March 2012 Alumni Briefs

Frank Geraci Jr. ’77 has been recommended for a seat on a federal court in New York. He needs to be nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Frank has served on the Monroe County Court in New York since 1999. Previously, he served on the Rochester City Court for six years, beginning in 1992. He has also served as special assistant district attorney in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office and as assistant United States attorney in the Western District of New York. He also received his B.A., in political science, from the University of Dayton in 1973.

Jim Meaney ’77 has published a Kindle version of his new book, How to Buy a Franchise. The book is available in many other electronic formats. It is a guide to buying a franchise in the 21st century that offers an essential roadmap for franchise buyers. A partner with Zaino & Humphrey, LPA in Dublin, Ohio, Jim has practiced in the franchise and commercial law arena for nearly 30 years.

Richard J. Kubilus ’78 has been named the presiding judge of the Canton, Ohio, Municipal Court. Richard has served on the Municipal Court since 1993, following his work in private practice as a partner with Lesh, Casner & Miller. He has also served as a board member of the Community Harvest, the North Canton Rotary Club and the Stark County Bar Association.

Robert “Chip” Mues ’78 is the managing partner of the Dayton law firm of Holzfaster, Cecil, McKnight & Mues. In addition to handling probate, personal injury and divorce matters, Chip has published the Ohio Family Law Blog since 2007. He resides in Kettering with his wife, Betsy.

Michael Coleman ’80, the mayor of Columbus, Ohio, participated in that city’s 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at the Franklin County Veterans Memorial. Michael led a ceremonial march, which preceded the celebration.

Christopher T. McGrath ’83 received the 2012 Attorney Professionalism Award, the top honor presented each year by the New York State Bar Association. The award recognizes one attorney who displays the highest standards of professionalism, commitment to promoting respect for the legal system, outstanding ethical conduct, competence, good judgment, integrity and civility.

Chris is a personal injury attorney and partner in the Long Island, New York, law firm of Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo. He is a former president of the Nassau County Bar Association and currently chairs its Judicial Screening Committee. He is an adjunct professor at Hofstra University School of Law and teaches practicing attorneys, including through New York State Bar programs, on topics ranging from medical negligence to ethics.

Deborah Lieberman ’86 was elected president of the County Commissioner’s Association of Ohio. She served as the association’s vice president in 2011. Debbie has served on the Montgomery County, Ohio, Commission since 2004.

Gary Plunkett ’90 is a managing partner in the Dayton law firm Hochman and Plunkett, which specializes in representing injured or disabled individuals in the area of workers compensation, personal injury and Social Security disability. The firm has offices in three other cities in Southwest Ohio. Gary lives in Oakwood, Ohio, with his wife, Darcy, and two children.

Michael Halfacre ’91 was named director of the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. From 2007 to January 2012, he served as the mayor of Fair Haven, New Jersey. Previously, he operated his own law practice, where he specialized in transactions, including transfers of alcohol beverage licenses and real estate sales and refinancing. He also served as a municipal prosecutor in Little Silver and Rumson, New Jersey.

Mike Lucas ’97 was sworn in as mental hygiene commissioner of Brooke County, West Virginia. Mike has practiced law since 1997 in Chester, West Virginia, where he has been involved in many mental hygiene cases and estate matters.

Todd Duwel ’98 joined the Oakwood, Ohio, school board. He was elected last November. He is an attorney in his family’s law firm, Duwel Law of Dayton. Todd previously served on the school district’s levy committee as chairman and as an advisory council member for Oakwood’s Education Foundation and the Business Advisory Council.

Robert Hojnoski ’98 was appointed managing partner of the Cincinnati law firm Reminger Co. He joined the firm as an attorney in 1998 after graduating from UDSL, became a partner in 2003 and joined the firm’s management group in 2006. In addition to taking on the role of managing partner, he serves as co-chair of the firm’s general casualty practice group and pharmaceutical and medical device group.

Chris Epley ’99 was elected vice president of the Oakwood, Ohio, school board, beginning January 2012. Chris lives in Dayton with his wife, Eileen, and two children. He operates the Dayton law firm Christopher B. Epley Co., L.P.A.

Rachel Minetree ’01 named partner at her firm, Conroy, Simberg, Ganon, Krevans, Abel, Lurvey, Morrow & Schefer, P.A., in Miami.

Hannah Barnhorn ’05 is proud to announce that the Paralegal Studies program at National College in Kettering, Ohio, was recently granted approval by the American Bar Association. Hannah has been the program director for the last six years. She is also a legal research consultant at LexisNexis.

Sarah B. Carter ’05 has been named a principal with the Dayton law firm Pickrel, Schaeffer and Ebeling. Sarah has been in the firm’s business department since 2005. Her practice is focused on corporate, business, and commercial law. She also received her B.A. from the University of Dayton, in 2002.

Alex Paterra ’05 was named the 2011 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year by the South Carolina Bar Foundation in recognition of his outstanding commitment to volunteer legal services for the poor and disadvantaged of South Carolina. Alex operates The Paterra Law Firm in Greenville, South Carolina.

Stephen E. Schilling ’10 published a law review article “Ambiguity and Bad Policy: Should § 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code be Applied to Leveraged Buyouts of Private Companies?” in the Summer 2011 edition of the DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal. This is his third law review article. Stephen is a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett of the Southern District of Ohio in Cincinnati.

“How to Win a CALI Award: Some Personal Advice from Two Law Students Who Have Done It,” by Rebecca Greendyke ’10 and Stephen E. Schilling ’10, is the "Article of the Month" for February on the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning's blog. The article was published in the University of Dayton Law Review (PDF) last year.

Jennifer Maynard ’11 has joined the Cincinnati law firm Frost Brown Todd as an associate. A member of the firm’s environmental practice group, Jennifer focuses her practice on environmental regulatory and transactional matters. Prior to attending the School of Law, she was an environmental engineer with a consulting firm. Jennifer also received her undergraduate degree from the University of Dayton in chemical engineering with a minor in bioengineering.

Charles Rittenhouse ’11 joined the law firm Anspach Meeks Ellenberger LLP in Toledo. Charles is an associate in the litigation department.

Dean Paul E. McGreal got together with alumni at a reception organized around the American Association of Law Schools meeting in Washington, D.C., in January. Alumni who attended included John Broderick '78, Jerry Madden '78, Chuck Roberts '78, Nancy A. Murray '79, Joe Votava '80, Diana Dickinson '89, Paula Knott Pels '93, Jon Pels '93, Bill Nixon '93, Alison Smith '01, Dan Wolff '01, Stephanie Kimbro '03, Matthew Fery '06 and Elisha Roberts Dillard '07. Professors Dennis Turner, Lori Shaw, Dennis Greene and Eric Chaffee also attended.