Class Notes 2006
Fitzgerald Class Goodman, Jeremy M., managing member of Goodman Law PLLC, in Phoenix, Arizona, was appointed to the national arbitration panel of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Genovich, Laura, an attorney with the Grand Rapids Office of Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC, was named to Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s Women in the Law Class of 2017. 2009
Coleman Class Hitchings, Bryant, was appointed Montgomery County State’s Attorney in Hillsboro, Illinois, effective Aug. 1, 2017.
2007
Fisher Class Hemingway, Kathleen (Whitfield), was appointed as a judge in 8th District Court in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She previously served as an assistant prosecuting attorney since 2007, working on cases involving violent crimes, controlled substances, and firearms offenses. Neumann, Chantelle R., supervising litigation attorney with Potestivo & Associates, P.C., in Rochester, Michigan, was selected for inclusion in the 2017 Super Lawyers Rising Star list.
Brickley Class
Twibell, Branden, a criminal defense attorney with Twibell Johnson in Springfield, Missouri, was chosen for admission to the Esteemed Lawyers of America. He has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorneys by the National Trial Lawyers and as a Top Lawyer by the Global Directory of Who’s Who. He is also a member of Lawyers of Distinction, and has earned a Superb 10.0 Rating as well as a Client’s Choice Award from AVVO.
Riley Class
Fulgado-Yalor, Carmencita, of the Chalgian Tripp Law Firm, was elected to the Jackson Area Estate Planning Council. Wilkie, David Micah, was named Oklahoma Prosecutor of the Year. 2008
Sharpe Class
Souris Class
Lapekas, Karen (Streeter), of Lapekas Law, P.A., in Miami, Florida, received the Legal Luminaries Award for Top Tax Attorney 2017 from the Dade County Bar Association. She was also appointed to the board of the Miracle Society for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Miami and is again serving as chair of the South Florida Tax Litigation Association.
Kirkwood, Erica, was named president of the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago. She serves as Deputy General Counsel for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
C.J. Adams Class Crandell, Patrick D., with Collins Einhorn Farrell PC in Southfield, Michigan, was named to the list of Super Lawyers for 2017.
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Marks, Jeremy, has joined Potestivo & Associates, P.C., as a supervising bankruptcy attorney in the firm’s Rochester, Michigan office.
2010
2011
Woodward Class
Sibley Class
Heos, Matthew J., an attorney with the Nichols Law Firm PLLC in East Lansing, Michigan, was selected by Super Lawyers Magazine in 2017 as a Rising Star for the fourth time. He specializes in personal injury, medical marijuana, and environmental law.
Malott, Scott, joined Plunkett Cooney in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in the firm’s Transportation Law Practice Group. The group focuses on defense of litigation involving first- and third-party auto and trucking liability claims.
Warnke, Kristine, was named a partner with Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, L.L.P., in the firm’s Minneapolis office. She is a member of the Discovery and Products Liability & Mass Torts sections. Her practice primarily focuses on assisting clients with discovery in mass and toxic tort litigation, including written and oral discovery, document collection and review, product investigation, and electronic document productions. She works closely with the national discovery counsel for a Fortune 100 company, and manages a National Discovery Team involved in mass tort litigation concerning hundreds of products and the management of hundreds of cases.
Witherell Class Mills, Helen “Lizzie,” was elected as a member of Fahey Schultz Burzych Rhodes PLC in Okemos, Michigan. She joined the firm in 2010. Her practice focuses on municipal law and labor and employment law. Vakulskas, Daniel P., was selected to fill the position of magistrate in Woodbury County in Sioux City, Iowa. Magistrates have jurisdiction over simple misdemeanors and have authority to issue search warrants, conduct preliminary hearings, and hear certain involuntary hospitalization and juvenile matters. Magistrates may be assigned by the chief judge to work in counties other than the county appointed from.
Ostahowski, Sara L., of Sarah’s Law Firm in Shepherd, Michigan, was selected to Michigan Lawyers Weekly's Women in the Law Class of 2017.
Chipman Class Barlaskar, Abe, an attorney with Plunkett Cooney, was named to the Michigan Super Lawyers magazine list of Rising Stars. He works in the firm’s Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, office in Personal Injury: Defense.
