GW Magazine nameplate
Alumni Newsmakers

The 1960s

A. Sidney Katz, JD '66, received the 2010 Judge Learned Hand Human Relations Award from the American Jewish Committee. Katz is a managing partner of the Husch Blackwell Chicago office, engaged primarily in intellectual property law.

Gary R. Alexander, JD '67, received the 2010 Daily Record Leadership in Law Award. Alexander has also been recognized in Super Lawyers in the field of energy law and as one of the "Top 50 Maryland Lawyers" in all fields of practice.

J. Clifton Fleming Jr., JD '67, has been appointed the Fulbright Distinguished Chair at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration for the 2011 spring semester. Fleming is currently the Ernest L. Wilkinson Chair and Professor of Law at the Brigham Young University Law School.

Raphael "Ray" Lupo, JD '68, received the Sedona Conference Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to intellectual property law.

A. Bates Butler, JD '69, was named the Tucson Best Lawyers "Bet-the-Company Litigator of the Year." A former U.S. attorney for Arizona, Butler has more than 40 years of litigation experience. His practice focuses on white-collar criminal defense and civil litigation.

Marc Marmaro, BA '69, founding partner of Jeff Mangels Butler & Marmaro LLP, has been appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The 1970s

Lewis Tesser, JD '70, is the editor-in-chief of The New York Rules of Professional Conduct. Tesser, the director of the Ethics Institute of the New York County Lawyers' Association, is a partner in Tesser, Ryan & Rochman, LLP, concentrating his practice in litigation and the representation of professional practices.

James F. Carr, JD '71, has begun his first term on the board of governors of the American Bar Association, where he represents the 11th district, which encompasses Colorado, Arizona, and Oklahoma. Carr previously served as senior assistant attorney general of Colorado from 1985 to 2009.

Richard Cohen, JD, '71, a partner in the Phoenix office of Jackson Lewis, has been appointed to the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers as a fellow.

Justin Klein, JD '72, who heads the securities practice at Ballard Spahr, has been reappointed to a three-year term on the attorney advisory committee of the Pennsylvania Securities Commission.

Neil T. Proto, MD '69, JD '72, currently counsel at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP, was elected a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of London in August 2010.

Linda A. Allderdice, JD '73, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Holland & Knight, has been elected president of the Los Angeles County Bar Foundation.

Hilarie F. Bass, BA '75, of the Miami office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, began a one-year term as chair of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation.

Lee Bishop, JD '76, joined Miles & Stockbridge, P.C., after spending the last 16 years as senior counsel for product safety and regulatory compliance for General Electric Company's consumer products.

Daniel J. Metcalfe, JD '76, has been appointed by the president of the World Bank as a member of its new access to information appeals board.  Metcalfe is currently executive director of the Collaboration on Government Secrecy at American University Washington College of Law.

Iris McCollum Green, JD '76, was elected president of the Washington Bar Association.

Stanley B. Edelstein, JD '77, a shareholder of Jacoby Donner, P.C., was certified as a Green Advantage practitioner, the longest standing certification degree for builders and building-related practitioners.

Marc S. Palay, JD '77, has joined Sidley Austin LLP as a global coordinator of its international arbitration practice. He will also serve as co-managing partner of the Geneva office where he will continue to focus on international commercial arbitration and transnational litigation.

Bradd Siegel, JD '77, has been named Best Lawyers Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year in Columbus, Ohio for 2011. Siegel is a partner at Porter Wright Morris & Author LLP.

Randall Rader, JD '78, has been named as one of "The 25 Most Influential People in I.P." by Law.com for his accomplishments as chief judge of the federal circuit.

Barry Hartman, JD '79, provided testimony to the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on changes to the Oil Pollution Act in light of the Gulf oil spill. 

Marcos Ronquillo, JD '79, managing shareholder of Godwin Ronquillo, P.C., has been recognized for his legal work in the 2010 Texas Super Lawyers. Ronquillo has been named to the list each year since its inception in 2003.

The 1980s

Ronald S. Deutsch, JD '82, an attorney with Cohn, Goldberg & Deutsch, LLC, has been appointed chair of the real property section of the Maryland Bar Association.

Susan L. Heller, JD '82, has been recognized as one of the "10 Most Admired Intellectual Property Lawyers" by Law360. Heller is co-chair of Greenberg Traurig's trademark/brand management practice group.

Jeffrey Rovner, JD '82, taught a three-day course in legal technology and knowledge management as part of George Washington University's master of professional studies in law firm management. Rovner is the managing director for information at O'Melveny & Myers, LLP.

Peter A. Rome, JD '84, has been appointed to the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital board of directors. Rome is currently partner at Ulmer & Berne, LLP, where he is co-chair of the firm's business practice.

Lawrence J. Gotts, JD '85, has joined the litigation department of Latham & Watkins, LLP. Gotts' practice focuses on litigation and intellectual property disputes.

Jack E. Strausman, JD '85, has been named deputy general counsel-general law of Pepco Holdings, Inc. Strausman previously worked with the Potomac Electric Power Company and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Faith L. Charles, JD '86, has joined Thompson Hine LLP as a partner in the corporate transactions and securities practice group. Charles focuses on corporate, commercial, and securities matters, including strategic transactions and corporate structuring.

