Class Notes Online

Alumni can also keep abreast of the recent activities of their classmates by reading about their information below. 

The Magazine is published twice a year for the benefit of alumni and friends of the School of Law.  Submissions received between February 1 and June 30 typically will appear in the fall issue and those received between July 1 and January 31 will appear in the spring issue.

Click here to fill out information about fellow classmates.

Please direct any questions or comments about Class Notes to Ann Nicholson, Director of External Affairs, at anicholson@wulaw.wustl.edu.

Name: Dan Binisan
Class Year: 2009
Class Note: Dan Binisan (LLM) participated in the law school’s Summer Institute for Global Justice in Utrecht.

Name: Ying Ju Chen
Class Year: 2009
Class Note: Ying Ju Chen (LLM) is interning with alumnus Rommel S. Manuel (LLM ’07) at the Herbert Tan Law Office in New York.

Name: Young Seok Koo
Class Year: 2009
Class Note: Young Seok Koo (LLM) is working at Stereotaxis with Kim Rosenfield, general counsel.

Name: Qing Nian
Class Year: 2009
Class Note: Qing Nian (LLM ’07, JD ’09) has joined Goodwin Procter LLP. He previously worked for the public interest organization, Medical-Legal Partnership Boston, for one year.

Name: Shen Wang
Class Year: 2009
Class Note: Shen Wang (LLM ’09) and Zhen Li (LLM ’09) have accepted positions at the Wan Hui Da law firm in Beijing. The firm has a large trademark practice and works mainly for foreign investment companies in China.

Name: Shen Wang
Class Year: 2009
Class Note: Shen Wang (LLM) received the “Intellectual Property & Technology Law Award,” which is awarded to the IP LLM graduating student who has the highest GPA.

Name: Young Sun Bang
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Young Sun Bang (LLM) is the Transnational Development Editor for the Innovation & Commerce Law Review.

Name: James Bloom
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: James Bloom has joined Keller Rohrback LLP in Phoenix, Arizona, as an associate practicing chiefly with the firm’s Litigation Group.

Name: Sophia Coloma
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Sophia Coloma (LLM) recently passed the New York Bar and is working on her JSD at Washington University.

Name: Will Dunham
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Will Dunham recently joined Sherin & Lodgen LLP in Boston as an associate in the firm’s Litigation Department.

Name: Ashwini Durve
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Ashwini Durve (LLM) lives in Columbia, Maryland, and works with a legal process outsourcing firm based in Orlando, Florida. She hopes to take the Patent Bar in the near future.

Name: Natalia Evdokimova
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Natalia Evdokimova (LLM) works for the Federal Antitrust Commission as a lawyer in IP protection.

Name: Gleyse Gulin
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Gleyse Gulin (LLM) married her husband, Eric Albanese, on December 20, 2008.

Name: Sangwoo Han
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Sangwoo Han (LLM) worked as in-house legal counsel for UMI Corporation in Missouri during his OPT. He is now the CEO for Designed Concrete Pole Business Group in Samwha Remicon, which is one of the top three companies in its field in Korea. His company makes and sells street light poles, telephone poles, electricity poles, and traffic light poles for government or public owned companies. Sangwoon and his wife also celebrated the birth of their daughter, Katherine, who was born in September 2008.

Name: Matthew  R Kopp
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Matthew R. Kopp passed the Illinois bar in 2008 and is working for Jenner & Block LLP in Chicago. He married Katie Lamos in August 2008.

Name: Eleonora Melato
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Eleonora Melato (LLM) works in Milan as an associate with Dewey & LeBoeuf. She is an assistant for one of the partners on the M&A team.

Name: Andrew Nash
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Andrew Nash recently interned with Justice D.Y. Chandrachud of the High Court of Bombay in Mombai.

Name: Heather B Navarro
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Heather B. Navarro recently started in a new position with the Law Offices of Thomas E. Kennedy III LC, a public interest firm with offices in St. Louis, Missouri and Alton, Illinois.

Name: Shripriya Sri Padmanabhan
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Shripriya Sri Padmanabhan (LLM) announces the birth of her son, Sriram, on June 4, 2009.

Name: Zheng Tang
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Zheng Tang (LLM) works at Grandall Legal Group, a domestic law firm in Beijing. Zheng focuses on insurance law and anti-monopoly law.

Name: Mi Tian
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Mi Tian (LLM ’08) is a doctoral student in the Law and Economics of Money and Finance program at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany.

