Class Notes

FROM THE ALUMNI BOARD PRESIDENT

The struggles and loss that so many have faced are very real, and my condolences are with those of you who have lost family or friends. On a more hopeful front, we do, at last, seem to be turning the corner with vaccines increasingly available. I was also encouraged in a recent meeting with Emory University’s new president Greg Fenves to hear him say that the campus would be fully open for in-person instruction beginning this fall. Of course our focus on the future of Emory University School of Law and its people — students, faculty, staff, and administrators — has not lessened in the remote world in which we find ourselves. I am very excited for you to learn more about the school’s critically important new strategic plan in this issue. In addition to recognizing the incredible contribu-tions of each of the recipients of the 2020 and 2021 Emory Law Alumni Awards who received their awards during our virtual ceremony in April 2021, I want to personally congratulate my classmate, MiAngel Cody 04L, on her receipt of the 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award. Take the time to read about her #90DaysofFreedom Campaign and the career she has devoted to freeing the wrongfully incarcerated. Some people wait for systems to be fixed while others wade in and start fixing things themselves; MiAngel is truly the latter and an inspiration. Thank you for what you are doing.

This will be the last time I have the privilege of sharing my thoughts with you in this forum. My term as president of your Emory Law Alumni Board ends in October of this year. It has certainly been my honor to represent all of you as alumni of this school, and a joy to be part of welcoming Dean Bobinski to our community. As I have said before, she has and will do great things for our alma matter. I have enjoyed learning about your personal and professional accomplishments and look forward to staying in touch. Benjamin Fink 92L, with Berman Fink Van Horn, will be your next president. He is a phenomenal communicator and leader and represents the very best of what it means to be a graduate of Emory Law.

Now more than ever, I encourage us to couple our advocacy and passions with patience and kindness, to replace our aggressiveness with assertiveness, and to let our compassion be a hallmark of our legal and business practice. Be well.



Annalisa M. Bloodworth 04L is senior vice president and general counsel for Oglethorpe Power Corporation. She is president of the Emory Law Alumni Board.

Class notes

1970

M. Lane Morrison 70L was named one of the Best Lawyers in America 2021 for trusts and estates. He is a retired partner at HunterMaclean in Savannah.

1982

Harold B. Yellin 82B 82L was named one of the Best Lawyers in America 2021 for land use and zoning, real estate. He is a partner at HunterMaclean in Savannah.

1983

Meghan Magruder 80C 83L was honored by the United Way of Greater Atlanta as a “Woman of Purpose.” She’s a partner at King & Spalding.

1985

Diana J.P. McKenzie 84B 85L was named one of the Best Lawyers in America 2021 for information technology. She is a partner at HunterMaclean in Savannah.

1989

Michael P. Saber 89L was named one of the Best Lawyers in America 2021 for biotechnology and life sciences practice, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions law, securities/capital markets law, and venture capital law. He was also named a 2021 North Carolina Super Lawyer. He is a partner at Smith Anderson in Raleigh.

Annette Michelle “Shelli” Willis 89L has joined Troutman Pepper in Atlanta as a partner. 

1990

John Mills 90L joined Jones Walker’s Atlanta office as a partner in the Litigation Practice Group.19

1991

Sarah H. Lamar 91L was named one of the Best Lawyers in America 2021 for employment and labor. She is a partner at HunterMaclean in Savannah.

John Ong 91L and Danae Woodward 91L, founding members of the North Carolina Civil Collaborative Law Association, led efforts to get the Uniform Collaborative Law Act signed into law in North Carolina. (She is a partner at Woodward & Woodward in Charlotte; he is a partner in the Charlotte offices of Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog.) Ong was also named one of the Best Lawyers in America 2021 for product liability litigation, defendants.

Jonathan R. Sigel 91L was included in Massachusetts’ Best Lawyers 2021 in the category of employment law, management. He was also included on the 2020 Massachusetts “Super Lawyers” list. He is a partner at Mirick O’Connell.

1997

Shawn A. Kachmar 97L has been one of Georgia Trend’s 2020 “Legal Elite.” He is a partner at HunterMaclean in Savannah and was also named one of the Best Lawyers in America 2021 for employment.

Christian Torgrimson 97L, a partner at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, has been appointed co-chair of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Atlanta Leadership for 2021–2022.

1999

Chad I. Michaelson 99L, a partner at Pittsburgh’s Meyer, Unkovic & Scott, was named as one the top attorneys in Pennsylvania for 2020 by Super Lawyers.

2001

Former federal prosecutor David Chaiken 01L has launched ChaikenLaw,
a boutique national white-collar defense and investigations law firm based in Atlanta.

