Linda Beerbower Burke, ’73, Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, was awarded the William and Mary Alumni Association’s Alumni Medallion, the highest award the William and Mary Alumni Association can bestow on a graduate.
Alumni Notes
Michael. D. McDowell, ’73, an attorney, arbitrator and mediator based in Pittsburgh, presented “‘Who Are These People!’ or How to Learn More about the Arbitrators on That FMCS Panel You Just Received” at the 14th National Labor-Management Conference sponsored by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service held in Washington, D.C. this summer.
He presented “Elements of Mediation: Resolution and Closure” as a member of the faculty of the Basic Mediation Training Program, sponsored by the West Virginia State Bar. He also spoke at the CLE program “Effective Advocacy in Mediation” as a member of the faculty of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute.
Roger L. Wise, ’73, owner of the Sewickley law firm of Roger Wise & Associates, LLC, was approved as a neutral in the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Q. Todd Dickinson, ’77, was appointed Executive Director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA).
Bernhard Behrend, ’78, lead mediator with Behrend Mediation Services and President of the Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania, presented “Effective Mediator Interventions” at the annual Pennsylvania Council of Mediators conference in Harrisburg. He also recently facilitated a roundtable discussion on “Self Determination” as part of the Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania’s year-long program on Mediator Ethics.
Kevin V. Di Gregory, ’79, joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, as a partner in its Litigation Practice Group.
Joseph J. Smallhoover, ’80, partner at Dechert (Paris) LLP, was elected a member of the Democratic National Committee as part of the delegation from the Democratic Party Committee Abroad. His term will run from the end of the 2008 Democratic National Convention through the end of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
David J. Rosenberg, ’82, a partner in the Pittsburgh office of Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP, was recently selected as a Fellow of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County. Mr. Rosenberg will be inducted into membership into the Academy at the 20th Annual Masters of Trial Advocacy Retreat to be held this fall.
Dawne S. Hickton, ’83, Vice Chair and CEO of RTI International Metals, was named a member of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees.
Donna L. Pavlick, ’85, was named Director of Academic Programs and Registrar of the Vanderbilt Law School. Most recently, she was Assistant Dean for Admissions, Financial Aid and Student Services, as well as a lecturer at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. At the University of Missouri, Pavlick was the recipient of the Carey Mae Carrol Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Advancement of Women from the Women’s Law Association, and received the Excellence in Education Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.
Jay A. Blechman, ’86, partner at Steiner & Blechman, LLC, was elected President of the Allegheny County Bar Association for the year beginning July 1, 2008.
Penina K. Lieber, ’86, a member of the Business and Finance Department in the Pittsburgh office of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP, served as a course planner and faculty member for the 6th Annual Nonprofit Institute Program in Philadelphia. Ms. Lieber’s topics included “Interacting with the Attorney General—Nonprofit Mergers, Sales, Disputes, and Other Issues” and “Moving Targets—Conflicts of Interest Dilemmas in Nonprofit Organizations.”
Jui Joshi, ’89, Director of Development for the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, was elected to the board of The Pittsburgh Foundation.
Tammy Singleton-English, ’90, of Singleton-English Law Offices, was selected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Estate Planning Council of Pittsburgh. She also was an instructor for the Pennsylvania Bar seminar “How to Write a Will.”
Beth A. Slagle, ’90, partner at Meyer, Unkovic and Scott, LLP, was honored as an awardee of the 2008 YWCA Greater Pittsburgh “A Tribute to Women Leadership Awards,” receiving this year’s Professional Services Award.
Michael A. Wessell, ’91, joined Thorp Reed & Armstrong, LLP, as senior counsel in the firm’s Business Group, focusing his practice on corporate and business law, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, securities, and strategic transactions.
Daniel J. Cuddy, ’93, joined Burns, White & Hickton, LLC, as an associate in the firm’s Transportation Group, focusing on occupational disease litigation.
Carolyn W. Mendelson, ’94, Counsel to the Pennsylvania Securities Commission in Pittsburgh, was recently appointed Chair of the North American Securities Administrators Association’s (NASAA) Broker Dealer Market Regulatory Committee. This committee initiates comments to SEC- and FINRA-proposed regulations on behalf of state securities commissions.
Marianela Peralta, ’94, joined the Washington, D.C. office of Littler Mendelson, P.C., as a shareholder, where she represents companies/employers on all matters related to labor and employment, including administrative, litigation and counseling matters.
Rene D. Quinlan, ’94, joined Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC, as senior counsel to the firm’s Construction Group.
Karen E. Minehan, ’96, joined Stevens & Lee P.C., as an associate.
Edward J. Kuna, ’97, joined Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC, as Member of the Business Division in its Pittsburgh office.
Thomas F. Hurka, ’98, joined Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, as a partner in its Labor and Employment Practice in Chicago.
Chris A. Stachtiaris, ’98, joined Raphael, Ramsden & Behers, P.C., concentrating his practice in family law matters.
S. Elaine Diedrich, ’99, was elected partner at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP.
Michael J. Herzog, ’99, was named a Member of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC.
Mark A. Bartholomaei, ’00, an associate in the Pittsburgh office of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP, and a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, traveled to South Africa as one of several featured speakers from across North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia in the “Lawyering in the International Market” seminar sponsored by the Center for International Legal Studies. He presented the paper, “Toxic Tort and Pharmaceutical Litigation in the United States” at the seminar which examined the most common issues confronting lawyers engaged in cross-border matters.
Kevin W. Buckley, ’00, joined Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, a St. Louis law firm, as a partner in its Intellectual Property Group, practicing in the area of patent and transactional legal issues, including technology transfer and licensing, pharmaceutical life-cycle management, institutional collaborations, and venture finance.
Gregory M. Fliszar, ’01, was named a Member of Cozen O’Connor, focusing his practice on health law in the firm’s Philadelphia office.
Sean P. McConnell, ’02, joined the Philadelphia office of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC, as an associate, focusing his practice primarily on intellectual property matters, including trademark prosecution, and domain name and Internet-related issues.
Melissa J. Oretsky, ’02, senior associate at Reed Smith LLP, was appointed as a Hearing Committee Member serving the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Jason J. Zivkovic, ’02, joined Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, P.C., as an associate in the Pittsburgh office, concentrating his practice in the areas of dental malpractice, insurance defense, and professional malpractice, with a particular emphasis in medical malpractice.
Kurt R. Nilson, ’03, created the first series of interactive programs that interpret the intestate laws of fifty U.S. jurisdictions. His work also has been featured on the Forbes magazine Web site in its “Personal Finance” section.
Julie Christine Parker, ’03, a complex litigation attorney at Sacks & Weston in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, together with her husband, Mark F. Thompson, Jr., celebrated the arrival of their daughter, Evelyn “Evie” Rose Thompson, on January 19, 2008.
Vjosa Osmani, ’05, was named Legal Advisor to the President of Kosovo.
Krista Krahn, ’07, an associate with Fish & Richardson P.C., was appointed Regional Deputy President of Region XI of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA).
