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Class Notes
Alumni can learn about classmates' whereabouts and activities through Class Notes in every issue of UF Law alumni magazine.
Send information for the Class Notes section for the website and UF Law alumni magazine to: Editor, UF Law Magazine, Levin College of Law Communications Office, Box 117633, Gainesville, FL 32611 or email to fleming@law.ufl.edu.
Archives: Summer 2006, Winter 2006, Summer 2005, Spring 2005, Winter 2005
Winter 2006 Class Notes
1950
James D. Causey joined Tennessee-based Settlement Solutions as mediator specializing in products liability, domestic relations and business litigation.
1955
Dexter Douglass was presented with the 2006 Medal of Honor Award by The Florida Bar Foundation.
1961
Fredric G. Levin, a Pensacola attorney, was named one of the “Top 500 Leading Litigators in America” by Los Angeles-based Lawdragon Magazine.
Courtroom 2A of the Marion County Judicial Center has been named in honor of Judge William T. Swigert.
1966
Steven J. Powell joined Moore & Company.
1968
William “Bud” L. Kirk Jr., founding partner of Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell, was initiated into the American College of Trial Lawyers.
1970
Mercer K. “Bud” Clarke, a shareholder with Clarke Silverglate Campbell Williams & Montgomery in Miami, was elected to the International Association of Defense Counsel Board of Directors.
1972
Hal H. Kantor, a partner at Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, was named chairman of the United Arts of Central Florida, a community-based fundraising and advocacy organization for local arts and culture.
Manuel E. Menendez Jr., chief judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit of Florida, was sworn in as the chair of the Florida Conference of Circuit Judges. He served as secretary-treasurer and chair-elect of the conference for the past two years.
John J. “Jake” Schickel, of Coker, Schickel, Sorenson & Daniel in Jacksonville, was recently awarded the 2006 Justice Harry Lee Anstead Award for the Board-Certified Lawyer of the Year.
1973
Martha W. Barnett, a partner in Holland & Knight’s Tallahassee office, was named one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America.”
Richard F. Kane joined the Charlotte firm, Moore & Van Allen as a partner in the area of labor and employment law.
1974
Frank Derrickson, a volunteer lawyer for the ACLU of Georgia specializing in both criminal defense and civil litigation, received the Volunteer Attorney Award from the ACLU.
Leslie J. Lott, a senior partner at Lott & Friedland, authored a chapter, “Special Remedies for Counterfeit” in Trademark Infringement Remedies, published by the American Bar Association. She was also listed in the Legal Media Group Guide to the World’s Leading Trade Mark Law Practitioners, 2006.
Circuit Judge Robert K. Rouse, Jr. has been named the Central Florida Jurist of the Year by the Central Florida Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
1977
Dennis J. Wall has written the 2006 supplement to his book, Litigation and Prevention of Insurer Bad Faith, now in its second edition published by West Publishing Company. He also authored “Experts, Gatekeepers, and Insurance Issues In Federal Cases,” an article published online and distributed by the Defense Research Institute. He was included among Florida Trend magazine’s 2006 Legal Elite issue, in the practice area of insurance.
1978
Paul Fitzpatrick (LLMT) recently joined the Spokane office of Preston Gates & Ellis in the tax, trusts & estates group.
James C. Percy (LLMT) was elected to partnership in the Jones Walker firm in the business & commercial litigation practice group. He practices in the firm’s Baton Rouge office.
Judge Tonya B. Rainwater was elected to serve as chief judge for the 18th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Rainwater has been a circuit judge for the 18th Circuit in Brevard County since 1991.
1979
Fred Flowers, a shareholder of Lewis, Longman & Walker in Jacksonville, was listed in the 2007 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
Dennis L. Horton (LLMT) is returning to politics after a 25-year hiatus by running for the Florida House District 41 seat that encompasses portions of Orange, Lake and Osceola counties.
David M. Layman, a shareholder with Greenberg Traurig, was recently elected to a two-year term as president of the board of directors of The Children’s Place at Home Safe.
1981
Richard B. Comiter (LLMT), founding partner of Comiter, Singer & Baseman, addressed the Florida Bar Tax Section on “Tax and Non-Tax Considerations Involved in Entity Selection.”
He also was listed in The Best Lawyers in America by Woodward & White and in Florida Trend magazine’s “Legal Elite.”
