NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW MAGAZINE

Victor Long’s personal injury clients know he has their backs: over the course of his career, he’s obtained some of the largest verdicts and settlements in the country. Now, not just clients but also students will know that Long always puts people first. In December, the Friendship Ideal Academy, a public charter school in Washington, DC, was renamed the Friendship Victor E. Long Ideal Academy in his honor.

Long, a senior partner with Regan Zambri Long, was a founding board member of Friendship Public Charter Schools in the 1990s and has remained on that board for more than 20 years. Friendship now spans 16 campuses from pre-K3 to 12. Long is well known for his contributions to the community; he served as president of the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, DC , and was appointed by the DC Court of Appeals as a trustee for the Client Security Trust Fund, among many positions.

At the dedication ceremony for the Friendship school’s renovated campus, Long said, “I want everyone to know how grateful I am to my law partners for the encouragement they have given me through the years as I pursued civic activities. This recognition is a reflection of our firm’s dedication to serving our clients and making a positive impact in our community.”

Kathy Morris, founder and legal careers advisor at Under Advisement in Chicago, recently became the first member leader of the Forbes Coaches Council online Women Coaches Group. Having expanded the reach of Under Advisement by adding video counseling to the array of available options, Kathy makes job search advice, career counseling and consulting services for individuals, law firms, legal departments and law schools accessible, affordable and effective.

The Honorable Victoria Roberts has joined JAMS, the largest private provider of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services worldwide, as an arbitrator, mediator, court-appointed neutral and neutral evaluator. Based in the Detroit Resolution Center, Judge Roberts handles business/commercial, civil rights, class action/mass tort, employment, personal injury, product liability, securities, federal law and bankruptcy cases. She retired from the bench in September 2023 after serving more than two decades as a senior US district judge for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Victor Long, founding partner at Regan Zambri Long in Washington, DC, was named to the Best Truck Accident Lawyers Washington, DC, of 2024 by Forbes Advisor. Victor specializes in product liability, car accidents, truck accidents, bus and pedestrian accidents, birth injuries and civil rights cases. He has obtained some of the largest verdicts and settlements in the country for his personal injury clients.

Simonne Roy, a contemporary American impressionist painter and former civil attorney, was recently featured in an article in The Daily Item, a local media outlet based in Sunbury, Penn. The article focused on how Simonne, a full-time artist since 2012, has donated her art and proceeds from her sales to local groups and causes. For a complete list of Simmone’s awards, residencies and exhibitions, visit simonneroy.com.

Susan Koenig, of counsel and founding partner at Koenig|Dunne in Nebraska, is advocating for an overhaul of the state’s outdated paternity statutes, which exclude non-heterosexual parents’ rights to legally acknowledge their newborn children. Susan proposes parentage statutes, already adopted in other states, to be more inclusive of LGBTQIA+ families.

Nancy Lassen, who recently retired as a partner at Willig, Williams & Davidson in Philadelphia, was named to The Best Lawyers in America 2024. Nancy’s practice focused exclusively on labor law.

David White, owner and partner at Breakstone, White & Gluck in Boston, was named to the Best Personal Injury Lawyers Boston and Best Car Accident Lawyers Boston of 2024 by Forbes Advisor. David concentrates his practice on personal injury, insurance company bad faith, medical malpractice, bicycle accidents and professional liability litigation, primarily for plaintiffs.

Roman Petyk has joined the board of trustees of Historic Yellow Springs, a nonprofit that preserves and celebrates the village of Yellow Springs, Penn., with a focus on history, art, education and the environment. Prior to his retirement, Roman pursued a successful legal career, specializing in real estate, construction contracting and environmental matters, including nearly 27 years as associate general counsel at the University of Pennsylvania. He currently serves as board chair and director of the Ukrainian Community Foundation of Philadelphia and board chair of the Ukrainian Selfreliance Federal Credit Union.

Jaclyn Kugell, a partner at Morgan, Brown & Joy in Boston, was named to The Best Lawyers in America 2024. Jaclyn, chair of the firm’s management committee, is a leading employment lawyer who counsels business owners and management through virtually every scenario surrounding the employer-employee relationship.

Amy Baker Mandragouras has joined Foley Hoag in Boston as a partner in the firm’s patent group. She was previously a partner in the life sciences patent counseling and prosecution practice at Cooley and has more than three decades of experience advising biotech and pharma companies on patent and IP matters.