Name: Frederic Tissot-Favre
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Frederic Tissot-Favre (LLM) and his wife Delphine announce the birth of their son, Benjamin, on March 26, 2009.

Name: Tony Verticchio
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Tony Verticchio, an attorney at Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL in Cincinnati, was recently admitted to practice law in Ohio. He is in the firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group. Verticchio previously was admitted to practice in Kentucky.

Name: Lina Yu
Class Year: 2008
Class Note: Lina Yu (LLM) works for the New York office of Deheng Law Firm, one of the largest Chinese law firms.

Name: Jianbin Hu
Class Year: 2007
Class Note: Jianbin (Jacky) Hu (LLM) is now Senior Legal Counsel, Legal, Tax & IP Division BASF (China) Co., Ltd. Last year, Jacky married her husband and lives in Shanghai.

Name: Irina Krivaya
Class Year: 2007
Class Note: Irina Krivaya (LLM) works in corporate law, including compliance and joint ventures for Emerson’s legal department in Moscow. Along with several other Washington University alumni, she met in Moscow with Professor James Wertsch, who directs the McDonnell Academy and was meeting with potential partner universities.

Name: Rommel Manuel
Class Year: 2007
Class Note: Rommel Manuel (LLM ’07) recently celebrated the birth of his daughter, Divine. Rommel offers Optional Practical Training (OPT) for LLM students at his law firm in New Jersey.

Name: Edward Rasp III
Class Year: 2007
Class Note: Edward Rasp III recently joined Linklaters in New York as an associate, practicing in restructuring and insolvency matters.

Name: Shekhar Wig
Class Year: 2007
Class Note: Shekhar Wig (LLM) works in India as a legal associate at QuisLex Legal Solutions Private Limited, a company which works with various American and British law firm.

Name: Jing Zhao
Class Year: 2007
Class Note: Jing Zhao (LLM ’07, JD ’09) and Ben Zou (JD ’09) announce the birth of their daughter, Jocelyn, on April 19, 2009.

Name: Ran Zhao
Class Year: 2007
Class Note: Ran Zhao (LLM ’07) recently got married in China. She returned to Washington University this fall to finish her Master of Social Work. After she completes her MSW, she plans to return to China and find a job in a public organization or institution.

Name: Liqin Chen
Class Year: 2006
Class Note: Liqin Chen (LLM ’06, JD ’08) is now an associate with King and Wood in Shanghai.

Name: Ali Adnan Ibrahim
Class Year: 2006
Class Note: Ali Adnan Ibrahim (LLM) earned his SJD with distinction in May 2008. Dr. Ibrahim is now counsel with Baker & McKenzie Limited in Bahrain. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center.

Name: Guangxi Jia
Class Year: 2006
Class Note: Guangxi Jia (LLM ’06, JD ’08) is the foreign legal consultant for Viasystems in St. Louis.

Name: Munenori Kaku
Class Year: 2006
Class Note: Munenori Kaku (LLM ’06, JD ’08) passed the New York Bar and is an associate with Ohashi & Horn LLP in New York.

Name: Steven T Kazmierski
Class Year: 2006
Class Note: Steven T. Kazmierski has joined Armstrong Teasdale LLP as an associate and member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. In addition to his law degree, he holds a PhD in biological sciences. Kazmierski’s primary focus is on the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications, as well as the counseling of clients in the biological, chemical, and life sciences fields on a variety of intellectual property issues. He is the author of numerous articles appearing in such scientific publications as the Journal of Molecular Biology, Journal of Cell Biology, Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine and European Journal of Cell Biology.

Name: Iliana Kirova
Class Year: 2006
Class Note: Iliana Kirova (LLM ’06, JD ’08) is an associate at Ropes and Gray in New York City.

Name: Christallyn McCloud
Class Year: 2006
Class Note: Christallyn McCloud, an associate at Bryan Cave LLP in the corporate practice area, was selected among the “2009 30 Under 30” outstanding St. Louis area business leaders by the St. Louis Business Journal.

Name: Jin Meng
Class Year: 2006
Class Note: Jin Meng (LLM ’06, JD ’08) works for the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation during her OPT.

Name: Daniel T O'Connor
Class Year: 2006
Class Note: Daniel T. O'Connor married Emily Schmelzle on October 3, 2009. The ceremony was held at Washington University’s Graham Chapel. A number of law school classmates returned to St. Louis to attend.

Name: Iling Ouyang
Class Year: 2006
Class Note: Iling Ouyang (LLM ’06) passed the New York Bar and earned a Master of Information Management from the School of Engineering at Washington University.