Doug Cooney and his partner, Christian Lebano, recently adopted a son, Gideon Cooney Lebano, born Oct. 13, 2005. Cooney also published a novel for young readers, co-written with Oscar- winning actress Marlee Matlin, called Nobody’s Perfect. doug.cooney@gmail.com
Beth Harlan, a Lakeland attorney, has been appointed to the Polk County Court by Gov. Jeb Bush.
William R. “Bill” Lane Jr. (LLMT), a partner in the Tampa office of Holland & Knight was named a fellow by the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
Phyliss Rosier was selected to fill the Eighth Judicial Circuit Judgeship seat for the remaining two years of her retired predecessor’s six-year term.
Gerald F. Stack (LLMT) joined Hiscock & Barclay in New York as a partner and co-chair of the firm’s tax practice group.
1982
Linnes Finney, partner in the national law firm of Gary, Williams, Parenti, Finney, Lewis, McManus, Watson & Sperando in Fort Pierce, is now president of the National Bar Association.
Oscar Sanchez delivered a presentation called “Building Block Torts: Bad Faith, Tortious Interference, Fraud in the Inducement and the Application of the Economic Loss Rule — What You Need to Know,” to the Business Torts Litigation Section at the American Trial Lawyers Association 2006 Annual Convention in Seattle.
Judge Charles E. Williams, a 12th Judicial Circuit Court judge, was honored by the Manatee County Branch of the NAACP with the Jurisprudence Award.
1983
Robert Dellecker, of Dellecker, Wilson, King, McKenna & Ruffier, was listed in the top 2 percent of lawyers practicing in Florida in Florida Trend magazine.
James Gale, a founding partner with Feldman Gale, has been named to the United States Lawyer Rankings 2006 list of the nation’s top 10 intellectual property lawyers. He currently serves as a faculty adviser to the college’s Intellectual Property Certificate Program.
William D. Matthewman, a partner in the South Florida firm of Seiden, Alder & Matthewman, published “Crawford’s Impact on Florida Criminal Law: What’s In and What’s Out in the World of Hearsay” as the cover article in the April 2006 edition of The Florida Bar Journal.
Michael Prendergast has written a humorous book, Don’t Chew Jesus! A Collection of Memorable Nun Stories.
1984
Allison K. Bethel was sworn into The Florida Bar’s Board of Governors. She was also a featured speaker at HUD’s Fair Housing Policy Conference, where she spoke about “State and Local Enforcement Initiatives in Housing,” “Is a Case (Fair Housing) Litigation Ready?” and Mortgage Lending Discrimination.” She also received the Henry Latimer Diversity Award from the Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter of the National Bar Association, the Florida Association of Women Lawyers, and the Equal Opportunity Law Section.
John Neukamm, a shareholder with Tampa firm Mechanik Nuccio, was elected as the real property division director for The Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section. jbn@floridalandlaw.com
David C. Willis, a partner with Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell in Orlando, was recently certified by The Florida Bar in Construction Law, marking his second board certification.
1985
Alan B. Cohn (LLMT), a partner with Greenspoon Marder, was honored by the United Jewish Community of Broward County with the Hy and Belle Schlafer Leadership Award for his contributions to the community.
Brenna Durden, a shareholder of Lewis, Longman & Walker in Jacksonville, was listed in the 2007 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
Ross M. Goodman was elected circuit judge in the First Circuit. He will preside over the juvenile court in Escambia County beginning January 2007.
Phyllis Harris was promoted to vice president of environmental compliance for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Marilyn A. Moore, counsel in the firm Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge’s real estate department, was installed as president of the Executive Women of the Palm Beaches.
David M. Silberstein (LLMT), co-manager of Kirk-Pinkerton, was elected as chair of the Florida Law Network, which is comprised of attorneys from 12 firms throughout Florida who meet to share information about the practice of law.
1986
Dale C. Cohen, a criminal trial lawyer with Burk & Cohen, was appointed to the Broward Circuit Court bench. He and his wife, Mardi Levy Cohen (1986), met at UF while attending law school. Mardi now has her own law firm.
Trent S. Kiziah (LLMT) was promoted to senior vice president for U.S. Trust’s Southeast region in Palm Beach.
Carol LoCicero is a founding partner in the new Tampa-based firm, Thomas & LoCicero. clocicero@tlolawfirm.com
Robert Merlin’s family firm, Merlin & Hertz, has received the 2006 ‘Put Something Back’ Pro Bono Outstanding Award for services provided to the poor during 2005-2006.
