Class Notes May 2009

If you have career or personal news to share with the Hamline Law community, please feel free to drop us a note at lawalum@hamline.edu.

Annie Paruccini ‘07 currently Director of Board and Commission Appointments, will be moving to the State Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C to become director of that office effective July 1, 2009.

Gail R. Prock ‘06 was recently honored as a Cabot Executive during the closing keynote lecture of the 25th Anniversary of the Arthur R. Cabot Executive Residency at UW-Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin. After graduating from Hamline, she began a family business, Pine Harbor Holding Co., with her husband to manufacture and sell the ShadowShield, a portable and lightweight shield that her husband developed to use for hunting and stalking game.

John Dexter ‘02 has been accepted into the Army JAG Corp and will be starting this October.

Jamie (Sandler) Sather ‘02 has joined the legal department of Eden Prairie based Kroll Ontrack Inc. She will be primarily responsible for negotiating contracts on behalf of Kroll Ontrack.

Bob Tess ‘02 has recently been elected to serve a three-year term on the Arthritis Foundation's Board of Directors. He is currently an attorney with O'Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong, S.C. and is a member of the Planning Commission of the Village of West Milwaukee where he lives with his wife Kristen and their two sons.

Angela Brandt ‘99 has been elected to serve a three-year term on the Ramsey County Bar Association's Board of Directors.

Stephanie A. Miller ‘98 has been appointed Human Resources Director at Metropolitan State University. She is a member of the president's senior leadership team, and is also a member of the vice president for administration and finance's leadership team. In her new position, she will assume responsibility for all human resources policies and practices.

Daniel Lew ‘95 was recently appointed by Governor Tim Pawlenty to serve on the Commission on Judicial Selection. He has served as a Board Member of the State of Minnesota Ombudsperson for Asian Pacific American Families, and as a Minneapolis Civil Rights Commissioner. He is also a past President, and active current member, of the Minnesota Chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

Dan Homstad ‘93, after 15 years in the Hennepin County Public Defender's Office, became a prosecutor in the Hennepin County Attorney's Office. Currently he handles both juvenile and adult prosecutions.

Leo I. Brisbois ‘87 has assumed the office of President-Elect for the Minnesota State Bar Association. He will move on to become the President of the MSBA beginning in July 2009.

Scott D. Reep ‘87 received the honor of Solano County Bar Association 2008 Law Firm of the Year for his firm of Gizzi & Reep, LLP. He has served as the President of the Contra Costa Barristers' Association and as President of the Benicia Rotary Club. He is a founding member and past director/officer of the The Robert G. McGrath American Inn of Court, The Contra Costa County Bar Association Litigation Section and The Law Center, a non-profit organization providing pro bono legal services to the working poor. In 2005, he was recognized as Pro Bono Attorney of the Year in Contra Costa County . In addition to his active practice, Scott currently serves as director/general counsel for the Benicia Education Foundation, as a trustee of the Benicia Library Foundation and as Vice-President of the Benicia Bocce League.

FAMILY

David Ujke ‘89 and Amy Douglas were married on April 11, 2009. David continues to work as Tribal Attorney for the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

Class Notes April 2009

If you have career or personal news to share with the Hamline Law community, please feel free to drop us a note at lawalum@hamline.edu.

Laura M. Johnson ‘08 was recently hired by Olson & Price, Ltd. as and associate attorney.

Lindsay Brice ‘07 just accepted a job with the Rochester City Attorney's Office as its newest Assistant City Attorney.

Megan Brennan ‘06 has joined the firm Nichols Kaster, PLLP as an associate attorney. She will represent employees on a variety of employment issues including multi-plaintiff class and collective actions involving overtime and minimum wage violations, and individual employment discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment claims.

Michael S. Gaarder ‘06 joined the St. Cloud law firm of Pennington, Lies & Cherne, P.A. in September 2007 after completing judicial clerkships with Judge Fred Casey and Judge Richard Zimmerman in Crow Wing County. He is currently practicing in family law, criminal defense, personal injury, employment law, and civil rights/police misconduct.

Stephanie Haedt ‘03 was named as an Up and Coming Attorney by Minnesota Lawyer. She is currently a shareholder at Peterson, Savelkoul & Benda Ltd., where she advises clients on employment and business decisions, including personnel issues and revising employee handbooks and policies. She also practices in the areas of family law and civil litigation, and currently serves on the Human Rights Commission in Austin while volunteering as an attorney for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services.

Joani C. Moberg ‘99 has been elected as a shareholder of Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren, Ltd. She currently practices family law and handles a variety of legal matters relating to marital dissolution, child custody, child support and spousal maintenance, paternity cases, property divisions, settlement negotiations, premarital agreements, litigation and appeals. She also has consecutively been named a Rising Star by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine since 2002, is the current Co-Chair of the Executive Committee for the Hennepin County Bar Association Family Law Section, and serves as Co-President for the Loan Repayment Assistance Program of Minnesota.

