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 The Columbus School of Law at Catholic University

Where Are They Now?

Congratulations to our alumni!  We would like to hear about your recent achievements -- please send your updates by filling out the alumni information updates form or email us at cualawalumni@law.edu. 

 

 

Classmates Update

 

 2009

 

1959

Eugene M. Dwyer retired in the 1990s, joined The Ignatian Volunteer Corps and works for Catholic Charities five days a week.

 

Hon. Hugh G. (Jerry) Wade has practiced law in Anchorage, Alaska for nearly his entire post-law school career. Over that time, he has served as a deputy U.S commissioner, and then as a district magistrate in the state court system. 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of Alaska’s admission as a state and Judge Wade published an essay about his memory of the event that was condensed in the Anchorage Daily News.  It began, “My family was in Juneau and I was in law school at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. during the final year of the battle for statehood.  Thus, I was privileged to be in the gallery when the House of Representatives passed the statehood bill in April, 1958.” 

 

1968

Eugene F. Miller has retired from Loctite Corporation, in Hartford, CT. Over the years, he served the company as general counsel, senior vice-president and chief patent counsel. Miller and his wife, Kathy, now reside in Tucson, AZ.

 

1969
John P. Donohue, a member of the Columbus School of Law’s Board of Visitors, has been elected as a partner with Thorp Reed & Armstrong, LLP, it was announced in March. Donohue, formerly senior counsel, is now a partner in the firm’s international law practice group, where he concentrates his practice on customs and international trade law. Donohue also has substantial experience representing importers charged with both civil and criminal violations of the trade laws, and has litigated before the federal district courts in New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania, as well as the U.S. Court of International Trade. He has been named twice as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer. Prior to beginning the active practice of law, Donohue was a Special Agent of the FBI.

1973
Roland E. Olivier joined Pennichuck Corporation, a publicly traded water utility holding company, in Aug. 2008, as general counsel and corporate secretary. He is also president of The Southwood Corporation, the corporation's real estate subsidiary. Prior to joining Pennichuck, Olivier worked for more than 30 years for international manufacturing, computer and software companies. He also spent eight years in private practice at two of New Hampshire's largest law firms.

1974
Mary Schneider Chyun is retired and works as volunteer manager of a thrift shop that donates all to its profits to charity. She is married to Yong-Duk Chyun and has two sons, ages 24 and 27.

Mary Delaney Krugman was recognized with the Outstanding Comprehensive Master Plan Award from the city of Hoboken, N.J, presented by N.J. chapter of the American Planning Association. The award is the latest in a long list of honors from state and civic commissions for her work in historic preservation. Krugman is president of Mary Delaney Krugman Associates, Inc., in Montclair, N.J. She is the mother of Daniel, 31, and Casey, 28.

 

James L. Larocca was confirmed to a four-year term as a commissioner of the New York State Public Service Commission on December 15, 2008.  It is his fifth cabinet position in New York State government. Larocca previously served as chairman and trustee of the Long Island Power Authority. A distinguished professor in public policy at Long Island University, Larocca has also served as dean of the college at LIU Southampton. From 2006 to 2007 he served as chairman of the Long Island Regional Planning Board.  He is a past chairman of the board of Touro Law School, and a past member of the Stony Brook University Council. From 1985-1993, Mr. Larocca served as president of the Long Island Association, the region’s largest business and civic organization. Earlier in his career, Larocca held staff positions in the U.S. House of Representatives and the National Commission on Water Quality. From 1977 to 1982, he was New York's first Commissioner of Energy, where he led the development of the New York State Energy Master Plan. Larocca and his wife have three grown children and reside in Sag Harbor, Long Island.

1975

Robert J. Castagna was appointed by the Roman Catholic Bishops of Kentucky as the executive director of Catholic Conference of Kentucky. Castagna assumed his new duties in January, 2009.

 

Ernie DuBester was nominated on June 4, 2009 to be a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority by President Barack Obama. DuBester served as chairman of the National Mediation Board from 1993- 2001. Nominated to that position by President Clinton, he was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate twice. DuBester has 35 years of experience in labor-management relations, working as a public servant, advocate, mediator, arbitrator, and as an academic. He has nearly 20 years of experience with the federal government. He also previously taught collective bargaining and arbitration at the Catholic University of America School of Law.

 

Roberta D. Liebenberg, a partner with Fine, Kaplan and Black in Philadelphia, has spoken recently at a number of programs around the country in her capacity as chair of the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession. Her speeches focused on issues relating to the retention and advancement of women attorneys, particularly in light of the economic downturn. Liebenberg spoke at the Women's Power Summit on Law and Leadership in Austin, Texas; the ABA International Law Section Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C.; the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession Mid-Year Meeting in Philadelphia; and the annual meeting of the National Consortium for Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts in Pittsburgh, P A.  Liebenberg concentrates her practice in antitrust class actions and complex commercial litigation.  

 

 

Roslyn A. Mazer has been appointed as inspector general of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. She begins in her new position on April 24th, 2009. As inspector general of ODNI, Mazer will be responsible for planning, conducting, supervising and coordinating inspections, audits, investigations and other inquiries related to the programs and operations of the ODNI, as well as for providing policy direction in these matters. Since 2002, Mazer has served as investigative counsel in the Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, where she has led teams of attorneys, inspectors, and auditors in conducting complex review of the FBI’s compliance with attorney general guidelines, congressionally-mandated review of national security letter authorities, and allegations of misconduct by department personnel. She has served in the Department of Justice for more than 14 years, including as associate deputy attorney general. Prior to her federal service, Mazer was in private practice. 

