Arps. Posted 1.28.14
Jillean Marie Dubatowka has joined Silicon Legal Strategy as an associate in the firm's San Francisco, California, office. Prior to joining Silicon Legal, Jillean was an associate with DLA Piper. Posted 1.14.14
Craig Andrew Max IV died July 15. He was 31. Craig was an attorney at Vanderpool Frostick & Nishanian, where he focused on estate planning and tax issues. Before practicing law, Craig worked in private, government, and public accounting practice in Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C. He was also an assistant professor with the University of Maryland, where he taught accounting, tax, and business law courses. He was a Certified Public Accountant, a designated Trust and Estate Practitioner, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Financial Management. His writings appeared in various publications, including the Indiana Business Lawyer and Aviation Insurance & Risk Management. At Vanderbilt, he received scholastic excellence awards in corporate taxation and representing the family business and the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law Outstanding Editor Award. He is survived by his parents and his partner, Michael Zurat of Manassas. Posted 1.14.13
Joseph Patrick Chase, a business attorney in Gunster's West Palm Beach office,has been appointed to the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches for a term extending from 2013-16. Previously, Joe was named to the 2013-14 board of directors for the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches. Posted 12.13.13
Taylor Hayden, founder of Boost Business & Legal Advisors in Charlotte, North Carolina, and his wife, Sarah Elder Hayden (BA'04), have invented a new product, the WineShark Red Wine Hyperaerator, the first ever red wine hyperaerator. They are currently in the process of raising capital for tooling costs and production of their new product. Posted 11.7.13
Gray R. Proctor was appointed to the advisory board of the Bloomberg Bureau of National Affairs Criminal Law Reporter in May. Gray has a law office located in Orlando, Florida. Posted 7.16.13
Todd Ryan Hambidge and Cristin (Hartzog) Hambidge welcomed their first child, Thomas Amos, on April 24. The family lives in New York City where Todd is a senior associate in the IP and litigation practice groups at Fulbright & Jaworski and was recently recognized by Super Lawyers for the second year as a “New York City Rising Star”. Cristin is an associate in the litigation practice group at King & Spalding. Posted 7.12.12
J. Maria Glover has joined the faculty of Georgetown University Law Center. Maria has been a Climenko Fellow and lecturer on law at Harvard Law School since 2010. She teaches and writes on civil procedure, complex litigation, international civil litigation and the interplay between private and public regulation. Before going to Harvard, she practiced in the Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Group at Mayer Brown in Washington, D.C., and she clerked for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Posted 6.12.12
Daniel Barham, a partner in Carlile Patchen & Murphy in Columbus, Ohio, is running for Fairfield County Commissioner in 2012 to replace the retiring commissioner. Posted 10.17.11
Emily Jane Aten and William Whitney Kilgroe were married on April 9, 2011 in Atlanta. Lindsey Bowen Mann was a bridesmaid. Taylor Hayden and Bradley Reed were groomsmen. Emily and Whit live in Atlanta, where Whit is a corporate associate at Jones Day and Emily is an in-house corporate attorney at Credigy. Posted 7.15.11
Ashley Kasarjian was appointed to the editorial board of Arizona Attorney magazine. She has also been elected to the board of directors for the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation. Ashley in an associate at Snell & Wilmer in their Phoenix office, focusing in litigation, employment counseling/advice and internal investigations. Posted 7.15.11
Ben Gastel recently left Troutman Sanders in Atlanta and accepted a position with Branstetter, Stranch and Jennings in Nashville. His position was secured through the help of the Vanderbilt Law School Career Services Department. Posted 5.18.11
Bryan Cantrell and his wife,Oksana, welcomed their first child, Alexander John Cantrell, on April 29, 2011. The Cantrells live in Parsippany, New Jersey, where Bryan is an associate in the Labor and Employment Group at the Newark office of K&L Gates. Posted 5.6.11
Erick Wang joined the Houston office of DLA Piper as an associate in the corporate and securities practice group. Posted 4.11.11
Matt Martinez is one of four alumni (Matt Sanderson '08, Chad Pehrson '08 and Bentley Peay '07) who founded a political action committee to lobby for a college football playoff. The PAC has evolved into the principal advocacy group on the issue and have had some great success. The group was recently featured on the front page of the New York Times. Posted 3.9.11
Joseph B. Wells has been named senior associate at Frost Brown Todd in the Corporate and Business Department. He represents and advises clients in the area of financial restructuring. Joseph has worked at Frost Brown since graduation. Posted 2.2.11
Raghu Seshadri has joined the in-house legal department of Southwest Airlines Co. in Dallas, Texas where his practice focuses on intellectual property protection and transactions. Before joining Southwest, Raghu was an associate in the Technology Transactions Group at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, California. Posted 1.28.11
Susan Ambler (JD'08) and J. Ashley Ebersole were married on November 6, 2010 in Washington, D.C. Susan and Ashley live in DC, where Susan is a litigation associate at Latham & Watkins and Ashley is a litigation associate at Skadden Arps. Lauren Patten Coble, Elizabeth Hyon, Abbey Mansfield, and Nesrin Garan Tift (JD'08) were bridesmaids. Grant Dickson and Adam Herman '07 were groomsmen. Susan and Ashley were thrilled that so many of their Vanderbilt friends could join them at the wedding, including Nii-Amar Amamoo '07, Caryn Cramer '07, Brian Fleming '06, Daniel Flournoy '07, Courtney Glaser '07, Vanessa Harris Gross and Geoff Gross '08, Mark Hosemann '07, Matt Leggett '07, Uta Oberdoerster '08, Pat Rogers '07, Scott Tift '08, and Charlie Trumbull '06.
Jessica (Justema) Williams and her husband, Evan Williams, welcomed a son, James Crews, on October 21, 2009.
