Derrick Bell, ’57, served as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law during the Fall 2006 semester.
Alumni Notes
Dick Thornburgh, ’57, Counsel to Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP in Washington, D.C., was named one of eight lawyers to receive a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from The American Lawyer magazine at an awards ceremony this past fall in New York City. The award is presented annually to lawyers who “have made important contributions to public life while building outstanding private or public-interest practices...exemplars who have breathed life into the legal profession’s abstract values of client service and public service.”
Daniel R. Delaney, ’68, Senior Counsel in the Pittsburgh office of Dickie McCamey & Chilcote, P.C., was elected Chair of the Greater Pittsburgh Salvation Army Advisory Board.
Hon. Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter, ’71, Commonwealth Court Judge, was recently elected as president judge of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.
Arthur H. Stroyd, Jr., ’72, joined the Pittsburgh firm of Del Sole Cavanaugh Stroyd LLC as its managing partner.
Michael D. McDowell, ’73, an attorney, arbitrator and mediator based in Pittsburgh, was elected to a two-year term as a Co-Chair of the workplace Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) and also was appointed by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission to the Commission’s Advisory Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution. He also recently spoke on “Excellence in ADR Advocacy: Choosing a Process, Selecting a Neutral and Effective Representation” as a member of the faculty of the third Annual ADR Institute sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Continuing Legal Education Arm of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He also presented “Representing Clients in Mediation: What Works and What Doesn’t” as part of a program sponsored by the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Federal Court Section and ADR Committee of the Federal Bar Association.
Roger Wise, ’73, is co-founder of the newly formed Wexford, Pa.-based law firm of Roger Wise & Associates, LLC, with a focus in the areas of wills, estates, trusts, corporate, tax, elder law, civil litigation, mediation and arbitration.
Ken Spillias, ’74, an attorney from the West Palm Beach, Fla., office of Lewis, Longman and Walker, was reappointed chairman of the West Palm Beach Planning Board.
Wesley Yang, ’75, tax attorney and certified public accountant, joined Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl, LLC, as a partner.
Robert L. Byer, ’77, joined the national Trial Practice Group of Duane Morris LLP as a partner in the firm’s Pittsburgh and Philadelphia offices.
John Mark Thomas, ’77, joined Bryan Cave LLP as Of Counsel in the firm’s Chicago office.
Leonard Fornella, ’78, joined Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir, P.C.,
as a shareholder in the firm’s Litigation Services Group.
as a shareholder in the firm’s Litigation Services Group.
James D. Garraux, ’78, was elected general counsel and senior vice president for labor relations and environmental affairs at United States Steel Corporation.
Kenneth P. Friedman, ’80, a partner in Hodgson Russ LLP’s Corporate & Securities Practice Group, was elected president of the board of the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society (BECHS). Mr. Friedman also was recently appointed chair and moderator of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) program, “Buying or Selling a Small Business.”
Dawne Hickton, ’83, was named vice chairman and chief executive officer of RTI International Metals, Inc., in Niles, Ohio.
Janice McSherry, ’83, was promoted to Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Legal Operations, of GlaxoSmith-Kline Consumer Healthcare at the company’s North American headquarters.
Brian Cuban, ’86, joined the Texas law firm of Heygood, Orr, Reyes & Bartolomei as a partner, focusing his practice on corporate litigation and transactional matters.
Penina Kessler Lieber, ’86, Of Counsel with the Pittsburgh office of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP, was appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to the Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA) for a three-year term.
Marjorie M. Obod, ’86, a member of the Litigation Department and Labor and Employment Group of Dilworth Paxson, was one of the featured presenters at Dilworth Paxson’s 15th Annual Employment Law Conference, a CLE-accredited program sponsored by the Insurance Society of Philadelphia. Ms. Obod also recently participated in a panel discussion for the Southern New Jersey Chamber of Commerce HR/Employment Law Series titled “Protecting Your Employees: Substance Abuse and Violence in the Workplace.”
Ira Podheiser, ’86, was named a Member of Burns, White & Hickton, LLC.
Mary Beth Buchanan, ’87, United States Attorney for Western Pennsylvania, was appointed by President George W. Bush as the Acting Director of the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The Office of Violence Against Women’s mission is to provide leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to reduce violence against women through implementation of the Violence Against Women Act. Ms. Buchanan will continue to serve as United States Attorney for Western Pennsylvania in addition to her new role leading the OVW.
Bradley J. Franc, ’87, was elected to the Executive Committee of Houston Harbaugh, P.C.
Mary J. Hackett, ’87, a partner at Reed Smith LLP in Pittsburgh, is one of 113 lawyers in the United States named as a 2007 BTI Client Service All-Star, signifying recognition by corporate counsel for top client service.
Daniel Fawcett, ’88, was named President of Digital Media at Fox Entertainment Group in Los Angeles.
Alisa N. Carr, ’89, was named a partner with Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl, LLC, where she is a member of the firm’s litigation and employment practice groups.
Michael Zanic, ’89, litigation partner at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP in Pittsburgh, was named to American Lawyer’s “Fab Fifty” Young Litigators, a listing of the top 50 most promising litigators under 45 years old. Mr. Zanic focuses his practice on areas of insurance coverage and solutions to toxic tort-related problems. He has litigated major environmental, asbestos, product liability, property damage and business interruption insurance coverage cases across multiple U.S. jurisdictions.
William C. Bergmann, ’90, was elected a partner with Baker Hostetler in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. He concentrates his practice in intellectual property litigation.
