Class Notes
1979
John Erbes ’79 was the recipient of the 2012 Lindell W. Sturgis Memorial Public Service Award. Read the press release here.
1985
Bruce Lovering ’85 has joined the law firm of Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn in Bloomfield Hills, MI. His practice focusses on retail lease negotiations and general real estate matters. Contact Bruce at blovering@honigman.com, he would enjoy hearing from and reconnecting with classmates.
1986
John P. Cunningham ‘86 co-presented with Julia Jackson of Illinois Casualty Company, at the Property Loss Research Bureau (PLRB) national seminar in Orlando, Florida on April 16 and 18, 2012. The presentation was entitled “Alcohol-Related Injury Liability” and explored liability and defense issues in dram shop and negligence claims involving alcohol.
1988
Paul Evans, Class of 1988, an O'Fallon attorney, was selected Saturday to serve as state representative of the 102nd Illinois House District.
Evans was the unanimous selection of the Republican County chairpersons in the 102nd District, which includes the counties of Bond, Clinton, Effingham, Fayette, Madison, Shelby and St. Clair. Evans will serve the remainder of the term of former state Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Greenville, who announced his resignation last week. To read the entire press release, please click here.John Kim ’88 was appointed Interim Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency effective Oct. 25, 2011. John Kim has served as chief legal counsel and ethics officer at Illinois EPA since 2009. Kim has worked to protect Illinois’ environment since 1988, previously serving as acting general counsel at the Illinois Department of Agriculture, managing attorney and staff attorney at the Illinois EPA, and assistant attorney general and special assistant attorney general for the Illinois Attorney General.
1992
Nancy Stanley ‘92 has found a significant and addictive avocation in standup comedy, debuting in June 2011 at the Gotham Comedy Club in NYC (beginners stage), and more recently performing at open mics on the Lewis Black Comedy Cruise, Laff's Comedy Club in Tucson, and several Phoenix area venues. She will be keeping her day job, however.
1993
Neil T. Schroeder'93 elected associate judge read article here
1994
Matthew J. Nielsen ’94 was promoted to vice president of commercial claims at Founders Insurance Company, a member company of Des Plaines, Ill-based Utica National Insurance Group.
1996
Peter Borkon ‘96 recently became a Partner at Hagens, Berman, Sobol, LLP in Berkeley, CA. You can read his firm bio.
1997
Chad Turner ’97 has been hired as prosecutor in Morgan County, Illinois. Read the full article here
1998
Thomas J. Sanzi ’98 was appointed as an Administrative Law Judge for the Social Security Administration's Office of Disability Adjudication and Review in July, 2011. He is currently serving in the Madison, WI office.Michael J. Tardy, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced Wednesday that the circuit judges of the 20th Judicial Circuit voted to select Joseph D. Christ and Christopher T. Kolker as associate judges of the 20th Judicial Circuit.
Chris Kolker received his undergraduate degree in 1989 from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona and his Juris Doctor in 1998 from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Mr. Kolker is currently engaged in practice with the Kolker Law Offices, P.C., in Belleville.
Read the press release here.
2000
Jamiela Kassem 2000, will serve as deputy inspector general in Springfield where her responsibilities will include supervising 4 assistant inspectors general and 6 investigators. Jamiela most recently served as an assistant state’s attorney for the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office.Rob Shumaker, 2000, Rob's fourth novel, D-Day in the Capital, is now out. The political thriller is available at teapartynovels.com and amazon.com.
2001
Eric Hall ‘01 has been elected partner of HeplerBroom LLC. Eric works in the Edwardsville office. He focuses his practice on trials involving complex business litigation matters including: toxic torts, product liability, and personal liability. Hall is licensed in Illinois and Missouri. He is admitted to practice in the United States District Courts in the Southern and Central Districts of Illinois. He graduated from the Southern Illinois University School of Law in 2001. He obtained his Bachelors of Arts degree from the University of Illinois in 1997. Hepler Broom has 87 attorneys and offices in St. Louis, MO; Edwardsville, IL; Springfield, IL; and Chicago, IL. The firm traces its history to 1894.
2002
Jen Daulby ’02 will be returning to Capitol Hill as the Chief of Staff for Cong. Rodney Davis who won the 13th District Congressional race for the U.S. HouseCatch up with the Honorable Mary Lucille “Lucy” Goffinet and she what she has been up to since graduation in 2002. Click here to read article.
