Class Notes

1990

James Gallegos was named to the Lawyers of Color Power List for 2020. Gallegos is the executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary of Alliant Energy, based in Madison, Wisconsin.

Kristine A. Kubes became chair of the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law and is one of the few female lawyers to serve in this position.

Gerald C. Robinson was named a partner at Halunen Law in Minneapolis. Robinson represents whistleblowers in qui tam cases under the False Claims Act and brings nearly 30 years of experience to his practice in complex litigation.

1991

Eric Galatz was recognized with the Ramsey County Bar Association’s 2019 Pro Bono Award. Galatz is a partner at Stinson and serves the real estate and public finance industries.

Simon Leung was named to the Lawyers of Color Power List for 2020. Leung is general counsel and corporate secretary at SYNNEX Corporation, headquartered in Fremont, California.

1993

Rikke Dierssen-Morice joined Maslon in Minneapolis as a partner in the firm’s litigation and corporate securities practice. Dierssen-Morice has successfully handled many high-stakes insurance claims.

Scott Neilson was named to the 2019 Acritas Stars list, which is made up of client-nominated standout lawyers in private practice. Neilson is a shareholder at Henson Efron in Minneapolis and serves clients in many aspects of litigation.

Jill Lebow Prohofsky was promoted to deputy manager of the Child Support Magistrate program for the state of Minnesota. She was previously a child support magistrate for 17 years.

1994

Margaret “Maggie” Thickens was promoted to vice president, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary of ALLETE Inc. Thickens previously was general counsel, secretary, and director of compliance at ALLETE Clean Energy.

1995

Bethany Owen was named CEO of ALLETE Inc. and is the company’s first female CEO. Owen first joined ALLETE in 2002 as an attorney.

Scott A. Wolfson joined the American College of Bankruptcy. Wolfson, a partner at Wolfson Bolton in Troy, Michigan, focuses on bankruptcy and insolvency, commercial litigation, and business disputes, among other practices.

1996

Michael Atkins moved from Mexico City to Madrid, where he continues to serve clients from his Seattle-based practice, Atkins Intellectual Property.

David Black was sworn in to a five-year term as deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration. He will also serve as the secretary to the Social Security Board of Trustees.

Paul J. Yechout joined Optum in Minneapolis as deputy general counsel of labor and employment. He will lead the company’s labor and employment law team.

1997

John Bursch was recognized as one of Michigan’s top 10 attorneys by Super Lawyers magazine. Bursch also argued his 12th U.S. Supreme Court case on behalf of the petitioner in R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. E.E.O.C. He is vice president of appellate advocacy at the Alliance Defending Freedom in Michigan.

David Jaffe was elected to the board of directors of the Midland Center for the Arts in Midland, Michigan. Jaffe serves as CEO of Cinderella Inc., a nationwide distributor of swimming pools and backyard leisure supplies headquartered in Michigan.

James H. Snelson was re-elected to the board of directors of Fredrikson & Byron in Minneapolis. Snelson is a shareholder at the firm and helps his clients with matters relating to mergers and acquisitions.

1999

Gretchen L. McGill was named partner at Dvorak Law Group in Omaha, Nebraska. McGill represents clients in a variety of contract disputes, including construction contracts and partnership agreements.

Bryan K. Phillips was appointed chief legal officer at Boston-based Cerevel Therapeutics in November 2019. Prior to joining Cerevel, Phillips was a senior vice president for Surmodics Inc.

Krista Schwarting won three “Best Attorney” awards from the Anchorage Press.

2000

Clayton Chan was recognized as a 2020 Minnesota Super Lawyer for his work in trusts and estates. Chan is a principal of Chan Law Offices in Minneapolis and represents clients in a wide array of trust, probate, and estate matters.

Roshan N. Rajkumar was named to the Lawyers of Color Power List for 2020. Rajkumar is co-managing partner at Bowman and Brooke in Minneapolis and focuses his practice on defending small and large corporations in state and federal courts.

R. Jason Straight was named senior managing director, chief privacy officer of Ankura in New York. Straight oversees Ankura’s internal data privacy program.

Shanna Strowbridge was appointed general counsel for Schafer Richardson and SR Realty Trust. Strowbridge has nearly 20 years of experience in commercial real estate transactions.

2001

Benjamin Felcher Leavitt was elected to a four-year term as a judge in the town of Ossining, New York.

Suzanne Munck joined Davis Polk as counsel in the antitrust and competition group in the firm’s Washington, D.C, office.

