Bench & Bar May/June 2026

WHO, WHAT, WHEN & WHERE

The American Bar Association is proud to announce that it will award John M. Rosenberg , executive director emeritus of the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund (AppalReD), the 2026 ABA Medal. Rosenberg will accept the award at the ABA Annual Conference in Chi cago in August. The ABA Medal is bestowed upon a lawyer for exceptionally distinguished service to the cause of American jurisprudence.

Throughout his career, Rosenberg has distinguished himself by helping people who were considered underserved and vulnerable, especially in the Eastern Kentucky community where he has lived for more than five decades as well as throughout the nation. His pursuit of justice in all forms has been relentless. From early in his career, fighting against the inequities of voter suppression laws in the South, to later challenging issues of poverty, environment, housing and education amongst other areas, protecting the rights of people has been at the forefront of Rosenberg’s life of serving others.

The American College of Construction Law yers (ACCL) has elected Stites & Harbison, PLLC , attorney Cassidy R. Rosenthal to its board of governors. She will serve a three-year term. Rosenthal is a member (partner) of Stites & Harbison based in the Lexington, Ky., office. She is a construction attorney with more than 20 years of experience working with owners,

HAVE AN ITEM FOR WHO, WHAT, WHEN & WHERE? The Bench & Bar welcomes brief announcements about member placements, promotions, relocations and honors. Notices are printed at no cost and must be submitted by email to Shannon Roberts at sroberts@kybar.org. Digital photos must be a minimum of 300 dpi and two (2) inches tall from top of head to shoulders. There is a $15 fee per photograph, plus a processing fee. Photo fees must be paid online at kybar.org/About-Us/ She is chair of the pharmaceuticals & medical device litigation group and co-chair of the torts & insurance practice group. She is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, North America’s preem inent organization of trial lawyers. Browning’s practice includes drug and medical device litigation, products liability and medical malpractice defense. Kerrick Bachert PSC is pleased to announce the nomination of attorney Colton W. Givens as a shareholder of the firm, effective January 1, 2026. Givens joined Kerrick Bachert in 2018 after clerking for federal judges in Paducah and London, Ky. He maintains a litigation-focused practice, representing a variety of individu als, businesses, and organizations in matters including business and commercial disputes, real estate disputes, Communications-Publications or scan the QR code to find the 4W section to pay online.

contractors, subcontractors and designers throughout all phases of construction projects and equipment procurement. She helps clients navigate complex construction projects from concept to com pletion including advising on all facets of commercial construction projects such as data centers, manufacturing facilities, schools and universities, transportation initiatives and airports. Rosenthal is a leader both at the firm, serving as Stites & Harbison’s Lexington Office Executive member, and in the community. She is a fellow of the ACCL, serves on the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Construction Law, is a director of the Associated General Contractors of Kentucky and is a past chair of Commerce Lexington.

Lawdragon has named Stites & Harbison, PLLC , attorney Carol Dan Browning to the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America. This is the third time that Brown ing has been recognized by Lawdragon for her work in product liability, drug and medical device litigation. She is one of only two Ken tucky attorneys honored in 2026. Honorees of

the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America are selected from nominations and candidates identified through extensive indepen dent research. The guide recognizes the top litigators in the U.S. in areas such as antitrust, intellectual property, white collar and investigations, securities and other fiduciary litigation, energy and technology disputes, and a wide variety of class actions, mass torts, product liability and other complex civil litigation. Browning is a member (partner) based in Stites & Harbison’s Louisville, Ky., office.

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