dean olsen returns to the faculty makau mutua named interim

UBLAWFORUM

Going globalW I N T E R 2 0 0 8

The Magazine of the University at Buffalo Law School The State University of New York

Dean Olsen returns to the faculty

Makau Mutuanamed interim dean

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

Let me begin by saying how hon-ored I am to have been asked byUniversity at Buffalo ProvostSatish K. Tripathi to serve as Inter-im Dean of UB Law at this excit-

ing time in its history.I also want to express my appreciation to

my friend and colleague, Nils Olsen, for hismany years of service to the Law School asour dean.We made enormous strides dur-ing his tenure, and I wish well in his futureendeavors.

I look forward to working with our stu-dents, faculty, staff and alumni on all theimportant matters facing our institution.The continued hard work, enthusiasm, andsupport of our alumni, colleagues andfriends in the legal community will be ofimmeasurable service to me as your interimdean and colleague.

In keeping with this transition, I am verypleased to announce several new appoint-ments to the administration of the LawSchool. Professor Jim Gardner has kindlyagreed to assume the responsibilities of ViceDean for Academic Affairs. In this connec-tion, he is working closely with ProfessorSusan Mangold to ensure a smooth transi-tion in that office. I want to take this oppor-tunity to thank Professor Mangold for herinvaluable service to the Law School in the

past four years. Her devotion, dedication,and energy—all offered with incrediblewarmth and sensitivity – have resulted inmore coherence and greater organizationfor the Law School’s academic programs.

I have also asked Professor Errol Mei-dinger to take on an expanded role as the

Vice Dean for Research and Faculty Devel-opment. In this new role, Professor Mei-dinger will add to his responsibilities mat-ters relating to faculty development to morecomprehensively support faculty scholar-ship and stimulate broader recognition oftheir many accomplishments.

To create greater coordination of ouradministrative activities, I have asked Mr.Jim Newton to assume the new post of theAssociate Dean for Administration. Mr.Newton will coordinate the activities andservices of the various administrative of-fices in the Law School, and will continue todirect employer relations efforts, nationaloutreach, and reporting to the Law School’saccrediting agencies.

These changes come in the midst of theLaw School planning process which is un-derway and the dean search process that isongoing. I am happy to report to the LawSchool community, especially our belovedstudents and alumni, that UB Law is ingreat shape and is poised to achieve evengreater heights.

Sincerely,

Farewell message from Dean Nils Olsen

Message from Makau Mutua ,Interim Dean

As I complete my term as deanof this extraordinary institu-tion for which we all bear re-sponsibility, it is with a senseof pride in all that we have ac-

complished together.That is a vital word – together.For it is only through the power of

teamwork and collaboration – the magicof talented people of good will workingtoward a common goal – that great thingshappen,in the Law School or anywhereelse.Individual leaders can set the tone,but it takes a team to turn a vision into re-ality.

And so from this soapbox in UB Law Forum, I wish to acknowledge with gratitudethe contributions and gifts of so many whohave made a difference:

Our extraordinarily gifted and talentedfaculty,whose scholarship and collegiality ismatched only by their focus on effective peda-gogy.

The support of our University administra-tion;a great Law School can exist only in thecontext of a great University.

Students and alumni are key.I have

learned as much from the best of my studentsas I have been able to share with them.Andour alumni,in so many ways,continue tocontribute to the Law School in myriad waysthat make an enormous difference in thequality of the education we provide.

I am especially pleased that the alumnihave so generously supported my deanship.Ideeply appreciate the many increased giftswhich have been made to this year’s annualfund in my honor.

Our faculty and staff administratorsshoulder much of the work of running the

school; their talents have advanced ourmission in ways large and small.

My family,particularly my wife,Sandy,and our children,have been endlessly sup-portive throughout my years as dean,andit is to them I owe my greatest debt ofthanks.

I am not going away! After a leave of absence at the beginning of 2008, Iwill return to UB Law and continue toteach the course in civil procedure that I have taught for many years, as well aspursue research in the areas of federalpost-conviction remedies and environ-

mental policy.I have every confidence that the Law

School will continue to grow,improve,andcarry on its mission under a new generationof leadership.I look forward to being part ofthat promise,and to all that we will continueto accomplish – together.

Sincerely,

• • •

Ilene R. Fleischmann,EditorVice Dean for Alumni and Communications,Executive Director of the Law Alumni Association

Lisa MuellerAssistant Dean for Alumni and Communications

Patricia WarringtonAssistant Director for Alumni and Development

Principal PhotographersDon Dannecker Mark Mulville

Please address all Class Action correspondence toCynthia Watts: [email protected]

Or mail to:

UB Law Forum 312 O’Brian HallBuffalo, NY 14260

(c) Copyright 2008 by University at Buffalo Law SchoolAll Rights Reserved

Visit us at www.law.buffalo.edu

Editor’s note

“The world is a book,”wrote St.Augustine,“and those who do not travel read only one page.”So travel with usinto this issue of the Forum, which takes note of the increasingly international quality of UB Law School.

That globalization is cemented with the naming of Professor Makau Mutua, a scholar with deep roots in theAfrican nation of Kenya, as interim dean. It ranges from current students’globe-trotting internships in humanrights and other public-interest law, to scholarly contacts in South America, Russia and Thailand, and to our alumniin far-flung places, including China and Korea.

International students are attracted to Buffalo for our LL.M. program, visiting scholars mingle with our studentsand faculty, and our International Law concentration continues to develop.

As the world in which we live gets smaller, UB Law is extending its reach and its influence far beyond WesternNew York. Happy travels!

Ilene R. Fleischmann

UB Law Forum is mailed free to alumni, faculty, students and friends of the University at Buffalo Law School.Send your comments or suggestions to:

[email protected]

Former human rights intern Brian McCarthy ’07with Mama Magazi, in Tanzania.

On the coverHuman rights internships take UB Law students far and wide.As an undergraduate, Brian McCarthy ’07taught English, math and written Swahili

on the island of Zanzibar, Tanzania, through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps International.When he went back toAfrica as a UB Law intern at the Kenyan Human Rights Commission, he made a side trip back to Tanzania to visit with aformer student, Joseph Shaban Magazi, and Magazi’s family.McCarthy is now pursuing a master’s degree in public health at UB.

ALUMNI PROFILES

4 Lisa Bloch Rodwin ’85 sends a message on Oprah6 Tibor Baranski ’87 practices corporate law in Beijing 8 Jim Thoman ’02 repeats as national skiing champ

10 Belle Farrar Theobald ’44: Her day on court12 Dr. Elizabeth Kim ’94 helps protect the oceans 14 Jaeckle and Fleischmann: A merger of titans

LAW SCHOOL REPORT

Mitchell Lectures16 Amnesty International leader says war on terror should not negate human rights 20 Judge Robertson examines the state of the “Great Writ”

UB 202022 Law School takes lead in UB’s initiative for Civic Engagement and Public Policy 23 Building a better Buffalo Niagara

Clinics: Impacting the community24 The Clinics and their clients 26 Sharing ideas at the fourth annual Upstate Affordable Housing Conference 28 Painting the town green: Affordable housing and the environment 30 Building for the future: Affordable Housing Clinic launches endowment

Baldy Center for Law & Social Policy32 Author Bill McKibben sees climate change as an opportunity for transformation at the High Road Conference 34 Baldy conference explores many sides of the abortion debate

Going Global36 Professor Engel teaches bridge course in Thailand 38 Training global lawyers to fight domestic violence 40 Human rights interns tell of a rewarding summer’s work 42 Public-interest internships range far and wide

• • •46 Buffalo Public Interest Law Program funds 22 projects 48 JD/MSW: Dual degrees with clout and heart 50 Guenther argues that corporate America is a force for good 52 Placement statistics for Class of 200654 Commencement 2007 64 Unique stories from the Class of 2010

Buffalo Law Review68 Dinner marks community initiatives and scholarly work 69 Unusual essay issue draws national attention 70 Professor Del Cotto remembered in special issue

• • •72 Moot court competitions get future litigators on their feet 74 Expanded externship program provides practical experience76 For opponents of the death penalty, some deeply personal perspectives

78 Should prisons be privatized? 79 Author Jonathan Knee dissects a changed world of investment banking 80 Mentoring program is a win-win82 Federalist Society event examines driver’s licenses for illegal aliens84 Rising stars: Students of Color Dinner looks to a bright future

FOCUS ON FACULTY

86 Makau Mutua helps build a new Kenya87 Mutua named interim dean

New faculty 88 Irus Braverman 90 Rick Su 92 Mateo Taussig-Rubbo

• • •94 Professor David Filvaroff, civil rights advocate, transitions to retirement96 Social structure of the corporation brought to light in Westbrook’s new book 98 Gardner’s revised textbook emphasizes storytelling and professionalism

100 Professor Milles brings legal scholarship to broader audience 102 UB Law memorializes former Dean Hyman 104 Karen Cowart retires

LEADERSHIP GIVING

106 Thanks for the memories: Harvey L. Kaminski ’77 gives back108 David F. Smith ’78 funds student’s full-tuition scholarship110 Retired Starbucks CEO honors Bill Greiner with a major gift

ANNUAL GIVING

112 When you give back, we move forward114 Annual Fund aims for $1 million in 2008 115 Honor Roll of donors133 Class of 2007 gift bolsters scholarship funds136 Scholarships awarded in 2006 to 2007

LEGACY GIVING

137 Law School Legacy Society

LAW ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

138 Jaeckle Award goes to departing Dean Olsen140 Get Linked! New online alumni community 141 Law alumni services142 First lifetime member143 Alumni say “cheese”at The Sample144 Law Alumni Association dinner recognizes career achievements146 UB Law alumni mark 15 years of going for GOLD148 Officers and directors elected150 Professor Gardner addresses NYC alumni152 Regional grips and grins

BRIEFS

154 50+ luncheon155 Class action and reunions163 Births 173 Marriages179 In Memoriam 180 True believer

Contents

UBLAWFORUM

T h e M a g a z i n e o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y at B u f f a l o L aw S c h o o l T h e S t at e U n i v e r s i t y o f N e w Yo r k

Winter 2008

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As chief of the Erie County dis-trict attorney’s domestic vio-lence bureau in Buffalo,LisaBloch Rodwin ’85 is used tospeaking in front of a court-

room.But in two highly rated Oprah Win-frey Show appearances in May and anotherin November,Rodwin found her biggestaudience yet – and used it to help victims ofdomestic violence craft a plan to find safety.

Rodwin went on the May 8 show withSusan Still, a complainant whose case be-came one of the most-publicized domesticviolence cases in America. Still was repeat-edly victimized by husband Ulner Lee Still,and had his adolescent son videotape a 50-minute assault. Rodwin’s prosecution ledto a 36-year felony sentence for the perpe-trator.

The television appearance was the op-posite of the prosecutor’s usual methodicalcase preparation.“Oprah wants spontane-ity,”Rodwin says.“Her producers told methe topic, but none of the questions –which makes it more nerve-wracking.

“Her whole focus was not on exploitingor sensationalizing one family’s tragedy,but using Susan’s experience to reach outto women and families across the country.The theme was, this is the day you planyour escape.”

Susan Still told her story, and excerptsfrom the videotape were shown. ThenRodwin listed some points of informationfor viewers facing a similar situation.“I wastold that I had three to five minutes to telleverything that needs to be known for vic-tims of family violence,”she says,“both be-fore they leave and after they leave.”

Things move quickly in television – andit is a different world from her utilitarianlife as a county prosecutor.“We got theroyal treatment,”Rodwin says.“They madeall the travel plans for both of us, as well asmy husband and son, who were in the au-dience. They put us up in a five-star hotel

suite and picked us up in a limo.”And looking good, of course, is Job

One. Before traveling to Chicago for thetaping, Rodwin had “spent a small fortuneon TV makeup”and got her hair cut andstyled. On the morning of the taping, shegot up early and did her own makeup –only to have the show’s makeup artist wipeit off and start all over. The Oprah hair-dresser, too, had other ideas;“She pulledout a flatiron and said to me,‘There are nocurls on TV.’ ”Rodwin ended up withstraight hair, uncharacteristic for her.

Then it was showtime, an experiencelike no other, Rodwinsays.A warm-up per-son “gets the crowd inan almost frenziedstate,”she says, and theaudience just explodedwhen the charismatichost took the stage. It isa small auditorium,maybe 150 seats, to en-courage a feeling of in-timacy, and Winfreytalks to the audienceduring commercial

breaks.“She clearly, honestly cares abouther viewers and her guests,”Rodwin says.“But she is not warm and fuzzy. She is not ahugger. She is just totally in control ofevery moment.”

Sometimes Winfrey surprises her stu-dio audience with gifts, often placed undertheir seats. For this emotional show, every-one got tissues.

“It is a message that I have spent my ca-reer trying to get out there,”Rodwin says.“Ifelt honored to be the one who was chosento deliver this message, that there arechoices and that the system is there to help.I loved it, and the producers were thrilled.”

So much so that she and Still were invit-ed back for a second show, which airedMay 23. Separately, she also took part in

ABC News’20/20 newsmagazine showwith Diane Sawyer, a “much more struc-tured”experience that involved film crewscoming to Buffalo three times over thecourse of a year.

It was a month to remember – in be-tween her two Oprah appearances, Rodwinwas in Erie County Court, successfullyprosecuting a highly emotional two-weekcase against a man accused of spousal rape.She had just arrived in Chicago for the sec-ond appearance when the call came thatthe accused was guilty – and the victim wason the phone to thank Rodwin for believ-ing her story.“I am standing there in themiddle of Midway Airport, crying,”Rod-win says.“Other than studying for the bar,May was the most stressful month I haveever lived through.”

Her Nov. 7 return to the showcame in the context of thatspousal rape conviction.Ap-pearing after a series ofwomen told Winfrey about

their experiences of being raped by theirhusbands, Rodwin brought a prosecutor’sviewpoint to the common misconceptionby victims,“Maybe I brought it on myself.”

“The bottom line is, if someone is forc-ing you to have sex, it is rape. It does notmatter if you are wearing a wedding ring,”the prosecutor told Winfrey. She empha-sized the importance of victims’finding asafe place, telling someone what has hap-pened and going to a hospital for docu-mentation of their injuries. The latter, shesaid, is to counter the usual defense in suchcases, which is that the sex was consensual.

Every U.S. state, Rodwin said, now hason its books a statute acknowledging mari-tal rape as a crime.

Alumni ProfilesAlumni Profiles

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4U B L A W F O R U M

BULLY PULPITLisa Bloch Rodwin ’85 sends a message on ‘Oprah’

ONE-STOP JUSTICE

“A partnership unlike any other”is upand running in downtown Buffalo, servingfamilies shattered by domestic violence andoffering a way out for those who live in fear.

The Family Justice Center of Erie Countyhas served more than 1,000 families since itsopening last year, says Lisa Bloch Rodwin’85, who wrote the application which won aU.S. Department of Justice grant that madethe project possible.

It is, she says, a triumph of communityservice over self-interest.

“Everybody had to get past all these turfissues and say, what can we do for people atrisk?”Rodwin says.“This is the culminationof everything that all of us in this communi-ty have done.”

Services at the Family Justice Center arefree, and the center’s client-friendly, client-centered focus ensures that those who comeseeking help are treated with privacy anddignity. Rodwin says clients call the shots,choosing from an array of helpers: socialworkers, medical personnel, police and dis-trict attorney representatives, spiritual ad-visers, and advisers on work skills training,to name a few. The University at Buffalo isrepresented by its Law School and theSchool of Social Work.

A forensic medical unit on site at the cen-ter, 237 Main St., can provide some treat-ment and document injuries with high-res-olution digital photos for use in criminalproceedings. There is even translation avail-able for 110 languages.

Rodwin is proud that since the centeropened, Erie County has not recorded a sin-gle family violence homicide.

Publicizing the center is an ongoing ef-fort. One innovative initiative, sponsored byZonta International, is called Behind ClosedDoors. Posters are being put up inside thestalls in women’s restrooms throughout thearea, such as in grocery stores, health careclinics and movie theaters.

Oprah Winfrey

Lisa BlochRodwin ’85

6 7U B L A W F O R U M W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

In a global business environment, ithas become cliché to say that playersare operating between two worlds.For Tibor Baranski ’87, two worldsare not enough. He has a foot in at

least five.Born in Toronto to parents who fled

Hungary after that country’s 1956 revolu-tion, he is a citizen of Hungary, Canadaand the United States. He is also a perma-nent resident of Yokahama, Japan. But hepractices law in Beijing, China, and liveswith his family in the suburbs of that fast-growing, cosmopolitan city.

After studying the economic history ofJapan and China at Princeton University,and graduating with honors in 1980,Baranski became the first foreigner to for-mally complete a course of study in law inChina after 1949 when he graduated fromthe Peking University Law School in 1984.He then returned to the States to study atUB Law School (his parents and olderbrother still live in Western New York). Healso has studied at Yale University, the Na-tional Taiwan University, Kanazawa Uni-versity in Japan and Columbia University.He speaks English, Chinese, Japanese,Hungarian and German.

All of which comes in handy at Jun HeLaw Offices in Beijing, where Baranski hasbeen of counsel since 2002. From his 20th-floor office, he works with business clientslooking to invest in China, especiallyJapanese firms, with extensive experiencein merger-and-acquisition projects.

Jun He, he says, was founded in 1989and is China’s first private law firm; previ-ously, lawyers were state employees.“Thereare about 160,000 registered Chineselawyers,”Baranski says.“But the number ofhigh-quality Chinese lawyers is 2,000, tops.The rest you can forget about for all intentsand purposes. Out of this number, thehighest concentration by far is in Beijing.”

His firm, he says,“has a very strong atti-tude of fiduciary duty toward the client. Inthe United States, the practice of law hasbecome overly commercialized. The trust

between persons, or between lawyer andclient, has been lost. They talk a lot aboutfiduciary duty and give lip service to it, butthere is no trust.”In Beijing’s close-knit le-gal community,“You do not have to lookover your shoulder, you do not have toworry about politicking too much.You canjust concentrate on getting the work done.”

Working on projects includingtelecommunications, R&D centers, corpo-

rate restructurings, even power plants,Baranski has established himself as abridge between the Chinese and Japanesebusiness worlds.

“I started in the ’80s,”he says,“and Ihave been doing it so long that the Japan-ese and the Chinese communities knowme. I deal with a lot of Japanese at the highend of the business community both inChina and in Tokyo. I am in contact with

EASTERN EXPOSURETibor Baranski ’87 practices corporate law in Beijing


them all the time. Clients tend to come toBeijing, but I also go to Japan frequently. Iam in Tokyo up to 10 times a year. I have aJapanese green card, so I can do everythingthe Japanese can do.”

It is a rare specialization – “Very fewlawyers can do Japan-China legalwork,”he says.Part of the challenge is the nuanceand the complexities of language,

managing complex transactions whilebridging the cultural and linguistic dividebetween Chinese and Japanese.

“Language is the ultimate tool for alawyer,”Baranski says.“If you do not reador write the language, you are essentially il-literate; you have no business engaging inthe work. Knowledge and language are theultimate tools.

“American lawyers emphasize how im-portant it is to read and write English well,but then they go outside the border and donot recognize that they are illiterate.

“You lose critical nuances along the waythat are absolutely fundamental when youare dealing. The details and words are like achess game, and they are not fixed. Defini-tions do change; usages change.You canlose really big deals if you are not careful. Itis not a mechanical process.”

Complicating the work, he says, is thatthe concept of separation of powers doesnot apply in China.“China does not havean independent judiciary. The SupremeCourt is beneath the People’s Congress,and the Communist Party is above govern-ment. It is modeled on an old ’60s Staliniststructure.”Part of practicing law in China,then, is to network with those in power atall levels of government – central, provin-cial, municipal and local – in order to moreeffectively advocate for one’s client.

The Chinese education system, Baran-ski says, focuses more on rote learning thancritical thinking. But Peking University,where he has since endowed a scholarship,is an exception – it emphasizes analyticalthinking. In that respect it is like an Ameri-

can law school, including UB Law.Baranski’s memories of his years in

Buffalo include professors such as JohnThomas, now dean of UB’s School ofManagement, and John Spanogle, whonow teaches at George Washington Uni-versity Law School.

Baranski lives with his wife,Yan-hong,and their young daughter,Aniko, in ahouse outside the city’s northeast corner.The population density is low and the aircleaner than in Beijing, he says – better forraising a family. His drive to work is 42kilometers, about 40 minutes.

And Aniko herself is growing up trilin-gual.“I am responsible for the Hungarian,my wife is responsible for the Chinese, andshe learns English at school,”Baranski says.“You have to do it systematically.You haveto live all three. It makes your life a lotmore interesting.”

Tibor Baranski ’87 and his wife,Yan-hong,with their young daughter,Aniko.

“I deal with a lot of Japaneseat the high end of the businesscommunity both in Chinaand in Tokyo.I am in contactwith them all the time.”

– Tibor Baranski ’87

’’‘‘

8 9

James C. Thoman ’02 is going down-hill fast – and he has the trophies toprove it.Thoman, who practices bankruptcy

and corporate law with the Syracuse,N.Y., law firm Menter, Rudin & Trivelpiece,in March ’07 won the United States Ski As-sociation’s Class 1 masters skiing champi-onship in Big Sky, Mont. Competingagainst “a dozen or so”skiers in his agegroup, 20 to 29, he won all three of thecompetition’s events to take the overall title.

It was the second year in a row that hehas won the age-group title.“Last year itwas much more of a struggle,”he says.“Ididn’t sweep all three events. This one, Ibeat up on the other guys pretty good.

“It was a really great trip,”he says.“Iwent out there with a couple of guys I racewith in the New York masters series. It wasbasically my spring break.We went out aday early and got to ski 5,000 vertical feetinstead of 500.And you get to compareyourself with some of the best skiers in thecountry.”

Thoman has been skiing since he wasknee-high to a mogul. He grew up acrossthe street from Western New York’s best-known ski area, Kissing Bridge, was on theslopes at age 4 and was racing by 10.“Somefriends of my family had a daughter whowas into ski racing, and they talked myparents into letting me do it,”he says.“Thatway I could ski real fast and not terrify mymother.”He raced with Kissing Bridge’stravel team throughout the state, and keptskiing through his undergraduate years atthe State University of New York at Gene-seo.

At UB Law, he says, he got involved with

some adult racing leagues and a “beerleague”at Kissing Bridge, skiing Tuesdayand Thursday nights throughout the sea-son and coaching at another ski area,Holimont, on weekends.

Now, as a masters skier, he is joined byathletes from 21 to “guys in their 90s.” “Ifyou are not on a developmental team andyou are done racing in college, if you wantto keep going, masters is what you do,”hesays.

The competition is in three disciplines:the slalom, in which the skier negotiatestight turns while threading through “onegate per second, or even less”; the giantslalom, with slightly bigger turns but atfaster speeds; and the super G, with lots ofspace between gates but at speeds ap-proaching 70 miles per hour. Points areawarded for one’s performance in each

event, and these points determine the over-all champion.

To qualify for the national champi-onships, Thoman competed in the NewYork Masters Skiing league, a series of racesfrom January to March. He won that seriesin 2006 and tied for second in 2007 amongall age groups.

He also says Menter, Rudin & Trivel-piece has been supportive.“They did a littleblurb on our Web site about it. They basi-cally view it as, if not directly a marketingopportunity, one more thing to get myname and the firm’s name out there. Theyare very encouraging.”

And working in a somewhat less de-manding environment, he says, is impor-tant to him.“That is the beauty of workingin upstate New York,”he says.“You are not

stuck in your office until 9 at night. Myquality of life is much greater because Ihave something like this in my life and thetime to enjoy it. I would not want to have ajob where I could not do this.”

During the off-season he stays in shape,and he gets serious about strength trainingin the fall to prepare for the ski season. Butthe course ahead could be tricky: This yearThoman will be 30, and competing againsta whole new class of highly experiencedskiers.

Nevertheless, Thoman says, the rush isstill there.“I have no interest in just goingskiing,”he says.“It bores me. But when youset up a course and train to race a race, itbecomes exciting again. It is a challenge.Even on a 30-second hill, when you have arace course set up, it is exciting.”

THROUGH THE GATESJames Thoman ’02 repeats as national skiing champ


U B L A W F O R U M W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

James C. Thoman’02 on the slopesand in his office.

“I have no interest in justgoing skiing.It bores me.But when you set up acourse and train to racea race,it becomes exciting.”

–James Thoman ’02

’’

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11W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

“I just loved the game. I always wentout and played with the guys,”saysTheobald, who at 86 still knows her wayaround a tennis court.“I loved the gameso much I used to sleep with a racquetunder my pillow.”

On Oct. 5, Theobald was one of sevenindividuals inducted into the UB Athlet-ics Hall of Fame. She received the Pio-neering Award, which honors “the ac-complishments of outstanding partici-pants during the years inUB history that womenwere not given an outlet fortheir athletic ability.”

Theobald was a home-town girl who moved fromMaine as a child and grewup playing on the munici-pal courts of Niagara Falls.She won that city’s champi-onship, as well as titles inBuffalo and southern On-tario, and was part of adoubles team that won thenational public parks dou-bles tournament.

She was an undergradu-ate studying political sci-ence when the Universitysummoned her to fill out awar-depleted men’s tennisteam. In that first match,she won, helping UB to de-feat the University ofRochester. She competedon the 1940 tennis teamthat compiled a 2-3 record and on the1941 squad that lost only one match andwon seven. She played mostly sixth sin-gles that first year, then second and thirdsingles and second doubles in 1941.

Even though one player from HobartCollege refused to play her,“to me it wasjust fun,”she says.“I just loved tennis.”She lost her husband in December 2006,but eight of her 10 children, and five of 20grandchildren, were present when she re-ceived her award in October.

At UB Law School,“I hit thosebooks like crazy,”Theobaldsays.At first she worked thegraveyard shift at a defense

plant,until a sympathetic dean got her ajob as a proctor at the law library.She livednot far from what is now the UB SouthCampus,and took the trolley downtownto West Eagle Street for her law classes.

After graduation, she went into the

Army as a legal affairs officer, rotatingthrough bases in Maryland, Georgia,Vir-ginia and New Jersey, advising newly dis-charged soldiers on their legal issues, andwinning the Army women’s tennis crownin 1946.After her own discharge in 1947,she took her GI Bill benefits to ColumbiaUniversity, where she earned a master’sdegree in public administration. She alsodid coursework toward a Ph.D. in politi-cal science at Rutgers University.

Theobald ended up living outside As-bury Park, N.J., raising her family andpursuing all sorts of projects. She servedfor many years on her local board of edu-cation, including a stint as president. Shejoined the Daughters of the AmericanRevolution and the Mayflower Society.

Her musically talented family was evenfeatured on a Merv Griffin televisionshow called One in a Million. She earneda private pilot’s license.

She also worked for a decade as a tax-payer service representative for the Inter-nal Revenue Service – often tackling thetougher questions that came in.“Theywould just give you guidelines. I wouldget my books out and research it morecompletely,”she says.

And she did a little tra-ditional lawyering as theneed arose – defending herkids in minor scrapes withthe law, writing the leasesfor properties the familyowned, advocating for afair settlement when theirhome was claimed by emi-nent domain.

“I never learned to sayno,”Theobald admits.“Idid not do much in law,but it opened the door forme. Because you havemore education, you arealways asked to do things.”


Belle Farrar Theobald ’44 saysshe never felt like a pioneer.Times, after all, were different.It was wartime, so for a young

woman to find herself in a graduatingclass of 10 men and six womenwas lessunusual than it might otherwise be.

As for becoming the first female ath-lete at the University of Buffalo to play onan intercollegiate level – well, most of themen were fighting overseas. It was onlynatural that the lifelong tennis playerwould join the men’s team, playing twoseasons and holding her own on thecourts against top-flight opposition.

Pioneer? Not to hear her tell it.


HER DAY ON COURTBelle Farrar Theobald ’44,

a groundbreaking tennis athlete opened doors for women

“I never learnedto say no.”

Warde J. Manuel, Division I Director of Athletics, presentsBelle Theobald with a letter sweater at the University at Buffalo Alumni Association’s Athletic Hall of Fame dinner.

“The Law School would like to give special recognition to Belle Theobald as a long-time donor.Scholarships and on-campus jobs helped support her education at UB,and for this reason she givesback to help others.We are very grateful for her gifts.”

— Makau Mutua,interim dean ’’‘‘



Elizabeth Beiring Kim ’94 renewedher ties with the University at Buf-falo when she spoke about herwork at the Law School on April

23,in a lecture sponsored by the Baldy Cen-ter for Law and Social Policy.

But her connection to UB runs deep,because she holds not only the J.D. but alsoa doctoral degree in marine ecology fromthe University. The accompanying essay onher life at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. – whereshe is an environmental protection special-ist with the EPA’s Oceans and Coastal Pro-tection Division – was written for UB’sHonors Program, in which Kim was a

standout student.Now,as the head of the EPA’s programs

on cruise ship discharges and ocean dump-ing management,Kim says she finds her le-gal skills and her ecological knowledgeworking together.

“I am not an attorney,”she says.“The le-gal work I do is more on a policy level.I amwriting and reviewing legislation to submitto Congress,and sometimes dealing with in-ternational law.”

For example,she says,she might lead aU.S.delegation at an international treatymeeting,and in that capacity develop nego-tiating positions or work on language for thedocuments involved.Recently she has been

working on a new treaty that regulates oceandumping,and writing language that will en-able its implementation once the treaty isratified.

At UB Law School,Kim says,“I did a lot.Iwas on Law Review,and I started the BuffaloEnvironmental Law Journalas its first editorin chief.My partner and I won a national en-vironmental law moot court competition atPace University.In the environmental clinic,we won a great case against a farmer whowas spreading sewage sludge.It was just sucha fantastic time for me.

“The most important things I learnedwere about statutes and administrative law.Case law does not figure prominently intothe work I do on national and internationalpolicy.

“Writing is the key skill here,everythingfrom bulletins,to memos for the highest-level boss,to legislation.Also negotiation –being able to work with all sorts of differentpeople and find the nub of the issue.Goingthrough Law School and seeing the back-and-forth of the cases,being able to think onboth sides of any issue – to me,that is think-ing like a lawyer.You think in a different way.I suspect that is the basis of being a good ne-gotiator,that ability to see the other person’sposition.”

A DOUBLE CALL TO SERVICEElizabeth Beiring Kim ’94 helps protectthe oceans through her work with EPA

By Elizabeth Beiring Kim

Have you ever been scuba divingfor so long—and gotten socold—that you had to pee inyour wetsuit just to keepwarm? For a few years during

grad school,that was part of my daily sum-mer routine while living on a tiny sand spitof an island in the Caribbean studying theromantic lives of corals. It was a small pieceof paradise,made with sugar cane walls anda tin roof,and surrounded by vibrant tropi-cal reefs.

As appealing as that and the underwaterwonders of the world’s coral reefs are,I trad-ed it all in after finishing a joint law degreeand Ph.D.to sit behind a desk in Washing-ton,D.C. I work in the Oceans and CoastalProtection Division of the US Environmen-tal Protection Agency,where I lead EPA’sprograms on cruise ship discharges andocean dumping management.

Sure,the job is glamorous (like touring asewage treatment plant in the belly of acruise ship at port) and high-paying (afterjust 10 years I earn well over half what a first-year attorney makes),but that’s not why I doit. On a planet of over 6 billion people,I amone of the luckiest. Protecting the environ-ment is my way of repaying the fates.

How did I get here? A long and windingroad from the Honors Program! After a veryrewarding undergrad career at UB studyingpsychology and biology,I started a Ph.D.atBerkeley in cognitive science. After my firstyear,I knew that I did not want to be a pro-fessor. So I came back to Buffalo—and tomy teacher,mentor,and friend,Dr.Her-reid—for a year of thinking and working.

That was when the idea of protecting theoceans gelled,motivated by an article I’dread about Kathryn Fuller,then head ofWorld Wildlife Fund-U.S.,who was trainedas both an attorney and a marine scientist.That seemed like an excellent combinationto me.

So I went back to graduate school andlaw school … at the same time. And oncemore,UB opened its arms to me. With agreat deal of support from the Law School,

the Biology Department,and my Ph.D.ad-visor,Howard Lasker,I finished this nontra-ditional combination after eight long,hardyears. Along the way,I met my future hus-band,Kiho,who remains a card-carryingmarine biologist as a professor of biologyand environmental studies at AmericanUniversity.

For reasons I could never identify,mygoal throughout grad school was to work atEPA. (I have since learned that some peopleare just born to regulate.) After I finishedboth degrees,I landed my dream job at EPA.And fortunately,by the time Kiho realized Iwasn’t going to take a high-paying legal job,we were already married.

While being this highly overeducated isnot a prerequisite for my job,having exper-

tise in both science and law gives me have aunique bilingual perspective and allows meto play the intellectual field,dividing mytime among scientific studies,technicalguidance,legal analyses,policy making,leg-islative drafting,and even international ne-gotiations. And it seems to make my bosseshappy.

Now Kiho and I have two small marinebiologists of our own. We spent last summerin Puerto Rico,where I taught them the trickabout peeing in your wetsuit and renewedmy love of the reefs through their wonderingeyes. I hope,for their sakes,I can repay mydebt to the fates.

“Having expertise in both science and law gives me have a unique bilin-gual perspective and allows me to play the intellectual field,dividing mytime among scientific studies,technical guidance,legal analyses,policymaking,legislative drafting,and even international negotiations.”

FROM WETSUIT TO PIN STRIPE:The evolution of an ocean policymaker


Jaeckle.Fleischmann.If you have spent any time in the Buffa-

lo legal community, you know the names.But you may not know the personal storiesand professional accomplishments of Ed-win F. Jaeckle ’15 and Manly Fleischmann’33, who merged their practices in 1955 tocreate the powerhouse firm now known asJaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel LLP.

A new book by Edward L. Cuddihy, aformer managing editor of The Buffalo

News, brings a historian’s eye and a story-teller’s craft to the lives of two of UB LawSchool’s most famous alumni.The Merg-ing of Titans: A History of the Law FirmThat Bears Their Names was a two-yearproject that began when the firm commis-sioned Cuddihy to write its corporate his-tory.

“They wanted to do this while therewere still people around who rememberedManly Fleischmann and Ed Jaeckle whenthey were alive,”says Cuddihy. One of his

key sources was founding partner AdelbertFleischmann, Manly’s baby brother, whojust celebrated his 95th birthday.

“I was happy to be interviewed by EdCuddihy several times for this book, and Idid the best I could to recall the events andpersonalities that shaped our wonderfulfirm,”says Adelbert Fleischmann, who isnow retired from practice.

Cuddihy did a little research; a quicksurvey of the New York Times databaseyielded 175 stories on Jaeckle, around 80

15W I N T E R 2 0 0 8


Jaeckle and Fleischmann:a merger of titansAuthor uncovers the rich history behind one of Buffalo’s premier law firms

on Fleischmann. The Washington Post andTime magazine yielded more material.Cuddihy decided,“These were big-timenational figures that people in Buffalo maynot know. They were the kind of peoplethat, if they lived in our time, you wouldsee them on the news all the time.”

So he returned to the firm with a pro-posal that the book comprise short biogra-phies of each man, as well as a corporatehistory.After voluminous research (muchof it by Cuddihy’s wife, Irene E. Cuddihy,Ph.D.) and interviewing, the result is a de-tail-packed narrative of two very differentlawyers, a generation apart in age, and theinfluence each had on the politics and legalcommunity of his day.

“The excitement for me is to get downin writing these twomajor figures thatcould easily be over-looked by history,”Cuddihy says.“Theway people do notget overlooked is bysomeone writingabout them.”

In many waysthey were an unlikelypairing. Ed Jaecklewas a progressiveRockefeller Republi-can and a would-bekingmaker whobacked New YorkGov. Thomas E.Dewey in two losingpresidential cam-paigns. In their Buf-falo law practice,“he was the rainmaker,”Cuddihy says.“He knew everyone in Buf-falo who was up-and-coming, and heknew how to get things done. He was thehand-shaker, the back-patter, the consum-mate politician.”Always impeccablydressed, he could often be seen in the backof his chauffeured limousine.

Jaeckle saw politics as a means to thegreater end of public service, and he be-lieved in the responsibility of lawyers tocontribute to civic affairs.

By contrast, Cuddihy says, Manly Fleischmann, a registered Independent,was “almost apolitical. He was by all ac-counts a brilliant lawyer. Fleischmann alsowas on the national stage, taking on posi-tions of enormous power and influence inthe federal government.

During the Korean War, President Tru-man appointed him Administrator of theNational Production Authority and headof the Defense Production Administration.

For two years he oversaw the allocation ofscarce materials, balancing the interests ofan increasingly consumerist society withthe needs of the war effort. Said Harper’smagazine:“Fleischmann is the man whosedecisions determine how many televisionand radio sets will be built next month andnext year. He decides ... how much steelDetroit may have for passenger cars, howmuch rubber Akron may have for tires.”

Fleischmann also was commissionedby Gov. Nelson Rockefeller in 1969 tostudy public education in New York, in-cluding the way it was funded, and to rec-ommend improvements. The result was amassive two-volume report, and Cuddihysays,“If you read it today, you see that theywere dealing with fudamental issues we are

still struggling with to-day – financing educa-tion, how to serve stu-dents with specialneeds.”

As UB Law Schoolgraduates, along with fel-low founding partnerAlbert R. Mugel ’41, theyremained close to theUniversity, Cuddihy says.“Because Al Mugel wasan adjunct professor allduring this time, thefirm was hiring the bestpeople from UB LawSchool.”And, of course,the Law School’s highestaward is named for Ed-win F. Jaeckle. ManlyFleischmann served for

many years as a trustee of the State Univer-sity system.

Cuddihy says the project fed hislongtime interest in Buffalo and NewYork State history.“The most fun,”hesays,“was reliving Ed Jaeckle’s politi-cal life, being able to piece together,step by step, Jaeckle from the time hemet Dewey in Saratoga Springs (for the1938 state Republican Convention) tothe time he waved goodbye to Dewey in1948. I was reading and hearing about AlfLandon and Wendell Willke. These werenames out of the past, but they were talk-ing to Ed Jaeckle. To me, that was real his-tory.”

The Merging of Titans was privatelyprinted for in-house use, but those inter-ested in obtaining a copy may e-mail [email protected].

“Cuddihy did a damn good job,”ob-served Adelbert Fleischmann.

From the book:

One of the highlights of Fleischmann’sWashington years was the time in the

Fall of 1952 when he and his wife Lois flew tothe West Coast for a speech. Lois hated to flyso they planned a cross-country train rideback to Washington. But a call from theWhite House changed that and Manly flewback to Washington on his own. The occa-sion was a meeting of the Cabinet with Win-ston Churchill. Fleischmann found an emptychair in the back row of the cabinet roomand Winston Churchill came in with Britishforeign secretary Anthony Eden and Presi-dent Truman. Churchill quipped that thistime, the Brits had come “not for aid but fortrade.” He praised the nation’s program de-signed to supply the free world with weaponswhile keeping the economy going at home.He praised the author of the plan and askedif Manly Fleischmann was in the room. Toapplause from the cabinet, Truman calledManly to the head table where the menshook hands all around.