2003

Kathryn R. Weber was promoted to senior attorney at Scott D. Pollock & Associates in Chicago. Weber practices immigration law and specializes in such areas as family-based immigration and immigration litigation and appeals.

2005

Divya Mehta was appointed senior vice president and general counsel at KONE Americas in Lisle, Illinois. In this role, Mehta will lead all aspects of the company’s legal matters. Prior to becoming senior vice president, Mehta most recently served as KONE’s deputy general counsel.

Sarah Peterson was re-elected to a three-year term as a director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association board of governors. Peterson is the founder of Minneapolis-based SPS Immigration, where she focuses on providing employers and employees with immigration strategies.

Patrick S. Stoneking joined Jeff Anderson & Associates in New York City. While employed at his previous firm, Stoneking worked alongside Jeff Anderson & Associates on behalf of hundreds of survivors of childhood sexual abuse in New York.

2006

Kelly Keegan was elected the 2019 president of the Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Keegan is a principal at Keegan Law Office in Minneapolis.

Justin Ilhwan Park joined DLA Piper’s patent litigation practice as a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office.

Jessica Hutson Polakowski was recognized as a Future Star by Benchmark Litigation 2020. Hutson Polakowski, a shareholder in Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren’s intellectual property litigation and litigation practice groups, is based at the firm’s Madison, Wisconsin, office.

2007

Andrew Borene was appointed president and chief executive officer of Austin, Texas-based CipherLoc Corporation. Prior to joining CipherLoc, he was senior director of the federal national security group at Symantec in Washington, D.C.

Jennifer Burnette was recognized in the 2019 “40 Under 40” list by Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Burnette, a partner at Marshall, Gerstein & Borun, practices patent prosecution in the firm’s Chicago office.

Jared Butcher was named a Law360 2019 Rising Star. Butcher is a partner at Steptoe & Johnson and focuses on commercial litigation and international arbitration in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office.

Spencer Seamans joined Cantel Medical as a corporate attorney in the company’s life sciences business segment. Seamans has a long history of supporting the medical device industry.

2008

Lucky Meinz joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton as a partner in the labor and employment group in the firm’s San Francisco office.

2009

Kyle M. Brehm joined Fredrikson & Byron as an officer in the firm’s Minneapolis office. Brehm is a tax attorney who works with companies to resolve a broad spectrum of issues related to state and local tax matters.

Trevor Lavelle was promoted to partner at Latham & Watkins in the firm’s Houston office. Lavelle represents clients in capital market transactions.

2011

Carly Bad Heart Bull was named executive director of the Colorado-based nonprofit Native Ways Federation, which promotes awareness of American Indian communities across the United States.

Kate Baxter-Kauf was named a partner at Lockridge Grindal Nauen in Minneapolis. Baxter- Kauf’s practice is concentrated in the firm’s data breach, antitrust law, business litigation, and securities litigation practice groups.

Chelsea B. DesAutels was published in the winter 2019-20 issue of Ploughshares. DesAutels is a poet and educator living in Minneapolis.

Craig Deutsch was named principal in the patent group at Fish & Richardson in Minneapolis. Deutsch’s practice focuses on defending and invalidating patents in post-grant proceedings.

Charles “Chas” S. Higgins was promoted to member at Burch, Porter & Johnson in Memphis, Tennessee. Higgins focuses his practice on commercial and business litigation.

Maya S. Zahn Rhine was elected a shareholder in Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren’s real estate practice at the firm’s Madison, Wisconsin, office. Rhine works with commercial real estate companies.

2012

Thomas Braun was elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of the environmental conservation nonprofit Great River Greening. Braun is a partner at Stoel Rives in Minneapolis; his service areas include contaminated sites, energy and regulatory, and environmental compliance.

Lariss Maldonado was selected for the Pathfinder program of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. Maldonado was also recognized by the Hispanic National Bar Association as a “Top Lawyer Under 40.” Maldonado is an associate at Stinson, practicing a wide range of complex litigation in the firm’s Minneapolis office.

Laura Nelson was elected a partner in the Minneapolis office of Stinson. Nelson practices in the health care industry and advises clients on complex transactions.

2013

Anne Carroll joined Sensient Technologies in Milwaukee as senior attorney and global HR compliance manager.

Laura E. Cowan was ranked the third-best estate planning lawyer in New York City by Yelp and was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2019. Cowan focuses on estate planning at the Law Office of Laura E. Cowan.

Kelsey Crosse was elected a shareholder of the Davis Brown Law Firm in Des Moines, Iowa. Crosse focuses on employment law (employer-side) and litigation and insurance defense in her practice.

