Alumni in the News

Washburn University School of Law hosted its third biennial United States Supreme Court admissions ceremony in Washington, D.C. on April 28, 2008. Twenty-nine Washburn Law alumni and two professors were admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme Court in a swearing-in ceremony. The alumni represented 11 states, with graduation years from 1956-2004. The two professors were Myrl Duncan, professor of law; and William Merkel, associate professor of law.

Kathy Kirk recently returned from a three-month stay in Jordan, where she trained judges, lawyers and other professionals in civil mediation. As part of the American Bar Association's Rule of Law Initiative, Kirk helped set up mediation departments in four of five courthouses in Amman. Although alternative dispute resolution, or ADR, is relatively new in Jordan, most legal professionals caught on to mediation in part because the country has an historical tradition of tribal dispute resolution.

William R. Mott has been named District Court Judge of Kansas' Thirtieth Judicial District. Upon graduating from Washburn Law in 1995 Mott became an associate at Cobean and Renn. He assumed the position of Sumner County Attorney in 1997. In this position he prosecuted child in need of care, criminal, traffic and juvenile offender cases. Prior to his appointment as district judge, Mott served as Special Assistant United States Attorney and Special Assistant Kansas Attorney General and prosecuted federal drug trafficking crimes and federal firearms violations. Mott fills the seat vacated by retiring Judge Thomas H. Graber.

Overland Park lawyer Charles Droege will become Johnson County’s newest district court judge after being appointed by Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. “Chuck Droege has a broad range of knowledge from his work as a prosecutor, an attorney in private practice and from his service as a municipal court judge,” Sebelius said in a statement. Droege, 53, is a municipal court judge in De Soto and Edgerton and a part-time administrative hearing officer for the Kansas Department of Revenue. He was city prosecutor in De Soto from 1996 to 2001 and an assistant district attorney for Shawnee County in the mid-1980s. He replaces Judge Steve Leben, who in April was appointed to the Court of Appeals. Within the month, the governor is expected to make another judicial appointment for Johnson County, filling a slot approved by the Legislature this year. Droege graduated from Wichita State University in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and later earned a master’s degree. In 1983, he graduated from Washburn University School of Law. Johnson County now has 19 district judges. Droege’s civil court docket will consist largely of divorce cases without children, accidents, contract disputes and condemnations.

By ROBERT A. CRONKLETON The Kansas City Star Kansas City, Kan., attorney Daniel Cahill has already had a momentous week — and it is only Tuesday. On Monday, his wife, Tina, gave birth to their third child. Today, he was sworn in as a Wyandotte County judge, a lifelong dream of his. “I don’t in any way want to denigrate today and this occasion,” Cahill told a packed courtroom. “But you know you are having a good week when this day is the second best one you have had this week.” Cahill, 40, said that as a child, he always talked about being a judge. When he went to law school, he talked about being a judge. Even as a district attorney, he still talked about that goal. “It is an incredible honor,” Cahill said. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius in late June appointed Cahill to serve the remaining term of District Judge David Mikesic, who retired in May. The term expires in December 2008. Cahill, who earned a degree in criminal justice from Washburn University in 1990 and a law degree from Washburn School of Law in 1995, was a lawyer in private practice before being appointed to the bench. He served as an assistant district attorney in Wyandotte County from 1996 to 2000. Wyandotte County Judge Thomas L. Boeding led Cahill through the oath of office. “It’s traditional that the spouse puts the robe on the judge for the first time. Tina can’t be here for a very good reason. So I have agreed to do it — but I’m not going to kiss you,” Boeding told Cahill before helping him into the black robe. The Rev. Steve Beseau, with the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas, had some parting advice for Cahill on his week. “Monday, you had a baby. Tuesday, you are installed as a judge,” Beseau said. “I would say tomorrow (Wednesday) you need to play the lottery.”

