March 2010
By Thai Phi Stone

Honors and Appointments
AARP in Maryland has appointed Rawle Andrews Jr. as interim senior state director … Darin A. Jones, a contracting officer at the U.S. General Services Administration, has passed the Professional Engineer (PE) Exam in civil/construction engineering to become a licensed PE by the South Carolina State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors… Lisa D. Taylor of Stern & Kilcullen, LLC in Roseland, New Jersey, was named to the New York Area’s Top Lawyers list by New York magazine… Andrea C. Ferster of the Law Office of Andrea Ferster received the 2009 Historic Preservation Review Board Chairman’s Award for Law and Public Policy at the District of Columbia Awards for Excellence in Historic Preservation… David P. Bloch has been appointed to serve as deputy chief investigative counsel to the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

On the Move
Mayer Brown LLP has promoted Joseph R. Baker to partner in the firm’s general and appellate litigation practices… Joseph J. LoBue and Michael A. Umayam have been promoted to special counsel at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP… Sam J. Alberts has joined the bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice at Dickstein Shapiro LLP… Edward J. O’Connell III has been named equity partner at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, L.L.P.… Craig A. Benson and Andrew C. Finch have been elected partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP… Noah A. Brumfield, Daniel A. Hagan, and Mara E. Topping have been named partner at White & Case LLP... Gregory E. Heltzer, Christopher D. Man, and Joshua D. Rogaczewski have been promoted to partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP… John I. Sakhleh has been promoted to partner in Sidley Austin LLP’s securities and futures regulatory practice. Brian R. Nester has joined the firm’s intellectual property litigation practice as partner… Jeffrey L. Hare has joined DLA Piper LLP as partner in the government affairs group and will chair the firm’s financial services regulatory practice within government affairs. Luis R. Mejia has joined the firm’s securities enforcement and litigation practices as partner, providing insight to clients on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s conduct from a compliance, enforcement, and policy perspective… Mark V. Vlasic has completed his appointment as head of operations of the StAR Secretariat at the World Bank Group and is serving as senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for Law, Science and Global Security. He also is a partner at Ward & Ward PLLC, where he heads the firm’s international practice… Adin C. Goldberg has joined the New York office of Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC, as member (partner) in the firm’s labor and employment, employee benefits and executive compensation, and immigration practice… David S. Petron has been elevated to partner in Sidley Austin LLP’s U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission practice group… Toyja E. Kelley has been elected partner at Tydings & Rosenberg LLP in the firm’s litigation department.

Company Changes
Attorneys Arthur Adelberg, Richard Lorenzo, Jay Matson, and Nicole Travers will assist Loeb & Loeb LLP in opening an office at 601 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, suite 900 South… Shirlene A. Archer has opened Archer Legal Services, PLLC, with its principal office at 1629 K Street NW, suite 300. The firm will represent D.C. residents in cases involving business law, family law, and nonprofit law… David B. Deitch has left Janis, Schuelke & Wechsler to open a solo practice, the Law Offices of David B. Deitch PLLC, located at 1455 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, suite 400. The new practice will focus on white collar, criminal defense, and civil litigation cases… Attorneys Michael Andrews and Jani Tillery have opened the D.C. Crime Victims Resource Center at 1411 K Street NW, suite 1400.

Author! Author!
Alan S. Nemeth, an adjunct professor of animal law at the American University Washington College of Law, has written “An Introduction to Cap and Trade for Animal Welfare,” which was included in the Journal of Animal and Environmental Law… Jerry W. Cox of Potomac Strategy Associates has written Transportation of Hazardous Materials in Plain English Packaging, a practical guide to “hazmat” safety law, published by Touching Covers, Inc.… Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP partner Mark E. Chopko has coauthored Exposed: A Legal Field Guide for Nonprofit Executives, published by the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. The tome is designed to assist nonprofit executives in identifying legal issues that can arise in ordinary business activities.

D.C. Bar members in good standing are welcome to submit announcements for this column. When making a submission, please include name, position, organization, and address. Please e-mail submissions to D.C. Bar staff writer Thai Phi Stone at tstone@dcbar.org.