Vanderbilt University Law School

Class of 1972

(Notes posted in the order they were received, with the newest posts on top.)

Walter Kurtz, a Circuit Court Judge in Nashville, Tenn., has announced his retirement after more than 25 years of service on the bench. He will take a position as a senior judge, a position in which he may be assigned on a temporary basis to any state court. Kurtz received his bachelor's degree from The Citadel in 1965 and served in the Army from 1966 to 1969, including a tour in Vietnam with an armored cavalry squadron during which he was awarded The Bronze Star Medal four times. After graduating from Vanderbilt Law School in 1972, Kurtz served as Director of Legal Services of Nashville (what is now Legal Aid) and was the elected Metropolitan Public Defender from 1978 to 1982. He has taught law at both Vanderbilt Law School and The University of Tennessee School of Law and argued and won a case before the United States Supreme Court. Kurtz served as presiding judge from 1987 to 1989, and has presided over both civil and criminal cases, including eight death penalty cases.

Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Managing Partner of the Nashville office of Burr & Forman, was elected President of the American Board of Certification at the ABC Annual Meeting in Rancho Mirage, California.

Ahern has been involved with the certification of legal specialists, both nationally and in Tennessee, for more than 15 years. He represented the Tennessee Bar Association in the formulation of Tennessee's regulatory system governing attorney certification in 1991. Subsequently, he served for six years as Chair of the Tennessee Supreme Court's Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization and served as a Director of ABC.

Ahern's practice with Burr & Forman focuses on creditors’ rights and bankruptcy, as well as commercial law. He is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, a member of the LL.M. Bankruptcy Advisory Committee at St. John's University School of Law and an Adjunct Professor of Secured Transactions at Vanderbilt University Law School. He has authored and co-authored numerous books and articles and has also presented on topics in his practice areas for many regional and national organizations, including the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, American Bankruptcy Institute, Turnaround Management Association, and Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute. Ahern has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for 18 consecutive years in the practice areas of Business Reorganization, Creditors' Rights, and Bankruptcy Litigation. He is a former Director of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Turnaround Management Association and the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute.

Kurt A. Strasser was presented the Distinguished Service Award by the University of Connecticut Law School Alumni Association, Inc. in October 2007. Strasser served as interim dean of the University of Connecticut Law School during the 2006-2007 academic year. He is currently a member of the law faculty and is the Phillip I. Blumberg Professor of Law.

James Gonzales published a book entitled GUNNY Memoirs of Mobile's South Side: Riding Alabama's Tide of White Supremacy in July 2007.

Wiliam C. Koch Jr., Presiding Judge of the Tennessee Court of Appeals, was named by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen to serve as the fifth justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Prior to Koch's appointment to the court of appeals in 1984 and his most recent reelection in 2006, he served in several roles in the office of the state's attorney general, and is a former general counsel to then-Gov. Lamar Alexander

Gary Blackburn, one of the founding partners of Blackburn and McCune, has been elected the 2007 President of the Tennessee Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an invitation-only organization of experienced jury trial lawyers representing both plaintiffs and defendants. Blackburn was admitted as a member of ABOTA in 1997. The organization's primary purpose is the preservation of the civil jury trial. Founded in 1957, ABOTA seeks attorneys who display skill, civility and integrity, to help younger attorneys achieve a higher level of trial advocacy and to educate the public about the vital importance of the Seventh Amendment. ABOTA has chapters across the country. Malcolm McCune, one of the managing partners of the firm, expressed his pleasure at the election, saying, "I've known Gary virtually my entire life, and he believes in the independence of the judiciary and the right to trial by jury. His election to this position is further expression of his commitment to the highest principles of the U.S. legal and jury system." Blackburn, a native of Morristown, Tenn., was admitted to the bar in 1972. He subsequently was admitted to the Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit, in 1974 and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1979. In addition to his membership in the American Bar Association and the Tennessee Bar Association, Blackburn has served on the board of the Nashville Bar Association.

Gary has also signed on as the senior strategist and lead counsel to Bob Clement's Nashville mayoral campaign. Blackburn, a former assistant U.S. attorney, will oversee strategy and policy analysis and provide legal advice to Clement and his staff, the Clement campaign said in a news release today. "I am flattered to be asked to participate in a campaign of ideas for the next mayor of Nashville," Blackburn said. "Bob Clement will surround himself with the most capable and competent people he can find." Blackburn founded his law firm in 1989 and he is a founding member of the Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators. Clement represented Nashville in Congress from 1988 to 2003. The election for mayor will be held Aug. 2, 2007.

Todd Eberle was elected Mayor of Prospect, Kentucky, a major suburban city of Louisville, on November 7, 2006. A current member of the Prospect City Council, he received 84% of the vote in the contested mayoral election. He will begin a four-year term as mayor presiding over the six-person city council beginning in January of 2007.

Ron Feldman has joined the law firm of Husch & Eppenberger as a member.

Paul M. Kurtz, University of Georgia School of Law Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, has been named to three committees of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws by organization president Howard J. Swibel. Paul will serve on several of NCCUSL's key committees, the most prestigious being the Joint Editorial Board on Uniform Family Law.

In addition, the University of Georgia Disability Resource Center has named Paul as the 2005-06 recipient of its Outstanding Faculty Member Award. Presented annually, this award recognizes faculty members who go beyond what is legally required and demonstrate an exceptional attitude in teaching and working with students who have disabilities.

Kurtz's nominator, third-year law student Michelle J. Tarley, wrote, "Dean Kurtz makes himself open to all students with disabilities. He will reinvent the wheel and go out of his way to make sure they are getting the accommodations they need both in and out of the classroom." Tarley said Kurtz has a "great heart" and that he "would jump hurtles and cross bridges" to help students be successful in law school.

Kurtz has been a faculty member at the School of Law for more than 30 years and holds an endowed position as a J. Alton Hosch Professor of Law. Specializing in criminal law and family law, he has served as the law school's associate dean since 1991. In this role he oversees many aspects of faculty and student life.

This award was presented at the Disability Resource Center's Annual Faculty and Student Awards Ceremony on October 5, 2006. Nominations were sought during the 2005-06 academic year from students registered with the University's Disability Resource Center.

Daniel Horowitz passed away on November 25, 2005, at home. Daniel worked in New York City for many years as an investment banker before moving to Nashville in 2001. He was recently employed by the U.S. Bank in Brentwood, Tennessee.

Do you have news you would like to share or just want to let everyone know what you are up to these days? Submit your class note online, e-mail Grace Renshaw or call 615-322-2606.

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