 

Hon. Juanita Bing Newton will be honored by The New York Metropolitan Black Bar Association at its 25th Anniversary Dinner on Thursday, May 14, 2009, in New York City. Bing will be recognized along with two others with the Jurist of the Year Award. The event will bring together African-American luminaries in law, government, business, academia and entertainment, as well as minority members of the state’s judiciary and bar.  

 

1976

Hon. Avis Shireen Fisher has been sworn in as a justice to the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The court was set by an agreement between the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations to try those that bear the greatest responsibilities in the Sierra Leone civil conflict after the signing of the Lome Peace Accord on the 30th November 1996. Fisher, a U.S. citizen, was appointed by the UN Secretary General to serve as the court’s new appeals judge. Prior to her appointment Fisher has served from 2005 to 2008 as an international judge of the war crimes chamber in the court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Hon. Booker T. Shaw’s has retired as a member of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, and has joined the St. Louis firm of Thompson Coburn as a partner in its business litigation practice group. Shaw had served as an appellate court judge for 25 years. In his new position, in addition to handling litigation practices, Shaw will handle some in-house continuing legal education and deal with “diversity issues in-house and around the region.” He serves as an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at Washington University. Shaw and his wife Jane Berman Shaw have three sons.

Cynthia Clarke Weber has again been named as one of the world’s 25 best trademark lawyers by Legal Media Group, an arm of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC of London, England. The list of the “Best of the Best” is derived from a biannual survey of over 60,000 international law practitioners in 90 jurisdictions and in eleven different practice areas. Weber is the managing partner of the intellectual property law firm of Sughrue Mion PLLC, a Washington D.C. based firm.

1977

Walter S. Booth argued the first case to be heard in the new District of Columbia Court of Appeals Courthouse on April 29, 2009. An attorney practicing in Bethesda, Md., Booth represented the appellant in Hinton v United States, a case that has been in litigation since 2001. The Court of Appeals recently moved into its new quarters in the historic courthouse that has been under renovation for the past several years. Booth was also appointed to serve a 4-year term on the Montgomery County, Maryland Board of Appeals. The board is a quasi-judicial body that hears administrative appeals of rulings from county government agencies.
   

Hon. Richard E. Jordan was chosen by Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley to fill a vacancy on the Montgomery County Circuit Court created by the retirement of Judge S. Michael Pincus. A former prosecutor, Jordan was most recently a partner at the District law firm Hamilton and Hamilton. Jordan has worked as a trial lawyer for more than three decades, specializing in personal injury cases. In addition to working in the state's attorney's office, Jordan spent six years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Maryland. His son, Patrick M. Jordan, graduated from the Columbus School of Law in 2006. 

Richard A. Shapack was a featured speaker at the Colorado Bar Association's CLE law conference in Vail.  Shapack has been a speaker at the conference for the past 12 years and this was the third year that he has served as the moderator of the tax program.  His presentation was titled, "Saving the Family Cottage: Planning with LLCs." Shapack is an attorney with the Bloomfield Hills, MI, office of Butzel Long, where his practice is concentrates in business law, real estate and estate planning with special emphasis on tax and business planning.  Shapack is a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.  In 2006, he was named in the first listing of Michigan Super Lawyers and was named again in 2007 and 2008. 

1978

Phyllis C. Borzi has been nominated by President Barack Obama for assistant secretary of labor for Employee Benefits Security, Department of Labor. Borzi is currently a research professor in the department of health policy, School of Public Health and Health Services at The George Washington University Medical Center, where she is involved in research and policy analysis involving employee benefit plans, the uninsured, managed care, and legal barriers to the development of health information technology. In addition, she is of counsel with the Washington, D.C. law firm of O’Donoghue & O’Donoghue, LLP, where she specializes in ERISA and other legal areas affecting employee benefit plans, including pensions and retirement savings, health plans, and discrimination based on age or disability. 

1980
Murray A. Bloom is an adjunct instructor at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, where he is co-teaching a class in Maritime Law for the 2009 spring semester. Bloom is the assistant chief counsel for maritime programs at the Maritime Administration, a unit of the United States Department of Transportation.    

Hon. Paul C. Johnson was appointed an administrative law judge with the United States Department of Labor in 2008. He hears cases brought under 80 different federal statutes, including claims for benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act, and the Defense Base Act, as well as whistleblower complaints and enforcement actions under worker protection laws.

 


Hon. Jack A. Panella, a judge on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, is the unopposed democratic candidate for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.  It is the first time in more than 75 years that the democratic primary is uncontested. The primary election is on May 19, 2009, and the general election is on November 3rd. If elected, Panella will be only the second graduate of Columbus School of Law to be elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

 

1981

Cynthia Callahan was appointed to the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland, by Gov. Martin O’Malley, it was announced in April. Callahan, an attorney specializing in family law, will fill a vacancy on the Circuit Court for Montgomery County created by the retirement of the Hon. William J. Rowan, III.  Ms. Callahan has practiced law for over 25 years.  Since 1999, she has been a partner at the Rockville-based law firm of Dragga, Callahan, Hannon, Hessler & Wills, LLP.  In addition to trying cases, she has served as a guardian ad litem for children and persons with disabilities, and as a mediator and arbitrator.  Callahan has served on the Pro Bono Committee of the Montgomery County Bar Association, and she received the Maryland Governor’s Volunteer Service Award and the Marriott Spirit to Serve Award in 2006. 

