Class Notes: Spring 2023

Michael L. Weissman continues as counsel to the Chicago law firm of Levin Ginsburg, working primarily on Uniform Commercial Code and commercial lending issues. Having taught classes on commercial lending for the Risk Management Association in more than 40 states, he now writes a monthly column for the RMA Journal and serves on its editorial board. His latest speaking engagement was at the Illinois Bankers Association’s annual lawyers’ conference. Weissman’s book, “Commercial and Industrial Loan Documentation,” is in its third printing, and he also writes a monthly column on the financial services industry for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, having served as that group’s chairman and as a member of its board of directors for 13 years. IICLE has honored him with its Addis Hull Award for “career-long dedication to excellence in continuing legal education.”

After practicing labor law and international law for more than 40 years, Martin R. Ganzglass has signed an option agreement with Distant Planet Entertainment for “Cannons for the Cause,” the first in his series of six published historical novels about the American Revolution. He writes: “It’s about Will Stoner, a young farm boy from upstate New York, who joins Col. Henry Knox’s mission to haul heavy cannons from Lake George through the Adirondack Mountains to Gen. Washington’s army at Cambridge in the brutal winter of 1775-1776. On the trek of the ‘noble train of artillery,’ Will is befriended by Ensign Nat Holmes of Col. John Glover’s Marblehead Mariners. Once in Cambridge, Will serves as a nurse in a soldiers’ smallpox ward; is barracked with the Mariners, one of the few integrated units in the Continental Army, and fights alongside them when a race riot breaks out at Washington’s headquarters; mans the front lines on Dorchester Heights; and enters Boston with Knox’s artillery when the British abandon Boston.” The other novels in Ganzglass’ American Revolutionary War series follow Will and the Marblehead Mariners from the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Brooklyn to the triumphant victory at Yorktown. Since retiring in 2010, he has published seven novels and two compilations of short stories, all available from Amazon.

Colin McNairn LL.M. has published a second collection of nursery rhyme parodies written in a light verse style. The latest book is titled “What If Jack Wasn’t So Nimble? Mother Goose Characters Reimagined.” More information about the book and its predecessor, “Signs of the Times: Through Reimagined Nursery Rhymes,” can be found on the author’s website, www.colinmcnairn.com.

Scott W. Stucky became a senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces upon the expiration of his term of office on Aug. 1, 2021. His portrait was hung in the court’s historic courthouse on Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C., in a ceremony in November 2021 (He is pictured, above right, with his children at the ceremony.) That December, the Judge Advocates Association gave him its highest award, the Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Life Service Award, named for the chief judge (HLS ’50) who taught at Duke for many years and was one of the leading figures in American military law. In April 2022, the Wichita State University Alumni Association honored Judge Stucky with the Alumni Achievement Award, its highest honor for an alumnus of the university. 

Richard Meserve writes: “I am pleased to report that I have been selected as the recipient of the Joseph A. Burton Forum Award by the American Physical Society. The award is to recognize ‘outstanding contributions to the public understanding or resolution of issues involving the interface of physics and society.’ The citation for the award is: ‘For outstanding service to science and to the nation in the safe, secure, and peaceful use of nuclear power and in the proper and powerful application of science in important legal matters, and for wise counsel on policy issues involving science.’”

Scott Blake Harris recently resigned from Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis, the law firm he founded, to take a new position as senior spectrum adviser at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the Department of Commerce. NTIA is the executive branch agency principally responsible for advising the president on telecommunications and information policy issues. Harris previously served in government at the Department of Energy, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Bureau of Export Administration at Commerce. With his departure, the law firm has been renamed HWG.  

Joe Basile writes: “Building on more than 40 years of experience as an M&A lawyer, I have launched Pari Passu M&A Mediation, a practice that focuses exclusively on mediating disputes arising from M&A transactions. My value proposition is that I am not a disputes resolution generalist but rather draw on the subject matter expertise, market knowledge, and judgment acquired from over four decades of successful M&A deal-making to help parties find solutions to M&A-related controversies. In addition to mediating disputes arising out of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and control and minority investment transactions, I also offer neutral evaluation of M&A disputes, facilitating difficult M&A deal negotiations and coaching representational lawyers dealing with M&A dispute mediation. For more details, see paripassumediation.com.”  