Name: Yanhua Peng
Class Year: 2006
Class Note: Yanhua Peng (LLM ’06, JD ’08) passed the New York Bar exam in July 2008 and the Chinese Bar in September 2008. She works as an associate with the Chia Partners in Singapore.

Name: Sasha E Polonsky
Class Year: 2006
Class Note: Sasha E. Polonsky was honored at the Sanctuary for Families Above & Beyond Pro Bono Awards and Benefit. She was recognized for providing outstanding pro bono representation and advocacy on behalf of victims of domestic violence. Polonsky is an associate in the Litigation Department at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP in New York.

Name: Eulsoo Seo
Class Year: 2006
Class Note: Eulsoo Seo (LLM ’06, JSD ’07) was recently promoted to Director, Convergence Technology Examination Division I, Korean Intellectual Property Office.

Name: Tzu Chou
Class Year: 2005
Class Note: Tzu Chou is now a partner at Rajah & Tann LLP, one of the top law firms in Singapore and also a worldwide top 25 international arbitration firm. Chou practices general commercial litigation and also arbitration work.

Name: Jia Gu
Class Year: 2005
Class Note: Jia Gu (LLM ’05, JD ’08) is an associate with Robert Wang and Woo LLC in Singapore. He handles international commercial litigation and arbitration cases in Asia.

Name: Ying Luo
Class Year: 2005
Class Note: Ying Luo (JD) works for the New York office of Kenyon & Kenyon, a firm specializing in patents and trademarks.

Name: Chalermkwan Rianvichit
Class Year: 2005
Class Note: Chalermkwan Rianvichit (LLM) passed the judge’s exam last year in Thailand.

Name: Jung Whan Im
Class Year: 2005
Class Note: Jung Whan Im (LLM ’05, LLM ’06) was promoted to director of the legal affairs department at KT Corporation in South Korea.

Name: Eugenia Cortez
Class Year: 2004
Class Note: Eugenia Cortez (LLM ’04) married Christopher Parris on May 30, 2009.

Name: Sameer Desai
Class Year: 2004
Class Note: Sameer Desai (LLM ’04, JD ’06) and Sejal Parikh (LLM ’04) announced the birth of their daughter, Hanaa. Desai and Parikh, along Hanaa and their 5-year-old son, Paurav, recently moved from Chicago to San Francisco.

Name: Paul Eisner
Class Year: 2004
Class Note: An article by Paul Eisner (IP LLM), “Weighing the Consequences of Section 998 Offers to Compromise,” was published in the June 2009 issue of Los Angeles Lawyer.

Name: Monica Hsiu-Yuan Yang
Class Year: 2004
Class Note: Monica Hsiu-Yuan Yang (LLM ’04, JD ’06) was married in France on August 08, 2008.

Name: Hui-Feng (Tim) Hsu
Class Year: 2004
Class Note: Hui-Feng (Tim) Hsu (JSD ’04) has established a new law firm with Ruey Chen (JSD ’03) and Wei-Lin (David) Wang (JSD ’04). The firm is named “Washington Group and Associates” in honor of their alma mater. In addition, Hsu was appointed an associate professor at the Chinese Culture University School of Law.

Name: Elizabeth Pernoud Feldmeir
Class Year: 2004
Class Note: Elizabeth Pernoud Feldmeir (JD ’04, LLM Tax ’05) and Chrisopher Feldmeir (JD ’04, LLM Tax ’05) welcomed their second child, daughter Elsa, on August 5, 2009.

Name: Lynda Tabuya
Class Year: 2004
Class Note: Lynda Tabuya (LLM) is a lecturer in the Professional Diploma in Legal Practice program at the School of Law, University of the South Pacific in Fiji. Law graduates must take this program before they are admitted to the Bar. She teaches Trial Advocacy, Legal Ethics, and Criminal Litigation.

Name: Wei-Lin Wang
Class Year: 2004
Class Note: Wei-Lin Wang (JSD ’04) is an assistant professor at National Chenchi University in Taiwan.

Name: Aya Yamane
Class Year: 2004
Class Note: Aya Yamane (LLM ’04) and her husband, Hiroyuki Hagiwara, announced the birth of their son, Shogo, on July 18, 2009. Yamane, who is currently on maternity leave, plans to return to work at Daiwa SMBC in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department next year.

Name: Celine Bondard
Class Year: 2003
Class Note: Celine Bondard (LLM ’03) is working at the Paris office of Mayer Brown, focusing on intellectual property and international arbitration. A member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, she is working with Human Rights Watch in conjunction with the prosecution of the former Chadian dictator, Hissène Habré.

