1980s Class Notes
1981
Neil Caesar has been elected to the editorial advisory board for Commerce Clearing House’s healthcare compliance publications. He also serves on advisory boards for Eli Research, Brownstone Publishing, Managed Care Magazine, and Homecare Magazine. His law firm, the Health Law Center in Greenville, SC, continues to provide services for healthcare clients nationally.
Ken Kempson and Catharine Mackay-Smith Kempson report their daughter Emily is attending UVA as an Echols Scholar. Her twin brother Dan is studying at Johns Hopkins University and the Peabody Conservatory in a joint degree program. The couple lives in Wilton, CT, with their other two children, but has built a retirement home in White Post, VA.
1982
Joe Dischinger practices environmental law in Denver, CO, where he currently serves as president of the Denver Bar Association. His volunteer activities have earned him several awards in the last few years, including the “Champions For Children” Award from the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center and the “Volunteer Lawyer of the Year” Award from the Denver Bar Association in 1998. He conceived and led a successful campaign to create the Denver Warm Welcome Court Child Care Center, a place where children of jurors or defendants can play and be safe while their parents are in court. When the center opened in 1999, the Mayor of Denver declared March 29 “Joe Dischinger Day.” As special counsel at Grimshaw & Harring, Dischinger is “the happiest I’ve ever been,” he said in the July/August issue of The Docket, the Denver Bar’s newsletter. “All of a sudden, I’m doing the kind of work I want to do. I like my clients and I am constantly learning new things. I’m also more focused than I’ve ever been. And my firm has been very supportive of my bar association and other volunteer work.”
C. Allen Gibson, Jr., of Charleston, SC, has coauthored a book for the American Bar Association, Construction Damages and Remedies, a reference book for attorneys specializing in the construction industry. A principal in Buist, Moore, Smythe & McGee PA, Gibson heads the firm’s construction practice group. Gibson is a past chair of the American Bar Association forum on the construction industry and a fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers.
Keith Hemmerling reports that Fairies, Witches, and Figurines, a film he directed and stars in, is now being represented domestically and internationally by International Pictures. The film will be taken to such major markets as Cannes in France and throughout the world. His book, Manic Impression, has been optioned for a feature film or cable movie by Peabody Award Winner and Emmy Nominee Lee Levinson.
Steve Huntoon recently became president-elect of the Energy Bar Association, a 2,000 member association of attorneys involved with the energy industry.
In March 2002 William Knowlton and his wife Deb happily adopted Hope Qianyi Knowlton from China. Hope joins older brother, Peter, 5. Everyone is doing very well and enjoying life in Boston. Knowlton practices law in the health care industry and was recently appointed to serve on Ropes and Gray’s policy committee.
George Manson, Jr., has been elected vice president, general counsel and secretary of Albemarle Corporation, a specialty chemicals manufacturer with operations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Manson has offices in Richmond, VA, and Baton Rouge, LA.
In July Jennifer Jordan McCall joined the Silicon Valley and New York offices of Pillsbury Winthrop LLP as a partner and co-leader of the firm's individual client services practice. Jordan McCall previously practiced as a partner in the New York office of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. She counsels high net worth individuals on tax and estate planning, including business interests and tax saving opportunities relating to collections of fine art and charitable giving.
Jim McIntosh serves as vice president of development law at Darden Restaurants. His team of real estate and licensing professionals supports the national expansion of Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Smokey Bones, and Seasons 52 restaurants. He and his wife Nancy have three daughters and live in Orlando, FL.
Thomas Nolan opened an independent law practice in Charlottesville on January 1. The firm, Virginia Estate Plans PLC, specializes in estate planning and estate and trust administration. Nolan, Derek Smith ’76, and one other Richmond attorney are partners in the new firm. Nolan will be based in Charlottesville, the other two in Richmond. Nolan also serves as wills, trusts, and estates section chair for the Virginia Bar Association.
In November Texas Monthly magazine named James Ryan III a 2003 Texas Super Lawyer. Only five percent of Texas lawyers earned this distinction, out of more than 20,000 peer selected nominees. Ryan practices as a partner with Jackson Walker LLP in Dallas.
