1980s Class Notes
As fate would have it, the special election for Virginia’s 48th House of Delegates seat in August was a UVA Law “insider fight.” Dave Foster ’81 ran against Richard “Rip” Sullivan ’87 in a race covering Arlington and Fairfax counties. Sullivan won. The General Registrar for Fairfax County was another law alum, Cameron Quinn ’86. Quinn reports that unlike many races in Northern Virginia, this one reflected the Law School’s values, with a lack of mudslinging between the candidates.
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Hosted by Bart Goossens LL.M. ’87 and Christel Vergauen LL.M. ’87, alumni and guests were treated to a day trip to Ieper to see first-hand the area in Flanders which played such an important role in World War I; a walking tour of Ghent; a formal dinner; and a concluding cruise around the city.
The guest speaker for the academic session was Professor Dr. Koen Geens, the federal minister of finance and professor of company law at the KU Leuven.
The next reunion is scheduled for 2016 in Poland. If you would like more details as they become available, please contact us at lawalumnievents@virginia.edu.
1980
Charles D. Fox IV is listed in Virginia Super Lawyers 2014 in estate & probate law. He has been named Best Lawyers 2015 Charlottesville Lawyer of the Year in trusts and estates and selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers 2015 in trusts and estates and litigation-trusts and estates. He was also listed in wealth management: eastern region. He is a partner with McGuireWoods, where he chairs the private wealth services team.
Richard J. Pocker was once again selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers 2014 and 2015 in the categories of commercial litigation-labor and employment. He has been selected for Best Lawyers every year since 2010. The administrative partner for the Nevada office of New York-based Boies, Schiller & Flexner, Pocker also serves on the board of governors for the State Bar of Nevada, and is a member of the board’s executive committee.
Steven W. Usdin was named in Chambers USA 2014 as a leading lawyer in Louisiana and in Best Lawyers 2015 in bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, insurance law, and litigation-insurance. Steve is a founding member of Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver in New Orleans. His practice focuses on commercial litigation, including insurance coverage, contracts, class actions, and complex litigation, oil and gas litigation, and intellectual property.
Karen Henize Geiger ’81
Access to Justice: A Path Out of Poverty
By Rebecca Barns
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In August the Georgia Legal Services Program received the prestigious 2014 Hodson Award for Public Service from the American Bar Association at its annual meeting in Boston. The work Karen and her colleagues do was described in the nomination as “innovative, strategic, and effective in addressing critical civil legal problems.”
The Georgia Legal Services Program is a statewide non-profit group that serves people in 154 counties in Georgia who cannot afford to hire a lawyer. Karen is managing attorney of the GLSP Piedmont regional office located in Atlanta. She first learned about the organization when she worked in Americus, Ga., in the law firm of Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity. The firm sometimes shared its office with GLSP attorneys and their clients, and she became familiar with the work they did. Later, when she moved to Atlanta, she was delighted to get a job with the organization.
Funded through the federal government and grants, GLSP serves 15 counties that lie just outside Atlanta’s metro area. Nearly 200,000 potential clients live within those borders, and their cases are assigned to just seven attorneys and two paralegals. All the civil needs of low-income residents cannot be met for lack of resources, so the main focus is on basic needs such as food, housing, health care, and safety. Despite economic pressures and decreased funding, the program manages to stabilize most of its clients’ living situations.
The staff helps clients get and maintain food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, subsidized housing, and unemployment compensation. They represent clients who are victims of domestic violence and help people deal with burdensome debt. GLSP also seeks cases that have potential to solve problems common to many of its clients.
Because education is key to finding a way out of the cycle of poverty, Karen and her colleagues put much of their effort into representing students who have been discriminated against in school and unfairly punished or even expelled. Racial stereotyping is not uncommon in the Georgia school system.
One memorable case of discrimination stands out for her. An 11-year-old African American girl was bullied by a white girl into writing the word “Hi” on a locker and vandalizing another student’s shoes with a marker. The white girl confessed to what they’d done, her mother paid for her share of the damage, and her child returned to school after a brief suspension. The African American girl’s grandmother thought the proposed expulsion of her grandchild wasn’t fair, and they couldn’t afford to pay the $150 in damages. A lawyer from GLSP represented the child at a hearing, and she was able to return to school.
“For people at the bottom of the ladder, the rungs are broken,” notes Karen, “and being poor in Georgia is particularly difficult.” Public transportation is not very good, even in Atlanta. In the surrounding counties Karen’s program serves, it’s almost non-existent. People pawn the title to their car for $70 for an immediate need, and when they lose the car, the domino effect comes into play: You can’t get to work and you lose your job, you can’t pay rent and can’t buy food.
One woman’s situation seemed particularly hopeless. Her careworn face looked 20 years older than her age. She was fired from her job because she couldn’t lift heavy boxes and was living out of her car. She had mental health problems, no medication, and lived in constant fear. Karen helped her get Social Security and Medicaid, which enabled her to have needed surgery on her leg, and she moved into public housing. Her life has evened out on medication and she is paying off her debts. Her world has at last turned right side up.
“I went to law school knowing I wanted to do this kind of work,” Karen says. Time and again she’s seen how powerful a tool law can be in the quest to ensure that everyone has equal access to the opportunities they deserve.
There are great success stories, but it’s an uphill battle with no end in sight. In the best of times, legal aid programs are hard-pressed to serve even the most needy. More than 70 percent of Georgia’s lawyers are in the Atlanta metro area; some of the poorest counties in Georgia are without a single one.
More help is always needed. Karen encourages other lawyers to contribute financially and provide pro bono assistance to their local legal aid organizations.
1981
George C. Howell III has been selected as chair-elect of the American Bar Association’s Section of Taxation, the nation’s largest professional association of tax lawyers. He will automatically become section chair in August 2015. He is a partner with Hunton & Williams in the Richmond and NYC offices and head of the tax and employee benefits practice.
Nancy R. Little is listed in Chambers USA 2014 in real estate and in Virginia Super Lawyers 2014 in real estate, banking, and business/corporate law. She has also been listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in corporate law and real estate law. She is a partner with McGuireWoods in Richmond.
C. Steven Mason is listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in real estate law. He is a partner with Smith Anderson in Raleigh, N.C., where he concentrates his practice on commercial real estate, lending transactions, and corporate law.
C. Craig Woods is listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in litigation-environmental; commercial litigation: civil; commercial disputes; complex litigation; environmental; intellectual property; large case litigation; and product liability. He is a partner with Squire Patton Boggs in Columbus, Ohio.
1982
Donald D. Anderson has been named Best Lawyers 2015 Jacksonville Lawyer of the Year in environmental law. He is a partner with McGuireWoods in Jacksonville, Fla.
Frank B. Atkinson is listed in Virginia Super Lawyers 2014 in government relations and schools and education. He is a partner with McGuireWoods in Richmond, where he is also chairman of McGuireWoods Consulting. Atkinson is a member of the University’s Board of Visitors and an ex officio designee to the Law School Foundation’s board of trustees.
George C. Freeman III was named in Chambers USA 2014 as a leading lawyer in Louisiana and listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, and litigation-securities. He is a founding member and managing partner of Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver in New Orleans, where his practice focuses mainly on securities litigation and enforcement.
1983
Brad Bailey has been named a 2014 Massachusetts Super Lawyer in the practice area of white-collar criminal defense for the fifth time. He has also been recognized in New England Super Lawyers. His criminal defense practice is based in Boston, Mass., but he also defends high-end state and federal criminal cases in New York, throughout New England, and elsewhere in the U.S. A few of his notable jury trials include USA vs. O’Brien, et al, (racketeering, mail fraud, and bribery charges involving the Massachusetts Probation Department); Com vs. Cahill (conflict of interest and fraud/larceny by False Pretenses charges against a former State Treasurer); State of California vs. Christian Gerhartsreiter, aka Clark Rockefeller (murder 1); and NH vs. Sheila Labarre (double murder/ insanity).
Mark Davidson was recognized in Chambers USA 2014 in corporate/M&A and is listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions law, securities/capital markets law, and tax law. He is a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro, N.C., where he concentrates his practice on corporate, tax law, and trusts and estates.
Jeffrey E. Oleynik was recognized in Chambers USA 2014 in antitrust and litigation: general commercial, and is listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in antitrust law and bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/ insolvency and reorganization law. He is a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro, N.C., where he focuses his practice on commercial litigation and commercial bankruptcy.
John M. Sheftall has been selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers 2015 in litigation-trusts and estates and trusts and estates. He is a partner with Hatcher, Stubbs, Land, Hollis & Rothschild in Columbus, Ga., and concentrates his practice on fiduciary law, including estate planning, estate administration, and fiduciary litigation.
Steven W. Sloan is listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in employment law-management and labor law-management. He is of counsel with Thompson & Knight in Dallas, Tex., where he concentrates his practice on representing management in litigation regarding equal employment opportunity statutes, employee benefits, ERISA, and other labor and employment laws.
1984
Arthur E. Anderson II is listed in Virginia Super Lawyers 2014 in bonds/ government finance, tax, and government/ cities/municipalities. He is also listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in public finance law. He is a partner with McGuireWoods in Richmond, where he focuses his practice on matters of public finance and federal, state, and local taxation.
Jory H. Fisher moved to Bel Air, Md., in 2012, where she serves as a professional coach and mentor. She specializes in helping Christian women throughout the U.S. discern their true purpose and achieve optimal health in body, mind, and spirit. You can find out more about her services at www.JoryFisher.com.
Martha Cox Gammill works as senior corporate counsel for the new startup company, Zoetis Inc., which focuses on the health and welfare of animals by discovering and developing new animal health drugs.
K.C. Green has been named in Best Lawyers 2015 in mass tort litigation/class actions-defendants; and mass tort litigation/class actions-product liability litigation. He is a partner with Ulmer & Berne in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Kurt J. Krueger is listed in Virginia Super Lawyers 2014 in business/corporate and mergers and acquisitions. He has been named Best Lawyers 2015 Charlottesville Lawyer of the Year in corporate law. He is a partner with McGuireWoods, where he focuses his practice on working with public and private closely held corporations, as well as partnerships and limited liability companies.
Charles Sanders McNew moved with Proskauer Rose to Boca Raton, Fla., in 2010. Two years ago, he decided to open his own commercial litigation firm in south Florida. “It’s been a great success,” he reports. For the first time, he is enjoying the business of law as much as the practice itself. He has largely abandoned hourly engagements in the belief that a client is hiring him to fix a problem, not to burn time on it. “Life is good,” he adds.
Gray Newman retired from Morgan Stanley in May. He focused on Latin America for two decades, first from Mexico City and then from New York, and has been Morgan Stanley’s chief economist for the Latin American region since 2000. He plans to stay involved in Latin American economics, possibly as a teacher.
John Ragosta was one of the lead historians on an amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court in Town of Greece, New York v. Galloway et al., in which it was argued that beginning legislative sessions with prayers is a violation of the First Amendment. His most recent book, Religious Freedom: Jefferson’s Legacy, America’s Creed, is being released in paperback by UVA Press in October. Ragosta is a visiting assistant professor of history at Oberlin College for the 2014–15 academic year. While not teaching, he will be engaged in various symposia on religious freedom, which was the topic of his first two books, and researching Patrick Henry and the formation of political parties in the early republic.
David M. Rosenberg has been named in Best Lawyers 2015 in non-profit/charities law. He is a partner with Thompson & Knight in Dallas, Tex., where he concentrates his practice on federal, state, and local taxation of corporations, partnerships, individuals, and nonprofit organizations.
Mary Nash Rusher was named chair of the board of directors of the YMCA of the Triangle—which has 13 branches in Raleigh and Durham, plus Camps Kanata, Seafarer, and Sea Gull—in October 2013. She continues to be the managing partner of the Raleigh office of Hunton & Williams, where her practice focuses on public finance and innovative financing techniques, including new markets tax credits.
1985
Thomas E. Donilon has stepped down as President Obama’s National Security Advisor and has returned to O’Melveny & Myers in Washington, D.C., where he is senior partner, vice chair, and member of the policy committee. He is also senior managing director at the BlackRock Investment Institute. He counsels business executives, entrepreneurs, and company boards to help them develop strategies concerning business, legal, and policy issues they face in the U.S. and abroad. He continues to serve as a member of the CIA’s External Advisory Board, the Defense Policy Board, and the Secretary of State’s Policy Advisory Board. For the past year he has been a Distinguished Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Donilon has been awarded the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award, the National Intelligence Distinguished Medal, the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Distinguished Civilian Service Award, and the CIA Director’s Award. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Cathy, and their children Sarah (17) and Teddy (15). Cathy serves at the State Department as U.S. Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s Issues.
Martha N. Donovan is listed in Chambers USA 2014 in environmental law. She is a member of Norris McLaughlin & Marcus in Bridgewater, N.J., where she co-chairs the environmental law group. She concentrates her practice on environmental law and complex litigation with emphasis on the defense of environmental property damage and toxic tort claims.