Wichita attorney T. Lynn Ward has been named a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML). Membership in the AAML requires at least 10 years experience in family law as well as testing, peer review, review by judges, and recognition as a first-rate matrimonial lawyer. Ward has practiced family law since 1990 in the Wichita area. After several years with Morris Laing Evans Brock & Kennedy, she opened her own practice, Ward Law Offices at 345 Riverview, Ste. 120, in 2005. She handles divorce, paternity, child custody and support, parenting time, legal separation, annulment and adoption matters. She has argued appeals of domestic cases before the Kansas Court of Appeals and the Kansas Supreme Court. After earning a pre-law degree with honors from Pensacola Christian College in 1987, she completed her juris doctorate at Washburn University School of Law in 1990. She is certified as a domestic mediator, and was one of the first Kansas attorneys trained to handle divorce cases using a collaborative law format. She is a founding member and former president of the Central Kansas Collaborative Family Law Practice Group. Founded in 1962, the AAML is committed to encouraging the study, improving the practice, elevating the standards, and advancing the cause of matrimonial law, to better protect the welfare of American families. AAML fellows include experts in divorce, legal separation and annulment, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, child custody and visitation, property valuation and distribution, alimony, and child support and separation agreements.

The Northwest Area Foundation today seated three new representatives to its 13-member board of directors. Natalie Camacho Mendoza of Boise, Idaho; Sally Pederson of Des Moines, Iowa; and Sarah Vogel of Bismarck, North Dakota have been appointed to three-year terms. Natalie Camacho Mendoza is an attorney in Boise, Idaho, who is licensed in Idaho and Texas. She practices in the areas of worker’s compensation, immigration law and American Indian law. Having grown up in poverty, Camacho Mendoza rose to manage her own private practice law firm. She has been active in Image de Idaho, a non-profit organization concerned with civil rights, employment and education of Idaho Hispanics, for which she served as president; the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs; Hispanic Cultural Center of Idaho; and the mission committee for St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. Camacho Mendoza has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Idaho State University and a law degree from Washburn University School of Law. Sally Pederson served as Iowa’s lieutenant governor from 1998-2006, during which time she advocated for people with disabilities, health care coverage for children and insurance coverage for mental health issues. In 2003, Pederson received the John F. Sanford Award from the Iowa Medical Society for her efforts in improving the quality of health care in Iowa. As lieutenant governor, Pederson initiated and chaired the Iowa Committee on Diversity. She served as state Democratic Party leader until November 2006. Pederson holds a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University. Sarah Vogel is an attorney in Bismarck, North Dakota with the Sarah Vogel Law Firm, P.C. A native of North Dakota, she served as North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture from 1989-1996, where she was co-founder of Marketplace of Ideas, the nation’s largest rural development conference. Vogel also was Assistant Attorney General of North Dakota. While she has been in private practice in North Dakota, she has been lead counsel in a number of significant agriculture cases, such as the national class action lawsuit against the Farmers Home Administration, which enjoined many thousands of farm foreclosures until the federal government provided farmers with their due process rights, a case requiring the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to honor crop insurance policies worth $42,000,000 benefiting 8000 durum wheat farmers; litigation protecting farmers involved in elevator insolvencies, and many others. In 2006, Vogel won the Distinguished Service Award from the American Agricultural Law Association. Vogel holds a law degree from New York University. Fellow board members include Daniel Kemmis, Montana; Dorothy Bridges, Minnesota; Father Kevin McDonough, Minnesota: Louis Fors Hill, Minnesota; Elouise Cobell, Montana; Patricia Jensen, Minnesota; Sandra Vargas, Minnesota; Elsie Meeks, South Dakota; and William Thorndike, Jr., Oregon. The five members of the Foundation’s trustees are: Terrence W. Glarner; Linda L. Hoeschler; Dr. Thomas J. Horak; Rodney W. Jordan; and Nicholas P. Slade. The Northwest Area Foundation is dedicated to helping communities reduce poverty for the long term. The Foundation works on strategic efforts with a small number of rural, urban, and American Indian reservation communities, and the organizations supporting these efforts, in its eight-state region: Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. These states were served by the Great Northern Railway, founded by James J. Hill. In 1934, Hill’s son, Louis W. Hill established the foundation. Since 1999, the Foundation has invested approximately $193 million in community-based poverty-reduction programs. It expects to invest an estimated additional $75 million within the next two years, at which time it will have completed its first 10 years of operation under a community-based program model. The Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant requests. For additional information, visit www.nwaf.org, or call 651-224-9635.

