Bench & Bar

NOV 2013

The Bench & Bar magazine is published to provide members of the KBA with information that will increase their knowledge of the law, improve the practice of law, and assist in improving the quality of legal services for the citizenry.

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WHO... WHAT... WHEN... 64 senting parties in family law actions. Keane is past president of the Kentucky Bar Association and a current member of the Ethics Committee. She is also a past board member at the Kentucky Bar Foundation and the Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company of Kentucky, and past president of the Louis D. Brandeis American Inn of Court of the Louisville Bar Association. Keane was honored with the Judge Benjamin Shobe Civility and Professionalism Award presented in 2012 by the Louisville Bar Association and the Louis D. Brandeis American Inn of Court. Other members of the 2013 Justice for All committee include: David Armstrong, Kentucky Public Service Commission; John A. Bahe, Jr., Bahe Cook Cantley & Nefzger, PLC; Jeremiah A. Byrne, Frost Brown Todd; Christian L. Campbell, Yum! Brands; Robert M. Connolly, Stites & Harbison; John R. Crockett, III, Frost Brown Todd; Mandy Wilson Decker, Stites & Harbison; Peter G. Diakov, Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs; Darryl W. Durham, Weber & Rose; W. Bryan Hudson, Atria Senior Living; Eric L. Ison, Bingham Greenebaum Doll; Justice Martin E. Johnstone, Kentucky Supreme Court (Ret.); Mary K. Keyer, AT&T; Kentucky (Ret.); Michael Kleinert, Stites & Harbison; James T. Blaine Lewis, Dinsmore & Shohl; Colin H. Lindsay, Dinsmore & Shohl; Michael O'Connell, Jefferson County Attorney; Kendrick R. Riggs, Stoll Keenon Ogden; John Selent, Dinsmore & Shohl; Melanie Siemens, Stoll Keenon Ogden; Bobby Simpson, General Electric; Lee Sitlinger, Sitlinger McGlincy & Theiler; R. James Straus, Frost Brown Todd. Stites & Harbison, PLLC, has named Richard Wehrle as the firm's Trusts & Estate Planning Service Group chair. Wehrle succeeds J. David Porter, who has served in that capacity for 13 years. Porter, who was recently elected as chair of the Western Kentucky University Board of Regents, will continue his trusts and estate planning and fiduciary law practice at the firm. Wehrle is a member (partner) of the firm based in the Lexington office. He conB&B; • 11.13 WHERE... centrates his practice on trusts and estate administration, estate planning and charitable giving, charitable and non-profit organizations, estate and gift taxes, probate, and fiduciary law. His background includes more than 20 years of experience in trusts and estate planning. He is also a certified public accountant. Outside of Stites & Harbison, Wehrle is a member of a variety of accounting and financial service organizations, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Kentucky Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Society of Financial Service Professionals. He also serves on the foundation board of Bluegrass Community Technical College. Douglas McSwain, a partner at Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP, was recently honored for 27 years of service as founder and longstanding chair of Kentucky's Joint Local Rules Commission, a body that maintains uniformity in federal court rules, enabling attorneys to practice with ease in both the Eastern and Western Districts of the Commonwealth. Because few other multidistrict states have such a body, Kentucky's commission has served as a model for other federal courts around the nation. Kentucky's commission traces its roots to 1984, when McSwain was serving as a law clerk for the Hon. Henry R. Wilhoit, Jr. He began writing a local practice handbook for the Eastern District, which later became the foundation for the first rules of the Eastern District. At the request of thenChief Judges Eugene Siler and Edward Johnstone, McSwain called together a select group of Kentucky attorneys to review the local rules of other courts around the country, draft the proposed rules, and establish a governance structure. The courts of both the Eastern and Western Districts then adopted the recommended Joint Local Rules, and Kentucky's federal bench and bar have been using the commission's uniform rules ever since. Over the years, the commission has grown, and is now comprised of 12 members, with six representatives from Kentucky's Eastern and Western Districts — four attorneys and two federal judges from each district. Attorney members are appointed by the Kentucky Bar Association, but the chairmanship serves at the pleasure of the chief judges of each district. During his 27-year tenure as chair, McSwain has served under 13 chief judges from both districts. McSwain stepped down earlier this year and was recently honored in a ceremony at the U.S. federal courthouse in Louisville, receiving an Outstanding Service Award from current Chief Judges Karen Caldwell and Joseph McKinley of the Eastern and Western Districts. McSwain will be succeeded by Brian Haara of Louisville. Robert D. Lewis, Jr., an attorney with The Lawrence Firm, P.S.C., has been selected as a board member of the Medical Negligence Litigation Group at the summer convention of the American Association of Justice. Lewis, a 1997 graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, serves as president of the U.C. Law Alumni Association. Lewis has devoted his career to representing families affected by medical negligence and, most notably, children that have suffered brain injuries. Dressman Benzinger LaVelle Partner Joseph A. Cleves, Jr. was recently appointed to the board of directors at Cancer Support Community. The Cancer Support Community is an international non-profit dedicated to providing support, education and hope to people affected by cancer. Keeping individuals from facing the disease alone, the organization's services are offered through a network of communitybased centers, hospitals, oncology practices and online supports. In addition to his community work, Cleves is the head of DBL's construction law practice. He has extensive experience in developing and revising contract documents and procedures for construction and real estate clients. Cleves was recently named the 2013 "Lawyer of the Year" in Cincinnati construction law by Best Lawyers and is the co-founder of the Lean Construction Institute's Ohio Valley Chapter. Edmondson & Associates is pleased to announce that Jason Reed was recently elected as a member of the board of directors for the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky. The shelter, founded in 2007, is Northern Kentucky's only emergency cold-weather shelter. Not long after his election to the shelter board, Reed was also chosen by his peers from the Northern Kentucky Chamber's Leadership Northern Kentucky Class of 2013 to serve as chair for its project which will assist the shelter with finding and financing its new home. Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC is proud to announce that attorney David Royse has been nominated for fellowship in the Litigation Counsel of America (LCA) and will be inducted in October at the LCA annual meeting. The LCA is a highlyselective honorary trial lawyer society with a membership limited to less than onehalf of one percent of American lawyers. Fewer than 50 private practice Kentucky lawyers have been admitted as fellows. Fellowships are selected based on excellence and accomplishment in litigation, both at the trial and appellate levels, and superior ethical reputation. Royse was nominated by Lexington attorney and LCA President Peter Perlman. Royse serves as chair of the eminent domain & real estate practice at SKO. He also practices equine litigation, business torts, class action, banking litigation, trust & estate litigation and tort, trial & insurance services law. Lawyer Monthly has selected attorney Andy Beshear of Stites & Harbison, PLLC, as the 2013 winner for Consumer Lawyer of the Year – USA. The award honors the top consumer lawyer in the country. Nominations for the Lawyer Monthly Legal Awards are accepted from both law firms and clients. Nomination emails are also sent to the readership of Lawyer Monthly, which includes more than 108,000 contacts. Only one winner is selected for each legal category. Winners are chosen based on a strict set of criteria to include: the number

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