Initiated by the Law School’s Board of Visitors in 2013 to honor the dean, the Dean’s Dinner has become an important spring tradition at CUA Law as a means of raising scholarship donations for students. This year’s event was held at the St. Regis in Washington, D.C., where there was a reception and dinner featuring a conversation on hot topics in the law with four legal leaders.
Jeffrey S. Puertz ’81, retired partner, Dechert LLP and Chair, Board of Visitors, delivered welcoming remarks. Sarah H. Duggin, Professor of Law and Director, Compliance, Investigations & Corporate Responsibility Program, offered the invocation.
After dinner Dean Regina T. Jefferson again welcomed the guests and introduced Stephen C. Payne, a Yale Law School graduate and partner in the global law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, who has been appointed by Catholic University President John Garvey as the next dean of the Columbus School of Law. He will assume his new duties starting July 1.
Dean Jefferson then presented the 2019 Dean’s Dinner Scholarship Star Awards to Kathleen Q. Abernathy ’83 and Joseph Peter Drennan ’81. After the presentation of the awards, she introduced and welcomed Arthur N. Fuccillo ’78 to the podium. Fuccillo served as moderator to the four person panel and briefly introduced the other paneilsts, Kathleen Q. Abernathy ’83, Julie M. Kearney ’98, and the Honorable William T. Newman Jr. ’77. (Below are brief bios of the panelists)
The panel covered issues from why they chose the Columbus School of Law, surprising facts about their day to day professions, what advice they have received from a lawyer, and more. Following the panel discussion they took questions from the audience. Dean Jefferson once again took to the podium and thanked those in attendance for their support of the Columbus School of Law.
This year’s Dean’s Dinner guests included members of the Law School’s Board of Visitors; members of the Law School’s Alumni Council; and distinguished law school alumni. In addition, select faculty members and students were sponsored to attend.
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Panelists Bios
Ms. Abernathy retired from Frontier Communications as Chief Legal Counsel and EVP, External Affairs in 2017. She first joined Frontier in 2006 as a member of the Board of Directors following her term as a Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). She is currently a member of several Boards of Directors. She has received numerous awards in recognition of her professional accomplishments and has taught as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law.
Arthur N. Fuccillo is Executive Vice President of Lerner Enterprises and Lerner Corporation. He joined Lerner in 1981. For over three decades he has been involved in all facets of office, hotel, residential, stadium and retail planning, zoning and development with Lerner. He is also a minority owner of the Washington Nationals Baseball Club serving in various capacities including oversight of the development of Nationals Park and the new spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Florida. He is active in the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and has lectured for ICSC, Urban Land Institute and on various college campuses on real estate.
Julie Kearney is Head of Regulatory Affairs for Loon LLC, where she leads Loon’s domestic and international regulatory initiatives. Loon’s mission is to connect people everywhere by inventing and integrating audacious technologies. Prior to joining Loon, Kearney was Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the technology trade association representing the U.S. consumer technology industry and owner and producer of CES. Kearney is immediate Past President of the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) and is a past chair of the FCBA Foundation and a trustee of the CTA Foundation.
William T. Newman, Jr. has been a Judge of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s 17th Judicial Circuit covering Arlington County and the City of Falls Church since 1993. Judge Newman was named by the Washingtonian magazine as one of the Best Trial Judges in Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area. He is an engaging lecturer and speaker. He is also an accomplished actor and a member of Actor’s Equity and Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artist (SAG-AFTRA).