Class of 2008
Sarah Laird has been welcomed as a new Shareholder at Polsinelli. Read the full press release here. Posted 2.21.22
Meera Modi has been appointed to Board of Director as Orrstown Financial Services, Inc. Read the full press release here. Posted 3.21.22
Brian Baltz has joined McGuireWoods as a Partner in its Washington office. Posted 1.31.22
Anna Jinhua Wang has been elected as Partner at Robinson+Cole, effective January 1st, 2022. Posted 1.31.22
Nicole Jakubowski (Lerescu) has accepted a position as Principal, Assistant General Counsel with the Options Clearing Corporation in Chicago, IL. Posted 8.27.21
Ms. Courtney Ann Matsuish has been named General Counsel at Nautilus Solar Energy, LLC (“Nautilus”), a leading owner-operator of distributed generation and community solar projects located throughout North America. She is pleased to become the newest member of the executive team. Posted 5.6.21
Josh S. Tatum has been admitted to the Plews Shadley Racher and Braun LLP firm as a partner. Posted 2.15.21
Blake G. Betheil has been elected a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. Blake is a member of the firm’s Trusts and Estate Planning practice group in its Boca Raton, FL office. Blake’s practice focuses on estate planning, asset protection, and tax planning, including international estate and tax planning for multinational families and nonresidents owning U.S. real estate. Posted 2.15.21
Gabe Fleet has been named Executive Vice President of Business Affairs and Chief Music Licensing Counsel at iHeartMedia. Read more here. Posted 2.12.21
Luciano Racco has joined Foley Hoag as counsel and co-chair of its Trade Sanctions & Export Control practice. He is a resident in the Washington, D.C. office. Read more here. Posted 2.11.21
Sarah Laird joins Maynard Cooper & Gale as a Shareholder in the Real Estate and Financial Services practice. She has extensive experience in a broad range of commercial real estate matters, including the acquisition, development, financing, leasing, and operation of real estate assets. Posted 1.16.21
Safiya N. Morgan was interviewed in the Washington Post regarding recent developments in immigration law. Read more. Posted 10.28.20
Betsy Philpott has taken over as vice president and general counsel of the Washington Nationals following the departure of longtime predecessor Damon Jones. Read more here. Posted 9.28.20
Sarah Luppen Fowler has been promoted to Deputy General Counsel of SAG-AFTRA. She and her husband John Fowler (B.A., 2005) welcomed their second son, William Luppen Fowler, on January 7, 2020. Posted 4.21.20
Abbey Mansfield Ruby has joined Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis in their Nashville office. Read more here. Posted 3.30.20
Anna Jinhua Wang has been promoted to counsel at Robinson + Cole. Anna, a member of the firm’s Business Transactions Group, assists clients with capital markets and securities law, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters. She has a decade of experience helping public and private companies in capital market and securities-related matters. She represents clients across a range of industries and advises them on capital formation, capital structure, securities offerings, and equity and asset sales and purchases. She is resident in the firm’s New York office. Posted 3.27.20
Sarah K. Laird has been elected partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. Posted 3.24.20
Timothy W. Hanson was elected partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. Tim is a member of the firm’s Transactions Client Service Group and Private Equity Team. He concentrates his practice on mergers and acquisitions, including private equity and strategic transactions, commercial transactions, corporate law matters and executive and equity compensation issues. He has experience advising private equity funds and public and private corporations regarding their M&A and commercial transactions, as well as advising on day-to-day corporate and compensation issues. Posted 3.19.20
Buddy Meyer is associate general counsel at Pansophic Learning in McLean, Virginia. Buddy previously served as counsel in the corporate securities and tax department at Miles and Stockbridge. Posted 3.17.20
Tracy Dry Kane has been promoted to Chief Administrative and Legal Officer at Endeaver Business Media. Read more here. Posted 1.7.20
Susan Ambler Ebersole and J. Ashley Ebersole (JD'07) happily welcomed twin girls, Gracie and Eliza, on October 25, 2019. Jay, their big brother, is pictured holding them in the hospital. Posted 12.19.19
James Irving was included in Greater Louisville’s 2019 Forty Under 40 as an honoree. Read more here. Posted 11.22.19
Irina Khasin Dutcher has joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia as an assistant U.S. attorney in the criminal division. She was previously a chief senior assistant district attorney for the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. Posted 5.8.19
Lisa P. Bashinsky (BA’96; Med’99) has joined Gullet Sanford Robinson & Martin in Nashville. She previously practiced at Hall Booth Smith. Posted 5.8.19
Sigrid Neilson has been promoted to vice president and assistant general counsel at Equinox in New York, where she had previously served as general counsel. Posted 4.30.19
Dorian Peters is a police officer for the City of El Cerrito in California. Posted 4.30.19
Ashley Martin has joined Fox Swibel Levin & Carroll in Chicago as a litigation attorney. Posted 4.30.19
Hugh Hill is serving as general counsel of Economic Index Associates. He has been managing director of VHS Capital in New York since 2015. Posted 4.30.19
Nick and Nicole Jakubowski (Lerescu) are excited to announce the birth of their second child, John Michael Jakubowski, born on March 28, 2019. He joins big sister Julia and his parents, who live in Chicago. Posted 4.23.19
Sybil Dunlop was featured in Minnesota Lawyer Q & A. Read more https://law.vanderbilt.edu/news/sybil-dunlop-08-featured-in-minnesota-lawyer-qa/ Posted 6.19.18
Gary Montle has been named president of the Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association. Gary is a shareholder at Patterson Intellectual Property Law, where he has practiced since 2008. Posted 6.4.2018
Kelley (Connolly) Barnaby has been elected to the Alston & Bird partnership. Kelley is a member of the firm’s litigation and trial practice group and focuses her practice on civil litigation and enforcement regarding unfair competition, particularly in the financial services and healthcare industries. Posted 3.22.18
James Aaron George has been named a partner with Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton. Aaron is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, where he represents clients in complex business litigation and technical regulatory matters. Posted 2.16.18
Christopher A. Bowles has been promoted to partner of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. Christopher is a member of Bradley’s Real Estate Practice Group in the firm’s Nashville office. Posted 1.15.18
Simon N. Pulman has been promoted to partner of Cowan, DeBaets, Abrhams & Sheppard in New York City. Simon is a transactional attorney primarily counseling clients in entertainment and media law matters. Posted 1.15.18
Nolan Shenai married Elizabeth Gocke on September 23. Nolan is a corporate counsel at Jaguar Land Rover in Mahwah, New Jersey and is the lead counsel for the company’s mergers, acquisitions and equity transactions business. Elizabeth is the corporate counsel in the Secaucus, New Jersey office of the Internap Corporation, a technology company. Posted 10.18.17