Later in the day, Secretary of State DeanAcheson held a quiet party for his Britishguests, and Churchill and Fleischmann hada long chat about defense production.“Andmother missed that too,” said Manly’sdaughter Alison.“She was on a train some-where out west.” However this meeting led toa return visit to London in 1957, this timewith Lois Fleischmann. (Editor’s note: Loislater changed her attitude toward flying afterManly was appointed to the board of direc-tors of American Airlines.)

Edwin F. Jaeckle ’15 Manly Fleischmann ’33

Erma R. Hallett-Jaeckle ’36 and husband Edwin F. Jaeckle ’15 at theDeans Dinner, 1988.

Manly Fleischmann ’33and wife Lois.

Law School ReportFALL MITCHELL LECTURE


In the war on terror,the main casualty has been the rule of law.… Terrorism must be confronted,but it must be confronted within the framework ofhuman rights.

– Irene Zubaida Khan,secretary general,Amnesty International“ ”

Aprominent international advo-cate for human rights broughther message to UB Law Schoolin October,capping an extend-ed period of teaching and dis-

cussion with a keynote address that ex-plored the uneasy tension between home-land security and the rule of law.

Irene Zubaida Khan, secretary generalof the human rights watchdog AmnestyInternational, delivered the annual JamesMcCormick Mitchell Lecture on Oct. 25 inO’Brian Hall to an overflow crowd. Evenmore watched her address on an oversizedvideo monitor in the room next door. Inaddition, the speech was broadcast live onthe Web, and was recorded for later show-ing on C-SPAN.

Khan’s appearance came at the invita-tion of SUNY Distinguished ProfessorMakau Mutua, director of UB’s HumanRights Center. Khan consulted with Mutuaas she initiated internal reforms thatbroadened Amnesty International’s focuson human rights abuses in SouthernHemisphere countries.

Her O’Brian Hall address followed atwo-day residency in which Khan spoke toUB Law students in Mutua’s human rightscourse and a course on domestic violencelaw taught by Clinical Professor SuzanneTomkins. In addition, she met with Uni-versity Provost Satish K. Tripathi, ProfessorStephen Dunnett, UB’s vice provost for in-

Continued on Page 18

CHALLENGING ‘THE POLITICS

OF FEAR’Amnesty International leader says war

on terror should not negate human rights

Standing-room-only crowd came to hear Irene Zubaida Khan.

19W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

Law School ReportFALL MITCHELL LECTURE


ternational programs and other universityprofessors and dignitaries.

A native of what is now Bangladesh,Khan is Amnesty International’s seventhsecretary general and the first woman,Asian and Muslim to hold the post. She is agraduate of the University of Manchester,United Kingdom, and Harvard LawSchool.

Kahn’s address was titled “The Rule ofLaw and the Politics of Fear: HumanRights in the 21st Century,” and in his in-troduction, SUNY Distinguished ServiceProfessor David Engel said,“These issueshave remained a central challenge to oursociety, and it is the responsibility of lawschools and members of the legal profes-sion to continue to address them.”He not-ed that Khan’s leadership of Amnesty In-ternational has broadened its mission as anadvocate for human rights, and praised herdiplomatic skills in pursuit of that goal,saying that her advocacy comes “not in theform of finger pointing or elitist conde-scension, but in a form accessible to all.”

Khan, a former United Nationsofficial, began by noting thatthe post-9/11 world is one“where the security interests ofthe powerful and the privileged

override those of the poor and marginal-ized. This agenda seems to provide securi-ty, but it is security for the few at the ex-pense of insecurity that affects of lives ofmany more. This agenda is driven by fear.”

Fear can be a positive sometimes, shesaid,as in worries over global warming thatare spurring ecological action. But mostly,she said,“it destroys our shared humanitybecause it converts the other into a threat.”She cited the rising incidence of racism andxenophobia in Europe, and increasinganti-Western feeling in the Middle East –“all consequences of fear-mongering” bypolitical leaders who use emotion to buildconsensus for their own agendas.

“History is replete with examples of

how easily political leaders have used fearto short-circuit debate or divert attentionfrom other issues they do not want to talkabout,” Khan said.“Fear allows leaders toconsolidate their own power. I think todaythe biggest test of human rights and therule of law is fear. In the fear of terrorismand counterterrorism, you see the mostspecific manifestations of fear and whatfear can do to human rights.”

Noting that “terrorist violence as beenwith us for a long time,” and acknowledg-ing that states have a duty to protect theircitizens, she engaged in a thorough critiqueof the U.S. response to the attacks of Sept.11, 2001.

“The United States could have treatedthis incident as an international crime andcould have garnered international supportfor arresting those responsible,” she said.“Instead, the U.S. chose regime change inIraq and Afghanistan, and around theworld they launched a global war on ter-ror.”

And by responding instead as if it werean act of war, she said,“the United Stateshas taken the position that internationalhuman rights law does not apply. This is insharp contrast to international legal opin-ion.”

Khan specifically criticized Americanagents’ use of waterboarding, a controver-sial interrogation technique in which thesubject is made to believe that he is drown-ing, and the presence of secret CIA deten-tion facilities outside the United States.“Wedo not know what people are being heldthere or under what conditions. What thepresident admitted to, in effect, was en-forced disappearances,” she said.“This hasbeen a crime under international criminallaw since the Nuremberg trials. The ironyis, had these secret detention centers beencreated by another country, they wouldhave been reported in the State Depart-ment’s human rights report.”

The U.S. administration, she said,“hastried to redefine torture. It has tried to dif-ferentiate between torture and cruel anddegrading treatment, though international

law treats them as the same.”But whateverthe term, she said, these techniques are “ac-tually very unreliable methods of gatheringintelligence, because when people are inpain, they will say anything they think theother side wants in order to stop the pain.”

Khan, who became secretary general ofAmnesty International a month before the9/11 attacks, said,“In the war on terror, themain casualty has been the rule of law.Youall know Thomas Paine’s words about howthe law is king – well, the rule of law is notjust about any law. Nazi Germany had arule of law.Adequate protection of humanrights is a fundamental principle of the ruleof law. The U.S. administration, by disre-garding human rights, has underminedthat concept of the rule of law. Terrorismmust be confronted, but it must be con-fronted within the framework of humanrights.”

One consequence, she said, is that theUnited States’ moral authority has beenimpaired on the world stage.As Russia andespecially China emerge as major econom-ic powers, they need to be encouraged tomake the human rights of their citizens apriority – but now, she said, the UnitedStates is in no position to make that argu-ment.

Khan concluded her remarks by urging“another way of looking at things, an ap-proach based on sustainability rather thaninsecurity.A sustainable strategy promotesboth human rights and democracy.Sustain-able approaches to human rights require aglobal approach and multilateralism. Itmeans rejecting the Cold War style of sup-porting your favorite dictator. We all getafraid from time to time. It is leadership thatmakes the difference whether we are ruledby fear or whether we manage that fear.”

And she does see signs of hope, Khansaid. As one instance, she pointed to inter-national criminal courts operating inUganda and Congo, cracking down on therecruitment of child soldiers. But “possiblythe biggest sign of hope,” she said,“comesfrom civil society,” the non-governmentorganizations that serve as a check on gov-ernment abuses. Last year, she said,Amnesty International and Oxfam con-ducted a massive campaign to gather notpetition signatures, but photographs of in-dividual endorsers, urging passage of atreaty controlling the international trade insmall arms.Despite opposition in the Unit-ed States led by the National Rifle Associa-tion, the United Nations General Assemblyadopted a resolution calling for the draft-ing of this treaty.

“It is a dismal, dark picture out there,”Khan summed up.“There are many chal-

lenges. But new governments are comingon the scene, new actors are coming on thescene, and what is really exciting is the waysocial capital is being built, social networksare being built, around the issue of humanrights.

“Some governments are fear-mongers; Ibelieve that human rights activists arehope-mongers.”

• • •The James McCormick Mitchell Lecture,

first given in 1951, is funded by an endow-ment by Lavinia A. Mitchell in memory ofher husband, an 1897 graduate of the LawSchool who later served as chairman of theUB Council.

Continued from Page 16

“Fear allows leaders to consolidate their own power.I think today the biggest test ofhuman rights and the rule of law is fear.In the fear ofterrorism and counterterrorism,you see the most specific manifestationsof fear and what fear can do to human rights.”

– Irene Zubaida Khan,secretary general,Amnesty International

Professor Makau Mutua introduces Irene Zubaida Khan to law students in his Human Rights class.

21W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

Law School ReportSPRING MITCHELL LECTURE


His address, titled “Quo Vadis HabeasCorpus?,”was delivered in Lippes ConcertHall. In it, the jurist discussed the originsand development of the “Great Writ,”anessential legal tool and safeguard againstoverzealous government action.

“Recent events reveal how little under-stood is the writ of habeas corpus, and howmuch the writ is at risk of becoming arather impotent legal anachronism,”hesaid.“The writ has been reduced in ourown time to a procedural quagmire forjailhouse lawyers, and it has been treatedby our judiciary, I fear, as a nuisance.”

The concept, Robertson said, stemsfrom the Magna Carta in 1215.“Habeascorpus,”he said,“does not mean ‘producethe body.’ It means,‘You have the body.’ ”The sense, he said, was “You have the bodyof William. Bring him to me and showwhat legal cause you have for detaininghim.”

“That was the gist of a writ of habeascorpus in the 16th century.”

Robertson told his listeners some of thewrit’s long and complex history, including,from the start, demands for exceptionsfrom habeas corpus in times of threat tothe public security. He noted that Article 1,Section 9, of the U.S. Constitution specifiesthat “the privilege of the writ of habeascorpus shall not be suspended unless whenin cases of rebellion or invasion the publicsafety may require it.”Habeas corpus, henoted, was the only common-law writmentioned in the Constitution.

The exceptions are where it gets tricky.Robertson cited, for example, an instancein 1806 when President Thomas Jeffersonasked Congress to suspend habeas corpusfor three months because of a suspicionthat Aaron Burr and two others were en-gaged in a treasonous conspiracy to seizeU.S. lands. The House of Representativesrejected the request.

President Abraham Lincoln, too, sus-pended habeas corpus often during theCivil War.“There was no effective opposi-tion to what Lincoln did,”Robertson said.“His Republican Party controlled Con-gress, the Southern states had withdrawn,and the courts were at a low point in theirpower. The president had a clear field uponwhich to act, and act he did, issuing furtherproclamations suspending the privilege ofthe writ throughout the country, and au-thorizing the arrest of any person guilty ofany disloyal practice affording aid andcomfort to rebels against the authority ofthe United States.”

By 1945, Robertson said, habeashad become a vehicle for chal-lenging convictions outside thefacts, such as denial of the right

to consult with counsel. The number ofsuch cases has grown dramatically, espe-cially in capital cases, spurring the 1995Anti-terrorism and Effective Death PenaltyAct, which imposed a one-year limitationon filing habeas petitions.

“So here we are in 2007,”Robertsonsaid.“We have no jurisdiction of habeaspetitions by alien combatants or suspectedones; we have no power to hear post-con-viction claims more than a year old.Whereare you going, habeas corpus? The answer,in my opinion, is nowhere, unless attentionis paid to several problems.”

These, he said, include delays in movinghabeas applications through the judicialsystem; procedural obstacles that confrontprisoners seeking review of their convic-tions; and the jurisdiction-stripping provi-sion of the Military Commissions Act of2006.“When Congress silences the judicia-ry, it abdicates its historic role in the systemof checks and balances,”the judge said.

“Congress may soon consider legisla-tion that would restore habeas to where itwas before the Military Commissions Act,”he said.“My suggestion, my wish, is thatCongress would do more than that.Weseem to be at one of those moments in his-tory where the vectors of power are chang-ing.At such moments, the writ of habeascorpus has been vulnerable or it has beenascendant. Now is the time when Congressshould not only restore full habeas corpusjurisdiction to the federal courts, but alsorevisit its history and the fundamental pur-poses of the Great Writ, and repair it.”

Specifically, he said, lawmakers shouldconsider “removing or reducing the proce-dural barriers that so often frustrate habeaspetitions; insist on prompt, timely han-dling of habeas petitions, perhaps by en-acting public reporting requirements; andmost importantly, proclaim that the feder-al writ of habeas corpus shall run to anyplace in the world where people may bedetained or otherwise deprived of theirfreedom by officers or agents of the Ameri-can government, so that American justicemay be and may be seen to be presentwherever America shows her flag, projectsher power and influence, and trumpets hervalues of liberty and freedom.”

‘QUOVADIS HABEAS CORPUS?’

Distinguished jurist examines the state of the ‘Great Writ’

One of UB Law School’s longest-standing traditions, the annual MitchellLecture, had a historical tenor of its own when Hon. James Robertson,U.S. district judge for the District of Columbia, delivered the 2007 addresson March 21.Robertson, a former Mississippi civil rights lawyer, was appointed to the

bench in 1994. In November 2004, he issued the initial decision in a case granting aGuantanamo Bay detainee’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, a decision that was up-held by the U.S. Supreme Court. He also served on the Foreign Intelligence SurveillanceCourt for more than three years, stepping down in December 2005 after the Bush ad-ministration disclosed the National Security Administration’s warrantless surveillanceprogram.

We seem to be at one of those momentsin history where the vectors ofpower are changing.At such moments,thewrit ofhabeas corpus has been vulnerable or it has been ascendant.Now is the time when Congress shouldnot only restore full habeas corpus jurisdiction to the federal courts,but also revisit its history and the fundamental purposes of the GreatWrit,and repair it.

— Hon.James Robertson,U.S.district judge for the District ofColumbia

“

”

“Faculty research and scholarship is ofteninformed by pressing or persistent con-cerns,”Mangan says.“We want to encouragefaculty to continue to do this kind of re-search.We are a public research university,and part of our mission must be to serve thepublic.”

Mangan has the multifaceted responsi-bility of coordinating work in civic engage-ment and public policy throughout the Uni-versity.In the position,she will work in co-operation with and under the guidance ofthe Faculty Advisory Committee overseenby the Deans’Coordinating Committee.

She notes that the strategic strength hasfive initial areas of focus:

• Creating resilient communities and sus-tainable economies.

• Reaching across borders.• Improving public health.• Advancing pre-K through 16 education.• Preparing leaders in public policy.In those broad categories,she and her

colleagues will conduct a census of currentfaculty research and teaching,and will bringtogether groups of faculty from multiple dis-ciplines in each research area.One measureof success,she said,will be the fertile cross-pollination,so familiar in the Baldy Center,that takes place when scholars in differentdisciplines find common interest in scholar-ship and research projects.This should leadto more external grants coming to UB;manyresearch grants are targeted for interdiscipli-nary endeavors.

“Civic engagement is not going to be foreverybody,”Mangan acknowledges.“Mem-bers of the law faculty could be involved inother strategic strengths.Getting the Univer-sity as a whole to reconsider the value of ap-plied research is one of the great challengesand opportunities of this effort.”

Nevertheless,she said,Dean Olsen hasbeen a champion of civic engagement andpublic policy in the Law School and Univer-sity-wide,and much recent and current ac-tivity in the Law School fit nicely into thisarea.

The “service learning”work of the LawSchool’s 10 legal clinics,for example,“servesmostly the local community,but what theydo sometimes has national and internationalapplications.”

Other Law School examples ofcivic engagement:• Law students in ProfessorTeresa Miller’s classes have

documented on video the stories of sur-vivors of domestic violence and the experi-ences of inmates at Attica State Prison.

• Professor Isabel Marcus’longtime re-search on women’s international humanrights and domestic violence,including ex-change programs with scholars from Cen-tral and Eastern Europe,and planned train-

ing for domestic violence prosecutors inLatin America.

• A planned 2009 interdisciplinary con-ference on water quality and boundary is-sues to coincide with the centennial of theBoundary Waters Treaty between the UnitedStates and Canada,in partnership with On-tario’s Brock University and other local acad-emic institutions.

• The extensive work of the Regional In-stitute in resourcing and influencing policy-

makers in local and state governments.• Conferences on public emergencies;

law,Buddhism and social change;and othercross-disciplinary matters of public impor-tance.

• Even a monthly report on CommunityAction & Student Engagement,offering lawstudents opportunities to engage with thecommunity in everything from humanrights internships to providing blankets forhomeless residents.

UB Law has a long history of making adifference in the community.Such strengthsas the school’s extensive clinical legal educa-tion program,the Regional Institute,and theinterdisciplinary Baldy Center for Law andSocial Policy have long been a positive forcein the community,particularly in the area ofpublic policy.So the Law School is in a posi-tion of leadership as the University looks toidentify and build on such work.

The new focus on civic engagement andpublic policy,says former Dean Nils Olsen,“has an educational as well as a scholarlycomponent.It also pulls together a lot of oth-er activities that the University engages inpreviously without much coordination orself-identification.

“This is an area in which people are al-ready extraordinarily engaged,obviously,”Olsen says.“We have a terrific body of schol-arship that demonstrates that we are com-mitted to civic engagement and public policy.

The idea is to really integrate this into the lifeof the University,not only its scholarly life butits engagement with the community.”

Dr.Kate Foster,director of the RegionalInstitute,a research and policy center that isnow a unit of the Law School, identifies fourways the Institute carries out this strategicstrength:

• Contract work for regional clients ingovernment,business and foundations. Re-cent examples are a study for Erie County onalternatives to incarceration and a tourismmanagement plan for seven Southtowns mu-nicipalities to assess and develop theirtourism potential.

• Research and policy studies addressingtopics in regional governance,economies anddemographic change. These includeMacArthur Foundation-funded work on“building resilient regions”as well as theaward-winning policy briefs series highlight-ing regional policy topics.

• Online information resources for media,public officials,scholars,grant writers andother regional interest groups. Prominentamong these are the institute’s extensive Re-gional Knowledge Network offering data,maps,contact lists and studies,and findingsof the ongoing State of the Region perfor-mance indicators project.

• Public forums and conferences that di-rectly engage policy-makers and the generalpublic. These include the October 2007 Sym-posium on Change in Buffalo Niagara and itsRegion’s Edge series highlighting issues at theinternational border.

Foster notes also that as UB expands geo-graphically,the Regional Institute will be oneof the flagship tenants of a third,downtowncampus located in the UB Downtown Gate-way— the former M.Wile Building and thenewest building on the growing downtowncampus,located at 77 Goodell St.

With the appointment of a former long-time Baldy Center administrator as specialassistant to the Law School dean for civic en-gagement and public policy,the Law Schoolexpands its role in this important focus of theUB 2020 effort.In her new role,Laura Man-gan will facilitate,coordinate and at timeshelp implement applied faculty research in-volving civic engagement and public policy.

Law School ReportUB 2020


23W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

One of the signature ways the Law School engages with the Buffalo Niagaracommunity,and exerts its influence to improve the region,is in the RegionalInstitute.With its mission of“providing regional understanding and pro-moting regional progress,”the institute is a major source of unbiased infor-

mation for policymakers,as well as a sponsor of scholarly study,conferences and projectsthat benefit the binational Buffalo Niagara region.

The Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth,as it was then known,wasfounded in 1997 by former State Sen.John B.Sheffer II,who maintains a presence at theinstitute as a senior fellow.Under the direction of Kathryn A.Foster,who took over in 2005,the institute has become a unit of the Law School and has broadened and deepened itswork.In January 2007,the program changed its name,adopting the shorter moniker Re-gional Institute.

The institute marked its 10th anniversary in 2007 with a series of events,foremostamong them a successful Symposium on Change that convened regional leaders andcommunity members in October.It was also announced that the Regional Institute,

which has been housed in Beck Hall on UB’sSouth Campus,will become an anchor tenantof the University’s planned third campus indowntown Buffalo,a key support for UB’s pushto develop its civic engagement and public poli-cy presence.

At an anniversary reception following theSymposium on Change,Dean Nils Olsen re-flected on the institute’s work and its place in theLaw School.

The realignment that brought the instituteinto the Law School,he said,“has provided theRegional Institute with an academic home to re-flect its dual mission of scholarship and publicservice.That placement makes sense in a lot ofways,because it reflects the interests that we inthe Law School have in common with thosewho are deeply involved in the work of the Re-

gional Institute,and we can build on the synergies that result from those common inter-ests.”

As examples,Olsen pointed to law faculty participation in a research project on theimplications of the region’s aging population,and in a project investigating alternatives toincarceration in Erie County.

The Regional Institute also is co-sponsoring a Law School conference on governanceof the region’s water resources,he said,and works closely with the Law School’s BaldyCenter for Law and Social Policy on research projects,working groups and forums.

“Even though it is housed within the Law School,”Olsen noted,“the institute also en-gages with faculty in virtually every unit at UB,including engineering,arts and sciences,architecture and planning,social work and public health.It truly is an example of how weas scholars can work together,across disciplines,to be a central player in the University’sefforts toward civic engagement and public policy.”

“Even though it is housed within the Law School,the institute also engages with faculty in virtually every unit at UB,including engineering,arts and sciences,architectureand planning,social work and public health.”

– Dean Nils Olsen

Building up,reaching out

The Law School will play a major role in the

University’s civic engagementand public policy initiative

The Law School is an integral element of UB 2020,the University at Buffalo’s far-reaching plan to expand,improve academically,and achieve national promi-nence.Nowhere is that more apparent than in the segment of the strategic planfocused on civic engagement and public policy.Now Law School faculty and administrators are being challenged to think in

new ways about how their scholarship and service can be leveraged to improve the qualityof life in Western New York,New York State and beyond.

Regional InstituteBuilding a better Buffalo Niagara

From left to right,Dr.Kate Foster,director of the Regional Institute,and Laura Mangan, special assistant to the Law School dean for civic engagement and public policy. The Regional Institute will be one of the flagship tenants of a third,downtown campus located in the UB Downtown Gateway – the former M.Wile Building.

tioners,so it is pretty tight-knit.”Chandler said her unit deals with family

offense cases,child custody,support and di-vorce.Of the clinical placements she says,“Overall I think it is a very worthwhile pro-gram for the students and for my office.Ithelps my office especially;we are not-for-profit,and our support staff is not always upto par with where we need to be.”

• • •The Affordable Housing Clinic was in-

strumental in building Cornerstone Manorin downtown Buffalo.The clinic secured$10.7 million in financing for the project,athree-story residence for women who havesubstance abuse problems and their children.With its on-site medical,counseling and edu-cational facilities,and its enclosed courtyardplayground,the new facility replaces and sig-nificantly expands services of-fered at the overcrowded previ-ous facility.

Thomas McLaughlin is CEOof City Mission,the projectsponsor.“Almost from the firstday we met,(clinic directorGeorge Hezel) was in favor ofthe project,”McLaughlin said.“He was interested immediatelyand wanted to take it back andpresent it to the students.”

Dozens of meetings over aperiod of three years,involvingmore than 30 students,followed.The clinic’s work included help-ing to prepare applications forthe New York State Division ofHousing and Community Re-newal,and following that process through toits completion.

“Because Cornerstone has four times thespace of our prior facility,”McLaughlin said,“it allows us to serve up to 120 women andchildren,many of whom could never havebeen served at prior facility.They can staythere up to two years; in fact,we encourage it.

“This has helped us to make a significantimpact on the poor and homeless popula-tion that we serve.”

• • •Students in UB Law’s Mediation Clinic

help to resolve disputes in Family Court,theCenter for Resolution and Justice,and inother arenas where people are at odds witheach other.One of those arenas is smallclaims court.Judge Geoffrey Klein ofAmherst Town Court has benefited fromhaving these mediators at his side.

“What the mediator can help do is takethe personal feelings out and explain the legalramifications of where the two sides stand,”

Klein said.“They hear both sides,then givethem some feedback back and forth.Whatthey are doing is applying the law.

“The difference is that they cannot im-pose a decision.They just try to get the twosides together and have them agree on some-thing.It probably comes down to somethingI would have imposed anyway.They resolvethings pretty much along the lines I would.

“Each judge has a calendar of 12 to 15cases.If they can settle half of those for us,they have saved us a lot of time.I cannotcompliment these students enough.Theonly thing they have not done is pass the bar.They are ready to go.”

• • •The William and Mary Foster Elder Law

Clinic recently settled a class-action lawsuitin federal court,recovering $11 million on

behalf of nursing home residents who hadoverpaid for their care.Harold Belote Jr.ofDepew is the son of one such resident.

Belote said the clinic helped his family ac-cess money from his father’s Social Securityand pension benefits to help support hismother,who was living independently.Staffers also helped obtain a refund on co-pays remitted for medical equipment his fa-ther used,and Belote’s father became part ofthe class-action settlement.The money in-volved totals thousands of dollars.

It was a long process,he said,but gratify-ing in the end.

“As I go through the papers now,”Belotesaid,“this many years later,I am astonishedthat they could take such interest and do thisfor us.We never would have gotten thismoney,for my mother to continue her life,without them.”

• • •Students in the Law and Social Work

Clinic are pursing joint degrees in law and

social work,and they serve in field place-ments in the community,including the LawGuardian Unit of the Legal Aid Bureau ofBuffalo.Pamela Neubeck ’87 heads that unit.

“JD/MSW students are getting more le-gal work opportunities here than they wouldin a pure social work setting,”Neubeck says.“They are given a caseload in conjunctionwith the lawyers,and work these cases fromboth the social work and the legal aspect.”Cases include Article 10 abuse and neglectcases, juvenile delinquency cases and Personsin Need of Supervision proceedings.

“This is not about money.This is aboutpeople’s lives,”Neubeck said.“The socialwork background that JD/MSWs bring tothis work can be invaluable.It is a plus for us,because a lot of the students come with reallyfresh ideas that we probably would not have

considered.They are not shyabout bringing their new ideasto the table.

“We really appreciate havingthem,because it helps us,too –from a workload standpoint,ofcourse,but also in keeping con-nections with the Law School.Itis a plus to have a good relation-ship with the school.”

• • •Wind power has been a re-

cent focus of the Environmentand Development Clinic,which has done research for theWind Action Group,a WesternNew York advocacy organiza-tion.

“It has been excellent,”saidthe group’s Bill Nowak.“It is really helpfuland reassuring to have that kind of legal ex-pertise available to us.”

Clinic students,he said,have researchedand presented on several issues surroundingthe development of wind power in the re-gion.One examined the nuances of sitingwindmills offshore, in Lake Erie,dealingspecifically with the environmental reviewprocess.“That was very important to have,”Nowak said,“and we were really glad to re-ceive it.”

Another research project examined howto attract businesses that would invest inwind energy.A third examined the Canadi-an experience with offshore windmill siting.

“There is an enormous potential forWestern New York both on land and off-shore,”Nowak said,“and we see havingthese resources available to anybody who isinterested in doing that development,andbeing part of the process,as invaluable.”

Instructor Steven Sugarman, left, director of

the Mediation Clinic,explores strategies

with students.

Law School ReportCLINICS: IMPACTING THE COMMUNITY


The Clinics and their clientsUB Law’s Clinical Legal Education Program achieves real-world results

TheEnvironmental Law and PolicyClinic recently finished a project for the Cat-taraugus County Department of EconomicDevelopment,Planning and Tourism.JamesIsaacson,senior planner,said students “did alot of research on easements for snowmobiletrails from a legal perspective.There is a lotof difficulty in protecting these trails fromchanges of land ownership and other inter-ests.One way of protecting them is througheasements,a way for the landowner to owntheir land and have some control and allowuse of the trail.”

The county,he said,wants to create a net-work of trails, including its well-developedsnowmobile trails and the equestrian trails itis now developing.

“If we develop a trail,we want to know itis going to be there for a long time,”Isaacson

said.“Easements are a tool to protect thosetrails.”

Clinical students also presented a train-ing seminar for snowmobile and equestrianenthusiasts, in Ellicottville.An audience ofabout 40 heard a presentation about theirresearch and the basics of the easement doc-ument.

“It has been very useful,”Isaacson said.“We needed some good research into thisarea.”

• • •The Community Economic Develop-

ment Clinic was instrumental in the con-struction of a neighborhood playground inBuffalo’s Fruit Belt neighborhood.SharonBenz of Daemen College’s Center for Sus-tainable Communities and Civic Engage-ment is a liaison to the neighborhood.

The law students,Benz said,worked witha block club to become a 501(c)(3) organi-zation,helping them with technical assis-tance but also budgeting and the like.Theclinic also helped prepare the funding appli-cation that won a grant for the project.“Thereason we were picked was that we had thiscollaboration among local groups,”Benzsaid.“It was neighborhood people,not im-posed from outside.

“It really helps organize a community – itgives them experience in advocating forthemselves,planning,all sorts of things.Itcould not have been a better project.”

Playground equipment worth $35,000was donated,and the block club had to raise

$10,000 to match it.Law students dealtwith the issue of charging sales tax onfund-raising fish fries,and managedthe legal aspects of other fund-raisers,and the clinic has stayed on as legalcounsel to the block club as it consid-ers other ventures.

“I love the law clinic,”Benz said.“I think the students do a great job.”

• • •The Women,Children,and

Social Justice Clinic places manystudents in legal service agencies,including Neighborhood Legal

Services.Cindy Chandler is a staff attor-ney in the Family Law Unit there.

“The last intern I had for a full academicyear was very knowledgeable about the sub-ject area.It was a pleasure having her,”Chan-dler said.

“Students do everything from interview-ing clients to sitting in on negotiations be-tween attorneys and the court,drafting pa-pers,filing the papers,photocopying,re-turning phone calls, legal research and writ-ing memos,sometimes going to specialmeetings such as the Minority Bar Associa-tion,the Erie County Bar Association or theErie County Coalition Against Family Vio-lence.Students can even get a practice orderso they can appear in court with me and canspeak in court,”she said.

“It is good networking for them to meetthe people in the area.The Family Courtcommunity is a limited number of practi-

As the University at Buffalo rallies around President John B.Simp-son’s call for greater community involvement and assistance,theClinics of UB Law School continue their quiet mission of educa-tion and service – a mission that they have pursued for more than

40 years.Visits with representative clients of each of the school’s 10 clinics re-veal a program that is meeting real needs where help is needed most.(Two clin-ics,the Immigration Law Clinic and the Securities Law Clinic,keep the identi-ties of their clients confidential, for reasons of privacy.)

Clinical Professor Suzanne Tomkins,center, director of the Women,Childrenand Social Justice Clinic with Clinical Professor Sara Faherty, second fromright,and students outside Carolyn’s House,Niagara Falls.

• • •

27W I N T E R 2 0 0 8



Other sponsors included the state Divi-sion of Housing and Community Renewal,the New York State Association for AffordableHousing,and the New York State Bar Associ-ation.

Six breakout sessions covered such topicsas tax-exempt housing bonds,low-incomehousing tax credits,a case study on funding,aroundtable on the Qualified Application Planby which the state allocates funding,“green”building in upstate New York,and the chal-lenges of resyndicating “year 15”deals.

UB Law Clinical Professor George M.Hezel, longtime director of the school’s Af-fordable Housing Clinic,which is marking its20th year,greeted the attendees and notedthat the organizers chose the art gallery forthis year’s conference as a result of sugges-tions from those attending last year’s gather-ing.

Deborah VanAmerongen,commissionerof the Division of Housing and CommunityRenewal,congratulated the UB Law clinic onits anniversary and “all the good work you have done in the Buffaloarea.”She also addressed recent revisions inthe Qualified Allocation Plan,which is thedocument the state uses to set out prioritiesfor funding affordable housing.The revi-sions,she said,seek to provide more flexibili-ty,renew emphasis on a project’s communityimpact,and draw new attention to the needfor historic preservation.

Priscilla Almodovar,president and CEOof the New York State Housing FinanceAgency and the State of New York MortgageAgency,reviewed recent initiatives in heragencies, including introduction of a newhousing preservation program and a plan of

collaboration with sister housing agencies inthe State.

Highlights from a few of the breakout ses-sions:

• • •

“Using Tax-Exempt Bonds and DHCR’s Homes for Working Families Program – A Case Study:Olean”:

Roger W.Brandt Jr.of Rochester’s Cor-nerstone Group described two pro-jects in Olean,in the Southern Tier of

New York,both of which demolished anti-quated public housing units and built familyhomes “scattered”and integrated into theneighborhoods.They were difficult projects,he said,complicated by a new set of wagerates issued in Monroe County and a “mete-oric”rise in the prices of building materials,which led to funding shortfalls for the devel-

opments; tax credits made it possible to pro-ceed.

Former Rochester Mayor Bill Johnsonlamented the problem of keeping up with de-teriorating housing.Urban mayors,he said,face three intractable challenges:escalatingcrime,diminishing school performance anddeteriorating housing.“The general public ismost focused on crime and school prob-lems,”he said.“These are issues that almostinvariably make their way to the front pagesof newspapers and onto newscasts.For thegeneral public,there is less of a concern andrecognition of the housing problem.Unlessyou happen to be living in a neighborhoodthat is overtaxed and overwhelmed by deteri-orating housing,you will not make it into thenews.”

Lenny Skrill,upstate director of capital de-velopment for the Division of Housing andCommunity Renewal,talked about howDHCR seeks to “motivate developers to usetax-exempt bond financing as a way to payfor affordable housing.”Niall Murray ofRockabill Advisors detailed the “jigsaw puz-zle”of funding the Olean projects.“We had tofit the pieces together to complete the puzzle,”he said.And Darryl Seavey of WNC & Asso-ciates noted that the financing for the projectwas turned around in just 38 days.

• • •

“Green Building in Upstate New York”:

Sam Magavern,who teaches in the Af-fordable Housing Clinic,gave a run-down on a report that grew from his

“Green Cities”class in the spring 2007 semes-ter,detailing the environmental costs ofhousing.“Green housing is housing thatlessens its negative impact on the environ-ment,”he said.“All housing has a negative im-pact,but the issue is how we lessen that im-pact.”The average U.S.home causes 24,000pounds of greenhouse gas emissions eachyear,Magavern said.

Additionally,“the type of housing we areproducing and the emissions it causes hurtpoor people the most,both on a local leveland on a global level.”For example,he said,rising ocean levels because of global warming

threaten hundreds of millions of people inlow-lying coastal areas worldwide,many ofthem poor.“The ironic situation,”he said,“isthat if we do not pay very close attention tohow we are doing our affordable housing,ifwe do not use green techniques,we are inad-vertently going to be causing homelessnesseven as we try to overcome it.”

Walter Simpson,UB’s energy officer,warned that much higher prices are comingfor gasoline,natural gas and electricity.And,he said,citing a NASA expert,“we are on thebrink of catastrophic global warming.Toaddress this,he said,builders must seek low-carbon solutions for affordable housing,such as active and passive solar and photo-voltaic energy,wind energy,biomass andbiofuels,and hydroelectricity.

As to whether solar energy can work infrigid Buffalo,Simpson showed off photosof his own house,equipped with passive so-lar heating,solar hot water and solar electricgeneration.“The electric meter runs back-wards,”he said.“National Fuelowes us at this point.”

F.L.Andrew Padian of StevenWinter Associates,an energy con-sultant to architects and builders,spoke about the relative energy in-efficiency of multifamily buildings,saying they use energy at five timesthe rate of the average Americanhome.

Even simple design changes,hesaid,can mean big savings on ener-gy costs.He pointed out a newlybuilt home in Rochester that,witha $175 investment in energy effi-ciency improvements,reduced itsutility costs by a staggering 35 per-cent.“Stay away from the energybling,”he advised,“and just do thenuts-and-bolts stuff.”

Finally,Michael Colgrove of theNew York State Energy Researchand Development Authority intro-duced a new Multifamily Performance Pro-gram designed to help builders create af-fordable housing that is energy-efficient.“Our vision across the state is to help NewYorkers in all sectors save energy,”he said.

“You are all bringing preconceived no-tions,and a lot of this is hearsay,to the tablewhen you think about green energy efficien-cy.The incremental cost is really your inex-perience.It is your learning curve.Once youlearn how to do it, it will cost you less tobuild good solid energy-efficient buildings than the ones you arebuilding today.I guarantee it.”

Sharing ideas at the fourth annual Affordable Housing Conference

“The ironic situation is that… ifwe do notuse green tech-niques,we areinadvertently

going to be causing homelessnesseven as we try to overcome it.”—Sam Magavern,an instructorin the Affordable Housing Clinic

The innovative visions of Arshile Gorky,Clyfford Still and Sam Francis mingledwith the life-changing ideals of decent, low-cost housing at the fourth annual Upstate Affordable Housing Conference,held Sept.25 in Buffalo’s Albright-Knox Art Gallery.Co-sponsored by UB Law School as part of its celebration of Affordable

Housing Month,the conference drew about 325 attendees – from attorneys to financiers,developers to government regulators.

According to Dean Nils Olsen,the work of the UB Law School’s Affordable HousingClinic is part of the UB 2020 emphasis on civic engagement and public policy,which is fo-cusing University-wide intellectual strengths on understanding and finding solutions to so-cial problems that are confronted by the community.

“Introduction to Low-Income Housing Tax Credits”:

Hezel gave a brief history of the tax credit programand highlighted three remarkable program char-acteristics: flexibility of use for large and small,

rural and urban developments; adaptability to otherstreams of financing from the federal, state and local gov-ernments; synergy resulting from yoking the drive anddiscipline of the for-profit sector with the mission direc-tion of the not for profit housing agency. To illustratethese characteristics Hezel showed off photos of threesuccessful developments in Jamestown: the newly con-structed 20-unit Appleyard Terrace Townhouses; EuclidGardens, a successful rehab of a long-vacant school; andChadakoin Center, an elegant downtown building res-cued from a 1950s modernization effort, which Hezel saidresulted in “a horrendous piece of junk.”

Steven Weiss ’91, of Cannon Heyman & Weiss, gave anoverview of how tax credits produce the money that isneeded to fund construction of affordable housing.“Thegovernment allocates tax credits that can be turned intocash, and the cash goes to fund the development,”he said.“In general, the economics work very well in these trans-actions. The default rate on these transactions is extraor-dinarily low, there have been very few foreclosures on

these transactions, and the risk is generally low.”Sebastian Corradino of RBC Capital Markets/Apollo Equity Partners, a tax credit syn-

dication firm, spoke of the role of the investor in this process. The biggest investors in low-income housing tax credits, he said, are banks and insurers, because such investment ful-fills their Community Reinvestment Act mandate.“There is so much room in these thingsthat can go wrong that it is remarkable how well they go, and that is a testament to thelawyers who put these things together,”he said.

And Arnon Adler, representing the New York State Division of Housing, spoke aboutthe Qualified Allocation Plan and how the agency’s scoring system determines how to dis-burse its finite resources.Among the requirements, he said, is that the proposed housingunits are restricted to tenants earning no more than 60 percent of the area’s median in-come.

Jamestown development project,Appleyard TerraceTownhouses.

