1990s Class Notes
1990
Curtis P. Bounds is listed in Best Lawyers 2013 in family law. He is a director at Bayard in Wilmington, Del. and is head of the family law practice, focusing his work on complex divorce and child custody cases.
Stan Perry has joined Reed Smith as a partner in Houston, Tex., where he is a member of the energy & natural resources industry group. He is listed in Best Lawyers 2013 in toxic tort litigation. He was previously with Haynes & Boone.
Russell S. Sayre was recognized in Best Lawyers 2012 in appellate practice, commercial litigation, and litigation-banking & finance. He is listed as a Leading Lawyer in business litigation in Cincy magazine and in Ohio Super Lawyers 2013 in business litigation. He is a partner with Taft Stettinius & Hollister, where he focuses on litigation, arbitration, and dispute resolution.
1991Naila Ahmed was honored by the YWCA of Richmond as one of its Outstanding Women. Ahmed was recognized for her work in law and government and was selected based on her leadership skills, her achievements, and her commitment to improving the lives of women and children in the Richmond community. She is director of talent management at Williams Mullen, where her responsibilities include recruiting, training, and diversity. She has served on a number of boards, including St. Andrew’s School, Metropolitan Business League, Richmond First Tee, and YWCA, as well as the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Foundation Business Council.
George Braxton is now special advisor to the director for diversity and inclusion at the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). The DCMA is the Department of Defense component that works directly with defense suppliers to help ensure that DOD, Federal, and allied government supplies and services are delivered on time, at projected cost, and meet all performance requirements. DCMA directly contributes to the military readiness of the United States and its allies and helps preserve the nation’s freedom.
Alexander M. Macaulay is listed in Best Lawyers 2013 in government relations law. He is a founding partner of Macaulay & Burtch in Richmond, Va.
Ken Paxton was elected to the Texas Senate in November after serving five terms in the Texas House of Representatives. He was recently appointed vice-chair of the Senate Committee on Transportation. Paxton also serves on the Senate Education Committee, the Senate Committee on Government Organization, the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, and the Senate Jurisprudence Committee. He and his wife, Angela, reside in McKinney with their three teenage daughters. His son is a sophomore at Baylor University.
1992
George Collins and his wife, Marketa, welcomed a daughter and first child, Julie Marie, on August 1. They reside in Prague, Czech Republic.
Bert Goolsby LL.M. recently published The Locusts of Padgett County, a story inspired by a 1909 South Carolina Supreme Court case in a time when racial prejudice shaped laws and the administration of justice (see In Print). He is a former chief deputy attorney general of South Carolina and former criminal prosecutor.
Sean Patrick Maloney was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for New York’s 18th Congressional District, defeating incumbent Republican Rep. Nan Hayworth.
Amy Elizabeth Stewart has published Texas Insurance Coverage Litigation: The Litigator’s Practice Guide, a desk reference published by Texas Lawyer (see In Print). She is shareholder of Amy Stewart Law in Dallas, where she represents policyholders in commercial insurance coverage disputes, including insurance coverage litigation and arbitration, bad-faith litigation, pre-suit advice and negotiations, and other complex litigation matters.Ilir Zherka is executive director of the National Conference on Citizenship, a congressionally chartered organization dedicated to increasing civic engagement throughout the U.S. He previously led D.C. Vote, an organization working to gain full voting representation in Congress for Washington, D.C. residents.
1993
As part of his work at Monument Policy Group, Stewart Verdery worked closely with David Hyman, general counsel at Netflix, on legislation enacted by Congress late in 2012 to update video privacy laws.
1994
Brian R. Booker is listed in Best Lawyers 2013 in commercial litigation. He is a partner with Quarles & Brady in Phoenix, Ariz., where he focuses his practice on commercial and professional liability, real estate, securities fraud, and products liability.
Kevin Maxim has been named in Georgia Super Lawyers in business litigation each year since 2010, and as one of the Top 100 Georgia Super Lawyers in 2012 and 2013. He also was recognized as one of Georgia Trend’s 2012 Legal Elite. His Atlanta-based Maxim Law Firm marked its fourth anniversary at the beginning of 2013. Kevin serves on the board of trustees of the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, and enjoys volunteering at his children’s schools. He and his wife, Adrienne McCullough Maxim, are proud of their young UVA fans, Hampton (12) and Sophia (9).