Sheldon Whitehouse recently concluded 17 years in public service, culminating in a “squeaker” loss for the office of Governor of Rhode Island. Whitehouse has joined Edwards & Angell LLP as a partner in the Providence office. Whitehouse previously served as Rhode Island Attorney General and as U.S. Attorney in the Clinton administration. He writes that the legal high point of his public service career was arguing for Rhode Island in the United States Supreme Court.
1983
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| New York-area members of the Class of 1983 enjoyed an October cocktail reception at the Yale/UVA Club, from left, Tom Wornom, Al Pavlis, Dot Heyl, Owen Pell, Bart Breinin, Barbara Nims, and Kathy Dougherty Ewing. |
Beryl Anderson has begun her second term as Ohio deputy secretary of state. She is responsible for leading and designing a marketing initiative for the office, as well as spearheading the training efforts in keeping up with election reform and the National Help America Vote Act. She and her husband Marv West live in Gahanna, OH.
During his varied career Mark Bradley has served as a CIA intelligence officer in Pakistan, defended indigents accused of crimes in the District of Columbia, and served as the late U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s legislative director and legislative assistant for judicial matters, foreign affairs, and intelligence. Bradley now serves as deputy counsel for intelligence policy in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Intelligence Policy & Review (OIPR). OIPR advises the U.S. Attorney General on all matters affecting national security and prepares applications for surveillances and physical searches that are presented to the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. His classmate, Lionel Kennedy, is OIPR’s assistant counsel in charge of training and compliance.
Paul Cella has been appointed a substitute district court judge for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of the Virginia State courts. He continues to maintain his solo law practice in Powhatan, VA.
Jeff Horner has been named the 2003 winner of the Marion A. McGhehey Award by the Education Law Association, a 1,500 member organization that advances the study of education law. The award recognizes an ELA member who gains prominence in the field of education law through sustained scholarship, service, leadership, and professional excellence. A partner in the law firm of Bracewell & Patterson LLP in Houston, TX, Horner received his award at the 2003 ELA convention in Savannah, GA. Horner was also named a “Texas Super Lawyer” in education law in the November issue of Texas Monthly Magazine.
The Kansas Supreme Court has appointed Greg Musil to the Kansas Continuing Legal Education Commission. The Commission oversees the annual CLE requirements for members of the Kansas bar. Musil recently completed six years on the Supreme Court's Client Protection Fund Commission, serving as chair from 2001 to 2002.
John Osborn recently was elected to membership in the American Law Institute. He is executive vice president and general counsel with Cephalon, Inc., a leading biopharmaceutical company based outside Philadelphia, PA. He also holds a visiting professor appointment in politics at Princeton University.
The efforts of Owen Pell to create a Holocaust looted art claims resolution procedure for Europe have been successful. The European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, passed Parliamentary Resolution A5-408/2003 by a vote of 487-to-10 on December 17, 2003. The Resolution helps owners of artwork looted by the Nazis during World War II recover their property. Pell, a partner in White & Case in New York, first took on this issue in 1997 by representing a family who had located a looted work at a U.S. museum. He then took an unpaid sabbatical in 2001 to pursue a more systematic approach to solving the problem. Pell drafted the concepts and coordinated legislative relations for the ruling, which affects thousands of artworks, valued at billions of dollars, unlawfully removed throughout Europe. “It was two-and-a-half years in the making and involved people in the U.S. and Europe working very hard to move what is often a contentious issue through the legislative process in Europe,” said Pell. “It’s a big honor to get something through the European Parliament, especially when there were many people here who didn’t think it would even get off the ground.” For more information, see the Fall 2002 UVA Lawyer, page 78.
Terence Ross reports that his wife Brooke gave birth to twins on July 31. Caroline Thrift and Edward Lewis are both doing well, although at the time of this classnote, still not sleeping through the night.
On December 30 Greg St. Ours was elected to a three-year term on the executive committee of Wharton, Aldhizer & Weaver in Harrisonburg, VA. The same month Virginia Business magazine named him one of the state’s “Legal Elite” in environmental law.