Jon

Eld

er

Chadakoin Center, in Jamestown

29

than about “preserving, rehabilitating andweatherizing our existing housing stock,”he said.

That makes housing more affordable.Rents in Buffalo are famously low, Magav-ern said,“but that does not necessarilymean that housing is affordable.”Nearlyhalf of renters in the city are paying 30 per-cent or more of their income in rent.“Thatis the ninth-worst rate in the nation,”hesaid.“To say that Buffalo has an affordablehousing market is very misleading. Forlow-income renters, that is not so. It is notthat housing is too expensive, but that peo-ple’s incomes are too low to afford it.”

Adding to the burden, he said, are utili-ty rates that are 30 percent higher than thenational average. So weatherizing existinghomes, replacing inefficient applianceswith Energy Star brands, installing com-pact fluorescent bulbs, and moving towardsolar-powered water heating and homeheat, are essential. Such moves not only re-duce a home’s impact on the environment,Magavern said, but also make housingmore affordable.

The challenge, he said, is to per-suade developers and residentsthat “green”elements areworth the initial investment.“We need to consider the full

life cycle of housing and not just what itcosts to build it,”Magavern said.“So manyof these green features cost the same or alittle more, but save money over the life ofthe house.”And there are benefits that can-not be quantified: the health of those wholive in the house, for example, which maybe improved when emissions are reduced;and the reduced load on the environment,locally and worldwide.

Finally, he said,“the single most impor-tant thing we can do for affordable housingand the environment is to fight sprawl andrevitalize the central city.We have all thishousing stock in the city. If we demolish itand build elsewhere, we really see a tripleimpact”in terms of disposing of demoli-tion debris, the environmental cost of newbuilding, and the increased transportationimpacts of residents commuting from far-off suburbs.

Before a more general discussion withthe audience, four local housing expertsadded their own comments.

Architect Kevin Connors of eco_logicSTUDIO acknowledged the great architec-tural diversity of the city’s houses.“We cancapitalize on the character and integrity ofour housing stock,”he said.“Affordablehousing does not have to be cookie-cutter.We have incredible variety here.”He alsosuggested that Buffalo and Erie Countyshould become leaders in the move towardenergy-efficient housing, even establishing“zero-energy affordable housing”as ademonstration project.

Aaron Bartley,executive director of theadvocacy group PUSH Buffalo, noted that“poor people in Buffalo are our greatestenvironmentalists. They consume fewerutilities; they tend to walk a lot more. Thecar ownership rate in Buffalo is second-lowest in country, so they are driving less

and taking the bus a lot more. So how dowe build on that culture?”

Bartley stressed that as the city demol-ishes abandoned houses, and as developersrehabilitate some houses, it is important tomaintain the housing density, block byblock. He pointed to the area around theBroadway Market, where only one or twohouses remain.“That could be the futureof our city,”he warned.

Michael Riegel,vice present of the non-profit housing group Belmont ShelterCorp., spoke about the tricky business ofsecuring funding to build affordable hous-ing.“The extent to which we are able to usegreen techniques is dependent on thesource of funding,”he said.“The rules andregulations of public funding sources –federal, state and local governments – real-ly dictate a lot of the things we can do andthe money we can spend. Sometimes a de-veloper may not be rewarded for doingthings that will save the tenant money overthe years.You get rewarded for doing morefor less than your competitors.”

Competition for funding is fierce, andprojects are rated on a point system. Fortu-nately, he said, funders are starting to real-ize that “green”construction saves moneyover the long run, and are adjusting theirpoint systems accordingly.

Thomas Van Nortwick, regional direc-tor of New York State’s Division of Hous-ing and Community Renewal, spoke fromthe funder’s perspective and acknowledgedthe shift in attitudes toward environmen-tally friendly projects.“We want to say tothe development community, it is really apartnership,”he said.“Yes, utilize the leastamount of our resources to do what youare going to do. The expense of doing af-fordable housing is not going down. Thesegreen elements can cost more in the shortterm.We are saying to the developer, wewill give you more points if you use lessmoney from us. But we have added pointsto the scoring for green elements. There is avery high priority to the whole concept ofgreen.We’re looking for ways to encouragedevelopers to use more green techniques.”

Magavern’s full report is on the Web athttp://green-housing-buffalo.wikispaces.com.

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8



Some facts for your consideration:• Houses cause 17 percent of theUnited States’greenhouse gasemissions.• Flooding spawned by global cli-

mate change threatens low-lying coastalareas that are home to 634 million people.

• People with low incomes suffer themost from pollution. In the United States,for example, 20 million people suffer fromasthma, disproportionately present in thepoor.

• A compact fluorescent light bulb savesits owner $68 over its lifetime.

Those were some of the startling figures

brought forth in a roundtable, titled “Af-fordable Housing and the Environment,”held Aug. 15 under the sponsorship of UBLaw School’s Affordable Housing Clinic.The forum, which attracted about 40 peo-ple, was held in downtown Buffalo. It waspresented in conjunction with the LawSchool’s celebration of Affordable HousingMonth.

UB Law instructor Sam Magavern pre-sented a draft report that grew from his“Green Cities”class in the spring 2007 se-mester. Students from that 13-memberclass, as well as a panel of local housing ex-perts, listened as Magavern ticked off the

high points of the report,“AffordableHousing and the Environment in Buffalo,New York.”

The overall message was win-win – thatenvironmentally friendly housing can alsobe affordable for those with low incomes.“You might think that greener housing ismore expensive,”Magavern said,“but theresearch shows just the opposite. Over thelife of a home, a greener home will save theowner large amounts of money, mainly bylowering utility bills.”

For Buffalo, whose housing stock is theoldest of any city in the country, greenhousing is less about new construction

Painting the town greenBold ideas on affordable housing and the environment

Kevin V. Connors,Adjunct AssistantProfessor of Architecture, addressesthe forum.

UB Law instructor Sam Magavern: “The single most important thing we can do for affordable housing andthe environment is to fight sprawl and revitalize the central city.”

Law School Report


One of UB Law School’s signa-ture clinics is building on themomentum of its 20th an-niversary celebration tolaunch an ambitious endow-

ment campaign.The Affordable Housing Clinic, estab-

lished in September 1987, marked the an-niversary with a series of events. They in-cluded the fourth annual Upstate Afford-able Housing Conference, which attractedabout 330 people to the Albright-Knox ArtGallery; an economic justiceconference called The HighRoad Runs Through the City; aroundtable on affordable hous-ing and the environment; and asymposium on supportive andsenior housing, held at UB’sCenter for Tomorrow. In recog-nition of the anniversary, theUniversity also recognized Sep-tember as Affordable HousingMonth.

Clinical Professor GeorgeHezel, who has directed theclinic since its inception, toldWBFO Radio:“We are cele-brating the fact that we havehelped to build or rehab 2,000housing units in Western NewYork.We are celebrating thefact that we have brought $165million of economic boost tothe western region of NewYork.And we are celebratingthe fact that we have equippedour students at the Law Schoolwith the skills necessary to take them intothe marketplace where they can get good,productive jobs serving the public inter-est.”

UB President John Simpson has citedthat combination of educational value andcommunity service as he advances his UB2020 strategic growth plan and works toexpand the University’s strategic strengthin community engagement and publicpolicy. The president’s “Buffalo Believers”campaign has featured Kathleen Granchel-li, chief executive officer of the YWCA ofNiagara, who is enthusiastic about the help

her organization received from the LawSchool’s clinics as the YWCA built Car-olyn’s House, a residence for women whohave suffered domestic violence.

Now, as the Affordable Housing Clinicenters the next phase of its work, it haslaunched a campaign to build a substantialendowment that will ensure its future.Asthe Law School and the University contin-ue their transition away from dependenceon state funding, Hezel said, it will becomeincreasingly important to generate operat-

ing funds from sources like endowments.Until now the clinic has been funded by apatchwork of grants, fees, gifts and tuitiondollars.

Fortunately, he said, the endowmentcampaign is a relatively easy sell for the Af-fordable Housing Clinic.“The significanceof housing for homeless people is hard toignore,”he said,“and it is hard not to feelwarm about it.”

Income from the endowment will helpto fund faculty positions in the clinic, aswell as make it possible to bring in adjunctfaculty from time to time.“If I am running

the program alone,”Hezel said,“there are alimited number of students I can workwith and a limited number of clients wecan serve.We want to continue the goodwork we have done over these 20 years, andwe want to magnify that.”

Administrative support and guidancefor the endowment campaign, which willcontinue over several years, are being pro-vided by Deborah J. Scott, vice dean for de-velopment.

The effort has already secured morethan $100,000 in gifts andpledges, and five corporationshave provided substantial sup-port:

Citizens Bank, which alsogave a grant of $75,000 to sup-port the Community Home-owners Resource Center at theClinic.

• Community PreservationCorp.

• Jaeckle Fleischmann &Mugel, LLP

• Local Initiatives SupportCoalition/National EquityFund Inc.

• R&P Oak Hill Develop-ment, LLC

In addition, two Law Schoolfaculty members – Hezel andan anonymous donor – haveeach pledged $25,000 towardthe endowment.

The development effort onbehalf of the clinic to which hehas devoted much of his pro-

fessional life is a new endeavor for Hezel.He has done fund-raising for CanisiusHigh School, where he served on theboard, and for other not-for-profits, butnever with this ambitious scope. But he isenthusiastic about the possibilities.

“What we are doing in the clinic is agreat service to the community,”he said.“In our clinics generally we are providing avery valuable service. The people who areworking on the programs know the bestand know what the benefits are for thecommunity, so it is only natural that weshould be working to ensure their future.”

Building for the futureAffordable Housing Clinic launches endowment 20Affordable

HousingClinic

AffordableHousingClinic

1987St. Ann’s Apartments

1990Princeton Square

Hope House

1991Ellicott Town Center

Francis John

Apartments

Benedict House

1996Gratwick Manor

St. Patrick’s Village

Thomas WojnarApartments

1997Trinity Park

Senior Apartments

2001Heritage Christian Home

2005Carolyn’s House,

YWCA of Niagara

2006Cornerstone

Manor,Buffalo City

Mission

University at Buffalo Law SchoolThe State University of New York

UB Law students have leveraged more than $165 million in the past 20 years funding 2,000 units of affordable housing in Western New Yorkfor low income families, the elderly, targets of domestic violence and persons with disabilities.

Celebrating 20 years of creatinghigh-quality, low income housing

George M. HezelClinical Professor

T H E UB L AW S C H O O L’ S C E L E B R AT I O N O F 20-Y E A R S O F A F F O R DA B L E H O U S I N G I S G E N E R O U S LY S U P P O RT E D B Y:

Left to right:Anthony J.Rizzo, senior vice president and regionalmanager of corporate banking for Citizens Bank, presents a checkfor $75,000 to Clinical Professor George Hezel and Dean Nils Olsenas a grant for the Affordable Housing Clinic.

CLINICS: IMPACTING THE COMMUNITY

33

have set in motion enormousforces, and those forces, asthey play out over the courseof this century, will constitutethe greatest single injury wewill ever inflict on poor andmarginalized people aroundthis country and around theworld. If we are not able tocontrol this, the prospects formost of the world’s and thecountry’s cities, certainly thosesituated on the coast, aregrim.”

But, he said, not all is bleak.“There are both enormouspitfalls and enormous oppor-tunities afforded by this physi-cal fact,”McKibben said.

“The energy transforma-tion demanded by the fix wefind ourselves in offers morepossibility for change in a pos-itive direction than we haveseen in a long time. This tran-sition to different forms of en-ergy can be the next great dri-ver for the economy.”For ex-ample, he said, retrofitting ex-isting homes with solar panelswill be a big job, and there ismoney to be made.

The key issue, he said, is the increasingscarcity and cost of petroleum-based ener-gy.“We are on the verge of losing our mag-ic fuel,”he said – the oil and natural gasthat has been cheap, plentiful, and relative-ly easy to obtain and transport.

And as the world realizes that its oilsupply is not infinite, economic and politi-cal change will surely follow.“There arereasons to think,”McKibben said,“thatwhat we are now undergoing will, in veryprofound ways, change the course of eco-nomic gravity and cause it to work differ-ently than it has worked in the last few gen-erations. The logic of a world that tookglobal warming seriously is the logic of aworld where fuel becomes more expen-sive.”

As one example of that transfor-mation, he said,“It is quite pos-sible to contemplate that theascendance of the suburb inour society may be coming to

an end. The suburbs were built on cheapfuel – 4,000-square-foot houses, and peo-ple driving 60 miles each way to work insemi-military vehicles. That is the worldthat cheap fuel built. Over time, the eco-nomic force of gravity will work in the di-rection of more localized economies withmuch more real work being done.”

Besides the economic shift, he said,“weneed a real philosophic shift in how we un-derstand ourselves. Cheap fuel produced acertain kind of mass affluence, it filled theatmosphere with carbon, and it allowed us

to become the first people onearth who had no practicalneed of our neighbors.There have never been hu-man beings before like us.

“The transition has to beback toward a world thattakes community at least asseriously as it takes individu-alism.”

And so, for example, hesaid, it is good news thatfarmers’markets are prolif-erating – not only do theyfeature local produce, whichtakes less energy to bring tomarket than foodstuffs fromacross the country or acrossthe world, but they also fos-ter human community. Onesociologist’s study, he said,showed that shoppers atfarmers’markets have 10times as many conversationswith each other as super-market shoppers do.

McKibben concludedwith a call to activism bypeople concerned about offi-cial inaction on climatechange.“The scientists tell usthat we have only a few years

to succeed in this effort,”he said.“And Ihave to tell you, I am not completely cer-tain we are going to make it. The name ofthe book I wrote 20 years ago was The Endof Nature, so I am not the most incrediblyoptimistic person in the world. But I amheartened by the action I have seen onthis.”

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Law School ReportBALDY CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL POLICY


An acknowledged prophet of theenvironmental movement gavea stirring call to action in deliv-ering the keynote address of aUB Law-sponsored economic

justice forum on Sept. 28.Bill McKibben, whose book The End of

Nature first brought the threat of global cli-mate change beyond the scientific com-munity and into the public debate, spokeon the second day of the conference, called“The High Road Runs Through the City.”About 175 activists, academics, students

and concerned citizens heard his address atthe Hyatt Regency Buffalo.

The conference, co-sponsored by theLaw School’s Baldy Center for Law and So-cial Policy and the Industrial Labor Rela-tions School of Cornell University, focusedespecially on the health of cities and fea-tured speakers on the living wage, workerprotection laws and accountable develop-ment.

McKibben’s most recent book,DeepEconomy, addresses the shortcomings ofthe growth economy and envisions a tran-

sition to local-scale enterprise. But his re-marks were couched in the urgency of theglobal climate change crisis as he exploredhow it might affect humanity’s social, po-litical and economic life.

“Only in the last couple of years,”hesaid,“is the world starting to understandjust what an unbelievably chaotic forceglobal warming is going to be, both physi-cally and politically. The main thing wehave learned in the last 20 years is that it ishappening way faster and on a way largerscale than we would ever have guessed.We

Seeking economic justiceAuthor McKibben sees climate change as an opportunity for transformation

“Only in the last couple ofyears is the world starting to understandjust what an unbelievably chaotic

force global warming is going to be,both physically and politically.”

— Bill McKibben

Top: Professor Martha T. McCluskey,William J. Magavern Fellow andProfessor.Above: Sara Faherty, Clinical Professor.

Law School Report


lose the right to choose.“There is a misperception that the pro-

choice groups are all abortion, all the time.They are about sex education, exercisingmoral agency, oriented toward a broaderagenda. But nobody wants to talk aboutpro-choice groups doing that.”

• • •Sanda Rodgers of the University of Ot-

tawa Law School:“Abortion is included inthe universal, state-provided health care weenjoy in Canada. Sixteen percent of hospi-tals provide the service. Coverage and pro-vision varies by province.

“Barriers to the service include mis-leading information given by anti-choicedoctors and hospital switchboard opera-tors. Doctors sometimes also delay access,or direct women to anti-choice organiza-tions.Also, RU-486 has not been approvedfor use in Canada.

“To focus on abortion rights withoutfocusing on those women who cannot ac-cess abortion is an insufficient focus –women who are young, who are poor, whohave to travel large distances. Our attentionhas to be there as well.”

• • •Corinne Schiff of the American Civil

Liberties Union’s Reproductive FreedomProject, on the U.S. Supreme Court’s affir-mation in Gonzales v. Carhart of a ban on“partial-birth”abortion:“This does notcome out of nowhere. It is the next step ina very carefully planned long-term strategyto take Roe apart bit by bit. In Carhart, thecourt gives a strong boost to the anti-abor-tion side. Throughout the opinion, womenare referred to as ‘mother’– even womenwho have never had children. Specialistsare called ‘abortion doctors.’The fetus is re-peatedly referred to as an unborn child or ababy.

“Perhaps most critically, the court nolonger holds that women’s health is para-mount. The court says other interests cantrump that. Here the winning interest ispromoting respect for embryonic or fetallife. This is about how an abortion can beperformed and whether a doctor can per-form a medical procedure that she believesis best for her patient.”

• • •Helena Silverstein,a professor of gov-

ernment at Lafayette College, on laws nowin place in 10 states that require a womanconsidering abortion to be given the op-tion to see ultrasound images of the fetus:“Even optional viewing legislation is prob-lematic because it suggests to a womanthere is something she ought to see, and ifshe does not look at it she is being irre-sponsible. This is paternalistic, manipula-tive, it intrudes on her freedom – it is prob-lematic in many ways.

“We might say that it is emotionalblackmail to do this, and I agree. But thecourt at this point accepts emotionalblackmail.”

• • •Caitlin Borgmann,of City University

of New York Law School, on “the rhetoric

of life and motherhood in the abortion de-bate”:“Abortion rights opponents have at-tempted to cast the fetus as a person, withsome success. The rhetoric portrayswomen as mothers, therefore abortion isseen as slashing the bonds of motherhood.Legislation is portrayed as protectingwomen from exploitation by abortionproviders.

“I argue that defenders of abortionrights should begin head-on by addressingthe issue of the fetus as a person and affir-matively reject it as a basis for legislation.This requires that we examine this lan-guage of life and motherhood and fetalpersonhood. They use these terms, andrarely is it demanded in the public dis-course that they define the terms. Once fe-tal personhood is no longer the centerpieceof discussion about abortion, a very differ-ent discussion of abortion can begin.”

• • •Mark Steiner,a professor of communi-

cation studies at Christopher NewportUniversity:“It really does upset me when Ilook at what passes for critical engagementand public dialogue, as someone whoidentifies with the pro-life movement.

“The rhetorical strategies are really verysimilar on both sides. If you look at the waythe National Organization for Women ar-gues publicly, it is almost identical to theway Operation Rescue argues. In myrhetoric class, I brought in copies of directmailings from NOW and from OperationRescue, and all my students had a eurekamoment: Wow, all you have to do is changethe labels and it is the same letter.

“Each side tries to monopolize the sym-bols of the debate; present your side as thedefender of American values; portray theother side as extremist; and use hyperbolicdiscourse.”

A controversy in context

Cut short in 2006 by the freakOctober snowstorm, a BaldyCenter conference on a peren-nially contentious issue,“Abor-tion Controversy in Context:

Protest & Policy,”came together a year laterwith sunny skies and a diversity of view-points.

“Everyone who came last year cameback,”reported Vice Provost for FacultyAffairs Lucinda Finley, co-organizer of theconference with UB Law ProfessorsAthena Mutua and Martha McCluskey,“and additional people came who werenot able to be here last year.”

The 2007 gathering, held Oct. 11 and12 in the fifth-floor conference room ofO’Brian Hall, expanded on the originalpremise, Finley said.“The initial idea wasto explore why Buffalo had become somuch of a center of the storm in the abor-tion controversy,”she said.“We expandedthat to look at the larger context, to shed

light on why abortion is so controversial,to look at the impacts on health careproviders, and to look at the legal restric-tions that have emerged from this contro-versial issue.”The interdisciplinary confer-ence included academics, health careproviders, practicing attorneys, clergy andjournalists.

In contrast to other law school sym-posia that have focused on the legal doc-trines surrounding abortion, Finley saidthe Baldy Center effort took an approachthat included the perspective of the socialsciences.“One purpose of the conferencewas to look at social and religious move-ments and international activism aroundboth sides of the issue, to get a perspectiveon why abortion has been an issue of suchenduring controversy in our society,”shesaid.“There was also a subtheme centeringaround why, at a time when governmentsin the United States are more and more re-strictively regulating abortion, the trend in

other countries is going in the other direc-tion.

“This broad mix of distinct perspec-tives was thought-provoking and helpedadvance our understanding of some of thereasons abortion is contentious and theimport of different legal regimes aroundthe world.”

Diverse panel discussions dealt withBuffalo’s position as a focal point of abor-tion protest: whether legal change is moredoable through courts or legislatures; thenew limits on Roe v.Wade; the rhetoric ofthe abortion discussion; human rights andreproductive rights; and the experiences ofhealth care providers.

• • •

Some voices from “Abortion Controversy in Perspective”:

Eyal Press, journalist and author:“De-pending on the poll, between 60 and 80percent of Americans support keepingabortion legal some or all of the time.There is a broad center that abortionshould be regarded more or less as it is re-garded in Europe: as a medical service thatis a part of life.

“Two generations of women and menhave grown up thinking this is secure.There is a sense that they may chip away atthe protections, but I will not have to be ina panic situation if I get pregnant. On theother side, the existence of Roe, the ideathat this is ultimately in the courts’hands,has enabled Republicans in Congress andthe Senate to speak rhetorically in favor ofa goal they do not actually support. Thispolitical support for abortion means legis-lators do not really want to overturn Roe.”

• • •Betsy Cavendish,executive director of

Appleseed, a non-profit network of 16public-interest justice centers:“There canbe strategic and tactical questions aboutwhen to go for a big win and when to gofor incremental wins. It overstates the ex-plosion of Roe to think it came out ofnowhere. There was a progression of cases,and there was some thought behind it.

“A judicial decision has more finalitythan a legislature.You do not have to payattention to every committee chair in all 50states every year to see if you are going to

Left to right: Rev. David Selzer, EpiscopalChurch of the Good Shepherd in Buffalo,

Isabel Marcus, professor, and Johanna Schoen,Women’s Studies, University of Iowa.

Baldy conference explores many sidesof the abortion debate

Left to right: Mary Nell Trautner,assistant professor of sociology,Lucinda M.Finley, viceprovost for faculty affairs and Frank G.Raichle Professor of Trial and Appellate Advocacy,andauthor Eyal Press.

Left to right: Martha T. McCluskey,William J. Magavern Fellow and professor, and Athena D. Mutua, associate professor

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

BALDY CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL POLICY

Law School ReportGOING GLOBAL


students to explore in particular subject ar-eas,such as tort law or environmental law.

Of the students chosen for the course,Engel says,“They are just an outstandinggroup.Some have extensive internationalexperience,but a substantial number havenever been abroad and most have not beento Asia.Some of the students bring partic-ular interests with them”– such as publichealth,human rights and women’s rights –“and I am working to tailor the course toinclude those interests.”

Dean Nils Olsen,he said,has providedsome scholarship support to help defraythe cost of airfare,and alumni contribu-tions are welcome as well.Engel’s hope isthat other UB Law faculty will adopt thismodel and lead teaching excursions oftheir own.

For their part,the students packed theirbags expecting a life-changing experience.

Juneko Robinson,a third-year student,has a personal interest in Thailand.Her fa-ther,she said,was in Thailand on a militaryassignment in the early 1960s and broughtback some mementos – including a modelof a Thai ceremonial barge in a glass case.

They kept it next to the couch in her Cali-fornia home.

“As a kid I was so fascinated by this,”Robinson says.“I thought,what kind of amagical place would produce such a magi-cal-looking boat? So when I heard aboutthis program,I knew I wanted to go.”

Robinson,who is pursuing a doctoratein philosophy in addition to her law de-gree,is interested in international humanrights law,and says,“It is important foranyone going into international law to get aworking knowledge of civil law countries.Since they are so widespread,it’s most likelythat human rights violations will occur incivil law settings.”

And,she says,“It is tremendously per-sonally empowering to go to a place whereno one knows you and you are thousandsof miles away from everything that is fa-miliar,and still find a way to be able to con-nect with people.It allows you to look atyour own personal experiences and realizehow much you have not questioned aboutyour own culture.You really learn howAmerican you are when you leave Ameri-ca.”

For second-year student Jason Wand,the experience was a chance to broaden histravel horizons.“I always wanted to studyabroad when I was an undergraduate,”hesays,“but I never had the opportunity to doso.I have always wanted to experiencesomething of a different culture.I havetraveled in Europe and been to Israel,and Ithought Thailand would be an amazingopportunity.”

In addition,he hoped to extend the tripin order to see Bangkok and maybe Tokyo,and to visit a friend who is teaching Englishin China.

Says second-year student Brenna Terry,“I call myself a human sponge as far as cul-ture goes.And it really helps to have some-one who knows so much about the areaand is able to give an insider perspective.”

Terry says the Dalai Lama’s visit to UBLaw School widened her horizons.“I hadrealized that culture does have an effect onlaw,but it had not really hit me until Iheard the Americans asking questionsfrom the perspective of retribution andpunishment,and the Dalai Lama respond-ed from a Buddhist perspective.It is im-portant to have a cross-cultural experiencein general,and if you are going to work inthe international community,it is a fasci-nating area.This was a once-in-a-LawSchool opportunity that I thought wasunique.”

Making UB intoan internationaluniversity

A faculty task group has recom-mended that UB build upon itsleadership in international stu-dent recruitment,overseas edu-

cation and study abroad to create a compre-hensive international strategy and identity.

With more than4,000 international stu-dents, UB is ranked 10thin international studentenrollment among U.S.colleges and universities.It is known for pioneer-ing overseas programs,particularly in Asia, andfor having one of themost entrepreneurialinternational educationoffices in the country.

Making UB into aninternational universitywould enable it to better train students for“the challenges and promises of the globalcommunity, facilitate globalized researchand enhance understanding among theworld’s peoples,”according to the report.

LEGALTHAIS Professor Engel

teaches in Thailand – and

UB Law studentswere there

The trip of a lifetime”is how somestudents are characterizing anunprecedented venture for theLaw School:a January bridgecourse in northern Thailand led

by a UB Law professor.The Law School has a long-established

relationship with Chiang Mai University(CMU),located more than 400 miles northof Bangkok.Director of International Pro-grams and SUNY Distinguished ServiceProfessor David M.Engel,who served in thePeace Corps in Thailand and speaks Thai,has for many years taught CMU studentssuch courses as torts and research methodsduring UB Law’s bridge term.Other UB fac-ulty have done the same,teach-ing through Thai interpreters.

But until now,no UB Lawstudents have studied at CMU,because instruction is in Thaiand the language barrierseemed insurmountable.Then,Engel said,“It finallydawned on me that if I took agroup of law students overthere,I could be their instruc-tor,and I could teach them inEnglish. My wife,Jaruwan En-gel,was born in Thailand andis a former UB Thai languageinstructor and certified trans-lator. She and I can serve as in-terpreters when our studentshold discussions with ThaiLL.M.students,professors,lawyers and judges.”

That is what happened

starting just after New Year’s,when the En-gels accompanied 10 UB Law students toChiang Mai University for a two-weekcourse,taught in English,on “The Legal Cul-ture of Thailand.” There they participated in

an intensive learning experi-ence,including an explorationof the city of Chiangmai andsome travel in this mountain-ous,culturally diverse area ofnorthern Thailand that Engelloves.

Before offering the course,Engel was not sure there wouldbe sufficient interest among thestudents. But 40 showed up atan information session in thespring,and a rigorous applica-tion process involving essays,transcripts,references and in-terviews produced the finalclass.

Why 10 students? Engellaughs.“It was for a very practi-cal reason,”he says.“That ishow many we can fit into a vanto drive everyone around.”

It is said that travel is broadening;beyondthat,Engel says,studying the Thai legal sys-tem can pay benefits for law students.“I can-not think of anything better for our studentsthan to gain exposure to legal systems,lawyers,scholars, judges,and law students inother countries,”he says.“Going to anotherculture or another society is the very bestway to see your own more clearly.Here,everything about our own legal systemseems inevitable.But once you look withfresh eyes,you start to see that,‘Oh,our sys-tem represents this set of choices rather thanthis other set of choices.’ ”

The Thai legal system,like manylegal systems of the world,isbased on civil law rather thancommon law,although it hasbeen influenced in some ways by

the English and American systems.Bud-dhism is a pervasive influence in all aspectsof Thai culture,including the behavior ofactors within the legal system,yet in the for-mal sense Thai law is resolutely secular. Thisdisjunction between official law and its cul-tural context presents a fascinating issue for

With more than4,000 internationalstudents,UB isranked 10th in international student enrollmentamong U.S.collegesand universities.

“UB Law students converse with village monk in Thailand.

Law students in Wat Phra Sing.

“Going to another culture oranother society isthe very best wayto see your ownmore clearly.”

– Professor David Engel

Professor Isabel Marcus, a member of thelaw faculty specializing in internationalhuman rights and domestic violence.“These are people who can take back thethings that they learn here and use them intraining others.We become an ongoing re-source for them.”

In addition, Tomkins and JohannaOreskovic, director of post-professionaleducation, have been invited to travel toBrazil in March and present to interestedparties there on policies and programs thathave proved effective against domestic vio-lence.And Jaliashvili has asked Tomkinsand Marcus to do work with the GeorgianYoung Lawyers’Association, the NGO forwhich she advocates for domestic violenceissues.

More than the nuts and bolts of legaland social-assistance structures, though,the professors say working effectivelyagainst domestic violence in other culturesmay mean changing deeply held attitudes.“It is about the transformation of con-sciousness,”Marcus said.“It is not just alaw-and-order question. It is a muchbroader question about changing the con-sciousness of families and family relation-ships.”

Jaliashvili is in Buffalo under a fellow-ship that Marcus has privately endowedfor scholars from nongovernmental orga-nizations, believing that NGOs “are thewatchdog for governments living up totheir international obligations.”She is hop-ing that others on the faculty will fundsimilar fellowships in their own areas ofspecialization.

“In Eastern Europe there are a numberof young, dedicated people who reallywant to accelerate social change,”Marcussaid.“Maia is very clear on what it meansto deal with these issues in a patriarchal so-ciety.”

But beyond the imparting of knowl-edge, the professors said, the presence ofinternational visitors has enlivened class-room discussion of these issues.“This hasopened up new doors for our students thatwould never be opened otherwise,”Tomkins says, citing for exampleJaliashvili’s interest in and knowledge ofhuman trafficking.

“They are a very valuable resource forus,”Marcus added.“We are learning enor-mous amounts from them.”

Muchado works as a prosecutor – akind of public advocate – in the MinasGerais state of Brazil. He said his govern-ment sent two prosecutors abroad fortraining – one to Italy to study organizedcrime, and himself to Buffalo. The Insti-tute of Brazilian-American scholars, hesays,“pointed me to UB as a good option.”

Now, he said, is an opportune time forhis training.“Something is starting to hap-

pen in the domestic violence area inBrazil,”he says.“The government is so ex-cited about this that we received two pros-ecutors this month in order to build abridge to UB.We just had the first publicprosecution office open in Brazil to takecare of domestic violence cases”– an officelike an American district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors, he said, are in a position toeffect real change.“We can sue the govern-ment in order to really pursue changes inmany areas,”Muchado says.“That is ourmajor job today, to sue the government tomake sure human rights are working. Forexample, we want to create some shelters,and we can sue the government in order tooblige the government to make these shel-ters.

“We are pretty naïve about domestic vi-olence in Brazil,”he says.“We have treateddomestic violence like an anger manage-ment program. That is not working.Weare spending money on these kinds of pro-grams, and we have to change our focus sowe focus more on the criminal act.”

Jaliashvili works on domestic violenceissues for the Georgian Young Lawyers’As-sociation, founded in 1994.With 600members, it advocates for the rule of lawand against human rights abuses, and pro-vides free legal services to needy persons inGeorgia. It also hopes to establish a lawschool in the former Soviet republic.

Jaliashvili helped to create a shelterthere – the only one so far. She also worksas a consultant on human trafficking, rep-resenting both victims of domestic vio-lence and victims of trafficking.

“Domestic violence law is really new inour country, only about one year old,”shesays.“The experience of people in ourcountry with this is not very high. I am try-ing to get as much information as I can, touse for my country.”

Her organization advises the Georgiangovernment on the drafting of laws, andJaliashvili said what she has learned at UBLaw will help her to recommend how toaddress shortcomings in the current do-mestic violence law.“As the law gets older,you understand where the gaps are,”shesays.“As soon as I go back home, I knowwhat I have to offer the government.”

“Something isstarting to happenin the domestic violence area inBrazil.The

government is so excited aboutthis that we received two prosecutors this month in order tobuild a bridge to UB.”

— Eduardo Muchado,a prosecutor from Brazil

“As a result ofEduardo’s experience a program has beenformalized where

more prosecutors would come toUB from Brazil.This has been agreat experience on both sides.”

— Clinical Professor SuzanneTomkins,a specialist in issues ofdomestic violence

Law School Report


Build a better mousetrap, it issaid, and the world will beat apath to your door.Develop expertise in identify-ing, preventing and prosecut-

ing domestic violence, and the same thinghappens.

That is what members of UB LawSchool’s Women, Children, and Social Jus-tice Clinic are discovering as they continueto build bridges to activists against domes-tic violence worldwide. The world hascome to UB Law in the person of a prose-cutor from Brazil, Eduardo Muchado, anda young activist from the former Soviet

republic of Georgia, Maia Jaliashvili. Theyare learning all they can, with the expecta-tion that the conversation will continue af-ter they return to their home countries totry to make the world safer for women andchildren.

“We are talking about some ongoingcollaboration,”says Clinical ProfessorSuzanne Tomkins, a specialist in issues ofdomestic violence.“As a result of Eduardo’sexperience a program has been formalizedwhere more prosecutors would come toUB from Brazil. This has been a great expe-rience on both sides.”

“We are not training academics,”says

Building bridges to activists

Trainingglobal lawyers

to fight domestic violence

Left to right: Brazilian prosecutor Eduardo Muchado, former General Attorney of the Minas Gerais region of Brazil Epaminondas Neto,Brazilian prosecutor Lais Silveira and UB Law Clinic Co-Director and Clinical Professor Suzanne E. Tomkins.

GOING GLOBAL

GOING GLOBAL


Law School Report

LAW INTERNS IN AFRICA

Human rights interns tell of a

rewarding summer’s work

For two third-year UB Law stu-dents who traveled abroad on in-ternational human rights intern-ships, summer 2006 was one ofhigh emotion and culture shock

– and one when they learned firsthandhow badly human rights work is needed.

Nicole Parshall and Aminda Byrd,members of the Class of 2007, lived to-gether in Nairobi, Kenya, as they pursuedseparate internships in Africa – Byrdworking for Urgent Action Fund – Africa,which dispenses targeted grants towomen’s human rights organizations onthe continent, and Parshall with the Kenya

Human Rights Commission.They detailed their experiences in a

March 26 forum in O’Brian Hall, in a pro-gram designed to attract the next genera-tion of law students to international hu-man rights work.

It was, they said, strange at first to findthemselves in Nairobi, a cosmopolitan citya world apart from what they had known.“We got stared at a lot,”Parshall saidfrankly.“A bus would go by, and every facewould turn and look at us. But we got usedto it quickly.”

Byrd worked in the Urgent ActionFund – Africa headquarters in Kilimani, asuburb of Nairobi. The organization, shesaid, provides urgent grants up to $5,000to women’s organizations throughoutAfrica – “rapid-response grantmaking”with the goal of building peace, seekingjustice against gender-based violence, andincreasing the security of women and girls.

For example, she said, UAF-Africa hasprovided grants to help shelter womenand girls from sexual violence in northernUganda, where millions of people havebeen internally displaced into unsaferefugee camps.

Her own work, she said,“was more fo-cused on collaborative initiatives,”espe-cially on behalf of the rights of lesbian, gay,bisexual, transgender and intersex people.This movement, Byrd said, is in its earlystages in Africa; advocacy groups exist, butas yet public support is minimal.

During her internship, Byrd attendedthe first East Africa conference on LGBTIrights, a four-day gathering that broughttogether advocates to define commongoals and attracted funders looking for atargeted way to provide grants. She alsowas at the second Africa Conference onSexual Health and Rights, where theKenyan vice president spoke and whereLGBTI issues also drew wide interest.

Primarily, though, her task was to workon a training manual on the InternationalCriminal Court from a gender-based per-spective. The manual, she said, is beingused to train judges and lawyers in Africancountries.

Parshall spoke of her work with theKenya Human Rights Commission, a non-

governmental organization founded in 1992 part-ly by UB Law Professor Makau Mutua to addresscivil and political violations under the govern-ment of former Kenyan President Danial arapMoi.

Her internship, she said, centered on a lawsuitfiled against the British government, which previ-ously ruled Kenya as a colony, by survivors of tor-ture imposed on native rebels in what is nowknown as the Mau Mau rebellion. The Britishgovernment in 1953 declared a state of emergencyin Kenya in response to several tribal uprisings,and put up concentration camps where thou-sands of people died – perhaps as many as 90,000.“This history is very much buried,”Parshall said.

Her work involved traveling out of Nairobi togather statements from survivors of sexual vio-lence from this time, women who now are in their70s and 80s.“These were intense sessions,”shesaid,“because you were talking to women whohad never spoken of the type of sexual torturethey went through.”It was, she said, difficult to lis-ten to these tales of inhumanity, and there wereplenty of tears on both sides – though some of thewomen were fiercely proud of having survivedthese atrocities.

Parshall also worked on media aspects ofthe case, trying to get media coverage ofthe lawsuit in Britain as well as Kenya,and wrote grant proposals seekingfunding to finance the lawsuit.

Life in Nairobi, the former interns said, couldbe harrowing – especially in traffic. There are notraffic lights or yield signs;“Kenya has the highestrate of traffic fatalities in Africa,”Byrd said.

There was also time for a little R&R, in theform of a four-day trip to a coastal resort calledTiwi Beach, where for $35 apiece per night theyenjoyed comfortable accommodations and, for acouple of dollars more, the services of a talentedSwahili chef, who cooked them a lunch and din-ner feast featuring fresh tuna, crab and prawns.

UB Law’s international human rights intern-ships are sponsored by the Buffalo Human RightsCenter. Both Byrd and Parshall received partialsupport for their internships through the BuffaloPublic Interest Law Program.

Brian McCarthy ’07,above, served as a law intern at the Kenya Human Rights Commission andis now pursuing a master’s degree in public health at UB.

Nicole Parshall ’07

Aminda Byrd ’07

“These were intensesessions because youwere talking towomen who had never spoken of thetype of sexual torturethey went through.”

Byrd worked in theUrgent Action Fundwith the goal ofbuilding peace,seekingjustice against gender-based violence,and increasing the securityofwomen and girls.

