2000s Class Notes

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2000

Meredith G. Miller was recognized as one of Hawaii’s top pro bono lawyers at the Hawaii Access to Justice Commission’s 2019 Pro Bono Celebration. Miller, who was at the time serving as counsel in Dentons’ Honolulu office, donated her time to the Hawaii Disabilities Rights Center. Miller and her family have since relocated to Washington, D.C., where she is now working at the Environmental Protection Agency in the Office of General Counsel.

2001

An avid traveler and planner, Gunes Hopson is now an independent travel adviser affiliated with MEI-Travel. She provides complimentary concierge-style travel planning services. Gunes also continues to enjoy writing for her travel blog, fotogenictravel.com, and offers photography services through fotogenicrichmond.com. Hopson also practices law full-time as associate general counsel at Automattic Inc.

Steven M. Klepper, a principal at Kramon & Graham and leader of the firm’s appellate practice group, has been appointed by Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to serve as the District of Maryland’s representative on the Fourth Circuit Criminal Justice Act Appellate Panel Committee.

2002

FournierKristen Fournier is a member of a four-partner litigation team that joined King & Spalding in New York to bolster its pharmaceutical and health care mass tort practice. The group previously practiced with Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe.

2004

Cory JohnsonCory Johnson, of counsel at Dallas-based litigation firm Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann, has been recognized as a Super Lawyer’s Rising Star in business litigation from 2015-17. Johnson litigates complex civil matters on behalf of investment management companies and financial institutions, e-retailers, real estate corporations, oil and gas, construction, medical services and pharmaceutical companies, as well as bankruptcy trustees and investment trusts.

Terence C. Kern LL.M. was selected as the 2019 Judge of the Year by the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Kern is a senior district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Sean S. Suder, partner in the Cincinnati office of Calfee, Halter & Griswold, was recognized as a Leading Lawyer by Chambers USA 2020 in band 1 in Ohio in real estate: zoning/land use.

2005

Scott L. Beal and Robert J. Boller joined Barnes & Thornburg, expanding the firm into the New York City marketplace. Beal’s practice is focused on the formation and operation of private investment funds, including hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital, cryptocurrency and more. He provides ongoing regulatory and compliance guidance to investment managers. Boller, a commercial litigator, is the partner in charge of the New York City office. His practice is focused primarily on guiding investment managers and financial services companies through contentious disputes, typically arising out of complex financial transactions and investment activities. Boller also advises clients on the use of litigation to drive investment or business outcomes.

2006

Tiffany M. Graves was appointed co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation pro bono task force. This summer Graves also started a two-year term as national appeals chair for the Law School Foundation. She is the pro bono counsel with Bradley Arant Boult & Cummings in Jackson, Miss.

Ian HarrisonIan S. Harrison is of counsel with the intellectual property group at Butzel Long in Detroit. Harrison has worked with a wide variety of companies, from startups to members of the Fortune 100. He specializes in patent portfolio creation, complex prosecution, portfolio evaluation for transactions, and IP infringement, validity and freedom-to-operate analysis.

Tim LovelaceH. Timothy Lovelace Jr. joined the Duke University School of Law faculty in June from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where he was a professor of law. Lovelace, whose work examines how the civil rights movement in the United States helped shape international human rights law, is the author of numerous articles and a forthcoming book, “The World is on Our Side: The U.S. and the U.N. Race Convention,” which examines how U.S. civil rights politics shaped the development of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. He is serving as the John Hope Franklin Research Scholar at Duke.

Michael N. Nemelka has been confirmed as deputy U.S. trade representative (investment, services, labor, environment, Africa, China and the Western Hemisphere), with the rank of ambassador.

Daniel R.B. Nicholas joined Weil as a partner in Washington, D.C. Nicholas focuses his practice on international tax planning and worldwide finance, capital markets and derivatives transactions.

James Tysse, partner in Akin Gump’s Supreme Court and appellate practice, was named Litigator of the Week by The American Lawyer for his role in helping to secure justice in a long-running pro bono human rights case. Tysse led the team and argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in a case involving the extrajudicial killings by Bolivia’s military of more than 50 unarmed indigenous Bolivians. Tysse persuaded the appeals court to reverse a trial court ruling on behalf of the defendants, Bolivia’s former president and defense minister, who fled to the United States shortly after the killings. Tysse credited Akin Gump associate Lide Paterno ’15 who, during the appeal, wrote “dazzling briefs” and learned the trial record “backwards and forwards.”