James R. Irving has been named the new managing partner of Bingham Greenebaum Doll in Louisville. James is chair of the Bankruptcy and Restructuring Practice Group of Bingham Greenebaum Doll. Posted 8.1.17
Govenor Bill Haslam has appointed Alex McVeagh as special judge for Division II of Hamilton County General Sessions Court. Alex’s appointment fills the temporary vacancy created by Judge David E. Bales’ request to take a leave of absence due to a disability. Alex is an associate at Chambliss Bahner & Stophel in Chattanooga. Posted 4.21.17
Nick and Nicole Jakubowski welcomed the birth of their daughter, Julia Michelle, on January 31. Nick is assistant general counsel at LKQ Corporation in Chicago and Nicole is an associate at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in Chicago. Posted 2.21.17
Sarah Luppen Fowler and her husband John Fowler welcomed the birth of their son, John Dale Fowler IV, on December 28, 2016. Sarah will start as in-house counsel for SAG-AFTRA in April. Posted 2.21.17
Ian K. Byrnside made partner at BakerHostetler. Ian is a member of the firm’s litigation group in their Atlanta office. Posted 1.23.17
Nathan Huntwork made partner at Phelps Dunbar in New Orleans. Posted 1.23.17
Dorian A. Peters, an associate at Gagen Mccoy in Danville, California, is a certified criminal law specialist. Dorian joins approximately 360 other California attorneys who have been certified by the State Bar of California. Posted 1.19.17
Michael Holick (MBA ’08) made partner at Simpson Thatcher in New York. Mike concentrates his practice on mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance transactions. Posted 1.19.17
Gabe and Ashleigh Roberts welcomed the birth of their quadruplets on September 6: Helen Bird Roberts, Wade Gabriel Roberts, Colette Carmen Roberts, and Rivers Alexander Roberts. Posted 9.15.16
Ashleigh Roberts was honored by the Nashville Business Journal as a member of its 2016 “Top 40 under 40” class. She is Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam’s deputy legal counsel. Posted 7.27.16
Gabe Roberts was honored by the Nashville Business Journal as a member of its 2016 “Top 40 under 40” class. He was also announced as the new HCFA deputy director. Gabe is the general counsel for TennCare. Posted 7.25.16
Jamie Lynn Hoxie joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas to serve as a criminal prosecutor in December of 2015. Posted 4.5.16
Laura Elisabeth Ashby has been appointed member at Miller & Martin in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Posted 3.08.16
Ty Edwin Shaffer is now a shareholder in the Charlotte office of Robinson Bradshaw. Posted 2.25.16
Michael Thomas Harmon (MBA'08) is a partner in the Nashville office of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis where he focuses on complex civil litigation. Posted 1.11.15
Robert Calloway Renegar is a partner in the Nashville office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. His practice includes the representation of national, regional and local banks, life insurance companies, and corporate clients in a variety of commercial and real estate lending matters. Posted 1.27.15
Gary Lee Montle has been named shareholder at Nashville-based Patterson Intellectual Property Law. He is a registered patent attorney and focuses his practice on the procurement and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Posted 1.27.16
John Matthew Kroplin has been elected partner in the Nashville office of Burr & Forman where he is a member of the commercial litigation & health care practice group. Posted 1.27.16
William Nelson Minor was elected partner in the Cincinnati office of Keating Muething & Klekamp. Will focuses in litigation and dispute resolution, representing private and public companies in business disputes including breach of contract, financial services and construction litigation as well as business torts, fraud, commercial real estate disputes and class action. Posted 12.4.15
Hugh F. Hill IV and Julia Gorodetsky announce the birth of third child, Hunter Hill, June 18, 2015. Posted 8.31.15
Meera (Popat) Modi was included on the Central Penn Business Journal’s 21st annual “Forty Under 40” list, an award that recognizes up-and-coming leaders in the region. Meera is an associate with Buchanan Ingersoll Rooney in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where she focuses her practice on private and public mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, equity and debt investments, financings, investor-to-investor matters and corporate governance matters for both corporate clients and nonprofit entities. Posted 8.3.15
Ameena Nadeem Ashfaq died March 31st. She was 33. Ameena attended the Unversity of Texas at Austin before earning her JD from the Law School. After graduating, she returned to Houston, Texas to join the Baker and Hostetler law firm where her practice focused on healthcare issues. She is survived by her parents and husband. Posted 4.26.15
John Matthew Kroplin has joined Burr & Forman as an associate in the firm’s Nashville office. Matt is a member of the firm’s commercial litigation practice group. Posted 3.24.15
Sigrid Elsa Neilson has joined Equinox as senior counsel, focusing on a variety of commercial contracts and intellectual property matters. Prior to joining Equinox, Sigrid was counsel at NBCUniversal and began her career at Skadden Arps’s New York office. Sigrid was recently named to the Board of Governors for the American Swedish Historical Museum. Posted 2.18.15
Darren Todd Freedman has been made partner at Troy Gould, a business law firm in Los Angeles. Posted 11.6.14
Brett Sander has joined Frankel in Washington, D.C. as an associate. Brett was previously an operational and contract law attorney in the U.S. Army. Posted 5.17.15
David Paul Byeff married Jill Larson on August 9 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In attendance were several VLS alumni, including Todd Brecher, Safieh Nemazee Campbell, Geoff and Vanessa Gross, Hugh Hill and Julia Gorodetsky, Jeffrey Hollis, Jamie Hoxie, Fong Hsu, Justin Leck, Sigrid Neilson, Kevin Potere, Brett Sander, Kelly Walsh, Justin and Anna Welch, Benjamin and Angie Wickert (JD'09), and Kevin Young. Posted 9.26.14
Jamie Lynn Hoxie has joined Clifford Chance as a litigation associate in the firm's New York office. Prior to joining Clifford Chance, Jamie was an associate with Weil Gotshal & Manges. Posted 9.26.14
Betsy Philpott has joined the Washington Nationals Baseball Club as the Legal Affairs Specialist in Washington, D.C. She is one of three attorneys for the team where she handles a wide variety of matters and completes deals on behalf of the team, the stadium, the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation, and the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy. Posted 8.12.2014
Thomas Peyton (Tom) Claycomb has been appointed master commissioner and domestic relations commissioner in LaRue County, Kentucky, where he practices as the managing member of the Claycomb Law Office in Hodgenville with his father and his wife, Catherine Barrington Ford '07. As master commissioner, Tom assists the county circuit court in enforcement of duties, and as domestic relations commissioner, he reviews divorce and child custody actions and makes recommendations to circuit judges. Tom and Catherine have a son, Peyton. Posted 7.24.14