How I spent my summer


42 43U B L A W F O R U M

The work that Alex Karsten ’08 didfor the International Justice Net-work was notable not only for its

content, but for its form. The IJC is runout of New York City, but Karsten said thestart-up organization is pioneering an es-sentially paperless office. So he bought alaptop and, for 35 hours a week, telecom-muted from Buffalo.

The group’s stated goal is to “lead hu-man rights initiatives around the worldby providing direct legal assistance andexpertise to victims of human rightsabuses and by creating a global networkof legal professionals, non-governmentalorganizations and community-based hu-man rights advocates in order to protectand promote human rights and the ruleof law.”In his summer work, Karstenworked on several projects, including fil-ing habeas corpus petitions on behalf ofdetainees at the U.S. air base in Bagram,Afghanistan; creating a “contact point”for justice advocacy groups in Namibia;and working on the IJC’s Web site and ex-tranet, which allows interested parties toshare documents.

“I am getting hands-on training in ar-eas of technology that I really feel has be-gun to revolutionize the public-interestarea,”he said.“We really do not have sim-ple locational issues, and locational limi-tations are not going to be a stumblingblock.We have attorneys in California,and it is not a big deal. I really am gettingin on the ground floor not only of anamazing new organization, but using thisnew technology every day. It puts me in agreat position for any other projects ororganizations that use this technology.”

Working remotely, he said, is no hand-icap – in fact, it made it possible for himto hold down a paying job at the sametime.“I do not necessarily feel that I ammissing out on anything,”Karsten said.“Icommunicate with my boss multipletimes a day via e-mail, we have a staff con-ference every week that we do through aconference call, and quite honestly, theamount that the attorneys are out of theoffice anyway, it really does not makemuch of a difference. Plus I am able to get

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

Students’ public-interest internshipsrange far and wide

From Buffalo to Europe, the Middle East and Africa, more than

two dozen UB Law students spent the summer exploring the byways of

public-interest legal work. All benefited from cash grants made by the student-

run Buffalo Public Interest Law Program, which raises money to make it

possible for students to take unpaid or low-paying internships in public service.

UB Law Forum conversed with a handful of students about the lessons

of the summer, and found that the richness of the experience was greater

than any paycheck.

• • •


“Pakistan is going through a lot right now in terms of its democracy.It is trying to find its democratic voice.My role with this organization was to provide knowledge and advice,and to answer questions.”

— Emily Conley ’08,above left,in Pakistan

Pakistan – where she worked for the Hu-man Development Foundation – wasrocked by suicide bombings.

“In light of all the violence that broke outin Islamabad in July,I was very lucky to beliving with a family,”she said.“They wereable to tell me where I should go and wherenot to go.From the day they picked me upat the airport, I was very well taken care of.”

The Human Development Foundationworks in community development in anumber of countries. In Pakistan,the groupruns literacy programs,sponsors immu-nization and malaria prevention programs,and establishes schools for girls in remotevillages where often education is reservedfor boys.

The work,she said,was not traditionallegal work.“Last year I worked in a law of-fice,and I was going to court,”she said.“That is clearly legal work.Working at anNGO is a little harder because it is moreabout policy.I taught workshops aboutAmerican democracy and how it works.Pakistan is going through a lot right now interms of its democracy.It is trying to find itsdemocratic voice.My role with this organi-zation was to provide knowledge and ad-vice,and to answer questions.”

After violence struck Islamabad,Conley

spent the last four weeks of her internshipworking from home.“One of the suicide at-tacks took place two blocks from my office,two hours after I left work that day,”she said.“After that we decided,no more office forme.That was part of the learning experi-ence for me.Not everywhere in the world issafe,and part of working over there wasadapting to the climate so I could be safe.”She also adopted traditional Pakistani dressso as not to stand out as an American.

But despite the turmoil, she said,“I hadone of the best summers of my life,becauseI lived with wonderful people who took mein and made me a member of their family.Everyone made me feel so welcome and soat home,and they really went out of theirway to make sure I was happy and comfort-able.

“I left feeling like I had a second familyand a second home.”

• • •

Jodi-Kay Williams ’09 learned a littleSwahili and a lot of international lawduring the summer she spent in Nairobi,

Kenya,working for Urgent Action Fund-Africa,a grant-making organization forwomen’s human rights.

Her work was mostly research-oriented,she said,exploring Kenyan and internation-

al law on issues that affect women’s health.“Because a lot of the African nations

were colonized,”she said,“many of theirlaws originated in Europe.There is a lot thatis antiquated and needs to change to meetthe changing needs of the people there.”

A major project revolved around the is-sue of maternal mortality – the manywomen who die each year because they seekout abortions,which are illegal in Kenya.Williams researched abortion law and sta-tistics,and took part in a mock tribunal inNairobi around the question,should abor-tion be legalized in Kenya?

The tribunal addressed other possiblesolutions to maternal mortality as well, shesaid,such as adoption,orphanages and bet-ter sex education.But the issue of abortion –dramatized by the tales of four women whounderwent “back-street”procedures – waswhat drew major press coverage,andprotests from Kenya’s religiously conserva-tive community.Activists even stormed thestage at one point before order was restored.One of their objections was the suspicionthat legalized abortion is a “foreign agenda”being thrust upon Kenya.

Williams will now write a paper issuing a“judgment”in the mock tribunal,whichwill be released to the public in February.

Another eye-opening experience wasvisiting the International Criminal Tribunalfor Rwanda,which is prosecuting the may-ors and other government officials who ad-ministered rape as a tool for genocide dur-ing the conflict between that country’s eth-nic Tutsis and Hutus.At that tribunal,whichmeets in Tanzania,Williams met some ofthe judges and prosecutors.

Overall, she said, the summer solidifiedher interest in international law as a career.“It was extremely useful for me,”she said.“You can write briefs and memos anywhere.This is the real hands-on experience.You aremeeting victims, international judges, talk-ing about how laws can be reformed.Youare actually doing things here,as opposed togetting assigned things to do.”



my research done at midnight when I amready to do that. It allows me to be em-ployed and do this really important workthat I love to do without having to swampmyself by taking out another loan.

“It has really been a great and reward-ing summer.”

• • •

The long arm of the U.S.Navy some-times gets stung with civil lawsuits,and they end up in the small Maritime

and Admiralty Law office in Washington,D.C.That’s where Ericka Ensign ’09 spenther summer as one of 28 interns nationwidein the Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps

The office,she said,dealt with legal ac-tion arising from “any incident on navigablewaters involving the U.S.Navy.”For in-stance,she said, if a visitor to a decommis-sioned vessel serving as a floating museumbreaks his arm,her office would handle theclaim.Or maybe an aircraft carrier was inthe wrong place at the wrong time in thePersian Gulf,or a fisherman off the coast ofSouth Korea has his ship damaged by aNavy vessel. International law often comesinto play in these civil claims.

She and the lawyers in Maritime and Ad-miralty Law determine the legitimacy ofeach claim,evaluate whether the requestedrelief is reasonable,and examine whetherthe claimant has some culpability in the sit-uation.The work,she said, involves draftingletters to be sent,writing releases that willindemnify the U.S.government following apayout,and dealing with government repre-sentatives around the world about claims.

Part of the office’s culture,she said, is thatthere is a lot of teaching and training goingon,and even some of the staff attorneys arequite new to the job.“They are very used topeople learning as they go and asking a lotof questions,”she said.

“It is a great experience directly out ofmy first year of law school,”Ensign said.“Iam doing so many different things.”Shecites the diversity of the work and its depth –“It is trial by fire.You are given things to dothat are worth doing.”And,she said,she is

impressed by the caliber of the people sheworks with.“The nature of the selectionprocess is competitive,and it selects for agood diverse work force to begin with.There is something in them that makes it sothey want to do it.They are not in it for themoney.These are good people working to-ward a common goal.”

The unpaid internship has left Ensignwith a goal of her own: a permanent com-mission as a Navy JAG officer after lawschool.She has submitted her application.

• • •

DDarice Dinsmore ’09 grew up in Utahand for the summer lived with hermother in the tiny town of Bluff,

Utah.But her internship with DNA LegalServices Inc. in Mexican Hat exposed her toa culture unlike she had ever known.

DNA (the name is an acronym for Indi-an words meaning “Lawyers for the Revital-ization of the People”) serves Navajo,Uteand Hopi people on the largest Indian reser-vation in the United States,called the Nava-jo Nation.Working there enabled her to liveat home and do meaningful legal work inthis underserved community.Budget cutshave reduced a four-attorney office to a sin-gle lawyer,so Dinsmore came into a situa-tion where dozens of open cases had lan-guished.

She worked on some contracts andguardianship cases,she said,but mostly shetackled a pile of pending divorces,contact-ing clients to see whether they wanted toproceed with the divorce,and arranging tofile the necessary paperwork.

That was more difficult than it mightseem.Many on the reservation have no tele-phones,and often she had to work with atranslator.“It is pretty easy to disappear”onthe reservation,she said,so finding bothparties in an action proved challenging.

“The hardest part,”she said,“is hearingabout their situation now.A lot of thesewomen are coming to us because they arelosing their benefits.They cannot locate thefather, the father’s name is not on the birthcertificate,and social services agencies say,‘Ifyou do not show us your divorce papers,you are cut off from benefits.”

And the poverty of her clients,she said,was shocking.“You realize that a lot of peo-ple live without running water,”she said.“There is a gas station,and they bring theirtrucks to the gas station and fill up their wa-ter tanks.A lot of people do not have elec-tricity.We hear every day about ThirdWorld nations in such poverty,but it is hap-pening right here.

“But I definitely learned a lot about howthe Navajo Nation works and how they havetheir own legal system and it does work.They would rather the parties would talk itout than go straight to court. I think it is agood approach to law.”

And the drive to and from work,shesaid,could not be beat.“It is a 30-minutecommute,”Dinsmore said,“but it is proba-bly one of the prettiest commutes you willever have.”

• • •

As BPILP’s vice president for fundrais-ing last year,Emily Conley ’08 knowshow big a part alumni contributions

play in enabling public-interest internships.Many who have worked in such internships,she said,now give regularly to the organiza-tion.

Her own summer experience this yeartook an unexpected turn when Islamabad,


Left to right:With native Africans,Stefanie A.Svoren ’09,Jodi-Kay Williams ’09and Sarah B.Brancatella ’09

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

Law School Report


PublicInterest LawProgram funds 22 projects

Buffalo Public Interest Law Program Fellows:Yasmin Adamy ’09 – Neighborhood LegalServices, Family Law Unit – Buffalo, NY.Co-sponsored by the Domestic ViolenceTask ForceSarah Brancatella ’09 – Kenya HumanRights Commission – Nairobi, Kenya Michael Hecker ’09 – US Attorney’s Office,Western District of New York – Buffalo, NYRebecca Hoffman ’09 – Vive, Inc. –Buffalo, NY Amy Kaslovsky ’09 – Empire Justice Center– Albany, NYJames Lonano ’08 – US Attorney’s Office,Western District of New York – Buffalo, NYSunny Noh ’08 – Legal Aid Society ofHawaii – Honolulu, HIStefanie Svoren ’09 – Kenya Human RightsCommission – Nairobi, KenyaOlga Vinogradova ’09 – Legal Services forNew York City – Brooklyn, NY

Dean’s Buffalo Public Interest Law Program Fellows:Darice Dinsmore ’09 – DNA (Diné beiináNáhiilna be Agha'diit'ahii) Legal Services,Inc. – Mexican Hat, UTLauren Welch ’09 – Asociación ProDerechos Humanos de Andalucía – Cádiz,SpainCarrie Ann Wilkins ’09 – Legal Aid Bureauof Buffalo, Inc., Public Defender Unit –Buffalo, NYJodi-Kay Williams ’09 – Foundation forSustainable Development – La Plata,Argentina

Thomas’Buffalo Public Interest Law Program Fellow:Victoria Meyer ’09 – Legal Aid Society ofRochester, Family Law Unit – Rochester,NY

UB Law Alumni Association’s BuffaloPublic Interest Law Program Fellows:Ernest Hinman ’09 – Erie County DistrictAttorney’s Office – Buffalo, NYBrenna Terry ’09 – Volunteer LawyersProject, Inc. – Buffalo, NY

Buffalo Public Interest Law Program Grant Recipients:Roopa Chakkappan ’09 – Tuckner SipserWeinstock and Sipser – New York, NYEricka Ensign ’09 – US Navy, JAGC –Washington, DCRebecca Town ’09 – Center for Justice andDemocracy – New York, NY

Kaplan & Reynolds Fellows:Emily Conley ’08 – Human DevelopmentFoundation – Islamabad, PakistanAlexander Karsten ’08 – InternationalJustice Network – New York, NYShelly Pet-Lun Tsai ’08 – NeighborhoodLegal Services of Los Angeles County,Health Consumer Center – Pacoima, CA

Charles H.Revson Law Student PublicInterest (LSPIN) Fellowship Grants:Roopa Chakkappan ’09 – Tuckner SipserWeinstock and Sipser – New York, NYJesika Gonzalez ’09 – NeighborhoodDefender Service of Harlem – New York,NYRebecca Green ’09 – Sylvia Rivera LawProject – New York, NYSarah Karpinski ’09 – US District Court,SDNY – Pro Se Office – New York, NYRebecca Town ’09 – Center for Justice andDemocracy – New York, NY

Equal Justice Works Summer CorpsProgram:Sunny Noh ’08 – Legal Aid Society ofHawaii – Honolulu, HI

The 12th Annual Buffalo Public Interest Law Program Auction held last yearraised nearly $26,000 to be used toward providing UB Law School students theopportunity to accept unpaid public-service summer positions. Through thecombined dedication and support of Dean Nils Olsen, the UB Law AlumniAssociation,our generous public interest-minded alumni donors, the Student

Bar Association, and the members and leadership of BPILP and co-sponsoring studentgroups,22 projects in total received funding for the summer. In addition, six students wereawarded national fellowships.

Mickey H.Osterreicher ’98 at the microphonewas the auctioneer.

Larissa Shahmatova ’08 on violin and Vice Dean Ilene R.Fleischmann on accordion raised money for BPILP at a lively concert.

Left to right:Caroline B.Brancatella’07 andNicole K.Parshall ’07

Stephen K.Trynosky ’05

Far left,William F.Savino.

At left:Jennifer P.Stergion ’07

FELLOWSHIPS

Law School Report


Sara Meerse (JD/MSW ’96) devel-oped “a sense of outrage”in lawschool, where she learned how tofight back and how to persuade. Inher social work program, she

broadened her perspective as she furtherexplored critical issues in child welfare.

Meerse is one of a cadre of—dependingon their occupations—lawyers with socialwork training or social workers with legaltraining. These dual-degree graduatesfunction where the two fields intersect. TheUB Law School produces a wide variety ofdual-competent alumni.

Meerse won a prestigious two-yearSkadden Fellowship which funds graduat-ing law students who plan to provide legalservices for the poor. She first went to workin Presque Isle, Maine, where she’d been anintern the summer before with Pine TreeLegal Assistance (PTLA), a statewide non-profit legal corporation serving low-in-come clients. In 2004, now in Portland,Maine, she was a founder of the PTLA sub-sidiary, Kids Legal.

As its directing attorney, Meerse repre-sents teens and parents in cases where anattorney is not provided by the state. KidsLegal handles cases concerning access toand participation in appropriate schoolprogramming for special-education, tru-ant or disciplined students; homeless orunaccompanied youth; and health-relatedmatters.

“Social work is about improving qualityof life for individuals, families and groups,”Meerse says.“Law is about ensuring notonly that laws are enforced, but also thatcitizens know what their rights are—defi-nitely a quality of life issue.”

In dual-degree programs, students cancount some courses toward both programs

and reduce the total time required to earnboth degrees. By carefully selecting courses,students can shorten their program for twodegrees by up to a year. For example, UB’sJD/MSW students take the first year of oneprogram, then the first year of the other,and then two years of coursework in both,finishing with the dual degree in four years.Field placement, a standard part of socialwork education, is replaced in theJD/MSW program with a full year of lawclinic work and a law and social work col-loquium. During law school, UB’s Law andSocial Work Clinic places students with le-gal service agencies, social service agencies,prosecutor offices, and in therapeuticcourts.

• • •

Andrew Radack (JD/MSW ’97)came to law from an extensivesocial work background, socombining the degrees was anatural. He now practices crim-

inal and family law in Buffalo, and sits as avillage justice in Silver Creek, N.Y.“I try tointegrate my social work degree into my le-gal profession,”he says.

“I’m able to help my clients as well asdefendants who appear in front of me. I of-ten suggest that people get the treatmentthey need, especially those with addictions.It is in their best interest to show the courtthat they’re doing something regardingcounseling or treatment.”

Says Carolyn Siegel (JD/MSW ’99), aneducation policy specialist and Colden,N.Y., town justice,“I figured I would eitherend up as a social worker with clout or anattorney with a heart.”

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

JD/MSW: Dual degreewith clout and heart

“Social work is about improving quality of life for individuals,familiesand groups.Law is about ensuring not only that laws are enforced,butalso that citizens know what their rights are — definitely a quality oflife issue.” — Sara Meerse ’96

“I try to integrate my social work degree into my legal profession.I’m able to help my clients as well as defendants who appear in front ofme.”— Andrew Radack ’97

Law School ReportGERALD S.LIPPES SPEAKER SERIES


“You cannot run a business successfullytoday in the 21st century if what you aredoing has values that are out of sync withthe wider society and your customers, sup-pliers and employees,”he said.As well,Gunther said, companies are finding that ithelps their bottom line to be responsive toconsumers’concerns. For example, Mc-Donald’s, after com-plaints about the nu-tritional value of itsfood, discovered that“if you offer salads,the suburban momwill bring the kids andhave a salad, and thekids will eat burgers.”

Fraud scandalsand sky-high execu-tive pay grab theheadlines, but Gun-ther said corporateAmerica is becomingmore environmental-ly friendly, more diverse, more open andmore compassionate.

The author’s interest in this subjectstems from 2001, when he wrote a coverstory for Fortune examining the role ofspiritual values in business.“I found thatpeople who live their faith and values, whobrought their whole selves to work, weresuccessful,”he said.“I believe there is oftenalignment between living your highest val-ues and success in the workplace.”

That article led to the book Faith andFortune, an examination of several “values-driven”companies including SouthwestAirlines, Timberland, United Parcel Ser-vice and Starbucks.

But isn’t profit the final arbiter of cor-porate behavior? Not according to Gun-ther.

Quoting a priest who teaches businessat the University of Notre Dame, he said,“The purpose of a company is to enablehuman flourishing. Profits are essential toa company the same way air and water and

food are to us.But compa-nies have ameaning andpurposeabout theirwork, in thesame way thatpeople have ameaning andpurpose forour lives.”Google, forexample, ex-presses itspurpose as “to

organize all the world’s information andmake it accessible to everyone.”

“That’s a reason to get up and go towork in the morning,”Gunther said.

In substance, the transformation hasbeen from looking at the work of a compa-ny as a series of win-lose transactions, ori-ented to maximize profit today, to a seriesof relationships and longer-term, win-wintransactions. Forces that are pushing thistransition, he said, are the need to motivateemployees; the power of activist groupssuch as Greenpeace and Amnesty Interna-tional; the transparency of the Internet;pressure from socially responsible in-vestors; and pressure from customers.

The lecture was peppered with real-world examples, such as Dell, the comput-er giant. In 2003, Gunther said, investorsapproached the company over the issue ofthe toxic waste generated when computersare thrown away. Dell thought little of theissue, but agreed to organize a computerrecycling day in Denver, in the parking lotoutside Mile High Stadium.“By the end ofthat Saturday,”Gunther said,“that parkinglot was literally full of computers. MichaelDell realized that there was a constituencyout there that cared about their computerswhen they are done with them.”Now, hesaid, customers can ship their old comput-ers to Dell postage-paid;“the company istaking responsibility, but also connectingwith customers at the end of the comput-er’s life and trying to sell them a new one.”

Another example is Wal-Mart, whichsaw that standard liquid laundry deter-gents, which are mostly water, take up vo-luminous shelf space, are expensive to shipand produce lots of waste plastic. The re-tailer approached manufacturer Unilever,commissioned it to develop a smaller,more concentrated product now calledSmall and Mighty All, and featured theproduct prominently in its stores – a “win”for manufacturer, seller and consumer.

In the end, though, Gunther said,“There are limits to what companies cando, and those limits essentially are set byus. Ford, for example, would like to sellmore hybrids, but the market is for sportutility vehicles. For these changes to con-tinue to happen, we all need to be part of it.The way for this to happen is that all of usneed to live our values every day.”

The lecture was the second annualevent in the Gerald S. Lippes Speaker Se-ries, a joint venture of UB Law School andUB’s School of Management. It is fundedby Buffalo attorney Lippes, a 1964 gradu-ate of the Law School.

Conscience ofthe companyAuthor argues that corporate America is a force for good

“You cannot run a businesssuccessfully today in the 21stcentury ifwhat you are doinghas values that are out of syncwith the wider society andyour customers,suppliers andemployees.”

— Marc Gunther,author andFortune magazine writer

Left to right: Clinical Professor Thomas F.Disareand Marc Gunther.

Ahigh-profile book author and Fortune magazine writer came to the Universityat Buffalo to make a provocative argument: that corporate America is chang-ing for the better, and making a better world in the process.The appearance by Marc Gunther, author of Faith and Fortune: How Com-passionate Capitalism Is Transforming American Business, drew an enthusias-

tic crowd, mostly students, to the Screening Room of the Center for the Arts on March 27.Gunther cited companies as diverse as Nike, McDonald’s and the Texas energy compa-

ny TXU – which canceled eight planned coal-fired power plants in response to environ-mental concerns – as evidence that American companies are embracing sustainability.

Law School Report

52 53

How to improve on success?That has been the challengefacing UB Law School’s Ca-reer Services Office, whichfor two years has seen more

than 97 percent of graduates either findwork in the legal field or go on to furthergraduate education.

Now the placement statistics are in forthe Class of 2006 – the industry standard isto look at the numbers nine months aftergraduation – and some interesting trendshave emerged.

For one thing,grads’average startingsalary has increased for two years running;for ’06 graduates, that number jumped by$11,000,to $69,000.This came even thougha larger proportion of graduates took jobs inpublic-interest and government work,notalways the highest-paying options.

Also, the proportion of grads taking jobsoutside Western New York is rising.Amongthe 2006 class,45 percent went beyond theWestern New York area for their first posi-tions.Large concentrations migrated toNew York City and Washington,D.C.,but18 states and several countries have new UBLaw grads working there.Five years ago,only one-third of graduates left WesternNew York.

Thirty-one percent of 2006 graduatesstarted their careers at firms of 100 attor-neys or more,an increase from 19 percentthe previous year.Among the employersrepresented were such well-known firms asSullivan & Cromwell,Weil Gotshal &Manges,Shearman & Sterling,Ropes &Gray,Fried Frank and Skadden Arps.

Among those choosing public service,graduates have accepted positions as Presi-dential Management Fellows and at theFederal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Na-tional Labor Relations Board and the Unit-ed Nations International Criminal Tribunalfor the Former Yugoslavia.

These results are the fruit of much laboras Career Services officers build relation-ships with potential employers and leveragetheir contacts with helpful alumni.

“We have established relationships withall sorts of employers across the country,”

said James R.Newton,associate dean for na-tional outreach and strategic planning.“Our experience has been that when theyhire one UB Law graduate, that personturns out to be a star,and they want to hiremore.”

Newton said entering students are sur-veyed as to the type of practice they want topursue,and in what geographical region.The Law School,he said,measures its suc-

cess by how closely those students’jobsupon graduation match their initial hopes.“I think the theme of my job is to open upthe best opportunities for the students asthey define them,across the spectrum,”hesaid.

Said Lisa M.Patterson,associate dean forcareer services,“When we have the oppor-tunity to talk to students about what we do,we look for opportunities not to equate thebiggest firm with the best job,necessarily.For somebody who wants to go back totheir hometown and set up shop and prac-tice family law,probably they will do verywell,and that is a success.”

Behind the statistics are individual sto-ries of hopes and dreams.Patterson,for ex-ample, tells of coaching a student who,visit-ing her hometown in upstate New York,happened upon an ad for her dream job,practicing family law with a small local firm.She had no resume,no materials with her;Patterson suggested she just call the firm

and try to make an appointment.“Shecalled me back,”Patterson said,“and she wasso excited; they already had an interview setup for her.”

“I have been seeing students who arekind of surprised by their own success,”Newton related.“They are shocked at howwell they are doing.”

Supporting the placement effort is UBLaw School’s National Career Network,a

supplemental mentoringprogram for studentsjob-hunting in differentareas of the country.Theprogram connects stu-dents with alumni inparticular cities who canhelp them network andgive them a sense of theemployment market inthat area.“Part of thechallenge of looking for ajob in a market elsewhereis how to saturate your-self in that market,”Pat-terson said.“These men-tors give suggestionsabout things to read,

people to meet and opportunities to joingroups in a certain market.”(The office is al-ways looking to expand its network of men-tors; if you are interested,e-mail [email protected].)

Also, the Washington,D.C.,LeadershipBoard,comprising more than two dozenUB Law alumni in the nation’s capital,hashelped connect recent graduates with bothprivate and government placement oppor-tunities.The hiring process in governmentservice especially can be confusing,Patter-son said.

“Students can be intimidated at applyingto these institutions,”Newton said.“Havingsomeone on the inside increases the num-ber who apply,and we now have more stu-dents interviewing at many federal agen-cies.” The goal,he said, is not for anyone topull strings,but to help the applicant get herresume “out of the pile”and into the handsof those who make hiring decisions.

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

Growing into the jobPlacement statistics find UB Law grads ranging far and wide

Class of 2006 employment statistics

Geographic DistributionLast year, over 45% of our new lawyers acceptedpositions outside of Western New York in NewYork City,Washington, D.C., 18 states and several countries.

WITHIN NEW YORK STATE

Region Distribution

Buffalo 48%

New York City & Boroughs 22%

Rochester 15%

Syracuse 5%

Southern Tier 4%

Albany 3%

Other 3%

OUTSIDE NEW YORK STATE

Region Distribution

DC 11.3%

CA, International, PA 9%

FL 8%

OH 5%

AK, CO, CT, MA, MI, NC,

NV, OR, TX, VA& Military 3.7%

IL, KT, NM, VT 2%

Practice Areas

Practice Area Distribution

Private Practice 52%

Corporate 11%

Public Interest 11%

Government 11%

Judicial Clerk 6%

Degree Seeking 4%

Military (JAG) 2%

Academic 2%

Not Specified 1%

Firm Size Disribution

Firm Size Distribution

Very Small (2-5) 35%

Very Large (101-250) 17%

Mega (251+) 14%

Small (11-25) 12%

Large (51-100) 11%

Medium (26 + 50) 5%

Unknown 5%

Solo 1%

Firm Size Salaries

Private Practice Median High

501+ $145,000 $145,000

251 to 500 $145,000 $160,000

100 to 250 $77,000 $140,000

51 to 100 $67,000 $83,000

26 to 50 $50,000 $120,000

11 to 25 $46,500 $145,000

2 to 10 $45,000 $80,000

Practice Area Salaries

Practice Area Median High

Government $47,200 $80,000

Business & Industry $63,500 $120,000

Judicial Clerkship $56,000 $100,300

Public Interest $45,000 $74,800

Are You Hiring?

“We have established relationships with all sortsofemployers across thecountry.Our experiencehas been that when they

hire one UB Law graduate,that person turns outto be a star,and they want to hire more.”

— James R.Newton,associate dean for administration and national outreach

U B L A W F O R U M

Does your organization have hiring needs?Whatever your needs—law clerk, part-time,entry-level or lateral—we hope you will turnto UB Law School for legal recruiting.

We offer several services free of charge toemployers, from interview arrangements to resume collections and job postings. If youwould like to discuss any opportunity,please contact us:

Jim Newton,Associate Dean for National Outreach (716) 645-5997 or [email protected]

Lisa Patterson,Associate Dean for Career Services (716) 645-2056 or [email protected]

Are you looking to make a move?

The Career Services Office is happy to an-nounce that access to our online job postingsis now free. Last year, we posted approximate-ly 700 entry-level and/or lateral jobs via ouron-line portal, Symplicity. Please call the CSOat (716) 645-2056 to request access to our sys-tem.

CAREER SERVICES

Law School ReportCOMMENCEMENT 2007


The Law School’s 2007 Commence-ment ceremonies, held May 19 inthe Center for the Arts, were allabout relationships – the friend-ships that the students formed

during their three years in O’Brian Hall, theircontinuing connection with the school asalumni, and the promise of relationships tocome as these new lawyers pursue justice in allits human dimensions.

Two hundred fifty-five Juris Doctor Can-didates, as well as 19 master of laws students,received degrees in front of an appreciativeaudience of friends and family. The ceremonywas inaugurated by Professor Kenneth F.Joyce, who noted that the academic mace hecarried was a version of the first weapon usedby human beings against each other. This, hesaid, pointed up the responsibility of the newgraduates as practitioners “dedicated to therule of law and the supremacy of law over vio-lence.”

Dean Nils Olsen called the 2007 graduates“a special class for me,”given that these were


DEEPENING OUR TIESDEEPENING OUR TIES

“In today’s worldlaw school can

present an extraordinarychallenge.But the LawSchool at the University atBuffalo is much more thanmerely a place on theNorth Campus.”

— Dean Nils Olsen

’’

‘‘

Jason Joaquin Almonte ’07 at the podium.

118thCommencementhonors continuing connections



his last Commencement ceremonies as dean.“In today’s world,”he said,“law school canpresent an extraordinary challenge. But theLaw School at the University at Buffalo ismuch more than merely a place on the NorthCampus.”He cited the opportunities thesestudents had realized for forming deepfriendships and exercising focused intellectualgrowth.

UB Provost Satish K. Tripathi salutedOlsen for offering his “professional and life’sexperience”to students under his care. UnderOlsen’s leadership, Tripathi said,“UB LawSchool has become nationally recognized forits curriculum and the quality of its graduates,and as a bastion of academic scholarship.”

Noting visits to the University during thepast academic year by the Dalai Lama and AlGore, Tripathi said the new graduates mustconsider the impact of their actions on theworld as a whole.“We must ask how our edu-cation has prepared us to improve our localand global communities?”he said.“What re-sponsibility do we have to con-tribute to the sustainability ofour world and our communi-ties?”

Following a welcome by Den-nis R. McCoy ’77, president of theUB Law Alumni Association, Ja-son Joaquin Almonte gave the stu-dent address.

“Winters in Buffalo are very,very cold, and there is lots and lotsand lots of snow,”Almonte said.“But even the grayest sky over LakeErie could not dim the light in thesestudents.As you graduate from lawschool, I ask you to remember the am-bition that got you here in the firstplace. Use that ambition to follow your



xxx

“My classmatesare my family,

and they taught me someofthe most importantlessons of law school.”

— Jason Joaquin Almontewho gave the student address

‘‘

Sister and brother Kelly Connors’07 and Marc Connors ’07.

Hon.Eugene F. Pigott Jr. ’73

’’



Juris Doctor

Summa Cum LaudeDavid Patrick ShafferStacy Ann TrombleThomas M. Tuori

Magna Cum LaudeCurry D.AndrewsJessica Ann BieleckiGeanne BlazkowBeverley S. BraunCandace Marie CurranAlfonzo Ivan CutaiaJohn Michael GodwinMelinda Jean GulloJoshua K. LawrenceRachael Marie MacVeanJennifer Anne MuchaKristin Leigh PauldingPaul Joseph Roman Jr.Thomas D. SeamanErin Elizabeth SylvesterRichard Thomas TuckerJason G. UlatowskiRaymond W.Walter

Cum LaudeColleen Mary AllenJustin Randall AtkinsonNikki Lee BaldwinTrevor James BarrMichael F. BarrettBrian Scott BennettJennifer M. BraceAdam J. BusheyAminda Leigh ByrdJames Lee CerwinskiJustin ChoiMichelle Amanda DaubertJeffrey A. DavisKara Lynn DeAngeloJohnnie El-GharibBrian M. EpsteinUmar FarooqMark Elliot FrankelRachel M. HezelJennifer Lee HowlandJeffrey L. HuletDeanne Michelle JeffriesSungyeol KimMelissa Ruth KlepackJoseph William KovacRichard LamJonathan James Leahy

Jason LeeDana La Rhea LeierBrian Richard LiebenowRyan Andrew LownRichard Joseph MarinaccioMichael Peter McClainLeah Ruth MervinePeter Adam MilitelloTimothy James MinterHannah Elizabeth MooreRobert L. MullinCheryl Louise NicholsHeather Emily NikielMichael Laurence NisengardSarah E. NortonKathleen Nicole O’NeillMichael Joseph PacificoNicole Kierstin ParshallMichael George PaulAdam Paul RissewLawrence Seldin RosenthalPatricia Claire SandisonDean C. SchnellerLauren Elizabeth SchroederLisa Beth ShulmanAlicia R. SimXiyuan SunKeon Carl WeigoldDonald A.YoungAzra Batool Zaidi

Master of Laws

With HonorsRafael V.Valverde-Ramirez

Master of Laws Criminal Law

With HonorsWilliam R. DiCenzoKeliann ElniskiYukiko IshidaMark DeWitt ThrasherAminie Lyn WoolworthRobert Clifford Wrong

• David P.Shaffer, of Geneseo,the Max Koren Award, given tothe graduate who exemplifiesthe highest standards of theprofession by virtue of scholas-tic achievement, leadershipand dedication to the ideals ofthe law. Shaffer also receivedthe American Bar Associationand the Bureau of National Af-fairs Award for Labor and Em-ployment Law.• Stacy A.Tromble,of Buffalo,the John N. Bennett Achieve-ment Award for the highestscholastic achievement in thegraduating class. Tromble alsoreceived the Judge William J.Regan Award for estates andsurrogate’s law.• Thomas M.Tuori,ofRochester, the John N. BennettAchievement Award for thehighest scholastic achievementin the graduating class.• Jason Joaquin Almonte,ofNanuet, the Dale MargulisAward for having contributedthe most to the Law School andthe community. Almonte alsoreceived a Law Faculty Award,presented to graduating se-niors who have made out-standing contributions to theLaw School community, andthe Minority Bar Associationof Western New York Award.• Cheryl Louise Nichols,ofOswego, the Birzon Prize inClinical Legal Studies. Nicholsalso received a New York StateBar Association/Law StudentBar Association AchievementAward.• Cindy P.Navarro,of Sunny-side, the Charles Dautch Awardfor real property.• Monica Campbell , ofAmherst, the Justice M. DoloresDenman scholarship/award for

a custodial single parent.• Paul E.Colinet,of Brooklyn,the Edith and David GoldsteinAward for debtor-creditor andbankruptcy law.• Michelle A.Daubert,of Buf-falo, the Justice Philip HalpernAward for writing on the Buf-falo Law Review. Daubert alsoreceived the American Bar As-sociation and the Bureau ofNational Affairs Award forHealth Law.• Beverley S.Braun,ofAmherst, the Judge Matthew J.Jasen Appellate Practice Awardfor appellate advocacy. Braunalso received a Law FacultyAward, presented to graduat-ing seniors who have madeoutstanding contributions tothe Law School community,and a Robert Connelly TrialTechnique Award. In addition,she was elected a member ofthe Order of Barristers, a na-tional honor society for oral-ists.• John M.Godwin,of Buffalo,the Judge Matthew J. Jasen Ap-pellate Practice Award for ap-pellate advocacy. Godwin also

was elected a member of theOrder of Barristers, a nationalhonor society for oralists.• Kristin L.Paulding,of De-pew, the James M. KiefferAward for outstanding trial ad-vocacy. Paulding also receivedthe Ryan J. Mullins Award forcriminal law, and The Robert J.Connelly Trial TechniqueAward.• Jennifer A.Mucha,of Lewis-ton, the David Kochery Awardfor service to the student com-munity and courses in proce-dures and remedies.• Robert L.Mullin,ofRochester, the Albert R. MugelAward for future interests andestate planning.• Joshua K.Lawrence,ofKingston, the Harry A. RachlinPrize in Property and Real Es-tate Law.• Rachel M.Hezel,of East Au-rora, the Professor Louis Del-Cotto Award for taxation.• Michael J.Pacifico,of Ham-burg, the Professor Louis Del-Cotto Award for taxation.• Linda V.Rampertab,of theBronx, the Maurice Frey Awardfor family law.• Rachel Xiyuan Sun,ofAmherst, the Tom Headrick“Trees and Forest” Award forcorporate finance.• Brian J.McCarthy,of Buffalo,the Milton Kaplan Law and So-cial Development Award for ex-ceptional commitment to thestudy of law and social devel-opment in an American, com-parative or international con-text. McCarthy also received aVirginia Leary Award, present-ed in honor of Leary, SUNYDistinguished Service Profes-sor Emerita in the UB LawSchool, who taught interna-tional law and developed thesequence of courses and ex-ternships in international lawat the school.• Aminda L.Byrd,of Buffalo, aVirginia Leary Award, present-ed in honor of Leary, SUNYDistinguished Service Profes-sor Emerita in the UB LawSchool, who taught interna-tional law and developed thesequence of courses and ex-

ternships in international lawat the school. Byrd also waselected a member of the Orderof Barristers, a national honorsociety for oralists.• Leah R.Mervine,of Buffalo,the Linda S. Reynolds Award forcommitment to equal justicefor the poor. Mervine also waselected a member of the Orderof Barristers, a national honorsociety for oralists.• William P.Johnson,ofScottsville, the Adolf Homburg-er Law Alumni AssociationAward for civil procedure.• Hee Chung Choi,ofAmherst, the Laidlaw LawAlumni Association Award forcommercial law.• Jacia T.Smith,of Rochester,the UB Law Alumni AssociationGOLD Group Award for lead-ership and excellence. Smithalso received a Law FacultyAward, presented to graduat-ing seniors who have madeoutstanding contributions tothe Law School community.• Alfonzo I.Cutaia,of ClarenceCenter, the American Bar As-sociation and the Bureau ofNational Affairs Award for In-tellectual Property Law.• Andrew E.McLaughlin,ofBuffalo, the American Bar As-sociation and the Bureau ofNational Affairs Award for In-tellectual Property Law.• Paul J.Roman Jr.,of NorthTonawanda, the American BarAssociation and the Bureau ofNational Affairs Award for In-tellectual Property Law.• James L.Cerwinski, of Gar-den City, the American Bar As-sociation and the Bureau ofNational Affairs Award for La-bor and Employment Law.• Rachael M.MacVean,ofTonawanda, the American BarAssociation and the Bureau ofNational Affairs Award for La-bor and Employment Law.• Curry D.Andrews,ofTonawanda, the AmericanBankruptcy Institute Medal.• Sarah E.Norton,of East Au-rora, the Activist’s Gavel forprogressive politics, govern-ment accountability and socialactivism.

