Class Notes

Class Notes are displayed in the order that they are received. You may also view notes by decade, or by class year – simply click on the decade or click on the + symbol to expand the decade and display by year. If a given class year does not appear, notes do not exist for that particular year.

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Jason Torf '98

(2/19/24)

Tucker Ellis LLP attorney Jason Torf has been named to the 2024 Illinois Super Lawyers list in the area of Bankruptcy: Business.

David Cialkowski '98

(12/11/23)

Zimmerman Reed Partner David M. Cialkowski has been named Co-Vice Chair for the Committee to Support the Antitrust Laws (COSAL) Amicus Committee. In his role, Cialkowski will help COSAL give voice to its views to help shape and safeguard antitrust law.

David Cialkowski '98

(8/22/23)

David Cialkowski was recently recognized in the 2024 Best Lawyers in America, a recognition he’s received for the past 5 years.

David Cialkowski '98

(7/24/23)

David Cialkowski has been selected to the 2023 Minnesota Super Lawyers list. A partner at Zimmerman Reed, Cialkowski focuses on antitrust, consumer protection, and product liability matters.

Kerri Holloway '98

(5/21/23)

Kerri J. Holloway JD '98, LLM '01 was appointed as Chief Academic Officer/Provost for the University of Business Innovation and Sustainability with headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Tiffany Smith '98

(10/21/22)

Tiffany Smith has been promoted to the role of General Counsel for the Senate Finance Committee. She has served as Chief Tax Counsel since 2016 and on the committee since 2007, playing a key role in every tax bill Congress has passed in the last decade and leading the tax team through consideration of historic legislation, most recently the Inflation Reduction Act.

Ngozi Okorafor '98

(11/30/21)
Ngozi Okorafor passed away on November 23, 2021 at the age of 48 in Homewood, Illinois. She was the Director of Employment Actions for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and served as a former president of the BWLA (Black Women Lawyers' Association). She was listed as one of "Illinois’ 40 Attorneys Under 40 to Watch" and was a 2020 Top Women Lawyers in Leadership Award Honoree. 

Tracey Wolfe '98

(8/13/21)
Croke Fairchild Morgan & Beres is pleased to announce that accomplished employment attorney and commercial litigator Tracey Wolfe has joined the firm as partner. Tracey brings more than 20 years of experience across a broad range of commercial and employment matters, adding depth of knowledge and litigation experience to two key areas of practice within the growing firm.

Brian McAleenan '98

(3/10/20)
Brian A. McAleenan has joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner in the firm’s Trial Practice Group in its Chicago office. Prior to joining Duane Morris, McAleenan was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP.

Rob Spencer '98

(11/21/19)
Rob Spencer was appointed General Counsel of Henniges Automotive, a global Tier 1 automotive supplier.

Ted Smith '98

(4/17/19)
Ted Smith, a partner in the Columbus office of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, has been inducted into the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL).  Admission to the organization is by invitation only after a rigorous screening process, making it the premier organization of real estate lawyers in the United States.

Grant Gulovsen '98

(11/25/18)
The CryptoLaw Podcast (www.cryptolawpodcast.com), a weekly discussion of cryptocurrency law & regulation co-founded by 1998 alum Grant Gulovsen in October of 2018, has already interviewed two other College of Law Alumni in its two month existence: Zach Smolinksi (2000) and Wulf Kaal (2005).

Federico Rodriguez '98

(8/27/18)
Federico was recently honored with the inaugural Latino Lawyer of the Year award at the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois' Gala Dinner. He was also just sworn into the Board of Managers for the Chicago Bar Association at its annual luncheon. Lastly, the American Bar Association President appointed Federico to the ABA's Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities.

Bjay Pak '98

(3/7/18)
Byung J. Pak was honored during a ceremonial dinner hosted by the American Korean Friendship Society Inc. on February 23, 2018. He received the "New American Hero" award.

Theodore Smith '98

(9/5/17)
Ted Smith has been included on the 2018 Best Lawyers in America list. Smith was selected as a Best Lawyer in Construction and Real Estate Law. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 39,000 leading attorneys cast almost 3.1 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

Byung Jin Pak '98

(7/26/17)
If confirmed, Byung Jin (“BJay”) Pak of Georgia will serve as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. Mr. Pak is currently a member of Chalmers Pak Burch & Adams LLC, where his practice focuses on complex litigation and government investigations. Mr. Pak was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 2011 to 2017, during which he served as a Deputy Majority Whip, and as the Vice Chairman of the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee. From 2002 to 2008, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia, where he prosecuted drug trafficking, money laundering, intellectual property, and white-collar crimes. Prior to becoming a Federal prosecutor, he was a litigation associate at Alston & Bird LLP. Mr. Pak clerked for the Honorable Richard Mills of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. He received his B.B.A. from Stetson University in 1995 and his J.D., summa cum laude, from University of Illinois College of Law in 1998.

Grant Gulovsen '98

(6/16/17)
Grant is currently working with executive producer David Kolko on an international reality competition between up-and-coming social media influencers from the U.S. and China that will be broadcast in both countries. Celebrity guests include YouTube makeup artist Promise Phan as well as Shanghai fashion photographer and Asia's Next Top Model resident judge Todd Anthony Tyler.