William E. Lestitian, ’90, was appointed the new Allegheny County Council District 12 representative, as unanimously approved by the County Council.
Tammy Singleton-English, ’90, principal attorney of Singleton-English Law Offices, was re-elected to serve as a council member of the Solo and Small Firm section of the Allegheny County Bar Association. Ms. Singleton-English also recently gave a presentation on “Estate Planning Techniques” to partners and managers of Accenture in Great Falls, Va.
John F. Deasy, ’91, was named a shareholder with Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin.
Leo M. Gibbons, ’92, was elected a partner at the Chester County, Pa. law firm of MacElree Harvey.
Margaret Cassidy, ’93, Senior Deputy General, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, was selected by Pittsburgh Magazine and the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project (PUMP) as one of 2006’s “40 Under 40,” an honor given to talented individuals under the age of 40 who are making a positive impact on the region’s development.
Alex W. Thomson, ’93, was elected to the Executive Committee of Houston Harbaugh, P.C.
Stacey L. Fuller, ’94, attorney with the Chester County, Pa. law firm of Gawthrop Greenwood, was named to the Board of Directors of the West Chester Area YMCA.
John C. Hansberry, ’94, was elected a partner with Pepper Hamilton LLP, where his practice focuses on class actions, international arbitrations, appellate cases and other complex litigation matters.
Carolyn Weisberger Mendelson, ’94, is counsel to the Pennsylvania Securities Commission and teaches various business law courses for the Katz Graduate School
of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.
of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.
John I. Blanck, Jr., ’95, was named Force Counsel for Legal and Treaty Affairs in Egypt for the Multinational Force & Observers, the organization that performs the peacekeeping duties under the Egypt-Israel peace treaty.
David De Salle, ’95, joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, joining its Energy, Environment & Resources Practice Group.
William Dirk Pastorick, ’95, a partner at Nelson Levine de Luca & Horst, LLC, was a featured speaker at the International Association of Special Investigative Units (ASIU) 21st Annual Seminar and Expo on Insurance Fraud held in La Quinta, Calif.
Kimberly J. Kisner, ’96, principal of Kisner Law Firm, was selected by Pittsburgh Magazine and the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project (PUMP) as one of 2006’s “40 Under 40,” an honor given to talented individuals under the age of 40 who are making a positive impact on the region’s development.
Gregory L. Taddonio, ’96, was named a partner with Reed Smith LLP in its Business & Regulatory Department in Pittsburgh, focusing his practice in the firm’s Commercial Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group.
Linda Tashbook, ’96, foreign international comparative law librarian at the University of Pittsburgh’s Barco Law Library and a Fulbright Senior Specialist at Pitt Law, was appointed a mediator in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Ms. Tashbook is the first representative of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law to be selected for this program.
Daniel J. Anders, ’98, an associate at Pepper Hamilton LLP, was appointed by Mayor John Street of Philadelphia to the board of directors of the Philadelphia Municipal Authority (PMA). The PMA, a quasi-public agency of the City of Philadelphia, has a five-person board of directors and enters into long-term contracts on behalf of the city.
Andrew P. Cross, ’98, was named a partner with Reed Smith LLP in its Business & Regulatory Department in Pittsburgh, focusing his practice in the firm’s Investment Management Group.
Thomas F. Hurka, ’98, was elected a partner with Baker & McKenzie LLP in Chicago.
James H. Joseph, ’98, joined Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC, focusing his practice on commercial bankruptcy and creditors’ rights.
Jennifer Mowday McEnroe, ’98, was named a partner at McCarthy McDonald Schulberg & Joy, concentrating her practice in the area of family law.
Sharon L. Rusnak, ’99, was named a partner with Reed Smith LLP in its Litigation Department in Pittsburgh, focusing her practice in the firm’s Financial Services Litigation Group.
E. Richard Ogrodowski, ’01, recently started his own firm, Goldsmith & Ogrodowski, LLC, based in Pittsburgh.
Jesse Pettit, ’01, joined Reich, Alexander, Reisinger & Farrell, LLC, as an associate, concentrating on civil litigation, criminal defense and family law.
Peter H. Schnore, ’01, joined Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir, P.C., as an associate in the firm’s Litigation Services Group.
Captain Michael J. Yoder, ’01, served as a Magistrate Cell Attorney in the United States Air Force. He was deployed to Baghdad’s Camp Cropper, part of the larger Victory Base Complex, and assigned to compile evidentiary packages on captured insurgents and evaluate the quality of the evidence gathered by the capturing unit.
Kahle Becker, ’04, was named Deputy Attorney General of the Natural Resources Division of the Idaho Department of Lands. The division handles cases involving negligently caused forest fires, timber contracts, commercial real estate, ranching, as well as issues concerning beds of navigable lakes and rivers.
Kevin M. Eddy, ’04, joined Burns, White & Hickton, LLC, as an associate in the Transportation Group.
Rebekah (Becky) Lee, ’04, was the second runner-up in the CBS reality show “Survivor—Cook Islands” (Season 13).
Christopher M. Buell, ’06, joined Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir, P.C., as an associate.
Sara A. Chandler, ’06, joined Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir, P.C., as an associate.
Joseph Froetschel, ’06, joined Burns, White & Hickton, LLC, as an associate in the firm’s Transportation Group.
Katie M. Galasso, ’06, joined Dickie McCamey & Chilcote, P.C., as an associate.
J. Brian Lynn, ’06, joined Dickie McCamey & Chilcote, P.C., as an associate.
