Alumni News and Moves – Summer 2021

Our alumni have forged diverse career paths and taken on interesting new adventures and personal challenges. They are thought leaders, advisers, mentors, advocates, business executives, elected and appointed officials and trusted professionals.

We are proud of the contributions our alumni continue to make to the legal and business communities, grateful for the time they spent with the firm and honored that so many have stayed in touch with the firm and with each other.

Here are recent News and Moves from our alumni community over the past few months (Office/Practice Group/Year of Hire).

• Jennett M. Hill (Indianapolis/Nonprofit Organizations/2001) has been elected by the board of directors of Lilly Endowment Inc. to become the Endowment’s president, effective February 2, 2022. The Endowment’s chairman, president and CEO, N. Clay Robbins, will remain the Endowment’s chairman and CEO after Hill assumes her new role as the Endowment’s president. Hill will continue to serve on the Endowment’s board of directors, on which she has served since 2015. Hill, senior vice president and general counsel for Citizens Energy Group, joined Citizens in 2013. Previously, she had been a partner at the law firm of Faegre Baker Daniels where she had worked since 2001.
• Mara Garcia Kaplan (Minneapolis/Corporate/2007) was promoted to Senior Vice President and Senior Company Counsel at Wells Fargo in August 2021.
• Ralph Rodak (Philadelphia/Real Estate/1978) will retire from as Senior Managing Director – Risk Management from Trammell Crow Company at the end of August 2021.
• Mary Catherine Roper (Philadelphia/Litigation/1995) will be returning to private practice at Langer Grogan and Diver P.C., a small boutique litigation firm in Philadelphia, after more than 16 years as a litigator with the ACLU of Pennsylvania. Mary Catherine is looking forward to continuing to work with her network of private and public interest attorneys across Pennsylvania and expanding those networks as she joins the firm's consumer and antitrust practices.
• Bob Jones (Philadelphia/Corporate/1974) and his wife Bonnie Beauchamp Jones authored a book devoted to their art entitled “Art and Beauty—The Paintings of Robert Mead Jones and Bonnie Beauchamp Jones.” The hard-bound book is expected to be released this fall. Bob joined Drinker Biddle & Reath in 1974 and retired from the practice of law at the age of 54 to pursue a career alongside his wife (formerly Chief Counsel and Head of the Reinsurance law department at CIGNA Corporation) as a professional artist. Bob and Bonnie’s paintings reside in corporate, museum and private collections throughout the United States, France, England and Ireland. In addition to landscapes and still life paintings, Bob has completed 125 professionally commissioned portraits including paintings of a former member of British parliament, a knight of the British Realm, an Irish Baron, Federal Judges, university presidents and more. He is currently working on a second portrait of a former Yale University classmate and one of the grandnephews of the former King of Spain, Juan Carlos. Bob and Bonnie spend seven months of the year at their home in Vero Beach, Florida and the other five at their second home in the village of La Jolla, California. More information about Bob and Bonnie’s work is available at https://jonesartstudios.com/.
• Sean Kennedy (Florham Park/Products Liability/2015) and Shane O’Connell (Florham Park/Products Liability/2016) are participating in Bristol Myers Squibb’s (BMS) annual charity bike ride, “Coast 2 Coast 4 Cancer,” taking place September 29 – October 1, 2021. They will be riding along with more than 230 of their BMS colleagues.  Eighteen teams will relay across country as each rider completes their 225-mile leg. Both Sean and Shane have committed themselves to extensive training and raising funds in support of the V Foundation for Cancer Research, a charitable organization dedicated to achieving Victory Over Cancer® by investing in cancer research nationwide. Sean is currently Senior Counsel WW Commercialization and Global Medical Capabilities at BMS and Shane is Counsel, Oncology Development and Commercialization at BMS.
• Guilherme Costa (Washington, D.C./Health Care/2008) will start to earn his Ph.D. in higher education at Syracuse University this fall. He joined Syracuse as Senior Associate Vice President and Deputy University Secretary in September 2020.
