firms on the move

Jill Robb Ackerman of Baird Holm LLP in Nebraska was named president of the Nebraska State Bar Association. Her term runs through October 2021.

Brenda Baddam of Barclay Damon LLP in Albany, New York, has been selected as a CDTA 2020 Community Champion by the Capital District Transportation Authority. A CDTA Community Champion is someone who goes out of their way to help others and is a role model in the community.

Barclay Damon LLP and the firm’s Outdoor & Wildlife Team were given a certificate for “dedication to the promotion of archery and bow hunting and support for the industry” from the Archery Trade Association.

Oliver Young of Barclay Damon LLP in Buffalo, New York, has been appointed to the New York State Bar Association Task Force on Racial Injustice and Police Reform.

Janae Cummings of Barclay Damon LLP in Syracuse, New York, has been named assistant director for the Ms. JD Fellowship. Ms. JD, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to the success of aspiring and early career female lawyers, founded the Ms. JD Fellowship in partnership with the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession to promote mentoring and professional development for future female attorneys.

John F. Wilcox, Jr., a shareholder/director of Dysart Taylor in Kansas City, Missouri, has been elected president of the Transportation Lawyers Association. He becomes Dysart Taylor’s seventh TLA president; Dysart Taylor currently has more former TLA presidents than any other firm.

Caleb P. Knight of Flaherty Sensabaugh Bonasso PLLC in Charleston, West Virginia, was selected by the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA) to serve a fourth term on its Young Professionals Council. In addition, he was named Vice Chair of Educational Content for the group. His term is for one year, effective July 1, 2020. AHLA is the nation’s largest educational organization devoted to legal issues in the healthcare field. The Young Professionals Council is the governing body that provides insights and direction to the American Health Lawyers Association’s Board of Directors.

Andrew T. Stephenson of Franklin & Prokopik, P.C. in Maryland has received the honor of being invited to join the American College of Transportation Attorneys (ACTA). This select group limits membership to only 25 members, comprised of transportation defense lawyers, all serving more than 20 years in the trucking industry.

Howard Ashcraft, a partner in Hanson Bridgett LLP’s Construction Practice Group, recently received an appointment as an associate fellow of the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. The status of associate fellow is equivalent to an adjunct professor status. This significant appointment indicates a recognition by the University of Oxford of Ashcraft’s contributions to the MSc in Major Programme Management, in which he manages and teaches the module on Commercial Leadership. In addition to his legal practice, he advises research projects related to building information modeling, project delivery, and sustainability and is an adjunct professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Stanford University.

Hinckley Allen Partner Noble F. Allen recently completed the Third Edition of his eBook “Connecticut Landlord and Tenant Law with Forms” published by The Connecticut Law Tribune and ALM Media.

firms on the move continued...

Sweeney & Sheehan Attorneys at Law

Robert Berk of Jones, Skelton & Hochuli in Arizona has been elected into the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). ABOTA is a national association of experienced trial lawyers and judges. Created in 1958, ABOTA and its members are dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the civil jury trial right provided by the Seventh Amendment to our United States Constitution.

Klinedinst P.C. Shareholder Nadia P. Bermudez has been selected to serve on the San Diego Superior Court’s Committee on the Elimination of Bias, a group devoted to providing equal access to justice for all. She will aid in the development of procedural changes impacting the Superior Court’s ability to recognize and eliminate bias, impacting all San Diego citizens.

David M. Majchrzak of Klinedinst P.C. in San Diego, California, was appointed to director of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL). APRL is a national group comprised of lawyers, law professors, and judges holding an interest in lawyers’ professional responsibility, legal ethics, and legal malpractice. APRL encourages the study, development, and implementation of sound ethical standards in addition to providing cutting edge analysis in the area of professional responsibility.

Steven W. Quattlebaum of Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull PLLC in Arkansas has been elected to the position of national vice president of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) beginning in 2021. He will become national president of ABOTA in 2023. Earlier this year, Quattlebaum also was chosen to chair the ABOTA COVID-19 Task Force, which published a comprehensive guide to conducting civil jury trials during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Denise I. Murphy, Partner and Co-Chair of Rubin and Rudman’s Labor and Employment department was appointed president of the Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) for the 2020-21 association year. Denise’s mission as MBA President is to place an emphasis on the importance of diversity in the profession, give voices to marginalized groups, and bridge the gap between the various voices in the legal industry.

Serving Pennsylvania and New Jersey

Ginni Klier, Rubin and Rudman’s human resources director, was elected as the secretary of the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) Boston Chapter for the second year in a row.

The Iowa Supreme Court has appointed Paul D. Gamez of Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman PLC in Iowa to the Advisory Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure. The Court issued an order Oct. 2 appointing him to the Advisory Committee for a term ending Sept. 30, 2023. The full order can be read here.

Chad D. Brakhahn of Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman PLC in Iowa has been elected to the Iowa State Bar Association Board of Governors for District 6. Brakhahn is one of five representatives who have been elected to represent District 6, which includes Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, and Tama counties.

Bill Hackney of SmithAmundsen in Illinois was recently appointed to the Panel of Chapter 7 Trustees in the Northern District of Illinois. As a chapter 7 trustee, Bill will be a fiduciary responsible for the preservation, liquidation, and distribution of assets in both consumer and commercial chapter 7 cases.

SmithAmundsen’s Gary Zhao was accepted to State Farm’s Rising Star Academy, an exclusive program recognizing select outside counsel for their leadership and business acumen. The Academy was established in tandem with the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Resolution 113, which was put in place to increase diversity within the legal industry. Through this program, State Farm connects with diverse counsel to expand business relationships and support diversity in the legal industry.

On October 23, 2020, Sweeney & Sheehan Partner Patrick J. Sweeney was elected second vice-president of the Defense Research Institute (DRI). DRI is the largest international membership organization of attorneys defending the interests of business and individuals in civil litigation.