2007

Austin CurryAustin Curry, of Caldwell Cassady & Curry in Dallas, was named to the 2020 Texas Rising Stars list of the top young lawyers in the state. Curry earned his seventh consecutive selection based on his extensive work in intellectual property litigation. He was also named to the Up and Coming 100 list of the state’s leading attorneys. This marks the third time Curry has been recognized among the top 100 lawyers in Texas.

Chanel FrazierChanel Frazier was named to EMpower’s Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executives List for 2020. Frazier was selected for her work in creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace. As head of business strategy for BlackRock’s Portfolio Management Group, Frazier leads the new business unit with $3.6 trillion in assets under management. Frazier has been with BlackRock for seven years, and her prior roles include chief of staff for multi-asset strategies and global fixed income and corporate tax counsel. She is the first BlackRock leader to receive the EMpower honor.

Jamieson Greer, most recently the chief of staff to the U.S. Trade Representative, is now a partner with King & Spalding’s international trade team in Washington, D.C.

Emily MeyerEmily Meyer joined New York City-based Cohen & Buckmann as counsel in the employee benefits and ERISA and executive compensation practices. Meyer advises employers of all sizes on complex matters related to the design and administration of employee benefit plans. She helps plan sponsors fulfill their fiduciary duties and address compliance errors of all types.

Miranda TurnerMiranda H. Turner was promoted to partner at Shipman & Goodwin in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. Turner focuses her practice on general commercial litigation in federal and state courts.

2008

Daniel J. Durst, partner with Williams Mullen in Richmond, Va., was named an Up and Coming Lawyer in the 2020 Chambers High Net Worth Guide for private wealth law. Durst advises clients on a wide range of estate planning, trust and estate administration, business succession and tax matters. He was named a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel in April 2019.

Todd Hatcher joined Katten Muchin Rosenman’s transactional tax planning practice as a partner in New York City. Hatcher focuses on the U.S. federal income tax law aspects of transactional matters.

Frankie T. Jones Jr., vice president of mortgage and real estate management with the Lincoln Financial Group in Greensboro, N.C., was selected for Black Business Ink’s 40 Under 40 Most Influential African Americans in the Piedmont Triad.

Lauren King was appointed by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to serve on the State Gambling Commission. King is a partner at Foster Garvey (formerly Foster Pepper) in Seattle, where she chairs the Native American law practice group. In the spring she taught Federal Indian Law at Seattle University School of Law, her first experience as an adjunct professor.

Kristen NugentKristen M. Nugent joined MendenFreiman, a boutique firm in Atlanta, as an associate in its business law and tax planning practice areas.

2009

Kurt Davis was chosen as a 2020 Young Leader by the French-American Foundation, the goal of which is to strengthen the French-American relationship. Davis, an investment banker with Houlihan Lokey, focuses on Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He advises leading companies, their directors and officers as well as creditors on a range of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings, and financial restructurings across developed and emerging markets. Prior to joining Houlihan Lokey, Davis executed M&A and capital market transactions as part of Barclays Capital’s global natural resources group.

Sarah FaskSarah Bryan Fask gave birth to her third son, Aaron Daniel, in November 2019. Aaron joined older brothers George, 4, and Samuel, 3. While on maternity leave, Fask was elevated to shareholder at Littler Mendelson. Based in the firm’s Philadelphia office, Fask litigates ERISA cases across the country on behalf of employers.

Matt RappaportMatt Rappaport joined UBS in 2018 as a financial adviser. Rappaport operates his wealth management practice out of Austin, Texas, and helps clients throughout the country manage significant wealth and develop their financial plan, often after a notable life event. His clients include lottery jackpot winners, trustees and trust beneficiaries, individuals who have come into inheritances and business owners who have sold their companies.

Andrew StockmentAndrew B. Stockment received the 2019 Sandra P. Thompson Award from the Virginia Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, the YLD’s highest honor, for “outstanding work and long-term service.” Stockment joined the VBA as a student and has served in numerous leadership positions, including as chair of the division and as a member of the board of governors, and currently serves on the Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law Section Council. Stockment is a shareholder at Flora Pettit in Charlottesville, where he focuses his practice on intellectual property and technology, cybersecurity and data privacy, and corporate and business law. He and his wife, Martha, live in Crozet with their two children.