Arthur Bryant received the first-ever Legacy Award from Public Justice at its 40th Anniversary Gala in July 2022. He was honored for his work and success over 35 years building the organization from two staff (him and the receptionist) into one of America’s leading national public interest law firms. In November 2021, after joining Bailey Glasser, Bryant was named a Sports Law Trailblazer by The National Law Journal for his landmark work using Title IX to fight sex discrimination in sports.

Minnesota State University Moorhead named its American Indian Center after George Soule (who received his undergraduate degree from MSUM in 1976). Soule and his wife, Lisa McDonald, have sponsored scholarships for American Indian students at the school and programming through the American Indian Center on campus. The George Soule American Indian Center is designed to promote a sense of community among American Indian students. It also serves as a center of knowledge and understanding of traditional and contemporary American Indian culture.

Duke Law Professor Lawrence Zelenak is co-editor of “A Half-Century with the Internal Revenue Code: The Memoirs of Stanley S. Surrey,” the prominent tax law academic who was Jeremiah Smith Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and served two stints in the U.S. Treasury Department. At his death in 1984, Surrey had written drafts of the majority of his planned professional memoirs, and for a long time they remained unpublished in the archives of the HLS Library. Zelenak and Ajay K. Mehrotra edited the memoirs for this collection, and it includes a comprehensive introductory essay on Surrey’s professional life and his contributions to tax policy, as well as important background information on the people and events he discusses in the memoirs.

Trial lawyer and appellate advocate Joel Dewey has joined Baker Donelson as a shareholder in the firm’s complex torts group. He focuses his practice on the preparation, trial, and appeal of complex product liability and class-action cases. 

Robert Schechter writes: writes: “My first collection of children’s poems, ‘The Red Ear Blows Its Nose,’ will be published in April 2023. Kenn Nesbitt, former U.S. children’s poet laureate, calls it a ‘dazzling tour de force,’ and the critics seem to be agreeing. Many of the poems in the collection first appeared in Highlights for Children, Cricket, Spider, Ladybug, and numerous major anthologies. The book also has over 60 wonderful illustrations by S. Federico.”  

Stuart W. Davidson, founding partner of Willig, Williams & Davidson in Philadelphia, now serves on the advisory board of Capital & Main, an award-winning nonprofit publication that reports from California on economic, environmental, and social issues. Davidson counsels public and private benefit funds, fighting to preserve the ability of workers to retire with dignity and have access to affordable health care. His work for unions includes leading contract negotiations, presenting interest and grievance arbitrations, and advising on external and internal union matters. He serves as chief counsel to large regional and local unions along the East Coast, along the Gulf Coast, and in the Chicago area.

Daniel Wolf writes: “My work in election integrity, which I started at HLS, has finally become relevant to real America. While at HLS I wrote the world’s first country-specific guide for election observers, for the 1984 Nicaraguan elections; it became my third-year paper. In 2012 I was senior consultant to the U.S. Senate’s election observation commission to Taiwan. And in 2015 I realized that the smartphone revolution could impose transparency on American elections. So I founded Democracy Counts, a nonprofit tech company, to develop and distribute technology empowering Americans to conduct legitimate, near real-time independent audit checks on their local election machinery. We labored in the shadows until 2020, when a certain presidential candidate raised the issue to fever-pitch level. Now our apps [help]rebuild trust in American elections, whether that means reassuring people when they are faultless or providing solid evidence to challenge and correct them when they’re faulty. It’s been a long haul, but HLS provided a solid foundation for the legal-strategic side of what we’re doing. (Go to www.AmericaCounts.us if you are interested in knowing more.)”