UB Law students receivecommencement awards

University at Buffalo Law School students received honors and awards at the school’s 118th commencement ceremony held on May 19.The award recipients are:

• Jeffrey A.Davis,ofWilliamsville, the Carlos C.Alden Award for service to theBuffalo Law Review.• Carolina M.Felix of theBronx, the Kenneth A. GomezMemorial Award for equalityand justice for minorities.• Kim-Alla Swanton,ofAmherst, the Moot EvidenceAward.• Jennifer P.Stergion,of Buffa-lo, the New York State Bar Asso-ciation Ethics Award. Stergionalso received a Robert J. Con-nelly Trial Technique Award.• Dana L.Leier,of Amherst, theNational Association of WomenLawyers Award.• Kara L.DeAngelo,ofJamestown, a Law FacultyAward, presented to graduat-ing seniors who have madeoutstanding contributions tothe Law School community.• Peter Adam Militello,ofRochester, a Law FacultyAward, presented to graduat-ing seniors who have madeoutstanding contributions tothe Law School community.• Leah A.Bouquard,of Buffa-lo, a New York State Bar Associ-ation/Law Student Bar Associa-tion Achievement Award andthe Western New York WomenLawyers Award.• Melinda J.Gullo,of Lake-view, a New York State Bar As-

sociation/Law Student Bar As-sociation Achievement Award.

The Robert J. Connelly TrialTechnique Award was present-ed to:• Trevor J.Barr of Jamestown.• Danielle J.Barrett,of QueensVillage. Barrett also was electeda member of the Order of Bar-risters, a national honor societyfor oralists.• Jessica A.Bielecki, of BallstonLake.• Steven A.Clark,of Buffalo.• Brian R.Liebenow,ofRochester.• Michael L.Nisengard,ofBuffalo.• Lindsay P.Quintilone,ofNorth Tonawanda.• Daniel A.Sikka,ofWilliamsville.• Trevor M.Torcello,of Pavil-ion.

Newly elected members of theOrder of Barristers, a nationalhonor society for oralists, are:• Geanne Blazkov,of Amherst.• Christina A.Cassillo,ofAmherst.• Hannah E.Moore,of Buffalo.• James M.O’Keefe,of Liver-pool.• Alicia R.Sim,of Hamburg.

2007 Latin Honors

Jacia T.Smith ’07 is hoodedby David M.Engel,SUNYDistinguished Service Professor.

Graduates get ready to march.



dreams. Promise me that you will not ever letyour music die.”

Almonte also noted the depth of friend-ships that developed among his classmates. Inhis second year, he said, he was very ill and al-most dropped out of school; his fellow stu-dents bombarded him with calls, letters andflowers, and even took up a collection to helppay his medical bills.“My classmates are myfamily,”he said,“and they taught me some ofthe most important lessons of law school.”

He concluded by quoting John F.Kennedy:“ ‘Your time is limited. Do not wasteit living someone else’s life.’Do not let thenoise of other people’s opinions drown outyour own inner voice.And do not forget thepower of law to change the world. I have seenwhat you can do as law students. Now goshow the world what you can do as lawyers.”

Delivering the afternoon’s keynote addresswas Hon. Eugene F. Pigott Jr. ’73, associate jus-tice of New York State’s highest judicial body,the Court of Appeals.

Pigott began with a story from early in hisprivate practice, when a client came to himwith a compelling hard-luck story.As a col-lege student, the young man had rented a carto drive to Daytona Beach, Fla., for springbreak. Because he was under 25, the rentalfirm required him to promise that he wouldnot take the car out of state. Knowing hisplans otherwise, he signed anyway, drove thecar south with some friends – and brokedown in Georgia. They left the car there andhitchhiked to Florida, where the FBI prompt-ly arrested him for motor vehicle theft and in-terstate flight to avoid prosecution. He servedseven years in prison.

After his return to Buffalo, this man fin-ished at the top of his class at a local college,graduating summa cum laude, and was seek-ing to become a registered nurse – but was de-nied a license to practice nursing because of

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

Continued from page 57


Dean Nils Olsen congratulates Shannon E.Filbert '07.UB Provost Satish K.Tripathi

Susan V. Mangold, profess orand Dennis R. McCoy ’77

Under Olsen’sleadership,

“UB Law School has become nationally recognized for its curriculum and the quality of its graduates,and as a bastion ofacademic scholarship.”

— UB Provost Satish K.Tripathi

‘‘

’’



his felony conviction.With Pigott’s help, hewas able to obtain a presidential pardon andwent on to become very successful in his pro-fession.

The point, the judge said, was that properrepresentation at the point of this man’s ar-rest could have brought some proportionali-ty to his punishment and not deprived soci-ety of his skills and talents for so long. That,he said, is the power of law to exercise truejustice.

Pigott spoke to the quality of the graduat-ing class, which, he said, represented morethan 100 undergraduate institutions and col-lectively held more than 50 advanced degrees.

And he left the graduates with what hecalled a “borrowed thought”:“We will notchange what is wrong with our culturethrough laws.We will change it by small actsof courage and kindness.Aspire to decency,ethics and morality, and if periodically youfail, adjust your lives and not your standards.There is no mystery here.You know what todo, so now go and do it.”

Members of the Commencement Com-mittee were Jamie L. Codjovi, Harven V.DeShield, Richard J. Friedman, LeahMervine, Matthew J. Makowski, Jacia T.Smith, Michael P. Sullivan and Marguerite F.Walker.


W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

Hon.Eugene F.Pigott Jr.’73,

associate justice ofNew York State’s Court ofAppeals ,witha “borrowed thought”:

“We will not changewhat is wrong with ourculture through laws.We will change it bysmall acts ofcourageand kindness.”

’’

‘‘Hadijat Balogun ’07, her sonCaiden Collins, and JasonJoaquin Almonte ’07

Nikki L. Baldwin ’07

Left to right: Class of 2007 graduates Joseph A.Scalzo,Kyle C. DiDone,Lauren A.Williamson and Brian P.McGuire

“The hallmark ofour program is thatwe are able to admit a talented group of

people with interesting backgrounds.What is always uniqueabout our class is thatwhen you dig through

the statistics,you find individuals withunique life experiences.”

— Lillie Wiley-Upshaw,vice dean for admissions and financial aid

Law School Report


Mary Schlarb traveled to UBLaw from Ithaca,where shewas working with interna-tional students and faculty atCornell University,advising

them on immigration and visa issues andhelping them to get acculturated to Americanlife.Dealing with 3,000 students from 120countries,she often worked with them on is-sues involving immigration and tax require-ments.Often she had to refer her students toimmigration attorneys,and after a while,shesaid,“I became interested in what these attor-neys were doing.”

Next stop: law school.A friend,MaryIdzior ’84,director of the Office ofVisa Servicesat Princeton University,recommended UBLaw.“She talked about it as being humane –not always a word that you associate with lawschool,”Schlarb says.“I have never been a per-son who thrived in a cutthroat environment.Iwas looking for a place that is more supportive,that inspires you to push yourself.

“I also was attracted to UB for the extern-

ship and clinical programs,particularly in im-migration.There are a lot of schools where youcan get work with immigrant advocacy orga-nizations,but it will be interesting to see fromthe government side how they address this.Ithought I could get some practical experiencethat way.”

A Stanford University graduate,Schlarbspent three years in Indonesia working onsmall-scale economic development projectsand teaching English,and then earned a degreein international agriculture and worked inCornell’s Program on Environmental ConflictManagement.Through it all,she says,“lawyershad the information and the knowledge.Lawyers were the ones who knew how the sys-tem worked.I wanted to know how the systemworked,too,so I could help people.”

Her husband,Michael Richardson,is an as-sociate professor of modern languages and lit-eratures at Ithaca College,so they are doing alot of driving these days.

• • •

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

The Class of 2010Hearing some of the 246 unique stories

Statistics tell a lot about UB LawSchool’s new first-year class,butbehind the numbers lie 246 indi-vidual stories of students whobring a wealth of diversity,talentand experience to O’Brian Hall.

That’s the number enrolled in the Class of2010,out of a pool of 1,518 applications,re-ports Lillie Wiley-Upshaw,vice dean for ad-missions and financial aid.

More numbers:29 percent of the enter-ing class is age 25 or older;54 percent aremale;and 12 percent arrive at UB holding anadvanced degree.Their median grade-pointaverage of 3.45 and their median LSAT scoreof 156 continue to help grow the LawSchool’s reputation as academically selective.

Beyond the statistics,Wiley-Upshaw says,lie a host of“intangible qualities that admis-sions committees are looking for,”such asdedication and persistence.“It takes morethan being academically gifted to succeed inlife and in law school,”she says.“We have re-alized over time that applicants’ability to re-veal those intangibles about themselves is agreat predictor of success in law school andbeyond.

“The hallmark of our program is that weare able to admit a talented group of peoplewith interesting backgrounds,”Wiley-Up-shaw says.“What is always unique about ourclass is that when you dig through the statis-tics,you find individuals with unique life ex-periences.”

Jeremy Richards’ initial interest in law school was piqued whenhe spent two years doing missionary work in Brazil after highschool. Graduating from Utah Valley State College, he marriedat age 22 and deferred his dream of legal education while pur-suing a sales career to support his growing family.“The

thought of giving up a career I was successful at, moving my familyacross the country and starting over, was daunting,”he says.

Then personal tragedy intervened: Richards and his wife, Rachel,lost an infant son, their fourth child. For Richards, it was a turningpoint.“That reopened my eyes to how we need to take advantage ofthe opportunities we have in life,”he says.“I did not want to lookback on my life and say,‘I really wanted to go to law school and be-come an attorney, but I did not do it.’ I wanted to set an example formy children and pursue that dream.”

Now he and his family are settled in Amherst, and Richards isthinking about labor and employment law, or maybe internationallaw, as areas of practice. UB Law, he says, is opening his eyes in a lot ofways.“The college I attended in Utah was not diverse, and it had anarrow-minded curriculum,”he says.“It frustrated me, to say theleast. I knew that coming East and getting a more open-minded edu-cation would help me acquire different views on life, the law and theworld. That is one of the main reasons I came here.

“I love law school. It is everything I expected – and then some.”

• • •JJenny Rizzo has seen some of the world,and a lotof the United States,having worked as on-air tal-ent in television news for six years.A Western NewYork native and a graduate of Ithaca College,shefound she gravitated to crime and courts stories

and the chance to interact with victims,judges andlawyers.In 2006 she lived in Germany on a Bosch Foun-dation fellowship for journalists,reporting for the Ger-

man public radio service Deutsche Welle.She hadto learn German to do the job.

“That was an amazing opportunity,”Rizzosays,“but I realized I had wanted to be a journalistsince I was 12 years old.I was doing exactly what Iwanted to do,and I thought,this is really cool –but it is not what I want to do with the next 20years of my life.I tried to think about what I wasinterested in.I wanted to be more grounded.Asfun as it is to travel around the world,I had beendoing that for six years.”

So she flew to Munich to take the LSAT,inter-viewed at UB Law,and joined the Class of 2010.One of her first lessons was about the exactitudeof legal writing.“In journalism,you learn Associ-ated Press style,”she says.“TV and radio writingare very specific.But legal style is even more strictand exacting.I had some difficulty adjusting tothat.”

She also has been freelancing for Buffalo’sABC-TV affiliate,WKBW-TV,occasionally.That’s

important,she says,because she wants to keep open theoption of returning to television after law school.“Youcannot leave TV for three years,”Rizzo says.“You wouldhave to start over.I need to somehow fit this into my life.I think I can marry my two interests and be very happy.”

And she keeps those German language skills sharp –going online to watch German news and soap operas.

• • •

“We need to take advantage of the opportunities we have in life.”

“I wanted to know how

the system worked so I

could help people.”

“In journalism,you learn

AssociatedPress style… But legal styleis even more

strict and exacting.”

ADMISSIONS

Law School Report


Ed Bartz is an athlete who cameto it later in life. Bartz took uprunning in a serious way severalyears ago as he approached age50. He was talked into running

the Corporate Challenge race, he says, and“got instantly hooked.”Now he has run fivemarathons, including New York City andBoston.

“I never envisioned myself as amarathon runner,”he says.“But it hashelped me to realize that if you really putyour mind to something, you can prettymuch accomplish anything you want todo.”

Now, with the demands of law school,he is sticking to half-marathons and 10-mile races. But he still runs four days aweek, including a long run on weekends.

A graduate of St. Lawrence University,Bartz had a successful career in investmentbanking. He worked in the trust depart-ment of M&T Bank for seven years, earn-ing an MBA from UB at the same time;spent a like period at Key Bank, where heheaded the trust department in the Buffalooffice; and from 1990 to 2007 worked foran old-line private investment advisorycompany in Buffalo, Harold C. Brown &Co., becoming a part-owner of the firm.

But the idea of legal training nagged athim all those years. He had been acceptedat the University of Miami Law Schoolright out of college, but “it just seemed likethe time was not quite right.”

But “I kept on thinking about the lawin the back of my mind,”he says.“And atsome point I decided, if I am ever going todo it, now is the time.”

He applied again and was accepted atMiami, and at Penn State. But “the more Ilooked at UB in terms of the quality of theeducation, being able to stay here and keepmy friends, and the cost, it just made toomuch sense to stay here as opposed to going else-where.”

Now, as the senior member of his section, he hasfound “a great group of people.”

“It is an awful lot of work,”he says.“I was pre-pared for it, because you hear these horror storiesfrom your attorney friends over the years, and it re-ally is that much work. It just never ends. From the

time you wake up in the morning until you go tobed at night, if you are not doing it, you are thinkingabout it. I am even dreaming about it.

“But I am really enjoying it. I thought it would bea bit drier than it has turned out to be. The coursesare incredibly interesting.”

• • •

DDina McCumber spent her under-graduate career at Princeton Uni-versity, and made her mark on theice as well as in the classroom.As amember of the Princeton Tigers

women’s ice hockey team, she put to good usethe skating and stick-handling skills she learnedgrowing up playing with the boys on the Wheat-field Blades team. In her junior year at Princeton,her team went to the Final Eight for the first timeand also won the Ivy League championship.

In her senior year, she played in all 33 games,led all Tigers defensemen with 24 points (threegoals and 21 assists), and was ranked secondamong league defensemen in scoring. She alsowas selected to an all-star team that played theU.S. Olympic team in an exhibition game.

NCAA women’s hockey is a no-check game,but McCumber had a difficult time with that.“Igrew up with hitting and physical contact,”shesays.“It was hard to make the switch to girlshockey.”She notes with perverse pride that sheholds an NCAA record for most penalty min-utes, in a game against Minnesota.

Having interned with the U.S. attorney’s of-fice in the summer after her junior year, and witha private defense attorneys firm this past sum-mer, she knew that law school was her next stepand that UB was the right place.“After beingaway at Princeton for four years,”she says,“Iwanted to come home to my family.And I lovethe people here. It is a different mentality thanPrinceton. The Ivy Leagues are pretty intense.The students and the professors here are a littlebit more laid-back. They are very willing to helpyou. It is not as cutthroat here. Everyone is will-ing to share and help each other out. I really likethat.”

And she still straps on the skates, coaching agirls 16-and-under team, playing in men’s “barleagues”with some of her old hockey buddies,and learning to referee games.

• • •

“I never envisioned myself as a marathon runner.” “I grew up with hitting and physical contact.It was hard to make the switch to girls hockey.”

ADMISSIONS

The Class of 2010The Class of 2010

and being a person,and being a part ofsomething much larger than you.”

McCoy,a former case and comment edi-tor of the Law Review and 2006-07 presidentof the UB Law Alumni Association,said,“Asan alumnus,it makes me proud to see folkslike you who are continuing and enhancinga tradition I was a part of.You certainly havemade our Law School a much better place,and one with a better reputation,because ofyour presence there.”

Noting that Dean Nils Olsen has an-nounced his intention to step down at theend of the calendar year, McCoy said thatthis time of transition at the Law Schoolbrings with it opportunities to strengthenthe school’s ties with its graduates.“Wewant to bring the Law School closer to thealumni,”he said.“Your role does not end at

graduation.“All of you in the Law Review have been

leaders,”McCoy said.“The Law Review is thepremier publication of the Law School.Ourchallenge is not only to take the Law Reviewin a good direction,but the Law School aswell.”

Three student awards were presented toLaw Review staff members.The Carlos C.Alden Award,presented to the senior mak-ing the greatest contribution to the publica-tion,went to Jeffrey A.Davis.The JusticePhilip Halpern Award,which goes to a se-nior for excellence in writing on the Law Re-view,was given to Michelle A.Daubert.Andfour Associate Publication Awards,for excel-lence in writing,went to Andrea B.Ott,Jef-frey P.Gleason,John T.Lynch and Regina L.Readling.

New this year,the staff members present-ed the Bennett Casenote Award,to a BennettHigh School student demonstrating excel-lence in writing.The recipient was JustinSzewczyk.

The incoming editor in chief of the Buf-falo Law Review is Amy C.Frisch ’08.

THE ART OF THE ESSAY

Annual Buffalo Law Review issuedraws national attention

The Buffalo Law Review is dis-tinguishing itself among itspeers – and taking a chance –by publishing an annual is-sue almost unique among

American law journals: the essay issue.The December 2007 issue will be the

fourth devoted solely to essays.Whereasmany law reviews feature an essay ortwo among the copiously footnoted ar-ticles and legal notes that are their breadand butter, Buffalo Law Review has pio-neered the all-essay issue.

Essays, says Sachin Kohli ’06, editor-in-chief of the journal in 2005-06, tendto be shorter than articles, so the issuecan incorporate more voices.And instyle, he says, they distinguish them-selves:“The arguments are not really asbuilt up and solidified.You want peopleto be creative and explore.We were defi-nitely going for a more colloquial style,more informal.”

Kohli, who now does merger andcorporate acquisitions work at Weil,Gotschal & Manges, in New York City,says the editors called upon UB Lawprofessors – including David West-brook, who has advised the journal onits essay issue and wrote the introduc-tion to the first one – to identify authorswho might be invited to contribute tothe issue.“They helped us identify whowould give us an essay and not just alaw review article dressed up as an es-say,”Kohli said.

Anshu S.K. Pasricha, editor in chiefin 2006-07, says the essay issue – one offive issues published in a typical LawReview year – helps to distinguish theBuffalo Law Review in the crowded lawreview field.

“The Michigan Law Review has anannual issue devoted to book reviews,and it is really prestigious to have abook reviewed in that issue,”Pasrichasaid.“There is a spotlight cast on thatbook.We are doing the same sort ofthing.What we are looking for arenascent ideas for people to throw out tothe legal community, and they basicallytear it to pieces. The author is reallyputting forth his ideas rather than justan analysis of a problem.”

The writers of these essays are takinga risk, he said, because the legal acade-mic community still sees articles, notessays, as the test of a legal mind.“In le-gal scholarship, especially when you area young professor, you cannot putthings on paper without worrying

about the impact on your reputation,”Pasricha said.“But people should not beafraid of thinking on paper. Theyshould not worry that their reputationswill be sullied.

“An annual essay issue is exciting tosomeone who is not necessarily inter-ested in the name of the journal, butwants an audience to read the ideas.”

The Buffalo Law Review has im-proved its rankings in recent years, saidPasricha, who now practices corporatelaw at Sullivan & Cromwell, in NewYork City. In the most recent rankingsby Washington and Lee University LawSchool, Buffalo’s law review was the44th most cited based on impact andtotal citations, and the 37th most citedbased on impact.

But the essay issue, he said,“actuallyhurts our rankings. The rankings arebased on how many times people citeus, and how many footnotes are in ourissue.”Essays, because they use fewerfootnotes, do not fit into that formula.

Nevertheless, he said,“Rankings bythemselves do not mean anything. Themore important point is how we do interms of our reputation among schools,and how law professors think about theBuffalo Law Review.”

Amy C. Frisch ’08, the Law Review’scurrent editor in chief, says,“Differentlaw reviews have different perspectiveson what an essay is. The point of an es-say is to intrigue the reader, to have anopen discussion about a certain topic.

“In an article, you set up a legaldilemma, discuss what has been done inthe past, then propose a solution. TheBuffalo Law Review has gone back to thetraditional roots of what an essay is –not just ‘an article with fewer footnotes.’We try to encourage our essay authorsto get back to the traditional essay,which is intended to take a risk about alegal topic that they may not have ex-plored before, to try to give it new light.”

The editors still ask UB Law profes-sors to recommend potential authors.They also, Frisch said, do “a little bit ofresearch on the authors to see what theyhave written in the past and see whattheir style is.We allow them to write ona topic of their choice, and we never re-ally know what we are going to get.”

Law School ReportBUFFALO LAW REVIEW

In keeping with UB President John Simp-son’s initiative to make the University agreater force for good in the Western NewYork community, Law Review staffersformed a partnership with the law magnetprogram at Buffalo’s Bennett High School,conducting workshops for the students,teaching them about legal research and writ-ing,and giving them a taste of what theymight expect in law school.

As it has in the past,the Law Review staffhonored UB Law alumni who honed theircraft while working on the legal journal.Thisyear’s honorees were Barbara D.Klippert ’75,a partner in the New York City law firm Mc-Kee Nelson,and Dennis R.McCoy ’77,apartner in the firm Hiscock & Barclay,inBuffalo.

Klippert,reflecting on her life at UB,re-membered coming to the North Campus in

its earliest stages,when the Law School wasthe first department to move into its build-ing.“Nothing was there but mud,”she said,“and the wind was horrible.We had justmoved to Amherst from downtown.TheLaw Review office was the only place wecould sit down outside the classroom.”

A former case and comment editor of theLaw Review and currently a member of theDean’s Advisory Council,Klippert hasworked with UB Law students to help themfind that crucial first job in the field.“It hasbeen very important to me to do my best tohelp students at UB Law School to get jobs,”she said.“It has been an incredible honor forme,and a pleasure,to interact with the stu-dents.You are incredible,each and every oneof you.”

Further,she said,UB Law training servesits graduates well because “we appreciatethings,and know what it is to work hard,”Klippert said.“You will ask questions,youwill think about what you are doing,you willput in that extra effort,and not just go in towork and put in your hours and ignoreeverything around you.You value thinking,

Law Review Dinner marks communityinitiatives and scholarly work

A year of accomplishment and outreach for the staff of the Buffalo Law Reviewwascelebrated at the journal’s 18th annual year-end dinner.Managing editor Leah R.Mervine emceed the event,held in the elegant Buffalo Club on April 17.Anshu S.K.Pasricha,editor in chief,noted that five issues of the Law Review were

published in 2006-07.The Class of ’07,he noted,was the first to publish 10 issues of the jour-nal over two years.Pasricha also said that the Buffalo Law Review has improved its rankingsamong the nation’s law reviews,and that upcoming issues will include a tribute to the late UBLaw Professor Lou Del Cotto and the text of the 2008 Mitchell Lecture,a scholarly examina-tion of the writ of habeas corpus,by U.S.District Court Judge James Robertson.

Looking up,reaching outBarbara D.Klippert ’75 was an honoree.


Editor Anshu S.K. Pasricha ’07 presents an award toMichelle A. Daubert ’07.

Cheryl D.Block ’79,Professor of Law at George WashingtonUniversity Law School:

“In addition to opening my eyes tothe big picture, Professor Del Cot-to also provided a role model for

my approach to teaching and to my stu-dents. Professor Del Cotto used whatmight be referred to as a ‘modified’So-cratic method very effectively.As I tell mystudents today, student mistakes in work-ing through problems and cases can oftenbe more pedagogically useful than correctanswers. If one student misunderstandssomething, chances are that others do aswell. Often the incorrect answer reflectsan alternative way that Congress mighthave written the statute. Such ‘mistakes’can serve as a useful opportunity to dis-cuss the larger policy issues at stake.

“Professor Del Cotto was challengingbut not intimidating in the classroom – atleast he never meant to be intimidating. Imust admit to being terrified when hecalled on me in Corporate Tax. This wasentirely due to the overwhelming com-plexity of the subject matter, however.Professor Del Cotto was always gentle andpatient with students who were as con-fused by the material as I was.”

UB Law Professor Kenneth F.Joyce,SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professorof Law:

“Ithank my esteemed colleaguepublicly for the intellectual ridewe had together, both in class and

on paper. It began with that first summerbefore I started teaching tax, when hespent countless hours giving unselfishly ofthe insights he had gained over manyyears of thinking and teaching. It contin-ued until the end, and although my debtto him may be non-recourse, it is – as hetaught us that Crane taught – every bit asreal as is the debt my wife Rita and I oweLou’s wife Bea for, inter multa alia, themeatball recipe, and as are the debts mychildren Mary and Michael owe ‘AuntBea’and ‘Uncle Lou’ for being their proxygodparents and for being a loving part oftheir Buffalo family.”

“His time in law practice pre-pared him well for the switchto a career where he achieved

nonpareil status as an academician. Hewrote a number of articles that weremeticulous and thoughtful contributionsto tax law learning. But his real place andmost lasting achievements were as an in-spirational teacher. In the classroom hiscare and helpfulness to young studentswere matched with his clarity and effec-tiveness in conveying understanding.As apracticing lawyer in Buffalo during thetime he was teaching, I relied upon hisimprimatur in recruiting the best, andbest prepared, law students for my lawfirm.Almost all of them became my part-ners and stack up with the best practition-ers of tax law in the country.All arrivedwith unlimited awe and admiration forthe learning they had acquired from LouDel Cotto.”

Donald C.Lubick,former partner at Hodgson Russ LLP and former U.S.Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy:

‘‘’’

[Del Cotto] wrote a number ofarticles that were meticulous andthoughtful contributions to tax law learning.But his real place andmost lasting achievements were as an inspirational teacher.In theclassroom his care and helpfulness to young students were matchedwith his clarity and effectiveness in conveying understanding.

– Donald C.Lubick

Law School Report


Dianne Bennett ’75,retired Managing Partner ofHodgson Russ LLP:

“There had to be more to Lou’steaching than his passion. Hehad to convince us of his regard

for, and the worthiness of, the subject. Iknow that tax sometimes is considered ona lower rung of the law school curricu-lum. Some would say it is technical, it isblack letter law, it is not conceptual, it isnot socially relevant. Perhaps Lou’s great-est lesson to us was putting the lie to thistrivialization of tax law. Lou taught us toregard tax law as a high form of the socialcompact in at least three ways: he taughtus to look for what is right, to understandthe basic concepts in ways few can imag-ine, and to appreciate beautiful writing.

“If you parse the basic principles, thenyou can ascertain what the answer shouldbe. People may disagree over whether tax-ation should be progressive or not, howprogressive it should be, or whether itshould give incentives or not. But, one cananalyze a particular statute in terms ofwhether it serves a particular purposewell, properly, and efficiently. Lou taughtus to look first at that correctness, andthen to look for the Code answer (whichmore times than not is not the ‘right’an-swer, as we all know). In looking for theright answer, one also can understand thepolitical influences in the tax law, in waysthat are much more illuminating thansimply being told those influences.”

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Vol. 55, No. 1, of theBuffalo Law Reviewfeatured a specialtribute to the lateUB Law Professor

Louis A.Del Cotto.The journalfeatured tributes from col-leagues and former students ofthe much-loved tax specialist,who died in 2005, and it evokedmemories ranging from themost arcane points of tax law toDel Cotto’s love for jazz, sailingand classical guitar.

Here are some excerpts from atribute to a teacher who left a lastingmark on UB Law School and the pro-fession.

A teacher’s tributeLaw Review special issue remembers Lou Del Cotto, 1923-2005

BUFFALO LAW REVIEW


A panel of real-world judges – U.S.Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder’61, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Feld-man, Hon. Eugene M. Fahey ’84, NY Ap-pellate Division 4th Department and U.S.Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson –judged the finals, in which second-year UBLaw students Mark Welchons ’09 and An-thony Rogers-Reeves ’09 emerged victori-ous. Matthew Kibler ’09 and Sydney Probst’09 took first place in the Best Brief catego-ry, and Taiymoor Naqi ’09 was named BestOral Advocate.

“It was reassuring to me to know thatpeople who are professionals,who have ex-celled in this field, thought we did a goodjob,and it made me feel affirmed in career

choices and decisions that I am making,”Rogers-Reeves said.“It made me realize thatI really do enjoy the heck out of that kind ofarguing.”

The case,he said,was actually argued infront of the U.S.Supreme Court during theweek of the Desmond competition.The ap-pellant had been convicted of child pornpandering,but the Court of Appeals over-turned his conviction because it found thelaw overbroad and thus unconstitutional.

“The part of the law in question in thiscase said essentially that anybody who evenrepresented that they had child pornogra-phy to sell or trade over the Internet wouldbe guilty of pandering,”Rogers-Reeves said.“It becomes a matter of perhaps punishing

someone for just talking big or trying to ripsomeone off.Somebody who is just brag-ging about something they have, that is nota crime under our system.”

The competition,he said,was an invest-ment in time and effort:“I was not preparedfor how much extra work it was going to be.It required me to give up some weekendsand some evenings that I had not thought Iwas going to have to give up.”

For his partner, the Desmond competi-tion identified a growing edge.“I was notplanning on going into litigation as a ca-reer,”said Welchons.“Now I am seriouslyconsidering it.

“To be completely honest, I was terrifiedthroughout the whole process.But it in-creased my confidence in speaking beforepeople and in making oral arguments.Es-pecially before the real judges in the finals –every question that I had hoped they wouldnot ask me,they did.But overall it was agreat experience.”

The fourth annual Buffalo-NiagaraMock Trial Tournament,coordinated byErie County Court Judge Thomas P.Franczyk,was held in city courtrooms andat UB Law School from Nov.9 to 12.

Thirty-six law schools were represented,sending a total of 140 students to argue a fic-tional murder mystery about a wealthy ty-coon who was poisoned with cyanide.Atwo-person team from Syracuse UniversityLaw School won the competition’s finalround,held in the Francis M.Letro Court-room in O’Brian Hall.Other schools partic-ipating included St. John’s,Temple andMichigan State.

Although two UB Law teams did notadvance to a regional competition,two stu-dents, Joshua Hurwit ’08 and BenjaminCarlisle ’08,won the Best Direct Examina-tion and Best Cross-Examination awards.

An awards dinner was held at PettibonesGrill at Dunn Tire Park.

In the National Trial Team Competition,UB Law’s team of Kristin Paulding ’09,MattSchnirel ’08 and Lisa Ball ’08 placed fifth outof 20 teams in the regional contest.Pauldingwas named Best Overall Advocate,and

Schnirel was fifth overall among the 60 stu-dents competing.

UB Law sent two teams to the AmericanBar Association Regional Representation inMediation Competition,held at HofstraUniversity on Long Island.Students CrystalRodriguez ’08,Danielle Barrett ’08,DwightKanyuck ’08 and Jennifer Jones ’08 madethe trip for the two-day competition,ac-companied by coach Steve Sugarman ’85,aUB Law faculty member.Kanyuck andJones placed first in the semifinal round.

UB Law’s four-person team of MindiByrd ’09, Dan Christiansen ’08, Greg Stein’08 and Jackie Bain ’08 reached the semifi-nal round of the Jessup International MootCourt Regional Competition in Boston.The team went 3-1 in the preliminaryrounds, advancing to the semifinals againstBoston College.

The UB team’s only loss in the prelimi-nary rounds was against Harvard; howev-er, the brief written by Greg Stein and Jack-ie Bain outscored Harvard.

The team was coached by JenniferMucha ’07 and James O’Keefe ’07.

In the Herbert Wechsler NationalCriminal Law Moot Court Competition,run by UB Law School’s Criminal LawCenter and held in Amherst, 24 two-per-son teams competed, with the winnerscoming from Chicago-Kent Law School.Competing for UB were Shannon Elwell’08, Christina Cassillo ’08, Laureen Charles’08 and Kevin Habberfield ’08.

Named after the drafter of the ModelPenal Code, the Wechsler Competition isthe only national moot court competitionin the United States to focus on topics insubstantive criminal law.

In the spring 2007 semester, UB Law’steam of first-year students in theFasken Martineau contest competedin Toronto against schools from NewYork and Ontario. UB, Cornell, Syra-

cuse, Osgood, Queens and the Universityof Toronto were all represented. This invi-tation-only tournament, open to first-yearlaw students, focuses on International Lawissues. These UB Law students competed:Darice Dinsmore ’09, Josh Dilk ’09, Mike

Hecker ’09, Gabby Petersen ’09, NoelMendez ’09, Jodi-Kay Williams ’09, PatrickFitzsimmons ’09, Carolyn Miller ’09, KevinEspinosa ’09 and Mark A. Foti ’09.

Also in spring 2007, UB Law’s NiagaraCup team competed in Cleveland. Thatteam comprised Jason Joaquin Almonte’07, Nicole Parshal ’07, and current third-year students Theo Nickerson and AdamO’Brien.

In the Albert R. Mugel National TaxMoot Court Competition, held at UB LawSchool, two teams represented UB Law:Rachel Hezel ’07 and Ray Walters ’07, andJoshua Lawrence ’07 with current third-year student Daniel Kuhn ’08. The prob-lem, written by Professor Kenneth F. Joyce,involved an appeal from a decision of theTax Court regarding taxation of a compen-satory damages award to a patron at acomedy club who was subjected to a tiradeby a washed-up comic. Overall winners ofthe competition were Carrie Masters andRobert Cassity from the Salmon P. ChaseCollege of Law at Northern Kentucky Uni-versity.

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

Law School Report

Trial runMoot court competitions get future litigators on their feet

Left to right: Hon. Jonathan W.Feldman,Magistrate Judge US District Court for the WesternDistrict of NY (Rochester),Hon. Eugene M.Fahey ’84,NY Appellate Division 4th Department(Rochester), and the Hon. Marian W.Payson,Magistrate Judge US District Court for the Western District of NY (Rochester).

One of the Law School’s best tools for teaching litigation skills is its extensivemoot court program. From competitions in Buffalo to contests nationallyand even internationally, UB Law students are putting heart and soul intobriefs and oral advocacy that are the next-best thing to actual litigation.

The highlight of the year is the Desmond Moot Court Competition, held Oct. 29 to 31 atthe Law School. Twenty-seven teams of second- and third-year UB Law students compet-ed in arguing both sides of a federal appellate case, U.S. v. Michael Williams. The case con-cerns the constitutionality of the Protect Act of 2003, which prohibits the pandering ofchild pornography.

Left to right: Mark Welchons ’09 at podium, and Anthony Rogers-Reeves ’09, seated. Foreground, Emina Poricanin ’09 and Taiymoor Naqi ’09.

Law School Report


In UB Law’s growing externship pro-gram,the work is genuine; the pay isin academic credit,not dollars;andthe experience is priceless.Twenty-five to 30 students each se-

mester take advantage of the opportunity towork in externship placements,said LiseGelernter,a member of the teaching facultyand director of the program.Students cantake only one externship in their Law Schoolcareers.Placements involve eight hours ofwork each week on site and regular reportsto a faculty supervisor.

Gelernter,who has run the programsince the summer of 2006,said new semes-ter-long opportunities continue to be addedto a list of options that includes dozens ofpossible judicial clerkships, legislative extern-ships,and other non-profit and governmentwork.Most are in Western New York,but theoption to arrange summer externshipsmeans students have worked in Rochester,Philadelphia,New York City,even Chicagoand Seattle.

“We network at every opportunity,”Gel-ernter said.“It may be that a judge hearsfrom one of his colleagues how well an ex-ternship has worked out in his office,andcalls us.Sometimes alumni hear about theprogram and call us.Or a non-profit callsthe Career Services Office and says,we donot have a paying job but we can host a stu-dent for credit.This is part of the University’sand the Law School’s civic engagement mis-sion as well.”

Second- and third-year students are eligi-ble,though judicial clerkships are offeredonly to third-years,she said.Not everyonewho applies to the program is accepted; stu-dents have to maintain a B average,and thereis a screening process that includes a reviewof the student’s transcript and resume.

In addition to Gelernter,faculty who su-pervise externships include Barry Boyer,Makau Mutua,Dianne Avery and JimMilles.The administrator for the program isDonna McClellan,assistant to the dean forspecial programs.

Outside chances The school also offers a field placementin Social Security disability law,in which stu-dents work in federal District Court to re-view administrative decisions by the SocialSecurity Administration regarding disabilitybenefits.Unique in the externship program,this placement requires that students be en-rolled in the bridge-term course Social Secu-rity Disability Law and Practice.The worktakes place during the bridge term:24 hoursa week in chambers for four weeks.

Spring 2008 offerings include place-ments with the City of Buffalo andthe Town of Wheatfield,the U.S.Attorney’s Office,U.S.Customs &Border Protection,the UB Law Li-

brary,the International Institute,and more.“They work hard,but it is a very different

kind of work from academic work,”saidGelernter,who welcomes contacts ([email protected]) from alumni who knowof placement opportunities in non-profit orgovernment situations.

Conversations with a handful of studentswho have benefited from externship place-ments reveal enthusiasm for the experience.

“It was definitely worth it,”said Alex Col-icchio,who with two other UB Law studentsworked in the bridge-term Social Securityplacement in January of his second year.“If Icould take all externships,I would.You learna lot more being around lawyers than sittingin a classroom and being a passive observer.”

Colicchio explained that the work in-volves examining appeals by individualswho have been denied Social Security dis-ability benefits by an administrative lawjudge,and have appealed the denial in feder-al court.Students helped plow through ahuge caseload by reading the appeal peti-tions,drafting possible decisions,and dis-cussing those drafts with Judge MichaelTelesca and the judge’s law clerk.

“He trusted us a lot,”Colicchio said of thejudge.“By the time we got to the Social Secu-rity program,we knew what we were doing.

“The administrative law judges’caseloadis enormous.For them to go through all thecases and examine them in depth – some-times they can just miss something.You re-ally have to keep a very critical eye.”

In the fall semester of 2007,third-yearstudent Brad Lachut indulged his passionfor politics through an externship with theErie County Legislature.

Working directly with the legislature’schief of staff,Sean Ryan,Lachut said thework is varied:everything from doing re-

search to sitting in on committee meetingsand legislative sessions.He has worked on is-sues related to the county budget,he said,such as preparing questions to be asked atthe budget committee,and checked pro-posed revisions to local laws before theywent before the lawmakers for approval.

“Mr.Ryan has been great,”he said.“Hegives me a lot of guidance,but also lets medo my own thing.The time involved is morehours than in the classroom,but there is notreally any outside reading or outside exams,so it probably works out to be about thesame amount of work.”

A bonus,Lachut said,is that he has madea lot of contacts for the future.“You do makeconnections,”he said,“so it is good experi-ence,and you are meeting a lot of people inyour field.

“I am disappointed I can only do one ex-ternship.”

For third-year student Shannon Elwell,who spent the fall semester of 2007 workingin the U.S.Attorney’s office in Buffalo,herexternship was a point of entry into theworld of federal prosecution that she hopesto join after graduation.In the company of ahalf-dozen other UB Law students,she hasseen firsthand the work involved – and doneher share of it.

