Class of 1981
(Notes posted in the order they were received, with the newest posts on top.)
Stephen B. Hatcher was named President of Zimmerman, Kiser & Sutcliffe following founder Wendell J. Kiser’s decision to step down from the position as president. Mr. Hatcher has been with the firm since shortly after it’s inception in 1984 and focuses his practice in the areas of real estate transactions, business transactions, and planning for taxable estates.
Betty Steele joined Nashville Mayor Karl Dean's administration as a specialist in information security to update and improve data security protocols for the Metropolitan Government. Betty, a certified information systems security professional (CISSP), will recommend changes based on the information collected from the data security audit completed earlier this month by Information Technology Services. Dean also has asked Steele to examine the need for an IT security and standards board made up of industry professionals. Betty is currently an attorney with the law office of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz and a member of the firm’s Business Law Department. She has formerly served as assistant commissioner for business development for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, and as president of Global Competitiveness Council, an affiliate of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She has developed information security management plans and provided advice on information privacy and security matters to numerous organizations, including Fortune 100 companies, financial institutions, health care providers and plans, and technology companies.
Bill Leech is an equity shareholder at Copeland Cook Taylor & Bush in Ridgeland, Miss., where he chairs the Firm's Creditors' Rights and Bankruptcy Section. He is included in Woodward White's Best Lawyers in America and Mid-South Super Lawyers. Bill has more than 25 years of experience in representing financial institutions and other creditors in various matters, including bankruptcies, foreclosures and repossessions, commercial litigation, lender liability matters and class action litigation.
Scott E. Dwyer, a member of the law firm of Mika Meyers Beckett & Jones in Grand Rapids, Mich., was elected to the Board of Directors for the Autism Society of Kent County. The Autism Society of Kent County is a non-profit organization of parents, school staff, and others who actively seek to support and advocate for persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families. Scott concentrates his practice on labor, employment and wrongful discharge law, and general civil litigation.
Anne Davis was profiled in an article appearing in The Tennessean on November 4, 2007. Click here to read the article.
Karl Dean was elected Mayor of Nashville, Tenn. Click here to read an article about a talk he gave to Vanderbilt Law students on November 9, 2007.
Lisa D. McLaughlin has joined the St. Louis office of Polsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus as a shareholder. McLaughlin is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. McLaughlin joins Polsinelli's wealth planning practice group of the business law department. She brings more than 25 years of experience to the firm in estate planning and probate, tax-exempt organizations and trust and estate litigation. McLaughlin's practice focuses on closely held businesses, partnerships and joint ventures, estate planning and probate, tax-exempt organizations and trust & estate litigation. She was listed in the 2007 edition of Best Lawyers in America and served as a president of the St. Louis Estate Planning Council. McLaughlin is a frequent speaker to professional and community groups on estate planning, transfer tax and charitable topics.
Brad MacLean, a 25-year member of Stites & Harbison, has taken of-counsel status at the firm and is now assistant director of The Tennessee Justice Project, of which he has been chairman. MacLean, 56, has been involved as attorney of record in eight or more death-penalty cases, notwithstanding the workload associated with his practice in commercial litigation and bankruptcies. He he expects to be primarily involved in the ongoing death-penalty cases of convicted murderers Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman and Paul Dennis Reid. The Abdur'Rahman case has influenced debate over the lethal-injection method of execution and court challenges to that method. In a September 2006 posting on the Stites website, MacLean reviewed the Abdur'Rahman case and described his client as a "man of good will." Just last month, MacLean warned through news media that Tennessee risked lethal-injections complications similar to those recently experienced in Florida, drawing fresh national scrutiny to capital punishment. Stites' Managing Member Stuart Campbell noted in a statement that MacLean "will continue to be a resource for the benefit" of Stites' clients. MacLean made the move effective Jan. 1. He is also a member of the Death Penalty Moratorium Project. He has served as a member of the board of STARS/Center for Youth Issues, Inc.; and, as a member of a Baptist Hospital ethics committee, among other civic and professional activities.
James B. Lootens was named corporate secretary and deputy general counsel of Eli Lilly and Company in 2006. Jim and his wife, Sara Clark Lootens (B.A. 1981), live in Indianapolis with their three daughters, Katie (18), Anne (15) and Amy (11). Sara serves as executive vice president of Merchants Property Insurance Company of Indiana.
Steve Owens has been director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality since January 2003. The Department works to prevent the deterioration in the quality of the Arizona environment and to improve the environment using legislative, regulatory and budgetary tools.