David S. Schaffer is a partner of L&G Law Group, a full-service, midsize firm in Chicago, where he handles a wide range of business transactions. He and his wife, Margaret, have three teenagers to keep them busy! Schaffer just completed a term on his local school council and remains active in Chicago politics. He says anyone passing through is welcome to give him a call.

Andrea L. Rocanelli writes: “I retired from the Delaware judiciary last year and started my own alternative dispute resolution firm: Delaware ADR, LLC. We specialize in resolving all manner of complex commercial disputes, including corporate, intellectual property, and bankruptcy. … It has been a pleasure to work with several HLS alumni in my first year of practice, but I have not worked with anyone from 1989 (yet). It would be great to work with classmates! Please visit my website at www.delawareADR.com.”

“I Don’t Do That,” written by Mona R. Washington, was one of three plays selected to be performed at Penn Live Arts (University of Pennsylvania) in the fall in the Our Voices, Our Time: One-Act Play Festival. The festival was a collaboration between the venue and the Negro Ensemble Company. “I Don’t Do That” focuses on newly engaged Norah (African American) and Simon (Nigerian), whose romance is thwarted by an argument based on stereotypes and power dynamics. The play had its world premiere in Philadelphia and went on to New York to be performed at the Cherry Lane Theater NYC and then off Broadway.

Martin J. Siegel’s book, “Judgment and Mercy: The Turbulent Life and Times of the Judge Who Condemned the Rosenbergs,” is forthcoming from Cornell University Press in the spring. The book is a biography of 2nd Circuit Judge Irving R. Kaufman, who presided at the espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and sentenced them to death while a district judge in 1951. It explores Judge Kaufman’s evolution from overzealous anti-communist to groundbreaking liberal in cases including the first school desegregation suit in the North, the Pentagon Papers litigation and other major First Amendment cases, the Nixon administration’s attempted deportation of John Lennon, and many other matters. It also traces Judge Kaufman’s often tragic family life — and how the Rosenberg controversy haunted him to the end. Siegel and Daphna Boros Stepen were Judge Kaufman’s last law clerks. More information can be found at martinjsiegel.com. Siegel, who is married to Bettina Elias Siegel, is an appellate lawyer in Houston and teaches American Legal History and directs the Appellate Civil Rights Clinic at the University of Houston Law Center.

Candace N. Smith has joined the firm of Herman Jones as of counsel and is resident in the Atlanta office. She focuses her practice on the firm’s litigation matters, including those involving class actions, securities, antitrust, and intellectual property matters.

Susan E. Brooks of Raleigh, North Carolina, has joined the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission as associate director for legislative, legal, and policy matters. She previously served in various capacities for over 18 years at the N.C. Office of Indigent Defense Services.

Gil Greenman writes: “I published a book on Amazon called ‘A Fortunate Man with MS.’ This book is my story of life with multiple sclerosis, always present, and the way this journey has unfolded with hope and perseverance.”

Margaret “Peg” Bolce Brivanlou has been named one of the Top 250 Women in IP and an IP star by B2B site Managing IP. She is a partner at Ballard Spahr in New York, where she represents biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and institutions in the spectrum of patent matters, including patent portfolio development and counseling. She also advises investment funds and other clients on the intellectual property aspects of transactions.

Jonathan Goldstein wrote in September that his latest film, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” will be released in theaters on March 31, 2023. He wrote and directed the film along with longtime collaborator, John Francis Daley. Based on the classic role-playing game, it stars Chris Pine, Hugh Grant, Michelle Rodriguez, and Regé-Jean Page.

David L. Axelrod, a first-chair trial lawyer who led Ballard Spahr’s successful defense of The New York Times in a high-profile defamation trial last year, was named “MVP of the Year” for Media and Entertainment Law by leading legal news service Law360. The Law360 MVP of the Year award recognizes attorneys who had the biggest wins and made the most significant contributions to their practice groups over the previous year in various areas of law. Axelrod served as lead trial lawyer for the Times in defending a libel claim by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who sued over an editorial. He led the team that secured a favorable verdict for the Times after a 10-day trial.

