Awards and Appointments

New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey (L’81) named Kevin M. Ryan (L’92) to head the newly created Independent Office of the Child Advocate. As the state’s first child advocate, Ryan will work to reform state systems, monitor abuse and neglect investigations by the Division of Youth and Family Services, and focus on overcrowding in state juvenile justice facilities. Ryan is the governor’s deputy chief of management and operations and worked on child welfare issues for Covenant House before joining McGreevey’s staff.

In November 2003, Roger W.Titus (L’66) took office as a United States District Judge assigned to the Southern Division of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Prior to becoming a member of the judiciary, he was the partner in charge of the Montgomery County, Md. office of Venable, Baetjer and Howard.

Sughrue Mion attorney Alan J. Kasper (L’68) has been listed in the Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Patent Law Experts Guide for 2003.

Carolyn Miller Parr (L’77), appointed by President Reagan to a fifteen-year term on the U.S. Tax Court Bench, has joined Judicial ADR’s specialist mediator panel serving the San Francisco Bay Area. She focuses on tax, corporate, international, commercial, and bankruptcy matters.

Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich appointed Lori G. Levin (L’80) the executive director of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. She chairs the Illinois Integrated Justice Information Systems Implementation Board and serves on the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority Board and the Sex Offender Management Board.

Randa M.Trapp (L’85) was appointed to the San Diego Superior Court Bench.

Carlos Singh (L’87) was elected president of the Hispanic National Bar Association.The HNBA, founded in 1972, is the national association representing over 25,000 Hispanic American attorneys, judges, law students, and law professors. Singh is an Assistant U.S.Attorney in San Jose, Calif.

In September 2003, the New York State Senate unanimously confirmed the nomination of Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff (L’89) to serve as New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance under Gov. George Pataki.

In November, it was announced that President Bush intended to nominate David H. Safavian (LL.M.’94) to be Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President.

Valerie Brader (L’03) was the first runner-up in the Pacific Legal Foundation’s judicial awareness competition. Her paper,“Shell Games:Vicarious Liability of State and Local Governments for Insufficiently Protective Regulations under the ESA,” was written as an independent study with Law Center Professor Richard Lazarus.