 

Victor F. LaPuma has been elected chairman of the Nebraska Financial Planning Association for 2009. He was the organization’s president in 2008. The association has a membership of about 175 members who proved personal financial planning services to individuals, with an emphasis on fee-only services. LaPuma is assistant general counsel and assistant corporate secretary for Father Flanagan's Boys' Home in Boys Town, NE.

 

William J. Roberts and his wife, Lisa, are proud of their daughter, Sarah, who graduated from the Columbus School of Law in May, 2008.  Roberts continues his private practice located in Poolesville, Maryland, where he has been for the last 22 years, engaged in commercial litigation, land use, estates, non-profit organizations, environmental, administrative and municipal law. Roberts serves as counsel for various Maryland municipal governments and has, for the past 10 years, served as a hearing examiner for local Boards of Education. 

 

1982

Mary M. Sjoquist has been named director of the office of communications for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, it was announced in May. Sjoquist is responsible for implementing the communications objectives established by the board in its strategic plan. She joined the board in 2003 as special counsel to member Bill Gradison. Prior to her service at the PCAOB, Sjoquist spent more than 25 years as a securities lawyer.


David L. Winstead, former commissioner of the federal Public Buildings Service, has joined the real estate department of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. He is resident in Ballard’s Washington, D.C., office and also will work with the firm’s two offices in Maryland and other nine U.S. offices. While commissioner of PBS, which is within the U.S. General Services Administration, Winstead oversaw management of more than 1,500 federal buildings nationwide and more than 175 million square feet of leased space. 

 

1985

James P. Weber has joined SunGard as executive vice president of SunGard's Assent business unit, an affiliated broker dealer, to oversee trading and clearing. Previously, Weber held various roles at Citigroup including: head of integrated market solutions, securities and funds services, head of equity risk management for Citi Global Equities, and chief operating officer of Citi's lava trading. Weber was also chief executive officer of NASDAQ Europe. Additionally, Weber has held a number of counsel positions including that of special associate counsel to the president in the Clinton Administration.

 

1986

Marcia G. Jones has left her position as chief of staff for the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health to return to private practice. She now concentrates in the areas of health care provider contracting, employment and disability law.

 

Judith M. Keegan is in her 15th year as the director of the Alabama Center for Dispute Resolution.

 

1987
Thomas "Tom" Fay was elected in April as selectmen in Wayland, MA. In a three-way race for two seats, Fay beat one incumbent and was within 100 votes of the first place winner.

 

Bernadine Rice is general counsel for the Orange County Sheriff's Office in Orlando, FL. Recently she earned the designation of Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst. She also received an administrative excellence award for leading reform of the office’s 457 retirement savings program.

 

Thomas H. Somers has accepted a new position as of counsel to Bergeron Paradis & Fitzpatrick in Burlington, VT., where he will continue his practice of management-side labor and employment law throughout New England.

 

1988 

Hon. James G. Gilbert accepted an appointment as a federal administrative law judge with the United States Postal Service effective March 30, 2009.

 

Denise Seastone Kraft has joined the law firm of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge as a partner. She is a member of the litigation department and practices in the firm's Wilmington, DE, office. Kraft concentrates her practice in commercial and corporate litigation and advises in-house counsel and national and international law firms on issues and transactions involving or governed by Delaware law. She is the 2008-09 vice chair of the corporate counseling and litigation subcommittee of the business and corporate litigation committee of the ABA Business Law Section. In 2008, Kraft was a speaker at the ABA Annual Meeting in New York City on a panel discussing practical strategies to protect the attorney-client corporate privilege in various settings, including internal corporate investigations, litigation involving former directors and officers and governmental investigations. 

 

Michael C. Rau has joined PCT Law Group as an intellectual property practice associate in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.  Rau focuses his practice on counseling and engaging in patent application drafting and patent prosecution in the electrical, computer, telecommunications and networking arts. Prior to joining PCT, Rau was a successful business entrepreneur and senior association executive at the National Association of Broadcasters. PCT Law Group, PLLC provides legal counsel and representation in the complementary practice areas of corporate, intellectual property and litigation.

 

 

 

1989
Marietta Geckos is the author of "Daily Reflections for Bar Exam Study - An Inspirational Companion to Law Students and Experienced Attorneys Taking the Bar." Published under the name of M.G. Groepler, the paperback volume is available through Amazon.com

 

1990

Mark A. Patterson is serving as chief of staff to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Patterson was formerly a top lobbyist, and earlier in his career served as a senior aide to former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle.

 

1991
Lynn A. Jennings was named interim president and CEO of the Council for Excellence in Government. Before joining the council in 2004, she served as director of strategic initiatives of the CNA Corporation. Jennings government experience includes serving as acting assistant secretary for policy at the Labor Department and general counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Jennings and her husband reside in Silver Spring with their two children, ages 9 and 4.

 

1992

Michael G. Geffroy married Sarah Roland on Nov. 15, 2008. The couple resides in Washington, D.C., where Geffroy serves as the assistant director for enforcement at the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Prior to his current position, Geffroy was counselor to the assistant attorney general, Criminal Division, at the Department of Justice from 2006-2008.

 

Cheryl K. Graham recently opened a second office in Leesburg Virginia.  Her main office remains in Tysons Corner, Virginia.  She was recently honored by being listed as one of the area' top attorneys in her practice area by the Washingtonian Magazine.

