From spring break travel to family holidays and more, this season brings a lot of activity to our lives. We thank you for taking a few minutes to catch up on the latest news from Faegre Drinker and our alumni.

We encourage you to subscribe to Alumni News & Events, share what’s new with you in our LinkedIn alumni group, or email us at alumni@faegredrinker.com. Let us know what you think of this latest edition and how we can better serve your needs as alumni. Our inbox is always open.

Our People

New years are always full of fresh ideas, wonderful opportunities and uncharted territory – 2023 has yet to disappoint. Earlier this year, the firm announced the promotion of 26 attorneys to the firm’s partnership and six attorneys to counsel (effective January 1, 2023) and six consulting professionals based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office were promoted to principal (effective February 1, 2023).

As a firm, we are seizing the “new year” mentality as we embrace new leadership. In November 2022, Faegre Drinker announced that Gina Kastel would succeed Andy Kassner and Tom Froehle as the firm’s next chair, effective April 1, 2023. In her role, Gina will focus on growing the firm’s impressive client roster, strengthening the firm’s deep client relationships and continuing to attract the best talent in the industry. Read more about the firm’s leadership transitions here.

Alumni Spotlight

From astronauts to zookeepers and beyond, our career goals as children can be as lofty as our imaginations. But for these featured firm alums, their career paths are deeply rooted in their formative years. In this edition’s alumni spotlights, find out how Fatema Zanzi’s hopes of becoming a pediatrician transformed into her dream job as the leader of in-house legal services for a major children’s hospital — and how some wise words from Raymond Rushing’s grandmother launched him into a robust legal career.

Alumni News & Moves

Whether they left us yesterday or several years ago, they’re never truly gone — we like to keep track of our people and their accomplishments. It’s an honor to be part of their stories as our firm alumni continue thriving in both their communities and the legal (or not!) professions. See what your fellow alumni have been up to since our last newsletter.

New Hires/Retirements

New Faces

We are glad to welcome several new colleagues to the Faegre Drinker family:

• Gary Bellingham | Partner | Financing & Restructuring | London
• Paul Patrow* | Partner | Corporate | Chicago
• Mindy Westrick Brown* | Counsel | Government & Regulatory | Indianapolis
• Jessica Carlson | Counsel | Financing & Restructuring | Minneapolis
• Terry Frangiosa | Senior Director | Government & Regulatory | Washington, D.C.

* We were happy to welcome Paul and Mindy back to the firm. Currently, there are 40 “boomerang” attorneys at Faegre Drinker who worked at the firm previously, left for a short period of time and then returned.

Retirements

As new friends joined us, we also had to say goodbye to several close friends and colleagues over the past few months. Please join us in sending our best wishes to those who recently retired from the firm:

• Michael Adelman, senior counsel, Florham Park
• William Busch, partner, Minneapolis
• Harry Cherken, senior counsel, Philadelphia
• Richard Goldman, senior counsel, Princeton
• Jeffrey Hedlund, partner, Minneapolis
• David Kay, senior counsel, Chicago
• Jerome Miranowski, partner, Minneapolis
• Karen Moses, partner, Fort Wayne
• Patrick O’Connor, senior counsel, Minneapolis
• David Rubenstein, senior counsel, Chicago
• Samuel Strickland, counsel, Washington, D.C.
• Bing Wang, partner, Chicago
• Vern Zvoleff, senior counsel, San Francisco

What Else is Happening?

General Firm News

Faegre Drinker Releases 2022 Annual Report

The firm’s annual report introduces our core value of true partnership and details some of our work for clients, colleagues and the community. Read the report here.

Faegre Drinker Repeatedly Recognized for Excellence by BTI Consulting

Faegre Drinker was recognized for exceptional client service in BTI’s “2023 Client Service A-Team” report, a “best of the best” list of firms identified by clients as performing 9 to 15 times better than the typical law firm. Faegre Drinker ranked 22 out of 241 law firms named in the report.

The firm was also recognized by BTI as a law firm that top legal decision makers “most recommend” above others. The firm was among nine firms “most recommended by top legal decision makers,” ranking higher than 77 other firms listed as “frequently recommended.”

Faegre Drinker Receives Two “Deal of the Year” Awards From M&A Advisor

Faegre Drinker was recognized for two significant deals by M&A Advisor at its 21st annual awards gala, which honors leading M&A transactions, restructurings, deal financings, products/services, firms and professionals. The firm received the “Corporate/Strategic Deal of the Year” ($50–100MM) and “M&A Deal of the Year” ($100–250MM) awards.