William Ruffier, an attorney with Dellecker, Wilson, King, McKenna & Ruffier, was named in the top 2 percent of lawyers practicing in Florida. The results were published in the July issue of Florida Trend magazine.
1987
Deborah B. Ansbro, a former litigation partner with Gronek & Latham in Orlando, has been appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush as a county court judge for Orange County. DAnsbro@groneklatham.com
Robert W. Murphy was selected to be an instructor on consumer law issues at the Army Judges Advocates College in Charlottesville, VA., in June 2006. He maintains a practice focusing on consumer class action finance issues.
1988
R. Scott Costantino, of the Jacksonville firm Liles, Gavin, Costantino, & George, became board certified by The Florida Bar in civil trial law.
Mark R. Dern, president of Boca Raton-based Dern Capital Management Corporation, was appointed by TD Ameritrade Institutional to its national advisor panel.
Cathryn A. Mitchell was named one of the “Best 50 Women in Business in New Jersey” by New Jersey Business Newspaper. Mitchell is a founding shareholder of MillerMitchell, counsel to global business in Princeton, N.J.
1990
Tom Pennekamp Jr., a partner with Grossman, Roth, Olin, Meadow, Cohen, Yaffa, Pennekamp & Cohen in Miami, has been named to the board of directors of Friends of Florida State Parks.
Scott Polodna was appointed to serve as the next Ninth Judicial Orange-Osceola Circuit Court judge. He previously served as assistant Osceola county attorney since 2001.
Kevin C. Smith was made partner of Lytal, Reiter, Clark, Fountain & Williams in West Palm Beach. ksmith@palmbeachlaw.com
Kathy J. Tayon joined Fowler White Boggs Banker as shareholder in the firm’s newly opened Boca Raton office. She was previously a partner with McDermott, Will & Emery in Miami.
1991
Kevin F. O’Brien, a Jesuit of the Maryland Province, was ordained to the priesthood at the Fordham University Church in Bronx, N.Y.
1992
Jerry D. Hamilton and Jennifer Quildon Miller (1997) have joined forces to start the firm of Hamilton & Miller, an AV rated firm that specializes in all areas of admiralty and maritime law.
Michael T. McHugh was appointed to the 20th Judicial Circuit Court bench in Florida. He previously worked as a managing attorney for Allstate Insurance Company.
1993
Ross L. Bilbrey was recently appointed as a county court judge for Santa Rosa County. judgebil@co.santa-rosa.fl.us
Gwen Griggs was featured in The Business Journal of Jacksonville as an “Up & Comer 2006,” along with law school classmates Ray Driver (1994) and Matt McAfee (1993), with whom she merged to create the downtown Jacksonville firm, Driver, McAfee, Griggs & Peek.
Julie H. Littky-Rubin has been named partner of Lytal, Reiter, Clark, Fountain & Williams in West Palm Beach. jlittkyrubin@palmbeachlaw.com
Christopher P. Tessitore was promoted to general counsel of National Retail Properties (formerly Commercial Net Lease Realty), an equity real estate investment trust in Orlando.
Thomas P. Wert joined Roetzel & Andress’s Orlando office as partner. He also became president of the Orange County Bar Association.
1994
Steve Diebenow, Jacksonville Mayor, John Peyton’s, chief of staff, was spotlighted in the Jacksonville Daily Record as being the mayor’s “Top Man.” The article detailed his career and family life.
Tom McAleavey joined Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed as a partner in the firm’s corporate practice. He previously headed the central and north Florida securities group at Holland & Knight.
Kenneth J. McKenna, a partner with Dellecker, Wilson, King, McKenna & Ruffier in Orlando, has been elected to the board of directors of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida.
Nicholas A. Shannin, of McDonough Wieland & Shannin, has become board certified in appellate law. He is also the 2005 recipient of the Orange County Bar Association Young Lawyer Professionalism Award. nshannin@orllaw.com
1995
John A. Craft was appointed as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas. He previously served as an assistant state attorney for the Eighteen Judicial Circuit of Florida and as an assistant statewide prosecutor of Florida. John.A.Craft@usdoj.gov
Jennifer R. Junker joined the Orlando firm of ShuffieldLowman, previously having served as in-house counsel for Wells Fargo.
