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1980s Class Notes

1980

Roger S. Goldman, partner at Latham & Watkins in Washington, and Scott D. Michel, partner at Caplin & Drysdale in Washington were recently chosen to receive the National Association of Legal Placement Award for Distinction in Innovation in connection with their founding of Buildable Hours, a non-profit organization that organizes law firm contributions to local Habitat for Humanity affiliates and arranges for community service opportunities for law firm summer programs. The organization began in 2001 in Washington, DC and has expanded to a number of cities with nearly 100 law firms participating this summer. See www.buildablehours.com for more information.

GundersenGlenn Gundersen, a partner in the Philadelphia office of Dechert, has been elected to the board of directors of 1812 Productions, a Philadelphia theater company that specializes in comedy and new original works. Celebrating its seventh anniversary this spring, 1812 has received 18 Barrymore Award nominations and was named the Philadelphia Weekly’s “Theatre Company of the Year” in 2002–2003. Gundersen has been practicing intellectual property law at Dechert for more than 20 years and serves as the co-chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property group. He is a nationally recognized intellectual property attorney.

Edmund “Kip” Hawley, a Bay Area supply chain technology consultant, was nominated in May by President Bush to be the fourth head of the Transportation Security Administration in the agency’s three-year existence.

According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Hawley, 51, won praise as one of the “best and brightest” business executives from Disney, FedEx, and other firms that were drafted to bring business sense to the creation of the federal security agency in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist airliner attacks.

Hawley was picked by Transportation Security Secretary Norman Mineta to coordinate a War Room Core Team overseeing the daunting mobilization of the new 50,000-member federal airport screening force in less than a year. While critics said it was impossible, the “go teams” met many of the challenging deadlines in the Transportation Security Act, including the installation of the huge bomb-detection machines to screen unchecked luggage at 429 commercial airports nationwide.

R. Peyton Mahaffey was named, for the sixth consecutive time, a member of Virginia Business magazine’s “Legal Elite” in the December 2004 edition. Also, Washingtonian named Mahaffey to the “Top Lawyers” in the Washington metropolitan area in its December 2004 edition. Mahaffey practices civil litigation with McCandlish & Lillard in Fairfax, VA.

Bob Schwartz has been elected to the Hall of Fame of the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance, the governing body of gay softball. Schwartz was inducted into the Hall of Fame on August 20, at ceremonies following the Gay Softball World Series in San Diego.

1981 Reunion Year

David P. Ferretti of Spilman Thomas & Battle in Charleston, WV, was named one of “The Best Lawyers in America in 2006” for his work in corporate law.

William M. Herlihy of Spilman Thomas & Battle in Charleston, WV, was named one of “The Best Lawyers in America in 2006” for his work in corporate law and natural resources law.

Andrew Holmes joined the structured finance group in the business law section of Holland & Knight. Holmes is a partner in
the firm’s New York office, and his practice has a U.S. and international asset-based finance focus, including lease, loan, project finance and securitization transactions for transportation, telecommunication and industrial equipment, facilities, and other capital assets.

Blaine A. Lucas joined downtown Pittsburgh law firm Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir as a shareholder. He represents public and private clients on a variety of land use, real estate contracting, and municipal law matters.

Hearsh and Bayh

1981 Classmates Bradford
Hearsh
(left) and U.S. Sen.
Evan Bayh in Charlottesville
for the Law School
graduation in May. Bayh
was the commencement
speaker.

1982

Michael T. Bennett recently left the private practice of law, where he was a corporate partner with Williams Mullen in their Northern Virginia office, to become Senior Vice-President, Operations for the Scottsdale, AZ-based Spirit Finance Corporation, a real estate investment trust.

Roger T. Creager of Marks & Harrison in Richmond has been selected to serve on the steering committee of the Boyd-Graves Conference, an organization of about 100 lawyers, judges, and legislators from throughout Virginia who study and recommend improvements to Virginia law. Creager has also been selected again this year to serve on the Board of Governors of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, and to serve as the chair of its Amicus Curiae Committee.

James F. Dulcich joined Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt in Portland, OR, as a shareholder. Dulcich practices in the real estate and business law groups. Most recently Dulcich chaired the real estate practice group at Miller Nash.

