News

Janet Ward Black '85 has been selected as a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the Camp Lejeune water contamination litigation. Black, the founder of Ward Black Law in Greensboro, North Carolina and a former president of the North Carolina Bar Association, is one of 38 lawyers selected to oversee the federal court litigation.

Douglas Ebenstein ’79, the president and CEO of Capital Commercial Properties, announced the company has partnered with AASuccess on a philanthropic initiative aimed at nurturing leaders in the Vietnamese community. The Douglas Ebenstein Scholarship and the Norman Ebenstein Scholarship, each worth $5,000, will be awarded to Vietnamese American students in the AASuccess life skill and leadership programs. Capital Commercial Properties owns Eden Center in Falls Church, Virginia, one of the largest Vietnamese shopping centers in the U.S. 

Anthony Del Rio '11 was named a Law360 Health Care MVP for his work as the lead attorney advising Oak Street Health Inc. in its $10.6 billion sale to CVS Health Corp., and for advising Envision Healthcare Corp. on its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Del Rio is a corporate partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis, where he works with health care entities on transactional, regulatory, restructuring, and enforcement issues. Prior to joining Kirkland, Del Rio was president of a clinically integrated health care network and served as senior counsel to a large health system, overseeing all transactional and regulatory matters. He holds academic appointments at Rush University and the University of Illinois and has guest lectured at Northwestern University School of Law.

Yibing Mao ’89 P ’11 and her husband David Zhang were honored for a challenge gift to Tulane Law School that will double to $1 million. Mao is president, Greater China at Marriott International and a director of Las Vegas Sands Corp. She is a senior member of the Board of Visitors. Zhang graduated from Tulane Law in 1991 and is a senior corporate partner at Kirkland & Ellis in Hong Kong. Mao and Zhang are longtime supporters of Duke University and in 2016 established the David T. Zhang Professorship at Duke Law. Their son, Alexander, earned his bachelor’s degree from Duke in 2011. 

David L. “Dusty” Maynard ’62 T’59 has been appointed to the Board of Ambassadors of High Point University Board of Trustees. Maynard practiced law with the firm of Robinson, Haworth and Reese in High Point for 50 years until he retired in 2009. He is past president of the High Point Bar Association and the N.C. State Bar 18th Judicial District, and a former member of the Trinity Board of Visitors of Duke University, a member of the B.N. Duke Scholarship Advisory Committee and the Duke Alumni Board.

Bobby Sharma ’98 T’95 was appointed to the board of Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey. Sharma is the founder and managing partner of Bluestone Equity Partners, a private equity firm focused on the sports, media, and entertainment industries, and a special adviser to the Sports & Entertainment Group at Foley & Lardner. He was previously executive chairman of Blue Devil Holdings, co-founder and managing partner of esports advisory firm Electronic Sports Group, and partner at General American Capital Partners.

Edward Tang JD/LLM ’15 MBA ’15 was promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins. Tang is a member of the Emerging Companies & Growth Practice and Corporate Department in the firm’s Hong Kong office. He advises clients on a range of corporate matters, including representing private equity funds and corporations in capital market offerings and M&A.

Erin Bergey ’15 was elected partner at Latham & Watkins. Bergey is a member of the Investment Funds Practice and Corporate Department in New York, where she advises private capital sponsors on fund formation, investment structuring, and other matters, including co-investments and internal sponsor economic arrangements.

Tessa Bernhardt JD/LLM ’15 was elected partner at Latham & Watkins. Bernhardt is a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice and Corporate Department in the Bay Area. She advises public companies, multinational corporations, private equity sponsors, and special committees on complex transactions, activism defense, and corporate governance.

Jana Kovich JD/LLM ’15 was elected partner at Latham & Watkins. Kovich is a member of the Emerging Companies & Growth Practice and Corporate Department in Chicago, where she advises startups and venture capital investors on transactional and operational matters across the company lifecycle.

Morgan Whitworth ’12 was elected partner at Latham & Watkins. Whitworth is a member of the Securities Litigation & Professional Liability Practice and Litigation & Trial Department in the Bay Area. He represents public companies, senior officers and directors, investment managers, and professional services firms in securities and class action litigation and regulatory investigations.