“I got to argue in federal court before I

even graduated from Law School,”she said.“The externship is really a great way to getyour feet wet,because they literally say,‘Hereare the files’and throw you in there.”

The experience,she said,has included at-tending proffer agreements,where the gov-ernment offers a plea deal to a defendant inexchange for information in another case.(“It is like stuff you would see in the movies,”Elwell said.) And there are research projectsin which the students look at case law andwrite a memo proposing a course of actionin a given case.

“What is cool,”she said,“is they havework for us to do,but also when there is notwork to do,they say,come along with us onwhatever.They primarily like for us to learnby doing.They will take us with them wher-ever they go and whatever they do.”

Elwell has applied to the Department ofJustice’s honors program – the only way towork in federal prosecution right out of lawschool.She’s also interviewing at district at-torneys’offices for prosecutorial positions.

Even in those applications,she said,theexternship experience helps,because she haspassed a background security check.“Goinginto the interview,”she said,“that is a hugeplus.”

Expanded externship program provides practical experience

“They work hard,but it is a very different kind ofwork from academic work.”

– Lise Gelernter,adjunct associate professor and director of the externship program

Extern Shannon Elwell ’08 at the Federal Courthouse with, left to right, George C.Burgasser,assistant U.S. attorney, and Michael DiGiacomo, assistant U.S. attorney.

Lise Gelernter counsels a student.

77

of passion or committed when another crime, such as a robbery,goes wrong.And fairness, he said, is a problem:“If you are poor, aperson of color or mentally handicapped, the chances of your be-ing wrongly convicted of a capital crime skyrocket. The peoplewho are most often wrongly convicted are those who are least ableto defend themselves.”

As a pastor, he also says it is a myth that executing the killerbrings closure to a victim’s family.“Say it takes 12 years to finallyterminate the life of this person who killed your daughter,”Buss

said.“That means you have got to hold it in for 12 years until youcan finally say, we got you, buddy. That will eat you alive.

“No amount of vengeance is ever going to bring the victimback.What we need to be doing is helping these families with for-giveness. Typically it is found that people who do carry this untilthe time when their person is actually executed turn out to besour, miserable, mentally unstable people. They have literally beendrinking their own waste.”

Instead of the death penalty, Buss argues for the option of lifeimprisonment without parole.“I am not only here for those whowere wrongly convicted, I am here for those who were rightly con-victed,”he said.“By giving them a sentence of life in prison, yougive them the rest of their lives to make something of themselves,albeit behind prison bars where we will always be safe from them.

“If you kill this person who did this horrible thing, then thatperson’s family, too, is victimized.We need to provide for life im-prisonment for those who have been involved in a crime, no mat-ter how hideous. That way there are no innocent killed. That waywe minimize the damage, we minimize the victims, and we givethem the opportunity to create meaning in their own lives.”

The final speaker was Nora Massey, an Amherst residentwhose teenage son Terrell Massey was awaiting sen-tencing the next day on his conviction for killing an el-derly woman as part of her daughter-in-law’s plot tocollect $150,000 in insurance money.

Mrs. Massey told the story of that fateful night in May 2005when her son went straight from school to a party and ended upin the Amherst town jail. Five people including her son werecharged in the killing; only Terrell, she said, was denied access to alawyer. She was never notified of his arrest; she learned of it whilewatching the 11 p.m. news.While she waited in the police station,Terrell was told that if he signed a statement, he could see his par-ents.

She contends that he was given drugs and alcohol at the party,and was dragged into a murder plot against his will.

“My question is, how just is our justice system?”Massey said.“Ispent over $30,000 for an attorney. I did most of the footwork. Icould have kept my $30,000 in my pocket and defended him bet-ter than she did.”

She also saw elements of racism in the process; her son was theonly black defendant, and he was convicted by an all-white jury,“some of them the same age as the victim.”

To the students in attendance, she said,“I want you to be able todistinguish between justice, fairness and injustice. If you are goinginto this field, you need to know that people are human beingsfirst. If you think you cannot defend someone whether they areguilty or innocent, you are in the wrong profession.You shouldstop being a lawyer and be a prosecutor.”

The day after the forum, sentence was handed down for TerrellMassey: 20 years to life in prison.

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

“I thought that innocence was all I needed.One thing I learned from this case is thatinnocence is irrelevant.… Too often,ifyou are not affluent,you do not have a chance.”

— Gary Beeman,who spent three years on death row in Ohio foraggravated murder before he was exonerated and freed

Law School Report


Alively discussion on the American system of justice –its strengths, its limitations and how it might be im-proved – was the result of a provocative O’Brian Hallforum on capital punishment.The April 19 event,“Inside the Walls: Three Perspec-

tives on Life in Prison and the Death Penalty,”was hosted by UBLaw School’s Capital Advocacy Project. Co-sponsors were thePrison Task Force,Witness to Innocence, and New Yorkers Againstthe Death Penalty.

Jim Michalek,president of New Yorkers Against the DeathPenalty, noted that the state currently does not have a death penal-ty, but now has two new members of the Court of Appeals whosepositions on the issue are unclear, raising the possibility that capi-tal punishment could be reinstated. He briefly stated some reasonsfor concern about the death penalty, pointing to the conviction ofinnocent persons; the penalty’s disproportionate imposition onpersons of color; and the enormous cost of administering the cap-ital system. In the years that the death penalty existed in New York,he said, more than $200 million in taxpayer money was allocatedto capital cases.

Forming the center of the presentation were comments bythree individuals who have had direct contact with the prison sys-tem. The first was Gary Beeman,who spent three years on deathrow in Ohio for aggravated murder before he was exonerated andfreed.

Beeman asked those in attendance to remember a time theyhad been wrongly accused of some wrongdoing, perhaps as achild.“Think about the feelings that go along with that,”he said.“Fear, anger, betrayal, resentment, rage. It is a horrible experience.There is nothing I know to compare it to.”

Beeman told the story of his wrongful conviction, which cameafter a fellow inmate testified that Beeman had confessed thecrime to him. His court-appointed attorney, he said, did no inves-tigation and very little trial preparation, and Beeman was swiftlyconvicted of murder.

“I thought that innocence was all I needed,”Beeman said.“Onething I learned from this case is that innocence is irrelevant. It is abattle between two sides, and whichever side has the most powerand the most maneuvering, that is the side that wins. Too often, ifyou are not affluent, you do not have a chance.

“I swore at that time I would never put my life and liberty inthe hands of lawyers. I have recanted that attitude. I know a lot ofgood lawyers. But that is the point at which I started working onmy own case.”

He was sentenced to die in the electric chair. But an Ohio ap-peals court reversed his conviction, partly on the grounds of inad-equate counsel, and in a second trial at which he represented him-self, Beeman was found not guilty.

“My case shines a light on the lack of effective assistance ofcounsel in capital cases,”he said.And of those who are on deathrow:“They live every day on the edge of fear that their name willbe called next.”

The Rev.Tim Buss,a former advocate of the death penalty,spoke next on his change of heart on the matter.“I spent 12 yearsas a youth pastor in the Niagara Falls area,”he said,“and I saw howeasy it was for kids to slip through the cracks, how easy it was forthem to get the short end of the stick in terms of academic and ed-ucational opportunities. I began to hear the facts, and suddenly Ibegan to realize that, wow, we have got a real problem.”

Those who advocate the death penalty as a deterrent to mur-der, Buss said, ignore the fact that most murders are either crimes

Inside the wallsFor opponents of the death penalty, deeply personal perspectives

Left to right: Jim Michalek, Nora Massey, Rev.Tim Buss and Gary Beeman

CAPITAL ADVOCACY PROJECT

“Writing is a much moreintegral part of legal trainingthan business training,”saidKnee, who is senior managingdirector of Evercore Partners,a New York City investmentmanagement and advisoryfirm.“Learning how to tell agood yarn is probably amongthe most important skills thatanybody in either of thoseprofessions can learn.”

But, he said,“the differencebetween writing a thousandwords and writing 100,000words is monumental.A hun-dred thousand words is a big deal, and Inever thought that I had a story that wasworth that many words. But being an in-vestment banker for over a decade, andwatching several generations of people en-ter and leave the business, I was reallystruck by just how little the people whothink they wanted to be investmentbankers knew about what investmentbankers do.

“I decided I could write a history of in-vestment banking that used my story, ofdropping into the business accidentallyright at the beginning of the boom-and-bust period at the two most prestigious in-vestment banks, as a way to tell that part ofa history that would be more accessibleand meaningful to a general audience.”

Knee had worked at the old-line invest-ment banking houses Goldman Sachs andMorgan Stanley. He also teaches mediamergers and acquisitions and strategicmanagement of media at the Columbia

University Business School.The book was published

by Oxford University Press,an academic publisher. But aNew York Times reporter gothold of a review copy, Kneesaid, and wrote a piece for thenewspaper’s Sunday book re-view section. The review, hesaid, compared his book toYou’ll Never Eat Lunch in ThisTown Again, a Hollywood ex-pose, and The Devil WearsPrada, which skewered thefashion industry. For The Ac-cidental Investment Banker,

the rest was history – it shot up to No. 34on the Amazon best-seller list, and sold aphenomenal 35,000 hardcover copies.

The story, Knee said, is of a veryconservative traditional busi-ness undergoing rapid change.At the old-line banking houses,he said,“the culture of client

loyalty and integrity, you could not believeit if you heard it today. The idea was notjust that you were joined at the hip for life,but you had an obligation to the public.There were whole classes of industries theywould not underwrite because they didnot think it was appropriate for the publicto own stock in those industries, such asgambling, and advertising agencies.”

Then a series of culture changes in the1980s and ’90s rocked the investmentbanking community. The merger-and-ac-quisition business entered into investmentbanking, creating partnerships with “pre-

viously unwelcome clients.”Then investment banking houses began

to deal in junk bonds.“Who issues junkbonds? A lot of people you wouldn’t takepublic,”Knee said.Again, the industry’sethic of protecting the public was eroded.

Finally, he said, the “big jump”camewhen investment bankers moved from act-ing as agents, connecting corporationswith capital, toward investing their ownmoney in an attempt to make exponentialreturns. Today, he said, at some firms tradi-tional investment banking represents lessthan 10 percent of the business at somefirms; the rest is investing its own assets.

“During the boom,”Knee said,“com-panies that could not have otherwise got-ten a meeting at Goldman Sachs or Mor-gan Stanley a few years earlier were beingsold to the public. People on the commit-ments committee (which decides what toinvest in) stopped asking,‘Should we un-derwrite this start-up company?’and start-ed asking,‘Can we?’The fundamentalchoice is, do I lower my standards or do Ilower my market share? Nobody failed tolower their standards, and lower them dra-matically.”

The same danger threatens the legalprofession, he said:“Once short-term rev-enue maximization becomes the way youare judged, it is very hard to maintain a cul-ture.”

But to the students in the audiencethinking about the profession, he had thesewords of encouragement:“There is noother job like investment banking in termsof giving you access to and the ability to in-fluence decision makers. I would submitthat CEOs are a lot more important thanyour average congressman or bureaucrat.CEOs run villages that are called compa-nies, some of which have hundreds ofthousands of employees and have greatimpact on the world around them.”

Banking on changeAuthor Jonathan Knee dissects a changed world of investment banking

The Accidental Investment Banker was an accidental best seller for authorJonathan Knee, and he regaled a Center for the Arts audience on Oct. 25 withthe story of the book, how it came to be published, and the anything-goes at-mosphere of modern investment banking about which he wrote.His talk, co-sponsored by UB Law School and the University’s School of

Management, was titled “Is Investment Banking a Profession?”He answered that ques-tion early on – “The concept of a profession is still very, very meaningful to the legalcommunity and is still meaningful to parts of the investment banking community, al-though I think the notion of a profession as such is not as ingrained in the investmentbanking culture”– and then proceeded to tell the story of The Accidental InvestmentBanker.

“During the boom,companies that could not have otherwise gotten a meeting at Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley a few years earlier were being sold to the public.” – Jonathan Knee


Law School Report

An Israeli scholar and profes-sor at Jerusalem’s HebrewUniversity came to UB LawSchool on March 28 to ad-dress what he sees as a trou-

bling trend: the increasing privatization ofthe U.S. prison system and other non-gov-ernmental sanctions, such as shamingpenalties.

Alon Harel, currently a visiting fellowat the Centre of Ethics at the University ofToronto, discussed his recent paper on thesubject with faculty and others in the LawSchool’s new fifth-floor meeting room.

Responding to an ever-increasing num-ber of criminals sentenced to serve time,the penal industry has been responding tothe argument that private enterprise canaccomplish this incarceration cheaper andmore efficiently than governments can.One estimate says about 100,000 inmatesare currently held in privately operatedprisons, mostly in the South and the West.

A separate trend involves shamingpenalties, imposition of which has grownsubstantially since the late 1980s. These“scarlet letter”penalties address offenses such as drunken driving, larceny, embez-zlement, burglary and assault. Such penal-ties may include requiring petty thieves to

wear T-shirts or fluorescent bracelets an-nouncing their crimes; displaying speciallicense plates or bumper stickers revealingtheir conviction status; and posting warn-ing signs on their property.

Harel, whose areas of re-search include moral and po-litical philosophy, criminallaw, law and economics, andhuman rights, argued thatboth trends circumvent animportant connection: thelink between the state’s judg-ment of the wrongfulness ofthe action and the appropri-ateness of the sanction.

Privately run prisons, hesaid, are responsible for onlyone piece of that formula: theinfliction of punishment.“Privatization underminesthe very foundations of thecriminal justice system,”he said.“Criminalsanctions should be grounded in the state’sjudgment of the wrongfulness of the act.Privatizing the punishment severs the linkbetween the state and the sanctions it im-poses.”

When courts impose shaming penalties, Harel said,“privately inflicted sanc-

tions are grounded in the private beliefs ofthose who inflict them.”When the stateasks “A”to impose sanctions on “B”– forexample, by ostracizing him or limiting so-cial interactions with him – it invests “A”

with a moral authority thatproperly belongs to the state.

Officials of the state – suchas judges, prison guards andexecutioners – do not need toform private judgments of theappropriate punishment foran offender, Harel said; theyare citizens functioning as anagent of the state’s judgment.But shaming penalties, he said,impose that duty on averagecitizens who come into con-tact with the offender. Exceptfor those acting in an officialcapacity, he said,“It is im-moral to inflict sanctions un-

less you exercise independent judgment.”Questions from those in attendance

dealt with plea bargaining, which entersinto the vast majority of U.S. criminal cas-es; the power of victims to influence whatsanction is imposed; and the role of non-profit entities, such as faith-based groups,in the criminal justice system.

Troubling trendsEthics scholar tackles increasing privatization of the U.S. prison system

Troubling trendsEthics scholar tackles increasing privatization of the U.S. prison system

“Privatizationundermines thevery foundationsof the criminaljustice system.”— Alon Harel

Law School Report


The first-year mentoringprogram provides lawstudents with a personalintroduction to the legalcommunity.It’s a win-

win for everyone:For students,mentors provide invaluable guid-ance,advice and feedback on every-thing from interview etiquette tolaw office politics.Law students areable to ask their mentors questionsand obtain information that theycould not elsewhere or would beafraid to ask.

Mentors also benefit by having afirsthand view of UB Law School,current legal education and the newassociates of the future.

Attorneys received a free CLE,including training on mentor-ing,and met their mentees at a Janu-ary reception in the Center for To-morrow hosted by the Law School.Mentors are admitted attorneyswho have been in practice at leastfive years.If you would like to volun-teer,please call the Career ServicesOffice at (716) 645-2056.

Mentoringprogram

a win-win

Left to right:Ginger D.Schroeder ’90and SabrinaHill ’09

Left to right:StacyannFreckleton ’09and CandaceJackson ’09

Left to right:Nicole Kim ’09and AparnaaBhatt ’09

Left to right:Rob Santoto’09 and BruceA. Ikefugi ’89

Jenna Bichler’09 speaks withMickey H.Osterreicher ’98

Left to right:Harvey Asiedu-

Akrofi ’09 with Stephen L.

Yonaty ’94

Left to right:Serra Aygun ’09

and StephanieWilliams Torres ’00

Above, left to right: Ericka Ensign ’09 and Amil Sarfaz ’09 with Hon.Craig D.Hannah ’95

Law School Report


One of the most vocal critics ofNew York Gov.Eliot Spitzer’scontroversial plan to issue dri-ver’s licenses to illegal aliensfound an audience both recep-

tive and perceptive as he spoke about the is-sue Nov.13 in an O’Brian Hall lecture room.

Robert Christman,Allegany Countyclerk,came to UB Law at the invitation ofthe Federalist Society,an association ofconservative and libertarian students.

“I was really, really pleased,”Christmansaid.“I was a little hesitant at first,because Iwas not sure what kind of reception Iwould get in the big city and the University.But I was warmly received, there was a greatturnout,and the students asked a lot ofreally positive questions. I did not have to

inform them of all the nuances.They werevery well versed and educated in the issue,and we could really get into the nitty-grittyof it.”

Christman spoke of what he saw as thepolitical payback behind Spitzer’s driver’slicense initiative,and detailed the difficultposition he and other county clerks were inif they opposed the expansion of licenses.For one thing,he noted,Spitzer is the boss;but county clerks are sworn to uphold statevehicle law,which he believes conflicts withthe governor’s directive.

Spitzer had argued that issuing driver’slicenses to undocumented aliens would re-duce the number of uninsured motorists,help keep track of immigrants and bring innew fee revenue.But critics, including

Christman, feared that there would be se-curity risks if the plan went through,andbristled at the apparent violation of theNew York State Vehicle and Traffic Law,which requires driver’s license applicants toprovide a Social Security number.

The UB Law audience was farfrom one-sided on the issue,Christman said.“A few peopleasked me some very tough ques-tions,”he said.“I talked about

the legal aspects of the issue, the applicationand the procedures and how I was going tohave to actually proceed with non-issuanceof these licenses. It is easy to say you are notgoing to do something,but what will getyou is the details.”

As it turned out, the governor blinkedfirst.The day after Christman’s appearance,in the face of vehement public opposition,Spitzer backed down on his controversialplan.

Jordan Marks,a second-year studentwho was president of the Federalist Societyduring the first semester, turned over thegavel to fellow second-year Seth Pullen be-cause Marks is heading to New York Cityfor a semester in the international financetransactions program.

“This organization was started to sparkdebates that do not take place in the class-room,and to really challenge people’s ideasabout certain issues,”Marks said.“We arededicated to the Federalist Papers,and theimportance of judicial restraint and strictinterpretationism.”

He said they invited Christman to speakbecause the issue had generated much heatbut little light.“On the face value of the is-sue, I had an established view,but I did notknow enough about the issue,”Marks said.“I noticed a lot of people were taking posi-tions without knowing enough about theissue.”

Christman,he said,“explained what hefaced as an employee of the state and thepressure he faced.No matter what your po-litical party, the plan itself was just ridicu-lous.”

For example,Marks said, the plan

would allow applicants to supply foreignidentity documents,which would bescanned and sent electronically to the De-partment of Homeland Security,and with-in 120 seconds would be translated andverified.“I can barely get my credit card togo through that fast,”he said.

Also at the forum was David Pullen,Seth’s father,an Allegany County legislatorand municipal attorney.The event also in-cluded a fund-raiser for Kiva.org,a Web-based microlender.“We wanted to supportdemocracy through our dollars,”Markssaid.

He said the Federalist Society “tries tostay away from political bashing.We are notRepublican,we are not Democratic; we areopen to all members.”He also said thatalumni would be welcome to speak to thegroup if there is an issue they would like toaddress.“We would love to have a lot morediscussion on our campus,”he said.

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

Standing on principle

Federalist Society event examines driver’s licenses for illegal aliens

Jordan Marks ’09

“I did not have to inform [the students]ofall the nuances.They were very wellversed and educated in the issue,and wecould really get into the nitty-gritty of[New York Gov.Eliot Spitzer’s plan to issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens].”

–Robert Christman,above,Allegany County clerk

Law School ReportSTUDENTS OF COLOR


In keeping with the theme “Lifting asWe Climb,”the Law School’s annualStudents of Color Dinner broughttogether graduating students, con-tinuing students, faculty and a wide

variety of friends to celebrate achievementand call for a commitment to serve othersas only lawyers can.

The April 12 dinner, held at the BuffaloNiagara Marriott, is a joint venture of theAsian American Law Students Association,the Black Law Students Association andthe Latin American Law Students Associa-

tion. It mixed solemnity – the annual can-dle-lighting ceremony in which seniorssymbolically pass the torch of achievementto the next generation – with laughter, asdistinguished alumni, faculty and otherswere honored for their achievements.

With a slide show of smiling Law Schoolfaces running continuously in the back-ground, those honored shared words ofthanks and advice with those who will soonbe their colleagues in the legal profession.

“Looking out at this room, I see the fu-ture of this country as every room should

look like,”said Clotilde Bode-PerezDedecker, president of the CommunityFoundation for Greater Buffalo, theevening’s keynote speaker. Dedecker, whoimmigrated to the United States from herchildhood home in Cuba, recounted someof her life experiences – “in hopes,”shesaid,“that these might give insight and in-spiration of your rights and responsibilitiesto be a player in the great experiment ofour American democracy.”

She remembered the rationing of foodin Cuba,and the long lines at government

Rising starsStudents of Color Dinner looks to a bright future

Left to right: Jodi-Kay E.Williams ’09,Aparnaa J.Bhatt ’09 and Dino P. Peragallo ’09.

W I N T E R 2 0 0 885

stores.The black market flourished,despitethe threat of prison. In 1964,Dedecker said,her parents asked the Cuban governmentfor permission to leave, then had to endurethree years of close scrutiny – includingwiretapped phones – before they were al-lowed to leave the country.They had to re-linquish all their possessions,allowed totake only 30 pounds of clothing apiece.

They arrived in Miami with $10 andbegan anew.When the family moved toBuffalo so Dedecker’s father could study atUB,“the community provided for us fortwo years,”she said.“I know the power ofcommunity resources, because I have ex-perienced them as a beneficiary.”

Dedecker has wide experience in publicservice and serves on several boards, andshe challenged her listeners to tackle suchproblems as high poverty rates amongAfrican-American and Latino children inBuffalo.“I am very fortunate to tell youthat I love my work and know that it mat-ters,”she said.“Speaking to the 2007 grad-uates, I wish the same for you. I believe thatonly in giving to others do we discover ourtrue selves. Only then can the promise ofAmerica be the practice of America on aday-to-day basis.”

Three graduates of UB LawSchool received DistinguishedAlumni Awards at the dinner.They are:Hon. Rose H. Sconiers ’73, justice

of the New York State Supreme Court forthe 8th District. Justice Sconiers was de-layed in New York City by canceled planeflights. Cecelia Henderson accepted theaward on her behalf.

Bradley Gayton ’91, assistant tax officerand director of tax operations for FordMotor Co. Gayton said he had expressedreservations about the award to his moth-er, who responded:“This is not about you.People of color need to celebrate successesnot for the individual’s sake, but so peoplecan point to them and say,‘If he can do it,so can I.’”

Nicole Lee ’02, executive director of

TransAfrica Forum, the leading advocacyorganization for African and the Africandiaspora in the United States. Said Lee:“Iwish someone had said to me and my classmore, do what is in your heart, becausethat is what you are going to be good at.That is what you are going to be successfulat.”

The Trailblazer Award was presented toRochester lawyer Michael R.Wolford ’68,managing partner of Wolford & Leclair.Aspresident of the Monroe County Bar Asso-ciation,Wolford initiated a program to de-velop lawyers of color, now entering itsthird year with 13 summer clerkships.“This profession of ours is only going tosucceed if we become more diverse, rightup through managing partners and the ju-diciary,”he said.

Professor Dianne Avery ’82 was honored

with the Jacob D. Hyman Professor of theYear Award, and used the occasion tospeak of the accomplishments of Hyman,who died April 8.Avery cited Hyman’s tol-erance and compassion as a teacher, andhis “absolute passion for and commitmentto social justice,”including a law review ar-ticle four years before Brown v. Board ofEducation that argued for the dismantling

of segregation in American education.Finally, the Lift as We Climb Scholar-

ship was awarded to Maryland nativePatrice Harris, a senior at UB majoring inbiomedical sciences and pre-law studies.

The 14-person Students of Color Din-ner Committee was chaired by CarolinaFelix ’07, with representatives from eachLaw School class.

“Looking out at this room,I see the future of this country as every room should look like.”

– Clotilde Bode-Perez Dedecker,president of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo

Above,SUNY Distinguished Profesor MakauMutua and Nicole C.Lee ’02At left: left to right, Carolina Felix ’08 and Evelyn Abiola ’08

establish itself as an independent voice (andfrequent critic of the administration),andwhile Mutua was in Nairobi in August,a newexecutive director and deputy were named.As other NGOs regroup,Mutua says,thehope is that their leaders will form the nucle-us of a new political generation,ready togovern with integrity and energy.

“We want to create a state that is sensitiveto differences,a state that is open and trans-parent,a state that takes into considerationthe advantages and disadvantages that dif-ferent groups enjoy and sees the disadvan-tages reduced,a state that is fair to everyone,”Mutua says.“And we hope that whoeverruns the state helps to form a Kenyan na-tional identity that transcends ethnic and re-gional identities.The purpose of civil societyis to be the guardian of the national identity”– a purpose it fulfilled before 1992 but nowhas ceded to the political class.

After spending time in Tanzania,wherethe Kenya Human Rights Commission helda staff retreat,Mutua crossed into Kenyawith no small degree of tension.He had putout feelers to some government officials heknew,asking them whether he might riskbeing arrested for his vigorous criticism ofthe Kibaki administration if he enteredKenya.They had assured him that if he laylow,he should be safe – the presidential cam-paign was claiming most of the spotlight.Nevertheless,he said,the 10 days he spent inNairobi were an anxious time.

Mutua,a prolific academic writer and di-rector of the Buffalo Human Rights Center,continues to write a column for a majornewspaper in Nairobi.He also is publishinga book on the Kenyan constitutional reviewprocess,as well as the proceedings of a 2004conference on NGOs operating in Uganda,Kenya and Tanzania.

And he continues to monitor theprogress of civil society in his beloved home-land,knowing that helping its key players todevelop leadership skills may be the key toKenya’s future.

“This is a very,very tall order,”the profes-sor concedes.“But no country can rise toprosperity without a visionary political class.Our sense is that the current political class ismyopic,visionless and very self-interested.”He points out that, in a country where halfthe citizens live on less than a dollar a day,the224 members of the Kenyan National As-sembly are the highest-paid in the world –better-paid even than members of the U.S.Congress.

“Kenyans,”Mutua says,“are hungry fornon-traditional politicians.In 2012 there hasto be a clear reformist candidate.”

Faculty

86

As the world watches the strug-gles of newly democratic Iraq,another nascent democracy isworking through its own grow-ing pains – and a UB Law pro-

fessor is wielding his considerable influencein that process.

A native of the East African nation,Pro-fessor Makau Mutua traveled last summer toTanzania and Kenya,working to build upnon-governmental organizations that hesays will grow the next generation of Kenyanpolitical leaders.

It was only in 1992 when Kenya firstachieved democratic,multiparty elections.Daniel arap Moi served two five-year termsas president,then was succeeded by MwaiKibaki.

Kibaki faced a stiff challenge from one-time ally Raila Odinga at the polls on Dec.27. The campaigns were bitter and stokedethnic tensions. Kibaki was declared thewinner by several hundred thousand votesamid credible allegations of vote rigging.Odinga refused to concede defeat and calledon his supporters to protest the outcome.

The result has been violence in opposi-tion strongholds in which groups support-ing Odinga have killed hundreds of Kibaki’ssupporters. In response,the governmenthas killed scores of protesters. As the coun-try threatens to melt down,internationalmediators, including KofiAnnan,the formerU.N.secretary-general,have rushed to Kenyato broker peace.

Kenya will elect a new president in 2012,and in Mutua’s eyes, it is time for a new gen-eration to take power.

“The political class in Kenya is very re-silient,”he says,because they were reared inthe old one-party system in which the statewas “treated as a piggy bank.”In the 15 yearssince arap Moi’s election,“there has been amore open political process,”Mutua says.“But the same people who controlled theone-party state have migrated to the variouspolitical parties and now run these parties.”

This,he says,has meant that governingcontinues to be based on patronage,notmerit,and has spawned an “anti-intellectual-ism”in which “the parties do not encouragebig-picture discussions about the long-terminterests of the country,about the problemof corruption,and even about the purposeof politics.”

Further complicating the Kenyan politi-

cal picture,Mutua says,each party has iden-tified itself with one of the country’s ethnicgroups,so that political discussion has been“fractured and balkanized along ethniclines.”

And as Kenyans debate who might suc-ceed President Kibaki,Mutua and othershave been working to develop leaders in “civ-il society”– the wide network of humanrights organizations,women’s groups,barassociations and other non-governmentalorganizations.The current administration,Mutua says,has recruited the best andbrightest from civil society into governmentservice.“The most senior people are gone,”he says.“You have toddlers in civil societywho have to learn how civil society works.”

So,for example,the Kenya HumanRights Commission,an NGO that Mutuachairs,has over the past two years pulledaway from the Kibaki government to re-

Buildinga newKenya

SUNY Distinguished ProfessorMakau W. Mutua named interim dean of the Law School

Makau W. Mutua, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the University atBuffalo Law School, has been named interim dean of the Law School,effective Dec. 17. Mutua replaces Nils Olsen, who announced lastspring that he would step down in December as dean to attend to

personal and family health issues.Mutua, who also is Floyd H. and Hilda L. Hurst Faculty Scholar in the UB Law

School, directs the Human Rights Center in the Law School. He joined the UB facultyin 1996 after serving as associate director of the Human Rights Program at HarvardLaw School. In addition, he was director of the Africa Project at the Lawyers

Committee for Human Rights.One of the world's foremost

authorities in the area of humanrights law, he has conductednumerous human rights,diplomatic and rule-of-lawmissions to countries in Africa,Latin America and Europe, and hasspoken at public forums in manyparts of the world, including Japan,Brazil, France and Ethiopia. He is amember of the Executive Counciland the Executive Committee of theAmerican Society of InternationalLaw (ASIL), the most prestigiousand largest organization ofinternational lawyers in the world.

Mutua is the author of HumanRights: A Political and CulturalCritique (2002), and his most recentbooks, Kenya's Quest for Democracy:

Taming Leviathan and Human Rights NGOs in East Africa: Political and NormativeTensions, will be published this spring. He has written numerous scholarly articles ontopics that include international law, human rights and religion. He also has writtenhuman rights reports for the United Nations and leading nongovernmentalorganizations, as well as dozens of articles for such popular publications as The NewYork Times and The Washington Post.

Mutua has been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, the University of IowaCollege of Law, the University of Puerto Rico School of Law and the United NationsUniversity for Peace in Costa Rica. In addition, he served as chair of the Task Force forthe Establishment of a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission appointedunder the authority of President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya in 2003.

He was educated at the University of Nairobi, Kenya; the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania; and at Harvard Law School, where he obtained a doctor of juridicalscience degree in 1987.

Professor Makau Mutua works to develop

the next generation of ‘civil society’

87U B L A W F O R U M W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

New Faculty


These days,Irus Braverman islearning her way around Buffalo,having moved here in early June.But knowing east from west isproving to be somewhat diffi-

cult. It is, she says,mostly a question of ac-quired geography:“I grew up in Jerusalemand am used to having mountains aroundto keep me oriented.Here I mostly get lost.”

Indeed, it is that sense of inner-con-nectedness between the natural and the so-cial worlds that informs Braverman’s work,which travels between the disciplines oflaw, geography, and anthropology. Shejoins the UB Law faculty from HarvardUniversity, where she was an associate atthe Humanities Center and previously avisiting fellow at Harvard Law’s HumanRights Program. She has also just defendedher thesis for a doctorate in juridical sci-ence at the University of Toronto.

Braverman (her first name is pro-nounced Ee-rous) wrote her M.A. thesis incriminology on housing regulations inEast Jerusalem, and about the governmen-tal practice of house demolitions in partic-ular. In her doctoral thesis, Braverman’s fo-cus of attention has shifted from the spaceof the house to that of trees.

“In a way, one is no less of a humanconstruction than the other,”she explains,“only that with trees people seem to believethat they are natural and therefore are notsocial or political constructs, which is pre-cisely why trees provide such a fascinatingresearch project.”

Her doctoral thesis, titled“Tree Wars:AStudy of Natural Governance in Israel/Palestine and in Four American Cities,”deals with what she calls “the politics of na-ture.”Her awareness of the political powerof natural things dates back to her practiceas an environmental lawyer in Tel Aviv someten years ago.Accordingly, the first part ofher thesis focuses on the politics of pine andolive landscapes in Israel/Palestine.

“Trees there play a very important na-tional role,”she explains. The pine was themain tree planted by the Jewish NationalFund for decades and has come to be iden-tified with the Jewish people, while theolive tree has become a symbol of Palestin-ian clinging to the land and resistance tothe Israeli occupation. Tensions betweenthe two groups have manifested them-selves also in the burning of forests and theuprooting of olive groves.

At the same time, Braverman also clari-fies that there is more to the picture thanthis binary tree affiliation. She explains thatthe dual identities can also be bypassedand confused by a set of sometimes sur-prising connections. For example,“theolive tree is used in various instances as asymbol of the Israeli state and Jewish set-tlers have increasingly been planting olivetrees,”she says.

The second part of her thesis discussesthe role of trees in certain American urbansettings, and in four North American citiesin particular, including Toronto andBoston, Mass. She explores the way humantraffic is controlled through the placementof trees on city sidewalks, as well as the dy-namic between tree management on citysidewalks and urban crime control.

Now that she is in Buffalo,Braverman is consideringstudying the October 2006storm and its social and spa-tial effects.“Having trees play

such an important role in Buffalo since thestorm is a very interesting coincidence withmy own research interests,”she states. Shehas already started interviewing varioustree officials in town.

Buffalo’s location near an internationalborder is another topic that triggers her in-terests, and there she finds further evidencethat geography and politics go hand inhand. Her border experience dates back to

her years in Israel, where she was active in awomen’s group that routinely monitors Is-raeli soldiers’behavior at various check-points in the West Bank.

Braverman has worked as a communityorganizer in low-income communities inWashington, D.C.; Boston; and San Diego,as well as in Israel. Now, at UB Law, she isexcited at the prospects of legal scholarshipthat cuts across disciplines, and she ad-mires the unique and eclectic scholarshipof her new colleagues at the law school. Shementions the Baldy Center for Law andSocial Policy as an excellent place for schol-ars from different disciplines to come to-gether. She wants to develop ties with otherdepartments at UB, especially with the de-partments of geography, anthropology,and sociology.

She is also excited about teaching. Thiswill be her first time teaching law to Ameri-can students, and she is looking forward tothe challenge.“When someone practiceslaw, it is important that they are reflectiveabout their work,”she says.“Teaching ingeneral— and teaching in a law school inparticular — is about providing law stu-dents with tools for critical thought and re-flexivity, making law a living thing ratherthan something passive or stagnant thatstudents feel they have no influence over.”

As she begins teaching, her courses willinclude topics such as Law and Nature andLaw and Geography. Those courses willbegin in the spring because of a personalblessing: Braverman and her partner, Gre-gor Harvey, a classical and folk guitaristand Irish mandolin player, had their firstchild at the end of August.

A sense of placeAssociate Professor Irus Braverman explores the nexus of law, geography and anthropology

“Teaching in general— and teaching in a law school in particular — is about providing law students

with tools for critical thought and reflexivity,making law a living thing rather than something passive

or stagnant that students feel they have no influence over.”

— Associate Professor Irus Braverman

New Faculty


Thinking local

Rick Su knows how to make asummer internship pay off.In the summer after his firstyear at Harvard Law Schoolhe worked as a research assis-

tant for Professors David Barron and Ger-ald E. Frug. The end result was a book thathe co-authored with Professors Barronand Frug, called Dispelling the Myth ofHome Rule. Although Su was initially con-sidering a career in litigation, this experi-ence changed his mind. Su discoveredthat he had found his niche.

“That summer really solidified notonly my interest in legal scholarship butmy interest in local government law,”hesays.“I just fell in love with it.

“It is not just how local issues get re-solved, or how local democratic institu-tions work, but also how localities affecteach other,”Su explains.“Issues like urbansegregation, and the allocation of re-sources, are based on the geography ofhow we lay out our neighborhoods. Theallocation of power between local govern-ments and the state, and the kind of legalpresumptions that go into those decisions,contribute or become a primary cause of alot of problems”

After graduating magna cum laudefrom Harvard Law, where he was also arti-cles editor for the Harvard Law Review, Suclerked for a year in the California-basedNinth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Ap-peals. He then returned to Harvard Lawon an academic research fellowship, exer-cising a new interest in immigration lawscholarship. Next, he joined the UnitedStates Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment in Boston, where he workedon litigation involving fraud and HUD-insured mortgages.

Throughout his career, teaching andscholarship remained Su’s primary goal.Su joined the UB Law School faculty in thefall, and he taught immigration law in hisfirst semester and will teach local govern-ment law in the spring. He continues towork on immigration issues as well, and isworking on several articles dealing withthe intersection of immigration and localgovernment law.

Having interviewed at a number oflaw schools, he says he was attracted by UBLaw’s people and programs.“A big part ofmy decision was the kind of work, espe-cially the interdisciplinary work, that peo-ple are involved in at UB,”he says.“TheBaldy Center is a great resource, and it isexciting to see that the Law School and therest of the social sciences are heavily inte-grated. Sociology plays a big part in mywork, and from the immigration side, po-litical science plays a big part as well.”

Su lives in Buffalo with his wife, JessicaHouston Su, a sociologist who continuesto do welfare research for the KennedySchool of Government at Harvard.

Associate Professor

Rick Su focuses on

immigrationand local

government law

“It is not just how local issues get resolved,or how local democratic institutions work,

but also how localities affect each other.Issues like urban segregation,and the allocation ofresources,

are based on the geography ofhow we lay out our neighborhoods.”

— Associate Professor Rick Su

“It is not just how local issues get resolved,or how local democratic institutions work,

but also how localities affect each other.Issues like urban segregation,and the allocation ofresources,

are based on the geography ofhow we lay out our neighborhoods.”

— Associate Professor Rick Su


UB Law School’s reputation as aplace where the law and thesocial sciences mix it up tooka step forward last fall when

Mateo Taussig-Rubbo joined the faculty.Taussig-Rubbo is an anthropologist,

having just completed the dissertation forhis doctoral degree in anthropology at theUniversity of Chicago. He is also a lawyer,

having earned the J.D. at Yale Law Schoolin 2001. He practiced for two years in thearea of cross-border transactions at a NewYork City firm, and clerked for a U.S. Dis-trict Court judge in the Southern Districtof New York.

That combination of disciplines,hesays,will be at home at UB Law.“It turnedout to be a great fit for me,”says Taussig-

Rubbo,who has been teaching at the NewSchool for Social Research, in New YorkCity.“My work has been moving betweenanthropology and law,and everyone I metat UB with seemed open and interested inan approach to law that was serious in en-gaging with other disciplines.The opennessto a variety of approaches impressed me.”

