Class Notes

Below are the latest updates we have received from Moritz alumni. You can also view notes by graduating class year by clicking on the appropriate decade.

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Latest News...

April Opper Davis ’03 recently joined the Columbus office of Plunkett Cooney. As a member of the firm’s Title Insurance Practice Group, Davis represents title insurance companies, property owners and lenders in a variety of title insurance and real estate disputes.

Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins ’85 was recently elected as a member of the American Law Institute. The American Law Institute is the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law. Hopkins, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge in the Southern District of Ohio, was also recently elected as a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.

Jason H. Beehler ’09 joined the firm of Chester, Willcox & Saxbe LLP in Columbus and will focus his practice primarily in the area of civil litigation.

Elizabeth Kastner ’01, an associate in the Columbus office of Schottenstein, Zox, & Dunn, has been named one of the country’s “Outstanding Young Healthcare Lawyers - 2009” in the September 2009 issue of Nightingale’s Healthcare News. Published annually, the current list includes just 10 attorneys nationwide, with Kastner the only honoree from Ohio. Kastner practices in the firm’s health law practice group. Dan Griffith ’02 received the Young Alumni Award from the Mount Union College, where he received his undergraduate degree. Griffith is a partner at Black McCuskey Souers & Arbaugh, LPA, in Canton, Ohio.

Dan Griffith ’02 received the Young Alumni Award from Mount Union College, where he received his undergraduate degree. Griffith is a partner at Black McCuskey Souers & Arbaugh, LPA, in Canton, Ohio.

Erin Cleary ’09 joined the Columbus office of Kegler, Brown, Hill & Ritter as an associate in the corporate law and estate planning areas. Her practice will also maintain a focus on intellectual property issues.

Nimita L. Parekh ’09 joined the Chicago office of Leydig, Voit & Mayer, Ltd. Leydig, Voit & Mayer is a full-service intellectual property law firm. Having worked as a summer associate with the firm in 2008, Parekh has a particular interest in trademark prosecution and related litigation.

John P. Maxwell ’94 was named director of Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty Co., L.P.A. Maxwell practices in the firm’s New Philadelphia, Ohio, and Canton, Ohio, offices. His practice is concentrated in the areas of civil litigation in multiple areas including insurance law, appellate practice, creditor’s rights, real estate, estate planning, and general business law. Maxwell resides in Dover with his wife, Vicki, and three children.

Kristin J. Frost ’01 has joined the Armstrong Teasdale LLP as a contract attorney in its St. Louis office. She is a member of the firm’s intellectual property practice group.

Gregory J. Lestini ’02 and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed their first child, Isabella Maria, on June 20.

Jeffrey A. Fickes ’01 was named partner in the Akron, Ohio, office of Roetzel & Andress. Mr. Fickes focuses his practice in corporate and general business law; mergers and acquisitions; banking and finance law; commercial law; deferred compensation and tax law.

Hon. Jeffrey S. Sutton ’90 was named an at-large member of the 11-member governing board established to guide the high school Law & Leadership Institute. The institute was formed last year as a pilot project in Ohio to improve diversity in the legal profession. Sutton is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and adjunct professor at the Moritz College of Law.

Mark S. Edelman ’86 was named in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of banking law. Edelman is a managing member of McGlinchey Stafford, where he practices in the area of consumer financial services. He works in the Cleveland office.

The work of James B. Atleson ’62 was featured during a daylong program at The Baldy Center for Law & Social Policy at the University at Buffalo Law School. The program, titled “James B. Atleson, Values and Assumptions in American Labor Law: A 25th Anniversary Retrospective,” discussed the 25th anniversary of Atleson’s book, Values and Assumptions in American Labor Law. Atleson is an emeritus faculty member of the University at Buffalo Law School.

John H. Guendelsberger ’77 was appointed to the Board of Immigration Appeals by U.S. Attorney Eric. H. Holder Jr. in August. Guendelsberger has served as senior counsel to BIA’s board chairman since October 2003. He previously served as a board member from September 1995 to October 2003. Guendelsberger is a former law professor at Ohio Northern University College of Law.