Keith Hemmerling reports that two of his songs were published on Music Row in Nashville. And that Borders Books and Music now sells his books Manic Impression, Whorehound, and Walkin’ on the Wild Side. Frontier Films/Frontier Film Releases is releasing worldwide his film Fairies, Witches and Figurines.

William H. Hines of Jones Walker in New Orleans was included in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers for the state of Louisiana for his work in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and securities law; financial institutions and transactions law; and real estate law.

Michael Houghton, of Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell in Wilmington, DE, has been elected to serve a two-year term as vice-president of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Houghton also serves as a member of the Delaware Supreme Court’s Court Resources Task Force, is Co-State-Finance Chair of the Campaign Committee of Delaware’s current governor, Governor Ruth Ann Minner, and is active in a variety of political, professional, and community organizations.

This summer, David Powers and his family relocated to Hong Kong. Powers will be partner-in-charge of Baker Botts’ first Asian office. The firm will focus on energy projects throughout the region—particularly in China. The firm also expects to represent clients in real estate development projects, private equity, mergers & acquisitions, and related fields of corporate and transactional law. Powers writes that he looks forward to seeing UVA friends in Hong Kong.

Nicholas Read writes, “After 19 years in Boston as counsel to Bank of New England and Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company, I was downsized in January 2004. After 14 months, I reoriented my career and became a government attorney, a teacher, and a fine artist. I am returning to the dreams of my youth, and at the perfect time: my older daughter Sarah (NYU ’05) entered UVA Medical School this fall (I may be shopping at Mincer’s once again!), and my youngest Jojo is off to Vassar at the same time.” Read is now the deputy general counsel in the Office of the Inspector General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. His paintings can be seen at www.nicholasreadpainter.com.

Markley S. Roderick has been appointed chair of the Corporate Law Practice Group at Flaster/Greenberg in Cherry Hill, NJ. Roderick concentrates his practice on the representation of closely-held and emerging growth companies, including companies in the technology and health care industries. He counsels clients in taxation, corporate and partnership law, business sales and acquisitions, start-up businesses, and venture capital. In 2003 and 2004, SJ Magazine named him one of the top attorneys in South Jersey.

John Rodock, a Falls Church resident, has been appointed to a four-year term on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. The Board has ultimate oversight for the operations of the organization’s new 35,000 square foot facility which celebrated its grand opening in April.

Rodock is a principal in the Washington, DC, office of Ober/Kaler. He has more than 20 years experience practicing in the areas of trusts and estates, tax, and nonprofit law. He is active in the American, District of Columbia, and Virginia State Bar Associations. Rodock has been the men’s basketball announcer for the George Mason Patriots since 1989. He is a former chair of the Mary Riley Styles Public Library and served on the Falls Church Tri-centennial Committee.

1983

James M. Campbell, president of Campbell Campbell Edwards & Conroy Professional Corporation in Boston, was elected member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Defense Counsel at its annual meeting in July.

Richard Campanelli, director of the office for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was named acting counselor for human service policy for Secretary Mike Leavitt. Campanelli will advise the Secretary on issues relating to children and families, seniors, people with disabilities, life issues, civil rights, privacy, faith, and community-based activities and other human service matters.

Becky Vanderhoof Christensen is a founding partner of the intellectual property litigation firm of O’Connor Christensen & McLaughlin. Based in Irvine, CA, the firm focuses solely on litigating intellectual property rights nationwide.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Robert Conrad on April 28 as federal judge for the Western District of North Carolina.

DavidsonMembers of the Business Law Section Council of the North Carolina Bar Association have elected Greensboro attorney Mark Davidson to serve as the section’s Chair in the coming year. Davidson is a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard and has represented business organizations in North Carolina and the Southeast for over 20 years. He regularly advises clients in planning, negotiating, and documenting a wide variety of transactions in the life of a business, including organization, equity and debt financing, executive compensation, taxation, acquisitions, dispositions, and management/ownership succession. He has broad knowledge of the laws regulating business entity organization and governance, corporate and partnership taxation, private placement of securities, and contracts. He was a principal draftsman of North Carolina’s statutes that provide for the creation and governance of limited liability companies.