Taussig-Rubbo, whose father is an an-

thropologist, saw a lot of the world whilehe was growing up. The family lived inSydney,Australia; Colombia; New YorkCity; and Michigan. It was good trainingfor a social sciences discipline that studiesthe ways of humanity and human cultures.

“Anthropology is no longer only aboutfar-flung locations and times and places,”Taussig-Rubbo says.“It is also a study ofany human community, and that includesthe United States and modern legal orders.The discipline has a very rich traditionbased, on one hand, on empirical ethno-graphic research and field work, and on theother hand, theoretical tradition that spansover a century and brings many categoriesand questions that can be brought to bearin the study of law.”

Traditional anthropological con-cepts such as gift, sacrifice andconsecration, he says, can beways of understanding the lawand legal systems outside the

usual tools of legal analysis.For example, Taussig-Rubbo’s recent

paper “Outsourcing Sacrifice: RethinkingPrivate Military Contractors”looks at aprivate legal relationship – military con-tractors hired by the U.S. government towork in war zones – and discusses in whatsense such workers embody the Americanethos. The paper discusses a deadly attackon March 31, 2004, on contractors in Fal-lujah, Iraq, in which the bodies of four pri-vate security guards were burned and hungon a bridge.“This was a very spectacular,grotesque ambush,”Taussig-Rubbo says.“The status of these people for an Ameri-can audience was transformed. SomehowAmerica became visible again in their de-stroyed bodies.

“How are we meant to talk about whathappens in that kind of attack? Is it justmeaningless, grotesque violence? We canget much more precise and in-depth in ourthinking about our reception of that kindof consecrating violence, as I call it.”

Privatizing such dangerous functions ofgovernment as military service, he says, is away to make the nation’s sacrifice less im-mediate and personal. But highly publi-cized attacks like the Fallujah ambushmakes it impossible for the American pub-lic to ignore that these workers, too, aresacrificing their lives in the war effort.AsTaussig-Rubbo puts it,“This spectacularattack rediscovers the body politic in thebodies of these individuals and demon-strates the difficulty that a policy of out-sourcing sacrifice is likely to encounter.”

Taussig-Rubbo also has an interest indetention; his Ph.D. work dealt with U.S.immigration detention camps and thequestion, how does the state expel andeject people? He spent some time at deten-tion centers in Los Angeles, interviewingguards, prison officials and detainees –non-citizens and legal immigrants whowere in removal or deportation proceed-ings.“In a lot of court opinions around is-sues of detention, detention is reallyphrased as an act of beneficence,”he says –described in terms of what he calls he “sov-ereign’s gift”bestowed by an all-powerfulstate on an undeserving recipient.

He describes one telling detail: In onedetention center, officials had installedone-way mirrors, but accidentally facedthem the wrong way. The guards could seeonly their own reflections; the detaineescould see the guards. Officials decided tokeep it that way.

“To me, this spoke in powerful waysabout the relationship between officialsand detainees,”Taussig-Rubbo says.“Forthe guards, it was the position of seeingonly yourself, the strange pleasure in otherpeople looking at you and wanting to joinyou.”

Behind the legal culture

Associate Professor Mateo Taussig-Rubbo

brings the tools ofanthropology to

UB Law

New Faculty

“Anthropology is no longer only about far-flung

locations and times and places.It is also a study ofany

human community,and that includes the United States

and modern legal orders.”— Associate Professor Mateo Taussig-Rubbo‘‘ ’’

Faculty

94

public accommodation (such as hotels,motels, restaurants, and theaters), and infederally funded programs. It also estab-lished the Equal Employment Opportuni-ty Commission to enforce its provisions.

In retirement, he says,“I have a gooddeal of reading that I want and need tocatch up on.And I want to review what has

been happening in constitutional and in-ternational law in the midst of the war onterror and to assess the effects on funda-mental rights.”

He and his wife, Nancy Tobin, hope totravel widely, including trips to San Fran-cisco and Chicago, to visit grandchildren.

A former dean moves onProfessor Filvaroff, civil rights advocate, transitions to retirement


Before joining UB Law School in1988 as its 15th dean,David B.Filvaroff already had a broad ca-reer in the law.He had been in private practice,

was a law clerk at the U.S.Supreme Court,served as a high-ranking adviser in the U.S.Department of Justice and had been on thelaw school faculties at the University ofPennsylvania and the University of Texas.

Throughout Professor Filvaroff’s ca-reer, two constants have remained: his loveof teaching and his commitment to ad-vancing civil rights.

“It gives me great pleasure to look backon my 40 years as a teacher, half of themhere at UB,”says Filvaroff, who is transi-tioning into retirement by reducing histeaching load to part time.“UB Law stu-dents are very smart, and they get smarterand more sophisticated all the time. I enjoychallenging students and having themchallenge me. I know I’ll miss the excite-ment I feel every time I walk into the class-room.”

• • •

At UB, Filvaroff has taught torts, inter-national law, civil rights, federal courts,constitutional law and international hu-man rights.

He came to UB from the University ofTexas School of Law, succeeding Wade J.Newhouse as dean and occupied the postfor four years before returning to full-timeteaching.

“I was attracted to Buffalo for a varietyof reasons,”he explains.“Chief amongthem was the quality of the law faculty andits breadth of interests and willingness tochallenge orthodoxy; its emphasis on therole of law in society; and not least of all,the diversity within the faculty and the stu-dent body.

“It has been satisfying to witness the in-creasing presence of women and studentsof color in the classroom,”says Filvaroff,

commenting on changes which have oc-curred since he began teaching in the1960s.“Law schools and legal educationhave changed – all for the better – as theU.S. Supreme Court recognized in a recentcase involving the University of MichiganLaw School. It is not surprising that Buffa-lo was an early leader in bringing thesechanges about.”

• • •

It was during Filvaroff’s deanship thatthe Dean’s Advisory Council was created.The purpose was to establish a forum forcontinuing communication with benchand bar.“We wanted to bring together agroup of outstanding lawyers and judgeswho, along with our alumni association,could give us the benefit of their advice,”says Filvaroff.“It helps to bring the practi-tioner’s point of view very usefully and vis-ibly to the Law School.”

An economics major as an undergrad-uate at the University of Wisconsin, Fil-varoff was a 1958 magna cum laude gradu-ate of Harvard Law School, where heserved on the Law Review. He practicedwith a Cleveland law firm for four yearsand then served as law clerk to U.S.Supreme Court Justices Felix Frankfurterand Arthur Goldberg.

Following his clerkship in 1963, Fil-varoff joined the Department of Justice asspecial assistant to the deputy attorneygeneral.After the assassination of Presi-dent Kennedy and the subsequent resigna-tion of Robert Kennedy as head of the Jus-tice Department, Filvaroff became specialassistant to the acting attorney general.

Filvaroff spent nearly all of the nextyear working on what was to become theCivil Rights Act of 1964.“It was exciting toparticipate in the shaping of the bill and towork with the Congress to get it passed,”says Filvaroff.

“There is often a tendency to romanti-cize the past. I try not to,”he says.“But at

that time, and even now, I feel very privi-leged to have been able to work on suchsignificant legislation.”

The resulting landmark act – the firstmajor federal civil rights legislation sincethe Civil War – outlawed discriminationon the basis of race, color, religion, sex andnational origin in employment, in places of

“UB Law students are very

smart,and they get smarter and

more sophisticated all the time.I

enjoy challenging students and

having them challenge me.I

know I’ll miss the excitement I

feel every time I walk into the

classroom.”

— Professor Emeritus

David B.Filvaroff

‘‘

’’

Faculty


In Westbrook’s view, thecorporation can be seen astheater, as a play with threemain characters — stock-holders, directors and man-agers — who act out tradi-tional corporate roles, eachwith their own set of com-plementary and conflictingmotivations, goals and pow-ers. From this perspective,Westbrook provides aunique and accessible ac-count of how corporationsare governed, and a way tobegin understanding whatcorporate law means for society at large.

“Recent shenanigans at Enron,Adel-phia,Worldcom and numerous othercompanies illustrate that while people dointeresting and often funny things insidetheir companies, their actions are rarelytruly surprising,”Westbrook writes. “Cor-porate actors have typical motivations andconflicts, and their conflicts tend to besolved in customary ways.”

It is these interactions and customs, asdescribed by Westbrook, which havestirred the interest of sociologists and an-thropologists seeking a window on the in-ner workings of the corporation. Colum-

bia University sociologistSaskia Sassen, for example,writes that “Westbrookmakes visible the diverselogics that organize actorseven in settings, such as thecorporation, where wemight assume one singlesuch logic. . . . In this au-thor’s hands, corporate lawreveals its logical complexi-ty.”

Westbrook explains,“Iwrote the book primarily forlaw students, so I have beendelighted, and a little sur-

prised, at the enthusiastic reception Be-tween Citizen and State has received fromsocial scientists. I think it is useful for thembecause, instead of a single, monolithic en-tity, they begin to see the corporation asdynamically composed of many parts.The book gives them a much more de-tailed view of the actors within the corpo-ration and an understanding of their rolesin relation to one another.”

Sociologist Charles Lemert, in a fore-word to Westbrook’s book, praises the au-thor for helping to define the “mystery”ofwhat exists “between”an abstract socialstructure, like the institution of the corpo-

ration, and people’s often deeply felt un-derstanding or imagining of their ownlives in a society in which corporationsplay such vital roles. Corporate law – andlaw in general – is a “pathway throughwhich the social becomes personal,”ac-cording to Westbrook.

From this perspective, the corporationis neither the villain depicted by the politi-

cal left nor the hero depicted by the politi-cal right. Westbrook is careful not to injectideology or policy into this introductoryaccount of the corporation.

“Unless one is a revolutionary or simplya yes-man, it’s a bit foolish to cheerlead forone side or the other of a social institutionin the abstract,”he says.“What we’re reallytalking about with the institution of the

corporation in general — as opposed tosome particular corporation — is a set ofembedded, and often conflicting, culturalcommitments that span our society,”hesays.“The purpose of this book is not topreach my political view on particular is-sues. Instead, I am trying to present theideas surrounding the corporation, at leastas taught to lawyers, maybe with a wrysmile. I want to let people decide for them-selves how they feel about how the socialcommitments reflected in our laws arelikely to work out, which is not unconnect-ed to how they feel about what is, after all,their own society.”

Although the book is intendedprimarily for law students as acoherent account of corpora-tion law,a “forest for the trees”

overview,Westbrook says anyone with aninterest in the corporation would benefitfrom the book’s approach.“Corporationlaw is not nearly as difficult as lawyers like tothink it is,”he says.

“Sociologists and others outside of thelegal profession often have an abstract im-age of ‘the corporation,’but are unsureabout how it works, and have no idea howtheir academic conception hooks up withpeople’s actual lives,”he adds.

“But there is no need to be so abstract.Corporation law tells stories, or presentsplays, that people actually live through intheir economic lives. What Between triesto do is make those characters and theirplots accessible. If you understand theplays, then you understand some impor-tant things about how our society gets con-structed, which after all is what the socialsciences are all about.”

Corporate law as theater‘Mysterious’ social structure of the corporation brought to light in new book

It is not unusual for a law professor to write a book about corporate law, but it is un-usual that such a book would be so well received by social scientists and legal schol-ars alike.This is the case with Between Citizen and State: An Introduction to the Corporation

(Paradigm Publishers, 2007) by David A.Westbrook, the Floyd H. and Hilda L. HurstFaculty Scholar and Professor of Law at UB Law. The book is now available in paperback.

Westbrook’s work is a departure from traditional corporate law books, which typicallyuse statutes, cases and other texts to present the law as an object, if sometimes a tool of“policy.”Westbrook instead focuses on how corporation law presumes and creates a veryfamiliar, yet somewhat mysterious, social structure.

“Corporation law tells stories,or

presents plays,that people actually

live through in their economic

lives. What ‘Between’tries to do is

make those characters and their

plots accessible.”

— Professor David A.Westbrook

DAVID A. WESTBROOK

Foreword by Charles Lemert

BetweenCitizen

andState

An Introduction to the Corporation

“A lyrical description. Westbrook’s book sets forth in a clear and easily digested mannerthe fundamental concerns that animate the dynamics of corporate law. His text will be aboon to law students and others interested in how the law enables and constrains corporationsto act in the world.”—BRANDON BECKER, WilmerHale and former Director of the Division of Market Regulation

at the SEC

“The original virtual person, centuries old, the corporation is nonetheless the quintessentialpostmodern actor. Westbrook’s charming, yes charming, introduction to the corporationoffers everything you ever wanted to know about this legal fiction in concise, readable,yet erudite prose. A compelling read for citizens and entrepreneurs as well as scholarsand students.”—SUSAN SILBEY, MIT

“In this brilliant and original book David Westbrook makes visible the diverse logics thatorganize actors even in settings such as the corporation where we might assume one singlesuch logic. We can recognize this in a play. But the language of the law tends to flatten itsown subject. In this author’s hands, corporate law reveals its logical complexity.”—SASKIA SASSEN, Columbia University and author of Territory, Authority, Rights

“The profound mind at work in these pages tests thin convention with thick critique, analysisso bracing that one wonders whether we can handle, as a practical matter, the complexcross-currents it untangles.”—LAWRENCE A. CUNNINGHAM, George Washington University

“Between Citizen and State is a wonderfully written book that provides fresh insights intothe law of corporations. While the text is anchored in the U.S. legal tradition, it offersvaluable lessons for law students and scholars in company law in the UK, the EuropeanUnion, and other parts of the world.”—ROSA M. LASTRA, University of London

LAW • SOCIOLOGY

GREAT BARRINGTON BOOKSAn Imprint edited by Charles LemertForeword by Charles Lemert

BETWEEN CITIZEN AND STATEAn Introduction to the Corporation

David A. Westbrook

David A. Westbrook is Professor of Law and Floyd H. andHilda L. Hurst Faculty Scholar, SUNY–Buffalo, and author of City ofGold: An Apology for Global Capitalism in a Time of Discontent(Routledge 2003).

3360 Mitchell LaneBoulder, CO 80301U.S.A.www.paradigmpublishers.com

Cover Design by Marci Russo/MPR DesignPhoto Courtesy of David A. Westbrook

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‘‘’’

Faculty


To paraphrase Rod Stewart,everylegal case tells a story.UB Law Professor and Vice DeanJames A.Gardner wants to helplawyers-in-training communi-

cate better.That means thinking more clear-ly,constructing logical arguments,and mak-ing their case precisely and vividly – that is,telling the story.

Those are the goals of Gardner’s labor oflove titled Legal Argument: The Structure andLanguage of Effective Advocacy.A revised andexpanded second edition of the legal text-book has just been released by LexisNexis(suitable,Gardner notes,for law firm in-house training for junior litigators,as well asfor classroom use).

Gardner,who is the Joseph W.Belluckand Laura L.Aswad Professor of Civil Justiceat the Law School,says the new edition was15 years in the making.He says he wrote theoriginal,published in 1993,because “the stu-dents I was teaching had the same questionsover and over.I had honed my answers,andI realized it would save me a lot of time tohave them in book form.”Since then,he says,the publisher “had been after me for years todo a second edition.Finally I felt like I hadsomething new to say.”

Legal Argument,which Gardner uses inhis classes and which has been adopted as atextbook at Duke Law School among others,focuses on civil law and the written advocacythat makes up so much of the business ofcivil litigation.“Most of what a civil lawyerdoes is front-loaded,”Gardner says.“Only 1or 2 percent of cases actually go to trial.Mostare either settled or dismissed on some mo-tion.”

Now that he has taught for 20 years,Gardner says,he is noticing a new set of chal-lenges for today’s law students.They involveboth how to think and how to present awritten argument.

“People are not usually trained or placedin an environment where they need to thinksystematically,”he says.“People know whatthey think,but they do not always know whythey think that.”Again and again in Legal Ar-gument, the author comes back to that ques-tion:What’s the thinking behind the argu-ment?

As well,he says,students often need helpin using the most effective techniques forpressing a legal argument.And because hu-man beings think in terms of stories,he says,a certain type of storytelling is the best wayto make a case.

“When a lawyer presents a case,”Gardnersays,“he is trying to win an audience.Theway people communicate is by telling sto-ries.Even scientists tell stories when they aretrying to communicate.It is all a matter ofappealing effectively to the contextual expec-tations of your audience.”

An effective lawyer,he says,will tell thenarrative of the case clearly;have a begin-ning,middle and end to the story; introducethe characters before they speak; tell the talein a transparent way;and command the at-tention of the audience.But thelawyer’s technique is differentfrom the novelist’s; for example,Gardner says,a fiction writersometimes withholds importantinformation until the end,but thatwould be suicide for a lawyer.“Thejudge needs to be satisfied that thelaw has been complied with in everyfacet,”he says.“If your story isopaque or misleading,you are onlyhurting your case.”

The new edition of Legal Argumentalso includes an exhortation on profes-sional behavior – necessary,Gardnersays, in part because today’s studentshave been raised on the anything-goescommunications atmosphere of the Inter-net.“There is a certain informality that per-vades communicative relations now,”hesays.“A lot of students come in not under-standing that there are boundaries and thatas a professional you need to develop a repu-tation for doing always excellent work.Partof the perception of excellence comes frombeing thorough,being timely,being concise.

“A lot of people think that being a goodlawyer is about being brilliant.But beingcareful and workmanlike every day is reallywhat it means to be a professional.”

From the introduction to Legal Argument:

For students who feel confused bytheir legal education, the missing

part often lies in the middle. These stu-dents can read and understand casesand statutes, and they can write up anddefend sound legal arguments. The dif-ficulty lies in producing the arguments.I can read and understand the cases,they say to themselves, and I would bedelighted to write a brief making thebest possible arguments, but what arethose arguments? How do I identifythem? How do I build an argument

that is sound, and persua-sive, and well-fortifiedagainst attack? Cases andstatutes don’t yield this in-formation. Once youhave assembled them,they just lie there, inert-ly, on the desk. How,the ambitious law stu-dent wants to know,do I make those littlesuckers stand upand dance?

Making the case – better Gardner’s revised textbook emphasizes storytelling and professionalism

“When a lawyer presents a case,he is trying to win an audience.The way people communicate is by telling stories.

Even scientists tell stories when they are trying to communicate.It is all a matter ofappealing effectively

to the contextual expectations ofyour audience.”

— UB Law Professor and Vice Dean James A.Gardner,above left

101W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

“I came to the podcasts as a skeptic, andnow I am an evangelist,”says Mangold,who occasionally hosts the podcast discus-sions as well.

“I have had perfect strangers say they’velistened to me on their iPods when theywent for a jog. This made me realize, vivid-ly, that this is a completely new form ofcommunication capable of reaching awide audience.”

Milles, who produces a second podcaston “law, libraries and life in a northernborder town”called Check This Out!(http://checkthisoutpodcast.com), says heis growing the audience for “UB Law Fac-ulty Conversations”by posting it on severalInternet lists.

“I have about 300 regular listeners eachweek for Check This Out! Most are librari-ans, but also quite a few are law professors,lawyers, law students, and anyone whohappens to come across one of myepisodes through Google. I am building

my audience for both podcasts by postingnotices of new episodes to listservs, com-ments on blogs, and old-fashioned net-working at conferences and other events.”

Upcoming installments of “UB LawFaculty Conversations”will include suchwidely diverse topics as strategic planningfor community development, anthropo-logical approaches to personal injury lawin different cultures, and gender-basedbarriers to economic development.

• • •

To listen to “UB Law Faculty Conversations,” visit:

ublawpodcast.com

Faculty


As a conversation starter, legal re-search may seem too esoteric ofa topic. But add to the discus-sion a little atmosphere – lunchat an Italian café, the chattering

of fellow diners, a touch of jazz music inthe background – and now you have themakings of an Internet talk show.

James Milles, vice dean and director ofthe Charles B. Sears Law Library, is produc-ing podcasts of discussions with LawSchool faculty members and other promi-nent legal scholars. More specifically, youhave a podcast on important ideas in lawand society.

Within the niche world of podcasting,nearly anybody with the right digitalrecording equipment can inexpensivelyproduce and post on the Internet a podcaston any topic under the sun. Likewise, near-ly anyone with the right PC software candownload and listen to a podcast fromanywhere at anytime.

Debuting last semester among thiseclectic mix of podcasts and audiences wasa UB Law School podcast,“UB Law FacultyConversations,”http://ublawpodcast.com/,featuring discussions with UB Law Schoolfaculty and other prominent scholars.

Produced by Law Professor JamesMilles, the podcasts often are recordedduring an informal dinner or lunch at anarea restaurant and consist of one-on-oneconversations between legal scholars. Theintellectual exchange is lively and friendly,with Milles sitting silently alongsiderecording the conversation. The restau-rant’s ambient sounds are pleasing and cre-ate a sense of place.

The UB Law podcast may be one of theonly law school podcastS of its kind in thecountry, according to Milles, an expert onthe intersection of law and technology,who also serves as a vice dean and directorof the Charles B. Sears Law Library.

“The Law School is home to incrediblelegal scholars who are doing some verycutting-edge legal research,”Milles ex-

plains.“The podcast is one way to bringtheir scholarship outside of the academy.

“You won’t find too many people out-side of law schools willing to sit down andread a 100-page law review article,”headds.“The conversational format of ourpodcast, on the other hand, makes thesetopics more accessible to law and non-lawcommunities. Plus, the podcasts under-score our law school’s emphasis on civicengagement and public policy.”

Previous podcasts have focused on anarray of legal matters, including workplaceequity, pensions, economic development,transracial adoption and even Russian

forestry. Scholars from law schools at Co-lumbia University, Emory University, Rut-gers University and St. John’s Universityhave participated in the UB podcasts, usu-ally as a follow-up to research they present-ed at UB’s Baldy Center for Law and SocialPolicy.

On a recent Thursday afternoon at theRomeo & Juliet Bakery Café on Hertel Av-enue in Buffalo, UB Law Professors SusanMangold and Martha McCluskey sat downto record a podcast on Mangold’s latest re-search, which takes a critical look at federalrequirements that say an abused or ne-glected child must be poor to be eligible forfoster-care maintenance funds.

Podcasts look at law and society

MILLES RECEIVESPRESTIGIOUSAWARD

James G. Milles, vice dean for legalinformation services, director of theCharles B. Sears Law Library andprofessor of law at UB Law School,has been selected as the 2007

recipient of the Kenneth J. HirshDistinguished Service Award of theComputer Science Special Interest Sectionof the American Association of LawLibraries (CS-SIS). Milles was nominatedby a group of CS-SIS current and pastchairs. The award is presented to a memberwho has made outstanding contributionsto the organization and who is wellregarded for their service to the profession.

Milles was chair of CS-SIS in 1996–97and was also American Association of LawLibraries Special Interest Section Councilchair the following year.According to hisnominators,“one of Jim’s most importantcontributions to law librarianship has beenthe role of mentor he has played for manycolleagues and newcomers to the field andmentors students in his library schoolclasses. He makes it a point at every annualmeeting to set aside time to meet with newlibrarians and introduce them to thesection.”

Milles received this prestigious awardon July 15 during the AmericanAssociation of Law Libraries AnnualMeeting in New Orleans.

“The Law School is home to incredible legal scholars who aredoing some very cutting-edge legalresearch.The podcast is one way tobring their scholarship outside ofthe academy.”

– James Milles,vice dean and director of the UB Law Library

Law School’sunique project

brings legalscholarship to broader audience

By John Della Contrada

UB News Services

103

Faculty JACOB D.HYMAN1909-2007


With tenderness and wordsof appreciation, flute in-terludes and intervals oflaughter, the UB LawSchool community gath-

ered to pay tribute to a man whose workinfluenced the school for more than half acentury.

Jacob D. Hyman, who came to the LawSchool in 1946 and would teach therethrough 2000, spent a critical 11 years asdean beginning in 1953. He died April 8 athis home in Edgewater, Fla., at age 97.

The Oct. 13 gathering in his honor fea-tured colleagues, former students andfriends of all stripes, led off by currentDean Nils Olsen.

“In his 54 years of faculty service at theUniversity, Jack more than any other per-son exemplified the values that we seek toachieve at the University of Buffalo LawSchool,”Olsen said.“He was a good anddecent man with a lifelong commitmentto apply the legal skills first learned at Har-vard Law School to achieve the bettermentand advancement of society.”

Hyman was “passionately committed toreal diversity in the bar and in the studentbody,”Olsen said, and was a pioneer inteaching and studying the law in its socialand political context.“He was loved andrespected by his former students in a man-ner that the rest of his colleagues couldonly aspire to. In many ways, the efforts ofthose of us who followed him were in-formed by his values, contributions and as-pirations for the school.”

Hon. Hugh B. Scott ’74 pointed to Hy-man’s interest in the civil rights movement,and to his care for students of color as theLaw School become more diverse.“Hewould always stop me and ask,‘Just howare things going?’That was not just ‘How isit going?’He really wanted to know. Heshowed that kind of interest, and I willnever forget it.

“Jack Hyman made us learn how tolearn. He taught us to seek objectivity andreasonableness, and how to advocate witha respectful voice. If you took any time to

observe Jack Hyman the teacher, thelawyer, the mentor, the friend, you saw theperson each of us as lawyers should striveto become, and that is lawyers with thehighest standard of professionalism, de-cency, compassion, wisdom and, above all,civility.”

Professor Thomas E. Headrick, himselfa former UB Law dean, spoke of a schoolthat was in trouble when Hyman becamedean, with a sparse, poorly paid faculty andsinking enrollment. In Hyman’s first reportto the University administration, he dis-cussed moving away from the case methodas the only teaching construct; foresaw theadvent of legal topics growing from newpublic policies; emphasized the changingrole of lawyers in society; and argued thatlegal education had to incorporate the un-derstandings of the social sciences and oth-er disciplines.

“Most law schools have a culture, a setof shared desires and beliefs that shapetheir development and their place in legaleducation,”Headrick said.“UB today is

Dean Hyman’s LawSchool, much larg-er, more expansive,better financed thanthe one he led in the1950s and 1960s. Itis the Law School ofhis vision, with theculture of the un-conventional, of theborderless under-standing of the law.His spirit inhabitsits very essence; itsits at its very core.”

Vivian Garcia,who served as an as-sociate dean duringthe Hyman era, tolda self-effacing story:“Believing myself tobe the only personwho ever thoughtof doing so, I wouldgreet him with a big

smile and say,‘Hi, man!’Walking that tallwalk of his, he would smile back everytime. He never commented on whether theappellation was novel, I think because hesaw how pleased I was with how funny Ithought I was.”

Later, Hyman asked her to co-teachwith him a legal reasoning course for non-traditional first-year students.“As Iwatched him in action in the classroom,”she said,“I gradually learned the full mea-sure of the substantive breadth of what hewas teaching. I learned something everytime Jack spoke. These were the studentswho had not met all the traditional stan-dards for Law School admission. Most ofthem thought that a shot was all they need-ed. Jack always made sure that they, and I,always thought that way.”

Law Professor and former UB PresidentWilliam R. Greiner said he met Hymanwhen he first interviewed at the LawSchool in 1967:“I was charmed, but I wasimpressed. I was impressed by intelligence,which was on display at a very high order.

Fond goodbyesAmid music, UB Law memorializes former Dean Hyman

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

And I was also impressed by the dignity ofthe individual. He combined great human-ity with great wisdom.”

Greiner cited Hyman’s commitment tosocial justice, both in fostering diversity atthe Law School and in larger contexts. Forexample, he said,when the building ofthe North Campuswas to begin, Hy-man wrote an openletter insisting that aportion of the con-struction contractsbe awarded to mi-nority-owned firms.

“On a regular ba-sis, Jack demonstrat-ed personal qualitiesthat were extraordi-nary. He leaves us alegacy of that,”Greiner said.“Morethan anything else, Ithink of the dignityand the human compassion that Jackwould display even-handedly and equally.He was always the formidable presence, thedignified Dean Hyman, but you knew thatunderneath that somewhat austere de-

meanor, there was this great human beingready on a personal level to help if hecould.”

Buffalo attorney Richard Griffin ’57 fol-lowed the theme of Hyman as “investor ex-traordinaire,”saying the dean “invested big

time in the law, itspractice, civil andhuman rights, ourLaw School, itsstudents and ouralumni.”That ex-tended, he said, toattending LawSchool class re-unions, even intohis 90th year – andhe was a drawingcard to get peopleto come.

He also invest-ed in his health,Griffin said:“Howdo you live such along and full life?

In addition to his great intellectual healthand constant exercise of the mind in his ac-tivities, he was physically fit. One day bycoincidence I was walking along the beachover in Canada. I looked out and who

emerges from the lake but Jack Hyman,probably 88 or 90. I said,‘Jack, I didn’tknow you were such a famous swimmer!’And we had a great chat.”

Finally, Professor John Henry Schlegelsaid of Hyman,“Ours was a love affair ofthe head, not of the heart.

“Jack was one of my wrestling partners,someone with whom I could wrestle aboutideas. The object was doing something aswell as one could. Jack always pushed meto think as well as I could, and in that wayhe tried to be not just a wrestling partner,but a teacher. Like most good teachers, hecould never stop teaching.

“It is fun to play seriously with ideas.Jack loved to play with ideas. He playedquite seriously. The playing was fun forhim, as it was for me. The point was alwaysimproving each other’s thought. Ours wasan activity that each could engage in sepa-rately that somehow worked better togeth-er.”

Richard F. Griffin ’57 eulogizes Dean Hyman.

Clarice Lechner-Hyman accepts condolences.

Faculty


Karen Cowart,Vice Dean forRecords and Registration,re-tired from the Law School onJan.1.A Law School adminis-trator since 1989, she has pro-

vided exceptional,professional service tothe Law School community during times ofsignificant change and challenge,accordingto Dean Nils Olsen.

“Without her flexibility and ability towork outside of the box, the Law School’sNew Curriculum would have remained adusty and unimplemented plan,”he said.

“Karen and her staff have managed theacademic functioning of the Law Schooland ensured that the trains arrive and de-part on time.She also has kept abreast ofand compliant with an ever-growing list ofcentral University requirements andtimetables that do not conform to tradi-tional practices within the Law School.Shehas successfully performed these pressure-packed,deadline-laden tasks with compe-tence,good will and professionalism.

“Please join me in wishing Karen thevery best in her retirement and in thankingher for the often behind-the-scenes servicethat she has provided all of us,”he said.

Beginning in 1994,Cowart worked inan environment that required her to modi-fy the Law School’s calendar from two 14-week semesters to two 12-week semesters,complicated by a four-week bridge periodin January with 30 to 40 one-credit coursesoffered to a large subset of students.She ad-justed to a change in the scheduling ofcourses as well, as three-credit courses mor-phed from three 50-minute classes perweek to three one-hour sessions.She alsowas challenged by a significant increase inthe number of courses offered,growingfrom approximately 100 to a high-watermark of 200.

In addition to implementing these sig-nificant changes in the scheduling of cours-es, she has worked tirelessly to ensure thatthe instructional policies of the school are

Karen Cowart,Vice Dean for Records and Registration, retires

“Without Karen Cowart’s

flexibility and ability to work

outside of the box,the Law

School’s New Curriculum

would have remained a dusty

and unimplemented plan.”

— Dean Nils Olsen

complied with.This includes,but is cer-tainly not limited to,a broad range of re-sponsibilities, such as: accommodating sixdual-degree programs that operated underseparate and distinct scheduling and grad-uation requirements; scheduling, seatingand administration of Law School final ex-aminations; employing, training and su-pervising outside examination proctors; re-specting and complying with the specificdemands of faculty for time and location ofindividual courses; identifying and moni-toring enrollment in all course offerings;working to ensure appropriate access tocourses for LL.M.students; ensuring thattransfer students complied with our courserequirements while maintaining access topopular upper-division offerings; monitor-ing our returning enrollment so that ap-propriate admissions decisions could bemade to ensure meeting but not exceedingenrollment targets; assigning and register-ing new first-year students in their sections;administering the Law School’s drop/addpolicies; auditing third-year students’grades from five semesters to determinewho is qualified to graduate; keeping a sep-arate listing of top academic performers toinform faculty assignment of honors andawards; identifying missing grades requiredfor third-year students to graduate and sitfor the Bar exam; receiving all examina-tions, to ensure timely submission; enteringall grades in both University and LawSchool databases for 760 students; con-ducting a final audit of graduation require-ments to ensure that every third-year stu-dent qualifies to graduate; processing offi-cial transcripts for students taking the NewYork State Bar examination; preparing theorientation schedule for new incoming stu-dents in cooperation with Dean MelindaSaran; scheduling summer session courses;compiling and publishing fall, spring andsummer course files; and certifying stu-dents for admission to a broad range ofstate bars.

Leadership Giving


107

late 1990s, and the company began to in-crease dramatically in business volume as itopened six national sales offices. From anannual business of $30 million to $40 mil-lion, it has grown to the point that PrestigeCapital now handles $150 million eachyear.

The business deals in factoring,also called accounts receivablepurchasing. It helps clients im-prove their cash flow; PrestigeCapital purchases their accounts

receivable at a discount from the face valueof the invoices, then collects the paymentsowed by the vendors. Prestige assumes riskin the transaction, but mitigates that risk bychecking the background and credit of theclient and calling the vendors to make surethat the receivables are actually due. Fraudis always a possibility.

“It is a very hands-on operation,”Kaminski says.“We are content doing lessvolume than a bank or finance companybecause our yields are much higher.”

The business is high finance, but his le-gal training “benefits me to no end,”he says.“We document the deals ourselves. The factthat we do not have to go to outside lawyersis utilized as a marketing tool. That meanswe can close deals faster.We are selling ourquick response time.

“And in terms of collection issues, myknowledge of the Bankruptcy Code is in-valuable. I am not going to be fooled or ex-pend unnecessary time. I know the ins andthe outs. My legal background is critical towhat I do.”

Kaminski and his wife, Helene, a gyne-cologist, live in Bedford, N.Y. They have twochildren: daughter Frances, an Emory Uni-versity graduate who hopes to become aveterinarian, and son Philip, a GeorgeWashington University senior who justtook his LSATs and is considering his choic-es for law school.

His father has some thoughts about thatdecision.“My son is still young,”Kaminskisays.“I do not want him to go into a mill.Law school is hard enough that you want tohave camaraderie.”

Like, perhaps, the warmth he found 30years ago at UB Law. He has not forgotten.

Harvey L.Kaminski ’77 gives back with amajor donation

His UB Law School experiencehas stayed with Harvey L.Kaminski ’77. Perhaps itcould not be otherwise – one

of his gifts is a comprehensive and detailedmemory, and those years in Buffalo arefresh in his mind three decades later.

“My experience in Law School was avery warm experience in terms of peoplebeing very friendly and helpful, and I alsoreceived a first-rate education,”Kaminskisays.“I did not lack for anything. Becauseof my training in the Law School, as I start-ed to move on, nothing appeared so novelor so foreign that it baffled me. I had a verygood background and training, so any-thing I did not know in depth, I couldlearn.

“Law School was not easy, but I enjoyedit very much – and that is why I give backto the school.”

For Kaminski, that giving has come inboth dollars and time.A member of theDean’s Advisory Council, he has served as amentor for UB Law students and fieldedplenty of calls from students seeking careeradvice. He also taught last year at the LawSchool’s New York City Program in Inter-national Finance & Law, educating stu-dents about the intricacies of the financework he does through his company, Pres-tige Capital Corp. in Fort Lee, N.J.

Now Kaminski has made a major gift tothe Law School, and in recognition theschool will name one of the major lectureclassrooms in O’Brian Hall, the Harvey L.Kaminski Classroom.

“People should not forget the roots oftheir success or how they got there,”Kaminski says.“It is critical to just givethanks and show gratitude for the positiveexperiences you have had in your life andwhat has made you successful. Life is short.You have to leave a legacy.”

It is a lesson, he said, handed down

from his parents, Holocaust survivors whoemigrated from Poland in 1949.“They al-ways gave me opportunities for education,and they were very supportive of me inBuffalo,”Kaminski says.“I was very fortu-nate. I was always taught to be positive andto look on the bright side.”

That attitude has served him well in theprofessional journey he has taken sincegraduating from UB Law. He practicedcorporate law in Buffalo for a year and ahalf, and then decided to return to NewYork City to be near his family.“I was basi-

cally languishing until I developed a nicheand an expertise in bankruptcy in the early’80s,”he says.“Then, in an ironic way, I gotlucky. Interest rates rose dramatically, theeconomy crashed, and as a young lawyerspecializing in bankruptcy I became avaluable commodity with many job of-fers.”

He took a position with a finance com-pany, learned the business of secured “assetbased”lending, and in 1984 set out with apartner on an entrepreneurial venture.Kaminski bought out his partner in the

Thanks for the memories

“People should not forget the roots of their success or how they got there.”

— Harvey L.Kaminski ’77

Members ofThe University Founders Society

The University at Buffalo created The University Founders recognitionsociety in 1994 to honor individuals who have given a least $50,000 to theuniversity over a lifetime. The names of University Founders whose giftshave benefited the Law School are listed below

Hon. Michael A.AmicoBrian D. BairdThomas R. Beecher Jr.Thomas E. Black Jr. and Bridget Black Hilary P. BradfordThomas R. BremerDavid BrownLawrence P. Castellani and Joan J. CastellaniRoss M. Cellino Sr. and Jeanette E. Cellino Terrence M. ConnorsKenneth B. Forrest and Ellen Katz ForrestGordon R. Gross and Gretchen S. Gross Erma R. Hallett JaeckleRoger J. JonesHarvey L. KaminskiHilda S. KorenFrancis M. Letro and Cindy Abbott LetroErik D. Lindauer and Lisa D. LindauerGerald S. Lippes James L. MagavernWilliam J. Magavern IIWilliam E. Mathias IIWilliam A. NieseReginald B. Newman IIRobert I. Reis and Ellen S. ReisAnthony J. Renaldo*Charles Shabsels and Susan ShabselsOrin C. SmithMark K. SuzumotoThomas F.Wolfe and Barbara Wolfe

*Deceased

Leadership Giving


A ‘life-changing’gift Your stock may pay more dividends than youthought possible

If your shares are only producing low annual dividends and you need moreincome, consider giving your stock to the University at Buffalo Law School tofund a charitable gift annuity.Your gift may provide you with income for life, acharitable deduction and reduce or eliminate taxes.And for the Law School, yourgift can mean additional support for the annual fund, more scholarships forneedy students or other programs you may wish to designate.

To learn how your gifts of stock can benefit you and the Law School, pleasecall either Deborah Scott at (716) 645-2113,Alan Carrel at (716) 645-6222 orKaren Kaczmarski at (716) 645-6429, or e-mail them at [email protected].

Now David and Lucy Smithhave made a major gift that willcarry one student through herLaw School years on a full-tu-ition scholarship. He says he in-tends to repeat the gift once thecurrent scholarship recipient,Tonya R. Lewis, graduates.

