William “Bill” Matheson Ahlenius passed away on December 18, 2024. Bill was a double Illini and a proud veteran of the U.S. Navy. He served as an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy and ultimately achieved the rank of Commander. Bill spent the majority of his career at the Peoria, Illinois, firm of Swain, Johnson, and Gard, making partner and becoming a well-respected pillar of the Peoria legal community. Bill’s granddaughter, Blair Engerman, followed in his footsteps and graduated from the College of Law in 2020.
Category: Class Notes
Decade-based collections of class notes
David Murray ’60
David Murray, retired partner of Ward Murray Pace and Johnson of Sterling, Illinois, was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award by the FAA for 50 years of safe flying without an accident or violation of an FAA regulation.
Tom Stipanowich ’80
Tom Stipanowich, William H. Webster Chair in Dispute Resolution and Professor at Pepperdine’s Caruso School of Law, recently received Pepperdine’s Howard A White Award for Excellence in Teaching. Stipanowich, a nationally known scholar on arbitration and mediation law and practice, was also named to the California Dispute Resolution Hall of Fame by the California Lawyers Association.
Mei Tsang ’02
The Orange County Bar Association recently named Mei Tsang as its president. Mei was also profiled in the January issue of OC Lawyer.
Michelle Bolos ’16
1/24/24: Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP elected Michelle Bolos to partnership, effective Jan. 1, 2024.
Raymond Ricordati III ’02
1/24/24: Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP has elected Raymond R. Ricordati, III to partnership, effective Jan. 1, 2024.
John Greanias ’67
1/24/24: John Greanias has been awarded a research grant to develop a curriculum for academic study of the evolution of moral and ethical principles of United States law. The grant was awarded by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Greanias is presently a lecturer at Santa Clara University School of Law and a member of the faculty of Stanford Law School’s Trial Advocacy Workshop. He previously served as an Illinois Circuit Court Judge (1987- 2008).
Helen Hartnell ’80
1/24/24: Helen Hartnell passed away in late 2023. She taught international law at numerous institutions and was a full-time faculty member at Golden Gate University (GGU) School of Law in San Francisco from 1997 until 2013.
Mary Gilmore ’22
1/24/24: Mary Gilmore has joined Fox Rothschild in the Chicago office as an Associate in the Financial Restructuring & Bankruptcy Department.
James English ’08
1/24/24: Clark Hill, an AmLaw200 law firm, has promoted James English to member. He practices out of the firm’s Houston office with the Environmental & Natural Resources group.