1970s Class Notes
1971
Correction: UVA Lawyer published a class note in its fall 2002 issue about John A. McVickar and the recognition of his father, a World War II veteran, by the city of Ettelbruck, Luxembourg. The note reported that McVickar practiced law in Bar Harbor, ME. Actually, McVickar, who now lives in Richmond, VA, never practiced law in Maine, although he did volunteer land title investigations for Acadia National Park. McVickar recently finished an in-depth study and extended book review of Judge Kenneth Starr's book, First Among Equals, The Supreme Court in American Life.
Virginia Business magazine has named John W. Sills III the top attorney in Virginia in real estate and construction. The magazine polled thousands of Virginia lawyers for its December article, "The 2002 Legal Elite." According to the magazine, Sills says his most important job is "to make the deal happen.… When you're doing real estate and other transaction work, if your clients end up in litigation, then you've failed," he was quoted as saying. "The best deal is one where everyone walks away from it happy." Sills serves as managing partner at Timberlake, Smith, Thomas & Moses PC in Staunton. In the article his firm partner P. Donald Moses '68 says Sills has created "a very loyal following by doing thorough, competent work. He built this amazing practice by word of mouth, by his reputation, not with a lot of drum rolling or fanfare on his part. People know he is so dependable and gets things done with great efficiency." An avid hiker and canoer, Sills came to Staunton in 1971 after clerking for Virginia Supreme Court Justice George M. Cochran '36. He and his wife Anne have two children, Erin and Jennifer.
1972
Gregory L. Murphy and his wife Monica, who were married on June 27, 1999, welcomed their daughter Anna Carina to the world on October 24, 2001. She joins her two brothers and two sisters. Murphy has joined Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease LLP and manages the firm's Alexandria, VA, office.
The
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has appointed Alan D.
Rose to the Board of Bar Overseers for a four-year term beginning
December 31. Rose, who is listed in The Best Lawyers in America,
is the managing partner of Rose & Associates, which he co-founded
with his son, Alan D. Rose, Jr., in Boston in 1995. From 1980-1995
he was a partner at Nutter, McClennen & Fish LLP. He also
served for five years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.
1973 
James G. Dickinson has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2003-2004 for his expertise in trusts and estates. Less than three percent of all U.S. attorneys were selected for this honor. Dickinson practices with Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP in Cleveland, OH.
Frank C. Morris, Jr., recently completed 15 years as an adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School teaching employment law.
George T. Yates III was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French government in a Thanksgiving Day ceremony at the Travellers Club in Paris. French President Jacques Chirac signed the decree awarding the honor on July 14, 2002. Yates received the honor for his more than 27 years of assisting French companies investing in the United States and American companies investing in France. The managing partner of Coudert Brothers LLP in Paris, Yates specializes in mergers and acquisitions. He resides in Paris with his wife Helene. His daughter Marie-Thérèse is a third-year student at the Law School. His son George IV and daughter Alexandra reside and work in New York.
1975
Virginia Business magazine has named Thomas R. Bagby the top attorney in Virginia in labor and employment law. The magazine, which polled thousands of Virginia lawyers to determine "The 2002 Legal Elite," reports that Bagby's colleagues often compare his practice to his favorite sport—the game of basketball, which he played for UVA. According to the magazine, colleagues say "his style of play on the court … mirrors the way he practices labor and employment law—with precision, drive, competitiveness and team work." After four years as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and 14 years in private practice at two Washington law firms, Bagby returned home to Roanoke in 1995 and joined Woods, Rogers & Hazlegrove PLC, where he serves as chairman of its labor and employment law practice. "His knowledge of employment law is unparalleled," Tom Winn, a partner in Bagby's practice area, is quoted as saying in the December article. "He can name any issue and give the entire line of cases from District Court to Supreme Court history."
Tina Swent Byrd serves as a litigation partner at Irell & Manella in Los Angeles. She writes that she finds she is in great demand as an arbitrator in commercial matters, national and international.
James M. Mullendore, Jr., reports that he has retired from Division 1-A football officiating. He spent each fall of his Law School years officiating at high school football games in the Charlottesville area. Upon moving to Michigan in 1975, he commenced a career that allowed him to officiate high school, small college (Division II and Division III), USFL, Mid-American Conference, and the last 15 years of the Big Ten Conference. During that time he worked nine bowl games, including the national championship in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day in 1995. Mullendore continues to practice law in a small general firm, Carr & Mullendore, in Greenville, MI.
