Bench & Bar May/June 2025

Whitlow, Roberts, Houston, & Straub wel comed two new attorneys to their Paducah firm. Teris Swanson joined Whitlow, Roberts, Houston & Straub in 2025 after serving as judge executive of Livingston County, Ky. Swanson has experience in a wide variety of legal mat ters including personal injury claims, criminal defense, social security disability, real estate, and estate planning. Victoria (Tori) Seng joined Whitlow, Roberts, Houston & Straub as an asso ciate attorney in October 2024. Seng’s practice areas are primarily focused on estate planning, probate, business, and transactional law. She advises clients in preparing estate plans and tai lors wills and trusts to facilitate their individual needs. She also assists families in handling the estates of their loved ones and navigating the complexities of Ken tucky’s probate system.

on a wide variety of cases, including insurance defense, premises and automobile liability, personal injury, contracts, and more. Prior to joining Sturgill Turner, she worked in private practice in a regional defense firm. Her legal experience includes clerkships at two Kentucky litigation firms as well as clerking for a national media company on a legal reality television production. Joan M. Robinson was recently inducted into the Warren E. Burger Society. The society, “honors individuals who have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to improving the administration of jus tice through extraordinary contributions of their time, talent and support to the National Center for State Courts.” Ms. Robinson was married to former KBA and ABA President William T. (Bill) Robinson III. Mr. Robinson passed away in 2017. Ms. Robinson

was honored for her work as a rule of law advocate. McBrayer PLLC is pleased to announce that Trenton Adkins has joined their Louisville office as an associate attorney, contributing to the insurance defense team. Adkins gradu ated from the University of Kentucky in 2018 and obtained his law degree from the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville in 2023. Notably, he served as a summer associate at McBrayer while attending law school.

Fulton, Devlin & Powers, LLC , is pleased to announce that Thomas C. Donkin and David B. Miller have joined the firm. Donkin is a graduate of the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law and was admitted to the practice of law in 2002. He has over 20 years of experience practicing workers’ compensation defense and will work out of the Lexington office. Miller is a graduate of the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law and was admitted to the practice of law in 2024. He is in the Louisville office and his practice will focus on workers’ compensation defense.

Stites & Harbison, PLLC , welcomes attorney Ellen Gish to the firm’s Lexington office. She joins the firm as counsel in the construction service group. Gish represents owners, con tractors and subcontractors in all aspects of the construction process. Prior to joining Stites & Harbison, Gish served as associate general counsel for the University of Kentucky (UK), where she focused on capital projects, real estate,

procurement, data privacy, economic development and charitable gifts. Her prior legal experience also includes representing clients in a wide range of complex real estate and corporate transactions. In addition to her legal roles, Gish also served in development, gift planning and fundraising roles for UK Philanthropy and the Lex ington Philharmonic. Her diverse experience gives Gish a unique perspective on the day-to-day legal challenges facing both private and public clients and a creative, collaborative and efficient approach to problem-solving. Gish earned her J.D., cum laude , from the Uni versity of Michigan. Senior Associate Hunter Shelman has joined the tax practice group of Eversheds Sutherland , based in the firm’s Atlanta office. Shelman focuses his practice on federal tax controversy, representing taxpay ers in all types of tax controversy matters. He assists taxpayers with IRS audits and represents taxpayers in disputes with the IRS with a focus on cross-border transactions, multinational corporations and international tax issues. He also advises on U.S. inbound and outbound international tax matters, including U.S. withholding tax, tax reform planning, international tax compliance and reporting, and voluntary disclosure. Prior to joining Eversheds Sutherland,

Sturgill, Turner, Barker & Moloney, PLLC , welcomes attorneys Jonathan M. Gifford and Holly D. Hammons to the firm. Gifford prac tices in the firm’s government and municipal law practice group. He brings more than 10 years experience focused on civil rights and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 litigation, employment law, and complex litigation involving state agencies. He works extensively with local governments and other public entities on employment and per sonnel issues, policies, and regulations, and with businesses, families, and individuals on estate planning and probate. He began his career in real estate law at a regional firm in Lexington, before founding his own practice focusing on corporate law, estate planning and probate, con

tract and real estate law. For the past two years, he served as a staff attorney for the Commonwealth of Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. Hammons focuses on civil litigation and insurance defense in the firm’s torts and insurance practice group. She works

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