• Charlie Richardson is chairing the Rethink 65/70 Coalition in Indianapolis that is reimagining the aging interstate highways that have been a part of downtown Indianapolis for over half a century. Charles said, “The Coalition is leading a once in a lifetime conversation/opportunity to transform central Indiana by how we rebuild the Inner Loop and, in so doing, learn lessons from the past, catalyze inclusive economic development, enhance neighborhood connectivity, improve our environment and health and drive job creation.”
• Prashant Praveen (Chicago/Intellectual Property/2015) joined Accenture as Intellectual Property Counsel & Manager in August 2021.
• Ena Lebel (Philadelphia/Corporate/2007) was named the new Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition in July 2021. The PLDIC is a growing coalition of 39 law firms and in-house legal departments, which work together collaboratively to build a more diverse and inclusive Pittsburgh legal community.  
• President Joe Biden nominated Zachary Myers (Indianapolis Downtown/Litigation/2008) to serve as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana in July 2021. Zachary is an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, where he has served since 2014. Since 2018, he has worked in the District of Maryland’s National Security and Cybercrime Section, serving as Cybercrime Counsel for the District
• Marlon Cush (Minneapolis/Corporate/2007) joined Change Healthcare as Senior Counsel in August 2021.
• Richard Lomuscio (New York/Litigation/2014) joined Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP as a partner in July 2021.
• Tyler Cho (Indianapolis Downtown/Intellectual Property/2014) joined GSK as Patent Counsel in July 2021.
• St. Joseph Superior Court Magistrate Judge Paul E. Singleton (South Bend/Labor and Employment/2011) was appointed to a 14-year term as bankruptcy judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. Judge Singleton took office on July 29, 2021, succeeding bankruptcy Judge Harry C. Dees, Jr.
• Joe Montano’s (Denver/Litigation/1985) legacy was featured in the University of Denver’s July 13, 2021 alumni news spotlight. His daughter’s recent gift to the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law provides scholarships to students from diverse backgrounds, helping to ensure that future generations of lawyers can follow in her father’s footsteps.
• Greg Jao (Chicago/Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation/1994) was promoted to Executive Vice President - Communications & Mobilization/Chief Communications Officer at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA in July 2021.
• Markita Morris-Louis (Philadelphia/Real Estate/2003) joined Spring Point Partners as an investment advisor in July 2021.
• Bridget Hill-Zayat (Philadelphia/Insurance/2013) joined Smart Counsel as a partner in July 2021.
• President Joe Biden nominated Judge Gina Rodriguez (Denver/Products Liability/2002) for the United States District Court for the District of Colorado in March 2021 and the Senate confirmed Judge Rodriguez’s nomination in June 2021. She received her commission on July 1, 2021. Most recently Judge Rodriguez was a partner at WilmerHale.
• Michael Clarke (Florham Park/Litigation/1994) will celebrate 32 years as an attorney this fall and 2.5 years in his current role as Deputy General Counsel and Global Chief Compliance Officer for ConvaTec, a global medical technology headquartered in Berkshire, England, UK. Michael was featured in the July 1, 2021 edition of the National Association of Black Compliance & Risk Management Professionals, Inc.’s Member Spotlight of the Week.
• Daniel Thiel (Philadelphia/Insurance/2018) joined MacQueen & Gottlieb, PLC as an associate in July 2021.
• Angela Kelley (Minneapolis/2007) joined PacWest Bancorp as EVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in June 2021.
• Zhun Lu (Wilmington/Intellectual Property/2014) joined the Delaware office of Ramón Law as a partner in June 2021.
• Kathy Herman (Berwyn/Corporate/1995) joined Worthington Armstrong Venture as Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary in June 2021.
• Hui-Ju Wu (Wilmington/Intellectual Property/2014) joined MH2 Technology Law Group as an attorney in June 2021.
• Kevin O’Riordan (Minneapolis/Corporate/2010) joined Tennant Company as Associate General Counsel in June 2021.