1984 
Ross Eichberg chairs the real estate department of Patton Boggs LLP in Washington, D.C. He joined Patton Boggs in 1986, and was admitted as a partner in 1991. Ross and his wife Carolyn recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary and have two sons, Daniel and Benjamin. They live in Potomac, MD. Regarding the 20th class reunion this spring, Eichberg writes, “I knew if I stuck around long enough something like this would happen.”
Early in 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for writ of certiorari that Chip English prepared with fellow alumna, Wendy Yoviene ’97. Both alumni sat at counsel table during oral argument and recently learned that the Supreme Court voted eight-to-one in their favor. The case involved issues relating to the Commerce Clause.
Mike Regan and Carol Ann Bischoff ’87 live in Arlington, VA, with their two daughters, Emma Mae, born June 25, 2000, and Erin Margaret, born August 13, 2002. Bischoff serves as executive vice president and general counsel for CompTel (the Competitive Telecommunications Association); Regan is senior vice president of government relations for News Corporation.
Jonathan Spaeth specializes in commercial litigation as a partner with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP in Washington, D.C. He lives in Potomac, MD, with his wife Lisa, son Michael, and daughter Erica.
1985
Louise Sams has been
named president of Turner Broadcasting System International.
The long-time TBS, Inc., executive and company general counsel
now oversees TBS International, including Cartoon Network,
TCM, Boomerang and a total of more than 50 local and regional
services, as well as distribution and commercial operations
for CNN’s international services. Sams is based
at TBS, Inc., world headquarters in Atlanta, GA, and reports
to Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., Chairman and CEO Philip
I. Kent. “Louise has been directly involved in our international
business for more than seven years, contributing to strategy,
policy, and operating decisions in scope far beyond her capacity
as our company’s chief legal adviser,” Kent said.
1986
David Baldacci reports a busy 2003. After finishing his book, The Christmas Train, he spent much of the year writing and researching his next thriller, Split Second, which was published in September (see In Print.) He is now working on its sequel. In April the Virginia Press Association honored Baldacci as the 2003 Virginian of the Year and the Literacy Volunteers of America awarded him the first Founder’s Award. His family foundation, The Wish You Well Foundation, funds literacy programs, creates programs to foster literacy, and brings literacy organizations together. Also in April Baldacci gave the keynote address at the Southern Kentucky Festival of Books in Bowling Green. He has accepted a request to give the 2005 keynote speech at the Mark Twain Conference in Elmira, NY, an event that occurs on the Twain family farm once every four years.
Kathryn Bernert still practices employment law at Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps in San Diego, CA. Last summer she took a sabbatical and spent three months in Europe with her husband Lee and daughter Alexandra, 8. They visited England and Ireland, spent two weeks in Paris, and lived in an old farmhouse in Tuscany for six weeks. “It was a wonderful experience!” she wrote.
John Brown and his wife Irene announce the birth of their daughter, Marjorie Irene, born March 10, 2003. She joins older brother, John, Jr. Brown recently joined the Chicago office of Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon LLP as a partner in its intellectual property group. He represents clients in the area of trademark rights in product configurations, including both litigating and obtaining patent registrations.
Robin Carnahan is running for Missouri Secretary of State in the 2004 elections. In an Associated Press story Carnahan, a Democrat, said the example set by her father, former Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, encouraged her to run for public office. “My dad had a favorite quote from Saint Paul, ‘While you have time, do good,’” said Carnahan in the article. Her brother, Russ Carnahan, has announced his candidacy for the Third District congressional seat currently held by Dick Gephardt.
Bill Eigner co-authored an article with Robert Wernli, Jr., “Lobbying Guidelines and Rules for Ex Parte Contract” for the spring 2003 issue of California Real Property Journal. Eigner practices as a partner on the business/technology team of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP in San Diego, CA.
Mary Koelbel Engle and her husband Tom welcomed their second child, Rebecca, born on June 14, 2002. “Rebecca is a joy to us and her big sister, Hannah, now 6,” Engle wrote. Professionally, Engle continues to enjoy her position heading up the advertising practices division at the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection. The U.S. Department of Justice appointed Patrick Hofer deputy assistant attorney general of its tax division on June 30. He previously practiced civil litigation as a partner with Hogan & Hartson LLP.
