Robert P. Harris, L’89, has been selected
for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2014. Harris is a partner in the Commercial Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Creditors’ Rights Group at Quarles & Brady LLP and has more than 25 years of experience practicing bankruptcy law in Arizona and throughout the country.
Inc., which recently ranked No. 11 on Forbes’ list of the “100 Best Small Companies in America.” This marks the fifth consecutive year the company has made the list, rising from No. 31 in 2012. NIC continues to be the only company headquartered in Kansas to make the list.
Chris Bailey, L’93, has joined Gabrielle
1990s Shane Bangerter, L’91,
was appointed to the Kansas Board of Regents by Gov. Sam Brownback in June. The nine-member Board of Regents governs the state’s six public universities and is the coordinating board for the state’s 32 public higher education institutions. The board hires chancellors and presidents that lead the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, Fort Hays, Emporia and Pittsburg State, and approves tuition rates for each of those four-year institutions. Bangerter practices with Rebein Bangerter Rebein PA in Dodge City, Kan.
Susana M. Namnum, L’91,
Thompson, L’82, in the new law firm of Thompson & Bailey in Manhattan, Kan. Bailey, a 20-year veteran child support attorney at Social and Rehabilitation Services, is a member of the Kansas Bar Association and has served as president of the Manhattan Area Housing Partnership since 2001. His practice will concentrate on civil and domestic law, adoption, elder law, wills, trusts, and estate planning.
Kim Christiansen, L’94, assistant
secretary and general counsel at the Kansas Department of Agriculture, has been hired as the new executive director of the Kansas Corporation Commission. Christiansen will supervise the agency’s staff of more than 200 employees. She replaces Patti Petersen-Klein, who left in mid-June 2013.
Eric Mikkelson, L’94,
has been promoted to counsel in the Corporate practice group in the New York office of the international law firm of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP. Namnum focuses her practice on capital markets and finance. She has been with Curtis since 1997, when she joined the firm as an associate.
has joined the Corporate Finance Division of Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP as a partner in its Kansas City office. Mikkelson advises business clients on a variety of business transactions. His clients include corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, private equity funds and individuals.
Joan K. Archer, L’92, has joined Husch
former mayor/CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/ Kansas City, Kan., has joined McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips, the largest law firm in Kansas City, Kan., and one of the oldest firms in the Midwest. Reardon will help expand the firm’s practices in technology/ entrepreneurial law, public policy, and economic development/real estate law, areas in which he received national recognition while overseeing Wyandotte County’s significant growth, expansion, and success over the last decade.
Blackwell’s Kansas City, Mo., office as senior counsel. Archer practices with the Food and Agribusiness industry group.
L. James Berglund II, L’92, with the law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP was selected for inclusion in Texas Super Lawyers 2013. The list reflects only the top 5 percent of lawyers in Texas. Berglund is a partner in the Dallas office and represents clients before government agencies and in commercial litigation in federal and state trial courts.
Susan Romero Stowe, L’92, serves on
the board of directors for Susan G. Komen, El Paso, Texas.
Harry Herington, L’93, is chief executive officer and chairman of the board of NIC
Joe Reardon, L’94,
Kimberly Winn, L’95, has been named
executive director of the Virginia Municipal League starting January 1, 2014. She currently serves as deputy director for the League of
Kansas Municipalities, where she has worked for the past 18 years.
Kelly Collins Circle, L’95, has been named
dean of instruction at Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, Colo. Circle was formerly an associate dean at DeVry University in Kansas City. Her husband, Russ Circle, and mother-in-law, Louise, will be joining her in Denver in coming months.
Amy Coopman, L’95, received the Missouri
Lawyers Weekly 2013 Legal Champion Award recognizing legal contributions based on the “importance of the principle or policy at stake.” Coopman was honored for her representation of Susanna Bashir, an employee of AT&T subsidiary Southwestern Bell who sued the company for religious discrimination following her conversion to Islam. After a two-week trial in May 2012, the jury awarded Bashir $5.12 million. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), America’s largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization, this was the largest jury award ever received by a Muslim for religious harassment in the workplace.
Linda Sheppard, L’95, director of the
accident and health division of the Kansas Insurance Department, has been appointed special counsel and health care policy and analysis director by Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger. Sheppard has been the accident and health division director since 2009 and had previously been an assistant general counsel in the department. She has also been the department’s project manager for the federal health care law since 2010.
Joni Franklin, L’96, of Wichita, received the Kansas Bar Association’s Pro Bono Award during the organization’s annual meeting June 21, 2013, in Wichita.
Chuck Schimmel, L’97, is practicing law
in the Lawrence, Kan., office of Wright Schimmel LLC. Schimmel was formerly with Beam-Ward, Kruse, Wilson & Fletes LLC.
Greg Wright, L’97, is practicing in the
Overland Park, Kan., office of Wright Schimmel LLC. Wright was formerly with Beam-Ward, Kruse, Wilson & Fletes LLC.
Hale E. Sheppard, L’98, has been recognized
by Thomson Reuter as a 2013 Georgia Super Lawyer for his work in tax litigation. Less than 5 percent of lawyers in the state are named Super Lawyers. Sheppard practices in the Atlanta office of Chamberlain Hrdlicka.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 31