Bench & Bar January/February 2025

Stites & Harbison, PLLC , attorney Ian Ramsey was recently elected chair of the Kentucky Bicy cle and Bikeway Commission (KBBC) at its 2024 annual meeting. He will guide the KBBC, coordinate with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on pedestrian and bikeway programs, and promote bicycling to governing officials and the public. First appointed to the KBBC by Gov

in both English and political science from Western Kentucky University. Hillenmeyer went on to earn his law degree from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude . While in law school, he served on the Student Bar Association and was a published member of the Journal of Animal and Environmental Law.

Governor Andy Beshear recently appointed Stites & Harbison, PLLC , attorney Olivia C. Keller to Gateway Community and Technical College’s Board of Directors. She will serve in this role until July of 2030. Keller is an attorney based in Stites & Harbison’s Covington office, where she is a member of the business litigation service group. Her practice is diverse and pri

ernor Andy Beshear in 2022, Ramsey will now serve as chair until January 2027. Ramsey is a member (partner) of Stites & Harbison based in the Louisville office. He focuses his practice as a products liability and commercial litigation trial attorney. He is also an active outside general counsel managing litigation, transactions, and oper ational issues for clients.

Kaufman & Stigger PLLC welcomes Andrew Hebert to the firm's Louisville office. His prac tice area is personal injury focused on auto accidents, premises liability and animal liability. Hebert is a Louisville native. He attended the University of Louisville where he earned a B.A., in history and Spanish. He earned his J.D. from the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, where he graduated cum laude .

marily focuses on complex business litigation, employment litigation and medical liability. Additionally, she is a member of the firm’s office of general counsel, ethics subcommittee. Keller is active in both professional and civic organizations. She is a member of the Salmon P. Chase Inn of Court, the Kentucky Bar Association, the Northern Kentucky Bar Association and Kentucky Defense Counsel. Keller also currently serves as vice president of the board of directors for the Children’s Law Center. Stites & Harbison, PLLC , announces the addition of seven attorneys to the firm. Four attorneys join the Louisville, Ky., office: Rachel Gumbel , Jackson B. Hurst-Sanders , James E. Myers and April M. J. Sain . Harper B. Anderson , Holly A. Couch and Robert H.

Kirk & Crum, PLLC (formerly Kirk Law Firm, PLLC), is pleased to announce Jaryd H. Crum has been named managing partner. Crum, who joined the firm's litigation practice in 2017, practices in the areas of personal injury, wrong ful death, mass torts, social security, probate, business, and family law. Kirk & Crum, PLLC, was founded by John W. Kirk in 1971 and was

Dean join the firm in Lexington. Gumbel is a member of the business litigation service group. She earned her J.D. from the University of Lou isville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, summa cum laude , in 2024. Gumbel served the Uni versity of Louisville Law Review as the senior notes editor for Volume 62, where she published a note, and as a member for Volume 61. Prior to joining Stites & Harbison, she was a legal extern for Judge Eric Haner, Division One of the Jef ferson Circuit Court in the fall of 2023. She also participated in Stites & Harbison’s summer asso ciate program in 2022 and 2023. Hurst-Sanders is a member of the business litigation service group. He earned his J.D. from the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, summa cum laude and Order of the Coif,

previously managed by Mr. Kirk and his son, John C. Kirk , who oversaw the firm's continued growth since his graduation from Van derbilt Law School. Kirk & Crum, PLLC, has offices in Paintsville, Prestonsburg, Louisa, Ashland, and Inez. Crum is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University, the University of Kentucky College of Law, and The Johns Hopkins University.

O’Bryan, Brown & Toner, PLLC , is pleased to welcome two new attorneys to their Louisville office. Kenneth Decker focuses his practice on matters of insurance defense litigation with an emphasis on medical malpractice cases. He graduated with a B.A. in history and a minor in political science from DePauw University, where he played on the men’s basketball team. He went on to earn his law degree from the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, where he graduated cum laude . While in law school, Decker served as an articles editor of the Kentucky Law Journal and as a member of the Moot Court Board. Stephen Hillenmeyer focuses his practice on matters involving insur ance defense litigation. He graduated with B.A.

in 2023. Hurst-Sanders was a BARBRI ambassador and a student representative of the UK Rosenberg Diversity Committee. For the Kentucky Law Journal, he served as editor-in-chief of Volume 111 and was published in that volume; he also served as a staff editor of Volume 110. Prior to joining Stites & Harbison, Hurst-Sanders was a judicial law clerk for Judge David J. Hale of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, 2023-24. He was a summer associate for Stites & Harbison in 2021 and 2022. He was also a legal extern for the Fayette County Attorney’s Office, spring of 2022, and a judicial extern for Judge Brian C. Edwards, Division 11 of the

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