PUBLISHED:April 09, 2012
Alumni Award Winners: 2012
The Law Alumni Association congratulates the following members of the Duke Law community for their career accomplishments, service, and dedication to Duke Law.
Robert E. Harrington ’87
Established in 1985, the Charles S. Murphy Award honors a graduate's commitment to the common good through his or her service to the community or dedication to education. The award is named for the late Charles S. Murphy T'31, L'34, who held positions in the administrations of Presidents Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson and served on the Board of Visitors of Duke Law School and as a Duke University Trustee.
Rob Harrington is a partner of Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson in Charlotte, N.C., where he practices commercial litigation. From 2005 to 2007, he served as co-chair of the board of directors of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. During his tenure as co-chair, the committee spearheaded legal relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina. In May 2012, he will be installed as the 101st President of the Mecklenburg County Bar, having previously served on its board of directors and executive committee and co-founded its committee on diversity. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a member of the Duke Law School Board of Visitors.
Beyond the practice of law, Harrington has devoted significant time to the Charlotte community. From 2008 to 2010, he served as chair of the board of directors of Charlotte’s Levine Museum of the New South. He has chaired citizens’ committees on equity and privatization for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. He has participated in several other Charlotte community activities, including service on the board of directors of the Greater Charlotte Cultural Trust. Harrington and his wife, Sharon Carr Harrington ’89, have one child, a college junior.
Michael J. Sorrell ’94
The A. Kenneth Pye Award honors a member of the Duke Law community whose work in education reflects former Dean A. Kenneth Pye’s life and ideals. Pye is remembered for his personal integrity and vigorous intellect as well as his sensitivity to the needs of individual students and the great compassion with which he assisted those who might have otherwise faltered.
As the 34th president of Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas, Michael J. Sorrell is leading his school on what has been called one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of higher education. His vision is to transform Paul Quinn College into one of America’s great small colleges by redefining the educational experience of students from under-resourced communities. Sorrell’s agenda stresses academic rigor, student services, institutional accountability and a commitment to servant leadership. He also has overseen significant campus improvements and partnered with PepsiCo to transform the unused football field into the ‘WE over Me Farm.’ His efforts were recognized in 2011, when Paul Quinn College was named Historically Black College of the Year.
Sorrell received his MA in Public Policy from Duke University along with his JD. While in law school, he was a founding member of the Journal of Gender Law & Policy and served as vice president of the Duke Bar Association. He was a recipient of the Sloan Foundation Graduate Fellowship, which funded his studies as a graduate fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and at Duke University. A graduate of Oberlin College, Sorrell was a two-time captain of the men’s varsity basketball team and was the school’s fifth all-time leading scorer.
Bruce L. Rogers ’87
The Charles S. Rhyne award was established in 1994 to recognize graduates whose careers exemplify the highest standards of professionalism, personal integrity, and commitment to education or community service. It commemorates the life and career of the late Charles S. Rhyne, T’34, L’35, a professor of government and law at American University and George Washington University and a trustee of Duke University and George Washington University.
Bruce L. Rogers is a co-founder and managing director of KRG Capital Partners, a leading middle-market private equity firm headquartered in Denver, Colo. He has served as a member of the KRG Investment Committee since the firm's inception and as the lead managing director, chairman and board member for a number of KRG portfolio companies. He has 25 years of experience in private equity, corporate mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. Prior to co-founding KRG Capital, he was a partner with the national law firms of Hogan & Hartson and Kirkland & Ellis, specializing in corporate mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, private equity and corporate finance.
A past chairman of the Board of Directors of Push America, a national nonprofit serving people with disabilities, Rogers is the inspiration and a key supporter for Push America's national cross-country cycling event, “The Journey of Hope.” The event has raised more than $12 million in support of Push America’s programs. Rogers holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Stetson University and attended the Rome Center for International Law in Italy in 1987 after graduating from Duke Law. A scholarship recipient himself, Rogers played a key role with his class in establishing and supporting the Jerome Culp Scholarship at Duke Law School.
Susanne I. Haas ’85 & ’87
The International Alumni Award recognizes and honors an international graduate of the Duke University School of Law who has exemplified the highest standards of professional excellence, personal integrity, and concern for the common welfare in his or her own profession and home country.