 

Marc S. Kaufman, a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Nixon Peabody LLP, has been designated as a co-leader of the firm’s patents group. The group works with clients to obtain and utilize patent assets in a manner that achieve business goals. Kaufman, an IP attorney, will also oversee the firm’s efforts in representing clients in reexamination, reissue, and patent interference proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

 

1993

Vincent Altieri and his wife, Vlada, are pleased to announce the arrival of their daughter, Anna Antoinette Altieri, born on Dec. 23, 2008.

 

Timothy J. Cooney is a partner with LS Investment Advisors, a $1.5b asset management firm. His wife, Claire, finished her radiology residency at Johns Hopkins. Tim, Claire, and their children Donny and Caroline live in Potomac, MD.

 

Michael T. Dillon founded Dillon Tax Consulting in March 2008, a corporate tax advocacy and consulting firm specializing in multistate, multi-tax services and solutions to companies across all industries. In this capacity, Dillon represented the Maryland Chamber of Commerce in testimony before the Maryland General Assembly regarding efforts to successfully repeal the sales tax on computer services. 

 

 

Deborah Schwager Froling has been honored by the National Association of Women Lawyers, receiving the organization’s Special Recognition Award at the association’s 2009 mid-year meeting in Atlanta. The award was conferred in recognition of Froling’s longtime commitment to advancing the role of women in the legal profession. Among other achievements, she edits the NAWL’s official publication, Women Lawyers Journal. Since taking over the editorial reins, Froling has overseen a complete redesign of the journal, launching the revamped version in 2008. She is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Arent Fox LLP. 

 

Richard T. Kaltenbach and Leslie Potter Kaltenbach welcomed their third child, son Mathis James, on Aug. 27, 2008. The Kaltenbachs also have two daughters, Charlotte, 5, and Sophie, 3. They reside in Berkeley Heights, N.J. Richard is assistant general counsel for ICAP North America, located in Jersey City, N.J. Leslie is assistant vice president and assistant counsel in the office of general counsel for the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, located in Whitehouse Station, N.J.

 

Douglas H. Wigdor was quoted extensively in the March, 2009 issue of Forbes magazine about his firm’s client representation in some recently filed gender bias lawsuits. The article is titled, “Terminated: Why the Women of Wall Street are Disappearing.”  Wigdor and Scott B. Gilly, 1993, are two of the three founding partners of Thompson Wigdor & Gilly LLP. The New York City firm handles complex litigation and government investigations, as well as counseling clients in a wide array of substantive legal areas, including employment law, criminal law, sports and entertainment law, civil rights, and catastrophic accident cases.  

 

1994

Saverio "Sam" Caligiuri was the subject of a profile in the April 1, 2009 edition of the Hartford Courant about his bid to unseat incumbent United States Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn). Caligiuri is a state senator and former acting mayor of Waterbury.

 

Hon. Cheryl Moss Lowery was re-elected to a third 6-year term for Nevada’s 8th Judicial District Court (Family Division) on Nov. 4, 2008. Judge Lowery is the first Asian-American judge elected to district court in Nevada’s history, and in 2001 was the first judge to institute problem gambling assessments in the state.

 

1995 

 

Jennifer L. Blum has been elevated to partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, where she is a member of the government and regulatory affairs practice group. Blum represents clients before Congress and the executive branch on many legislative and regulatory issues, including primarily those affecting the higher education community and the communications industry.

 

Gregory T. Douds has been appointed chief associate magistrate for Cherokee County, GA. He and his wife Kimberly are parents to David, now studying political science at the University of Georgia.

 

Donna S. Fenton is assistant state’s attorney for Montgomery County, MD, where she currently serves as deputy chief of the family violence division. Her role as one of the prosecutors in a recent sexual abuse trial was written up in an article published in the Feb. 26, 2009 edition of the Washington Post.  The article noted that the jury delivered a guilty verdict in less than three minutes, one of the fastest deliberations in county history.

 

Jeffrey R. Gans has joined the Washington, D.C. office of Howrey, where he is a partner in its newly created construction practice. Gans is among 20 attorneys to join the firm from Thelen.

 

Jason A. Pardo has been elected a member of Washington, D.C.-based Jackson & Campbell's executive committee and co-chair of the firm’s trusts and estates practice group. Pardo concentrates his practice on business and commercial legal matters, trusts and estates and related litigation. He advises clients on a variety of estate planning matters and issues, including the preparation of wills, living wills, advanced medical directives, powers of attorney, testamentary trusts, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and family limited liability companies.    


Brian M. Pinheiro, a partner in the Philadelphia office of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, has been named to lead the firm’s employee benefits and executive compensation group. Previously vice chair of the group, Pinheiro leads a team of attorneys that serve a range of business clients, from multinational corporations to family-owned companies, as well as tax-exempt employers, religious institutions, and governmental entities. Pinheiro is also an adjunct professor of law at Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, where he designed and teaches courses on employee benefits policy and tax-qualified retirement plans. 

 

1996

 

Patricia M. Chuh has been promoted to partner in the Washington, D.C. communications law firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP, effective Jan. 2009. She was formerly an associate in the firm’s broadcast and media practice. Chuh has extensive experience in all aspects of broadcast regulation and policy matters. Her work in the area of broadcast transactions includes the negotiation and drafting of agreements, undertaking due diligence, obtaining FCC approvals, and conducting closings.

