Alumni

Thomas Casagrande ’90 Appointed USPTO Judge

Thomas L. Casagrande ’90 recently was appointed an administrative trademark judge on the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. For the 11 preceding years, he worked in the USPTO’s Office of the Solicitor, representing the agency in appellate and district court litigation of trademark registration and other intellectual property matters.

Adam Kuegler ’20 Named Supreme Court Fellow

Adam Kuegler ’20 has been appointed a 2023-24 Supreme Court Fellow assigned to the Federal Judicial Center. The fellowship provides experience in judicial administration, policy development and education with time to study and write a work of scholarship. Kuegler joins the Supreme Court Fellows Program from the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, where he clerked for the Honorable Sarala V. Nagala.

Emily Gait ’19 Appointed Special Counsel

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has appointed Assistant Attorney General Emily Gait ’19 a special counsel for reproductive rights. She is one of two attorneys appointed to respond to challenges to reproductive freedom following the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Gait joined the Special Litigation Section of the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General in 2021.

Mikhail Murshak ’03 Joins Michigan Firm

Mikhail “Mike” Murshak ’03 has joined Foster Swift Collins & Smith as a senior attorney in the firm’s Lansing, Michigan, office. Murshak, a licensed patent attorney with extensive experience in intellectual property law, is also an adjunct professor at Michigan State University College of Law and Western Michigan University Cooley Law School.

Curtis Tearte ’78 Honored by Brandeis

Curtis Tearte ’78 is being recognized with a 2023 Alumni Achievement Award from Brandeis University, where he earned his BA in 1973. Brandeis is honoring Tearte during the school’s 75th anniversary celebration for his business and philanthropic leadership. Tearte worked at IBM for more than 30 years and served on the company’s Worldwide Management Committee, composed of the top 60 IBM senior executives. He is now chairman of the Tearte Family Foundation, which helps underrepresented students complete high school and pursue post-secondary education. Tearte has served on the Brandeis Board of Trustees and the board of the University of Connecticut Law School Foundation.