The D.C. Bar nominations committee has announced who is in the running for some of the bar's top leadership positions. Vying for president-elect for the 2010–2011 term are Darrell Mottley, a partner at Banner & Witcoff, and Laura Possessky, a name partner at Gura & Possessky.
Mottley (Virginia Tech, George Washington Law) focuses on patent procurement and litigation in the computer, e-commerce, electrical, mechanical technologies, and medical device areas. He is currently serving as chair of the D.C. Bar Council on Sections.
Possessky (U. Penn, Georgetown Law) chairs Gura & Possessky’s media and entertainment practice and advises clients on contract negotiations, deal structuring, intellectual property, media transactions, and rights protections issues. She is currently a member of the D.C. Bar’s board of governors.
The president-elect serves for one year before becoming president, and continues in office a third year as immediate past president. Kim Keenan of The Keenan Firm is currently serving as D.C. Bar president. Ronald Flagg, a partner at Sidley Austin, is the president-elect.
Under the D.C. Bar’s by-laws, the nominations committee names at least two and no more than three candidates for each position up for election. If a member of the D.C. Bar is not tapped by the nominations committee, he or she may still appear on the ballot by submitting a petition with at least 100 signatures of active bar members by 5 p.m. on April 12. Petitions can be obtained here or by contacting Ngoc Huynh in the bar’s executive office at 202-737-4700, ext. 3221.
Running for bar secretary are Habib Ilahi, of counsel at Schertler & Onorato, and Patrick McGlone, vice president and deputy general counsel at ULLICO Inc. For treasurer candidates, the committee named Andrea Ferster, solo practitioner, and Sherrese Smith, legal adviser for media, consumer and enforcement issues at the Federal Communications Commission. Both the secretary and treasurer serve one-year terms.
The committee named 10 candidates for the five open positions on the bar’s board of governors. Those candidates are H. Guy Collier Jr. of McDermott Will & Emery; Stephen Glover of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Charles Kerby III of Liberte Group; Bridget Bailey Lipscomb of the Justice Department; Lorelie Masters of Jenner & Block; Robert Okun of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia; Marianela Peralta of Littler Mendelson.; Veta Richardson of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association; Alfreda Robinson of George Washington University School of Law; and R. Justin Smith of the Justice Department.
For the three open seats on the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates, the committee nominated Arthur Burger of Jackson & Campbell; John Cruden of the Justice Department; Robert Hildum of the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia; Beth Law of the Consumer Specialty Products Association; Karen Lockwood of The Lockwood Group; and Lucy Thomson of Computer Sciences Corp.
Mottley and Possessky will make their case to voters about why they should be chosen president-elect at an April 28 forum, to be held at the bar’s headquarters at 1101 K Street N.W.
Ballots will be distributed to the bar’s active members on May 5. They must be returned by June 4.
Comments