 

Mary Fleck Kleiman was promoted to vice president of legal affairs and associate general counsel for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, it was announced in January. Kleiman joined NACDS in 2001 as assistant general counsel, and was promoted to associate general counsel in 2005. Prior to joining NACDS, Kleiman was an associate in the litigation section of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP.  Previously, she worked for an Office of Independent Counsel; for the Office of the Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; and for the Special Committee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs. 

 

Robert M. Lamkin has joined the Washington, D.C. office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP as of counsel in the energy and natural resources practice group. Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig, Lamkin served as counsel to the energy trading and marketing affiliate of financial firm Susquehanna International Group, LLP. With more than a decade of experience in the energy sector, Lamkin focuses his practice on the representation of energy trading firms, electric power generators and other energy industry participants in transactional matters as well as federal and state regulatory matters.

 

1997 

 

Michael C. Dell'Angelo was named as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer “Rising Star” in 2008 for the second consecutive year. The designation is an honor conferred upon the top 2.5% of attorneys in the state who are 40 or younger. Dell’Angelo, a shareholder at Berger & Montague, P.C., in Philadelphia, specializes in antitrust, securities and complex litigation.

 

Mandinema (Mondi) Kumbula-Fraser was named the executive chair of the Board of Directors for the Constituency for Africa in March, 2009. CFA is a nonprofit that focuses on international trade, global health, and the placement of professionals in foreign affairs jobs.

 

J. Gregory Lahr has been elevated to partner in the New York City office of Sedgwick Detert Moran & Arnold LLP. He litigates complex commercial disputes, insurance coverage matters, and counsels clients on a variety of employment issues. His clients represent a cross section of industries and include insurers, airlines, employment staffing companies and recruiters, and environmental contractors. Lahr joins more than 130 other partners within the firm.

 

Todd E. Lehder has been selected for inclusion on both the 2009 New Jersey Super Lawyers list and the Rising Stars list as designated by Law & Politics magazine.  The lists were published in the April, 2009, edition of New Jersey Monthly and New Jersey Super Lawyers. The list represents just 5 percent of lawyers practicing in the state of New Jersey. Lehder is an attorney with Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A., in Woodbridge.

 

Chad E. Miller recently accepted a position with KPMG LLP as assistant general counsel, where he works predominantly on government contracts. He and his wife, Melissa, are the parents of four children, Chana Aliza, Talya, Aryeh, and David.

 

 

 

David R. Schaffer has been promoted to principal in Baltimore-based Miles & Stockbridge P.C., where he represents clients in matters involving intellectual property prosecution concerning patents, copyrights and trademarks. Schaffer specializes in identifying and resolving patent, trademark and copyright issues that arise in the computer, Internet, information technology, bioinformatics, telecommunication and biometrics fields.

 

1998 

 

Maj. Jennifer Crawford, an instructor in the Command and General Staff School's Department of Command and Leadership at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, was named Command and General Staff College Military Instructor of the Year. Crawford has been an instructor at CGSS since July 2006, and she teaches leadership curriculum and elective classes in military criminal law.

 

Michelle Wildstein Davis married Alan M. Davis on April 18, 2009. They reside in Washington, D.C.  

 

David H. Karceski has been elected to partnership status at Venable LLP, where he is a member of the firm's state and local government practice group. Karceski counsels clients on land use and development matters throughout the Baltimore Metropolitan region. With a particular focus on Baltimore County and Baltimore City, his multi-jurisdictional practice includes the representation of local, regional, and national developers and builders, institutions, and commercial businesses before administrative bodies and appeal boards to obtain required zoning and development approvals.  

 

Grisella M. Martinez graduated in Dec. 2008 from the LL.M. Law and Government program at the Washington College of Law at American University, with a specialization in administrative law and regulatory practice.

 

Thomas Sean McGowan was elected to partnership in the Washington, D.C. office of Thompson Coburn LLP, effective January 1, 2009. He practices in the transportation and international commerce group. McGowan counsels clients on compliance matters involving U.S. federal regulations that affect the aviation, maritime, trucking, rail and hazardous materials transportation industries. 

 

Pamela M. Pacetti established a new law office in Fairfax, Va., in November, 2008. She continues to concentrate in the area of family law, family law mediation and collaborative divorce practice.

 

Jennifer W. Persico was among six labor and employment attorneys to join the Washington, D.C. office of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. The group moved to Drinker Biddle from Thelen LLP, a large law firm that recently ceased operations. Persico joined her new firm as counsel.


Catherine M. Reese, council member-elect to the Virginia State Bar, and of the Reese Law Office, formerly known as The Law Office of Catherine M. Reese, PLC, along with her associates, Laurie M. Crawford, 2006 and Katelin M. Moomau, 2008, is pleased to announce its relocation to 10300 Eaton Place, Suite 150, Fairfax, Virginia 22030. The firm will continue to offer a full array of family law solutions through advocacy, mediation, collaboration and litigation. 

 

1999

Christine Spinella Davis and her husband, Jonathan Davis, welcomed their second child, Matthew Jonathan, on Feb. 4, 2009.  Matthew joins big sister Marisa. Davis practices in the global litigation group of Howrey LLP.  The family resides in Bethesda, Maryland.


Daniel M. Gallagher has been named as co-acting director of the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets. Gallagher was most recently a deputy director of the division, which oversees the Commission's programs related to securities and options exchanges, brokers, dealers, clearing agencies, transfer agents, and, since 2007, credit rating agencies.

