Joseph A. Power Jr. (JD ’77)
received the Damen Award at the
Loyola University Chicago Founders’
Dinner. The award honors leadership
in industry, community, and service
to others.
Jill M. Metz (JD ’78)
was the
2014 recipient of the Chicago Bar
Foundation’s Edward J. Lewis II Pro
Bono Service Award. Her practice at
Jill Metz & Associates focuses on LGBT
legal issues.
David H. Levitt (JD ’79)
is
current president of the Illinois
Association of Defense Trial Counsel
(IDC). He is a partner at Hinshaw &
Culbertson where his primary
practice is intellectual property,
with wide experience in insurance,
commercial litigation, products
liability, and trucking.
1980s
Michael D. Poulos (JD ’80),
senior
partner at Poulos Black PC, has
coauthored
Inside the Minds: Strategies
for Family Law in Illinois (
Aspatore
Press, a division of Thomson Reuters,
2014). He received a Distinguished
Alumni Citation Award from Ripon
College. Poulos is cofounder, assistant
conductor, and principal trumpet
of the Chicago Bar Association
Symphony Orchestra and recently
discovered the long-lost “Mary Todd
Lincoln Polka.”
James D. Mullenix (JD ’81)
was
recently featured in an article in
The
New Yorker
about a murder case he
worked on as a public defender in the
mid-1990s.
Kenneth N. Traisman (BA ’80,
JD ’83)
completed his 20th marathon
this year. He also has won his age
division in several shorter races.
Traisman volunteers at Interfaith
Action of Evanston and Felines &
Canines in Chicago.
Jeanette M. Flores (JD ’85)
has
been named to the Best Lawyers in
America 2015 list by bestlawyers.
com. She practices real estate law at
GrayRobinson PA.
Paul L. Langer (JD ’85)
has been
ranked in the 2014 edition of the
prestigious Chambers USA directory
for his work in insurance law dispute
resolution. He is a partner in the
Quarles & Brady Milwaukee office.
Thomas M. Donnelly (JD ’86)
has
been named Catholic Lawyer of the
Year by the Catholic Lawyers Guild.
Donnelly currently serves as an
associate judge in the Circuit Court of
Cook County.
DeniceW. Markham (JD ’86)
received the Chicago Bar Foundation’s
Thomas H. Morsch Public Service
Award. She is the executive
director of Life Span, a Chicago-based
nonprofit that combines counseling,
criminal court advocacy, and
legal representation for victims of
domestic violence.
Darren M.R. VanPuymbrouck
(JD ’86)
has joined Barnes &
Thornburg LLP as a partner.
Kevin M. O’Reilly (BA ’83, JD ’88)
became the deputy chief of mission at
the United States Embassy in Panama
City, Panama, in July. He is a career
member of the US Senior Foreign
Service, and has served in senior-level
positions at the US Department of
State including director of the Office
of Mexican Affairs and senior director
for International Narcotics and
Law Enforcement Affairs at the US
Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
HEARSAY
Loyola’s law alumni are leaders in local and national firms, courtrooms, public interest organizations, classrooms, and other
venues. Here’s an update of what your classmates have been doing. Share your own news by contacting Alumni Relations at
LawAlumni@luc.edu, or Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Philip H. Corboy Law Center, 25 East Pearson Street, Chicago, IL
60611. Be sure to include your full name, class year, and contact information. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
Meet the Alumni Reception
Daniel Tardiff (JD ’02) talks with 3Ls Mackenzie Collins (center) and Meg McNair.
Randall K. Berning (LLM ’89)
is
coauthor of the 2013 editions of
two American Dental Association
publications:
The ADA Practical Guide
to Associateship: Success Strategies
for Dentist-owners and Prospective
Associates
and
The ADA Practical
Guide to Valuing a Practice: A Manual
for Dentists
. Since 1989, he has
coauthored six editions of these
publications.
John R. Joyce (BA ’86, JD ’89)
joined
Ungaretti & Harris as a partner in its
real estate department.
Maritza Martinez (JD ’89)
was sworn
in as a Circuit Court of Cook County
judge in December.
1990s
Edward J. Hannon (JD ’91)
was
elected vice chair of the Illinois CPA
Society Board of Directors and will
be elevated to chair of the board
next year. The 19-member board
of directors leads and advises the
Illinois CPA Society, the Illinois CPA
Foundation, and CPAs for the Public
Interest (CPAsPI). Hannon is a partner
at Quarles & Brady LLP.
Pamela J. Kuzniar (BS ’80, JD ’91)
was honored by the Illinois State
Bar Association (ISBA) with a Board
of Governors Award for her work
with the continuing legal education
programs for the ISBA’s Family Law
Section Council. She is a partner with
Kuzniar & Simons PC.
Joseph J. Morford (JD ’91)
has been
named to the Best Lawyers in America
2015 list by bestlawyers.com.
Mark M. Brennan (JD ’93)
is a
partner at Chicago-based litigation
firm Cassiday Schade LLP. Brennan
was named a 2014 Leading Lawyer,
as compiled by the Law Bulletin
Publishing Company, in health law
and medical malpractice defense law.
He devotes his law practice to civil
litigation and issues pertinent to the
health care profession. Brennan has
successfully tried several cases
to verdict. He recently cowrote an
online publication piece, “Settling
Wrongful Death Actions: The Illinois
Supreme Court Expands the Rights of
Intended Beneficiaries.”