1983 Washburn Law graduate has served on the KBA board of governors since 1999.

The Honorable Christel E. Marquardt, Judge of the Court of Appeals, has been named to the Washburn University Board of Regents by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. A 1974 graduate of the Washburn University School of Law, Marquardt was with the Topeka firms of Cosgrove, Webb & Oman (1974-86) and Palmer, Marquardt & Snyder (1986-91) before joining Levy & Craig, P.C., Kansas City, Mo. (1991-94). In 1994, she and her son Andrew formed Marquardt & Associates, L.L.C. in Fairway, Kan., where she practiced until her appointment to the court in 1995. In 2002, Washburn University School of Law awarded Marquardt the Distinguished Service Award. Her honors include the Jennie Mitchell Kellogg Circle’s Attorney of Achievement Award, and the Phil Lewis Medal of Distinction and the President’s Outstanding Service Award from the Kansas Bar Association. Marquardt served as the first woman president of the Kansas Bar Association in 1987-88. She has been a member of numerous committees of the American Bar Association, has been a member of its House of Delegates since 1988 and is currently serving on its Board of Governors. She is a past president of the Washburn University School of Law Board of Governors. Community engagement includes a seat on the Topeka Symphony Board of Governors. In 1982, she was selected as Topeka’s Woman of the Year and was named one of the 10 top business women in the nation by the American Business Women’s Association in 1985. Marquardt received an undergraduate degree from Missouri Western State College, St. Joseph, Mo., and was designated a distinguished alumni by the school in 1985. Her term on the Washburn Board of Regents will expire June 2011.

Thomas Merkel, Washburn Law class of 1988, recently was appointed director of the Hennepin County Community Corrections Department. Merkel, who has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in addition to his law degree, had been an inspector with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office since 2001. Prior to that, he was deputy director of the Shawnee County, Kansas, Department of Corrections. With a budget exceeding $100 million and more than 1,000 employees, Corrections oversees Hennepin County’s Workhouse, Juvenile Detention, County Home School, and Adult and Juvenile Probation. Hennepin County is the largest of Minnesota’s 87 counties in population with more than 1.1 million residents – nearly one-fourth the population of Minnesota and almost half the metropolitan population. The county includes the city of Minneapolis.

Governor Kathleen Sebelius appointed William R. Thornton, Washburn Law class of '92, to the Kansas Board of Regents.

Richard C. Hite, managing partner, Hite, Fanning & Honeyman LLP, Wichita, Kan., received the Distinguished Alumni Award at the Washburn Law School Association’s annual awards luncheon Friday, June 8, 2007. Hite received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas in 1950. He earned his law degree from Washburn University School of Law in 1953. Hite has been active in the law school, the Kansas Bar Association, the Wichita Bar Association and numerous other organizations. He has served as a Washburn Endowment Association trustee since 1986 and on the Washburn Law School Association board of governors in various capacities including president.

Bernard “Bernie” Bianchino, president and chief executive officer of Jaguar Telecom LLC, Overland Park, Kan., received the Distinguished Service Award at Washburn Law School Association’s annual awards luncheon Friday, June 8, 2007. Bianchino received the award for his outstanding and exemplary service to the law school and to Washburn University. Before joining Jaguar Telecom LLC, Bianchino was chief executive officer of Pegaso PCS and a former chief business development officer of Sprint PCS. He earned two degrees from Washburn, a bachelor of arts in 1970 and a juris doctorate in 1974. He serves at Washburn as an Endowment Association trustee and is president of the Law School Association Board of Governors.

Loring Ward International Ltd. announced that, effective July 1, 2007, Steven K. McGinnis will assume the role of general counsel and corporate secretary for Loring Ward International Ltd. and its subsidiaries, while retaining his current position as chief regulatory and compliance officer for the company. McGinnis joined Loring Ward in January 2005 and has 37 years of industry experience, including seven years at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 12 years as general counsel and corporate secretary of public and private companies, and two years as chief executive officer of an investment company. McGinnis has served the financial services industry for many years on NASD committees including chairman of the National Advisory Council and the District 2 Business Conduct Committee, as well as board director and past president of the National Association of Independent Broker Dealers. He earned his juris doctor from Washburn University School of Law and a bachelor's degree in psychology from Washburn University.

Washburn University School of Law alumnus, supporter, to be honored at 2 p.m. Friday, May 25, 2007.