Harlan S. Louis (LLMT), a member of Bailey Cavalieri, was named by The Journal of Law and Politics as a “Rising Star” among Ohio attorneys.
1996
Gregory W. Meier (LLMT), a shareholder in ShuffieldLowman, has received an AV rating, the highest available from Martindale-Hubbell.
Ralph G. Pepe (LLMT) joined the Orlando firm of ShuffieldLowman and will assist the firm in the area of state sales and use tax.
Ketan S. Vakil, was elected partner in the intellectual property group of Snell & Wilmer and named a “California Super Lawyer Rising Stars” (top 2 percent of the lawyers in California) and Lawdragon 500 New Stars (top 500 lawyers in the state).
John A. Walker was elected partner for the Jones Walker firm. He practices in the labor and employment practice group in the firm’s Miami office.
1997
Christa Calamas was recently appointed secretary of the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration.
Colin M. Daly was hired to fill the new position of senior corporate counsel by O’Charley’s, a leading casual dining restaurant company. He was previously assistant general counsel for
ARAMARK Corporation, a global food services, facilities management, and uniform and career apparel provider.
David M. Delaney was made partner with the Dell Graham in Gainesville. He continues his litigation practice in medical malpractice, governmental liability, and civil rights defense.
Nicole Goetz became a shareholder with the marital and family firm of Asbell, Ho & Goetz.
Sherri L. Johnson, of Dent & Johnson, was installed as president-elect of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers (FAWL).
Elliott Wilcox launched a free weekly trial advocacy tips newsletter (www.FreeTrialTips.com). TrialTips@TrialTheater.com
1998
Jason Gonzalez, a shareholder with Ausley & McMullen in Tallahassee, was elected chairman of the Judicial Nominating Commission for the First District Court of Appeal for 2006-2007. Gonzalez was appointed to the commission by Gov. Jeb Bush and previously served as chairman of the Second Circuit JNC in 2004. He was also listed by Florida Trend as a 2006 Up and Coming Legal Elite. jgonzalez@ausley.com
David Ogman has accepted a position in acquisitions at H.I.G. Capital. OgmanDavid@aol.com
Harvey E. Oyer III, a shareholder and real estate attorney with Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart in West Palm Beach, was named one of five Palm Beach County recipients of the prestigious
“Jefferson Award,” which recognizes individuals for their outstanding achievements and contributions in public and community service.
1999
Adam K. Feldman was named a shareholder in Patterson, Anderson & Feldman in Jacksonville. afeldman@paf-lawfirm.com
Colleen M. Fitzgerald was elected to serve a two-year term to the board of directors of the Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County.
Melissa Gross-Arnold, an attorney from the Jacksonville office of Lewis, Longman & Walker, served as pro bono counsel for the North Florida Land Trust in one of its most significant land acquisition transactions to date. She also achieved board certification in city, county and local government law.
William R. Shilling was featured as a “tech setter” in the April/May 2006 issue of Law Office Computing magazine.
Ormend G. Yeilding was made partner of Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed. Yeilding resides in Winter Park.
2000
Amy M. Hass was named assistant general counsel in the University of Florida’s Office of the Vice President and General Counsel.
Frances H. Merritt joined Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson in Orlando.
2001
Douglas I. Wall has joined the Orlando office of GrayRobinson, specializing in construction law and litigation.
2002
LaShawnda Jackson, an associate with Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell in Orlando, was recently appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush to the Judicial Nominating Commission for Florida’s Ninth Circuit. She also received The Florida Bar’s Diversity Award in recognition of her efforts and allegiance to create and promote a more diverse workplace.
2003
Darlene Corey, an attorney with the 11th Judicial Circuit Domestic Violence Court Case Management Unit, was honored with the 2006 Female Mentor of the Year Award by the Dade County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section eMentoring Program.
Whalen Kuller, an attorney with Holt, Ney, Zatcoff & Wasserman, was made a member of the governing board of directors for The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Georgia and Alabama. He serves as secretary.
Matthew P. McLaughlin (LLMT), of Balch & Bingham, was appointed to serve as chairman for the Tax Committee of the Young Lawyer’s Division of the American Bar Association.
