1970s Class Notes
1971
Ronald D. Castille (far right), received the Bar Medal, the highest honor given by the Pennsylvania Bar Association. The medal is awarded to the PBA member whose work has made a significant improvement to the administration of justice or the legal profession or who has given outstanding service to the association, the legal profession, or the community.
Castille served as Philadelphia’s Assistant and Deputy District Attorney, and was twice elected District Attorney. He was elected to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1993 and became chief justice in 2008. He stepped down from the bench in December after turning 70, the mandatory retirement age for Pennsylvania judges.
At the awards ceremony in Harrisburg in November, Castille was honored for his leadership in better funding for legal aid and his work to increase pro bono service for low-income Pennsylvanians. He led in the creation of a loan repayment system that helps lawyers in public service manage their education debt so they can afford to stay in their chosen career. He has been a leader in improved legal services for juvenile offenders and started one of the state’s first diversionary programs for juvenile offenders. Castille is honorary chair of the Pennsylvania Civil Legal Justice Coalition, which addresses the need for civil legal services in the state.
The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation has created the Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille Judicial Pro Bono Service Award to recognize judicial officials who have made significant contributions in providing legal services to indigent citizens.
1972
George W. House was recognized as a member of the legal elite hall of fame in environmental law in Business North Carolina and is listed in North Carolina Super Lawyers 2015 in environmental litigation. He is a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro.
J. Michel Marcoux retired from law practice at the end of 2014. He was a partner with Bruder, Gentile & Marcoux in Washington, D.C., which became Schiff Hardin in 2013.
William G. Ross Jr. has been named among the legal elite in environmental law in Business North Carolina. He is of counsel with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Raleigh.
Since stepping down in 2000, Judge Roland Vaughan continues to enjoy retirement. Travel has been a priority, but he is also busy with volunteer work at St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church in Burke, Va., and at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia, where he was recognized at a gala in December as a five-year trustee.
1973
Benson Everett Legg retired in 2013 after spending 22 happy years on the federal bench with the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. He is a mediator and arbitrator with Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, and writes that he enjoys his new career.
George Yates has established his firm, Yates Avocat, in Paris, where he specializes in mergers & acquisitions and dispute resolution, including sports arbitration.
1974
Professor Jim O’Reilly of the University of Cincinnati College of Law has signed the contract for his 50th textbook, “When Products Kill,” for the American Bar Association Press. This text will evaluate regulatory and liability responses to fatal accidents. His prior work on regulatory and liability law has been widely cited by courts and quoted by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Frank E. Riggs Jr. has been named Atlanta Lawyer of the Year in litigation-construction in Best Lawyers 2015. He is a partner with Troutman Sanders and member of the construction practice group.
Bruce M. Stanley Sr. has maintained Florida Bar board certification in civil trial law for 30 years. He is a stockholder with Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt in Fort Myers, where he handles appellate work and practices civil litigation of all kinds, with a focus on medical malpractice, aviation, products liability defense, and eminent domain. He is listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in personal injury defense litigation and in Florida Super Lawyers 2015 in personal injury-medical malpractice: defense; personal injury-general: defense; and personal injury-products: defense.
Ross E. Wales is listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in international trade and finance law. He has also been honored by the magazine as the Cincinnati Lawyer of the Year in international trade and finance law. He is a partner with Taft Stettinius & Hollister.
John F. Wymer III left Paul Hastings in 2013 to open the Atlanta office of Sherman & Howard, which had been a regional firm in the Rocky Mountains. It’s now the only Denver-based law firm with an Atlanta, Ga., office. Wymer focuses his practice on labor and employment law.
1975
W. Stuart Dornette is listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, litigation-mergers & acquisitions, litigation-municipal, and and litigation-securities. He is a partner with Taft Stettinius & Hollister in Cincinatti, Ohio.
John Eckstein was named one of the top five securities lawyers in the Denver metropolitan area in 5280 magazine and is listed in Super Lawyers 2015 in corporate finance. He is a shareholder with Fairfield and Woods.
Nicholas A. Lotito was listed in Super Lawyers 2014 in white-collar criminal defense and as a legal elite in Georgia Trend magazine for 2014. He is a partner with Nick Lotito & Seth Kirschenbaum in Atlanta.
1976
William P.H. Cary was recognized in Super Lawyers Business Edition 2014 in employment & labor and is listed in North Carolina Super Lawyers 2015 in employment law. He is a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro.
Daniel J. Hoffheimer has been elected to the board of directors of Linton Music, one of the nation’s premier chamber music organizations under the artistic leadership of internationally acclaimed musicians Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson.
Hoffheimer is a partner with Taft Stettinius & Hollister in Cincinnati.
He was selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers 2015 in trusts and estates and Ohio Super Lawyers 2015 in estate planning and probate.
Peggy O’Neal has been named among Australia’s top 100 Women of Influence by The Australian Financial Review. She was also named in the Australian Women’s Weekly power list, as one of 50 women who are making an impact in Australia—in the workplace, in boardrooms, and everyday lives. She is the first female president of the Richmond Football Club in Melbourne.
O’Neal has lived in Australia for 25 years. She has been recognized in the Australian Financial Review as one of the best lawyers in Australia from 2010–14 and in 2013 was named Best Superannuation Lawyer in Melbourne. She is currently a consultant with Lander & Rogers.