Susanne Haas is vice president and general counsel of Environmental and Combustion Controls, a Division of Honeywell International Inc., where Haas has worked since graduating from Duke Law in 1987. Having held various positions within the business over the years, she now has worldwide responsibility for the legal affairs of Honeywell’s Environmental and Combustion Controls division.
Haas holds a law degree from Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, and first came to Duke Law School as an international student. She graduated with an LLM in 1985, and received her Duke Law JD two years later. She was a longtime member of the Duke Law Alumni Association Board and served a term as its president in 2004. She has served on the Duke Law Board of Visitors since 2006. A regular participant in the Business Law Society’s ESQ Career Symposium, Haas also has taught classes during Duke Law’s Wintersession. She lives in Minneapolis, Minn., with her husband and JD classmate Ross Formell ’87 and their two teenage sons, Benjamin and Maximilian.
Amy Y. Yeung ’06
The Law Alumni Association established the Young Alumni Award in 2000 to honor an individual who has graduated within the past 15 years and has made significant leadership and service contributions to Duke Law School and the legal profession.
Amy Yeung is assistant general counsel at ZeniMax Media, Inc., which develops and publishes video games, including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises. Among other things, Yeung is responsible for negotiating and drafting licensing transactions and other intellectual property matters, managing legal and regulatory issues associated with marketing and promotional campaigns, rights enforcement and advising on data privacy and consumer disclosure issues. Prior to joining ZeniMax, she worked in WilmerHale’s securities department. She also served as a law clerk for Vice-Chancellor Donald Parsons of the Delaware Court of Chancery.
Yeung received the Bar Association of the District of Columbia’s 2011 Young Lawyer of the Year at the Library of Congress in recognition of her contributions to the Bar Association and its Young Lawyers Section and her efforts to develop stronger networking opportunities and career guidance for young lawyers faced with hardships entering the legal marketplace. She is the immediate past chair of the Young Lawyers Section of the Bar Association of D.C. and the immediate past chair of the Duke Law Alumni Association New Lawyers Division. She also recently completed a term as the under-35 ABA representative of the D.C. Bar to the ABA House of Delegates. She was also the editor and chief of the Duke Law Journal of Comparative and International Law and is a past president of the Duke Bar Association.
Charles S. Murphy Award for Achievement in Civic Service
Robert E. Harrington ’87Established in 1985, the Charles S. Murphy Award honors a graduate's commitment to the common good through his or her service to the community or dedication to education. The award is named for the late Charles S. Murphy T'31, L'34, who held positions in the administrations of Presidents Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson and served on the Board of Visitors of Duke Law School and as a Duke University Trustee.
Rob Harrington is a partner of Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson in Charlotte, N.C., where he practices commercial litigation. From 2005 to 2007, he served as co-chair of the board of directors of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. During his tenure as co-chair, the committee spearheaded legal relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina. In May 2012, he will be installed as the 101st President of the Mecklenburg County Bar, having previously served on its board of directors and executive committee and co-founded its committee on diversity. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a member of the Duke Law School Board of Visitors.
Beyond the practice of law, Harrington has devoted significant time to the Charlotte community. From 2008 to 2010, he served as chair of the board of directors of Charlotte’s Levine Museum of the New South. He has chaired citizens’ committees on equity and privatization for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. He has participated in several other Charlotte community activities, including service on the board of directors of the Greater Charlotte Cultural Trust. Harrington and his wife, Sharon Carr Harrington ’89, have one child, a college junior.
A. Kenneth Pye Award for Excellence in Education
Michael J. Sorrell ’94The A. Kenneth Pye Award honors a member of the Duke Law community whose work in education reflects former Dean A. Kenneth Pye’s life and ideals. Pye is remembered for his personal integrity and vigorous intellect as well as his sensitivity to the needs of individual students and the great compassion with which he assisted those who might have otherwise faltered.
As the 34th president of Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas, Michael J. Sorrell is leading his school on what has been called one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of higher education. His vision is to transform Paul Quinn College into one of America’s great small colleges by redefining the educational experience of students from under-resourced communities. Sorrell’s agenda stresses academic rigor, student services, institutional accountability and a commitment to servant leadership. He also has overseen significant campus improvements and partnered with PepsiCo to transform the unused football field into the ‘WE over Me Farm.’ His efforts were recognized in 2011, when Paul Quinn College was named Historically Black College of the Year.