2003
Tom Coupé ’03 works as supervising attorney over both the Judge’s Action Center and the Office of Advocate for Noncustodial Parents at Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court to Protect City’s Most Vulnerable. Read the full article here. 5/2013
2005
Nathan Craig ‘05 has recently become the new owner of the law firm of Francis & Fentress, PSC. The law firm name has changed to Francis, Fentress & Craig, PSC. effective January 1, 2012. He continues to represent disabled clients in their pursuit for disability benefits before the Social Security Administration.Daryl Jones ’05 was named Chief of Intergovernmental Relations for the Illinois Department of Corrections. http://www2.illinois.gov/idoc/aboutus/Pages/ChiefofIntergovernmentalRelations.aspx Previously, Daryl was with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.
On May 29, 2012, Sandra Cook ‘05 gave a presentation on “Asbestos: Current Issues and Effective Litigation Tactics” at a seminar hosted by the National Business Institute.
Sandra Cook ’05 was appointed to the SIU Board of Trustees. Gov. Pat Quinn announced the appointment on Monday, February 25, 2013.
2006
Doug Hoffman '06 was appointed by the Jefferson County Board on Monday as the Jefferson County State’s Attorney.Edward R. Albin ’06 is one of the newest associates to join the growing law firm of Williams Venker & Sanders LLC in St. Louis, Missouri. Ed will work primarily within the toxic torts practice group, serving the firm’s many clients across the country. For years, he has practiced within this area of the law along with insurance and personal injury defense.
Congratulations Mollie (Nolan) Werwas,'06, on her election to membership at Kopon Airdo in Chicago. See profile here.
2007
Nate Bailey, '07 cum laude graduate, Patent attorney, has joined Waddey & Patterson, P.C. in Nashville, Tennessee as its newest Associate. Bailey, like all Waddey and Patterson attorneys, is a registered patent attorney. His practice areas with the firm will include all aspects of patent and other intellectual property litigation, including practice before both the Trademark and Patent Trial and Appeal Boards. Having attended Southern Illinois University, Bailey obtained both a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree and a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2007 (cum laude). There he was inducted in the Order of the Barristers and recognized with the McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition Best Brief Award, the Intramural Moot Court Competition Best Oralist Award, Lawyering Skills Oral Advocacy Honors Award, and he served as the Intellectual Property Society President.
2008
Caleb Briscoe ‘08 has declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination for Greene County state’s attorney.Andrew Roszak '08 serves as Senior Preparedness Advisor at MESH, a public/private non-profit agency based in Indianapolis. Read about his experience with the ‘Super Care Clinic’ during Super Bowl 46
Amy Campbell ’08, recently accepted a position with Stange Law Firm, L.L.C., a family law practice handling St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson County, Missouri and St. Clair County, Illinois County Child Custody, Divorce, Paternity and Other Issues.
Jessica Galanos ‘08 has joined HeplerBroom LLC in the Springfield office as an associate attorney. Galanos received her Juris Doctorate, summa cum laude from Southern Illinois University School of Law in 2008. While in law school, she was a casenote/comment editor for Law Journal, staff member of the SIU School of Law Domestic Violence Clinic, and Oral Argument Award Recipient. She received her B.S. in Paralegal Studies from Southern Illinois University. She is licensed to practice law in Illinois and U.S. District Court for Central and Southern Districts of Illinois. She is a member of the Illinois State and Sangamon County Bar Associations.
2009
Brian Salmo, Class of '09: How A Business-Minded Attorney Is Helping St. Louis Entrepreneurs
2010
Eric and Lacy Rakestraw, both graduated in 2010, we're married October 29, 2011. Congratulations!Ashley Niebur ‘10 accepted the position of ICUL’s manager-state governmental affairs, effective January 14, 2013. Niebur will be based in ICUL’s Springfield office and assist with its advocacy efforts at the Illinois General Assembly. A native of Edwardsville, Illinois, Niebur holds a law degree from SIU-Carbondale and her Bachelors' degree from SIU-Edwardsville. Prior to joining ICUL, she worked as a lobbyist/staff attorney for the Illinois Municipal League over the last two years. Read the press release here.
2011
Congratulations to Kelly Greco ‘11, Springfield, who co-wrote "The Effects of Public Act 97-0848 on Post-Judgment Proceedings in Illinois” This article was a winner in the ISBA’s 2013 Lincoln Award Legal Writing Contest.The contest was sponsored by the ISBA Young Lawyers Division.
read the press release here