 

Paul J. Nagle left his position as Republican chief counsel of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to become a vice president at Capitol Decisions Inc.  Nagle, who had worked with the FCC before becoming a senior congressional staff member, was responsible for all of the legislative activities of the committee, focusing on communications and technology law, Internet

 

 

2000

Ashley W. Craig has been elected to partnership status at Venable LLP, where he is a member of the firm’s legislative and government affairs practice in its Washington, D.C. office. Craig advises clients on a variety of domestic and international legislative, regulatory and policy matters. He counsels U.S. and foreign interests on transactional matters, cross-border regulatory and policy concerns, concentrating on homeland and transportation security matters. Craig's more recent homeland and transportation security legislative experience includes the SAFE Port Act of 2006, the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 and the Trade Act of 2002.

 

 

Major Candace L. Hunstiger’s daughter, Rose McKenzie Hunstiger, was baptized on April 18, 2009, by Father Raymond C. O’Brien. Rose was born Feb. 16, 2009. Hunstiger is currently the chief of military justice for the Air Force District of Washington, Andrews AFB, MD.

 

Shane C. Orr has been elected partner with the law firm of Jacobs Chase Frick Kleinkopf & Kelley LLC. His practice focuses on commercial real estate transactions. His wife, Liza Orr, 2000, works part-time as an assistant general counsel with Fiserv Investment Support Services. They live with their two children, Christian (4) and Addison (1), in Denver, Colorado.

 

 

Matthew T. Wagman has been made a principal in the Baltimore office of Miles & Stockbridge P.C.  He practices in the mass tort and toxic tort group. Among other responsibilities, Wagman defends product manufacturers in mass tort cases at the trial and appellate level in cases alleging illness from occupational exposure to asbestos, silica, vinyl chloride, wood dust, benzene, hazardous chemicals, and other allegedly toxic substances covered by OSHA and EPA regulations. He is married to Jennifer Markiewicz Wagman, 2000. They are the parents of Abigail (age 4) and Lillian (age 2).

 

 

2001

Capt. Seamus K. Barry was deployed to Afghanistan from Oct. 2007 to May 2008. Barry is a United States Army Judge Advocate with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, N. C.

 

Terence Jason Everitt and Jennifer Rasile Everitt, 2002, welcomed their first child, a son, John "Jack" Gideon Everitt on Oct.15, 2008. The family resides in Alexandria, VA.

 

Stephen S. Fabry has been elected to partner with the Washington, D.C. office of Baker & Hostetler LLP. Fabry is a member of the business group and concentrates his practice in intellectual property and patent law.

 

Richard T. Girards, Jr. and Elizabeth Erb Cashin, 2002, are proud to announce the arrival of their daughter, Sarah Faith Girards, on November 20, 2008. The family resides in Summit, N.J.

 

Timothy I Kelsey was made a partner at the law firm of Boyle, Bain, Reback & Slayton. He and his wife, Sarah Kellermann Kelsey, 2001, welcomed a daughter, Carter Elizabeth, on November 8, 2008.

 

 

2002

Kinley Dumas Bray was married to Andrew Bray on September 27, 2008 in Stevensville, MD.

 

Gregory V. Haledjian joined the law firm of Shulman Rogers Gandal Pordy & Ecker, PA in Rockville, MD, as an associate in the telecommunications department. He began his new duties in December 2008.

 

Christie Grossberg Iannetta was married to Salvatore Iannetta on Oct. 8, 2008 in Sorrento, Italy. She is an associate with the litigation group in the Washington D.C. office of Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease LLP. The couple resides in Washington D.C.

 

Keeshea Turner Roberts is expecting her first child, due in late June, 2009.

 

2003

Brian R.  Della Rocca completed his LL.M. degree in taxation and certificate in employee benefits from Georgetown University Law Center. He was selected by peers as a 2009 “Maryland Rising Star” in Super Lawyers Magazine.

 

Garth "Dharm" Hall has been the lawyer-linguist at the EFTA Court in Luxembourg since 2005.

 

Jared N. Leland has been selected to be one of Pennsylvania's 2008 Super Lawyers/"Rising Stars." Employed with Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch LLC of Pittsburgh, Leland is an attorney in the firm's corporate practice and founder of the firm's entertainment practice. He is also a member of the firm's business advisory and investment banking affiliate, Renaissance Partners.

 

Samantha Shoell Maloney and her husband, Timothy, 2003, are the proud parents of Meghan Anne Maloney, born on Jan. 1, 2009. The family resides in Hoboken, N.J.

 

Emily Penney O'Neill married Christopher O'Neill on September 14, 2008 at Blithewold Mansion in Bristol, RI.  In attendance were 2003 CUA Law alumni:  Anna (Olver) Stull (bridesmaid); Erin (Brown) Golembiewski (reader); David Modzeleski; Josaphine Babcox; and Andrea Parsons. O’Neill is currently an associate in WilmerHale's securities enforcement department in New York City. 

 

Gabriel D. Soll recently accepted a position as an associate at McCarthy, Sweeney & Harkaway PC in Washington D.C., where he focuses on government contracts work. He is married to Julia Bogolin, 2004.
 

Thomas G. Yamamoto was recently promoted to commercial counsel at Red Hat, Inc.

 

2004

Constance Hannigan-Franck her husband Christopher, 2004, welcomed their first child, a daughter, Katherine Teresa Franck on Dec. 11, 2008.  The family resides in Columbia, MD.

 

James R. Johnson recently separated from the Air Force JAG Corps and has accepted a position as a litigation associate at Hall & Evans in Denver, Colorado, where he and his wife will permanently relocate.