Betty S. W. Graumlich moved her labor and employment practice this year to Reed Smith, a top-25 international law firm with 1,000 lawyers located in 14 U.S. and two U.K. cities and in Germany. She is counsel in the Richmond office. Graumlich had been a Principal in McSweeney & Crump since 1992. Her practice includes counseling and civil litigation before federal and state courts and administrative tribunals in the areas of labor and employment law, contracts, and federal statutes. Graumlich served on the Governing Council of the Virginia Bar Association Section on Labor and Employment Law from 1996 through 2002. She is currently on the Board of Directors of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce and is the Past President of the Richmond Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. In 2002, the United States Small Business Administration named Graumlich the Virginia Women in Business Advocate of the Year. Graumlich resides in Richmond with her husband Chip and daughter Elizabeth.

Thomas N. Griffin, III, was honored in Business North Carolina magazine’s 2005 “Legal Elite” in environmental law, which includes the best practitioners in their field through a mailed survey that was sent to more than 16,800 of their legal peers licensed and living in NC. Less than three percent of the state’s attorneys made it on list. Griffin was also selected for Woodward/White’s The Best Lawyers in America 2005–2006 in environmental law. The lawyers on this list are selected as a result of a peer-review survey, in which thousands of the top lawyers in the U.S. confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The Best Lawyers in America list represents 30 law specialties in every state. Griffin practices in Parker Poe’s Charlotte, NC office.

HeckerThe Boston Bar Association has named Dustin F. Hecker co-chair of the Business Litigation Committee of the BBA Litigation Section. He is a partner in the Boston law firm of Posternak Blankstein & Lund where he is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department. Hecker concentrates his practice on the prosecution and defense of business-related disputes.

Jeff Horner, a partner at Bracewell & Giuliani in Houston, was recently named to the Board of Directors of the National School Boards Association’s Council of School Attorneys. The Council is headquartered in Alexandria, VA, and includes in its membership 3,000 lawyers from around the country who represent school districts. Horner is the head of his firm’s Public Law Section, and is actively involved in the representation of school districts, colleges, and private schools. His term on the Board of Directors runs through 2007.

Robert W. Simmons joined Helms Mullis & Wicker in Charlotte as head of the real estate practice group. Prior to joining Helms Mulliss & Wicker, Simmons practiced with Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, also in Charlotte. His career covers all facets of commercial real property development and finance. Simmons serves as president for both Council for Children and the Children and Family Services Center.

Professor J. Kelly Strader has been honored with the 2005 Excellence in Teaching Award from Southwestern University School of Law. The award, which is based upon student and faculty nominations, is given to a professor who excels as both an instructor and motivator inside and outside the classroom. Strader teaches several courses on criminal law and procedure and consistently earns the respect and favor of students with his “earnest and engaging” teaching methods. One Southwestern students this year praised Strader for his “tough love” approach in the classroom.

TorrellGary F. Torrell, formerly executive vice president and general counsel for Downey Savings and Downey Financial Corporation of Newport Beach, has joined Newmeyer & Dillion as partner, further bolstering its business-law practice. Specializing in business litigation and corporate transactions, Torrell is located in the firm’s Santa Monica office.

William Webster IV and his wife Lindsay are expecting their fourth child in January. Will (6), Lily (4), and Vinnie (2) are looking forward to the arrival of their new sister soon.

1984

ChampouxDavid Champoux, a partner at Pierce Atwood in Portland, ME, has been ranked among the best attorneys in the nation by Chambers and Partners, an independent British legal research firm that publishes rankings of the leading global law firms. Chambers and Partners creates the well-regarded global rankings based on tens of thousands of in-depth interviews with clients around the world. Champoux was cited in the rankings for his work in corporate, mergers & acquisitions as “articulate and aggressive; he knows when to get in the other side’s face and when not to.” Champoux is the chair of the firm’s Business & Tax Practice Group.

North Carolina Governor Mike Easley recently appointed Michael W. Hubbard, a partner with Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan in Raleigh, NC, to the North Carolina Medical Care Commission.