Albert W. Patrick III has been reappointed by the Virginia General Assembly to the 8th Judicial District in Hampton.
F. Bradford Stillman retired in 2012 from the bench of the Eastern District of Virginia, where he served for 12 years as a U.S. magistrate judge. He is a mediator certified by the Virginia Supreme Court and works with the McCammon Group in Richmond.
John A. Vering III was named as Best Lawyers 2015 Lawyer of the Year in labor and employment law for the Kansas City metropolitan area and was recognized as one of the top 100 attorneys in Missouri and Kansas for 2014 by Super Lawyers. He is a partner with Armstrong Teasdale in Kansas City, where he leads the employment and labor law practice group.
1977
The former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, Cynthia D. Kinser, joined Gentry Locke in Roanoke as senior counsel in May. “I am excited about working on appellate, criminal, and government investigation matters and once again serving clients. With this new step in my professional career, I also hope to serve my community and the legal profession, and to provide pro bono legal services,” Kinser said.
As Virginia’s first woman chief justice, Kinser spent 17 years on the court, with more than three as chief justice. Previously she worked in private practice in southwest Virginia, served a term as the Commonwealth’s Attorney of Lee County, served as bankruptcy trustee, and was a magistrate judge for the Western District of Virginia.
Kinser is the recipient of several notable awards, among them the Virginia Bar Association’s Gerald L. Baliles Distinguished Service Award in 2015, and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Law in 2011. The Baliles award is the Virginia Bar Association’s highest honor. It recognizes exceptional service and contributions to the bar and public at large. Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals are the highest external honors bestowed by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello, along with the University of Virginia, which grants no honorary degrees. The award recognizes the achievements of those who embrace endeavors in which Jefferson excelled and held in high regard, namely, architecture, law, and citizen leadership.
Barry R. Kogut has been recognized in Chambers USA 2015 and Best Lawyers 2015 in environmental law. He is a member with Bond, Schoeneck & King in Syracuse, N.Y., where his practice in environmental law includes federal and state regulatory compliance and enforcement matters.
Michael G. Kushner joined Blank Rome as of counsel in the corporate, mergers & acquisitions, and securities group in New York City. He was previously with Locke Lord.
Roliff Purrington (back row, center, left) returned in April from a stint as a visiting professor at the University of Basrah in Basrah, Iraq. While in Iraq , he also visited Kut, Amara, and Qurna, Iraq, and then Dubai and Addis Ababa for a few days in transit to Houston where he resides. Roliff serves on the U.S. Secretary of Commerce’s U.S.–Iraq Business Dialogue and the mayor of Houston’s International Trade and Development Council for the Middle East and North Africa.
1978
Christopher Scott D’Angelo was a featured speaker for the program “Ethical Challenges Facing In-House Counsel” at the annual meeting of the Product Liability Advisory Council in Chicago, Ill. He discussed conflicts of laws pertaining to attorney-client privilege and the issue of waiver of the attorney-client privilege in internal corporate investigations. Most recently he was invited to speak at the 2015 National Conference on Class Actions: Recent Developments in Quebec, in Canada, and the United States. His talk focused on what the EU is doing with collective redress or class actions.
D’Angelo is a partner and co-chair of the product liability, toxic torts & risk management practice and chair of the international practice with Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads based in Philadelphia, Pa., and New York City.
Lawrence Foust ’78 LL.M. ’80 is the executive vice president and chief legal officer of the Children’s Health System of Texas, located in Dallas. He was formerly general counsel of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
Jon Sallet is general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission. He has previously served as chief policy counsel for MCI Telecommunications (later MCI WorldCom), as director of the office of policy and strategic planning for the Department of Commerce, and a partner with O’Melveny & Myers.
Paul S. Stevens was elected chairman of the International Investment Funds Association in October. IIFA is an association of organizations representing funds and asset managers in 40 countries worldwide. In June of 2014 he marked his tenth anniversary as president and CEO of Investment Company Institute.
Andy Wright launched Wright Strategies, a government relations firm based inside the capital beltway, in December (see http://wrightstrategies.us). His focus is on energy, the environment, natural resources, chemicals, financial services, transportation, and telecommunications issues. He was most recently a shareholder with Polsinelli.
1979
John B. Harris Jr. was appointed to the board of directors of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company by the rector and visitors of UVA. UVIMCO manages the University’s endowment fund, which ranks among the 20 largest of all colleges and universities in the U.S.
Anne Kleindienst is included in Best Lawyers 2015 in corporate and franchise law. She is a shareholder with Polsinelli in Phoenix, Ariz.
Merriann Panarella serves as an independent arbitrator, mediator, and consultant in Boston and New York City, focusing on complex commercial and intellectual property disputes. Formerly a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, for over 27 years she served as trial counsel and advised clients on all aspects of the litigation process.
Ronald L. Saxton joined Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt as a shareholder in Portland, Ore. He was previously executive vice president and global chief administration officer at JELD-WEN, a global door and window manufacturer.
Lydia C. Stefanowicz joined Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis in Woodbridge, N.J., as a partner in the real estate department and member of the interdisciplinary banking, business financing, and creditors’ rights practice group. She was previously a partner with Edwards Wildman.