Name: Khara Coleman
Class Year: 2003
Class Note: Khara Coleman married fellow New Orleanian Blaine Washington II on May 16, 2009. The wedding took place in Oak Park, Illinois. Coleman is an associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago. Her wedding photos can be viewed at kharaandblaine.weddings.com. She can be reached at misscoleman@gmail.com.

Name: Min-chi Huang
Class Year: 2003
Class Note: Min-chi Huang (LLM ’03, LLM ’04, JD ’06) and Jian Li (LLM ’03, JD ’05) announce the birth of their daughter, Iris, on June 13, 2009.

Name: Lijiao Li
Class Year: 2003
Class Note: Lijiao Li (LLM ’03) is working for the Shu Jin Law Firm in Shenzhen, where he is focusing on securities, foreign investment, and mergers and acquisitions. Rachel Lin (LLM ’04) is his colleague at the firm.

Name: Chris J Macchiaroli
Class Year: 2003
Class Note: Christopher Macchiaroli has left White & Case LLP in Washington, D.C. to become an assistant United States attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Name: Ryan D McConnell
Class Year: 2003
Class Note: Ryan D. McConnell has joined the faculty at the University of Houston Law Center and is teaching Criminal Procedure. McConnell’s full-time job remains prosecuting federal criminal cases ranging from fraud to counter-terrorism as an Assistant United States Attorney in Houston, Texas.

Name: Chayanan Suvanamas
Class Year: 2003
Class Note: Chayanan Suvanamas (JSD) works for the Royal Thai Government, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Name: Yuan Zheng
Class Year: 2003
Class Note: Yuan Zheng (LLM ’03) is working at Yuan Zheng & Associates LLC. Her firm focuses on debt collections and consumer defense, including identification theft, credit card debts, and nonpayment of loan. Her daughter Ginkgo Chen was born in November 2008.

Name: Mayra Cerdan
Class Year: 2002
Class Note: Mayra Cerdan (LLM ’02) is working at Bond Pearce LLP in London.

Name: Thomas Chih-hsiung Chen
Class Year: 2002
Class Note: Thomas Chih-hsiung Chen (LLM ’02, JSD ’07) and his wife, Carol, hosted this year’s annual Wash U Law alumni reunion party. Ten Taiwanese Wash U alumni attended the lunch. The guests included Professor Bruce La Pierre and his wife, former Grand Justice Herbert Han-Pao Ma and his wife, and Kazuhiro Koide (LLM ’03).

Name: Melanie Schoenfeld
Class Year: 2002
Class Note: Melanie Schoenfeld married Daniel James Paul of Clayton, Missouri on May 16, 2009. They live in Atlanta, Georgia. She is currently practicing labor and employment law with the United States Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor.

Name: Osama Alobaidy
Class Year: 2001
Class Note: Osama Alobaidy (JSD) was appointed associate professor of law at the Institute of Public Administration in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Name: Joonseok Lee
Class Year: 2001
Class Note: Joonseok Lee (JSD ’01) was appointed by the Korean Government to Chief Trademark Administrative Judge, Intellectual Property Tribunal, Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). He previously served as director general of KIPO’s Policy Making, Management, and Public Relations Bureau.

Name: Nathan S Merrill
Class Year: 2001
Class Note: In April 2009, Nathan S. Merrill was selected for recognition in the publication, Colorado Superlawyers as a 2009 Rising Star. In September 2009, he was named to the 2009 Five Star Wealth Managers List in the September issue of 5280 and ColoradoBiz Magazines. Merrill practices at the law firm of Messner & Reeves LLC in Denver, Colorado in the areas of tax, estate planning, and general corporate.

Name: Gonzalo Pereyra de Olazabal
Class Year: 2001
Class Note: Gonzalo Pereyra de Olazabal (LLM) is working for Pereyra de Olazábal & Bustillo in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Name: Ying Ying Tam
Class Year: 2001
Class Note: Ying Ying Tam (LLM) is a compliance advisor at the Standard Chartered Bank in Shanghai.

Name: Alex Zgardan
Class Year: 2001
Class Note: Alex Zgardan (LLM) is the CEO of the first private pension fund in Moldova. He tries to education people about the importance of planned retirement. In addition, he has taught in Singapore, France, the UK, and Russia.