Keith Langley opened the Phoenix office of Langley LLP in December 2013, and in August 2014 opened an office in Miami (Coconut Grove). The firm continues to practice commercial litigation, commercial bankruptcy, construction, surety, and fidelity. Langley took the Florida bar last year and passed. “It was indeed a painful experience to take a bar exam 28 years after taking the Texas bar,” he noted.
Kevin Ohlson was nominated by the President, and was recently confirmed by the Senate to serve as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. He previously served as chief of staff and counselor to the Attorney General. Judge Ohlson lives with his wife and two children in Northern Virginia.
Steve M. Pharr was selected by peers to be included in Best Lawyers in America 2015 in construction law and litigation—construction. Pharr practices in Winston- Salem, N.C.
Chris Toll was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in March. He continues to practice as a commercial litigator with Holland & Hart in Denver, Colo., where he started 27 years ago. He also experiments with practicing law via telecommute from southern Spain for a month each year.
Amelia Bland Waller was recently promoted to Senior Assistant Attorney General representing the Abingdon, Virginia District Office of the Division of Child Support Enforcement. She regularly represents the division in courts in ten counties and the City of Bristol.
1986
Katina Dorton has been appointed to the board of directors of US Ecology, Inc. She was also appointed to the board’s audit committee. She is a partner at Corese Co., a merchant and banking advisory firm, where she consults with public and private companies in the areas of M&A and strategic finance.
Bradley R. Kutrow has been named Charlotte Lawyer of the Year in product liability litigation-defendants and is listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, personal injury litigation, product liability litigation, securities litigation, banking & finance litigation, and First Amendment law. He is a partner with McGuireWoods in Charlotte, N.C., where he chairs the financial services litigation department and co-chairs the appeals and issues practice. “Irving Brenner and I are fortunate to have practiced with the same group in Charlotte for nearly 27 years,” he notes.
William M. Ragland Jr. has been named Best Lawyers 2015 Atlanta Lawyer of the Year in technology law. He is a partner with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice in Atlanta, where his practice concentrates on intellectual property, intellectual property litigation, and patent law.
Dean B. Roberson JD/MBA has launched American Onshore Legal Services, which provides cost-effective support services to law firms and businesses in real estate, financing, and corporate transactions. American Onshore is based in Charlotte, N.C., where Dean has worked with Bank of America for the past 13 years.
Dana Rust is listed in Virginia Super Lawyers 2014 in employment and labor and employee benefits/ERISA. He has also been selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers 2015 in employment law-management, labor law-management, and labor and employment litigation. He is a partner with McGuireWoods in Richmond, where he is a member of the finance committee.
Michael Schaengold has joined Greenberg Traurig in Washington, D.C., as a shareholder. He is the firm-wide co-chair of the government contracts and projects practice group, and he will also continue to specialize in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (e.g., patent) appeals and U.S. Court of Federal Claims litigation.
Elizabeth Espin Stern has joined Mayer Brown in Washington, D.C., where she will head the firm’s new global worksite management initiative. The initiative combines the latest technology, efficient processing of visa and work permit issues, and legal advice for issues in global migration, including tax, employment, compensation, benefits, data privacy, export controls, and anti-corruption regulation. She was previously managing partner and leader of Baker & McKenzie’s global immigration & mobility practice.
1987
Stephen E. Fox has joined Polsinelli in Dallas, Tex., as an equity shareholder in the labor and employment and the commercial litigation practices. His counseling and trial practice focuses on complex business litigation and employment litigation. He was previously with Fish & Richardson.
Timothy S. Goettel is listed in Chambers USA 2014 in corporate/mergers & acquisitions law and in Best Lawyers 2015 in corporate law and mergers & acquisitions law. He is a partner with Smith Anderson in Raleigh, N.C., where he handles complex acquisitions and divestitures in a range of industries, advises clients on corporate governance issues, and represents issuers in public and private offering and finance transactions.
In May Nancy McFadden received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from San Jose State University, her alma mater, and gave the commencement address. “I hope you live life not for the accolades but for the experience itself,” she advised graduates. “Climb the mountain not to plant the flag but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air, and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world and not so the world can see you.” McFadden is Governor Jerry Brown’s chief of staff and a former member of the Clinton administration.
Scott C. Oostdyk is listed in Virginia Super Lawyers in business litigation, environmental litigation, and legal aid/legal services. He is also listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in commercial litigation, bet-the-company litigation, and litigation-environmental. He is a partner with McGuireWoods in Richmond.
