Stephanie Page '78 /
Michael Fabbri '83

Graduates Square Off in Entwistle Case

The case was about as high profile as it gets: Neil Entwistle, 29, stood accused of murdering his wife, Rachel, 27, and their 9-month-old daughter, Lily, in their Hopkinton, Massachusetts, home. It grabbed headlines here in the US, making the cover of People, and in England, where British native Entwistle fled in January 2006 after allegedly discovering the bodies.

Entwistle’s day in court came in June 2008, with Northeastern graduates representing both sides: Michael Fabbri ’83, chief of special investigations for the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, led the defense; Stephanie Page ’78, senior trial counsel for the Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services, served on the defense team.

After a three-week trial, 40 witnesses and 105 pieces of evidence, the jury of six men and six women found Entwistle guilty of killing his family. Judge Diane Kottmyer sentenced him to two life sentences without chance of parole and ordered him to never profit from the story.

PHOTO: CJ Gunther/AP

Women who “have made great strides in the fields of law, justice and advocacy” were honored at the “Women of Justice” awards luncheon in December. Sponsored by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, in partnership with the Women’s Bar Association and the Massachusetts Association of Women Lawyers, the event honored both lawyers and non-lawyers, from different fields and industries, including established professionals and rising stars.

Among those selected for this prestigious award were Professor Lois Kanter, executive director of the law school’s Domestic Violence Institute; Mary Bonauto ’87, civil rights project director for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders; Jeanmarie Carroll ’88, head of the domestic violence/sexual assault unit in the Norfolk DA’s Office; Elyse Cherry ’83, chief executive officer of Boston Community Capital; Ann Morse Hartner ’88, research attorney with Rosenberg, Freedman & Goldstein; Kathleen Henry ’00, hiring and pro bono partner with Choate, Hall & Stewart; Stephanie Page ’78, senior trial counsel with the Committee for Public Counsel Services; Leslie Walker ’85, executive director of Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services; and Amanda Zuretti ’98, title counsel with Connecticut Attorneys Title Insurance.

Walgreens became the third national pharmacy chain to settle drug-switching allegations exposed by a whistleblowing pharmacist whose actions have returned more than $120 million to federal and state governments. Cases against three of America’s largest drugstore chains were pursued by Chicago-based whistleblower attorneys Michael Behn ’87 and Linda Wyetzner ’87 under qui tam provisions of state and federal False Claims Acts.

Walgreens paid $35 million to 42 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to settle allegations it overcharged Medicaid by switching dosage forms in filling generic Prozac and Zantac prescriptions, according to Behn. Behn & Wyetzner, representing pharmacist whistleblower Bernard Lisitza, also achieved a $37 million settlement in 2008 with CVS Caremark Corp., owner of CVS pharmacies, and a $50 million settlement in late 2006 with Omnicare, Inc., the nation’s largest pharmacy for nursing homes. A CBS News interview of Behn and further information about the cases are available at www.PharmacyFraud.com

Spring 2009 Class Notes

1974

Karla Forsythe resigned her position as Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee for southwest Washington for an appointment as chief administrative law judge for Oregon. Karla’s husband, Jim Crane ’76, is a partner with the Portland, Oregon, firm of Landye Bennett Blumstein, where he specializes in business litigation. Karla and Jim celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary on September 2, 2008.

1977

Paul Kaplan is now a partner in the New York office of Arent Fox. He continues his practice of representing parties in federal and state litigation, with a particular focus on antitrust/anti-competition matters.

1978

The justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court appointed Patrick Sharkey to the Standing Advisory Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct for a three-year term.

1980

Ronald Ruth is now managing partner of Boston-based Sherin and Lodgen. He concentrates his practice on environmental, real estate and land use law. Ron became a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-accredited professional in July 2008.

1982

In September, Jamey Bell became executive director of Connecticut Voices for Children, an organization that advocates for children and families, with offices in Hartford and New Haven.