William J. McGraw III ’72 was been appointed to chair the Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law Section of the Ohio State Bar Association. McGraw is a partner and president of the Troy, Ohio, law firm of Dungan & LeFevre Co., L.P.A.

Kent Wellington ’91 was named chairman of the Litigation Client Service Department of Graydon Head & Ritchey LLP. Wellington’s practice includes litigation, employment, health care, and media law. He works at the firm’s Cincinnati office.

Barbara F. Yaksic ’81 was named in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of commercial litigation. Yaksic is a member of McGlinchey Stafford’s Cleveland office, where she focuses her practice in civil litigation.

J. Jeffrey McNealey ’69 received a No. 1 ranking in Ohio in the area of Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use by Chambers USA 2009. In addition, McNealey was designated one of Ohio’s “Senior Statesmen” in the area of natural resources and the environment. McNealey works in the Columbus office of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur.

Jason A. Hill ’00 was recognized by the Ohio Democratic Party at the annual State Dinner as the 2009 Democrat of the Year for his volunteer work with the party’s Promote the Vote program. Hill served as Northwest Ohio Regional Counsel overseeing the program in 24 counties in Northwest Ohio. Hill was also recently elected as treasurer of the Northern District of Ohio Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and recognized for inclusion in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Hill is a partner at the litigation firm of Connelly, Jackson & Collier, LLP in Toledo, Ohio.

Gary Leppla ’78 was elected convener and development committee chair of the 11-member governing board established to guide the high school Law & Leadership Institute. The institute was formed last year as a pilot project in Ohio to improve diversity in the legal profession. Leppla is partner in his Dayton-based law firm, Leppla Associates and the 2008-09 president of the Ohio State Bar Association.

Betsy A. Swift ’88 was named in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of labor and employment law. Swift is a partner in the Columbus office of Bricker & Eckler LLP.

Philip F. Downey ’88 was named in The Best Lawyers in America 2010 in the areas of bet-the-company litigation and commercial litigation. Downey is a partner in the Akron office of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease.

Daniel R. Elliott III ’89 was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as chairman of the Surface Transportation Board, a regulatory agency that resolves freight railroad rate and service disputes, reviews proposed rail mergers, rail line purchases, constructions and abandonments. Elliott is a counsel for the United Transportation Union, which is based in Cleveland.

Susan T. Stead ’84, partner and member of the Insurance Regulatory and Transactional practice group at Nelson Levine de Luca & Horst in Columbus, was accepted as a member of the Federation of Regulatory Counsel. The Federation of Regulatory Counsel is a national association of attorneys who specialize in insurance regulatory law.

Robert G. Cohen ’88 was named in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of antitrust law. Cohen is a director in the Columbus office of Kegler, Brown, Hill & Ritter.

Richard J. Helmreich ’89 was named in The Best Lawyers in America 2010 in the area of employee benefits law. Helmreich works in the Columbus office of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur.

Matthew Shay ’87 was named one of the top association CEOs in 2009 by CEO Update. Shay is president and CEO of the International Franchise Association, which aims to protect and enhance the environment for franchising around the world. Shay and his wife, Allison, have three children and live in Arlington, Va.

Carol H. Morita ’89 was recently promoted to vice president, assistant general counsel and assistant corporate secretary of Underwriters Laboratories Inc., a product safety testing and certification organization headquartered in Northbrook, Ill.

David Alan Scott ’87 is one of five candidates elected this year to the Sierra Club's national board of directors. Scott, a Columbus attorney, finished second in nationwide voting by Sierra Club members. He previously served as chairman of the environmental organization's Ohio Chapter and as regional vice president. The San Francisco-based Sierra Club includes more than 1.3 million members and supporters, and its conservation priorities are climate recovery work, lands protection, and safeguarding healthy communities.