Randy Bibb has been named partner at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis in Nashville. Randy has more than 20 year of experience defending manufacturers and seller in products liability and toxic tort litigation. He served as lead counsel in several precedent-setting cases in that arena in the state. "Randy is one of the most highly respected attorneys in Nashville, and his vast experience in product liability litigation is recognized throughout the country," said Ralph Davis, chairman of Waller Lansden. Randy is a member of the Defense Research Institute and a fellow of the Nashville Bar Association.
Stephen C. Schuyler, 49, died November 11, 2005. He was born March 25, 1956, in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, to Dr. and Mrs. Walter B.J. Schuyler. His father delivered Stephen. He was a descendant of Gen. Philip Schuyler, one of the four Revolutionary War major generals.
He spent his formative years in State College, Pa., moving to Albuquerque, N.M., in 1970, and he graduated from Albuquerque Academy in 1974. He attended Kenyon College, his father's alma mater in Gambier, Ohio, where he majored in English and graduated in 1978. In 1981, he graduated from Vanderbilt Law School.
He is survived by his loving wife, Priscilla Luce Schuyler; daughters Olivia and Emily; sister Karen Schuyler Sabean and her husband, Dr. Joel Sabean, of Falmouth; brother, Dr. Walter B.J. Schuyler of Scarborough; in-laws, Richard and Gloria Luce of Cape Elizabeth; his brothers-in-law, Richard Jr. of Bangor, Robert and William of Westbrook. He is also survived by nieces and nephews Joel and Shannon Sabean; Walter B.J., Benjamin and Victoria Schuyler, Sage, Ryan and Corey Luce. His parents, to whom he was close, predeceased him.
In 1982, he met and fell in love with Priscilla Jane Luce of Cape Elizabeth. They were married June 11, 1983, at St. Luke's Cathedral in Portland. While pursuing his legal career, Stephen and Priscilla resided in Augusta, Boston and Florida. They returned to Maine once their two beautiful daughters, Olivia Jenneke, 16, and Emily Anna, 12, were born. The Schuyler family has lived in Kittery Point since 1989. Stephen was an avid runner. He completed two marathons, the Maine Coast Marathon in 1982 and the Boston Marathon in 1989. He was a competitive soccer player and faithful fan. He was proud of his two daughters He loved watching them play soccer. He enjoyed traveling with his wife and children.
He was an avid reader and music lover, always seeking out new musical artists.He co-authored a book, "Investor Alert," and was quoted in The Wall Street Journal and other financial publications. Mr. Schuyler passed both his Maine and Florida law boards in 1981. He began his legal career in Fort Myers, Fla.
He pursued his professional interest in securities law and was instrumental in running the securities division for the State of Maine during the 1980s. He also worked at the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission, Boston office, and the National Association of Security Dealers in the late 1980s. During the 1990s to the present, Mr. Schuyler worked with prominent mutual funds, banks and initial public offerings for many clients, ensuring securities regulatory state and federal legal compliance from both Boston and New York offices.
Steven L. Berson has joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough in Atlanta, where he will practice in the areas of corporate, securities and technology law.
Mark L. Feidler became president and chief operating officer of BellSouth on July 1, 2005. Mark joined BellSouth in 1991 as director of strategic transactions and rose quickly through the ranks. Prior to his BellSouth career, Mark was a principal in the investment banking firm The Breckenridge Group. From 1986 to 1990, he worked in the corporate finance department of the Robinson-Humphrey Company, and from 1981 to 1986 he practiced corporate law at King & Spalding in Atlanta.
Mark's election to the board of directors of New York Life Insurance Company was announced May 9. He also serves on the boards of BellSouth, Cingular Wireless, and Great Schools Atlanta. Mark and his wife, Buffie, live in Atlanta with their two children.
Randall C. Schauer has joined the Philadelphia office of Dilworth Paxson to chair their Labor & Employment practice group. He received his undergraduate degree in labor relations from the University of Pennsylvania 's Wharton School and has spent his career counseling on and litigating matters involving the full spectrum of the employment relationship, from pre-hire procedures through fair employment practices, to post-termination closure including unemployment compensation, statutory compliance issues. He currently chairs the Chester County Leadership Connection (a collaborative initiative of the United Way, West Chester University and the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry), Chester County Planned Parenthood, and the personnel committee of the Chester County Bar Association.
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