Class of 1995
Marsha Ferziger Nagorsky
University of ChicagoLawSchool
1111 E. 60th Street
ChicagoIL60637
How can it be 2004 already? Many of the 1Ls I see every day were born in the 1980s, and our tenth reunion is about 14 months away. Hard to believe, but a little easier to comprehend when you read all the baby news and classmates-making-partner news below!
Speaking of which, let’s begin with….
Baby news
The class of 1995 continues to populate the world. In order of birth (so far as I know): Doug Selby reported that he’s got lots of good news since his last update. His second child, a girl named Payton, was born May 7, 2002, and in April of last year he became an equity partner in Hunton & Williams's Atlanta office where he is a Bond Lawyer in the Capital Finance Group. See a photo of them on the class website!Adam Gross and his wife Mia have a daughter! Her name is Rebecca, and she’s gorgeous. She was born in the summer of 2003.
Jen and Adam Levine have baby girl #2. Her name is Abigail Liora, and she’s beautiful. Abby joins big sister Betsy. Sarah Mackey reported that Susannah Baruch and her husband Seth Green had their second son,Jeremy, this spring (joining big brother Daniel) and Alison Ranney and her husband Erik Birkerts had a daughter, Dagny, in September (she joins big bro Ryerson). Sarah says “All very cute, of course!”
Linda Simon and her husband Gregory Shade had their first child, Benjamin Magnus Shade, born August 8, 2003. Linda just enjoyed 12 weeks off with him and is now back at work at Lord, Bissell & Brook part time. Linda is also continuing the non-profit work she has been doing where she lives in Gary, Indiana. This fall a charter elementary school she did legal work for opened its doors in Gary and the preschool she helped establish started its 4th year.
Jon Lerner reports, “Aliza and I had another baby in December. Batsheva is her name, and now the girls (temporarily) outnumber the boys in the family 3-2. There is no such split politically though. Were all voting for Bush. Five-year old Eli is particularly fond of the Patriot Act, while three-year old Lena loves the preemption doctrine, and baby Batsheva, who arrived just before the end of the year, loves the tax cuts.” Chris Kemnitz and his wife Julie welcomed Caroline Conlon Kemnitz on the afternoon of December 18. She was 8lbs, 9 oz. and is beautiful! Caroline joins sister Catherine.
Kortney Kloppe-Orton reported that Tom LaWer and his wife, Anne, had a baby boy around Christmas. His name is Maximilian George Paul LaWer, 6 pounds 4 ounces, 19 inches. Jared Cloud and his wife Joanna welcomed Dashiell Oliver Cloud on December 30, 2003 at 4:50pm. (Just call him Daddy’s little tax deduction!) Dashiell was 8 lbs, 5 oz and 20 inches long. He joins big sister Zoe.
Salil (Kumar) and Sarah (Haiby) Mehra are proud to welcome Frederick Jasper Mehra, who entered this world on Friday, January 23rd, accoding to them, with relative ease. They report that “All of us are home and doing well. We are also pleased that he continues the family tradition of having a cool birthday; after his sister's Ides of March entry, he arrived on 1/23/4.”
Mike Connors and his wife are expecting baby #4 in February. Mike says, “We dont know what it is, but, not to worry, b/c Johnny, our five-year-old, informed us, ‘we’ll know whether its a boy or girl, because Mommy said babies come out naked.’” Ricardo Veirano dropped a line to say that his wife Bel is pregnant with their second child. The baby is due by mid-June and they do not know yet if it is a baby girl or a boy. Their first son, Joao, is now 14 months and soon will have a sibling to play with!
Work news
Lots of people moving around and making partner! Tiffanie (Cason) DeLibertyhas joined Jackson Enterprises (the parent company of Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates. Ltd.) as Vice-President and Senior Counsel. Carolyn Shapiro has accepted a teaching position at Chicago-Kent College of Law starting next fall. Carolyn is currently there as a visitor.
Ed Reillymoved in November 2003 from Winston & Strawn to an in-house position with General Electric Capital Corporation in Bannockburn, IL. He keeps in good contact with Joe Klauke and Dave Hoffman and says they are both doing very well. Dave recently moved into his new house in Chicago and Ed reports, “it is incredibly cool (thanks to his wife).” Steve Newman also changed jobs and is now at Strook in LA. He got a new puppy named Snoopy and reports “life is good.”
As of April 1, Stan Pierre-Louis will be promoted to senior vice president of business and legal affairs at the RIAA. And the accolades just keep piling up for Jesse Ruiz, who has been named to another “40 Under 40” list. This time it’s Crain’s Chicago Business.