Kathy-Ann Hart is a cast member of the forthcoming Sony film “Madame Web,” which is based on the Marvel comics. An actor who has worked in film, television, and commercials, previously Hart practiced law for seven years, including at the AIDS Action Committee in Boston.

Christopher Chiou has joined Wilson Sonsini in Los Angeles as a partner in the litigation department. Previously acting U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada, he oversaw criminal and civil cases brought on behalf of the United States, including financial litigation, white-collar crime, cybercrime, and public corruption. Before serving in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Chiou helped launch Jenner & Block’s Los Angeles office.

Kyle A. Owens has joined the Dallas office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings as a member of the banking and financial services practice group. In his work supporting financial services firms, as well as providers of goods and services that offer financing to their customers, he helps clients navigate risk, solve problems, and develop new lending products.

Curtis B. Leitner has joined McCarter & English as a partner in the firm’s business litigation group in New York. His practice focuses on complex civil litigation and white-collar criminal and regulatory enforcement matters. Leitner also provides strategic advice and counsel to clients operating in a range of industries.

Alexander Chester has joined Duane Morris as a partner in the firm’s corporate practice group in its New York office. His practice focuses on corporate transactions in the sports industry.

In June, Katie (Marshall) Ali launched a boutique civil rights litigation firm, Ali & Lockwood, in Washington, D.C. She was formerly a partner at Hogan Lovells in D.C., where she spearheaded several landmark civil rights litigations while also litigating high-stakes commercial cases. “My new firm will focus primarily on criminal justice reform issues at the trial and appellate levels, while also maintaining a small commercial litigation and strategic advising practice,” she wrote in July.

Carlos Ardila has been elected a partner at Latham & Watkins in Washington, D.C. A member of the project development and finance practice and the finance department, he advises clients on cross-border corporate and financing transactions and related energy and infrastructure matters, with a focus on transactions in Latin America.

Miguel A. Lopez, an attorney in the New York office of Littler, has been named secretary of the New York City Bar’s Trade Secrets Committee. The City Bar’s mission is to equip and mobilize a diverse legal profession, and the Trade Secrets Committee helps section members, other attorneys, and their clients understand trade secrets by providing educational programs and forums. At Littler, Lopez advises and represents clients on matters involving trade secret disputes, worker classification for independent contractors, unfair competition, and exemptions to federal and state overtime laws. He has a special interest in startup and gig-economy businesses, as well as minority- and LGBTQ+-owned enterprises.

Kimberly Lucas has been promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the real estate practice and corporate department and represents clients in commercial real estate matters, including commercial mortgage loan transactions, joint ventures, commercial dispositions and acquisitions, and leasing matters.

Gemma Mootoo Rajah LL.M. is now counsel at Latham & Watkins in New York. A member of the capital markets practice and corporate department, she represents financial institutions, corporate clients, and private equity firms in capital markets transactions and general securities matters.

Leonidas Theodosiou LL.M. has been elected partner in the antitrust practice of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, resident in London. He represents multinational firms in merger control proceedings, litigation in the English and EU Courts, and enforcement matters, including cartel, abuse of dominance, and state aid investigations. Theodosiou has also recently been appointed vice chair of the ABA’s Privacy and Information Security Committee.

Caitlin Wood has been elected partner of Davis Polk and is a member of the capital markets as well as the derivatives and structured products practices in New York. She advises investment banks, corporations, and institutional holders on the structuring, negotiation, and execution of a broad range of equity-related transactions.

Keshav Dimri has joined litigation firm Reynolds Frizzell in Houston as a trial attorney. He advises clients across a wide array of industries and loves to help them resolve difficult challenges.

Joe Resnek sent news of the release of his first album called “1.” Resnek, who worked as a public defender in Greenfield, Massachusetts, after law school, has put his legal career on hold and returned to Chelsea, Massachusetts, where he grew up, to focus on his music, according to a story in the Chelsea Record. His songs are about starting out in Chelsea and “coming home and being home again,” he said. “They’re like love songs to my hometown.” They can be heard on several streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and YouTube.