Governor Kathleen Sebelius has nominated Thomas Wright, pending Senate confirmation, to the Kansas Corporation Commission. He would replace Brian Moline who is retiring. “In addition to his legal experience, Tom is committed to the goal of making Kansas a leader in energy security and independence, taking advantage of our vast opportunities with alternative energy sources and encouraging widespread conservation efforts throughout the state. Tom has served on several public boards and commissions, and has the leadership abilities needed to move this state in an exciting new direction.” The KCC regulates the energy, transportation and telecommunications industries within Kansas, including public utilities, common carriers, motor carriers and oil and gas producers. It does not regulate most electric cooperatives, water cooperatives, municipalities, wireless telephones, long distance phone services, cable companies or the Internet. The three-member commission is appointed by the governor with the approval of the Senate. Commissioners serve staggered four-year terms and elect one of their colleagues as chairperson. The chairperson acts as agency head with input from the other members. Wright, Topeka, grew up in Harper, Kan., before going on to graduate from the University of Wichita (now Wichita State University) with a degree in mathematics in 1961. He graduated from Washburn University School of Law in 1964. Wright is a partner at Wright, Henson, Clark, Hutton, Mudrick & Gragson, LLP. He served on the Washburn University Board of Regents, including a term as the board's chair. He also served on the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission, the Governor’s Gaming Commission and as chair of the Topeka-Shawnee County Consolidation Commission.

Kansas Lottery Director Ed Van Petten, '79, prepares his agency to own and operate the new destination casinos and racetrack slots that the Kansas Legislature has placed under its control.

Brian Moline, chairman of the Kansas Corporation Commission, will retire from the commission June 15. Moline has worked for the commission more than 20 years, first as its general counsel and then as a commissioner. He has spent the past four years as chairman of the commission, which regulates the rates and services of public utility providers in Kansas. "Brian has been a strong voice for fairness and balance in an evolving marketplace," Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said in a release. Moline is a graduate of Washburn University School of Law where he teaches as an adjunct professor.

Eugene Ralston and The Honorable Gregory Waller were elected to the Washburn Endowment Association Board of Trustees. Ralston earned a bachelor’s degree at Wichita State University and a juris doctor degree from Washburn University School of Law. He is a partner in the Topeka law firm of Ralston, Pope & Diehl, L.L.C. He opened a branch of the law firm in Hays, Kan., in 1992, and employs three attorneys in an Oklahoma office. Ralston practices law in the areas of medical malpractice, products liability, professional negligence, personal injury, and general trial work. Judge Waller earned bachelor's degrees in history and political science at Washburn University and a juris doctor degree from Washburn University School of Law. He worked as an associate at G. Edmond Hayes, Chartered, and subsequently became a partner in the firm of Hayes and Waller. In 1975, he joined the district attorney's office of Sedgwick County, Kan. He prosecuted in that office for 18 years. Waller is the presiding judge of the criminal department of the Sedgwick County District Court, the largest district in Kansas.

Judge Daniel Mitchell, Topeka, was presented with the Kansas Children's Service League's Distinguished Service to Kansas Children award at its annual meeting April 20. The award is presented annually to the "best of the best" among crusaders for Kansas children and families. Judge Mitchell was honored for his more than 20 years of service on the Shawnee County Juvenile Court bench where he hears the majority of child in need of care cases. Judge Mitchell earned his law degree from Washburn Law in 1973.

Retired Supreme Court Justice and former Legislator Harold. S. Herd died Monday, April 23 at age 88. His funeral service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday, April 30 at Coldwater Presbyterian Church, Coldwater, Kan.

Washburn Law Alumnus Jerry Schemmel discusses his broadcasting career and value of sports in our society.

Winton Hinkle and his partners pitched the merits of business law to a group of Washburn Law students.

Washburn Law alumna Jennifer Chun has been named director of international investment properties for Coldwell Banker Commercial Trademark Properties.

Citing his extensive trial experience as both a prosecutor and defense attorney, Governor Kathleen Sebelius appointed Eric William Godderz to serve as district judge in the Fourth Judicial District, which covers Anderson, Coffey, Franklin and Osage counties. “Eric’s experience on both sides of the courtroom has prepared him to serve from another vantage point, the judge’s bench,” Sebelius said. “The people of the Fourth Judicial District will be well served by his knowledge of the judicial system and his commitment to objectivity and fairness.” Godderz earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and received his Juris Doctorate from Washburn University School of Law in 1989. Godderz began his law career as assistant Saline County attorney in 1989, and subsequently served as a state public defender, Osage County attorney, and has been in partnership with his father at the Godderz Law Firm for more than a decade. Having tried more than 75 jury trials, Godderz also has experience in a number of areas of the law, both civil and criminal. Godderz is a member of the Kansas Bar Association, Kansas County and District Attorneys Association, Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, and president of the Osage County Bar Association. Godderz is president of the Burlingame Rotary Club, serves on the Burlingame Civic Improvement Committee and is a member of the Burlingame Chamber of Commerce.