Sorrell received his MA in Public Policy from Duke University along with his JD. While in law school, he was a founding member of the Journal of Gender Law & Policy and served as vice president of the Duke Bar Association. He was a recipient of the Sloan Foundation Graduate Fellowship, which funded his studies as a graduate fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and at Duke University. A graduate of Oberlin College, Sorrell was a two-time captain of the men’s varsity basketball team and was the school’s fifth all-time leading scorer.
Charles S. Rhyne Award for Professional Achievement
Bruce L. Rogers ’87The Charles S. Rhyne award was established in 1994 to recognize graduates whose careers exemplify the highest standards of professionalism, personal integrity, and commitment to education or community service. It commemorates the life and career of the late Charles S. Rhyne, T’34, L’35, a professor of government and law at American University and George Washington University and a trustee of Duke University and George Washington University.
Bruce L. Rogers is a co-founder and managing director of KRG Capital Partners, a leading middle-market private equity firm headquartered in Denver, Colo. He has served as a member of the KRG Investment Committee since the firm's inception and as the lead managing director, chairman and board member for a number of KRG portfolio companies. He has 25 years of experience in private equity, corporate mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. Prior to co-founding KRG Capital, he was a partner with the national law firms of Hogan & Hartson and Kirkland & Ellis, specializing in corporate mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, private equity and corporate finance.
A past chairman of the Board of Directors of Push America, a national nonprofit serving people with disabilities, Rogers is the inspiration and a key supporter for Push America's national cross-country cycling event, “The Journey of Hope.” The event has raised more than $12 million in support of Push America’s programs. Rogers holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Stetson University and attended the Rome Center for International Law in Italy in 1987 after graduating from Duke Law. A scholarship recipient himself, Rogers played a key role with his class in establishing and supporting the Jerome Culp Scholarship at Duke Law School.
International Alumni Award
Susanne I. Haas ’85 & ’87The International Alumni Award recognizes and honors an international graduate of the Duke University School of Law who has exemplified the highest standards of professional excellence, personal integrity, and concern for the common welfare in his or her own profession and home country.
Susanne Haas is vice president and general counsel of Environmental and Combustion Controls, a Division of Honeywell International Inc., where Haas has worked since graduating from Duke Law in 1987. Having held various positions within the business over the years, she now has worldwide responsibility for the legal affairs of Honeywell’s Environmental and Combustion Controls division.
Haas holds a law degree from Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, and first came to Duke Law School as an international student. She graduated with an LLM in 1985, and received her Duke Law JD two years later. She was a longtime member of the Duke Law Alumni Association Board and served a term as its president in 2004. She has served on the Duke Law Board of Visitors since 2006. A regular participant in the Business Law Society’s ESQ Career Symposium, Haas also has taught classes during Duke Law’s Wintersession. She lives in Minneapolis, Minn., with her husband and JD classmate Ross Formell ’87 and their two teenage sons, Benjamin and Maximilian.
Young Alumni Award
Amy Y. Yeung ’06The Law Alumni Association established the Young Alumni Award in 2000 to honor an individual who has graduated within the past 15 years and has made significant leadership and service contributions to Duke Law School and the legal profession.
Amy Yeung is assistant general counsel at ZeniMax Media, Inc., which develops and publishes video games, including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises. Among other things, Yeung is responsible for negotiating and drafting licensing transactions and other intellectual property matters, managing legal and regulatory issues associated with marketing and promotional campaigns, rights enforcement and advising on data privacy and consumer disclosure issues. Prior to joining ZeniMax, she worked in WilmerHale’s securities department. She also served as a law clerk for Vice-Chancellor Donald Parsons of the Delaware Court of Chancery.
Yeung received the Bar Association of the District of Columbia’s 2011 Young Lawyer of the Year at the Library of Congress in recognition of her contributions to the Bar Association and its Young Lawyers Section and her efforts to develop stronger networking opportunities and career guidance for young lawyers faced with hardships entering the legal marketplace. She is the immediate past chair of the Young Lawyers Section of the Bar Association of D.C. and the immediate past chair of the Duke Law Alumni Association New Lawyers Division. She also recently completed a term as the under-35 ABA representative of the D.C. Bar to the ABA House of Delegates. She was also the editor and chief of the Duke Law Journal of Comparative and International Law and is a past president of the Duke Bar Association.