--- title: 'December 2023' date: '2023-12-20T12:12:27-06:00' type: post word_count: 1296 char_count: 9939 tokens: 1685 categories: - 'Alumni News' --- # December 2023 News ---- --- ### [Become an Alabama Law Alumni Society Class Chair!](/blog/become-an-alabama-law-alumni-society-class-chair/) ![Capstone Lawyer Cover 2023](/wp-content/uploads/archive/main/cover-791x1024.webp)Thank you to all of our great alumni who have signed up to become a Class Chair/Co-Chair! **1960:** Broox Holmes **1971:** Jim Shaw **1972:** Dagnal Rowe **1977:** Robert Ennis **1979:** Kathy Collier & Bobby Wolldridge **1980:** Paul S. Davidson **1982:** Laura Crum, Dale Nellums, and Katherine Russell **1983:** Stan Blanton, John Watson, and Ann Watson **1985:** Joanne Dorr & Marty Roberts **1986:** Larry Canada **1988:** J. Alan Bannister & Lisa Tinsley O’Hara **1989:** Mark Burr & Susan Doss **1991:** Jon Turner **1994:** Hon. David Faulkner, Kimberly Martin, and Allison Skinner **1997:** Joe Powell & Caroline Strawbridge **1998:** Hon. Clint Hyde **1999:** Jason R. Watkins **2000:** Aldos Vance **2001:** Hamp Baxley & Sean Pierce **2002:** J. Pratt Austin-Trucks **2003:** Michelle Crunk **2005:** Jennifer Clark **2006:** Tonja Carter **2007:** Abbey Herrin Clarkson & Kandice Pickett **2010:** David Holt **2011:** Will Lattimore **2012:** Danielle Blevins & Mary Wu Tullis **2013:** Paul Rand **2014:** Felicia Long **2017:** Caitlin Cobb & Neena Speer **2018:** Robert Pendley **2019:** Steven Arango, Finley Reeves, and Ashton Standeffer Taylor **2021:** Robert Humphrey **2022:** Ben Barrow & Dakota Slaughter **2023:** Blaize Naman & Kyra Perkins These Class Chairs will: (1) facilitate communications between the Law School and their class; (2) connect with class members to keep them updated and apprised of what each other is doing; and (3) help increase participation in the Alabama Law Alumni Society’s annual giving program. The Alumni Society is still seeking Chairs for the following class years: **1961-1970, 1973-1976, 1978, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1992-1993, 1995-1996, 2004, 2008-2009, 2015-2016,** and **2020.** To become an Alabama Law Alumni Society Class Co-chair, or to [learn more about the program](/blog/become-an-alabama-law-alumni-society-class-chair/), please contact Candice Robbins, Assistant Dean for Advancement at . --- ### [2023 Capstone Lawyer Available Online](https://issuu.com/alabamalaw/docs/ualaw2023_proof_final.issuu) The 2023 edition of the Capstone Lawyer, Alabama Law’s annual magazine, is [now available online](https://issuu.com/alabamalaw/docs/ualaw2023_proof_final.issuu). Physical copies were mailed out last week – if you’d like a copy of the magazine, please contact Savannah Kelly at . Flip through the magazine above and check out the following feature stories: ![](/wp-content/uploads/archive/main/EICs-1024x646.webp)[Meet the Four Women Leading Alabama Law’s Academic Journals](https://issuu.com/articles/41260343) ![](/wp-content/uploads/archive/main/AdobeStock_576475041-scaled.webp)[Donna’s Law: Preventing Gun Suicide While Respecting Second Amendment Rights](https://issuu.com/alabamalaw/docs/ualaw2023_proof_final.issuu/s/41260845) ![](/wp-content/uploads/archive/main/AdobeStock_357309027-1-copy-1024x585.webp)[Institutionalizing Fear in the Workplace: The Impact of Anemic Retaliation Protections](https://issuu.com/articles/41263736) ![](/wp-content/uploads/archive/main/039_Brewbaker_Dean_Law-edited-1024x768.webp)[A Familiar Face, A Renewed Vision: William S. Brewbaker III Named Dean of Alabama Law](https://issuu.com/articles/41263497) --- ### Save the Date for the Alabama Law Alumni Society Banquet ![Save the date for the Alabama Law Alumni Society Banquet on March 1, 2024.](/wp-content/uploads/archive/main/STD_ALAS2024_1-1024x577.png)The Law School and the Alabama Law Alumni Society will be hosting the annual Alabama Law Alumni Society Banquet on March 1, 2024. Keep an eye out for an email in the coming weeks for more details and to purchase tickets. --- ### [Year-End Charitable Giving](/blog/2023-end-of-year-giving/) ![](/wp-content/uploads/archive/main/SocialPost_Holiday2023-1024x1024.png)As you consider your charitable giving prior to the end of the year, remember that gifts made now could generate income tax deductions that may help reduce your tax bill for 2023. [Here’s how to complete your 2023 gift to the University of Alabama School of Law by year-end](/blog/2023-end-of-year-giving/). --- Gifts ----- *Recognition of gifts of $5,000+ over the past month* **Hon. Sue Bell Cobb (’81) and William J. Cobb** pledged $10,000 toward the Path Makers Legacy Plaza. **Hon. Samarria (’03) and Mr. Kendall C. (’96) Dunson** pledged $25,000 toward the Path Makers Legacy Plaza. **Stephen D. Kane (’69)** contributed $25,000 to the Program for Law and Business support fund. **Harlan Ashley Page III (’85)** contributed $6,000 to the Alabama Law Alumni Society. **Jerry W. (’75) and Carolyn W. Powell, Jr.