Washburn Law alumna Chris Wilson was named vice president for communications for American Agri-Women, the nation's largest coalition of farm, ranch, and agribusiness women.

President Bush named former Senator Bob Dole to serve on the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors. President Bush signed an executive order creating a bipartisan presidential commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the services America is providing to its returning wounded warriors. Dole will serve as co-chair of the commission with former U.S. Department of Health And Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala. Senator Bob Dole was elected to Congress from his home state of Kansas in 1960 and to the U.S. Senate in 1968. He resigned from the Senate in 1996. His personal history of service includes active duty in World War II, during which he was gravely wounded and received for heroic achievement two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster. He is a 1952 graduate of Washburn University School of Law.

Washburn Law alumnus John T. Bird was awarded the John D. Montgomery Distinguished Service Award.

Jerry Schemmel, the radio broadcaster for the NBA's Denver Nuggets for the past 14 years and a 1985 graduate of Washburn Law, has been hired as the Billings Mustangs' play-by-play radio broadcaster for the 2007 Pioneer League baseball season.

Former Sen. Bob Dole expressed gratitude, humor and passion Tuesday night as special guest speaker at the Kansas Chamber's annual dinner at the Kansas Expocentre.

Tom Luedke one of only 12 prosecutors chosen to aid Iraqi prosecutors trying Saddam before the Iraqi Higher Tribunal.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said she was drawn to the broad legal expertise Johnson obtained during 21 years in private practice.

Washburn Law alumnus Larry Hendricks was appointed by Governor Kathleen Sebelius to replace retiring Shawee County District Court Judge Terry Bullock.

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Governor Kathleen Sebelius has appointed Jeffry Larson as district court judge in the 5th Judicial District, which includes Lyon and Chase counties. "Jeff Larson has a range of experience in private practice including domestic and family law, criminal defense, adoption, and general civil practice as well as serving as an assistant county attorney. His broad experience will help him deal with the array of cases district court judges handle," Governor Sebelius said. Larson, 45, of Emporia, has been practicing law since 1987. He received his law degree from Washburn University School of Law in 1986 and his undergraduate degree from Emporia State University in 1984. He and his wife, Amy, have two daughters, Hilary and Abby. Larson replaces retiring Judge John Sanderson.

U.S. Air Force Capt. Lori M. Gill, Washburn Law class of '99, is serving in Baghdad, Iraq, having been deployed in October. As one of the attorneys assigned to the Joint Contracting Command Iraq/Afghanistan (JCC-I/A), she provides legal advice on matters of contract and fiscal law for actions more than $1 million each. Capt. Gill has been an attorney with the Air Force for more than five years and is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas. She is a graduate of Washburn University and Washburn University School of Law.

Alumnus Bill Anderson begins second career.

Washburn Law alumnus Bill Kurtis, who founded Kurtis Productions and began producing programs for the A&E Television Network, was recently interviewed.

Lewis, a Wasburn Law alumnus and former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, is currently a senior fellow at New Mexico State University, where he has been charged with a leadership role in developing an Institute for International Relations and strengthening the university's public broadcasting.

Washburn Law Alumnus and Bronze Star recipient Charles Hamm reflects on his role in World War II

Jared E. Smith recently joined the Tampa office of Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell, P.A. as an associate in the practice areas of liability, premises liability, casualty defense and commercial litigation. Smith graduated magna cum laude from Washburn Law in 2000 and has since worked for Justice Edward J. Larson of the Kansas Supreme Court, as well as the Judge Advocate General's Corps with the United States Air Force.

Chicago lawyer Taher Kameli, a graduate of Washburn Law, travels across the country practicing what he calls immigration criminal defense.

Governor Kathleen Sebelius has appointed Kansas City, Kan., attorney Kathleen Lynch to fill the unexpired term of the late Wyandotte County District Court Judge Cordell Meeks Jr. Lynch received her law degree in 1992 from Washburn University School of Law.

A well-known Wichita attorney who has been involved in high-profile cases, Jack Focht has a reputation for being a champion of causes that help the poor and the homeless.

Delano Lewis, president/CEO of National Public Radio from 1994 to 1998 and U.S. ambassador to South Africa at the end of the Clinton administration, has been named senior fellow at New Mexico State University. As a senior fellow, Lewis will spearhead the development of an international relations "think tank" at NMSU and use his NPR experience to serve as an adviser to the university's public broadcasting program, the Sun-News reported.