Rob A. Stefonowicz ‘99 has been elected as a shareholder of Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren, Ltd. He focuses his practice in real estate litigation and construction litigation, representing developers, contractors, and property owners in condemnation, property tax and special assessment matters. He has been named a Rising Star since 2005 by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine. He is a member of the American Bar Association Construction and Litigations Forums and is licensed to practice in Minnesota and North Dakota.

John Bloomer ‘96 has recently joined the Dallas Law Firm of Curran Tomko Tarski, L.L.P. as a part of their Real Estate & Finance Section. His practice focuses on sophisticated commercial real estate transactions. For over eleven years, he has worked with owners nationwide regarding acquisition, development, leasing, financing, operation, and management of all kinds of real estate, ranging from raw land to luxury apartments to senior living centers to shopping centers. He has also represented banks and other financial institutions regarding multi-million dollar real estate transactions.

Burnham "Bud" Philbrook ‘83 was chosen by Agricultural Secretary, Tom Vislack, to be Agriculture Deputy Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services in charge of international affairs. Since 1994, he has been president and CEO of Global Volunteers, an organization that sends Americans on volunteer vacations on American Indian reservations and 21 countries overseas. The Minnesota native also practiced law, served in the state House, and worked as assistant commissioner in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. As Deputy Undersecretary, he will oversee USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service, and cover trade and food aid issues.

Gerald B. Yost ‘80 was recently chosen by his peers as a 2009 Super Lawyer as a business attorney to be published in Minnesota Law & Politics, Twin Cities Business and Mpls. St. Paul Magazine. It was his sixth selection. Only five percent of the attorneys in the state are named to the list.

FAMILY

Thomas L. Borgen ‘07 and his wife welcomed the birth of their new daughter, Elizabeth. Thomas also was recently hired as a new associate attorney at Nierengarten and Hippert, Ltd. in New Ulm, Minnesota, where his family now resides.

Sarah (Frisque) Schmitz ‘04 and her husband announce the birth of their new daughter, Jillian Ruby Schmitz. Jillian arrived on April 8, 2009 at 11:13 a.m., weighing in at 7lbs, 2oz and 20 inches long.

Bethany O'Neill ‘96 and her husband, Jeffrey Commisso, have a new baby boy: Joseph Alexander Commisso, born April 13, 2009.

Class Notes March 2009

If you have career or personal news to share with the Hamline Law community, please feel free to drop us a note at lawalum@hamline.edu.

Tifanne E. E. Wolter ‘02 has joined the St. Paul based family law firm of Butler, Huson & Allen, P.A.

Theresa Pomahatch Neo ‘01 works for Indian Legal Assistance Program in Duluth, Minnesota. It is a public defense corporation that provides criminal and civil legal services to low income clients. Also working there are Dori Smith ‘07, Jennifer Barry ‘07 and Christopher Sailors ‘07.

Kelly M. Wagner ‘01 has joined the firm of Baudler, Baudler, Maus and Blahnik, LLP, as an associate. She will focus her practice in probate, estates and trusts, real estate and municipal law.

Elizabeth Feyrer Bagley ‘97 was named a Wisconsin Rising Star 2008 by Super Lawyers Magazine. She is a partner at Flanner, Stack, Fahl & Bagley, LLP in Brookfield Wisconsin and her practice is exclusively family law.

Rosemary Kassekert ‘85 was recently reappointed to a four-year term as a public member to the Minnesota Board of Social Work by Governor Tim Pawlenty. She is a retired attorney and published author.

Kathryn Cooper Stahnke ('83) was recently honored as SCBA 2008 Attorney of the Year. Her law firm, Stahnke & Associates, Legal Services for Children, exclusively represents abused and neglected children who are placed under the Juvenile Court's protection. Over the years, she has served several community organizations and committees related to Solano's children, among them: Children's Network, CASA, Foster-A-Dream, Solano Family and Children's Services, Solano Adolescent Health Committee, Solano County Child Welfare Redesign, Solano Foster Parent Associations, and Solano Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. In 2003, the Solano County Child Abuse Prevention Council presented her with the Henry Bergh Award as Practitioner of the Year for "outstanding service and sensitivity to the needs of Solano County children." In 2006, she became one of only 80 attorneys in the nation who successfully passed the first examination offered to become certified as a specialist in child welfare law.

FAMILY

Mary Rose Orcutt ‘02 and husband Rob Orcutt ‘02 announce the birth of their son, William Geimer Orcutt, born on January 9, 2009. The family currently lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Rob is an attorney for the Oneida Tribe and Mary is in private practice focusing in elder law.

OBITUARIES

Christine A. Bosquez ‘05 passed away on March 5, 2009 at age 44. She was a loving wife, mother of four, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, and friend. Heaven has a new pitcher for their softball team!