Jay G. Cohen, JD '86, has been listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, for his exceptional legal work with Duane Morris LLP.

Michael N. Kreitzer, JD '87, has been appointed chairman of the Wolfsonian-FIU advisory board. Kreitzer, who is also chair of the litigation group at Bilzin Sumberg, has been named a "Local Litigation Star" by Benchmark Litigation.

Peter Perkowski, JD '88, was named to the National LGBT Bar Association's inaugural "Best LGBT Lawyer Under 40" list. Perkowski, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Winston & Strawn, was one of 40 LGBT lawyers who were honored for distinguishing themselves in their fields and demonstrating commitment to LGBT equality.

Dennis J. Quinn, JD '88, has been sworn in as the president of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, a statewide bar that assists Virginia attorneys in civil litigation.

Timothy Leighton, JD '88, managing editor of Leighton Legal Group, LLC, was named chair of the Illinois State Bar Association's business advice and financial planning council.

Warren Lehrenbaum, JD '89, has been named partner of Crowell & Moring LLP's environmental and natural resources group. Lehrenbaum represents clients before regulatory agencies, where he advocates on behalf of individual products as well as broad policy issues.

Tracy-Gene Durkin, JD '89, has been elected president of the Women's Bar Association Foundation, the sister organization to the Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia.

The 1990s

Brad Pomerance, JD '90, has received his third Emmy Award nomination for his work as host and producer of a television program about the revitalization of the Los Angeles River. Prior to his work as a journalist, Pomerance clerked for U.S. District Court Chief Judge Sherman G. Finesilver and served as an attorney for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Paramount Television Group.

Geoffrey Corn, JD '91, associate professor of law at South Texas College of Law in Houston, traveled to Istanbul, where he and Varol Senal, LLM '91, provided insights on finance options to U.S. and Turkish law students participating in a summer abroad program at Bahcesehir University.

N. Thane Bauz, LLM '92, has been appointed managing partner of the San Diego office of Perkins Coie. Bauz and three partners (including Matthew Bernstein, JD '98) at the Perkins Coie San Diego office were voted by their peers as San Diego County's Top Attorneys for 2010.

Corrie Fischel Conway, JD '92, joined Littler Mendelson, P.C., the nation's largest employment and labor law firm representing management, as a shareholder.

G. Rogers Sloan, LLM '92, was named district counsel for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Savannah District.

John W. Monroe, JD '93, has been named partner of Mansour, Gavin, Gerlack & Manos Co., LPA. Monroe previously practiced in the firm's real estate services group. He is also the current chair of the planning and zoning commission for the city of Euclid, Ohio.

Lowell Salesin, JD '93, was recognized by Chambers USA for his work with Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth & Heller P.C.

Daniel M. Serviss, BS '93, a partner at Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP, was selected for The New Jersey Law Journal's 40 under 40 List.

Michael J. Kornacki, BA '93, presented "Complying with the Government Is Everyone's Job: Non-Contractual Rules Pertaining to Shopping Centers" at the International Council of Shopping Centers' Law for Non-Lawyers Seminar.

Holly Loiseau, JD '94, was inducted as president of the Women's Bar Association in the District of Columbia. Loiseau is currently a litigation partner and member of Weil's Complex Commercial Litigation and Product Liability practices, as well as an active member of Women@weil, the firm's women's network.

Philip B. Taub, JD '94, was recognized by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business as a leader in his field.

Gregory Olaniran JD '95, has joined Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp LLP as a partner in the Washington, D.C., office. Olaniran specializes in copyright law.

J. Cabell Acree, III, LLM, '96, has been selected for inclusion in the 2010-2011 edition of Who's Who Among Law Professionals. Acree recently joined Selman Munson & Lerner, P.C., a Houston/Austin-based law firm specializing in business and commercial transactions and corporate finance, as of counsel.

Lori B. Rassas, JD '97, wrote Employment Law: A Guide to Hiring, Managing, and Firing for Employers and Employees, a coherent overview that follows the sequence of day-to-day events—from job creation and recruitment including compensation and benefits, leave entitlements, and performance management, all the way to the conclusion of the employment relationship.

Raymond P. Aursotas, JD '98, has been appointed vice chair of the civil litigation section of the Massachusetts Bar Association. Aursotas is a partner at Todd & Weld LLP, where he has a commercial and general litigation practice.

Regina A. DeMeo, JD '98, was re-elected president of the Collaborative Divorce Association, Inc. DeMeo was also named one of the area's "Top 25 Divorce Attorneys" by Bethesda Magazine. She has since been profiled by the Washington Post and featured on ABC's Washington Business Tonight.

Anessa Owen Kramer, JD '98, joined Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP as a partner in the intellectual property practice group of its corporate and securities department.

Jason Leckerman, BA '98, a litigation partner at Ballard Spahr known for his antitrust and product liability work as well as his pro bono contributions, was named to the 2010 list of "Lawyers on the Fast Track" by The Legal Intelligencer.