Talon Powers was named a partner with Hecht Solberg Robinson Goldberg & Bagley in San Diego. His practice focuses on business litigation and risk management.

Aalok Sharma was selected for the Pathfinder program of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. Sharma is an associate at Stinson, practicing entertainment and sports law in the firm’s Minneapolis office.

2014

Anju Suresh joined the Minneapolis office of Hinshaw & Culbertson as an associate in the firm’s commercial litigation practice.

David B. Tibbals joined Fredrikson & Byron as a corporate law associate in the firm’s Fargo office.

2015

Erik Peter Bal was appointed assistant attorney general with the New Hampshire Department of Justice. Prior to his appointment, Bal was an associate at Rice, Michels & Walther in Minneapolis.

Julie L. Matucheski was appointed an assistant district attorney for Barron County in Wisconsin. Prior to becoming Barron County’s fourth prosecutor, Matucheski worked in private practice.

Armeen F. Mistry joined Pepper Hamilton in Detroit as an associate. Mistry is a trial attorney who represents clients in all stages of business litigation.

Ann Motl joined Maslon as an associate in the Minneapolis firm’s intellectual property litigation practice. Motl is a registered patent attorney with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

2016

Vinita Banthia joined Archer & Greiner in Haddonfield, New Jersey, as an associate in the firm’s environmental law practice group.

Mitchell D. Sullivan joined Minneapolis-based Moss & Barnett’s business law and real estate teams.

2017

Sam Ketchum joined Kennedy and Graven, Chartered in Minneapolis as an associate. Ketchum is practicing municipal law with a city attorney focus.

Aaron Minster joined Moss & Barnett’s litigation team in Minneapolis. Minster has experience in shareholder derivative actions, close corporations, and other areas of law.

Conor H.M. Smith joined Ballard Spahr as an associate in the firm’s litigation department in Minneapolis.

2018

Maria Brekke joined Bassford Remele in the Minneapolis firm’s commercial litigation, appellate law, products liability, and trust and estates litigation practices.

Rachel Leitschuck Dougherty joined Fredrikson & Byron as an associate in the firm’s litigation group in Minneapolis.

Jesse E. Goldfarb joined Myers Thompson Medeiros in Minneapolis.

Adam Setra joined the Lovett Law Firm to serve the community of El Paso, Texas.

Luke Wolf joined Spencer Fane in Minneapolis as a litigation associate.

2019

Anna Barton joined Maslon as an associate in the Minneapolis firm’s commercial litigation group.

Tash Bottum joined Fredrikson & Byron as an associate in the firm’s mergers and acquisitions group in Minneapolis.

Clayton Carlson joined Maslon as an associate in the firm’s business litigation group in Minneapolis.

Maria de Sam Lazaro joined Lathrop GPM in Minneapolis as an associate in the litigation and dispute resolution practice group.

Maya Digre joined the St. Paul office of HKM as an associate in the firm’s civil litigation group.

Peter G. Economou joined Winthrop & Weinstine in Minneapolis as an associate in the firm’s litigation group.

Andrew S. Escher joined Winthrop & Weinstine in Minneapolis as an associate in the firm’s litigation group.

Lauren Fleming joined Stinson as a litigation associate in the firm’s Kansas City office.

Joshua M. Greenberg joined Dorsey & Whitney in Minneapolis as an associate in the firm’s regulatory group.

Kayla Hoel joined Fredrikson & Byron in Minneapolis as an associate in the firm’s immigration group. 

Lindsay Jones joined Merchant & Gould in Minneapolis as an associate in the firm’s intellectual property practice.

Jack C. Koepke joined Winthrop & Weinstine in Minneapolis as an associate in the firm’s tax credit and syndication group.

Samuel Louwagie joined Taft Stettinius & Hollister in Minneapolis as an associate in the firm’s employment, benefits, and labor group.

Jordan E. Mogensen joined Winthrop & Weinstine in Minneapolis as an associate in the firm’s tax credit financing and syndication group.

Khansaa Nadeem joined Bassford Remele in Minneapolis as an associate in the firm’s employment litigation/ advice, general liability, and professional liability group.

Amber M. Peterson joined Winthrop & Weinstine in Minneapolis as an associate in the firm’s tax credit financing and syndication group.

David Racine joined Dorsey & Whitney in Minneapolis as a litigation associate.

Abby Swanson Garney joined Lathrop GPM in Minneapolis as an associate in the corporate and business practice group.

Deanna Thompson joined Robins Kaplan in Minneapolis as an intellectual property and technology associate.

Jessica Wheeler joined Stinson in Minneapolis as a health care associate.