Dayton Docket

Kimberly Bakota '07 will serve as the interim Title IX/Section 504 coordinator and equity compliance officer for the University of Dayton. Before joining the Equity Compliance Office last fall, she practiced law with a national labor and employment law firm and also served as a law clerk to Judge Susan J. Dlott of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Shannon Bockelman '07, with Freund, Freeze & Arnold, has been named one of the Dayton Business Journal’s 2016 “40 Under 40” award winners.

Richard L. Crosby '12 has joined Rendigs, Fry, Kiely & Dennis, LLP (Cincinnati) as an associate. Crosby’s practice focuses on all phases of business law, including commercial litigation, real estate and corporate law. He also has extensive experience in personal injury litigation and criminal defense. He regularly assists individuals and businesses with preparing franchise agreements, drafting general business contracts, licensing agreements, and asset purchase agreements for clients throughout Ohio.

Samuel Dowse '07 has been named one of the Dayton Business Journal’s 2016 “40 Under 40” award winners.

Heather Duwel-Mehl '09 has joined Duwel Law, a Dayton-based law firm. While attending the two-year J.D. program at Dayton Law, Duwel-Mehl was given the opportunity to extern for the Honorable Judge Walter H. Rice, judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Duwel-Mehl is admitted to practice law in Ohio and is active in various legal professional organizations such as the American Association for Justice, Ohio Bar Association, and Dayton Bar Association. The main focus of her professional practice is Family Law and Domestic Relations Litigation. She is experienced in trial litigation, divorce, separation, custody, child support and acts as a Guardian Ad Litem. She commits herself to numerous pro-bono hours each year to helping families and children.

Kelly Eckley '01 was appointed to the Duval County (Fla.) Court by Gov. Rick Scott. Eckley began her legal career as an assistant state attorney in the 11th Judicial Circuit. Later she went into private practice with Lieber, Gonzalez & Portuondo in Miami and then was legal counsel for an insurance company. Eckley became the chief assistant statewide prosecutor for the Attorney General’s Office in 2007 and specialized in prosecuting organized crime cases.

Carrie Chaille Eckstein '06, of the Harris Law Firm P.C. in Denver, has been named a Super Lawyer “Rising Star” for the fourth year in a row. Eckstein has also been recognized for her volunteer work as a lawyer, winning the Pro Bono Legal Service Award. Her current practice includes working as a certified mediator between cooperative clients, resolving child custody disputes and handling domestic abuse cases. 

Ashlee Coomer Foltz '05 has been promoted to chief compliance officer at Cintas Corporation, headquartered in Cincinnati. Foltz oversees the compliance and ethics program for the company’s 30,000+ employee-partners across North America and around the world. In 2005, she was admitted to the Kentucky Bar, and in 2013 became a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP). In 2015, she was appointed Xavier University’s Ethicist in Residence at the Williams College of Business. 

Kyle Henderson '10 has been sworn in as acting Hocking County (Ohio) prosecutor. Henderson has served as assistant prosecutor for roughly a year and a half and was responsible for all misdemeanors in the county through the state of Ohio. Prior to this, he practiced in Logan and surrounding counties alongside his father, Bill Henderson. 

​​​​Mark J. Hilliard '06​​, an associate with Lankford Crawford Moreno & Ostertag, LLP​​​​​, has joined The Expert Network, an invitation only service for distinguished professionals. Hilliard​​​​​​​​​ has been chosen as a Distinguished Lawyer™ based on peer reviews and ratings, dozens of recognitions, and accomplishments achieved throughout his career.

Thomas J. Hurney, Jr. '83, Health Care and Finance Practice Group leader for the Charleston, West Virginia, office of Jackson Kelly, has been named as president-elect of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA). Membership in the ADTA is by nomination only for those that “possess the highest skill level of a defense trial attorney in civil cases.” Hurney has been a member of the ADTA since 1992 and has served on its executive council as secretary and vice president as well as on various committees. 

Cheryl L. Keggan '04 is retiring from civil service in the Department of the Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base after 37 years of federal service. Her career was in logistics and supply at Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command and included assignments as a member of the Command Equipment Management Office, Command Mobility Bag Manager, and later the Air Force Clothing Manager. The last eight and a half years of Keggan's service was spent working with the Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate with international sales. She plans to continue to reside in Beavercreek, Ohio, and take up part-time law practice after her retirement. She may be contacted via Facebook.

Joseph Latas '15 of the Marchal and Marchal firm has been named as a board member for the Darke County (Ohio) Board of Developmental Disabilities.

Dr. Monty Lobb '88 has been named as dean of the School of Business and Government for Ohio Christian University. The former assistant secretary of State of Ohio, Lobb is president of Kenosis Ltd., an organizational change consulting firm, where he teaches and mentors leaders to be the message of high character. Other professional accomplishments include serving as president of Citizen for Community Values in Cincinnati and serving as chairman of Common Ground Ministries, a transitional homeless program in Over-the-Rhine.

Michael B. Miller '05 was recognized as one of the 10 Best attorneys for client satisfaction by the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys.

Sean J. Patrick '09 was appointed to Assistant Chief Counsel at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Honolulu. Patrick is also an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate in the U.S. Air Force Reserve for the 15th Wing at Joint Base Pearl-Harbor Hickam. Patrick lives in Kaneohe, Hawaii, with his wife, Erin, and their one-year-old daughter, Keira.

Joshua Schierloh '04 has been named the law director for the city of Xenia, Ohio. Schierloh spent the last three years as law director for Washington Township in Montgomery County (Ohio). Prior to that he was in a private practice representing municipalities through insurance companies and began his career in public service as an assistant prosecutor for Montgomery County.

Matthew L. Schrader '01 has been appointed as the Reminger Co., L.P.A. firm’s co-chair of the General Casualty/Excess and Surplus Lines Practice Group where he will promote the strategic direction and core competencies of the practice group. Schrader has litigated and tried cases involving professional liability, medical malpractice, wrongful death, products liability and copyright infringement. He has tried cases in both the state and federal courts throughout Ohio and has argued and briefed appeals in Ohio’s appellate courts and the Fourth and Sixth Circuits.

Meena T. Sinfelt '07 was included on the Washington, D.C., Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” list for her work in criminal defense: white collar; antitrust litigation; and civil litigation: defense. Sinfelt is a member of Barnes & Thornburg’s White Collar and Investigations Practice Group.

Eli Sperry '08 has been named one of the Dayton Business Journal’s 2016 “40 Under 40” award winners. Sperry is an associate in the probate and estate planning department of Pickrel, Schaeffer & Ebeling.  He has been practicing for over 7 years. 

Mark Stanley '81, of McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC, was recently appointed to the Legal Action Committee of the National Association of Home Builders. The NAHB Legal Action Committee (LAC) provides guidance to NAHB, a trade association based in Washington, D.C., whose mission it is to enhance the climate for housing and the building industry. Stanley has been an active member of the Lancaster legal community, practicing in the area of real estate law, with a particular focus on zoning, land use and land development matters. He represents local, regional and national development clients in South Central Pennsylvania. He is also actively involved with numerous real estate industry organizations that focus on local, regional and statewide development and transportation issues. Stanley is the 2012 and 2013 recipient of the Presidential Award from the Building Industry Association of Lancaster County and a recognized Pennsylvania Super Lawyers®, Land Use/Zoning in 2013 and 2014. More....

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.