Scott Tift has been named partner of the Nashville firm, Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison (formerly Barrett Johnson). He focuses on complex civil litigation and labor employment law. Posted 7.18.14
Gabe Roberts has been named a finalist for the Nashville Emerging Leader Award. by Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and YP Nashville.. Gabe works for the Tennessee Department of Health Care Finance & Administration. Posted 7.16.14
Elizabeth Susan Hyon married Aaron Grant Rubin on April 12 in New York. Elizabeth works in New York as assistant vice president for litigation at Barclays. Posted 6.12.14
Tracy Dry Kane has been named shareholder with Nashville, Tennessee, firm Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella. Posted 1.28.14
Peter Christopher Robison has joined Nashville-based law firm, Cornelius & Collins, as an associate. He focuses his practice on employment law, general civil litigation, insurance defense and estate administration. Previously, Peter practiced at DHPM (formerly Drescher & Sharp) and clerked for the Honorable Thomas W. Brothers of the Sixth Circuit Court of Nashville and Davidson County. Posted 11.25.13
Chad Pehrson was recently elected shareholder with Parr Brown Gee & Loveless in Salt Lake City, Utah. His practice focus is intellectual property and securities litigation. Chad and his family like Salt Lake but of course miss the peerless trees, parks, cuisine, and culture of Nashville. Posted 9.23.13
Adam Hill was recently featured in a Tennessean article as having completed leadership training through the Young Leaders Council (YLC). The YLC, in conjunction with the Frist Foundation and the United Way, aims to "train diverse, committed individuals to effectively participate on the boards of nonprofit organizations and make a difference in the community by replenishing the volunteer leadership base." Adam will follow this training up with an internship with a community agency for the next year. Posted 9.6.13
Dongok Jeon joined Kim & Chang, Seoul in April 2012, working in both the corporate and the international arbitration groups. Don had previously served as a Judge Advocate in the Republic of Korea Air Force and Ministry of National Defense. Don has been married for almost 3 years and has a two year old son and a four month old daughter. Posted 2.5.13
Robert Tadashi Matsuishi has joined the Orange County office of Payne & Fearsas an associate in the employment, trade secret, and unfair business practices litigation groups. Posted 11.19.12
Thomas Douglas MacKinnon Wolford (BA'03) married Colette Andrews (MSN'12) in Nashville on October 26. They live in Nashville, where Doug is an attorney with Community Health Systems and Colette is a nurse as Vanderbilt Medical Center. Posted 11.15.12
Kevin Paul Potere , an associate at Duane Morris, has been selected to receive the "2012 New York State (NYS) Courts Access to Justice Pro Bono Award" for his outstanding work and dedicated service in the NYS Courts Access to Justice's Family Court Volunteer Lawyer Program. The award will be presented to Kevin by the Honorable Fern Fisher, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge, during a ceremony in celebration of National Pro Bono Celebration Week on October 25 at the New York City Civil Court in Manhattan. Kevin practices in the area of litigation, with particular emphasis on securities and commercial litigation, real estate, white-collar and government affairs. Posted 11.14.12
Jane Elizabeth Hefferan shared her harrowing experience following a brown recluse spider bite which required 20 surgeries and dozens of blood transfusions over a four year time period. You can read about Jane's account by clicking here. Posted 10.15.2012
Richard Antoine Tabuteau has opened Tabuteau, representing clients in the Baltimore, Maryland area in matters involving birth injury, wrongful death, automobile and truck accidents, and premises liability. Posted 9.24.12
Gabe Roberts, an attorney in the office of the general counsel for the state of Tennessee, has been appointed to the State Board of Accountancy as an attorney member by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam. He will serve on the Board through June 30, 2015. Posted 9.6.12
Hugh F. Hill IV and wife, Julia Gorodetsky, welcomed their first son, Hugh Frances Hill V, on May 22 (and he is a handsome little devil). 8.6.12
Justin Ross Leck has joined the Wichita, Kansas based, Eron Law Office as an associate attorney specializing in commercial law and bankruptcy. As a member of the firm's bankruptcy practice, Justin handles both consumer and commercial bankruptcy cases. Posted 6.12.12
Nicholas James Nugent has joined the Northern Virginia office of Hogan Lovells. Nicholas focuses his practice on intellectual property law. Posted 5.24.12
Brian Joseph Baltz has joined the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the Division of Trading and Markets as an attorney. Posted 5.8.12
Douglas Wolford (BA'03) is engaged to Colette Bennett Andrews of Nashville, Tennessee. The couple plans to be wed in a ceremony at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Columbia, South Carolina on October 26. Doug is an attorney with Community Health Systems in Nashville, Tennessee. Posted 5.8.12
Angela "Angie" Holland died April 28 following an emergency hospitalization on April 25. Angie was an associate at Reed Smith in Washington, D.C., where she practiced in the firm's global regulatory enforcement group, focusing her practice on education law, labor and employment, and commercial litigation. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 2002. Before entering law school, she served through Teach for America at Sumner High School in St. Louis, Missouri, where she taught Spanish, chaired the foreign language department, and coached cheerleading. A cheerful and effective leader everywhere she served, Angie crafted curricula and delivered instruction for the Teach for America Program and was a corps member advisor for the Los Angeles School District.
She excelled in law school, where she served on the staff of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, receiving the journal's Outstanding Editor Award. Her dedication to public service and community involvement was recognized with numerous awards, including the National Association of Women Lawyers Outstanding Law Student Award; the Junius L. Allison Legal Aid Award; the Damali K. Booker Award, which honors graduates for their commitment to public and community service; and Scholastic Excellence Awards in Domestic Violence Law and Taxation of Nonprofits. She was the senior articles editor of the Southern Region BLSA Law Journal, and director of the Vanderbilt Legal Aid Society's Street Law program, where she founded a classroom program for students at Pearl-Cohn High School. She also served as the Academic Excellence Committee Co-chair of the Black Law Students Association.
Before entering private practice, Angie clerked for Judge Karen Wells Roby of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. At Reed Smith, her education law practice includes the representation of school boards, public school districts, and private schools in disputes regarding personnel issues, licensing, special education matters relating to eligibility, placement, and Individualized Education Programs, due process hearings, claims arising out of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and investigations with the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.