 

2005

Jennifer Langlois Crawford and her husband, Todd, had their first child, Lucas Scott Crawford, on January 9, 2009. 

 

Brendan D. Delany and his wife, Celine, welcomed their second son, Remy Riso, on September 13, 2008.  Remy joins his older brother Sebastien. Delany practices in the corporate group at McDermott Will & Emery. The Delany family lives in Washington, D.C.

 

Leslie Gallagher Moylan has joined the Washington, D.C. office of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, where she litigates in the firm's communications practice.

 

 

2006

Kimberly Johnson Cook married Travis Cook on Aug. 16, 2008. She is an associate with Schiller DuCanto & Fleck, LLP, in Chicago.

 

Kristen A. Holt and her husband, Andy, are pleased to announce the birth of their son, Henry Tyler Holt, on November 3, 2008.  Kristen practices health law at Frost Brown Todd LLC in Louisville, Kentucky.

 

Lieutenant Sean M. Thompson is currently deployed to Iraq with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force and am serving as the senior prosecutor for Multi National Force-West, Iraq in Al-Anbar Province. Thompson and his wife, Jill, had our first child, a daughter named Grayson, on June 19, 2008.

 

Michael J. Tierney has joined freshman U.S. Rep. Frank M. Kratovil Jr.'s (D-MD) legislative staff in his Washington D.C. office. He previously served as the policy director for the congressman's campaign. Tierney married Sarah Elizabeth Bouchard on August 2, 2008.

 

Sara Bromberg Walshe married Andrew Walshe on June 14, 2008 on a rooftop patio in Washington, D.C. overlooking the monuments.

 

 

2007

William H. Edwards III began a new position in Dec. 2008 with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the Office of the General Counsel, Energy Markets Division.

 

 

Robert E. Foss Jr. was among 15 new assistant state’s attorneys to join the administration of Cook County, Illinois State's Attorney Anita Alvarez. The group’s duties were spread among assignments in the First Municipal Division, Child Support Enforcement, the Criminal Appeals Division and the Juvenile Justice Bureau. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office, employing nearly 900 assistant state's attorneys, is the second largest prosecutor's office in the nation.

 

 

David Ngaruri Kenney was invited as one of the feature authors at the 2009 University of Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, VA, held on March 19. Along with his co-author, Georgetown law center Professor Philip Schrag, Ngaruri Kenney read from and discussed “Asylum Denied, a biographical account of his fight to avoid deportation to his native Kenya. Ngaruri Kenney and his wife, Melissa, 2007, are proud to announce the birth of their second child, a daughter, Denali Ngaruri Kenney, on Feb. 2, 2009. 

 

Sarah E. Venuto is the manager of environmental legislative affairs for Entergy, in Washington, D.C. She has completed her tenure with Hillary Clinton for President as an assistant counsel. She is also a member of the Women's Council on Energy and the Environment.

 

2008

 

Joseph D. Carlson was among 15 new assistant state’s attorneys to join the administration of Cook County, Illinois State's Attorney Anita Alvarez. The group’s duties were spread among assignments in the First Municipal Division, Child Support Enforcement, the Criminal Appeals Division and the Juvenile Justice Bureau. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office, employing nearly 900 assistant state's attorneys, is the second largest prosecutor's office in the nation.

 

Nancy T. Conneely’s article, “After PICS: Making the Case for Socioeconomic Integration,” has been published by University of Texas School of Law's Journal on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights. The article was written in Professor Chris Pilkerton’s public policy seminar for the Law and Public Policy certificate program during the 2007-2008 school year.

 

Jason A. Derr’s article, “Taxnapping: How Murphy v. IRS Used Direct Taxation to Steal Tax Reform Debate from the Congress and Move It into the Courts” has been accepted for publication by Barry University Law Review. Derr is an attorney with the Office of Inspector General at the Federal Reserve System. His article was written in Professor A.G. Harmon’s Advanced Research and Writing Class during the spring of 2008.

 

Christian F. Henel has joined the Washington, D.C. office of Howrey, where he is an associate in its newly created construction practice. Henel is among 20 attorneys to join the firm from Thelen.

 

Kevin M. Joyce and his wife, Mary Christine Joyce, 2008, proudly welcomed their son, Jameson Connor Joyce, into the world on July 2, 2008.

 

Emily E. Khoury was recently hired as a legislative assistant for United States Representative Edolphus Towns (D-NY).

 

Evan S. Morris and Jillian Laudin are getting married on June 28 in Long Beach, N.Y.  Evan and Jillian currently reside in Arlington, VA.  Jillian is a clerk for a judge on the D.C. Superior Court and Evan works in the government relations department for Harris Corporation. They met as students at the Columbus School of Law.

 

Betsy Piper/Bach’s article, “Hidden Fees as a Source of Fiduciary Risk in Defined Contribution Plans” won the Davis Ethics Award, which was presented to her on May 8, 2009, by the Investment Management Consultant’s Association. Her work was recognized for “making a significant contribution in advancing the understanding and knowledge of investment management consulting and/or private wealth management.” Piper/Bach’s article, which had its genesis in the securities law classes she took at Catholic University, was published in the fall, 2008 issue of The Journal of Investment Consulting.

 

 

In Memoriam 

 

 

1942
Una Rita Quenstedt, 101, a lawyer who became assistant corporation counsel of the District of Columbia, died April 12 at the Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center in Sun City West, Ariz. She had a heart attack. Mrs. Quenstedt worked for the city from 1942 to 1968 and became chief of the domestic relations and collections division of the corporation counsel's office. A native of Australia, she came to the United States in the early 1900s. During World War II, she gave volunteer legal assistance to servicemen leaving for the war. She was one of the first women elected to the D.C. Bar Association's board of directors. Survivors include a son from her first marriage, two children from her third marriage; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandson.

