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1988 The Hon. Mark S. Davis
was confirmed as a justice of the United States District Court for the eastern district of Virginia. Sens. John Warner ’49A and Jim Webb recommended him for the federal vacancy. The bipartisan support helped his confirmation to the lifetime appointment. He lives in Portsmouth, Va. Christopher J. O’Brien
published an article about connecting with potential
jurors in the August issue of Trial magazine. He is a partner in O’Brien Boyd P.C. in Williamsville, N.Y.
1989 Brian K. Manning was
named deputy director of the Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center in Fayetteville, N.C. He worked for 15 years as a civil litigation attorney in Fayetteville, the last two years in solo practice. He earned his master’s degree in library
N o t e s
Michael P. A. Cohen is a
L.L.P. as a partner and will focus on business disputes, white-collar defense and securities litigation. He lives in Littleton, Colo.
partner at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker L.L.P. in Washington.
Samuel J. Goncz was named
science from North Carolina Central University in 2006.
1990
J. Steven Patterson works
for Hunton & Williams L.L.P. in Washington.
1991 Clifford B. Stricklin joined
the firm of Holland & Hart
Diplomatically Speaking
1992 of counsel in the private equity group for the international law firm Jones Day, in Pittsburgh. Douglas A. Pettit was recognized as a San Diego Super Lawyer for 2008. He is
Morten Skroejer ’05 LL.M, ’07 (right) with Ambassador Friis Arne Petersen during a fall visit to Lexington.
by Emma Millon
One rainy day in the fall of 2003, Morten Skroejer ‘05 LL.M, ‘07 arrived in the small, rural town of Lexington. Originally from the cosmopolitan Scandinavian country of Denmark, this Copenhagen native said, “There was something about Lexington and the people that made me feel right at home.” Skroejer initially enrolled in W&L’s LL.M. program, but went on to complete the J.D. program as well. He now serves as a political advisor to the Danish ambassador to the United States. Both were on campus this fall, with Ambassador Friis 26
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Arne Petersen presenting “The EU as a Rising Superpower.” Previous to attending W&L, Skroejer worked in Copenhagen for three years as a close aide to one of the leading politicians in Denmark’s Parliament, Pia ChristmasMoller, managing her office and advising her on policy and press-related issues. This experience led to a position as head of section at the Ministry of Finance, where he worked on regulatory reform issues. He decided to earn his LL.M. to “further my education and to give myself the chance to step back and re-evaluate W & L
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what I wanted to do.” He added, “Law school teaches you to approach problems in a structured and analytical way. It is about engendering a certain bend of mind, more than the individual subjects themselves.” During his years at W&L, one class stands out in Skroejer’s mind: International Law with Mark Drumbl. He noted, “Mark Drumbl is a phenomenal teacher. When the ambassador and I meet with the Secretary of State’s chief legal advisor, for example, a number of the issues we talk about are ones that were broached in that class.” A l u m n i
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