Happy New Year!


Dartmouth for Life and the Dartmouth Lawyers Association recently sponsored a program in Boston: Off the Green: Dartmouth and the Law, with assistant U.S. attorney Brian Kelly. According to special correspondent Walter Foster, the reception was held at the offices of Choate, Hall & Stewart Boston. Brian spoke about his Dartmouth career and the path that brought him to the U.S. attorney’s office and the prosecution of most corruption cases in Boston—with great detail about the Whitey Bulger trial. He talked about one of the witnesses who might have testified showing up murdered in the Boston suburbs during the trial (dissatisfied business partner offed him!) and the victims and how they reacted to the various episodes that arose during the trial. Dartmouth was hosting a lawyers shadow day and there were at least 10 to 20 students who also attended. According to Walker, Brian was a great speaker and brought insight into the inner workings of his office.


South Jersey Biz has named Fran Manning one of South New Jersey’s 25 Executives of the Year. Fran is the partner-in-charge of Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young’s New Jersey office in Cherry Hill, a firm he has now worked at for the past 12 years. Considered an expert in helping executives with commercial disputes and product liability matters, Fran has tried more than 30 cases to verdict or award. He has litigated a range of complex commercial, products liability and mass tort cases. He represents corporate, institutional and insurance company clients in health care disputes, employment disputes, Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims and wrongful-death cases. Fran has prosecuted dozens of fraud and breach-of-contract claims for banks and other financial institutions holding security interests in real property and general business assets. Outside of work, Fran is a member of the executive committee of the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey, serving as the vice chairman of the government action division, and serves on the board of the executive committee of the Covered Bridge Swim Club in Cherry Hill.


I want to take a few words to pay tribute to someone close to me who recently passed away. My dad, Herman Christensen, was a Dartmouth ’51 who instilled in me early on a love for all things green. He encouraged loyalty, respect and perseverance and gave me his quirky sense of humor, among other things. He died unexpectedly on December 9, coming home after a workout. He was a great dad, a great person and a devoted fan of the green. I miss him.


—Maren Christensen, 173 S. Nardo Ave., Solana Beach, CA 92075; marenjc@yahoo.com