Dennis E. Benner, Giving Back - Thomas M. Cooley Law School

class notes 36Toy ClassWhitaker, Tara L., joined the Bell LawFirm, in Georgetown, S.C., as an associatein the firm’s product liability group. She previouslyworked for the South Carolina judiciary.Phone: (843) 546-2408; e-mail:tarawhitaker25@aol.com.2004Needham ClassKhan, MohammadJavad, has joined thelaw firm of Brault PalmerGrove White &Steinhilber, LLP, in FairfaxVirginia. His practiceareas are civil litigationand contractual disputes.Phone: (703) 273-6400; e-mail:mjkhan@thebraultfirm.com.Ost, Robert, received an LL.M. in Taxationfrom the University of Florida Levin Collegeof Law in December 2005. He has accepteda position with the Little Rock, Ark., office ofKutak Rock LLP, where his practice focuseson all aspects of taxation and securities law.2005 McAllister ClassMiller, Mark C., has joined theBalgooyen Firm, in Muskegon, Mich., as anassociate. His major areas of practiceinclude personal injury, wrongful death,medical malpractice, and products liability.He plans to specialize in elder law. He isalso a professional hockey agent.Boyles ClassCook, Jackie J., has joined the Detroitoffice of Miller, Canfield, Paddock andStone, PLC, as an associate in the LitigationPractice Group. Her focus is on state andlocal taxation. Prior to joining MillerCanfield she worked for Powers, Chapman,DeAgostino, Meyers & Milia in Troy,Michigan, as a law clerk. She also was anexecutive office intern at the MichiganDepartment of Treasury in Lansing,Michigan. Her previous experience alsoincludes working for the Sanilac CountyCircuit Court's Juvenile Division and theSanilac County Prosecutor’s Office, both inSandusky, Michigan.Dodson, Nathan, was hired by the lawfirm of Garan Lucow Miller as an associatein the firm’s Detroit office. He practices inthe areas of premises liability defense, casinolitigation, and automobile negligencedefense.McDonough, John, accepted a positionas assistant prosecutor in St. Joseph County,Mich.Pintar, Jeffrey, and Laura McKimmywere married Nov. 26, 2005. He is a prehearingattorney for the Michigan Court ofAppeals.Memoriam|In Memoriam1982 Goodwin ClassSnyder, Diana S., 60, of Nebraska, haspassed away.1983 Chandler ClassO’Sullivan, James P., 48, died Dec. 5,2005, after a lengthy battle with cancer.He worked with the law firm ofSchoolmaster, Hom, Killeen, Siefer, Arene& Hoehn for the past 15 years, andspecialized in insurance law.1987 Champlin ClassGladney, Patrick O., 45, of FarmingtonHills, Mich., has passed away. He was anadjunct professor at Cooley for 12 years,and a partner in the law firm of Gladney,Reader and Banks, of Brighton, Mich., forseveral years. He was a member of theAncient Order of Hibernians, and hadserved on the Brighton Township Board ofTrustees.1988Tytla, Kathleen, 48, of Waterford,Conn., died Oct. 10, 2005. She practicedlaw in Connecticut for the past 16 years.1993 Moore ClassPawluk, Michael F., 55, died suddenlyDec. 4, 2005 in LaCeiba, Honduras. Hespent the past five years living on his boatoff the coast of Florida and teaching highschool. He received several “Teacher of theYear” awards. He had a degree in audiology,his pilot’s license, and was a publishedauthor.1996 Moody ClassKelley, Gregory Lee, 41, died Dec. 17,2005. He was an attorney in theShreveport-Bossier City, La., area. Mr. Kelleywas a magna cum laude graduate ofCooley, and a member of the Order of theCoif. He was a member of the NationalAssociation of Criminal Defense Lawyers,the Bossier Parish Bar Association, and theLouisiana State Bar Association.2002Montgomery, Drew Donovan, 33,died May 6, 2005.ErratumThe name of graduate Jason Schlesinger(Boyles Class, 2005) was listed incorrectly inthe Trinity Term 2005 Benchmark. The nameshould appear as Jason Derek Schlesinger.The Benchmark apologizes for the error.Cooley Grad Wins 2005Adjunct Faculty AwardCooley Law School honored cum laudeCooley graduate Donald J. Hinkle (PrattClass, 1988) as Adjunct Faculty Memberof the Year and winner of the ninthannual Griffith Award Friday, Nov. 18,2005.Hinkle, an Internal Revenue Service (IRS)Revenue Agent, has served as anadjunct professor at Cooley since 1990,teaching Tax Fraud,Corporate Tax, TaxProcedure, andTaxation of BusinessEntities.The Griffith Awardwas established in1997 to recognize the contributions ofadjunct professors to Cooley’s mission ofpractical legal education. The awardwas funded by contributions made inmemory of the late Frederick J. Griffith,who served as an adjunct facultymember at Cooley.Professor Hinkle has worked with theIRS since 1982. He has taught tax law,auditing techniques, and computerapplications. He audits the tax returns ofcorporations, partnerships, and individuals.He is assigned to the Large andMid-Size Business Division (LMSB) of theIRS. Professor Hinkle has also served asa Summary Witness for the IRS duringcriminal tax trials.BENCHMARK