PUBLISHED:May 08, 2023

People on the Move – May 2023

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Duke Law alumni in the news recently for their professional moves, promotions, and honors.

D. Todd Christofferson
D. Todd Christofferson

Eric Berry JD/MA '96 has joined the St. Louis office of Greensfelder as counsel in its Environmental and Litigation groups. Berry’s practice includes permit compliance counseling (Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, RCRA), transactional matters, and enforcement defense for organizations of all sizes, as well as litigation for a variety of environmental, health, and safety issues. He was previously counsel at Thompson Coburn and vice president – environmental law for Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that he was a partner at Husch Blackwell.

D. Todd Christofferson '72 was the presiding authority and speaker during the commencement ceremony of Brigham Young University on April 27. Since 2008 Elder Christofferson has been a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the second-highest presiding body in the government of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has served full-time as a General Authority (senior leader) of the Church since 1993. Prior to that, he served as general counsel of NationsBank Corporation (now Bank of America) in Charlotte, and Commerce Union Bank of Tennessee in Nashville.

Jocelyn Hunter
Jocelyn Hunter

Diane Covello '88 has been promoted to clinical professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law. Covello, who joined the UConn Law faculty in 2018, is co-director of the Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Law Clinic. She is also a  patent attorney with the law firm of Alix, Yale & Ristas LLP and holds two U.S. patents related to intellectual property insurance.

Jocelyn Hunter '87 T '84 was named the Community Champion honoree in Atlanta Business Chronicle's 2023 Corporate Counsel Awards. Hunter is vice president and deputy general counsel for The Home Depot, which she joined in 1997. Hunter serves as board chair for the Alliance Theatre and is on the Governing Board of the Woodruff Arts Center, which includes the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum and Alliance Theatre.

Aleksandra Kopec
Aleksandra Kopec

Aleksandra Kopec '07 joined Haynes Boone in Charlotte as a finance partner. Previously she was with King & Spalding, where she spent more than eight years representing lenders in a variety of finance transactions. Kopec brings extensive experience leading deals from inception to completion in acquisition financings, capital call facilities, and other fund financing transactions.

Russell Miller JD/MA '94 was interviewed in The Columns, a publication of Washington and Lee University, where he cited the late Duke Law Professor Jerome Culp as “a profound influence and inspiration.” Miller is the J.B. Stombock Professor of Law at W&L Law, where his research and teaching focus on public law and comparative law. He is a leading commentator on German law and legal culture and recently finished the manuscript for a forthcoming textbook that will introduce German law and legal culture for non-German students and jurists. Miller also is completing a project that surveys the debate over stare decisis at the Supreme Court across nearly 20 decisions since the ascendance of a conservative majority in 2018.

Russell Miller
Russell Miller

David Szekeres '00 was appointed chair of the board of directors of GRI BIO, a biotechnology company that recently merged with Vallon Pharmaceuticals. Szekeres has more than two decades of experience in the global life sciences industry as a finance and business development executive, deal maker, legal counsel and board member. Currently he is executive vice presidents, chief operating officer at Heron Therapeutics.

Bailey Williams JD/LLM '22 has joined Butler Snow’s Public Finance, Tax Incentives and Credit Markets practice group at its new office in Jacksonville. Williams represents clients as bond counsel, borrower’s counsel and lender’s counsel in connection with a variety of tax-exempt and taxable municipal and corporate bond financings across industries including healthcare and senior living facilities, charter schools, and affordable housing.

James Wyche
James Wyche

James Wyche '03 has been promoted from chief operating officer to CEO of Pike Corporation, a provider of infrastructure engineering and construction services based in Mt. Airy, N.C. Wyche served as outside legal counsel and strategic adviser to the company before joining as COO, where he oversaw the business activities of all Pike subsidiaries. Prior to joining Pike, James was chair of the Securities & Capital Markets and Corporate Governance practices of Moore & Van Allen law firm.

Thomas Young '82 has joined AIS Healthcare as deputy general counsel and deputy chief compliance officer. Young brings more than 30 years of executive experience in the healthcare industry, with a focus on navigating complex regulatory environments. Young recently served as Medicare compliance officer at Cigna Health. Previously he was at Aetna Health for over 25 years, serving in various compliance and regulatory roles including chief compliance officer.