Scott Tobanwas promoted to Partner in the real estate group at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw just before leaving for Vegas in October. Brian Massengill was also promoted to Partner, in the litigation group.Jim Hafertepe and Leland Hansen both were made board members of McAndrews, Held & Malloy.
John Beagleholereports, “No exciting stuff (in terms of marriages, commitments or babies) to report. But I am just about to start a new job -- I have been appointed as the legal adviser in the Prime Minister's Advisory Group, where (and I quote from the email circulated to other advisors) my portfolios "will include legal, constitutional, Treaty [of Waitangi – theTreaty signed between the native Maori and the British in 1840] and State Sector/public service issues (across portfolios), judicial, public law and parliamentary issues." I rather suspect that should keep me off the streets for the next few years. Other than work, I am continuing to have a pretty marvellous time in New Zealand. There has been a bit of hobbit-dodging what with the fuss around the LOTR. More to the point, I have kept up sailing and singing in the opera chorus; whether these activities will be compatible with the new job remains to be seen.”
General news
Thankfully, lots of people are writing to just update me on their lives in general. More to the point, they’re writing to make me feel old by telling me what grade their kids are in.
Sarah Mackey has made the move in-house to work for Premera Blue Cross. She and her family are still in Seattle, and the twins are now three years old! Sarah says, “Jen Stinson and husband Jeff were gracious enough to reschedule Alex's TENTH birthday party in July to host our study group reunion in Chicago. (Even as I write this I have to stop and check my math. How is it possible that "little" Alex could be 10??)”Jim Ross has moved to WashingtonState from WashingtonDC and is now working at Microsoft. You would not believe how big the kids are already - real little people!
Tom Brown and his wife, Cait, are still in San Francisco. He says, “Our kids, Amelia and Beatrice, are big and getting bigger. They're seven and four & 3/4ths respectively (the fourths matter quite a bit when you're four). I'm still at Heller Ehrman, beginning my second year as a shareholder (Heller lingo for partners) and practicing mostly antitrust litigation for a client who's everywhere you want to be, and Rob Mahnke has the office next door.”
Kortney Kloppe-Ortonsays that she’s still “practicing law and yoga (and teaching the latter).” Kortney also reports that she and Guy “continue to add cats and plants to the home, though not so much since it’s winter.” Kortney saw Ashley Hall Roberts and her husband Ty over Thanksgiving. Apparently, they are well and Ashley is settling into her new career as "Directorof Small Group Equiping, Training and Development" at WillowCreekChurch and into her new home in Glenview. Always the fount of info,
Andy Rotenberg got engaged! Her name is Ruth, she is English, and they’ve been dating for about 14 months. They met through a mutual friend. Ruth is Iraqi Jewish, and has been living in London for some time. She got her BA from Cambridge, her MD from Oxford and she just got her PhD from ImperialCollege.She is a doctor who is currently doing her UK equivalent of a fellowship at Charing CrossHospital in Hammersmith and she specializes in ER and Renal work. Andy says, “I think she is a lot like Dr. Corday from ER with the same accent.” Andy proposed on New Year’s Eve just after midnight outside under the fireworks display along the Thames. They are planning an August wedding in London.
Mike Frankel reported several things. First, he’s joined General Electric as VP for Business Development and is doing the Stamford-NY commute. Second, he published his first book, which you can see through the links on the class website. It’s a basic primer on M&A for non-experts. Mike also notes that he is “playing poker with Charlie Torres on Thursday - less dramatic but likely more financially rewarding than book sales.”
Barry Coyne has submitted what might be his first-ever update! Barry says, “I am still in Pittsburgh, PA and at Reed Smith LLP where I made partner in the Intellectual Property Group in November 2002. I mainly work on patent and other intellectual property litigation and counseling but do a little antitrust on the side so to speak. My wife Shari and I now have four (4) kids, all boys! My oldest is Brian, age 7, who started first grade in the fall, Brent, age 5, who is in pre-school, Ben, age 3, and Kevin, age 7 months (you guessed it, we couldn't agree on a fourth "B" name). Shari has been a stay at home mom for the last 7 years (since our first was born) so needless to stay her job is harder than mine in most respects! We live in a suburb in Pittsburgh, not to far from where I grew up, and things are going just fine.”
Brian Bussey reported in: “I passed the five-year mark at the SEC in December. After working for three SEC Chairmen in almost as many years, I took a position heading the interpretations group within Market Regulation's Office of Chief Counsel last summer. The attorneys I supervise handle no-actionand exemptive requests, as well as rulemaking and interpretive projects, involving broker-dealers. On a personal note, Jack is fast approaching his first birthday, and is keeping both Carol and me jumping.”
