Alumni News and Moves - Spring 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 the latest news and moves from our alumni community over the past few months.

• Mike Ertle (Litigation associate; Philadelphia) joined Airgas as Associate General Counsel in May 2018.
• Catherine Macomber (Corporate associate; Philadelphia) joined Insightec as Assistant General Counsel in May 2018.
• Deborah Bornstein (Litigation partner; Chicago) retired from Freeborn & Peters LLP on May 1, 2018.
• Rob Ciolek (Litigation associate; Florham Park) was promoted to Vice President, Associate General Counsel – Regulatory at Catalent Pharma Solutions.
• Under the leadership of retired partner Glenn Ferencz (Corporate partner; Chicago), several Drinker Biddle alumni and current lawyers from Chicago and its north and western suburbs are now meeting informally for monthly breakfasts. Participants to date include Glenn Ferencz, Bruce Stickler (Labor and Employment partner; Chicago), Dennis Carlin (Corporate partner; Chicago), Gordon Nash, Dave Wolfe, George McKann (Corporate partner; Chicago), MJ Harris (associate; Chicago), Mark Furlane (Labor and Employment partner; Chicago), Mike Rosenbaum, Dave Matteson (Investment Management partner; Chicago) and Ed Bryant (Health Care partner; Chicago). Ed reports that discussion topics include “how to solve the problems of the world and exaggerate the importance of their various contributions to the success of the firm over the years”!
• Ed Bryant (Health Care partner; Chicago) also reports that he has been enjoying freshwater fishing over the last few months and that the freshwater fishing for largemouth bass on the St. John's River in Florida this spring has been very good thus far! Through two trips—which included Drinker Biddle alumni Glenn Ferencz and Jay Goldstein (Corporate associate; Chicago) and their former clients Chuck Caniff and Mike Walton—to Bass World Lodge in February, March and April, many large bass were brought into the boat to fuel the fishermen's lies for years to come. Ed's next fishing/camping trip, from May 30-June 11, will be to far southern Illinois.
• Ed Bryant also mentioned that Health Care Group partners Doug Swill, Jennifer Breuer and Fatema Zanzi were all judges at the annual L. Edward Bryant Jr. National Competition on Healthcare Transactions at Loyola Chicago School of Law. Ed was also a judge for the competition, as well as a judge for the annual Miner Moot Court competition at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
• Amy Bashore (Labor and Employment associate; Philadelphia) joined Airgas as Senior Counsel in April 2018.
• Paula Jones’ (Private Client associate; Philadelphia) article, Five Myths that Inhibit Workplace Equality, was published in the May/June edition of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s The Pennsylvania Lawyer. Paula has been practicing international and domestic estate law at Paula M. Jones Law Offices, LLC, since 2016. She also regularly speaks to professional organizations on issues of bias and workplace culture.
• Elizabeth Williams (Real Estate associate; Chicago) was promoted to Associate General Counsel at Sears Holdings Corporation.
• Sharon Barr (Real Estate counsel; Philadelphia) started her own consulting business in April 2018, Sharon Barr Consulting. Sharon is a consultant to nonprofit organizations in the planning and development of their built environments.
• Bill Sanders (Litigation associate; Florham Park) was named one of New Jersey’s 2018 “Super Lawyers” under Insurance Coverage. Bill is also in the first year of a four-year term on the NJ District XB (Western Morris County) Ethics Committee.
• Maureen Testoni (Health Care associate; Washington, D.C.) began a new position as Interim President and CEO of 340B Health in April 2018. 340B Health is a membership organization of more than 1,300 public and private nonprofit hospitals and health systems in the federal 340B drug-pricing program.
• Nancy Laethem Stern (Corporate partner; Chicago) was honored on April 25 at the Chicago Anti-Defamation League (ADL) 25th Annual Women of Achievement Awards Dinner. The event honors women who embody the spirit and philosophy of the ADL through their efforts to improve communication and understanding among the diverse racial, religious and ethnic communities of Chicago. 
• Myriam Soto (Private Client associate; Florham Park) joined J.P. Morgan as a Managing Director in April 2018.
• Rachel Walters (Corporate associate; Philadelphia) joined Microsoft as Director, Tax in April 2018.
• Rachel Cowen (Labor and Employment partner; Chicago) joined the Chicago office of McDermott Will & Emery in early April 2018.
• Chris Liwski (Litigation associate; Florham Park) was profiled in Modern Counsel magazine in March 2018.
• Dan Scott (Insurance associate; Philadelphia) joined AmeriHealth Caritas as Privacy and Security Counsel.
• Leila Vaughn (Corporate associate; Philadelphia) joined Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld LLC as Counsel in March 2018.
• Matt Weingast (Corporate associate; Princeton) joined L3 Technologies as SVP and General Counsel of L3 Electronic Systems Segment (L3 Technologies) on March 19, 2018.
• A profile on Alan M. Di Sciullo (Litigation associate; Florham Park) recently appeared in American Builders Quarterly. Alan also participated on a panel for the PLI program “Negotiating Commercial Leases” on March 2, 2018.
• Ken Frazier (Litigation partner; Philadelphia) was featured in the New York Times in March and February 2018.
• Dan Werly (Litigation associate; Chicago) joined the Board of Directors of Play Like a Girl, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Nashville, Tennessee dedicated to advancing the health and empowerment of women and girls through sports and physical activity. He also launched the sports law firm Sievert Werly LLC in Nashville.
• Bill Peltin (partner; Chicago) joined Logistics Property Company, LLC as Executive Vice President and General Counsel in March 2018.
• Mike Holston (Litigation partner; Philadelphia) was named new Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of GE on February 23, 2018. Mike assumed his role on April 9, 2018, and is now based in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Kevin Freeman (Corporate partner: Chicago) joined Tenneco as Associate General Counsel, Securities & Transactions on March 5, 2018.
• Jim Ackerman (Corporate associate; Florham Park) joined Unified Resources in Display as CEO in February 2018.
• Amy Lauricella (Labor and Employment associate; Chicago) joined Standpoint as a Staff Attorney in February 2018.
• Kathleen Swan (Corporate partner; Chicago) joined Locke Lord as partner in their Chicago office.
• Yesenia Villasenor (Environment and Energy associate; Chicago) joined Tesla as Managing Environmental, Health & Safety Counsel in January 2018.
• Jessica Khan (Litigation associate; Philadelphia) joined Fine, Kaplan and Black, R.P.C., as an associate,
• Beth Stearns (associate; Florham Park) joined McNelly Goldstein as a partner and chair of the firm’s Retail & Restaurant Law/Commercial Leasing practice group in January 2018.
• Kenneth Kasper (associate; Florham Park) joined CBRE Global Workplace Solutions as Global HSE Lead in January 2018.

Have you recently changed jobs, been promoted or been honored with an award? Maybe you published a book or other work of authorship, got married or had a child or grandchild?

Share your accomplishments and any professional or personal news with your alumni community by emailing Abby.Raanan@faegredrinker.com. Send us your photos too, or tell us about another alumnus who might have an update to share so that we can contact them.