Roger A. Petersen was appointed General Counsel for Litigation at Norfolk Southern Corporation in Norfolk, VA. Petersen formerly held the title of general solicitor and general manager of casualty claims.

1985

Lundbergs

Rolf Lundberg III and his
sister Jeannette, children
of Rolf Lundberg, Jr., and
Carolyn Harvey Lundberg
(both Class of ‘85) enjoy
mid-summer Arctic breezes
off the coast of Norway.
Their family recently
enjoyed a reunion with
Norwegian relatives, and
look forward to return visits.

Mark Carpenter is serving his second year of a three-year term on the Board of Visitors for his undergraduate alma mater at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This gives him “an excuse to visit my two sons who are students there.”

After serving as Chairman of Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis for three years, Alveno Castilla was elected to a three-year term on the firm’s board of directors in Jackson, MS. He was also recently elected as president of the Hinds County Bar Association for the upcoming year—the largest local bar association in the state of Mississippi.

The U.S. Senate confirmed the Honorable Thomas B. Griffith as a judge on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals.

LeitchDavid G. Leitch was named Ford Motor Company general counsel and senior vice president on April 1. Leitch served most recently as the deputy assistant to President George W. Bush and the White House’s deputy counsel. Leitch said, “I look forward to joining a company with the history and global presence of Ford Motor Company. I see a vibrant future for Ford, as well as a place where my talents and experience can make a contribution.” In his most recent role at the White House, Leitch advised the president and his staff on a variety of legal issues, including issues involving the war on terror, judicial nominations, legislative proposals, and ethics. Prior to serving at the White House, Leitch served as chief counsel for the Federal Aviation Administration. He is also a past deputy assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel. Ford Motor Company is headquartered in Dearborn, MI.

ModzelewskiU.S. Navy Captain Moira Dempsey Modzelewski, JAGC, recently assumed command of the Naval Legal Service Office, Northwest. The command is responsible for providing military defense counsel for courts-martial throughout the Pacific Northwest. Modzelewski lives in Bremerton, WA, with her husband Stephen and their four children, Misha, Gregory, Gabriel, and Samuel.

Kenneth J. Najder of Jones Walker in New Orleans was included in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers for the state of Louisiana for his work in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and securities law.

1986 Reunion Year

John D. Fowler, Jr., recently joined Deutsche Bank Securities in New York as Vice Chairman. DBS is the subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, AG, which conducts investment banking and securities activities in the United States. He is also on the board of directors of Beverly Enterprises, a Fortune 500 publicly traded nursing home operator, and is also a visiting professor at the University of South Dakota Business School. He is also proud to announce that the little 3-year-old he carried on his shoulders at graduation is now a graduate of Vanderbilt.

Christopher Mugel has joined the Richmond office of Kaufman & Canoles, where he co-chairs the intellectual property and technology group. Mugel was voted the leading intellectual property attorney in Virginia in the Virginia Business’s “2004 Legal Elite” survey of attorneys. And, in June, he was elected chair of the Virginia State Bar’s Intellectual Property Section.

Charles Szypszak has been appointed Associate Professor of Public Law and Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His focus is on real property law.

Dwight Sullivan, a colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, has been recalled to active duty to serve as the Chief Defense Counsel in the Office of Military Commissions in Washington, DC. Sullivan was working at the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces before being mobilized.

Kenneth Williams has been granted tenure and promoted to Professor of Law at Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles. The appointment acknowledges Professor Williams’ exceptional teaching, scholarly research and writing, and service to Southwestern and the community.

1987

Stephen Fox and Wes Musselman were selected in a May 2005 poll of 15,000 lawyers by D Magazine as two of 180 “Best Lawyers in Dallas” in their respective fields of expertise. Fox practices labor/employment and trade secret theft law, while Musselman concentrates on intellectual property prosecution and litigation. Fox and Musselman practice at Fish & Richardson in Dallas.

KeatingIn January, JPMorgan Private Bank announced that Catherine Keating, managing director, has been named head of its business in the United States based in New York. Keating served formerly as global head of wealth advisory and fiduciary services at JPMorgan, providing expertise to private clients in structuring their assets and developing wealth plans, and in implementing plans as executor and trustee. Prior to joining JPMorgan, Keating was a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Philadelphia. She is a member of the board of trustees of Villanova University.