• Larry Fox (Philadelphia/Litigation/1972) received the ABA Medal, the American Bar Association’s highest honor, at the virtual General Assembly on Wednesday, August 4, 2021. The meeting was held both virtually and at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The ABA Medal recognizes exceptionally distinguished service by a lawyer or lawyers to American jurisprudence and is given only in years when the ABA Board of Governors determines a nominee has provided extraordinary service to the legal profession. Larry was an attorney at Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP for 45 years and is currently a partner at Schoeman, Upkike & Kaufman & Gerber LLP.
• Jake DeBoever (Chicago/Litigation/2002) joined Dermavant Sciences as VP and Chief Compliance Officer in June 2021. 
• Peter S. Paine (Philadelphia/Litigation/1990) joined Bristol Myers Squibb as SVP Worldwide Commercialization Strategy & Capabilities in June 2021.
• Kirk Johnson (Minneapolis/Corporate/1999) joined Huntington National Bank as Senior Associate General Counsel in June 2021.
• Juliana Yanez (Silicon Valley/Business Litigation/ 2014) joined Hanson Crawford Crum Family Law as an associate attorney in June 2021.
• Fred Glass’ (Indianapolis/Insurance/1993) life, career and legacy was featured in the Indiana Daily Student June 3, 2021 edition. Fred was the vice president and director of athletics at Indiana University Bloomington from October 2008 through December 2019.  In 2020 he returned to the practice of law as a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.
• Phil Hampton (Washington, D.C./Intellectual Property/1996) was presented with the Mark T. Banner Award by the American Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Law Section during a virtual award ceremony that June 10, 2021. Phil is currently Senior Partner and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Polsinelli.
• At its June 2021 annual meeting, the Federal Bar Association, Minnesota Chapter elected Joel Schroeder (Minneapolis/Labor and Employment/2007) as the National Council Delegate for Minnesota. He also serves on the chapter’s Board of Directors. Joel is a partner at Best & Flanagan in Minneapolis.
• Lauren Godfrey recently obtained her CIPP/E certification and now holds both CIPP/US and CIPP/E certifications. She is a partner at Lewis Brisbois & Bisgaard & Smith LLP in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania focusing on Cybersecurity and Data Privacy incident response and proactive privacy work.
• Mita Lakhia (Chicago/Intellectual Property/2011) joined Lion Re: Sources as Senior Data Privacy Counsel in May 2021.
• Judith McCarthy (Florham Park/Corporate/2012) joined Cheshire Law Group as an attorney in May 2021.
• Annette Ahlers (Washington, D.C./Corporate/2003) joined Anderson as Managing Director in May 2021.
• Yevgeniy Markov (New York/Corporate/2012) joined Mayer Brown as a partner in May 2021.
• Rob Hahm (Berwyn/Corporate/1995) joined Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld LLC as Senior Counsel in May 2021.
• Judith McCarthy (Florham Park/Corporate/2013) joined Cheshire Law Group, advising nonprofit organizations on corporate and governance matters in May 2021.
• Jeffrey Denman (Washington, D.C./Corporate/1997) joined Conn Kavanaugh as a partner in April 2021.
• On April 6, 2021, Greg Hosé (Chicago/Litigation/2007) was elected to his third term on the Downers Grove, Illinois Village Council. Currently, Greg is a partner at Gregorio & Marco, Ltd.
• Jim Jacobson (Washington, D.C./Health Care/1993) joined Q-State Biosciences as General Counsel in March 2021.
• Mark Sides was promoted to Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Voya Financial in March 2021.
• Dean Grabelle (Philadelphia/Corporate/1996) was featured in Vanguard magazine’s Winter IV edition. Dean is Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Philly Shipyard, Inc., a leading U.S. shipbuilder. 
• Heidi Wilson (Minneapolis/Litigation/1976) is retired but keeping busy with travel, board work with the Guthrie Theater and North Memorial Health in Minnesota and coaching lawyers who are transitioning from private practice to in-house roles and law firm partners on business development. Heidi enjoys reading the paper each morning, doing the daily crossword, playing Scrabble with her husband, taking long walks and reading.