She was an associate trustee of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and a member of the Education Law Association, the District of Columbia Bar Association and the Maryland State Bar Association. She proudly served on the board of directors for Beacon House, a non-profit, community-based organization that provides tutoring, mentoring, cultural, athletic, recreational and nutritional programs to at-risk children, ages 5-18, who live in and around the Edgewood Terrace community in Ward 5 of Washington, D.C. She was an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, which she joined as a student at the University of Pennsylvania. Posted 5.3.12
Ramona Louise Kappel Johns has joined Zions Bank as an administrator and corporate trust officer in downtown Boise. She will assist in providing local administration of various debt-financing transactions, including escrow and bonds. Prior to joining Zions Bank, Ramona spent more than three years as an associate with Hawley Troxell Ennis and Hawley. Posted 4.17.12
Sarah Kathryn Laird has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in the firm's Nashville office as a member of the real estate practice group, focusing her practice on commercial real estate transactions, including real estate acquisitions, dispositions, development, lending and leasing. Posted 4.16.12
Justin Welch has joined the Intellectual Property Practice Group in the Dallas office of Thompson & Knight. Welch focuses his practice on intellectual property transactions, including domestic and international trademark prosecution and enforcement, trademark clearance searches, IP assignments and licenses, due diligence on potential acquisitions, domain name disputes, data privacy, and drafting contest and advertising rules. Welch is admitted to practice in Texas, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts and is a member of the International Trademark Association. Posted 1.11.12
Christopher Andrew Bowles has joined the regional firm, Bradley Arant Boult & Cummingsin their Nashville office as an associate in the Real Estate Practice Group. Chris will focus his practice on matters involving alternative energy, energy, economic development, environmental issues, land use, and commercial real estate. Prior to joining Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, Chris was the director of Nashville Mayor Karl Dean's Office of Environment and Sustainability. While working for the Mayor, he oversaw several initiatives, including the creation and implementation of the Mayor's residential energy efficiency program, Nashville Energy Works, and the creation of Nashville's first-ever Open Space Master Plan. Previously Chris practiced environmental law and litigation with Bass, Berry & Sims PLC in Nashville. Posted 1.11.12
Jamie Hoxie has joined the securities litigation/corporate governance group of Weil Gotshal & Mangesin the firm's New York office. Posted 1.11.12
Matthew Kroplin joined the Nashville office of Stites & Harbison in the firm's business litigation group. Matthew currently serves as a board member on the Junior Board of the American Cancer Society of Nashville and formerly served as board member and Vice President for the Phoenix Club of Nashville, a fundraising partner with the Boys and Girls Club of Middle Tennessee. He also serves on the Nashville Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division board and the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Mock Trial Committee. Posted 1.11.12
Jeffrey Branden Sand is an associate in the Atlanta office of Seyfarth Shaw and is a member of the Labor and Employment Practice Group. Mr. Sand represents employers in all aspects of labor and employment law, including allegations of race, gender, national origin, age, and disability discrimination, breach of contract claims, and labor disputes. Mr. Sand also provides preventative counseling to employers on a variety of employment issues. Posted 1.11.12
Sarah Laird has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummingsin Nashville as an associate. Sarah was previously a judicial law clerk on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Posted 11.9.11
Nolan Shenai has joined Thorp Reed & Armstrongas an associate based in Philadelphia, where he will practice in the firm's commercial and corporate litigation group. Posted 11.9.11
Nicole Jacquelyn Hanson and Benjamin Henry Mainzer were married on May 14, at the Viansa Winery in Sonoma, California by Judge John Feeney. Benjamin is an attorney and partner with Zwerdling, Bragg and Mainzer. Posted 10.17.11
Daniel Wayne Robertson Jr. married Colleen Givens July 1. Vanderbilt Law classmates in attendance at the wedding included Kevin Potere, David Byeff, Hugh Hill and Julia Gorodetsky. Posted 10.17.11
Matthew Sanderson, an associate at Caplin & Drysdale, represented Stephen Colbert in the comedian's quest to get Federal Election Commission approval for a “super PAC” or political action committee, a spoof on the campaign contribution process that raised provocative questions about the role of media corporations in campaign financing. Matthew was interviewed by Capital Business at the Washington Post about how his work led to his position at Caplin. Posted 10.17.11
Taylor C. Sutherland has joined the Rocky McElhaney law firm as an associate. He had practiced previously with Leader, Bulso & Nolan. Posted 10.14.11
Kelley Connolly Barnaby married Nick Barnaby on May 28, 2011. Several VLS classmates were in attendance. Kelley is an associate in the litigation and trial practice group at Alston & Bird in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. Posted 7.15.11
Laura Gary Ashby has been selected to the 2011 Young Lawyers Division Leadership Academy of the State Bar of Georgia. The program is designed for young lawyers who are interested in developing their leadership skills as well as learning more about their profession, their communities and their state. Participants are selected through a competitive application process. Laura is an associate with the litigation department of Miller & Martin in the firm's Atlanta office. Her practice concentrates on business and tort litigation. She also provides counseling to clients regarding intellectual property matters. Posted 3.10.11
Matt Martinez '07 is one of four alumni (Matt Sanderson '08, Chad Pehrson '08 and Bentley Peay '07) who founded a political action committee to lobby for a college football playoff. The PAC has evolved into the principal advocacy group on the issue and have had some great success. The group was recently featured on the front page of the New York Times. Posted 3.9.11
Daniel W. Robertson Jr. is engaged to Colleen Givens. Colleen earned her Master of Education at Hunter College in New York City and is a teacher for the New York City public schools. Daniel works with the law firm Orrick, Harrington & Sutcliff in Manhattan. A July wedding is planned in New York City. Posted 2.2.11
Susan Ambler and J. Ashley Ebersole (JD'07) were married on November 6, 2010 in Washington, D.C. Susan and Ashley live in DC, where Susan is a litigation associate at Latham & Watkins and Ashley is a litigation associate at Skadden Arps. Lauren Patten Coble, Elizabeth Hyon, Abbey Mansfield, and Nesrin Garan Tift '08 were bridesmaids. Grant Dickson and Adam Herman '07 were groomsmen. Susan and Ashley were thrilled that so many of their Vanderbilt friends could join them at the wedding, including Nii-Amar Amamoo '07, Caryn Cramer '07, Brian Fleming '06, Daniel Flournoy '07, Courtney Glaser '07, Vanessa Harris Gross and Geoff Gross '08, Mark Hosemann '07, Matt Leggett '07, Uta Oberdoerster '08, Pat Rogers '07, Scott Tift '08, and Charlie Trumbull '06.
Kerry Bartoe Lea and her husband William welcomed a baby boy, Bradford James Lea, on September 9th 2010. The family lives in Indianapolis where Kerry practices law at Baker & Daniels and William is a radiology resident at Indiana University.
Courtney (DeWolf) Matsuishi and Robert Matsuishi were married on July 17, 2010 at Mountaingate Country Club in Los Angeles. They currently reside in Los Angeles. Fellow alumnus, David Byeff, served as the couple's officiant. The couple is happy to report that Dave did not mess up.
Emily O'Reilly Harris (BA'06) and Matthew Morris Mauney were married September 19, 2009 at Belle Meade Plantation in Nashville. The couple met at Vanderbilt Law School. Emily is keeping her name. She is an associate in the Charlotte, N.C., office of Mayer Brown, where she helps clients form private investment funds. Matt is an associate in the Charlotte office of McGuire Woods.
Julia Gorodetsky and Hugh F. Hill IV were married in a private, family-only ceremony in the early evening of September 4, 2008 at the Ashby Inn in Paris, Virginia in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. They are grateful that so many of their Vanderbilt friends could attend the reception held in honor of their marriage the following Saturday in Washington, D. C. The couple met on their first day of law school at Vanderbilt and have been inseparable ever since. "I felt like I had met my other half that day," said the groom. "We've opened up new doors for each other." Julia recently joined the New York City office of Andrews Kurth, a Houston-based law firm, as an associate in the corporate department. Hugh is currently a restructuring and insolvency associate in the New York City office of Lovells, a London-based multi-national law firm. They both hope many of their Vandy friends will visit them in New York.