2006

Kurt Kastorf 02C 06L was among the Daily Report’s 2020 class of “On the Rise” attorneys. He’s the founder of Kastorf Law.

James McGuire 06L has joined the US Environmental Protection Agency as regional counsel for Region 6, which serves Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and 66 tribal nations.

Josh Shapiro 06L recently joined Thompson Hine as a partner in the Antitrust, Competition and Distribution group.

2007

Natalia Duque 07L has joined the Law Office of Renee M. Fairbanks in Santa Barbara, California, as senior associate attorney.

2009

Camille Bent 09B 09L has been promoted to partner at BakerHostetler in New York City, effective January 1.

Brent Douglas 09L has joined Hahn Loeser & Parks as partner in the firm’s San Diego office.

2010

Dan Shulak 04C 10L was recognized as a “Rising Star” by Legal 500 and as “One to Watch” by Best Lawyers in America. He is a senior associate at Hogan Lovells US in Washington, DC.

2011

Alexandra “Sachi” Cole 11L has been named partner at Penn Law in Atlanta.

Sarah Gryll 11L is among six new partners elected at Arnold & Porter effective January 1. She practices in the Chicago office.

2012

Bryan Stewart 12L has been elected partner at Morris, Manning & Martin in Atlanta, effective January 1.

David Topping 12L is one of five new partners at Phelps in New Orleans, where he focuses on transactional support, regulatory compliance, and litigation.

2013

Brent Bartlett 10C 13L transitioned from a clerkship at the US Tax Court to a tax controversy associate position at Chamberlain Hrdlicka in Atlanta.

Matthew Parker 13L has been promoted to shareholder, effective January 1, at Maynard Cooper & Gale in Birmingham, Alabama.

Bradley M. Strickland 13L was named “One to Watch” in 2021 by Best Lawyers in America for product liability litigation, defendants. He is an associate with Kramon & Graham in Baltimore, Maryland.

Jane Bouch Stoney 13L has been elected shareholder at Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd in Charleston, South Carolina. She was also recently recognized as a 2021 Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch” for business organizations, corporate law, and real estate law.

2015

Heather Purdy-Bartlett 15L moved to a real estate associate position with Polsinelli in Atlanta.

2016

Rebecca Hall 16L has joined Lightfoot, Franklin & White in Birmingham, Alabama, as an associate.

2017

Chris Kiernan 17L has been named managing attorney at Talkov Law in California, where he focuses on real estate and bankruptcy, and business and civil litigation.

2018

Seth Church 18L followed his clerkship for Judge Charles R. Simpson III (US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky) by joining Dinsmore & Shohl in Lexington, Kentucky, as an associate.

After finishing his clerkship with US Bankruptcy Judge Eduardo Rodriguez (Southern District of Texas) Tyler Greenwood 18L has joined the Houston offices of Chamberlain Hrdlicka as an associate.

2019

Samuel McLelland 19L has joined PPGMR Law in Little Rock, Arkansas. He recently served as a law clerk for US District Court for Chief Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. (Eastern District of Arkansas).

2020

Hannah L. Krasny 20L has joined HunterMaclean in Savannah as an associate in the firm’s litigation practice.

Miranda E. Siegel 20L has joined Davis, Matthews & Quigley in Atlanta as an associate within the firm’s Family Law Section.

In Memoriam

George Rellie Boyd Jr. 53L on December 15, 2020.

Warren Candler Fortson Sr. 50OX 56L on August 1, 2020.

Anchel S. Samuels 57C 59L on November 10, 2020.

Patrick M. Rayburn 57B 62L on December 28, 2020.

W. Clark Meredith 66C 66L on November 6, 2020.

Arthur T. Davis Jr. 66C 67L on December 23, 2020.

Donald B. Harden 66C 67L on November 6, 2020.

David Allyn Evans Sr. 59C 68L on December 14, 2020.

John Thomas Chason 70L on October 17, 2020.

Jackson Landrom Culbreth 71L on September 25, 2020.

David Howard Flint 71L on October 19, 2020.

Thomas L. Murphy 72L on August 5, 2020.

Robert S. Jones 70C 73L on December 16, 2020.

Arthur J. Shelfer 74L on October 28, 2020.

Paul L. Shanor 71C 77L on September 18, 2020.

Jerome “Jerry” Robert Smith 77L on January 6, 2021.

Haila N.K. Kleinman 80L on October 13, 2020.

Dorothy H. Bishop 58B 85L on August 8, 2020.

Pamela Maureen Jones 93L on November 9, 2020.

Jeffrey Garner Hamilton 95L on October 5, 2020.

Jordan Seth Davis 96L on August 23, 2020.