Category: Class Notes

Matthew Louis Brown passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, January 10, 2026. He began his legal career as an associate with the Chicago firm of Sachnoff & Weaver, Ltd., later continuing his work after its merger with Reed Smith, LLP, before joining his father at Brown Law Group in 2010. A full obituary is available online.

United States Magistrate Judge Noelle C. Collins was sworn in for a five-year term as Chief Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri on December 30, 2025. Judge Collins has served as a Magistrate Judge since 2013. Prior to that, she worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in St. Louis, specializing in human trafficking prosecutions for the last three years of her nearly ten year-tenure as a federal prosecutor.

Elsie Oyoo-Ojuando serves as Corporate Governance and Regulatory Affairs Manager at Equity Group Holdings PLC, one of the largest financial institutions in East and Central Africa. In May 2025, she was elected as a Council Member of the Institute of Certified Secretaries (ICS), the statutory and nationally recognized professional body responsible for regulating and advancing corporate governance practice in Kenya.

Latoya Hughes has been appointed Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Matt Pausch retired in September 2025 after 36 years of service in the Department of Defense, including serving as General Counsel of the Defense Logistics Agency and as a Chief Counsel of two Department of Army Legal Centers. In January 2026, he began employment with The Sander Group, PLLC, which provides legal services and consulting on national security, government contracts, compliance, and litigation-related matters.

After more than 18 years as a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Hon. Patrick Sherlock retired in August 2025. Shortly after my retirement, he joined ADR Systems, LLC. as a mediator.

Dr. Tara Adams ’13 received her PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership with a concentration in Higher Education.

Tad Daley was the opening speaker at a conference, sponsored by Birkbeck College of the University of London, called “Does the World Need a Government?” His paper will be published next year as the opening chapter in a compendium volume in Springer Publication’s World Systems Evolution and Global Futures series.

Ava George Stewart ’03, of Chicago, Illinois, was appointed by Governor J.B. Pritzker to a second term as a member of the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, where she has been elected Vice-Chair of the Commission.

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer recently announced the election of John Lagrou to the firm’s partnership in the US. Lagrou is based in New York and advises on primarily middle-market transactions for private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies.