Alumni News and Moves - Fall 2018

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

We are so 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 each other.

Here are recent news and moves from our alumni community over the past few months.

• Chaz Wampold (PR/Private Client/1989), who is a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Collaborative Research Group on Health Policy & Promotion at York College, CUNY, presented his latest research to the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality at its annual meeting in Montreal on November 8, 2018. The presentation was entitled “A Pilot Study of the Association between Fraternal Birth Order and Submissive Erotic Behaviors of Heterosexual Men.”
• Amy Frenzen (SF/Products Liability /2007) joined the San Francisco office of Gordon & Rees as an associate on November 12, 2018.
• Markita Morris-Louis (PH/ Real Estate/2003) joined the Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia as the New Executive Director, effective November 5, 2018. The Arts & Business Council is a division of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia which brings innovators from the creative and business communities together to spark new ideas, solve pressing problems, and shape an innovative and impactful region.
• Michael Osterman (FP/Real Estate/1985) joined the New Jersey office of Norris McLaughlin, P.A., as a Member on October 29, 2018.
• Katie Carr (FP/Litigation) retired as Vice President, Global Ethics of ADP on October 5, 2018
• Lisa Warren (FP/Litigation/1979) was an honoree at the 2018 National Women in Law Awards in the Transformative Leadership Category. These awards honor general counsel, in-house leaders and law firm partners who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing the empowerment of women in law. The women were recognized at an awards dinner on October 3 as part of the Women, Influence & Power in Law Conference in Washington, D.C.
• Lawdragon recognized Longford Capital’s Bill Farrell (CH/Litigation/1996) and Michael Nicolas (CH/Products Liability/1998) as among the world’s 100 leading legal consultants and strategists in an October 3, 2018, blog post. Bill and Michael founded Longford Capital in December 2011 along with their colleague Tim Farrell. Bill and Michael are Managing Directors at Longford Capital and are responsible for the overall strategy and direction of the company.
• Richard Parr (CH/Health Care) joined Aspen Dental Management, Inc. as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary in October 2018. In his role as Chief Legal Officer, Richard is responsible for leading the company’s legal, compliance and risk management programs.
• Michael Blaine (FP/Litigation/2005) joined Winston & Strawn LLP as a Practice Attorney in October 2018.
• Riley Ross III’s (PH/Litigation/2006) firm, the Ross Legal Practice, merged with the partners of Mincey & Fitzpatrick to form Mincey Fitzpatrick Ross LLC.
• Aruna Subramanian (CH/Litigation/2009) joined Showpad as Legal Counsel in October 2018.
• Amber Haggins (DC/Litigation/2006) joined Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP as Director of Diversity & Inclusion in October 2018.
• Neeta Daga (CH/IP/2008) received a First Chair Award for Excellence in Legal Counsel - 2018 Top Privacy Counsel. The First Chair Awards are presented to in-house counsel who have, through their hard work and innovation, made significant contributions to the legal community. First Chair is an organization designed to bring together a community of accomplished attorneys in private practice with in-house counsel in order to recognize achievement. Neeta is currently Associate Counsel with Grant Thornton.
• Bob Nieland (CH/ 1980) was featured in the Chicago Tribune PrimeTime section on September 21, 2018, for appearing on the German television cooking show “Die Kuchenschlacht” (translated to “Kitchen Battle”) while vacationing in Germany and winning the first round of shows!
• Steve Shonder’s (CH/Litigation /1983) band, The Ions, released its debut album, “Atom Butterfly,” in September 2018. It’s available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, Bandcamp and CD Baby. Steve is a Principal at the Law Offices of Steven S. Shonder in Chicago, Ill.
• Charles Cowan (LDN/Corporate/2015) joined Acrisure LLC as General Counsel, International Regions, in September 2018.
• Guilherme Costa (DC/Health Care/2007) began his new position as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary to the Board of Trustees at Ithaca College in September 2018.
• Adrienne Robertson (PH/ Employee Benefits and Executive Comp/2013) joined Transamerica as Senior Director, Client Compliance and Consulting, in September 2018.
• Heather Heath Ryan (CH) was promoted to Director, Executive Compensation and Benefits at Ingersoll Rand.
• Amanda Witts (FP/ Products Liability/ 2011) joined Shook Hardy as an Associate in September 2018.
• David Wagner (PR/Litigation /2008) joined T&M Associates Inc. as Corporate Legal Counsel in September 2018.
• Jennifer Wnek (PH/Environment and Energy/2008) joined Akin Gump as Senior Counsel in September 2018.
• Jennifer Dempsey (PH/Litigation /2011) joined McGuire Woods as Counsel in September 2018.
• Patricia Vercelli(DC/IP/2000) was named Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Airlines of America in September 2018.
• Amy Carter Watkins (FP/Health Care/1998) took on the additional role of Adjunct Professor with Rutgers University’s Writing Program. Amy is also Managing Editor, M&A and Commercial Transactions, at Thomson Reuters.
• Rodney Sparks (PH/IP/2002) was recently featured in an ‘alumni spotlight’ in the Pipette Gazette -UT Health San Antonio, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (July 2018), where he earned his Ph.D. He was also recently quoted in a news piece in the scientific journal Nature, entitled “Rush to Protect Billion-Dollar Antibody Patents.” In the article, Rodney discussed how the newest court cases and USPTO rules are making it harder for universities to obtain patents on antibodies. Rodney contributed a chapter entitled “Patent, Ownership and Licensing Issues of CRISPR-based Genome Editing: Impact on Universities and their Licensees” to an academic book from Cambridge University Press, “GENOME EDITING and ENGINEERING: From Talens, ZFNs and CRISPRs to Molecular Surgery.” The editor included a non-scientific section to address the patent, legal and ethical issues with this new technology. Rodney is Senior Biotechnology Patent Counsel at the University of Virginia Licensing & Venture Group and teaches a Patent and Licensing Clinic each semester for the University of Virginia School of Law.
• Judge Joseph L. Toth (FP/Litigation/2007) was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in August 2017. Judge Toth is a veteran of the Judge Advocate General Corps of the U.S. Navy. In 2011, he served as a field officer for the Rule of Law Field Force Afghanistan and was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal for his service. After leaving active duty, Judge Toth clerked for Judge Daniel A. Manion on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Judge Robert J. Conrad of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, and more recently served as an associate federal public defender in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.