Nicole McLaughlin, who serves as executive director at Plummer Youth Promise in Salem, Mass., was recently confirmed to the City of Salem’s first race equity commission. Prior to joining Plummer, Nicole was a nonprofit attorney at the Washington, DC, firm of Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg and a staff attorney for the National Abortion Rights Action League.

Joe McConnell, a partner at Morgan, Brown & Joy in Boston, was named to The Best Lawyers in America 2024. Joe is an experienced litigator and negotiator defending management on employment and labor law matters.

John Lanza has joined Foley Hoag in Boston as a partner in the firm’s intellectual property department and technology industry group. A patent attorney with nearly three decades of experience counseling startups and established companies in the fast-paced technology sector, John previously served as national IP operations partner at Foley & Lardner.

In November, Pierce Reed, director of the policy and engagement division of the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, moderated a CLE program, Impossible Choices: Innocent People and Dark Plea Deals, an examination of the phenomenon of plea deals offered during post-conviction criminal litigation.

Amy Rosenberger, a partner at Willig, Williams & Davidson in Philadelphia, was named to The Best Lawyers in America 2024. Amy serves as an advisor to a diverse list of unions representing employees in government service, K through 12 and higher education, transportation, healthcare and more.

David Connelly, a partner at Morgan, Brown & Joy in Boston, was named to The Best Lawyers in America 2024. David represents private and public sector employers in labor and employment matters and collective bargaining. His practice focuses on contract negotiation, litigation and proactive counseling for problems employers face in their daily operations.

Jennifer Oertel, co-chair of the exempt organizations and impact investing group at Bodman’s Ann Arbor, Mich., office, was named to the Top 50: 2023 Women Michigan Super Lawyers Top List. An authority on tax-exempt organizations law, Jennifer provides strategic business advice, including on securities, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance for tax-exempt clients and the investors who support them. She is co-chair of the Nonprofit Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan.

Shira Diner is now a lecturer and clinical instructor in the Defender Clinic at Boston University School of Law. Prior to joining BU Law, Shira served as the director of associate development and recruitment at Todd & Weld in Boston. She was previously a public defender with the Committee for Public Counsel Services for 17 years, and most recently, she worked as the supervising attorney in the Criminal Defense Training Unit.

Rebecca Knudson, a partner in the Wilmington, N.C., office of Cranfill Sumner, was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2024. She focuses her civil litigation practice on representing builders, developers and homeowner association boards.

Jane Flanagan, director of the Illinois Department of Labor, has been appointed to the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board. Prior to joining the Department of Labor in 2022, Jane served as deputy general counsel and deputy chief compliance officer in the Office of the Illinois Governor. Prior to that, she spent six years in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, where she was labor counsel and assistant attorney general before founding the Workplace Rights Bureau and serving as its first chief.

Kate Heller, a director at Goulston & Storrs in Boston, was named a 2023 Go To Environmental Lawyer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly for her outstanding work in environmental law. As both an environmental lawyer and engineer, Kate is sought after by developers, owners, tenants, investment funds, REITs, joint ventures and lenders for her vast experience in environmental matters related to contaminated property and remediation, environmental due diligence, indoor environmental pollution, regulatory compliance and green building strategies. Before becoming a lawyer, Kate was a civil/environmental engineer.

Eric Kaviar has joined Sunstein in Boston as a partner in the firm’s litigation practice group. Eric has more than 15 years of experience finding novel solutions to challenging and contentious intellectual property disputes. His clients range from startup organizations and entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies. He previously practiced at the Boston office of Burns & Levinson.

Sean O’Connor, a partner at Morgan, Brown & Joy in Boston, was named to The Best Lawyers in America 2024. Sean represents both public and private sector employers in numerous industries on the full range of labor and employment matters.

Caitlin Barrett, a partner in the business law group at Burns & Levinson in Boston, was named to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America. This list highlights lawyers who create multibillion-dollar mergers and other deals that change the course of industries. Caitlin advises financial institutions and corporate borrowers on a broad range of commercial finance transactions, including asset-based financings, acquisition financings and working capital facilities of all sizes. She also advises purchasers and sellers in the structuring and negotiation of mergers, acquisitions and other general corporate matters.