Sue Liemer directs the lawyering skills program as a faculty member at Southern Illinois University School of Law.
William Lummus, Jr., was appointed group counsel for global trademarks, marketing, and licensing at the Coca-Cola Company in September.
1987
Carol Ann Bischoff and Mike Regan ’84 live in Arlington, VA, with their two daughters, Emma Mae, born June 25, 2000, and Erin Margaret, born August 13, 2002. Bischoff serves as executive vice president and general counsel for CompTel (the Competitive Telecommunications Association); Regan is senior vice president of government relations for News Corporation.
Kim Boyle completed her one-year term as the first African-American president of the New Orleans Bar Association on November 20. During her term the Association added more than 300 new members.
Fannie Mae, the nation’s largest source of financing for home mortgages, has named John Gibson senior counselor for strategy and policy communications. He serves as a senior speechwriter and helps lead the strategic development and implementation of written communications. Gibson previously worked as senior director for foreign policy speechwriting at the National Security Council where he supervised the writing, editing, and coordination of foreign policy speeches and other remarks for President George Bush and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. Gibson served in a similar capacity in the Clinton administration.
Virginia Business magazine named Elaine
Richardson Jordan a member of the state’s “Legal
Elite” in its December issue. Jordan chairs the construction
practice at Sands, Anderson, Marks & Miller PC in Richmond. The magazine recognized her expertise in real estate and
construction law for the third year in a row.
Kim Keenan won her election as president-elect of the National Bar Association at its annual meeting in New Orleans. The NBA, the nation’s oldest and largest association of predominately African-American lawyers and judges, has more than 22,000 members. She begins her one-year term as president in August 2004. She is the first woman from Washington, D.C., to be elected to the office and the eighth woman president in the 80 years of the association. She also believes she will be the first UVA Law grad to serve as president. Keenan is a former Law School Alumni Council member and a Washington, D.C., activities committee member.
Yvonne Facchina Mizusawa went back to work with the Federal Reserve Board in September after a nine-month maternity leave. She and her husband Bert welcomed their third son, Eric Andrew, on November 19, 2002. He joins brothers Michael Edward, born February 24, 1999, and Mark Alexander, born January 9, 1997.
Fish & Richardson PC has named Wes Musselman a principal in the firm’s intellectual property prosecution group in Dallas, TX. He formerly practiced with Jenkens & Gilchrist, also in Dallas. A former U.S. patent examiner, Musselman now focuses his practice on domestic and international patent and trademark prosecution.
Max Stearns continues to teach at George Mason Law School. He wife Vered does clinical research in breast cancer at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. They have three children — Shira, 9, Keren, 4, and Eric, 17 months.
1988
Cecily Schulz Banks joined the faculty of Roger Williams University Ralph R. Papitto School of Law in September as a professor of legal methods. She previously practiced as a litigation attorney with Richards, McGettigan, Reilly & West PC in Alexandria, VA, and, more recently, with Hinckley, Allen & Snyder in Providence, RI. Banks represented clients in dispute resolution and civil litigation in state and federal courts, with an emphasis in commercial and business law matters. She previously taught legal writing, research, and analysis.
William Berlin has joined Ober|Kaler as a principal in Washington, D.C. He focuses his practice on antitrust counseling and representing clients in investigations by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, and state attorneys general. Berlin worked at the Department of Justice from 1995 to 2003 as a trial attorney with the health care task force and later with the Litigation section of the Antitrust Division. He most recently managed the joint Department of Justice/Federal Trade Commission hearings on health care and competition law and policy. In 2002 he served as lead counsel in U.S. v. Dentsply International, Inc., directing the Antitrust Division’s five-year litigation challenging the use of exclusionary practices by a dominant medical supplies manufacturer.