John B. Nalbandian is listed as a leading lawyer in civil litigation, business, and general law in Cincy magazine and in Best Lawyers 2012 in appellate practice. He is a partner in the litigation department of Taft Stettinius & Hollister, where he focuses on appellate law.1995
Rob Bell, Delegate to the Virginia House of Representatives, is running for the office of Attorney General. This spring he’s travelling across the state in the weeks leading up to the Republican primary nominating convention in May.
Kirby Griffis has started the blog, BriefRight, (www.briefright.com), which focuses on how to write and edit winning legal briefs. He is a partner with Hollingsworth in Washington, D.C., where he tries cases nationwide, mainly for pharmaceutical and medical device clients.
1996
Michael D’Agostino won a seat in the Connecticut State Legislature in November, running unopposed as a Democrat to fill the seat of the retiring Representative in the 91st District.
Trey Hanbury recently joined Hogan Lovells as a partner in Washington, D.C. He focuses his practice on the regulatory, transactional, and policy issues affecting wireless broadband companies, such as spectrum auctions and assignments, foreign ownership, interoperability, and competition policy. He previously served asregulatory counsel for Sprint Nextel Corporation, where he represented the company before the Federal Communications Commission, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, and Congress. “When I’m not geeking out in wireless land,” he writes, “I stay busy with my wonderful wife, Suzanna, and our two busy kids, Amelia (6) and Nate (2).
Leezie Kim was recently appointed to the Phoenix Aviation Board for a four-year term. She is a partner in the corporate services group with Quarles & Brady in Phoenix, Ariz., where she focuses her practice on helping clients navigate the laws of national security and international business transactions as well as health care and restaurant business transactions. While serving as deputy general counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security she became involved in aviation security, border entry matters, and customs issues at airports.
Jason William Morgan is the managing partner of Drohan Tocchio & Morgan, a ten-lawyer firm on the South Shore of Boston, Mass. In 2012 Jason and his wife, Jennifer, adopted their second child from Ethiopia. They now have five children from age 3 to 21.
Scott Surovell, Virginia State Delegate representing the 44th District, has been selected as political director and campaign chairman for the House Democratic Caucus. He also appeared in this year’s premiere episode of How the States Got Their Shapes on the History Channel.
Paul B. Turner has joined Reed Smith as partner in Houston, Tex., where he is a member of the energy & natural resources industry group. He focuses his practice on evolving energy and commodity markets, principally the physical and financial trading of energy commodities. He is listed in Best Lawyers 2013 in derivatives law and futures law. He was previously with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan.
1997
Brian W. Byrd is listed in North Carolina Super Lawyers 2013 in real estate. He was selected for Best Lawyers 2013 in real estate law and land use & zoning law and was named Lawyer of the Year for 2013 in land use & zoning law. He was also listed in Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite in real estate for 2013. He is with Smith Moore Leatherwood in Greensboro.
Nicole G. Fitzpatrick has been named an In-House Leader in the Law for 2013 in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. She is assistant in-house counsel for Akamai Technologies, Inc., a leading cloud platform that provides secure and high-performing connections for e-commerce.
Kevin W. Holt was listed as a Legal Eagle in the area of commercial litigation in Virginia Living in 2012. He has been named in Best Lawyers 2013 in the area of commercial litigation. He was also listed in American Lawyer as a Top Rated Lawyer for 2013 in commercial litigation. He is a partner with Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore in Roanoke.
Timothy B. Phillips has been named general counsel and chief legal executive with the American Cancer Society, headquartered in Atlanta, Ga. He heads the office of corporation counsel, where he served since 2005 as senior counsel and interim general counsel. Phillips leads a nationwide team of legal and compliance professionals to ensure that the ACS operates in compliance with laws that govern public charities. He provides strategic legal counsel to the society’s board and program and operations leadership to support the mission of the nation’s largest voluntary health organization.
Lori D. Thompson was recognized by Virginia Lawyers Weekly as a 2012 Leader in the Law. She is immediate past president of the Roanoke Bar Association and currently serves as chair of the Roanoke Law Foundation, a member of the Virginia Bar Association Board of Governors, and a board member of the Virginia Poverty Law Center. She is a shareholder in the litigation department at LeClairRyan.