Kevin D. Finger (JD ’93)
joined DLA
Piper as a partner. His practice focuses
on civil and bankruptcy litigation,
corporate compliance, and white-
collar criminal matters.
Elizabeth L. Jensen (JD ’93)
was named chair of the Illinois
State Bar Association’s Education
Section Council.
James P. Navarre (JD ’93)
was
named a Leading Lawyer by the
Law Bulletin Publishing Company
in the areas of personal injury,
professional malpractice, and criminal
defense law. He is a partner at
Mossing & Navarre LLC.
Jean M. Gaspardo (JD ’94,
MBA ’99)
is serving a one-year
term as president of the Catholic
Lawyers Guild of Chicago.
Brian T. Monico (JD ’94)
was
honored by the Illinois State Bar
Association with the Board of
Governors Award for his work on the
Task Force for New Lawyers, which he
cochaired. Monico is an attorney with
Burke Wise Morrissey Kaveny.
Lynn Gordon (JD ’96)
was elected to
the Executive Committee of Ungaretti
& Harris LLP.
Brian D. Gallagher (LLM ’97)
is the
senior prosecutor of the Homicide/
Major Crimes Division of the Guam
Attorney General’s Office. This year he
completed the Guam Marathon and
the Guam International Marathon.
Cristin M. Obsitnik (JD ’97)
was
named partner at law firm Drinker
Biddle & Reath. Obsitnik is a member
of the firm’s Employee Benefits &
Executive Compensation Practice
Group and the ESOP Team in Chicago.
Obsitnik focuses her practice on
operational issues related to tax-
qualified and nonqualified deferred
compensation retirement plans. She
has extensive experience advising
clients on all aspects of executive
compensation matters, equity-based
compensation arrangements, and
fiduciary issues.
Julia Turk (JD ’97)
joined Much
Shelist as a principal in the firm’s
Business and Finance Practice Group.
She also serves as a member of the
board of directors and chair of the
Board Governance committee for the
Emerald City Theater in Chicago.
Lori L. Deem (JD ’98)
has joined
Outten & Golden LLP as a partner. She
focuses her practice on representing
executives, professionals, and
employees in employment contract,
severance, and non-compete drafting
and negotiation, as well as matters
involving discrimination, retaliation,
and whistleblowing.
Michael C. Jurasek (JD ’98)
has
joined the Chicago office of Dinsmore
& Shohl. His practice focuses on
mergers and acquisitions, tax
planning, wealth planning, and
general corporate law.
Anna M. Loftus (JD ’98)
has
been appointed a judge in the
Traffic Division of the Circuit Court
of Cook County.
Kathleen M. Delaney (MJ ’99)
and
her husband, Tim, announced the
birth of their son, Liam Timothy, on
July 18, 2013. She is an attorney with
the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
Marguerite A. Elkins (MJ ’99)
is a
realtor in South Padre Island, Texas.
She connect clients with beachfront
properties, resorts, second homes,
golf course communities, and
retirement homes.
Kim R. Walberg (JD ’99)
was named
an Illinois Rising Star 2014. She is an
attorney with Taft in Chicago.
2000s
Jennifer Wolf Denys (JD ’01)
was
recently named assistant general
counsel at Advantus Capital
Management Inc., a subsidiary of
Securian Financial Group.
Ruth Hansen (MJ ’01)
was one
of 50 PhD students selected to
participate in the International
Society for Third-Sector Research
(ISTR) PhD Seminar in July in
Muenster, Germany. The workshop
will provide doctoral students with
advice on their dissertation research
and a unique opportunity to network
Corboy Lecture In Advocacy
Todd Smith (JD ’76, left) and Joseph Power Jr. (JD ’77) shared their experiences
litigating some of the most influential jury trial cases in Illinois history at the Corboy
Lecture in Advocacy in November.
1960s
Brian L. Crowe (JD ’64)
was named
an Illinois Rising Star 2014. He is an
attorney with Taft in Chicago.
1970s
Keith E. Emmons (JD ’74),
a
principal at the law firm Meyer
Capel in Champaign, Illinois, has
been appointed to the board
of directors of the Illinois Bar
Foundation, the charitable arm of
the Illinois State Bar Association.
Michael R. Lewis (JD ’75)
was
recently named chief human
resources officer at Dechert LLP,
an international law firm with 26
offices around the world. He has
global responsibility for all aspects
of human resources for both
attorneys and administrative staff
and maintains offices in Philadelphia
and Chicago. Lewis began his career
in Chicago and was a partner at
Winston & Strawn prior to holding
various executive human resources
positions at Square D Company
(now part of Schneider Electric),
AT&T, and Lucent Technologies.
Karen R. Mellow (JD ’76)
retired
in August as administrative law
judge for the Illinois Department of
Employment Security.
Patrick E. Deady (JD ’77)
was
recently elected a fellow by the
College of Labor and Employment
Lawyers, the highest recognition from
colleagues for sustained outstanding
performance in the labor and
employment law field.
Gerald C. Peterson (JD ’77)
was honored by Loyola’s Black
Law Students Association with the
Donald L. Hollowell Distinguished
Service Award.
28
LOYOLA LAW
FALL 2014
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