Leora Maccabee-Miller has joined LifeStance Health as vice president, senior counsel and the healthcare company’s first in-house litigator. Leora, who previously practiced for almost 15 years at Maslon, works remotely from her home in Minnesota. LifeStance focuses on providing evidence-based, medically driven treatment services for children, teens and adults suffering from a variety of mental health issues in an outpatient care setting, both in person and through telehealth.

Beth Myers, a partner at Burns & Levinson in Boston, has been named a 2023 Employment and Discrimination Law Trailblazer by The National Law Journal and a 2023 Top Woman of Law by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly for her visionary work as a plaintiff employment litigator who gives voice to people who feel powerless in the workplace.

Danielle Ponder has been on tour across the United States and internationally since the release of her debut album, Some of Us Are Brave, to critical acclaim last fall. Written and recorded over three years, the album is a refreshingly original, shiver-inducing mix of pop, R&B, blues, rock and moody trip-hop topped by Ponder’s celestial voice— an instrument that can plumb melancholy depths with a heartsick murmur and scrape the sky with hurricane force wails. A former public defender, Danielle decided to pursue a full-time career as a singer in 2021.

Andrea Zoia, a partner at Morgan, Brown & Joy in Boston, was named to The Best Lawyers in America 2024. Andrea handles a variety of employment matters facing businesses, including providing day-to-day employment law counsel and advice. In addition to appearing in federal and state courts, Andrea appears before government agencies including the EEOC, MCAD, Department of Labor and numerous other state anti-discrimination agencies across the country.

Valerie Jackson, of counsel with Littler’s Boston office, was selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America 2024 legal awards for her work in labor and employment law and litigation. Valerie focuses her practice on labor management relations, including obligations of employers in unionized workplaces and compliance with applicable state and federal laws. She is a member of the Boston Bar Foundation Society of Fellows’ Junior Fellow Steering Committee and a board member of Northeastern Law’s Boston alumni/ae chapter.

Jessica Cooney has been elevated to partner in the private equity group at Ropes & Gray in Boston. Jessica focuses her practice on representing private equity clients in a range of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, minority investments, preferred equity investments, PIPEs, co-investments and dispositions. She also advises on general corporate and governance matters. She has also been recognized for her client service by the BTI Consulting Group, which named her a 2023 Client Service All-Star.

Carmen Chan, corporate counsel at Liberty Mutual Insurance, was recognized by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association as a 2023 Rising Star. Carmen focuses her transactional practice on domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, corporate venture finance and US corporate governance. Since 2021, she has been co-chair of the Liberty Mutual Pro Bono Committee, where she manages a program with 15+ pro bono partnerships and opportunities.

Catherine Scott, an associate at Morgan, Brown & Joy in Boston, was named to The Best Lawyers in America 2024. Catherine is a litigator and labor and employment lawyer defending and advising employers. She helps companies navigate workplace allegations such as employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, retaliation, Family and Medical Leave Act violations and breach of contract, as well as wage and hour class actions.

Amy Grenier, policy and practice counsel at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) in Washington, DC, is the author of a new report, “High-Stakes Asylum: How Long an Asylum Case Takes and How We Can Do Better,” based on a survey of more than 300 asylum attorneys about the critical steps and time required to prepare an asylum case. The report includes recommendations on how to inject efficiency into the existing asylum process and ensure the integrity of a system that has life-and-death consequences. Amy handles AILA’s asylum and border portfolio.

Kara Grogan has joined Fish & Richardson in Boston as an associate. Kara has a broad patent litigation practice with an emphasis on Section 337 cases before the US International Trade Commission. Her technical areas of experience include semiconductors, wind turbine generators, LCDs, pharmaceuticals and antibodies. Previously Kara was an associate at Goodwin.

In January, Kelly Cooke refereed the opening game of the long-awaited Professional Women’s Hockey League, pitting Minnesota against Boston at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass. An attorney at Morgan Lewis, Kelly is one of the first four women to officiate at the National Hockey League level. Prior to her officiating career, Kelly played forward for Princeton — she led the team in goals her senior year — and played professionally in women’s leagues in Massachusetts.

In September, Bethel Habte joined Katz Banks Kumin’s newly formed San Francisco office as an associate representing clients on employment matters, including civil rights and whistleblower actions, with a particular focus on racial and gender discrimination cases. Previously, she was a fellow at Sanford Heisler Sharp in New York and a law fellow at the National Education Association, focusing on labor, employment and civil rights.