1998
Judge Billie Colombaro (ret.), a former appellate court judge, is currently an arbitrator specializing in commercial and employment fields for the American Arbitration Association in New York. She has arbitrated solo and as chair in complex, technical matters, and has presented at dispute resolution conferences, including for the ABA. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, where he serves on the Assessment and Examination Board, the ABA Advocate Committee, the ABA Dispute Resolution Section, the New York Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section, and the New York City Bar. She is also certified as a mediator.
Neale T. Johnson is listed in Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite 2013 in construction. He is with Smith Moore Leatherwood in Greensboro, where he focuses his practice on commercial litigation, particularly relating to construction, contract, real estate, title insurance, and landlord-tenant matters.
Michael Levy was appointed head of the appeals unit of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office. Levy had been a member of the office’s securities and commodities fraud task force. He joined the office in 2002 and was part of the team that prosecuted former Mayer Brown partner Joseph Collins for his participation in the $2.4 billion fraud at commodities broker Refco. He also prosecuted former N.Y. State Sen. Efrain Gonzalez, sentenced in 2010 to seven years in prison for using two non-profits to pay for his personal expenses.
The formal investiture for Robert J. Shelby to the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah took place March 29. Speakers at the event included U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee; local Utah state court judges Deno Himonas and James Blanch; and Richard Burbidge, local trial attorney and former colleague of Judge Shelby’s from the law firm of Burbidge, Mitchell & Gross. Shelby previously was shareholder at Snow, Christensen & Martineau, where his practice focused on complex commercial litigation and catastrophic personal injury cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in state, federal, and administrative courts throughout the country.
Valerie Wagner Long was selected to chair the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors for 2013 and is listed in Best Lawyers 2013 in real estate and land use & zoning law. She is a partner at Williams Mullen, where she focuses her practice on real estate transactions and land use matters.
This fall Helen C. Wan is publishing her first novel, The Partner Track, in which a promising Chinese-American attorney on the verge of becoming a partner at a prestigious firm has to decide how to handle an incident at the firm outing that goes against her principles. Wan is associate general counsel at Time, Inc.
1999
Lodie V. Biggs has been named chair of Baker Donelson’s economic development team. Biggs is a shareholder in the firm’s Memphis office and frequently represents companies locating or expanding within Tennessee and other jurisdictions, including assisting companies in negotiating and securing tax and other economic development incentives for the companies’ investments in the community.
Joseph S. Brown was recently elected to partnership with Hodgson Russ in Buffalo, N.Y. He has also been elected to the New York State Bar Association House of Delegates as a representative of the Eighth Judicial District. His one-year term begins in June. He is a member of the business litigation and employment litigation practice groups at Hodgson Russ, where he focuses his practice on employment-related litigation, defending employers in lawsuits that involve harassment, discrimination, whistleblower claims, breach of contract, restrictive covenants, ERISA, and tort claims. He recently served a term as president of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York.
Stephanie L. Chandler has been recognized as a rising star for 2013 in Texas Monthly. She is a partner with Jackson Walker in San Antonio, where she focuses her practice on securities transactions, reporting, and compliance; mergers and acquisitions; technology licensing and commercialization; and general corporate work. She is also head of the technology section.
Vincent E. Polsinelli was recently elected to partnership with Nixon Peabody in Albany, N.Y., where he represents corporate clients in all aspects of employment-related litigation, including class actions and individual plaintiff lawsuits under Title VII, the FLSA, the ADA, ADEA, and other federal and state employment laws.
Riley Ross opened his own law firm in Philadelphia, Pa., on March 1. The firm, Ross Legal Practice, specializes in civil rights litigation, criminal defense, employment discrimination, internal investigations, and personal injury.
Anthony M. Russell has been named in Best Lawyers 2013 in the areas of mass tort litigation/class actions-plaintiffs, medical malpractice law-plaintiffs, and personal injury litigation-plaintiffs. American Lawyer lists him as a Top Rated Lawyer for 2013 in the areas of medical malpractice, personal injury, and legal malpractice law. He is a partner with Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore in Roanoke, Va.
