Profiles Spotlight

Litigator Finds Inspiration in Marathon Running

The Connecticut Law Tribune

Kenneth Rosenthal, who turned 65 in September, decided earlier this year that running in the world's signature marathon event, the New York City Marathon, would be his birthday present to himself. The Brenner, Saltzman & Wallman commercial litigator got quite a treat. Family and friends lined the streets to cheer him on, and hundreds of other spectators shouted encouraging words at him as he ran by with a shirt that read, "Kenny The Kid 65." And Rosenthal is now planning on tackling the Boston Marathon.

UConn Football Player's Killing Puts Sibling Solos in National Spotlight

The Connecticut Law Tribune

When solo attorney Deron Freeman took on John William Lomax's case, he didn't know he'd be thrust into the biggest case of his life. Lomax is facing murder charges in connection with the Oct. 18 killing of University of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard at an on-campus dance. "It's been crazy. I've gotten hundreds of calls from different media outlets around the country," Freeman says. And his older brother, Justin Freeman, whose office is next door, is representing another partygoer facing separate charges.

Afghanistan Claims Another Victim From Harvard Law School Class of '97

The National Law Journal

Among those who died when an American military helicopter crashed in Afghanistan last month was DEA special agent Michael Weston, a 37-year-old Harvard Law School graduate who'd already been deployed to Iraq as a Marine three times. His wife of five months, Cynthia Tidler, has been here before. Her first husband, Helge Boes, died in Afghanistan in 2003 while serving as an operations officer for the CIA. Boes, too, was a member of Harvard Law's class of '97, where he and Weston were best friends.

Public Defender Glides Between Courtroom and Ballet Studio

Texas Lawyer

By day, Valerie Shelton-Tabor serves as an assistant public defender in the Dallas County Public Defender's Office. By night, she's the director and co-founder of the Contemporary Ballet of Dallas. Shelton-Tabor, a mother of two, credits her successes at both careers to learning to delegate responsibilities. "I realized I don't have to do it all myself. At the courthouse, I have investigators and administrators. At the studio, I have people I trust. I don't have to nitpick everything," she says. "That was huge."

Plaintiffs Attorney John M. O'Quinn Remembered as Being 'Bigger Than Life'

Texas Lawyer

News spread fast through the legal community about the death of plaintiffs attorney John M. O'Quinn, named one of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America" by The National Law Journal in 1997. Known for winning billions of dollars in verdicts against makers of breast implants and tobacco products, O'Quinn, 68, died Thursday in a car accident. A longtime partner remembered O'Quinn as being much like Houston, "the city that created him," adding that O'Quinn "thought there was nothing he couldn't do."

Former Antarctic Scientist Takes On New Adventures as Skadden Lawyer

The American Lawyer

Armed with degrees in molecular physiology and marine biology, Kristin Larson went to Antarctica in 1988 because "it was the wildest place to go." But a decade later, she'd hit the "ice ceiling," as she calls it, and decided to move on. After graduating from George Washington University Law School in 2000, she joined Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where she works mostly on transactions, evaluating the environmental aspects of corporate deals for clients. But her adventurous streak is alive and well.

New Enforcement Chief Aims to Restore Confidence in SEC

The National Law Journal

As the top cop at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Robert Khuzami has spent his first six months as the director of the Division of Enforcement tackling a cleanup of major proportions. He's undertaken what many call the most sweeping changes of the division in 30 years. Under intense scrutiny from Congress and the SEC's own inspector general, the agency has come to a watershed moment. But change isn't easy, with staff reporting insecurity and doubt as they struggle to find their place in the new regime.

GC Makes Tougher Transition to COO

The Legal Intelligencer

Joe Macchione successfully moved from being an attorney at Morgan Lewis & Bockius to his role as GC at GMH Communities Trust, But the battle between his legal mind and business acumen was truly put to the test when in 2008 GMH Communities was sold and GMH Associates was created in its place -- and Macchione became the new chief operating officer. Transitioning from legal work into a purely business role requires an even broader mind and is a tougher leap to make than going from lawyer to GC, Macchione says.

Growing Up With Segregation Inspires Lawyer to 'Crack Corporate America'

The Connecticut Law Tribune

James Bowers, one of Day Pitney's key corporate compliance attorneys, grew up in the segregated South, and recalls, "There were several civil rights lawyers in the community, and what they did fascinated me." After graduating from Harvard Law School, Bowers became the University of South Carolina's first black law professor. He later chose to practice securities law, deciding against a civil rights practice. "I felt like I was going to crack corporate America," Bowers said.

Wilson Sonsini's First Woman Partner Working Hard at Startup

The Recorder

In the midst of the macho Silicon Valley culture of lawyers and engineers, attorney Judy O'Brien's career scribed an arc that has become a model of success for women. She led her own practice, hit pay dirt with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati during the dot-com boom, becoming its first female partner, then left to become a venture capitalist and now the GC of a startup company. She climbed the ladder by fitting in with the guys -- doing things like teaching herself to swear -- and then working harder than them.