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Dayton Docket

Law Alumni News: Fall 2015

Colleen Egan '08 has been appointed to the position of assistant Montgomery County (Ohio) prosecuting attorney. Egan worked as a legal research assistant at LexisNexis before becoming a public defender in the Hamilton County (Ohio) Public Defender’s Office in 2011. From 2013 to 2015, she was an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Dayton (Ohio) Municipal Court prosecutor’s office. Egan will be assigned to the grand jury/intake section whose primary responsibility is conducting preliminary hearings in the municipal courts as well as presenting cases for indictment before the Montgomery County grand jury. The grand jury/intake section is also responsible for reviewing the majority of felony cases presented by the Dayton Police Department for filing.


Robert Paul Coleman '95 was appointed General District Court judge for the 31st Judicial District of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Bob lives in Bristow, Va., with his wife Joan Wagner Coleman '96 and their four children.


Matt Fitzsimmons '80, a partner at Nicola, Gudbranson & Cooper, just concluded a five-year term as chairman of the board of trustees of NorthEast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services, Inc., formerly known as the Hough-Norwood Clinics.  NEON is a federally qualified community health center which provides primary medical and dental care to Cuyahoga County’s medically underserved population at six clinics in Cleveland and East Cleveland. Fitzsimmons will remain as a board member where he has served for 21 years.  In addition to practicing law, he is an adjunct professor at Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, where he co-teaches mediation with U.S. District Court Judge Dan A. Polster.


Ashlee Foltz '05 was appointed Xavier University's ethicist in residence at the Williams College of Business. As a liaison from the business community, this role enhances the student learning experience by providing business ethics and compliance expertise. Foltz oversees the global Compliance and Ethics program at Cintas Corporation.


Dori Goldstein '06 is a legal editor with Bloomberg BNA, where she covers issues regarding pension and retirement benefits. You can read her contributed articles here.


Natalia S. Harris '00 began serving as the chief prosecutor for Cincinnati - the first African-American female to serve in this role. Harris had previously served as a prosecutor for Columbus (Ohio) and most recently handled labor and employment issues. Prior to that, Harris worked for the Ohio Common Pleas Court and the Montgomery County (Ohio) Prosecutor's Office.


Faruki Ireland & Cox P.L.L. has been named a Metropolitan Tier 1 firm in the areas of commercial litigation, antitrust litigation and intellectual property litigation in the 2016 edition of Best Lawyers in America “Best Law Firms.” Managing Partner Jeffrey Ireland '80 has been named the Intellectual Property “Lawyer of the Year” for Dayton. He has also been selected by his peers for recognition in advertising law, bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, antitrust litigation, and intellectual property litigation. Charles Faruki and Ronald Raether '96 have also received recognition by Best Lawyers in America. Faruki has been included in the areas of bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, criminal defense: white collar, energy law, antitrust litigation, intellectual property litigation, and patent litigation. Raether has been included in the area of commercial litigation.


Jeffrey Ireland '80 has also been recognized in the 2016 edition of Benchmark Litigation as a Benchmark Trial Lawyer. “While Benchmark Litigation encompasses the entire scope of dispute resolution, identifying the top firms and individual players across all strata of litigation and alternative dispute resolution, we also recognize that there is an elite group of individuals who have been nominated specifically for their acumen with bench and jury trials. To that end, Benchmark will be publishing a supplemental resource that showcases the most prominent 100 of these individuals, nominated on the strength of historical and unwavering peer and client review, as well as proven achievements,” says Jonathan McReynolds, publisher.


Anne Jagielski '14 has been appointed to the position of assistant prosecuting attorney in the Montgomery County (Ohio) prosecutor’s office. During law school, and while awaiting the results of her bar examination, Jagielski was an extern for Hon. Walter H. Rice at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. She will be assigned to the civil division of the prosecutor’s office which is the legal advisor to all county boards, agencies and elected officials, as well as township trutees, boards and commissions.