Scott Toban writes: “In late October, a number of '95 classmates traveled to Las Vegas to commemorate the end of Wayne Yu's bachelorhood. Dan Baker, Jeff Richards, Eric Rutkoske, Dan McGuire, Jesse Ruiz, George Lin, Charles McCormick, Wayne and I all participated in the weekend's festivities. Unfortunately, Lindsey and I were unable to attend Wayne and Katie's wedding two weeks later in Long Island.”Scott reports his wife Lindsey has her hands full during the days with Andrew (now 3 1/2) and Brett (he turned one in December). He bumped into Donna Cote at a real estate industry lunch in Chicago a few months ago. Donna is doing great and is working in Chicago as Vice President of Real Estate Investment and Associate General Counsel of Ventas, Inc., a health care real estate investment trust.
Bjarne Tellman writes that he, Alessandra and daughter Mia are still in Vienna, where he continues to work as Deputy General Counsel for Coca-Cola HBC SA. Bjarne completed a Postgraduate Diploma in EC Competition Law at KingsCollege, University of London last year, which he says “was exhausting but very useful for the work I am doing these days. I am also currently in the process of completing a Coca-Cola-tailored ‘mini-MBA’ executive training program through IMD (The Institute for Management Development) in Lausanne, Switzerland, which takes a lot of my spare time and energy. It should be completed sometime in September.” Bjarne also reports that he is training and qualifying asan instructor in Krav Maga Maor, a full-contact Israeli self-defense systemrun by the Chief Instructor to the Israeli Border Forces. He is, as always, traveling way too much for work.
Clint Pinyan reports that his daughter Elizabeth -- hold on to your hat -- is in 2nd grade. Clint says, “Life with Elizabeth is a rollercoaster ride. What is it about redheads? Henry is much more calm, even-tempered and methodical . . . takes after Colleen.” Clint made partner in the fall. He says, “as far as I can tell, that means I do the same thing and have to pay self-employment taxes and serve on the firm insurance committee. I'm very excited.”
Greg Coules says “Daniella and I continue to work hard in the world of finance. On Jan 30th I resigned from my position as a senior distressed debt analyst at JPMorgan to take a position as a Managing Director at Metropolitan Capital, which is an event driven hedge fund also located in New York. Needless to say, I could not have landed this gig without the great education I received at The Law School. It is surprising how useful a legal background is in the investing world. Daniella and I have no kids yet, but are hopeful to start that process one day. We now live in the Upper East Side of Manhattan and, as always, would love to catch up with any of my fellow classmates if you find yourselves with a free moment in the big apple. Just hit me at if you're going to be in town. Happy new year to all and look forward to catching up at the 10 year reunion if not sooner.”
John Eastman continues to teach at Chapman University School of Law, where he is now a tenured professor. He also directs The Claremont Institute Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, a public interest law firm devoted to restoring the principles of the American founding to their rightful and pre-eminent authority in our national life. The Center sponsors an informal appellate litigation clinic at Chapman, and students have been working with John on several interesting cases this past year, including 4 currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Elk Grove Unified School Dist. v. Newdow (the Pledge of Allegiance case); Rancho Viejo LLP v. Norton (commerce clause challenge to the extension of the Endangered Species Act to non-commercial species); and Angle v. Guinn (raising a Republican Guarantee Clause challenge to a Nevada Supreme Court order directing the Nevada Legislature to ignore a state constitutional requirement of 2/3 vote for tax increases). And remember the two babies born while we were in law school? Benjamin is now 11, getting ready to head to Jr. High School, plays in the band, and is active in Boy Scouts and Catholic Little League baseball. Christina turns 9 soon, is performing Mozart sonatas in violin recitals and has been nominated by her teacher (a world-class violinist and Armenian émigré) for a certificate of merit from the professional violin teachers association. John and Elizabeth recently bought a house in Santa Fe, New Mexico (Elizabeth’s home), where they hope to start spending summers soon.
And finally, John Trenor reports that “2004 will be a big year. In chronological order I just became a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering LLP, where my practice focuses on international dispute resolution, including international litigation and international arbitration. Later this month, my fiancée and I are moving to London, where WCP's international arbitration practice is based. We are getting married in Washington, DC, in July. And then we hope to rest on an extended honeymoon in Italy.”
That’s all the news that’s fit for…. Well, you get the idea. Keep those cards and letters coming – I love hearing all your good news! As always, wishing all of you all the best.