Mel Eaves has been designated a 2010 Southwest Super Lawyer.
John Leathers is general counsel of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, a 450-lawyer firm based in Pittsburgh with offices in 10 other cities. He joined that firm in 2005, following 17 years in commercial litigation. After earning his J.D., Leathers received an LL.M. from Columbia University and spent the next 16 years as a law professor.
Ronald Segel was recognized in the 2013 Best Lawyers in America directory for his work in plaintiffs’ personal injury litigation. He practices with Sutin, Thayer & Browne.
Walter Echo-Hawk authored In the Courts of the Conqueror: The Ten Worst Indian Law cases Ever Decided, a 576-page book that looks at how court decisions through the years have shaped life in Indian country across the United States. The book was published in 2010. He is of counsel to the Crowe & Dunleavy law firm of Oklahoma.
Henry Rivera was elected to the Board of Directors of the University of New Mexico Alumni Association in 2012.
Peter Johnstone has been elected secretary of the UNM Foundation Board of Trustees. He practices law in Albuquerque and serves on the UNM School of Law Alumni/ae Association Board of Directors.
Judge M. Christina Armijo of the U.S. District Court in New Mexico was presented with the Henrietta Pettijohn Award by the New Mexico Women's Bar Association at a late-October 2011 reception. Armijo was honored for her outstanding achievements in advancing women in the legal profession. The award is named in recognition of Pettijohn, who was the first woman to be licensed to practice law in the Territory of New Mexico. She began practicing in 1892 in Las Vegas, which, coincidentally, is Armijo's hometown.
Catherine Goldberg was elected to the Board of Directors of Albuquerque Economic Development in 2010. She is a partner and shareholder in the Rodey Law Firm, where she is a member of the business department. The mission of Albuquerque Economic Development is to recruit business and industry to generate quality job opportunities in the Albuquerque area.
Harold Lavender joined Modrall Sperling as of counsel in 2010. He brings to the firm 33 years of experience as a trader and broker at the Chicago Board of Trade.
Paul W. Grimm was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in early December 2012. Previously, he had served as a U.S. magistrate judge for Maryland since 1997 and as chief judge since 2006. Grimm has been a frequent lecturer at CLE programs on issues regarding evidence and civil procedure, and has lectured throughout the United States regarding discovery of electronically stored information and its admissibility in civil and criminal proceedings.
Tommy Roberts was elected mayor of Farmington in 2010. He was born and raised in Farmington and after earning his J.D., he returned to practice oil and gas law.
Lynn Slade, a shareholder at Modrall Sperling, was elected to the American Law Institute in 2012. He was named Lawyer of the Year 2012 in both Native American Law and Natural Resources Law in Albuquerque by Best Lawyers in America and was Lawyer of the Year in Energy Law – Albuquerque in 2011.
Ron Solimon joined the board of trustees of the Albuquerque Community Foundation in 2012. In 2010, he was appointed to the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. The 29-member board provides guidance on programs, policies and issues affecting the industry. Solimon is president and CEO of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.
Hannah Best was presented with the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award by the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women. The commission presented awards to 20 additional women from across New Mexico for their contribution to improving the lives of women in the state. Throughout her career, Best has been a champion of civil rights and women's rights, and is known for her unrelenting tenacity on behalf of her clients and the broader community. The Lifetime Achievement Award was created in 2002 and previous recipients have included former New Mexico first lady Alice King and Georgia O'Keeffe.
Jan Gilman-Tepper has been elected 2011 president of the Albuquerque Bar Association. She is a name partner at Little, Gilman-Tepper & Batley, a family law firm.
Paula Tackett received the 2010 Public Lawyer of the Year Award, presented every year by the State Bar Public Law Section. In June 2010, she resigned as director of the Legislative Council Service after 22 years at the helm. She joined the LCS in 1982 as a staff attorney and was later promoted to assistant director. She took over the operation after longtime director Clay Buchanan (`52) died in 1988.
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall chaired a Senate field hearing that addressed drunk driving in August 2011 at the University of New Mexico School of Law. He welcomed comments from an invited group of panelists at the hearing, titled, "Fighting Drunk Driving: Lessons Learned from New Mexico". Udall is co-sponsoring legislation that would authorize funding for more research into DWI prevention methods. He is interested in a passive in-vehicle detection system, which could have the potential to end drunk driving.
Thomas Acevedo was appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education. He is a CEO of S&K Technologies, a family of tribally owned businesses in northwestern Montana. He previously served as chief of staff for the National Indian Gaming Commission.
Margaret Moses Branch received the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women for a long list of professional accomplishments and philanthropy. She is with the Branch Law Firm.
Diane Fisher is senior vice president and general counsel for Presbyterian Healthcare Services.
James McKay received a brevet promotion to the rank of brigadier general in retirement ceremonies at the New Mexico Army National Guard headquarters in Santa Fe in 2011. His retirement marked 33 years of combined active duty and reserve service, for which he received a number of medals and the Silver Star. He successfully "unretired" to become general counsel with the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department.
Jimmie Reyna was unanimously confirmed in April 2011 by the U.S. Senate as the first Hispanic member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Prior to his confirmation, he was a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Williams Mullen, Clark & Dobbins, where he led the law firm's International Trade and Customs Group and served on its board of directors. Reyna also has a distinguished track record of leadership in the Hispanic legal community.
Bob Rosebrough was elected to the Board of Directors of the University of New Mexico Alumni Association in 2012.
Richard Puglisi, a U.S. Magistrate judge, was named chief U.S. magistrate judge for the District of New Mexico in late 2009.
Barbara Stephenson was promoted in early 2011 to shareholder in the firm of Sheehan & Sheehan, where she works in the area of counseling and defending employers in employment litigation and administrative procedures.
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is the author of Failing America's Faithful: How Today's Churches Mixed God with Politics and Lost Their Way, published in 2010. She is a visiting fellow at Harvard University' John F. Kennedy School of Government and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
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