Thomas P. Preston has joined Blank Rome LLP in Wilmington, DE, as a partner in the corporate litigation practice group. Preston previously served as office managing partner and partner in charge of litigation in the Wilmington office of Reed Smith LLP, where he practiced in the areas of commercial and corporate litigation. Preston joined Reed Smith in March 2000 when he was recruited to form the firm's Delaware office.
1976
A Virginia Leadership Association, Leadership Fairfax, honored Michael Caplin with a 2002 Northern Virginia Leadership Award, The Washington Post reported in November. The award recognizes Caplin's leadership in launching a public-private partnership to improve child abuse intervention and prevention. Caplin led the effort to establish the newly opened Childhelp USA Children's Center of Virginia. The Fairfax facility provides on-site child abuse assessment, investigation, intervention, and treatment services, all in one location. The center primarily serves suspected victims of sexual abuse. Caplin expects the new center to evaluate and treat 400 young victims of sexual abuse each year. By locating all the various agencies that must respond to an abuse report in one building—law enforcement, Child Protective Services, prosecution, and mental health and medical services—the Center hopes to coordinate response and reduce secondary trauma to the child victim.
Winfield P. Crigler began a new job in April 2002 as the executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, a trade association made up of 30 organizations which provide cradle-to-grave student loan servicing for over 21 million student and parent borrowers.
James Hingeley recently served a one-year term as president of the Virginia College of Criminal Defense Attorneys. Under his leadership VCCDA joined with other citizen and lawyer groups to form the Virginia Indigent Defense Coalition. The coalition began a campaign to reform Virginia's indigent defense system. "I enjoy working in Charlottesville again, this time as head of the local public defender office," Hingeley writes. Hingeley was recently featured in Charlottesville's Daily Progress for his work as the City's public defender.
Daniel J. Hoffheimer serves as chair of the board of trustees of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Cincinnati, OH. He recently had the honor of accepting the orchestra's induction into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame, based on the nomination of the New York Philharmonic, the only other orchestra to have been inducted. In his legal career Hoffheimer recently became board certified in Ohio as a specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law.
The Best Lawyers in America 2003-2004 has recognized M. Hamilton Whitman, Jr., for his contributions in the area of maritime law. He is one of only 5,787 lawyers who have been listed in Best Lawyers for 10 years or more. Whitman serves admiralty practice chair for Ober Kaler PC in Baltimore, MD.
1977
In late January G. Steven Agee was elected to the Supreme Court of Virginia by the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate. Agee fills a vacancy on the seven-member bench created by the retirement of the longtime chief justice.
Tom Melo was elected a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers in October. Melo co-chairs the labor and employment section of Bracewell & Patterson LLP's Houston office. He is the immediate past chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Houston Bar Association and the statewide secretary of the Texas Association of Business.
David L. Sfara reports that he and his wife Veronique were married in Toulouse, France, on September 22, 2001.
1978
Dale S. Ditto and his law partner, Anthony D. Brewer, have formed A Helping Hand Adoptive Agency that over the last several years has handled more than 400 Chinese adoptions. In summer 2002 Ditto led a mission team to an orphanage in Western China to work with handicapped children. Ditto works with UBS Paine Webber in Lexington, KY.
Bill Harrison recently finished his second four-year term on the Virginia Beach City Council. He now practices with Williams Mullen in Virginia Beach where he is a partner specializing in public finance, public-private partnerships, and complex commercial real estate transactions.
Jon Hines focuses on large-scale oil and gas investment projects as a partner in the Moscow office of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP. He writes that he's been practicing in Moscow for two years and "sees no end in sight." His wife, Olga Dyuzheva, is a professor of civil law at Moscow State University.
Blake D. Morant continues to teach at the Washington and Lee University School of Law. During a fall 2001 sabbatical he served as a visiting fellow at University College, Oxford, England. In summer 2002 he was appointed the John S. Stone Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law. In October he was invited to present at Lewis & Clark Law School's Eighth Annual Business Law Forum.
1979
Aubrey Ford currently serves as co-chair of the Coalition for a Greater Richmond, a nonpartisan, multi-racial political support group that seeks to promote a new vision of leadership for the Greater Richmond, VA, area.
Former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes appointed Lewis E. Hassett to the board of commissioners of the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity. The commission is responsible for promoting fair employment practices and diversity programs in government and reviews the effectiveness of the state's programs. Hassett chairs the insurance and reinsurance dispute resolution group at Morris Manning & Martin LLP in Atlanta.
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