Debra Sabatini Hennelly serves as vice president and general counsel for Integrity Interactive Corp., in Dedham, MA. An article about her in the April 21 issue of the National Law Journal reported, “Shady business ethics and dubious accounting practices doomed Enron, but corporate malfeasance has meant big business for Integrity Interactive Corp, a provider of online ethics and compliance training to companies nationwide.” The company doubled its revenues in 2002. The article continued, “Hennelly is a one-woman law office, handling most of Integrity’s contract negotiations with customers and vendors, corporate affairs counseling and other legal affairs.” Hennelly telecommutes from her home in Mendham, NJ, where she lives with her husband Bob and their three school-age daughters. She usually visits the Massachusetts office twice a month for two days, and frequently travels to meet with current or prospective customers.
John Mitnick has a new position in the Bush Administration after receiving a Presidential Appointment as Associate General Counsel for Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security. Mitnick and his staff of attorneys are responsible for all legal counsel to the Department’s Science and Technology Directorate. Prior to this appointment, Mitnick served as a detailee from the Department of Justice to the Transition Planning Office for the Department of Homeland Security. He also serves as the Department’s representative to the 9-11 Commission.
Maria Leonard Olsen ran the New York City Marathon on November 2. Cynthia Hostetler came out to cheer her on at miles 18 and 24. They had a grand post-marathon celebration.
Eric Taylor of the Los Angeles Superior Court, Southwest District, began a one-year term as president of the California Judges Association November 2. He began a three-year term on the CJA’s executive board in 2001. A former chair of the public information and education committee, he currently serves as liaison to CJA’s compensation and benefits oversight committee and discipline committee.
1989
Bob Blue has joined Royston Mueller, McLean & Reid LLP as a partner in Baltimore, MD. He continues to practice in the areas of trusts and estates, estate administration, and civil litigation.
Randy Broberg and his wife Justine recently celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary. They have three children — Alex, 10, Spencer, 8, and Mallory, 6. Broberg practices intellectual property and commercial transactions law with Broberg & Associates in San Diego, CA.
Lori Johnson currently teaches as an assistant professor in the political science department at Wellesley College in Wellesley, MA. She specializes in legal institutions, constitutional law, and judicial politics. After graduation from Law School she practiced labor and employment law in South Carolina and then clerked for Judge Karen Williams on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. She then returned to graduate school and earned a Ph.D. in political science at the University of California, Berkeley. Her dissertation, entitled "Who Governs the Guardians? The Politics of Policymaking for the Federal Courts," analyzed the interaction and competition between the judicial branch and Congress in making policy for the federal courts. She has also published work on comparative regulatory policy and the politics of procedural rulemaking.
Dallas Kingsbury now works as labor and employment counsel for Simplex Grinnell and Tyco International in Houston, TX.
Laurie Crick Sahatjian and her husband Rick welcomed their second child, Abigail Lynn, on February 17, 2003. Abby and her big brother Will are doing great, Sahatjian reported.
DeMaurice Smith was recently elected to a three year term on the board of governors for the District of Columbia Bar Association. A litigation partner with Latham & Watkins LLP, he practices in the areas of torts, white collar crime, and corporate compliance. A veteran trial lawyer in both private practice and the U.S.Attorney’s Office, and former counsel to the U.S. Deputy Attorney General, he was named by Washingtonian magazine as one of 40 rising-star lawyers under 40 years old.
Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP has named Bob Tomaso managing
partner of its St. Louis office. Tomaso joined the firm in December
1992, became a partner in 1997, and was elected to the firm’s
advisory board in 2000. He represents many of the region’s
largest companies, including Chubb Group of Insurance Companies,
Maytag Corporation, and the Saint Louis Art Museum, in labor
and employment matters.
ESL
Federal Credit Union in Rochester, NY, has promoted Peter
Woods to associate general counsel. Woods is primarily
responsible for Lending Center legal matters. Founded by George
Eastman in 1920, the ESL Federal Credit Union is one of the
nation’s largest and most successful credit unions, with
248,000 members. Prior to joining ESL, Woods practiced real
estate law for Nixon Peabody LLP. He joined ESL in 1995 as
general counsel and title examiner for the mortgage closing
department.