Name: Necia L Chambliss
Class Year: 2000
Class Note: Necia L. Chambliss is a judge advocate general with the U.S. Coast Guard, currently serving as senior appellate defense counsel. She was admitted to the bars of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and the Supreme Court of the United States. Previously, she served as the senior counsel representing members being processed through the Coast Guard’s Physical Disability Evaluation System. Chambliss is married and has a 10-month-old daughter.

Name: Greg Jones
Class Year: 2000
Class Note: Greg Jones has been appointed to the board of the City of Columbia New Century Fund Inc. Jones is a partner with Jones & Watkins LLC in Columbia, Missouri, where he specializes in wills, trusts, and business law. The New Century Fund is composed of tax deductible gifts, grants, and property designed to help improve the city of Columbia.

Name: Chenglin Liu
Class Year: 2000
Class Note: Chenglin Liu (LLM ’00, JSD ’05) published a paper entitled “The Chinese Takings Law from a Comparative Perspective” in the Washington University Journal of Law & Policy (vol. 26, pp. 301-52). He is now an assistant professor of law at St. Mary’s University School of Law.

Name: Maximilien Yaouanc
Class Year: 2000
Class Note: Maximilien Yaouanc (LLM ’00) is serving as senior counsel at Philip Morris International Management SA in Switzerland

Name: Chenbo Zhang
Class Year: 2000
Class Note: Chenbo Zhang (LLM ’00, JD ’06) and his wife, Li Ji, announce the birth of their son, Louis (Zhang Zimu) Zhang, on April 9, 2009.

Name: Bamidele Adelayo
Class Year: 1999
Class Note: Bamidele Adelayo (LLM ’99, JD ’01) has started his own practice focusing on criminal defense, family-based immigration issues, and real estate transactions. He previously worked at the State’s Attorney’s Office in Will County, Illinois.

Name: Lee Marshall
Class Year: 1999
Class Note: Lee Marshall, a partner at Bryan Cave LLP, was named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s “40 Under 40.” Marshall specializes in appellate and intellectual property litigation. He is a member of the bar of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. An adjunct professor at Washington University Law, he teaches the Appellate Clinic. Marshall also is one of two Missourians appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Name: Alessandro Sartirana
Class Year: 1999
Class Note: Alessandro Sartirana (LLM ’99) is working for Crédit Agricole, an international bank based in Paris. Alessandro has been focusing on legal matters for a financial institution that has been under pressure due to the global financial crisis.

Name: Charissa Steffensmeier
Class Year: 1999
Class Note: Charissa Steffensmeier and her husband, Ryan, announce the birth of their fourth child, Elijah Richard, on February 16, 2009. Elijah joins big brothers, Xavier and Tobias, and big sister, Helena. Charissa continues to work as labor and employment counsel for Macy's, Inc. in St. Louis.

Name: Patrick  Chavez
Class Year: 1998
Class Note: Patrick Chavez received the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis’s (BAMSL’s) 2009 President’s Outstanding Service Award. The award recognizes his work as co-chair of the Minorities in the Legal Profession Committee. Chavez is a partner at Williams Venker & Sanders LLC in St. Louis. He is a member-at-large on BAMSL’s Board of Governors and serves on the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Bar Foundation. He was previously honored by BAMSL in 2004 with the President’s Outstanding Service Award and in 2002 with the Young Lawyers’ Division Award of Merit.

Name: Debbie Nye
Class Year: 1998
Class Note: Debbie Nye has been elected to partnership at Foley & Lardner LLP. Nye, who practices in Foley’s San Diego office, focuses on patent litigation and IP counseling.

Name: Alex Pirogovsky
Class Year: 1998
Class Note: Alex Pirogovsky has opened a new general practice law firm, Pirogovsky Fremderman Ltd. in Northbrook, Illinois. The firm handles bankruptcy, family law, real estate, personal injury, trusts and estates, civil litigation, collections, foreclosures, and traffic law matters. He previously practiced law at Schwartz Cooper Greenberger & Krauss; Ungaretti & Harris LLP; and Alex Pirogovsky, Ltd.

Name: Jennifer A Schwesig
Class Year: 1998
Class Note: Jennifer A. Schwesig, firm partner, has been named leader of Armstrong Teasdale’s International Practice Group. Members of the International practice group counsel U.S. and foreign companies all over the globe including Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia and the Pacific Rim (especially China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, India and Thailand) in a broad range of matters. These include international commercial and financial transactions, foreign direct investment global management, intellectual property protection, and international trade. Schwesig’s practice focuses on international corporate compliance and transactions. She serves as Chair of the International Law Committee for The Missouri Bar, and a member of the International Section of the American Bar Association, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and the American Society of International Law.