Faegre Drinker Recognized as a Standout Law Firm in the “GRR 30” 2022

Global Restructuring Review named the firm as one of the world’s leading law firms for cross-border restructuring and insolvency matters. The profile highlighted team members, some of the firm’s top cases, and client feedback: “I view [Faegre Drinker] as a highly trusted advisor and key extension of our in-house legal department.” Read more about accolade.

Pro Bono

2022 Pro Bono Award Recipients Announced

In March, Faegre Drinker’s executive leadership team announced the recipients of the firm’s 2022 Pro Bono Awards and Pro Bono Service Moment of the Year Awards. In addition to a commemorative award, each individual recipient had the opportunity to direct a $1,000 charitable contribution from the Faegre Drinker Foundation to a partner nonprofit organization. Check out the full story for the complete list of honorees and details on their pro bono work.

2022 Pro Bono Honor Roll

The Faegre Drinker executive leadership team congratulated 292 attorneys, paraprofessionals, consultants and summer associates named to the 2022 Pro Bono Honor Roll, which recognizes people who volunteered 50 or more hours of pro bono service last year. In 2022, our attorneys and paraprofessionals contributed more than 47,000 hours of pro bono service with 86% of our pro bono hours devoted to serving low-income clients and organizations that serve them.

Firm Recognized as ABA Free Legal Answers Pro Bono Leader

The American Bar Association (ABA) recognized Faegre Drinker in its “Free Legal Answers Pro Bono Leaders" 2022 edition for collectively answering 75 or more questions in 2022. The ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service annually recognizes individual attorneys, law firms and other legal groups that provide extraordinary pro bono services through the association's virtual legal clinic, ABA Free Legal Answers.

Indianapolis-based corporate Partner Brittney Yocum and Associate Cara Weingartner were individually recognized for answering 50 or more civil legal questions through the clinic in 2022. Additionally, the firm's Indianapolis and Fort Wayne offices were recognized for 27 attorneys answering 368 poverty law questions from Indiana residents.

Diversity & Inclusion

Celebrating Arab American Heritage Month at Faegre Drinker

All Faegre Drinker alumni are invited to Join us for our 2023 Arab American History Month program featuring the Honorable William J. Haddad, (Ret.) and firm client Cummins’ Corporate Counsel Ala’a Wafa. Throughout this Q&A-style program, facilitators Abdullah Azkalany, Mary Hershewe, Joe Mourad and Jasmin Osman will take time to share in discussion focused on the future of Arabs in America with guest presenters. Please register online to receive a link to our virtual presentation.

Maria Lewis Honored by Philadelphia Bar Association

Chief Diversity Officer Maria Lewis was selected as the recipient of the 2023 “Albert S. Dandridge III Diversity Award,” presented by the Business Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association. The award is presented annually to one individual who has demonstrated a strong commitment to diversity, made a substantial contribution in the Philadelphia area, and promotes full and equal participation and inclusion in the legal profession.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Remembrance Event

Faegre Drinker’s 2023 Martin Luther King, Jr. Remembrance event featured Dennis Bland, Esq., president of Center for Leadership Development (CLD). CLD is a preeminent organization that advances minority youth in Central Indiana as future professional, business and community leaders by providing experiences that encourage personal development and educational attainment. Throughout his presentation, Dennis discussed the role of education and the civil rights movement as it correlates with the core values of CLD: character, education, leadership, service and career.

Black History Month Event

During Black History Month, the firm hosted a conversation with Beverly Jo Slaughter, Senior Managing Counsel at Wells Fargo & Company shared insights about her exemplary career and the work she does to promote and advance diversity, equity and inclusion.

Celebrating Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day

On March 8, the firm hosted at a luncheon praising the social, economic, cultural and political accomplishments of women around the world. The keynote speaker was Amanda L. Tylor, Shannon Cecil Turner Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and co-author of Justice, Justice Thou Shalt Pursue: A Life’s Work Fighting for a more Perfect Union that she wrote with Justice Ginsburg. Professor Tyler discussed RBG’s life, legacy and Amanda shared her relationship and experiences with this monumental figure in our nation’s legal history.

Thank you for your continued support of Faegre Drinker and for being a valued member of our alumni network. We look forward to sharing more news from the firm and former colleagues in our next edition!