Samantha Lee Symonds and Joseph Baruch Shear were married at the Church of St. John the Divine in Houston in the summer of 2008. The Rev. Benjamin T. S. Phillips, an Episcopal priest, performed the ceremony. The bride and bridegroom graduated from Stanford, where they met. Each received a law degree in May, she from Vanderbilt and he from Harvard, cum laude. In October Samantha will become a corporate associate in Gunderson Dettmer, a law firm in Menlo Park, California and Joseph will become a litigation associate in the Redwood Shores, California office of the New York law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges.
Nick and Nicole Jakubowski (Lerescu) are excited to announce the birth of their second child, John Michael Jakubowski, born on March 28, 2019. He joins big sister Julia and his parents, who live in Chicago.
Class of 2009
Nick Lynton was appointed Chief Legal and Privacy Officer at Cardlytics, Inc. Posted 8.4.22
Jacquelyn N. Schell has been elevated to partner at the national law firm of Ballard Spahr. Posted 6.28.22
Jason P. Katz has joined Polsinelli as a Shareholder. Posted 6.6.22
Timothy P. DeKeyser has joined Stroodk as a partner. He represents investors, domestic and international real estate companies, funds, lenders, government-sponsored entities and other entities in complex real estate matters ranging from acquisitions and leasing to construction transactions and development of raw or underdeveloped land. Posted 1.31.22
Logan Murphy has been appointed to the County Court for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit for Hillsborough County, Florida. Posted 10.29.21
Lauren Gaffney of Bass, Berry & Sims was chosen to serve in a national leadership program created by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). Gaffney will be a member in the 2021 class of Fellows. In addition to her legal practice, Gaffney is an active participant in the firm’s pro bono initiatives with a focus on serving those in need in the LGBTQ+ community. Read more here. Posted 6.9.21
Marchello D. Gray has been elected to partnership at Hollingsworth in Washington, DC. Marchello defends manufacturers in a wide range of products liability and toxic tort matters and has experience in all facets of the litigation process. Read more here. Posted 4.3.20
Lauren Gaffney has been elected member at Bass, Berry & Sims. Lauren works with health care clients on enforcement and compliance. Read more here. Posted 3.26.20
Emily Chancey has been named a shareholder at Maynard Cooper & Gale in Birmingham, Alabama. Posted 5.8.19
Aisha McWeay joined Still She Rises, in Tulsa, Oklahoma as their Executive Director. Still She Rises is the first holistic defense organization to represent mothers in the criminal legal system. The following link has more information: https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/money-career/aisha-mcweay-executive-director-still-she-rises/ Posted 03.25.19
Irina Dutcher was named assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia as a member of the Criminal Division. Posted 2.11.19
Samuel E. Endicott has been elected partner at BakerHostetler in their Columbus, OH office. He represents employers in employment litigation and internal investigations. He also advises employers on personnel policies, wage and hour compliance, employee discipline and litigation avoidance strategies. Posted 2.4.19
Jarom Yates has been promoted to counsel in the Restructuring Practice Group in the Dallas office of Haynes and Boone. His practice focuses on all areas of restructuring. Posted 2.4.19
Samuel E. Endicott was recently promoted to partner at law firm BakerHostetler, where he practices in the firm’s Columbus, OH office. Sam represents employers in employment litigation and internal investigations. He also advises employers on personnel policies, wage and hour compliance, employee discipline and litigation avoidance strategies. Posted 1.16.19
Eric Larson (JD '09) has been elected partner at Morris, Manning & Martin in Atlanta. Posted 10.18.18
Herb Allen has been promoted to shareholder at Polsinelli in Washington, D.C. Herb’s practice focuses on providing antitrust counseling to businesses and trade associations, defending mergers and acquisitions before FTC, DOJ, and state regulators, and representing plaintiffs and defendants in civil litigation matters in federal and state courts around the country. Posted 3.1.18
Georgia Hamann has been named partner at Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie in Phoenix, Arizona, where she focuses on liability and negligence litigation. Posted 2.16.18
Lara Flatau (BA ’05) has been elected as member of Bass, Berry & Sims. She advises health care companies on strategic transactions. Lara joined Bass, Berry & Sims in 2016. Previously, she practiced with Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner. Posted 1.29.18
James Gibson has been named a partner at Lightfoot, Franklin & White. James has been with the firm’s Birmingham office for 8 years and focuses on defense litigation. Posted 1.15.18
Ryan Morgan is now partner at Locke Lord in the firm’s Houston office. Posted 1.15.18
Peter Marshall is now partner at Vinson & Elkins in the firm’s Dallas office. Peter represents public companies, private equity funds and other financial sponsors in connection with acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, structured financing transactions and other strategic investments. He works with clients investing across a wide range of industries, including technology, financial services, healthcare, infrastructure, traditional and renewable energy, manufacturing and consumer retail. Posted 1.15.18
Bailey Spaulding was featured in “Faces of Nashville” on styleblueprint.com. Read the full article here. Posted 4.19.17
J. Logan Murphy was elected secretary of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Logan is an attorney at Hill Ward Henderson in Tampa, Florida. Posted 2.21.17
Nicholas “Nick” A. Rew is now partner at Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis in their Nashville office. Posted 2.21.17
Tera Rica Murdock is now partner at Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis in their Nashville office. Posted 2.21.17
Ed Wenger joined the office of West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey as general counsel. Ed previously clerked for Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson of the United States Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia Circuit, and for Judge Edward C. Prado on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in San Antonio, Texas. Posted 1.19.17
Michael Paupeck has been selected to Georgia Trend’s 2016 Legal Elite. Mike is partner at Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial in the firm’s construction litigation practice group. Posted 1.19.17
Arnaldo C. Rego Jr. has joined Carlton Fields as an associate in the firm’s Miami office. Prior to joining the firm, Arnaldo was an associate at Paul Hastings in São Paulo, Brazil. Posted 11.28.16
Ben Ford has been promoted to counsel at Verrill Dana in Portland, Maine. Ben’s litigation and trial work focuses on labor and employment, maritime and litigation issues. Posted 11.28.16
Maggie Cornelius is an associate at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in Birmingham, Alabama. Previously, Maggie was an associate at Maynard Cooper & Gale. Posted 7.28.16
Sarah Maxwell is head of global immigration at VISANOW in Chicago, Illinois. Previously, Sarah served as associate in the business immigration group of Vedder Price, and associate and member of Baker & McKenzie’s global immigration and mobility practice. Posted 7.28.16
Charles Gearing, trial attorney and family lawyer at Hanshaw Kennedy Marquis in Frisco, Texas, is now secretary-treasurer for the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers. Posted 7.27.16