Name: Amy (Tucker) Ryan
Class Year: 1997
Class Note: Amy (Tucker) Ryan and her husband, Andy, announce the birth of their son, Joseph Delaney Ryan, on June 5, 2009. The Ryans live in St. Louis. She is an attorney with Martin, Leigh, Laws and Fritzlen PC, where she practices bankruptcy law. Ryan can be reached via e-mail at atr@mllfpc.com.

Name: Heidi Forster Gertner
Class Year: 1997
Class Note: Heidi Forster Gertner and her husband, Gregory Gertner, welcomed their second child, Jason Lincoln Gertner, in March 2009. Jason joins big sister, Abby. Gertner is an attorney for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The family resides in Bethesda, Maryland. Heidi can be reached at heidigertner@yahoo.com.

Name: Mark Levine
Class Year: 1997
Class Note: Mark Levine and his wife, Amanda, announce the birth of their first child, Isabella Rose, on September 8, 2009. Levine is associate general counsel of Clinical Data Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts.

Name: Patrick  Piscatelli
Class Year: 1997
Class Note: Patrick Piscatelli reports that, “after many twists and turns,” he is in-house with EMC Corporation. Now living in Hingham, Massachusetts, he also spends time fishing, gardening, playing the occasional round of golf, and being a dad. He notes that it is “a far cry from days spent running on Taco Bell drive-thru, listening to R & B classics in a car that constantly needed a quart of oil, and in fear of being called upon.” He adds: “I often contemplate my days in St. Louis and those who helped me and were good to me. I am grateful.”

Name: Craig Rosenthal
Class Year: 1997
Class Note: Craig Rosenthal, senior vice president of SuddenLink Communications, was named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” and selected by Missouri Lawyers Weekly as “Missouri’s Best In-House Counsel.” He established and now oversees a full-service legal department for SuddenLink, a multi-state provider of video, high-speed data, and telephone services.

Name: Jennifer Hoekel
Class Year: 1996
Class Note: Jennifer Hoekel, a partner at Senniger Powers LLP, was named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s “40 Under 40.” Her practice is concentrated principally in intellectual property litigation, with representations involving utility patent infringement, trade secret misappropriation, trade dress and trademark infringement, trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings, unfair competition, and copyright infringement.

Name: Connie McFarland
Class Year: 1996
Class Note: Connie McFarland was honored by Missouri Lawyers Media with a 2009 Women’s Award in the category of Rising Star. She is a partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP in St. Louis.

Name: Patricia  L Musick
Class Year: 1995
Class Note: Patricia L. Musick has been named to the board of directors at McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips, a full-service law firm with offices in Kansas City, Kansas; St. Louis; Roeland Park, Kansas; and Springfield, Missouri. Musick’s practice includes administrative law, business litigation, education, insurance, labor and employment law, litigation, personal injury law, and workers’ compensation defense. She represents the first female board member in the history of the firm.

Name: Brian Benczkowski
Class Year: 1994
Class Note: Brian Benczkowski is serving as staff director for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He previously was chief of staff in both the Attorney General’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, as well as majority counsel for the House Judiciary Committee.

Name: Bob Gans
Class Year: 1994
Class Note: Bob Gans was promoted to the position of assistant general counsel at CSC in Falls Church, Virginia. He specializes in employment law and litigation. Gans also recently was elected to a second term as vice president of external relations and pro bono/community service chair for the Washington Metropolitan Area Corporate Counsel Association. He resides in Potomac, Maryland, with his wife, Kelly; their two boys, Ryan, 7, and Jack, 4; and their daughter, Samantha, 1.

Name: David Linenbroker
Class Year: 1994
Class Note: David Linenbroker, a partner at Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP, was named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s “40 Under 40.” His practice is concentrated in the areas of real estate and development, banking and finance, public finance, entertainment and media, and corporate law.

Name: Teresa Bartosiak
Class Year: 1993
Class Note: Teresa Bartosiak, a shareholder at Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard PC, was named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s “40 Under 40.” She is the practice group leader for the firm’s Health Law Practice Group and chairs the Medical Device Section of the Products Liability Practice Group. Her practice is concentrated in the areas of medical malpractice, nursing home litigation, products liability, and personal injury litigation.

Name: Beth A Dickhaus
Class Year: 1991
Class Note: Beth A. Dickhaus has been appointed chair of the ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section Insurance Regulation Committee. Dickhaus is a special counsel with the Denver, Colorado, law firm of Hall & Evans LLC, where she is a member of the firm’s Administrative, Regulatory, and Legislative Practice Group.

Name: Peter L Lopez
Class Year: 1991
Class Note: Peter L. Lopez has been selected by The Best Lawyers in America® 2009 in the area of real estate law. Lopez is a partner at Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed PA in Orlando, Florida.

Name: Barry Blankfield
Class Year: 1990
Class Note: Barry Blankfield was recently promoted to the rank of captain in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps.

Name: Rachel A Camber
Class Year: 1990
Class Note: Rachel A. Camber is of counsel at Markowitz, Davis, Ringel & Trusty PA in Miami Florida. She concentrates her practice in the areas of contract disputes, banking litigation, construction lien litigation, real property litigation, Uniform Commercial Code and secured transactions, and general corporate and appellate matters.

Name: Jack H Su
Class Year: 1990
Class Note: Jack H. Su is the head of Energy, Asia for Mayer Brown JSM. Having spent 18 years based in Hong Kong and Singapore, he has represented companies engaged in investment and finance on energy, oil and gas, power, and water projects. Su also has taken a lead role in numerous mergers and acquisitions, private equity, manufacturing, and infrastructure transactions involving multi-jurisdictions across Asia.

Name: Nick H Varsam
Class Year: 1990
Class Note: Nick H. Varsam joined Thermadyne Holdings Corporation(Nasdaq: THMD) as vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary in July 2009.

Name: Lucy Unger
Class Year: 1989
Class Note: Lucy Unger has been named to the Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers for 2009. A partner at Williams Venker & Sanders LLC in St. Louis, she was recognized for her experience in civil litigation defense.

Name: Lucy Unger
Class Year: 1989
Class Note: Lucy Unger, a partner at Williams Venker & Sanders LLC in St. Louis, was recently named chair of the firm’s Management Committee. Unger practices principally in the areas of commercial litigation, products liability, and medical malpractice in both state and federal courts in Missouri and Illinois.

Name: Kimberly A Lynch
Class Year: 1988
Class Note: Kimberly A. Lynch was appointed general counsel at ShoreBank Corporation in Chicago. She previously was senior vice president and associate general counsel for LaSalle Bank Corporation, where she also headed regulatory and corporate affairs for the North American Legal Department.

Name: Stephen Tock
Class Year: 1986
Class Note: Stephen Tock was re-elected to a four-year term on the Dwight Common School District 232 Board of Education. The leading vote recipient in the 2009 election, Tock was previously elected twice by write-in to two, two-year, unfulfilled terms on the board. He did not seek re-election after two terms as a township trustee, however. Tock also recently stepped down after 16 years as a member of the Livingston County, Illinois Commission on Children and Youth and of the commission’s Executive Committee.

Name: Jeffrey H Wolf
Class Year: 1986
Class Note: Jeffrey H. Wolf, a shareholder in the Phoenix office of Greenberg Traurig LLP, was selected for inclusion in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in the specialty of franchise law. It is the fourth consecutive year he has received this recognition.

Name: George C Thomas III
Class Year: 1984
Class Note: George C. Thomas III (LLM ’84, JSD ’86), professor of law and the Judge Alexander P. Waugh, Sr. Distinguished Scholar at Rutgers School of Law–Newark, was named a Board of Governors Professor in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the many areas of criminal procedure. He is the author or co-author of numerous law review articles and several books, including The History and Future of Confessions, which will be published by Oxford University Press in 2010.

Name: Susan Amato
Class Year: 1983
Class Note: Susan Amato was honored by Missouri Lawyers Media with a 2009 Women’s Justice Award in the category of Citizenship. She is the founding partner of the Law Offices of Susan Amato in St. Louis.

Name: Kathi  Chestnut
Class Year: 1983
Class Note: Kathi Chestnut was honored by Missouri Lawyers Media with a 2009 Women’s Justice Award in the category of Trial Practitioner. She is an officer in the Litigation and Labor & Employment Practice Groups and is a former member of the Board of Directors at Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale PC in St. Louis.

Name: George Harris
Class Year: 1981
Class Note: George Harris was inducted into the Burnsville High School Hall of Fame in Burnsville, Minnesota. He currently resides in Highland, Utah and practices law in the Salt Lake City metro area.

Name: Sara Siegel
Class Year: 1981
Class Note: Sara Siegel was honored by Missouri Lawyers Media with a 2009 Women’s Justice Award in the category of Enterprise. She serves as general counsel for Dierbergs Markets.