 

1958
James “Jim” Richard Bucher passed away on Tuesday, May 26, 2009. Born on August 27, 1929, Bucher graduated from Franklin High School in Reisterstown. He received his B.S. in Commerce and Law from the University of Alabama in 1953. Bucher served in the U.S. Army from 1953-1955 when he received his Reserve Commission as a First Lieutenant. Bucher was the husband of the late Eileen Davies Bucher; beloved father of Alexandra D. "Alex" Bucher (Dennis Walker) and Anastasia M. "Stacy" Sampson (Brian); devoted grandfather of Ian James Bucher Maloney; son of the late William "Sug" and Lois "Grammy" Bucher; and brother of the late Jane B. Fanshaw. A memorial service and celebration of his life will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 27 at Marlborough Hunt Club, 5904 Green Landing Road, Upper Marlboro, Md.

 

1962
Hon. William G. "Bill" Polking, 72, passed away on Jan. 16, 2009, in Carroll, Iowa. Colleagues and friends remember Polking for his contributions to the Carroll community, his decades as a magistrate and county attorney, and for his brilliant legal mind. A native of Breda, Iowa, he spent nine years after law school doing legislative work for a small D.C. firm before moving his family to Carroll in 1971 and opening his own practice. Polking served as Carroll County attorney for seven years and taught business and criminal law at Des Moines Area Community College until becoming magistrate in 1983. Polking’s youngest son Chris followed in his footsteps and joined his law practice. Later, the senior Polking was even more proud to pass down his magistrate gavel. When turning 72 forced him to retire early last year, the Judicial Appointing Commission chose Chris to succeed him on the bench. Polking also gave his time and talents to the parochial school system and aided many other community projects. He helped to raise money to restore Carroll's historic railroad depot, served on committees that studied local land use, and was a member of the St. Anthony Regional Hospital board of directors. Professionally, Polking was president of the local bar association and volunteered to grade bar examinations for the Iowa Supreme Court. He was a Communion minister, lector, director and religion instructor at St. Lawrence Parish and took Communion to shut-ins on Sundays. Polking was honored as Carroll's citizen of the year in 1998 and was inducted into the Iowa Volunteers Hall of Fame.

 

Judge Polking’s stellar career was the subject of an article in the fall-winter, 2008 edition of CUA Lawyer, which was being printed at the time of his passing. Joseph Polking, Bill’s brother and a member of the CUA law class of 1964, said “I was lucky enough to get out to Iowa a couple of weeks ago while Bill was still able to communicate.  We reminisced some about our days at CU and living in Washington. He was excited about the prospect of the new presidency, comparing it to his fond recollections of the JFK era.”

 

1966 

James J. M. Vaughan passed away on March 29, 2009. He was the beloved husband of 41 years to Jeanette G. Vaughan, 1968; the father of Karen, Adrianne and Jennifer Vaughan, 2006, and the brother of Nancy Altmann. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.   

 

1969

Kenneth J. Vorrasi passed away on Dec. 30, 2008, in Greece, N.Y. He is survived by his mother, Madeline Vorrasi; wife, Yvonne Vorrasi; children, Nicole (Richard) Bates, Joseph (Mary) Vorrasi, Kenneth (Elizabeth) Vorrasi; grandchildren, Maxwell, Abigail, Olivia Vorrasi and Cameron Bates; brother, Gus (Sofie) Vorrasi; several cousins, nieces and nephews whom he loved dearly.

 

1974

Joseph T. Srholez III passed away on Nov. 30, 2008 after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. After graduating law school, he practiced law in Sussex, N.J. until 1993, when he retired. He is survived by his wife, Liisa Srholez.

1978 

 

Shelley F. Davis died of breast cancer Dec. 12, 2008. She lived in Silver Spring, Md. Davis, 56, served as deputy director of the advocacy group Farmworker Justice and was well-known as a tireless advocate who fought for the safety of workers, children and the environment. She represented migrant and seasonal farm workers and their families on issues from health and safety to wages. In the late 1980s, she was among a small number of public interest lawyers who attempted to reform the H-2A program, in which seasonal guest workers from the Caribbean were employed as sugar cane cutters in Florida. The attempt drew the attention of filmmakers and journalists. A movie on the topic won the 1990 best-documentary award at the Sundance Film Festival, and several thousand sugar cane workers won back-pay. A lawsuit over similar working conditions by apple pickers won the laborers $8 million in back-pay, due in part to her efforts. Nationally known for her skill in immigration, environmental, health and safety, and agricultural and housing law, Davis practiced law in federal and state courts as well as in government administrative forums. She developed award-winning health education programs and in 1991 helped to organize first national conference for female farm workers. She brought farm workers from the fields to the halls of Congress and the EPA to testify about work conditions. Her awards included the 2006 National Legal Aid and Defender Association's Reginald Heber Smith Award for Civil Litigation and the 2005 Children's Environmental Health Excellence Award from the EPA. Survivors include her husband, Thomas Smith, and a son, Nicholas Smith, both of Silver Spring; her mother, Helen Davis of Chevy Chase; and two brothers, Donald Davis of Chicago and Joel Davis of Bethesda.

 

 

 



Last Revised 22-Jun-09 09:55 AM.