John A. Rogovin joined Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr as a partner in its Washington, DC office. He practices in its communications and e-commerce and litigation departments. Rogovin most recently served as general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission, and says he “enjoyed the transition back to private practice.”

SaundersRobert W. Saunders was made partner of Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro, NC. He has a general corporate and tax practice and his representation of tax-exempt organizations ranges from their formation to their operation, merger, or dissolution.

James L. Sheridan is a solo practitioner working in the trust and estates and real estate areas and has been serving as Probate Judge for the town of Narragansett, Rhode Island since 2000. He proudly states, “Section K rules!!!”

Peter J. Spiro, the holder of the University of Georgia’s Dean and Virginia Rusk Professorship of International Law, has been named associate dean for faculty development at the University of Georgia School of Law.

1988

Bert Brandenburg was named executive director of the Justice at Stake Campaign in Washington, DC. Justice at Stake is a nonpartisan campaign working to keep the courts fair and impartial. The organization works to educate the public and work for reforms to keep politics and special interests out of the courtroom. Brandenburg’s wife, Margaret Doyle, is an assistant curator at the National Gallery of Art. The couple has a two-year-old son, Martin.

Elizabeth Garrett, the Sydney M. Irmas Professor of Public Interest Law, Legal Ethics, Political Science, and Public Policy at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, was named vice provost for academic affairs at USC, effective July 1. In her new role, Garrett is responsible for all university academic programs, including cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary programs, centers and initiatives. She assists schools in recruiting top scholars and works on curricular improvement and flexibility at the undergraduate and graduate level. Garrett will continue her cross-disciplinary work at USC Law, where she is director of the USC-Caltech Center for the Study of Law and Politics and a member of the board of directors of the Initiative & Referendum Institute at USC. She also holds joint appointments with the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and has a courtesy appointment with the USC Annenberg School for Communication.

A nationally recognized scholar and an expert in budget and tax policy, Garrett was appointed by President George W. Bush to the nine-member bipartisan Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform in February. The panel presented its recommendations for revising the U.S. tax code in late September.

Robert Hoglund, senior vice president of finance at conEdison in New York, will become senior vice president and chief financial officer. Hoglund joined the company in April of 2004. Prior to that time, he served as a managing director at Citigroup Global Markets and also had worked at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. Hoglund has extensive experience in the field of investment banking, with a specific focus on the regulated electric and natural gas sectors.

KunMichael Kun is “shocked, excited, appalled, disgusted, humbled, and honored” to learn that his new novel, You Poor Monster, has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Literature. “While it’s the thrill of a lifetime to be nominated,” he says, “if the book actually won, even I would demand a recount!” (See the In Print section.)

John Mitnick was appointed by President George W. Bush as Associate Counsel to the President.

J. Marshall Page III of Jones Walker in New Orleans was included in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers for the state of Louisiana for his work in banking and finance law.

1989

GibsonCynthia L. Gibson has been named among Cincinnati’s Top 10 Female Attorneys in the Reader’s Choice Awards by Women’s Business Cincinnati. Gibson is a partner at Katz, Teller, Brant & Hild. The monthly journal recognized Gibson for her ongoing dedication, expertise, and leadership throughout the firm and surrounding community. Gibson was also named a Super Lawyer in Labor and Employment by her peers in 2005. She and her husband David Gilbert have two children, Zachary (5) and Andrew (2).

James D. Wall announces the formation of Wall Law Firm, in Winston-Salem, NC. The firm concentrates on health care law, corporate law and commercial transactions across North Carolina. Wall’s experience includes representation of medical practices and other health care providers in mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, contractual relationships, and compliance under Stark, HIPAA, and anti-kickback regulations. He is a frequent columnist and lecturer on topics of interest to physicians, dentists, and other health care providers, including physician employment agreements, anti-referral laws and regulations, HIPAA, and managed care contracts. Wall is a former shareholder and director with Bell, Davis & Pitt and most recently, was a partner at Kilpatrick Stockton, also in Winston-Salem.

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