On The Record - Columbus School of Law

ALUMNI NewsPhilip “Greg” Hilton is in the final twomonths of a one-year recall to activeduty in Afghanistan, where he has beenserving as an adviser to an AfghanNational Army major general in one ofANA regional corps. “It has been a challengingand interesting experience thatmust be experienced to be believed,” hesays. Hilton plans to return to theUnited States in November 2008.Andrea Settanni Kearney and her husband,Jeffrey, are the parents of SarahElizabeth, born Aug. 19, 2006, and RyanNicholas, born June, 26, 2008. The familyresides in Pennsylvania.Erin Reilly Swansiger has been marriedto U.S. Army Lt. Col. RandolphSwansiger since 1999. The couple hasfour children and currently resides inMannheim, Germany, where Lt. Col.Swansiger serves as the chief of claimsfor the United States Army in Europe,following a 15-month deployment toIraq with the Third Infantry Divisionout of Fort Stewart, Ga.1996Vanessa J. Thomas-Cooper recentlybegan a new position as associated generalcounsel for IP and Privacy atKaplan, Inc. in New York City.1997Todd E. Lehder was recently selectedfor inclusion in the New Jersey SuperLawyer–Rising Stars Edition 2008. Thelist was published inthe August 2008 editionof New JerseyMonthly. Only 2.5 percentof lawyers in thestate are named to theRising Stars list representingup-and-comingattorneys who areeither 40 or under or have practiced for10 years or less. Lehder is counsel toWilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A., andis a member of the firm’s commercialreal estate team and redevelopmentstrategic business unit.Behnaz Mansouri Nelson and her husband,Michael, are the parents of RachelVida Nelson, born Sept. 17, 2007. Thefamily resides in Seattle.Michelle Ciszak Pardo and her husband,Jason, 1995, welcomed a son,Griffin Matthew, in March 2008. Hejoins big brother Alexander.Alison B. Vawter was selected a RisingStar by Pennsylvania Law and PoliticsMagazine in 2007 and 2008. She and herhusband, David, recently relocated toIllinois with their two children, Maggie(7) and Frances (6).1998Alexandra C. Gaugler has joined thelaw firm of Pietragallo Gordon AlfanoBosick & Raspanti, LLP as a senior associatein its Philadelphia office. She joinsthe firm from Chadds Ford-based EndoPharmaceuticals, where she was seniormanager of ethics andcorporate compliance.Gaugler concentratesher litigation practiceon white collar criminaldefense and complexcommercial litigation.She is also currentlya hearing examiner for the disciplinaryboard of the PennsylvaniaSupreme Court.Deborah G. Matthews has opened theLaw Office of Deborah G. Matthews inAlexandria, Va. She is licensed to practicein Virginia, Maryland and theDistrict of Columbia.Timothy B. Nagy has joined theinternational securities practice inthe Washington office of BinghamMcCutchen. He spent the previous nineyears working in the market regulationdepartment at the Financial IndustryRegulation Authority.1999Daniel M. Gallagher Jr. was nameddeputy director in the division of tradingand markets for the Securities andExchange Commission, effective July21, 2008. Gallagher had been SECChairman Christopher Cox’s counselsince 2007. Before joining the SEC,Gallagher was general counsel andsenior vice president of FiservSecurities, a clearing broker that wasbought by Fidelity Investments’National Financial in 2004. Gallagherbegan his career at Wilmer CutlerPickering Hale & Dorr, where headvised broker-dealer clients aboutregulatory issues and representedthem in enforcement proceedings.Daniel J. Michaels has been promotedto partner in the Washington, D.C.,office of Kirkland & Ellis. He focuses hispractice on merger and acquisitiontransactions.Jeffrey L. Phillips has joined theDepartment of Justice’s Board ofImmigration Appeals as a staff attorney.The BIA adjudicates appeals of decisionsrendered in the nation’s immigrationcourts. Phillips and his wife, Jenny,1999, live with their four children inAnnapolis, Md.Capt. James P. Toscano was appointedgeneral counsel for Washington, D.C.’sChild and Family Services Agency,effective June 18, 2008.2000Lisa D. Butler was appointed chairmanof the Board of Ethics for PrinceGeorge’s County in July 2008. She is apartner with Mensah, Butler & Dzubow,PLLC in Washington, D.C.Angela F. Collins has joined CahillGordon & Reindel as a senior attorney.She was previously an associate at MintzLevin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo.Cmdr. Ronald S. Horn was recentlyappointed the deputy staff judge advocateof the U.S. Coast Guard’sMaintenance and Logistics Command,Atlantic and Atlantic Area. Horn currentlyserved as a military judge forSpecial Courts-Martial.50CUALAWYER /Fall–Winter 2008