1984

Nancy Reiner, former partner with Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels, is now leading Counsel on Call’s Boston office as executive director. At Brown Rudnick, Nancy originated the Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Philip Morris, et al tobacco case, which resulted in an $8.3 billion settlement for the state. Counsel on Call’s experienced attorneys work with the nation’s leading corporate legal departments and law firms on an assignment basis.

1985

Ellen Wallace, president of Local 2320 of the National Organization of Legal Services Workers (UAW), received the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Merit Award “for her hard work and commitment to the Massachusetts labor movement.”

1986

Nick Fish was elected to the Portland (Oregon) City Council in May 2008 in a non-partisan special election to fill a vacancy on the council. Nick was also appointed housing commissioner and fire commissioner of the city by the mayor and serves as vice chair of the Oregon Cultural Trust. After 20 years in private practice with the firm Meyer & Wyse, Nick is excited about this new chapter in his life.

1987

For the third year in a row, Sandy Durland was recognized in Massachusetts Super Lawyers (2007 edition) in the area of family law and domestic relations.

1990

Tom Fitzpatrick was named managing partner of Boston-based Davis, Malm & D’Agostine in January. After five “fantastic years” in the Illinois attorney general’s office, Ben Weinberg joined the Chicago office of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal as the pro bono partner managing the firm’s national pro bono program.

1991

Daniel Solomon and his wife, Jane, celebrated their 10th anniversary in June 2008. They have twin boys, Sammy and Moey, 7. Last year also marked the decade anniversary of DC Vote, which Daniel co-founded in 1998. DC Vote is dedicated to gaining full voting representation in the US Congress for DC residents.

1993

Tom Campbell has opened a new firm, Campbell & Murphy, in Newton.

1995

Donna Bakalor joined Tucker Ellis & West as an associate in the firm’s new Denver office. She is a member of the trial department, where her practice focuses on the defense of pharmaceutical products and related multi-district litigation. Matt Berger has been named president of the New London County Bar Association in Connecticut. He is also the attorney for the Pawcatuck Fire District and chairman of the Wetlands Commission. A general practice attorney, he has been involved in several prominent eminent domain cases.

1996

Adam Rogoff was profiled on boston.com in August for his work organizing a Rosindale Square telecommuter lunch group. Adam worked for two Boston firms before heading out on his own in 2001. The group, which consists of about 40 members and averages about 10 people per monthly lunch, provides a time to come together and create a daytime community, share experiences, trade ideas and possibly network.

1998

In July, Pamela Richardson joined Gellert & Klein in Poughkeepsie, New York. Her areas of expertise include municipal law, land use and zoning and commercial real estate.

1999

Dovie Yoana King and her husband, Ricardo Ochoa, welcomed a baby boy, Noah Alejandro King, on June 5, 2008. Noah and his parents are enjoying life in sunny San Diego.

2002

Mike Pikiel, a senior associate at Fulbright & Jaworski in New York, spoke at The Bond Buyer’s 8th Annual National Municipal Derivatives Institute on May 19, 2008, in New York City.

2003

Derek McLeod was named a “rising star” in the 2008 issue of Michigan Super Lawyers Derek is an associate at Hertz Schram in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he handles commercial, securities, ERISA, entertainment and related Internet litigation matters.

2004

In July, Andrew Grannik took over as district attorney for Bethel, Alaska. Bethel, accessible only by air and river, is the main port on the Kuskokwim River and is an administrative and transportation hub for the 56 villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

2005

Erin Stearns, an associate in the trust and estate department at McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton in Manchester, New Hampshire, was elected secretary of the New Hampshire Women’s Bar Association (NHMBA); she began a two-year term in August. Seyfarth Shaw associates Sarah Turner, Eric Greenberg and Erik Weibust were named “rising stars” in 2008 by Massachusetts Super Lawyers.

2007

Shanel Lindsay has joined Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen as an associate concentrating in business litigation, insurance law and tort defense. Kate Heller was named one of Banker and Tradesman’s “New Leaders of 2008.” Kate is an associate in the environmental law group at Goulston & Storrs in Boston.