Wilkins Class Walker-Gaskins, Chelsea (Yates), joined the West Virginia Attorney General’s office as an Assistant Attorney General concentrating on litigation. Previously, she was in private practice in a firm she co-founded. She was also delegated to be an ex-officio commissioner to the West Virginia Women’s Commission by the West Virginia Attorney General. 2013
Johnson Class Taylor, Varney, with offices in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, represents Liberians and all immigrants before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and at the Department of State U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia for
those cases that are processed abroad. The Washington, D.C., office also handles small business (entity formation). 2014
Todd Class Karamouzis, Fotini, has joined Goldberg Segalla as an associate in the firm’s Workers’ Compensation Practice Group in Garden City, New York. Manker, Tyson, is now a veterans’ advocate with Veterans Education Success, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. He offers free nationwide assistance to his fellow veterans who feel they were deceived when using their G.I. Bill educational benefits. Tomasek, Peter J., joined the Appellate Practice Group of Collins Einhorn Farrell PC, in Southfield, Michigan. He focuses his practice on appellate litigation and writing dispositive motions in the trial courts.
Duvall Class Schaedig, Christopher R., with Collins Einhorn Farrell PC in Southfield, Michigan, was named to the list of Super Lawyers for 2017. 2015
McLean Class Muha, Joseph, is corporate counsel/director of pharmacy compliance for Discount Drug Mart in Medina, Ohio. 2016
Hughes Class Grifka, Marisa, is an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for the Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in West Virginia. She is assigned to the misdemeanor and felony preliminary hearing division. WMU-Cooley encourages all graduates to contribute information to the Class Notes. We want to learn about your law career and other accomplishments in the legal profession. E-mail communications@cooley.edu
In Memoriam 1977
1991
Christiancy Class
Krinock Class
Groenewould, Phyllis Ann, 74, died Sept. 11, 2017. She worked as an attorney with Michigan National Bank and with the state of Michigan.
Dudley, Joan F., 84, died Feb. 1, 2017. She was an Unemployment Advocate with the state of Michigan.
Felch Class Smith, Richard, 69, died June 21, 2017. He retired in 2009 from his work as an administrative law judge for the state of Michigan. Formerly of Holt, most recently he was a resident of Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
1995
Steere Class Haugen, Elizabeth Ann, 51, of Traverse City, Michigan, died March 17, 2017, following a battle with cancer. Most recently she was an administrative law judge for the state of Michigan in Traverse City.
1980
Potter Class Ahnger, Brian T., 66, died Jan. 25, 2017. Bergeron, Thomas J., 66, of Grand Ledge, Michigan, died July 20, 2017. He was a retired internal auditor with the Michigan Department of Human Services.
1998
Sharpe Class Popek, Brenda Kaye, 48, of Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, died May 9, 2017. She was chief counsel for the U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms Detroit office.
Bushnell Class
2001
Hare, George (Ben) W., 68, of East Lansing, Michigan, died June 20, 2017. He retired in 2002 as legal counsel with the Michigan Legislative Service Bureau.
Iredell Class
1981
Kavanagh Class Crozier, Barbara J., 71, of Spring Lake, Michigan, died Jan. 18, 2017, following a battle with cancer. She was in private practice. 1985
T. Smith Class Miller, Thomas H., 60, of Milford, Connecticut, died Jan. 2, 2017. He started a career as a pilot while working full time as an attorney, and joined what is now Gama Aviation in 1985, becoming director of operations in 1996. He volunteered his time and skills as a helicopter pilot for Eagle One Rescue and assisted in many rescue operations, including Hurricane Katrina.
Bully, Dan, 50, of Southfield, Michigan, died Dec. 16, 2016. 2010
Woodward Class Kiner, Kimberly Denise, 37, died Sept. 13, 2017. On Oct. 29, 2013, she became the first African-American woman to serve as a judge pro tempore in LaPorte Superior Court 4. 2016
Hughes Class Cimino, Sam Thomas, 38, of Shreveport, Louisiana, died June 5, 2017.
1989
Copeland Class Borchardt, Bryan John, 54, of Glen Arbor, Michigan, died Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Osterman, Mark D., 60, died May 23, 2017, following an extended illness. 49