Julie Siefkas-Marín joined Royal Caribbean Cruises as an associate counsel. She provides in-house representation to the Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises sales and marketing departments. jsiefkas@bellsouth.net
Andrew J. Smallman recently opened his own firm, Andrew J. Smallman, in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The firm’s main focus is criminal defense, family law and probate. AJSmallsLaw@hotmail.com
2004
Steven O. Anderson (LLMT) recently joined Stamper, Rubens, Stocker & Smith.
Ashley N. Calhoun (LLMT), in the Lakeland office of GrayRobinson, has been selected as the recipient of the 2006 Omicron Delta Kappa “Grads Made Good” award, presented by Florida Southern College.
Cheryl Priest has joined the commercial and securities litigation practice in Holland & Knight’s Tampa office and was named one of the 2006 Tampa Bay Business Journal’s “30 Under 30” award winners. She is marrying Aaron Ainsworth in March.
Brent M. Rainey, an associate with West, Green, and Associates in Orlando, who exclusively practices marital and family law, co-authored the equitable distribution chapter of the Matrimonial and Family Law Board Certification Review materials for the second year. He also was recently installed as president of the Collaborative Family Law Group of Central Florida. b.rainey@rdwestlaw.com
Thomas P. Swift Jr. (LLMT), certified financial planner, has joined the estate settlement group as an estate administrator at SunTrust Bank. He was previously an estate and tax attorney with James, Bates, Pope & Spivey.
Michael B. Verille joined the Washington, D.C. office of Thacher Proffitt & Wood as an associate with the firm’s Corporate & Financial Institutions Department. mverille@tpw.com
2005
Kimberley A. Belcastro (LLMT) has joined Quarles & Brady in the company’s taxation practice group.
Benjamin Brown joined the Naples office of Quarles & Brady as an associate. He was previously with the Naples office of Bond, Schoeneck & King, a Syracuse, NY based firm.
Diane Dick, an associate at Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod in Miami, is publishing “Tax and Economic Policy Responses to the Medicaid Long-Term Care Financing Crisis: A Behavioral Economics Approach” in the Cardozo Public Law, Policy and Ethics Journal.
Michael J. Faehner (LLMT), of Sarasota, was appointed by The Florida Bar to the board of directors of The Florida Bar Foundation for a three-year term.
Christopher D. Foster (LLMT) has joined Nexsen Pruet of Charleston as an associate in the tax group.
Marty Fulgueira has joined Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell in Miami as an associate practicing in several areas, including product liability, toxic tort defense and casualty defense. She also received one of the highest overall scores on the February Florida Bar exam. In recognition of her accomplishment, Fulgueira was asked to speak on behalf of newly admitted attorneys at the Third District Court of Appeals swearing-in ceremony.
Jarrett R. Hoffman completed his LL.M. in tax at New York University in May. He is now a second year associate at the Wall Street firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in Manhattan.
David L. Luikart III has joined Hill, Ward & Henderson in Tampa as an associate. dluikart@hwhlaw.com
2006
Kelly C. Lyon joined Quarles & Brady in the firm’s litigation practice group.
Meghan M. Mahaney (LLMT) joined Hiscock & Barclay in New York as an associate.
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In Memoriam
Tom Adams (JD 48)
Daniel Galfond (JD 01)
Hon. William “Wade” Hampton III (JD 39)
Thomas C. MacDonald Jr. (JD 53)
Knowlton “Joe” Shelnut Jr. (JD 72)
Franklin J. Slagle (LLMT 80)
Robert Ware (JD 03)
James Young Wilson Sr. (LLB 41)
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Florida Super Lawyers
The following were included in Law & Politics magazine's “Florida Super Lawyers” article, which comprises the top five percent of attorneys in the state, as chosen by their peers and through independent research: John-Edward Alley (JD 65), Michael S. Budwick (JD 91), Richard B. Comiter (LLMT 81), Jeffrey D. Feldman (JD 81), James Gale (JD 83), Hal H. Kantor (JD 1972),
Brad D. Kimbro (JD 91), William R. “Bill” Lane, Jr. (LLMT 81), G. Carson McEachern (JD 72), Mark Meland (JD 88), Gerald A. Rosenthal (JD 73), William Ruffier (JD 86), David M. Silberstein (LLMT 85), Brian D. Stokes (JD 84), Stephen Thompson (JD 85) and Terry C. Young (JD 75).
Archives: Summer 2006, Winter 2006, Summer 2005, Spring 2005, Winter 2005