** contributed $5,000 to the Dean Mark E. Brandon Endowed Support Fund for the Program in Constitutional Studies. **Clifton E. Slaten (’87)** contributed $5,000 to the Dean Mark E. Brandon Endowed Support Fund for the Program in Constitutional Studies. **The Ben May Charitable Trust** contributed $5,000 to the Ben May Endowed Scholarship Fund. **The Albert G. Rives Charitable Trust** contributed $13,250 to the Albert G. and Hester Rives Fund. **An anonymous pledge** of $550,000 was received to establish the Faculty Support Gift Fund, and an additional pledge of $450,000 was received to support the James F. Hughey Endowed Scholarship Fund. *The following alumni and friends (not mentioned above) either made or renewed an annual giving contribution to the Alabama Law Alumni Society this past month.* Belinda Anne Barnett (’89) Hon. Henry D. Binford (’82) William D. Blackmon Spencer A. Bomar (’00) Hon. Joseph A. Colquitt (’70) J. Sydney Cook (’74) Joe D. Edge (’73) George C. Garikes (’82) Hon. D. Gregory Geary (’90) James R. Holland II (’93) John Jascob (’15) Norman Jetmundsen, Jr. (’79) Gilbert E. Johnston, Jr. (’73) Christopher R. Kelley (’00) Van Wesley Lane (’85) Victor H. Lott, Jr. (’75) Robert Lee McCurley, Jr. (’66) Glory R. McLaughlin (’05) John F. Noble Nancy D. Noble J. Fred Powell (’59) Dr. Paul M. Pruitt, Jr. Frances King Quick (’91) Jonathan E. Raulston (’01) Julia Smeds Roth (’77) Nicholas B. Roth (’80) Woody Sanderson (’79) Kyle Thomas Smith (’95) Tempe D. Smith (’10) Caroline J. Strawbridge (’97) James Hardy Tarbox (’13) M. Chad Tindol Laurence D. Vinson, Jr. (’73) Lita M. Waggoner (’21) Megan H. Walsh (’12) Joshua M. Wehunt (’11) Jeff A. Wells (’06) Jennifer B. Wells (’06) --- Class Notes ----------- **Sarah Atkinson (‘23)** joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as an associate in Birmingham. **Stanley Blackmon (‘15)** was elected to the executive committee of the Birmingham Bar Association. **William P. Burgess III (‘23)** joined Bradley Arant Boult Cumming LLP as an associate in Birmingham. **Hon. Sue Bell Cobb** **(‘81)** was [interviewed on NPR’s *All Things Considered*](https://www.npr.org/2023/12/11/1217710630/prison-parole-alabama-redemption-earned-prisoners-release) about her work with Alabama’s Redemption Earned. **Megan F. Clontz (‘09)** was selected as one of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s “40 Under 40.” **Murray S. Flint (’15)** was named partner at Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers LLP in Birmingham. **Megan Fortson Fry (‘08)** was named to Florida Trend’s 2023 Legal Elite Notable – Women Leaders in Law. **Jennifer Q. Griffin (’97)** was named the president of Alabama Family Trust. **Gary L. Howard (’93)** was appointed chair of the Defense Research Institute’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. **Raven A. Reid (‘08)** was named the director of the Florida Department of Children and Families Sexually Violent Predator Program. **LaTanya D. Rhines (’96)** was named the secretary of the board of Alabama Family Trust. **Emily M. Ruzic (’14)** was appointed chair of the Defense Research Institute’s Young Lawyers Committee. **Rachel M. Sims (‘23)** joined Bradley Arant Boult Cumming LLP as an associate in Birmingham. **Adam G. Williams (‘22)** joined Bradley Arant Boult Cumming LLP as an associate in Nashville. --- Faculty Notes ------------- **Professor Russell Gold** published a co-authored article, [*The Public Voice of the Defender*](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4416723), in the Alabama Law Review. **Professor Luke Herrine** was mentioned in a [CNBC article about the federal student loan forgiveness plan](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/24/bidens-second-student-loan-forgiveness-plan-what-we-know-so-far.html). **Professor Shalini Ray** published her essay on statutory interpretation in three immigration cases from the 2021-22 Supreme Court term, [*Eroding Immigrants’ Rights Through the “New” New Textualism*](https://www.acslaw.org/journal/acs-supreme-court-review-sixth-edition/)*,* in the sixth edition of the American Constitution Society’s Supreme Court Review. ****Professor Clare Ryan**** published her article, [*Are Children’s Rights Enough?*](https://aulawreview.org/blog/are-childrens-rights-enough/), in the American University Law Review. **Professor Joyce Vance** co-authored an opinion essay for Slate titled [*The World’s Feminists Need to Show Up for Israeli Victims*](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/11/israeli-women-victims-sexual-assault-need-support.html)*.* She, along with her co-authors, also appeared on MSNBC’s *Morning Joe* to discuss the piece. **Professor Fred Vars** co-authored an opinion essay in The Hill titled *[Patrons packing heat: Businesses should be required to tell customers whether guns are allowed](https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/4368020-patrons-packing-heat-businesses-should-be-required-to-tell-customers-whether-guns-are-allowed/)*.