Keith James '97 has been appointed to the position of chief executive officer of the board of directors for AccessData Group, a leading provider of integrated digital forensics and e-discovery software solutions and services. James, who served as executive vice president of worldwide sales and marketing at AccessData for the past year, has 19 years of experience in the information technology industry. "Keith has already done an extraordinary job leading operational and strategic change at AccessData, which is one of the major reasons our company has experienced strong growth in 2015," said Tim Leehealey, who stepped down as CEO but remains a member of AccessData's board of directors. "He is well qualified and uniquely suited to take over as CEO and lead the company to even greater heights of success in developing outstanding products, providing world-class customer support and driving AccessData to long-term success." Read more.


Joshua M. Kin '10 received the prestigious 2015 Rising Litigator Award, awarded to two lawyers in the state of Ohio annually by the members of the litigation section of the Ohio State Bar Association. Kin is a trial and appellate attorney with Pickrel, Schaeffer, and Ebeling in the litigation department. His diverse practice focuses on wide-ranging commercial and business litigation.  In his five-year career, he has first-chaired two jury trials and four contested evidentiary hearings in federal bankruptcy court, tried cases to the bench, argued before several appellate courts, obtained many favorable decisions on dispositive motions, and secured favorable settlements for his clients. 


Mark Kitrick '81 received the 2015 Respected Advocate Award from the Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys (OACTA), He also received the 2015 Above and Beyond Award from the American Association for Justice. Kitrick was also nominated and elected to serve as a Trustee for the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) as well as for the Ohio State Bar Foundation.


Walt Linscott '90 earned his master's degree in Global Business from Oxford University, Oxford, U.K. Linscott was recently appointed as general counsel and corporate secretary of Cocrystal Pharma, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company developing novel approaches to developing antiviral pharmaceuticals.


Robin D. Miller '01, will act as vice chair in the new Business Litigation Practice Group for Ulmer & Berne LLP.


North Tonawanda Mayor Arthur Pappas has appointed City Attorney Shawn Nickerson '91 to the position of city court judge, Nickerson will officially assume his new post on Dec. 30 for a six-year term to end Dec. 30, 2021.

"(Nickerson's) wisdom, when it comes to every facet of the law when it comes to the city, is second to none," said Third Ward Alderman Eric Zadzilka. "I can't think of a better guy for this position. He worked hard for it, residents have resoundingly supported (him) in elections previously, and I think (he) would be an asset to out court justice system in North Tonawanda."


Steven Sondergaard '90 was appointed to the Mercy College of Ohio board of trustees in Toledo. Sondergaard continues to chair the criminal justice program at Defiance College and maintains an active private law practice. Sondergaard resides in Defiance, Ohio, with his wife Marsha and their two children, Carrie and Emma. 


Andrea Eveler Stanley '81 formed a new firm, Eveler & DeArment LLP, located in Red Lion, Pa., after the retirement of her brother, George L. Eveler III '83.


Mark Stanley '81 joined the Lancaster, Pa., office of McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC.


Andrew C. Storar '81 has been elected as President Elect of the Ohio State Bar Foundation (OSBF). He will begin his one-year term in January, 2016. Comprised of nearly 1000 attorneys, The OSBF is the charitable arm of the Ohio State Bar Association. Storar has been a Fellow with the Foundation for 11 years while serving on the board of trustees for six. He is also an OSBF Distinguished Life Fellow Associate. In his new role, he will lead an accomplished group of legal professionals who are also committed to promoting public understanding of the law and improvements in the justice system. His goal is “to preserve the honorary nature of the Foundation, expand its development efforts in order to provide more support to the many worthy projects for which organizations are seeking grants and improve access to justice and understanding of the law.”

The OSBF's mission is to improve public understanding of the law and build a better justice system. To accomplish this, they do several things including giving grants, providing leadership programs, and recognizing contributors through different awards. 


For more information, or to submit a news item, contact Denise Baker, assistant director of communications at the University of Dayton School of Law, at lawcomm@udayton.edu. Or submit your news online here.

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