Laura Mackenzie Keane married Eric Matthew Ayers March 4 in Seattle. Both the bride and groom work at Amazon.com in Seattle—Laura is a human resources specialist for the company’s Amazon Books division, and Eric manages worldwide business development for its digital products division. Posted 4.5.16
Lara Flatau has joined Bass Berry Sims in Nashville as an associate. Posted 3.14.16
Michael Christopher Paupeck was elected partner in the Atlanta office of Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial. Michael focuses his practice on construction litigation, professional liability litigation, commercial litigation, and catastrophic injury. Posted 1.27.16
Christopher Michael Bellamy was invited to Washington D.C. to take part in a Senate briefing on the pending Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, which aims to lower juvenile incarceration rates as well as spending by using education-based programs to combat juvenile crime. Chris is an assistant district attorney for Robertson County, Tennessee. Posted 12.4.15
Rachel Gore Freed was appointed vice president and chief program officer of Cambridge, Massachusetts based human rights agency the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC). Previously senior program leader for UUSC's Rights at Risk Program, Rachel now leads the organization’s domestic and international programs including its economic justice, environmental justice and rights at risk portfolios. Posted 12.4.15
Allyson Claybourn was elected chair-elect of the Young Lawyers Section (YLS) of the Indiana State Bar Association (ISBA) at its annual meeting in French Lick, Indiana. Her term will expire in October 2016, after which she will become chair of the YLS and will serve on the board of governors of the ISBA. Allyson is associate general counsel at Berry Plastics Corporation. Previously, she served as an associate at the firm Jackson Kelly 2012-2013 and as a law clerk for Hon. Richard L. Young, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana 2010-2012. Posted 12.4.15
Aurelia Jean Schultz has joined the U.S. Copyright Office as counsel in the office of policy and international affairs. Posted 3.24.15
Jacob L. Barney has joined Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan, as attorney, ERISA & Benefits. Prior to joining Ford, Jake practiced in the Dallas offices of Baker Botts and Locke Lord. Jake and his wife Nicole have three sons: Nate (7), Sam (4), and Jude (2). Posted 3.24.15
Katja Hedding was recently featured in a Daily News Journal story, read the article here. Posted 12.19.14
Erin Michelle Carter has been appointed as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of West Virginia based in Wheeling, West Virginia. Prior to her appointment, Erin was a trial associate in the Philadelphia office of Duane Morris specializing in commercial, securities and antitrust litigation and white collar criminal defense and investigations. Posted 9.26.14
R. Wilson Loftis III and his wife, Holly, welcomed their son Franklin on July 3. Frank is their first child. At birth, he was 7 lbs. 3 oz. and 20 ¼ inches, but he is already growing! Both Frank and Holly are healthy and doing great. The family resides in Charlotte where Wilson is an associate at Moore & Van Allen. Posted 8.12.2014
Brittany Morgan Doolittle (Britt) married Andrew Curry in Charlotte, North Carolina, on March 8, 2014. Seven members of the Class of 2009 were in the bridal party; Annie Koday was maid of honor, Angie (Carmignani) Wickert was matron of honor, and Julia Fenwick, Maggie Johnson, Diane Pettit, Brooke Russ, and Jenny Worthy were bridesmaids. Posted 7.16.14
James Gibson and Katie Garrety Gibson (A&S, 2003) were married on May 10 in Birmingham, Alabama, where they will live. James is an associate with Lightfoot Franklin & White, and Katie is a law clerk to the Honorable Madeline H. Haikala, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama. James's law school roommate, Wilson Loftis, was as an usher. Posted 7.16.14
Michael Adler has joined Amazon as corporate counsel. Posted 5.27.14
Sara Beth Myers was featured in a recent article in the Nashville Scene. The article highlights her new venture, Advocates for Women's and Kid's Equality (AWAKE), a non-profit that works to influence public policy that will improve the lives of women and children. The article can be found here. Posted 3.25.14
Carrie Frondorf Erickson has joined Bass Berry & Sims in Nashville. She previously practiced at Sidley Austin in Chicago. Posted 1.14.13
Lauren MacKenzie Lowe recently joined the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights in Chicago. Posted 1.14.13
Ronald Wilson Loftis III married Holly Anne Morgan on October 5, 2013 at the Legare Waring House in Charleston, South Carolina. James Walter Gibson (JD'09) was a groomsman. The couple lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Wilson is an associate with Moore & Van Allen and Holly is an associate with Mayer Brown. Posted 10.21.13
Marci Britt has joined the Tampa office of Fisher & Phillips, a national labor and employment law firm. Marci joins the firm after clerking for the Honorable Virginia M. Hernandez Covington, U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Florida. As an associate, she will represent employers in all areas of labor and employment law, including discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims, wage and hour disputes, whistleblower claims, and family and medical leave issues. Posted 10.10.13
Timothy Paul DeKeyser has joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher as a real estate associate in the firm's New York office. Posted 8.19.13
Charles Madison Gearing, an associate in the Dallas office of Haynes and Boone received the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers' 2013 Pro Bono Service Award earlier this year. The award recognizes the public service or legal aid performed by a young lawyer who provides outstanding contributions and access to justice to those in need of legal services. In the past year, Charles completed 560 hours of pro bono work providing the indigent and non-profit organizations essential legal work. At Haynes and Boone, Charles' practice focuses primarily on complex business litigation and he is experienced in representing entities in the energy, real estate, retail and manufacturing industries involved in actions based on breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. He is also experienced in intellectual property (trademark and copyright) litigation. Posted 8.19.13
Justin Gregory Truesdale , an associate with Smith Anderson, was recently named to the 2013 Lawyers of Color Inaugural "Hot List" (Southern Region), which honors minority attorneys under the age of 40 who are excelling within the legal profession. Lawyers of Color "Hot List" honorees are early-to-mid career minority attorneys who are nominated by colleagues, mentors and peers, as well as editorial advisors in a thorough committee review process. Justin focuses his practice in the areas of corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and securities. He also serves on Smith Anderson's Diversity and Recruiting Committees. Posted 8.19.13
Rachel Elizabeth Gore Freed and husband, Jonathan Tyler Freed (MBA’10) welcomed their son, Devon Gore Freed, on April 5. He was 7 lbs, 9oz and 19.5,” The first few weeks home have been great, and the happy parents report that they are completely smitten by him, as are the rest of the Gore-Freed family. Rachel is working with the Environmental Law Center in Boston. Posted 5.21.13
Jamie Machamer has joined the Nashville firm DHPM. Jamie focuses her practice on domestic relations and estate planning. Posted 2.5.13
Sheena Shukkur (LLM) was interviewed in The Hindu , a major, Indian newspaper, for her work on reforming legal education in India. Posted 1.29.13
Ngozi Chinwe Joe-Nwankwo (LLM) and her husband, Joe C. Nwankwo (LLM'10) welcomed Chisom and Amara, twin baby girls, on June 25, 2012. Chisom and Amara join big brother Chidi (6). The family resides in Nashville where Ngozi and Joe have established a private practice. Posted 1.18.13