Alexander Nemiroff, JD '98, has been appointed to the board of directors for the Center for Rights and Interests of the Elderly. Nemiroff is a partner in the Philadelphia office of Jackson Lewis LLP.

Luis Torres, JD '98, accepted a position at Latham & Watkins, LLP, where he specializes in representing companies in the development and financing of infrastructure projects.

Allison Cammack, BA '99, joined the business litigation practice group of the Miami office of Gunster. Prior to joining Gunster, Cammack was an associate at Carey Rodriguez Greenberg & Paul LLP. She was editor-in-chief of the U.C. Davis Law Review and has been named a Florida Super Lawyers 2010 Rising Star.

Russell S. Drazin, JD '99, along with one of his partners at Jackson & Campbell, P.C., formed a new law firm in Washington, D.C. Pardo & Drazin, LLC, a nine-attorney law firm, specializes in real estate law.

Erica A. Leatham, JD '99, of counsel in the real estate department at Ballard Spahr LLP, has been named one of "20 Under 40" women leaders in the field of commercial real estate by Commercial Real Estate Women Network.

Grant Reed, JD '99, has been promoted to of counsel at the Washington, D.C.-based intellectual property law firm Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein and Fox. Reed was formerly a senior attorney at the firm.

The 2000s

Gary Rubman, JD '00, has been promoted to partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Covington & Burling LLP, where he specializes in patent litigation and election and political law practice. Rubman was previously a law clerk for Judge Samuel Alito, Jr., and was on the legislative staff of Rep. John Boehner.

Jennifer Giordano, JD '01, accepted a position at Latham & Watkins, LLP, where she will handle antitrust and competition matters as well as mergers and acquisitions.

Jennifer E. Gillespie, BA '02, accepted a position at the Law Offices of Andrew F. Garruto located in Nutley, N.J., as attorney. Gillespie represents people injured by the negligence of others.

Peter A. Jacxsens Jr., JD '02, has been named partner with Hawkins Parnell Thackston & Young LLP. Jacxsens practices in the areas of personal injury defense litigation, insurance coverage, financial institution liability, and general commercial litigation.

Patrick Forrest, LLM '04, has been granted a Fulbright Award at the University of Alberta. Forrest will spend four months in Edmonton, beginning in January 2011, conducting research for a project entitled "Protracted Refugee Situations: Improving the U.S. and Canadian Response to an Ongoing Crisis."

Alison Altman Gross, JD '04, has opened the Law Office of Alison Altman Gross in Philadelphia. The firm focuses on estate planning, estate administration, and fiduciary litigation, including guardianships and trust and estate matters. She previously practiced at Pepper Hamilton LLP in the trusts and estates and litigation departments.

Daniel A. Lebersfield, JD '04, has joined Sills Cummis & Gross, P.C., as an associate of the litigation practice group. Lebersfield previously practiced at Dechert LLP.

Shane V. Cortesi, JD '05, has joined Waddey & Patterson, P.C., as an associate. Previously of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Cortesi specializes in patent prosecution.

David S. Kim, JD '07, was honored with the St. Louis Business Journal "30 Under 30" award, which recognizes top young community newsmakers. Kim is an intellectual property associate at Armstrong Teasdale, LLP.

Adam Marlowe, JD '07, has joined the Atlanta office of Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP as an associate with the litigation practice group. Marlowe's general litigation practice focuses primarily on securities and commercial litigation matters.

George Murphy, JD '07, has been appointed to the advisory committee of the Children's Law Center in Washington, D.C.

Angel L. Olivera-Soto, LLM '07, was a speaker at the "Voting: 45 Years after the Voting Rights Act" symposium held at the St. Louis University School of Law.

Stacy R. Pace, JD '07, has had her article, "Young Professionals and the Economy," published in the April 2010 edition of the Maryland Bar Bulletin.

Baldine Paul, JD '07, has joined the intellectual property division of Roetzel & Andress, a business law firm with 12 offices across the country.

Katrina Quach, JD '07, has joined Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein and Fox, P.L.L.C., where she will serve as an associate in
the biotechnology/chemical practice group.

V. Stuart Couch, LLM '08, has been appointed by Attorney General Eric Holder to serve as an immigration judge in the Charlotte Immigration Court. Couch was previously of counsel at Poyner Spurrill, following a 22-year career in the United States Marine
Corps as a pilot, prosecutor, and appellate judge.

Daniel A. Gajewski, JD '09, has joined Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein and Fox, P.L.L.C., where he will serve as an associate in the mechanical practice group.

Neil P. Shull, JD '09, has joined Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein and Fox, P.L.L.C., where he will serve as an associate in the biotechnology practice group.

Benny Spiewak, LLM '09, senior associate at KLA-Koury Lopes, has been recognized as one of the world's leading patent and technology licensing practitioners by IAM Magazine.

And What About You?

Please write and tell us about your career accomplishments and personal milestones. (If you’ve changed your name since you attended GW, please include your former name.) Send your news and a photo you can spare to:

GW LAW SCHOOL MAGAZINE
The George Washington University
2121 Eye Street, N.W., #512
Washington, D.C. 20052
or call up www.gwmagazine.com