Name: Thomas Mug
Class Year: 1980
Class Note: Thomas Mug has been named to The Best Lawyers in America. A partner at Gallop, Johnson & Neuman LC in St. Louis, he was recognized in the category of Tax Law.

Name: Judge Catherine Perry
Class Year: 1980
Class Note: Judge Catherine Perry was honored by Missouri Lawyers Media with a 2009 Women’s Justice Award in the category of Public Official. She is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Name: Steven Miller
Class Year: 1979
Class Note: Steven Miller reports that he is co-head of the white collar criminal law practice for Reed Smith LLP. Before entering private practice, he served with the United States Attorney’s Office in Chicago, where was chief of the Special Prosecutions Division. Even after 30 years, he reports that he “still finds his practice exciting and challenging.”

Name: Kenneth W Bean
Class Year: 1977
Class Note: Kenneth W. Bean has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers, which is composed of lawyers throughout the state who concentrate in the defense of civil litigation. Bean is a shareholder and founding member of Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard PC in St. Louis. He focuses his practice in health law and litigation, including the defense of high-risk medical malpractice litigation and medical products liability. During the last 10 years, he has tried to completion more than 50 cases.

Name: Russell K Scott
Class Year: 1974
Class Note: Russell K. Scott, a partner at Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale PC in Belleville, Illinois, has been elected to the Board of Governors of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA). The 25-member board directs the operations and activities of the 35,000-member, statewide organization. He previously served as a member of the ISBA Assembly and is active on the Standing Committee on Judicial Evaluations, among other posts. He served for a two-year term as president of the Illinois Bar Foundation. In April 2009, he was among nine exemplary Illinois attorneys who were inducted as Laureates of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers. Scott concentrates his practice in the defense of industrial accidents, product liability, and toxic tort cases, and he has been active in numerous professional and civic endeavors.

Name: Bill von Glahn
Class Year: 1973
Class Note: Bill von Glahn was recognized by the Journal Record with a Leadership in Law Award, which honors legal professionals for their community efforts. Von Glahn is of counsel at Conner & Winters LLP in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He practices in the area of general corporate matters, corporate legal practice, securities regulation, mergers and acquisitions, and dispute resolution.

Name: Lenny Vines
Class Year: 1972
Class Note: Lenny Vines was recognized by Franchise Times as a Legal Eagle for his work in franchising. He is the only Missouri attorney to be named to the list. Vines is an officer in the Corporate Practice Group at Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale PC in St. Louis.

Name: Keith Hazelwood
Class Year: 1970
Class Note: Keith Hazelwood received the 2008 Citizen of the Year Award from the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce. The award is given to an individual who has exemplified all aspects of selfless giving to the community and has made St. Charles a better place to live and work. In 2004 he received the Lifetime Distinguished Service Award in the area of civic involvement. He is a partner at Hazelwood & Weber LLC in St. Charles, Missouri.

Name: Derek I Meier
Class Year: 1970
Class Note: Derek I. Meier was named to Woodward/White’s Best Lawyers in America guide in the area of Immigration Law. Meier is an immigration attorney at Dykema Gossett PLLC in Detroit. He represents major multinational corporations, as well as smaller companies and individuals on business immigration issues.

Name: Robert F Higgins
Class Year: 1969
Class Note: Robert F. Higgins has been selected by The Best Lawyers in America® 2009 in the areas of bankruptcy & creditor-debtor rights law and corporate law. He is a partner at Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed PA in Orlando, Florida.

Name: Robert F Higgins
Class Year: 1969
Class Note: Robert F. Higgins has been selected by The Best Lawyers in America® 2009 in the areas of bankruptcy & creditor-debtor rights law and corporate law. He is a partner at Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed PA in Orlando, Florida.

Name: Joan Dillon
Class Year: 1966
Class Note: Joan Dillon was named for the 16th year in a row to appear in The Best Lawyers in America, and is one of only six attorneys in Georgia to be listed in The International Who’s Who of Trademark Lawyers.

Name: Sanford Neuman
Class Year: 1959
Class Note: Sanford Neuman has been named to The Best Lawyers in America. A partner at Gallop, Johnson & Neuman LC in St. Louis, he was recognized in the categories of Tax Law and Trusts & Estates. Neuman has been recognized each year since the 1995-96 edition.

Name: Sanford Neuman
Class Year: 1959
Class Note: Sanford Neuman was elected the 38th president of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. He also has served as vice president of the federation’s community fundraising campaign. Neuman is a founding partner and chair of Gallop, Johnson & Neuman LC.