Robert W. Saunders is listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in litigation and controversy-tax, non-profit/charities law, and tax law. He is a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro and Raleigh, N.C.
Thomas J. Stallings has been named Best Lawyers 2015 Richmond Lawyer of the Year in health care law and is listed in Virginia Super Lawyers 2014 in health care. He is a partner with McGuireWoods.
Randy Tinsley is listed in Chambers USA 2014 in antitrust and litigation: general commercial and in Best Lawyers 2015 in environmental law and litigation-environmental. He is a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro, N.C., where he focuses his practice on environmental and natural resources law and water rights.
Fred Wagner recently rejoined Beveridge & Diamond in Washington, D.C., having served as chief counsel at the Federal Highway Administration since his appointment by President Obama in January 2011. He will chair the natural resources and project development practice group. Fred and his wife, Mary Deborah Phillips Wagner, live in Rockville, Maryland.
1988
John Cooper was re-elected to chair the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) litigation group of the American Association of Justice at the AAJ conference in Baltimore, Md. in July. FELA was enacted in 1908 to protect and compensate railroad workers injured on the job. He has chaired the group since 2011. Cooper was also recently re-elected as a district governor from the Virginia Beach/ Norfolk area to the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Board of Governors. He is a founding partner with Cooper Hurley in Norfolk, focusing his practice on plaintiff-side injury law.
Elizabeth H. Garrett has been named the next president of Cornell University, and will assume her new position in July. She will be the first woman to lead the university. As she takes the helm, Cornell will be in the midst of building a $2 billion technology campus in New York City. Garrett currently serves as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Southern California, and has held her current position since 2010. She is also the Frances R. and John J. Duggan Professor of Law, Political Science, Finance and Business Economics, and Public Policy. Her scholarly interests include legislative process, the design of democratic institutions, tax policy, and the federal budget process. She is co-author of an influential casebook on legislation and statutory interpretation, Cases and Materials on Legislation, Statutes and the Creation of Public Policy, now in its fifth edition. Garrett will be a tenured faculty member in the Cornell Law School with a joint appointment in the department of government in the College of Arts and Sciences. Garrett has a strong record of public service. In 2005 President George W. Bush appointed her to the bipartisan Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. She was a commissioner on the California Fair Political Practices Commission and co-chaired its Subcommittee on the Political Reform Act and Internet Political Activity from 2009–13. Before her career focused on academics, she was budget and tax counsel and legislative director for Senator David L. Boren of Oklahoma and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
1989
Michael S. Denniston is listed in Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers and Economists 2014. He is also listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in antitrust law, franchise law, and copyright law, and recognized as Birmingham’s Lawyer of the Year in antitrust law. Denniston is a partner with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in Birmingham, Ala., where he concentrates his practice on antitrust law, competition law, and intellectual property issues. He also litigates those issues.
John M. Guynn has been recognized in Best Lawyers 2015 in copyright, patent, and trademark law. He is a shareholder with Workman Nydegger in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In August 2013 George Harris and his wife, Jolie, became the proud parents of Mary Grace (“Mollie”) and Tallulah Jane (“Janie”). Both girls were born in China. They join brothers Max and Jon Todd from Ukraine, brother Georgie, and sisters Lillie Ben and Ann Emory. Harris advises foreign-based companies locating facilities in the United States and spends significant time travelling outside the U.S.
Brian C. Riopelle is listed in Chambers USA 2014 in intellectual property-Virginia, and named in Virginia Super Lawyers 2014 in intellectual property litigation and business litigation. He has been named Best Lawyers 2015 Richmond Lawyer of the Year in litigation-intellectual property and listed in Best Lawyers 2015 in litigation-intellectual property/patent law. He is a partner with McGuireWoods.
Robert M. Tata was recently appointed managing partner of the Hunton & Williams Norfolk, Va., office. He continues his commercial and intellectual property litigation practice out of Norfolk and Washington, D.C. In the past year he was appointed by the Governor of Virginia to Old Dominion University’s Board of Visitors and was recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA for the 11th straight year.
Jim Wall has been appointed chair of the health law section of the North Carolina Bar Association and will serve a one-year term. He is a founding partner with Wall Esleeck Babcock, a boutique firm in Winston-Salem. Wall concentrates his practice on counseling corporate and health care clients in significant contractual relationships, governance issues, and regulatory matters.