Marci Elaine Britt has accepted a clerkship in Tampa, Florida, with the Honorable Virginia M. Hernandez Covington, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Prior to her clerkship, Marci worked for two years as an associate at Phelps Dunbar where she was featured as a "Lawyer Giving Back" in the February 2012 ABA Journal. Posted 1.18.13
Tera Rica Murdock, a trial lawyer at Waller, Nashville’s largest and oldest law firm, has been honored by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as one of Nashville’s Top 30 Under 30 professionals. Tera was recognized for her philanthropic involvement, exemplary leadership qualities and professional success as an attorney. In addition, at the Nashville Bar Association’s annual meeting, held in December 2012, Tera was honored with a Young Lawyer’s Division Award . Posted 1.4.13
Benjamin E. Ford , an associate at Verill Dana, has been recognized as a “Katahdin Counsel” by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Attorneys recognized as Katahdin Counsel are those who have personally completed 50 or more hours of pro bono work in the previous calendar year. Posted 11.16.12
Ellen Frances D’Angelo has accepted a clerkship in New York, New York with Hon. Andrew Carter, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ellen previously clerked for Hon. John C. Yoder, Twenty-Third Judicial Circuit of West Virginia. Posted 11.7.12
John Benjamin Schrader and Kristina Rae Montanaro (JD’10) were married on September 8 at Legare Waring House in Charleston, South Carolina. Members of the wedding party included Katie Greenhaw (JD’10), Nicole Rossi (BS’07, JD’10), Nicki Green (JD’10), Cullen Newton (JD’09), Casey Mock (JD’09) and Thad Bzomowski (JD’09). Posted 10.8.12
Tory Hodges Lewis has joined Friday Eldredge & Clark as an associate in the firm's Little Rock office. Prior to joining the firm, Tory clerked for Judge J. Leon Holmes, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas (2009-11) and for Judge Lavenski Smith, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (2011-12). Posted 9.24.12
Daniel Benjamin Nixa has joined the City of Chicago's Torts Division as assistant coporation counsel. Prior to joining the City of Chicago, Daniel worked as an associate for the Chicago office of Schiff Hardin. Posted 9.24.12
Sarah Cowan Maxwell has joined the Chicago office of Baker & McKenzie, joining the firm's immigration & mobility practice group. Prior to this, Sarah had worked in the Nashville office of Miller & Martin. Posted 6.22.12
Michael James Sirlag Adler married Hillary Shayne Adler in a ceremony officiated by Rabbi Lisa Rubin on February 19 at the Angel Orensanz Foundation in New York. Michael is an associate in the New York office of the Chicago law firm Kirkland & Ellis. Posted 5.8.12
Jason Andrew Hughes married Catherine Michelle Harris at a ceremony held April 28 at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church. Drew is an attorney with Buerger Moseley & Carson in Franklin, Tennessee. Posted 5.8.12
Anne Elizabeth Koday, associate at Neal Gerber & Eisenberg in Chicago, has been named pro bono volunteer of the month of February by Illinois Legal Aid Online. Anne, who serves on Neal Gerber's pro bono committee, provides pro bono services to the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund, the CBA Municipal Court Pro Bono Panel and Chicago Volunteer Legal Services. Posted 5.8.12
Christopher D. Lalonde has joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough as an associate in the firm's newly-former Nashville office. Chris counsels clients in commercial and industrial real estate matters and transactions. He also has worked with Illinois Legal Aid Online, a site dedicated to improving access to legal help for Illinois residents, as well as training and opportunities for attorneys interested in providing pro bono legal aid. Posted 4.23.12
David A. Bartz has joined Akin Gump in the firm's Houston office, where he will focus on corporate and securities matters for companies conducting business in the energy sector. Posted 1.10.12
Scott C. Gardner has joined the Nashville law firm of Buerger Moseley & Carson as an associate. He previously served for two years as an associate attorney at Kay Griffin Enkema & Colbert, also in Nashville. Posted 11.9.11
Rachel Gore and Jonathan Freed were married October 14 in Nashville. Richard McCarty, a friend of the bride's family and the provost of Vanderbilt University who became a Universal Life minister for this event, officiated at the Belle Meade Plantation, a museum and events space. Rachel is an associate at the Law Office of Theodore N. Cox in New York, where she specializes in asylum and refugee law. She is also a chairwoman of the American Bar Association's International Refugee Law Committee. Jonathan is a principal consultant at Capco. Posted 11.9.11
Irina Khasin was recently appointed to the board of trustees of the Rebecca Davis Dance Company, which builds sustainable projects in post-conflict countries using dance training, performance and exchange as a tool of reconciliation in conjunction with community revitalization and economic development. Irina is an associate with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton in Atlanta, which she joined after clerking for Judge C. Lynwood Smith, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Posted 11.9.11
Sara Beth Myers and her husband, John Haubenreich (JD '10), welcomed their first child, Abigail Anne Haubenreich, on September 29. Posted 11.9.11
Kevin Tran joined Waller Lansden as an associate. He focuses his practice in transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, primarily in the healthcare industry. Prior to joining Waller Lansden, Kevin was a capital markets associate with Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft in New York. Posted 11.9.11
Thad Bzomowski and Dani Brody were married on August 27, 2011.
Courtney H. Smith, an associate at Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, has been named one of the firm's Nashville Pro Bono Attorneys of the Year. Courtney was recognized for conceiving and implementing Helping Advocate Against Violent Environments Now (HAAVEN), which provides legal services to victims of domestic violence. Through the HAAVEN program, Baker Donelson partnered with the YWCA Weaver Domestic Violence Center to provide legal clinics and service to victims of domestic violence. At Baker Donelson, Courtney focuses on public contract law and complex commercial litigation. Posted 6.2.11
Kevin R. Tran has joined Waller Lansden as an associate. He focuses his practice on the healthcare industry, in transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures. Prior to joining Waller Lansden, Tran was a Capital Markets Associate with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in New York. Posted 6.2.11
John A. Greer has joined the Intellectual Property and Technology Practice at Bass Berry Sims as an Associate. Posted 4.19.11
Ben Shrader was sworn in as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia by U.S. Attorney Ron Machen on March 8. Ben joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. in October 2010, after clerking for Judge Thomas A. Varlan on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Posted 3.10.11
Victoria McCoy is an associate in the Chicago office of Mayer Brown's Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice. Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Victoria clerked for the Honorable Eric L. Clay of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Posted 1.28.11
Matthew Blumenstein has joined Williams & Connolly in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. Posted 1.28.11
Ashlee Christine Conley and Andrew Charles Robin Veit were married September 19, 2009 in Nashville. The couple will live in New York City.