“Without UB Law School,”he said,“I would have never hadan opportunity to become alawyer, to be in the situation Iam in. My success is really as aresult of the Law School and theopportunities provided by theLaw School.

“For so many people in myclass, without the opportunitythat was provided by UB Law,who knows what we would bedoing? At this point there are anumber of prospective law stu-dents that I think those of uswho are able to help shouldhelp, if and when we can.”

From that early job as a law clerk, Smithstayed on at National Fuel, becoming gen-eral counsel for the natural gas supplier.His legal training, he said, was most useful.“Especially in a regulated environment, inutilities which are very heavily regulated, alegal background is critical,”he said.“Ithink lawyers tend to have a certainthought process that they go through thatis very helpful in business.”

Now, as National Fuel’s president and

chief operating officer, Smithsees the value of paving the wayfor the next generation of legalpractitioners. His gift establishesthe Phyllis G. Smith Scholarship,named in memory of his latemother.“She was the one whoalways said that you can be what-ever you want to be,”he says.“She really provided me and mybrothers with our work ethic andthe mindset to get out and suc-ceed.”

A side benefit of the scholar-ship is that it can become part ofthe process of recruiting talentedstudents who otherwise mightnot be able to afford a UB Laweducation. One criterion forawarding the scholarship is fi-nancial need.

But for first-year studentTonya Lewis, the first recipient ofthe Smith Scholarship, the news

came after she already had arrived in Buf-falo.

A 2006 graduate of the University ofWisconsin–Whitewater, Lewis is marriedand has two daughters, ages 8 and 4. Shestudied physical geography and environ-mental studies as an undergraduate, doingfield work in the rain forests of Belize, andwas attracted to UB Law largely for its clin-ical program in environmental law.“UBjust seemed to be the right fit for me,”shesaid.“I really like it.”

She and her husband had sold theirhome in Wisconsin, moved to WesternNew York and bought a house here. ThenLillie V.Wiley-Upshaw, associate dean foradmissions and financial aid, called withgood news: Lewis had been named the firstSmith Scholar, and her three years at theLaw School would be tuition-free.

“It is really a life-changing event,”Lewissaid.“Prior to receiving the scholarship, Imay have had to take a position that ishigh-paying in order to pay back my stu-dent loans from Law School. Now I havethe freedom to take an environmental po-

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8109

sition that may not be so high-paying.”Beyond that, she said, to be free of loan

debt means her family will be better able tosave for their children’s college education.

David and Lucy Smith had a voice in theselection process, and he said he hopes hisfellow alumni will consider similar gifts.“Itis important for the Law School,”saidSmith, who is a member of the Dean’s Advi-sory Council.“I would encourage them tolook at what the Law School has done forthemselves and how they could help repaythat.”

David F. Smith ’78 funds one student’sfull-tuition scholarship

David F. Smith ’78 knows what it feels like to work your way through lawschool. The coursework is tough enough; add in a job and a family, and threeyears can feel like an eternity at hard labor.Smith and his wife, Lucy, were married and had a son by the time he started

studying at UB Law School. He attended part time for a while, holding down a job as well,before the Law School began requiring all students to be full time.As a full-time student,he worked as a law clerk at National Fuel Gas Supply Corp.

Tonya Lewis ’10 isthe first recipient ofthe Phyllis G.SmithScholarship.

“My mother was the onewho always said that you canbe whatever you want to be.”

– David F.Smith ’78

110

Leadership Giving

Asingle undergraduate course,taught half a lifetime ago,hasresulted in an extraordinary giftto UB Law School in honor ofone of its best-loved professors.

The course was Constitutional Law,and it was taught not at UB but at the Uni-versity of Washington. The instructor wasa young Bill Greiner, who of course be-came a law professor, the 13th president ofUB, and now continues to teach in the LawSchool.

The student? A senior by the name ofOrin Smith, who would go on to a distin-guished career in finance. He served aschief policy and finance officer of the state

of Washington, and completed his careeras chief financial officer and then presidentand CEO of the coffeehouse pioneer Star-bucks.

Now retired, Smith has designated amajor gift of $200,000 to UB Law in honorof his long-ago professor. In recognition,the Law School named its elegant new fac-ulty reading room, on the fifth floor ofJohn Lord O’Brian Hall, the ProfessorWilliam R. Greiner Law Faculty ReadingRoom.

The newly renamed reading room wasdedicated with a ribbon-cutting Nov. 30.“We happily made our toasts with Star-bucks coffee,”says Dean Nils Olsen.

“This is a nice recognition of Bill Grein-er and his teaching. It is very special, and itis particularly appropriate because Bill hasplayed such a role in building up the cam-pus, adding to the quality of student lifethrough the departments and all the otherbuilding that happened during his tenureas president,”says Olsen.

“It was completely and totally unex-pected – almost dumbfounding, really,”Greiner said.“I remember Orin as a stu-dent, when I was in my early teaching days.We had lost touch for a long time, then hedropped me an e-mail. He wrote me thisoverwhelming note, and I was blown away.

“What more can a teacher ask than tohave a student say,‘You made a great dealof difference for me’? It is really quite stun-ning, and it is a great honor.”

It was in 1965 that Smith, in his finalyear at the University of Washington, hap-pened upon an honors course in constitu-tional law, and enrolled.“It was class of 10,11, 12 people, a pretty intimate setting,”hesays.“We had a great time in that class. Theinteraction was terrific, and we had a greatinstructor. He challenged us with the issuesof constitutional law, forcing us to thinkand speak and articulate our position. Itwas such a challenging course, like nothingany of us had had before.”

Great experiences, including survivingthe Socratic method, build camaraderie,and the students became friends as well.Greiner came to their parties. He invitedSmith to his house a couple of times, and afriendship developed. Greiner served as amentor to the young business and politicalscience major in his senior year.

The course also jolted Smith into think-ing more deeply about his future.Wherebefore he had expected to graduate andplunge immediately into the workingworld, he found himself aiming higher.

Retired Starbucks CEO honors Professor Bill Greinerwith major gift to the Law School


“People in that class were applying tolaw schools or to graduate businessschools,”he says.“I had been thinkingabout going to law school but had notdone anything about it. But it was really asa result of that class that I ended up apply-ing to Harvard Business School. I was a lateapplicant, so I charged in and took the ad-mission test at the next opportunity. I wasaccepted in June.”

They kept in touch for a littlewhile. Greiner moved on to YaleLaw School, and Smith once ortwice made the trip from Cam-bridge to New Haven for a visit.

But then they went on to their respectivecareers. Smith returned to the PacificNorthwest, worked at the accounting firmTouché Ross & Co. for 12 years, served thestate of Washington as chief policy and fi-nance officer, then took a pay cut to jointhe fledgling Starbucks Corp. and its entre-preneurial young leader, Howard Schultz.

It was a natural fit.Where Schultz wasall ideas, Smith was all execution – thesteady, experienced hand behind the scenesof the company’s meteoric rise to an inter-national food service company. In his busi-ness memoir Pour Your Heart Into It,

Schultz calls Smith “an executive who canbuild the infrastructure the companyneeds without sacrificing the need for in-novation. But [he is also] someone whounderstands the value of unconventionalthinking.”

Smith was known for always carrying apen and notebook in his pocket, to capturegood ideas. But at a company like Star-bucks, it was not always conventional busi-ness. He got his share of whipped cream inthe face, for example, at the company’s an-nual pie-throwing contests to build em-ployee morale.

He was promoted from CFO to presi-dent in 1994, and helped guide the compa-ny through its period of most explosivegrowth before retiring in March 2005.

“I had wanted to get away from 70- and80-hour weeks,”he says.“The travel waspretty constant. I wanted to spend moretime with my family, and travel a little bitwhere I could see something other than theinside of hotel rooms.”

In retirement, he has continued his in-volvement with charitable causes, particu-larly educational institutions. Havingmade several substantial donations to theUniversity of Washington, he is chairmanof the UW Foundation and is on the uni-

versity’s School of Medicineboard. He also serves on theboards of Disney and Nike, andchairs the philanthropic Star-bucks Foundation, carrying onthe push for social responsibilitythat he championed at the com-pany. He also is on the board ofConservation International,which funds the work of about1,000 scientists in tropical areas,trying to establish ways to drawsustainable income from rainfor-est areas and so protect themagainst clear-cutting.

But as he thought backover his remarkablelife’s journey, Smith be-gan to wonder abouthis old professor.“I had

thought about him a number oftimes but really did not know ex-actly where he had gone and whathe was doing,”Smith said.“WhenI retired, I Googled him, and therehe was. I had no idea he was presi-dent of the University. I had heardthat he had gone to teach in a law

school, but I was not sure where that was.“Because he had had such an influence

on my life and career, I decided that Iwould contact the school and make somekind of contribution, so I called the devel-opment office.”

Now Smith’s gift will put ProfessorGreiner’s name before his colleagues asthey use the reading room, with its collec-tions of legal periodicals and faculty publi-cations. For Smith, it is a fitting use for hisdonation.

Greiner, he says, was able to make con-stitutional law “a great experience.”

“My impression was that he thoroughlyenjoyed being in the classroom,”Smithsays.“Unlike a majority of the professors Ihad, he took a lot of time outside of class;he was always available and always interest-ed, and always imaginative in his presenta-tion. Taking that class was a really influen-tial experience in my life that I wanted Billto know about.”

Professor William R.Greiner and benefactor Orin Smith

Professor William R. Greiner and Orin Smith cut the ribbon.

Erie County District Attorney Frank J.Clark ’67 told of a Dean’s Advisory Councilmeeting at which University President JohnB.Simpson said,“I cannot imagine the LawSchool without Nils Olsen as dean.”

“No one said anything.It was silent,”Clark said.“Everyone just nodded.It was agiven.It was black letter.Whenever youthought of the Law School,you thought ofNils.I cannot think of a higher complimentthan that.

“When I think of him and the LawSchool,I see how the Law School reflects hispersonality in so many ways.Everything hehas done,in whatever he does,he puts his

own personality into it.It is not just theschool and the curriculum that is importantto him,it is the students.

“If he has always been there for me,I canimagine over the years how many studentshave turned to him for those very samethings,always to find him right there,morethan supportive,more than encouraging.And what a wonderful legacy that is,perhapshis greatest legacy.A personal relationship,teacher to student,year after year.”

School of Management Dean John M.Thomas,a 1976 UB Law graduate,spokeabout the collaboration between the twoschools,which includes a thriving JD/MBA

joint degree program and a joint program ininternational finance and banking in NewYork City.A third program,in arts manage-ment,is run in conjunction with the Collegeof Arts and Sciences,and in that Thomashighlighted the contributions of“the othercelebrated Olsen at UB”– Dean Olsen’s wife,Sandra,director of the UB Art Galleries.

“Nils’legacy at the University has beenhis leadership in linking the professionalschools to other schools and departments,”Thomas said.“Nils has led the way in mak-ing sure that UB is a university that can takegreat pride in the extent to which it valuescollaboration across academic boundaries.”

Speaking on behalf of the law faculty,Charles Patrick Ewing,SUNY DistinguishedService Professor,noted that scholarly pro-ductivity and community service by the fac-ulty have reached all-time highs.“With yourguidance and your motivation,”he said tothe dean,“we have become one of the mostintellectually productive and respected lawfaculties in the country.That is no exaggera-tion.Nils has figured out exactly what strings

Alumni Association


Partingaccolade2007 Jaeckle Awardgoes to departingDean Olsen

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8139

to pull to motivate us,to reward us;heknows when to prod us;and most impor-tant of all,he knows when to get out of ourway.He is not a boss but a colleague.”

Ewing also noted Olsen’s success in re-building the loyalty and involvement of theschool’s alumni:“He has done everythingimaginable to make our alums feel part oftheir alma mater.He was able to reach out tothe alumni in large measure because he is alawyer and has been in the trenches.Nils issomeone who speaks the language of prac-ticing lawyers,knows his way around thecourtroom,can tell and appreciate a good le-gal war story,and is a true professional rolemodel for our students and our alums.”

UB President Simpson,callingOlsen a “transformational”dean for the Law School,ex-pressed appreciation forOlsen’s guidance.“I have been

here now nearly four years,”he said,“andduring that time I have almost without fail,when I have needed a wise friend,a col-league,to help me unravel the University’smysteries or to understand various aspectsof how Buffalo works,I have turned to DeanOlsen.He has been for me a remarkable col-league and mentor as well as being a friend.”

Simpson also cited Olsen’s participationin the development of the UB 2020 strategicplan,and his support for the University’s re-newed commitment to civic engagement.“IfI could have a faculty with a hundred peoplethe equivalent of Nils,”he said,“I would havean absolutely remarkable university.”

It was University Provost Satish K.Tri-pathi – saying,“For the University,he hastruly been dean of deans”– who presentedthe Jaeckle Award to Olsen,with a sustainedovation from an appreciative audience.

Dean Olsen told of the first deans meet-ing he attended.“I had shown up at work asusual in a Grateful Dead shirt,blue jeans andrunning shoes,”he said.“I ended up borrow-ing a jacket,a button-down shirt with a col-lar,and boots from Phil Halpern.Theprovost at the time was heard to mutter thathe could not believe that the acting dean ofthe Law School dressed so poorly.He actual-ly muttered it to me.”

But more seriously,Olsen said,“This in-stitution has nurtured me,supported me,and certainly taught me everything I knowabout teaching,about educational adminis-tration and the practice of law.”

He added,“A great law school does notstand in isolation,nor is it the product of in-dividual administrative excellence.It is aunique organization that is the result of thesymbiotic relationship of a number of dis-

crete elements.”Those elements,he said,in-clude “an extraordinarily talented and giftedcommunity of scholars and teachers”; thesupport of the wider University community,and of students and alumni;and the talentsof a series of administrators and staff mem-bers,many of whom he named individually.

“When you honor me,”he concluded,addressing the alumni in attendance,“youare in fact honoring our faculty,our stu-dents,the great research university we are apart of,our administrators and,not inconse-quentially,yourselves.I will always treasure

and keep close your kind words and gener-ous support.”

The Jaeckle Award is named for UB Lawalumnus Edwin F.Jaeckle ’15.It is given an-nually to an individual who has distin-guished herself or himself and has made sig-nificant contributions to the UB Law Schooland to the legal profession.

The 2007 Edwin F.Jaeckle Dinner Com-mittee was co-chaired by Laurie S.Bloom’83 and Mary M.Penn ’99.

• Appointed dean effective for the academicyear 1998-99, after 21 years on the faculty.He is the 18th dean in the school’s history.

• Expanded the academic administrativeranks of the school by naming several vicedeans.

• Spearheaded an overhaul of the LawSchool’s signature building, John LordO’Brian Hall, including a refurbishedstudent lounge and the recent additions ofthe Francis M. Letro Courtroom – one ofthe only working law school courtrooms inthe nation – and an elegant faculty readingroom and conference facility, as well as sixnew classrooms. Made O’Brian Hall thefirst building on campus to offer wirelessInternet access.

• Greatly expanded the number of jointdegree programs in which the Law Schoolparticipates, established the school’s firsttwo Master of Laws programs, and grewthe number of academic concentrationsoffered.

• More than doubled the number ofapplicants, raised median LSAT scores andGPAs significantly, and attracted moreapplicants both from top undergraduateschools and from outside New York State.Increased student enrollment by 25percent.

• Oversaw full implementation of thegroundbreaking New Curriculum,designed to help bridge the gap betweenlaw school and practice.

• Greatly increased alumni support for the

school, reducing dependence on statefunding. The Annual Fund, with a stellarparticipation rate of nearly 26 percent, nowraises about $1 million each year. Oversawsuccessful $13 million capital campaign.

• Created the Law School Village and otheron-campus apartment housing reservedfor law students.

• Grew and developed the Dean’s AdvisoryCouncil to draw on the expertise ofdistinguished alumni in guiding the LawSchool’s academic program.

• Established a mentoring program thatpairs each first-year student with analumni mentor.

• Held leadership positions for several keyUniversity initiatives, including serving aschair of UB’s Intercollegiate AthleticsBoard and the Corrigan Committee, whichis studying the future of UB’sintercollegiate athletics programs.Provided leadership to the UB 2020strategic planning group charged withstrengthening UB’s focus on civicengagement and public policy.

• Successfully lobbied New York State forprofessional-school tuition for the LawSchool, and reinvested tuition revenuesinto new services and facilities for students.

• Among many alumni initiatives, began anannual luncheon for all alumni whograduated 50 or more years ago from theLaw School.

• Oversaw the inauguration of UB Law’sNew York City Program in InternationalFinance and Law, a partnership with theSchool of Management.

• Championed the Law School’s thrivingclinical legal education program, whichcombines the University’s missions ofeducation and service to the community.

• Among professors hired: MarkBartholomew, Irus Braverman, RebeccaFrench, James Gardner, Jeffrey Malkan,Lynn Mather, James Milles,Athena Mutua,Rick Su,Winnifred Sullivan, and MateoTaussig-Rubbo.

Left to right: President John B.Simpson,Dean Nils Olsen and Provost Satish K. Tripathi.

In the waning months of his tenure as dean,Nils Olsen had some loose ends to tie up.UB Law School and the UB Law Alumni Association tied up one of their own:Theyhonored Olsen with the Edwin F.Jaeckle Award,UB Law’s highest honor.The award came Nov.13 at the Twentieth Century Club in downtown Buffalo.TheTuesday evening dinner and presentation was a departure from the traditional Satur-

day-morning event that is coupled with a Continuing Legal Education opportunity.Emceed by Margaret P.Gryko ’77,president of the Law Alumni Association,the event fea-

tured a succession of speakers who discussed aspects of Olsen’s life and work – everythingfrom his accomplishments as dean to his famously rumpled style of dress.

Some highlights of R. Nils Olsen’stenure as dean of the UB Law School:

Dr. Sandra H. Olsen congratulates her husbandafter he receives the 2007 Jaeckle Award.

Continuing Legal Education Programs –Your $50 membership includes free CLEcredits,valuable written handouts andbreakfast at three “UB Law Downtown”seminars.GOLD Group members pay just$15 per seminar.Non-members pay $20 perseminar.

Networking is easy! – Need a printout ofalumni/ae in your area? Give us the ZIPcodes,and we will send you a list.Contactthe Law Alumni office for assistance.Lookfor our new online alumni communitycoming shortly.

Career Assistance – Association mem-bers receive a reduced rate on the employ-ment newsletter published by the CareerServices Office.The CSO will also helpalumni find mentors in their practice areaswho can offer invaluable career advice.Andour alumni office provides lists of alumni/aeby geographic area to assist alumni withtheir networking efforts.

Regional Events – Every January wesponsor a New York City alumni luncheonin conjunction with the State Bar meeting.Among our celebrity speakers have been

Chief Judge Judith Kaye,former New YorkMayor Rudolph Giuliani,former New YorkAttorney General Dennis Vacco and Gov.Eliot Spitzer.The Association also under-writes events in Rochester,Washington,

D.C.,Syracuse and Chicago.Recognize Distinguished Law Alumni

twice a year – The coveted Jaeckle Award,the highest award the Law School and theLaw Alumni Association can bestow,is pre-sented to an outstanding alumnus/a in thefall.Five alumni are recognized at the Annu-al Meeting and Dinner in the spring.Awardsare presented in the categories of privatepractice, judiciary,community service,busi-ness and public service.

All alumni receive UB Law Forum, UBLaw Links,and UB Law Briefs – Our annu-al award-winning magazine provides newsof the Law School,faculty,graduates andstudents.Don’t be left out:Be sure to sendyour news in or submit your news online.We also publish an electronic newsletter,LawLinks,four times a year,and a brief printnewsletter,Law Briefs,six times a year.Allour publications are available online.

The Buffalo Alumni Mentor Project –A program designed to help law studentsand recent graduates make the transitionfrom law school to the legal community.

Assistance with Reunions – We do classmailings,hire photographers,order favorsand offer other support to alumni/ae whoorganize reunions.Class pictures and direc-tories are provided free of charge to all re-union attendees.

Student Support – We help underwritea printed photo directory for first-year lawstudents,and host a welcome reception forthe entire first-year class providing an op-portunity for students to meet practitioners,faculty and members of the judiciary.Stu-dents are invited to many alumni events asguests of the Law Alumni Association.

Free parking – Paid members enjoy freeparking in the Center for Tomorrow lot.O’Brian Hall is just a short shuttle bus tripaway.

Online Services – Join our new onlinecommunity Get Linked! and check out thehost of services available through UB Law’son-line home at www.law.buffalo.edu.Alumni can e-mail our faculty and staff,search our library collections,visit CareerServices, join the Law Alumni Association ormake a gift to the Law School.Subscribe on-line to UB Law Links,our e-mail newsletter,to receive the latest Law School and class-mate news.

Bookstore Discounts – Paid membersfor the current membership year receive a 20pecent discount on UB Law logo and UBLaw Alumni logo merchandise available atthe Law School bookstore.


Alumni Association

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION DUES FOR 2008 – 2009:

• Classes of 2004 to 2007 $25• Classes of 2004 to 2007 * $50• All prior classes * $50• Life membership * $1,000

Joint membership with UB Alumni Assoc.• All classes * $75*Includes three one-hour CLE programs per membership year

Make your check payable to:

UB Law Alumni Association and mail to:

UB Law Alumni Office312 O’Brian HallBuffalo,NY 14260

Contact us at (716) 645-2107 to pay with MasterCard or Visa, or pay online atwww.law.buffalo.edu/alumni

UB Law alumni services

The University at Buffalo LawSchool and the UB Law AlumniAssociation announce thelaunch of its new online alumnicommunity, Get Linked! Get

Linked! provides an online forum whereUB Law alumni can stay connected to theirlaw school and their former classmates.

The community features an alumni di-rectory of over 9,500 law graduates.Alum-ni can update their online profile or searchfor and network with other alumnithroughout the world.“It’s a great methodto keep in touch with friends and col-leagues or find a lost classmate and recon-nect,”says Ilene R. Fleischmann, executivedirector of the UB Law Alumni Associa-tion.

The community’s Class Notes tool en-ables users to share professional accom-plishments, personal news and photoswith just a few clicks on the keyboard.Most notes submitted electronically areposted daily, and may also appear in theLaw School’s annual magazine,UB LawForum, or the quarterly e-mail newsletter,UB Law Briefs.

Get Linked! makes registration for UBLaw alumni events much easier by utilizingthe university’s events calendar which re-sides within the University at Buffalo’salumni community (called UB Connect).The UB events calendar provides informa-tion on upcoming social, networking andeducational programs at the Law Schooland throughout the University with conve-nient online payment options.

Get Linked! is a password-protectedcommunity, free and accessible for all UBLaw graduates. Law School alumni will re-ceive registration information by mail, ormay request information on how to be-come a member at www.law.buffalo.edu/GetLinked.

Law School Oral History Project –The lives of UB Law alumni and theLaw School’s history will be pre-served and celebrated in the LawAlumni Association’s ongoing digital Oral History Project.

Check outlaw.buffalo.edu/GetLinked

To register:1.Visit www.law.buffalo.edu/GetLinked2. Click on “Register Now”under “First time visitors”3. Follow the simple instructions

Note:Your ID number for your initial registration is the last four digitsof your Social Security number.You will only need this number the firsttime you enter the community. Once registered, you will choose your ownuser ID and password. If you do not have a Social Ssecurity number, or ifyou experience any difficulty registering, contact Lisa Mueller at [email protected].

“It’s a great method to keep in touch with friends and colleagues or find a lost classmate and reconnect.”

— Ilene R.Fleischmann,executive director of the UB Law Alumni Association

Alumni Association


IN IT FOR LIFE

“It was a fun atmosphere,”Dr. Kim re-members.“The professors, even if theysaw me at a far distance, they raised theirhands – ‘Hey, Mr. Kim!’ I think they didthis to almost every student.”

Not that life in the classroom wasstress-free. These were the days of relent-less Socratic method.“I hated each mo-ment of being called on to answer ques-tions,”Kim says.“But I decided not toyield to the pressure. I always took the veryfront seat, so I was called upon in almostevery class.”

He speaks also about his struggles withwriting, even as a member of the BuffaloLaw Review. “My articles were always thevery last piece,”he says.“I never learnedhow to compose well, even in Korean. Oneof the senior students, who was sympa-thetic to my plight, told me how to write.He spent just a little time with me:‘Let meread one page of your sample. Have youever learned how to write? Do you knowwhat “topic sentence”means? Do youknow what “connecting sentence”means?

Do you know about paraphrasing?’ It tookhim just a few minutes to explain it all tome, and after that I could write an essaythat passed without any rejection. Thiswas in 1974, and I was 32 years old. So atage 32, writing can be taught!

“It was a very difficult period in my life,but it was the best educational experienceI can imagine. That’s why whenever theBuffalo Law School name is mentioned, Ihave nothing but absolute affection for it.”

Following Law School, Kim worked forExxon Corp. for three years in the UnitedStates before returning to Korea. Now hepractices mainly intellectual property lawwith the First Law Offices of Korea, inSeoul.“We are the second-largest IP firmin volume,”he said,“and we like to thinkwe are the first in quality.”

It was 35 years ago that Changse L. Kim, a native of South Korea with a brand-newdoctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Rochester, came to UBLaw School, the first Asian student ever admitted there. His first course: Torts, withProfessor Jack Hyman.“That was really a wonderful experience for me in terms ofmy introduction to U.S. jurisprudence,”he said.“I still remember almost every

case from that course. I enjoyed my life at the Buffalo Law School tremendously.”That affection has stayed with him – and has led him to establish another “first.”Kim,a

1975 graduate of the Law School,has become the first lifetime member of the UB LawAlumni Association.Other life members are Eric Ian Robins ’03 and Karen Mathews ’80.

1975 graduate is the Law AlumniAssociation’s first lifetime member

“It was a very difficult period in my life,but it was the best educational experience I can imagine.That’s why whenever the Buffalo Law School name is mentioned,I have nothing but absolute affection for it.”

— Dr.Changse L.Kim ’75,First Law Offices ofKorea,in Seoul

Discovering GOLDAlumni enjoy The Sample, in Buffalo

Christian M.Lovelace ’06,Andrew O.Guglielmi’06 and Melissa N.Subjeck ’06

Ginger D. Schröder ’90, Lisa M. Mueller ’93 andMarc W. Brown ’99

Jack Trachtenberg’02 and Kevin D.Szczepanski ’95

Left to right: Hon.John M.Curran ’84 and

Hon.John F.O’Donnell.Brendan J.Rich ’05,Amber Storr ’06 and Brent Nowicki ’06

Lawrence M.Ross ’79 and

John W.Looney ’99

The fee for lifetimemembership in the UB Law AlumniAssociation is$1,000.

Contact Ilene Fleischmann at [email protected] or call (716) 645-2107for more information.

Why write dues checks?

Alumni Association


Law School stories past and pre-sent were the focus as membersof the UB Law Alumni Associa-tion gathered for their 45th an-nual meeting and dinner.

Highlighting the May 3 gathering at theHyatt Regency Buffalo was a special pre-sentation of the Harry Rachlin ’26 OralHistory Project, a massive effort to collectand archive the voices and wisdom ofdozens of Law School alumni and facultyto make them available to the generationsthat follow them.

The project was co-chaired by Hon.E.Jeannette Ogden ’83 and Robert L.Bore-anaz ’89,and Boreanaz played some ex-cerpts from the oral histories that have

been collected.“Lawyers like to tell storiesand to hear war stories,”he said.“It is im-portant for young lawyers to have that op-portunity as well.We are trying to captureas many distinguished individuals of theLaw School and the legal community aspossible, and lay down their insight, theirperspective, their advice, so they can be re-trieved sometime in the future.”

For example, he said, a future law stu-dent might see an interview with famedtrial lawyer Herald Price Fahringer ’56,then access the Oral History Project andhear Fahringer’s voice recounting his daysat UB Law. Ditto with Hon.Ann T. Mikoll’54, former Professor Lou Del Cotto, andformer dean Jacob Hyman.

Boreanaz said the organizers hope tomake the completed project accessible atsuch venues as Law School functions, thedowntown public library, the UB Law Li-brary and online.

The dinner was a special one formembers of the Class of 1947,marking the 60th anniversary oftheir graduation, and the Classof 1957, marking their 50th. It

was also bittersweet for UB Law Dean NilsOlsen,who is stepping down from admin-istration in order to return to full-timeteaching. Of all the things he did as dean,Olsen said, getting to know the alumni –some of whom he first met as law students

Celebrating our stories Law Alumni Association dinner recognizes career achievements

– has been the most enjoyable.Following dinner, six Distin-

guished Alumni Awards were con-ferred. The recipients’acceptance re-marks were included in the evening’sprinted program, and are excerptedhere.

Dennis R. McCoy ’77,presidentof the UB Law Alumni Association,presented the judiciary award toHon.Thomas M.Van Strydonck ’73,a New York State Supreme Court jus-tice in the 7th District.Van Stry-donck, who serves on the Dean’s Ad-visory Council, is a former MonroeCounty Bar Association presidentand established a fund in that countyto aid lawyers with addiction or men-tal illness issues.

“When I was elected to theSupreme Court in 1999,”he wrote,“one of my partners suggested that Iwould find growing old as a judgewas much easier than as a practicinglawyer. She was so right. I have triedto keep that in mind as I interact withthe lawyers who appear in front ofme. The pressures that come with thepractice of law should not be exacer-bated by unnecessary and unyieldingdemands from the bench.”

Mary M.Penn ’99 presented theaward for private practice to Mar-garet W.Wong ’76,managing part-ner of Margaret W.Wong and Asso-ciates.Wong’s firm, with offices inCleveland; Columbus, Ohio; NewYork City; and Detroit, specializes inimmigration law. She herself emi-grated from Hong Kong as a teenag-er.

“I feel so blessed that I am able tohelp thousands and thousands of immi-grants to settle in the United States and tofulfill their dreams of living here,”Wongwrote.“Not only to survive, but to thrive. Iwould not have been able to do this with-out the UB Law School and the scholarshipfoundation.”

Boreanaz returned to the podium topresent the Distinguished Alumni Awardfor community service to Richard Lipsitz’43,who is of counsel with the Buffalo lawfirm Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria. Lipsitzbuilt his career on labor law, and serves ascounsel and president of the Coalition forEconomic Justice.

“I have spent substantial non-billabletime with a number of not-for-profit orga-nizations, mostly involved in the advance-

ment of civil liberties and civil rights, andin programs for assistance to economicallydisadvantaged persons,”he wrote.“Thattime was made possible by my partners’ in-dulgence and support, for which I thankthem.”

McCoy made the next presentation, theaward for public service to Law SchoolVice Dean Alan S. Carrel ’67.Carrel hasspent 30 years at the Law School, amongother achievements founding the Dean’sAdvisory Council and the alumni maga-zine, UB Law Forum. He also built the UBLaw Alumni Association substantially as itsdirector, and has been instrumental in thesuccess of the school’s development efforts.

“The best thing about my job,”Carrelwrote,“is that it has enabled me to interact

with thousands of terrific students,alumni and co-workers, whom I re-spect, whose company I have enjoyedand from whom I have learnedmuch. They are an important part ofmy life, and many have become closefriends.”

Penn presented the award forachievement in business to WilliamE.Mathias II ’71,managing partnerof Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman.His firm focuses its practice on cor-porate business loans and equity anddebt issues, representing businessesfrom small family firms to large pub-licly held corporations.

Wrote Mathias:“Over the years Ihave had the opportunity to workwith many of the highly regarded na-tional corporate law firms, yet I con-tinue to be impressed by the skill andprofessionalism of my fellow mem-bers of the local corporate bar, manyof whom are UB graduates.”

The award for service by a non-alumnus, presented by Laurie S.Bloom ’83,went to Frederick G.At-tea,a partner in Phillips Lytle and amember of the Dean’s AdvisoryCouncil. Through the state Bar Asso-ciation,Attea is working to includethe Law School on an initiative tooverhaul the state’s Not-for-ProfitCorporation Law.

“Those of us who, for many years,have been a part of the legal commu-nity in Western New York are fortu-nate to have had a law school whichhas taken such an active and vital rolein shaping our legal community,”At-tea wrote.“Unquestionably, PhillipsLytle’s capabilities have been greatly

enhanced by the Law School’s alumni.”To close out the honors, McCoy pre-

sented UB Law Vice Dean Ilene R.Fleis-chmann – who is marking her 23rd year asexecutive director of the Alumni Associa-tion – with a special award, a Steuben glasssculpture inscribed with appreciation forher “tireless and exemplary service.”

Bloom and Penn were co-chairs of theAnnual Dinner Committee, whose mem-bers also included Hilary C. Banker ’96,Richard F. DiGiacomo ’76, Gayle L. Eagan’85, David P. Flynn ’87, Donald W. O’BrienJr. ’77, Raymond J. Stapell ’75, Kevin D.Szczepanski ’95 and Mark W.Warren ’83.

The Distinguished Alumni, from left to right: Law School Vice Dean Alan S. Carrel ’67,Frederick G.Attea,Richard Lipsitz ’43,Margaret W.Wong ’76, Hon. Thomas M.Van Strydonck ’73 and William E.Mathias II ’71

Dennis McCoy ’77, president of the Law Alumni Associa-tion, presents a surprise award to Executive DirectorIlene R. Fleischmann on behalf of all the past presidents.

Mary M. Penn ’99, co-chair of the dinner.

Some seminars have taken the GOLDGroup to Niagara and Wyoming counties.

And opportunities for socializing inno-pressure, low-key settings such as cafes,sporting events and the Fort Erie RaceTrack and Slots help to gel the friendshipsamong recent UB Law alums.

The GOLD Group marked its 15th an-niversary this year with a party at the PearlStreet Grill and Brewery. The event fea-tured UB Law alumnus Michael Bly andhis band. Says former President MarcBrown, an associate at Phillips Lytle LLP,“It’s really just a group that likes to havefun, to extend their fun years.”

Reporter Jodi Sokolowski contributed tothis story.

146W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

U B L A W F O R U M

Alumni Association

147

By Annie Deck-MillerBuffalo Law Journal

Agroup founded 15 years ago tomeet the needs of recent UBLaw School graduates hasbeen a boon for the LawSchool as a whole.

“They are a volunteer organization thatis completely integrated into the life of theLaw School.They help with admissions andrecruiting,and since they are young and re-cently graduated from law school, they cantalk to our applicants about life at UB Law,”Ilene R.Fleischmann,a law school vice deanand executive director of the UB Law Alum-ni Association,said of the Graduates of theLast Decade,or GOLD Group.

“GOLD Group members also serve asvolunteers for our moot court and mocktrial,”Fleischmann said.“They are invalu-able in that way, and also help with our de-velopment efforts, mentoring programand our class reunions.”

Originally based on a similar programat Hamilton College, the GOLD Groupwas founded by a group that includedDoug Dimitroff, Mark Brand, foundingPresident Catherine Wettlaufer and Fleischmann, among others, as a way toease the transition from law school intopractice for new UB Law graduates.

“It became increasingly apparent to us15 years ago that we needed a differentkind of alumni structure to benefit ouryounger alumni,”said Fleischmann.“They

needed opportunities to network witheach other, and they wanted less formal,less expensive events than our older alum-ni.”

“There’s a wonderful camaraderie inlaw school, and students form seminars orstudy groups. The idea was to capture andretain that. Part of it was also to supportour graduates and help them become suc-cessful members of the legal community,”said Wettlaufer, now a partner at HiscockBarclay LLP.

Continuing legal education seminarsare a core of the GOLD Group’s mission,and its UB Law Downtown Breakfast Se-ries has presented a number of one-hour,one-credit courses skewed toward newerpractitioners, as well as longer trainings.

UB Law alumni mark 15years of going for GOLD“The GOLD Group is a volunteer organization that is completely integrated into the life of the Law School.They help with admissions and recruiting,and since they areyoung and recently graduated from law school,they can talkto our applicants about life at UB Law.”

– Ilene R.Fleischmann,vice dean and executive director of the UB Law Alumni Association

Lisa M.Goodberry ’06 andMichael Bly Santamaria ’99The GOLD Group rocks out to the music of alumnus Michael Bly at the Pearl Street Brewery in downtown Buffalo.

From left to right:Elizabeth M.Tertinek ’06,John P.Feroleto ’07,Megan E.Misiti ’06 andSara T.Wallitt ’06

Paul Jones and KevinHunt, sponsor

Alumni Association


UB Law GOLD Group 2007-08 Officers and Directors FFrroonntt rrooww,, lleefftt ttoo rriigghhtt:Anthony J. Colucci III,Executive Director and ViceDean Ilene R. Fleischmann,President Margaret P. Gryko,Dennis R. McCoy, Hon. E.Jeannette Ogden, LawrenceM.Ross , Paula M. Ciprich,Phillip Brothman, Marion K.Henderson, Gayle L. Eaganand Lisa J.Allen.SSeeccoonndd rrooww,, lleefftt ttoo rriigghhtt:Samuel L. Shapiro, Dean NilsOlsen, Mary M. Penn, BrianM.Melber, Lynn A. Clarkeand Mark J. Stuhlmiller.TThhiirrdd rrooww,, lleefftt ttoo rriigghhtt:: Hon.Gail A. Donofrio, Toni L.Frain,Carmen L. Snell, Hon.Erin M. Peradotto and Hon.Lenora B. Foote.FFoouurrtthh rrooww,, lleefftt ttoo rriigghhtt:Richard F. DiGiacomo, DavidP.Flynn, David M. Hehr,Kenneth W.Africano , Hon.Leslie G. Foschio, LaurieStyka Bloom and CatherineE.Nagel.FFiifftthh rrooww,, lleefftt ttoo rriigghhtt::Terrence M. Gilbride, RichardA.Grimm III, D. CharlesRoberts, Robert P. Heary ,Mark W.Warren, Kevin D.Szczepanski and Marc W.Brown.

Margaret P.Gryko ’77 has beenelected president of the UBLaw Alumni Association for2007-08.Gryko is assistantgeneral counsel for Delaware

North Cos.Inc.A past president of the NiagaraFrontier Corporate Counsel Association Inc.,she will be installed in November into the pres-tigious College of Labor and EmploymentLawyers

Hon.E Jeannette Ogden ’83,of Buffalo CityCourt, is the new president-elect.Vice presi-dents are:Laurie S.Bloom ’83,of Nixon Peabody LLP;Robert L.Boreanaz ’89,of Lipsitz,Green,Scime & Cam-bria LLP;Brian M.Melber ’96 of Personius Melber LLP;and Hon.Erin M.Peradotto ’84,of the Appellate Divi-sion,Fourth Department.

Treasurer is Gayle L.V.Eagan ’85,of Jaeckle Fleis-

chmann & Mugel LLP;assistant treasurer PaulM.Ciprich ’85,of National Fuel Gas Distribu-tion Corp.; secretary is Marion K.Henderson’65,retired;assistant secretary is Richard F.Di-Giacomo ’76,of Nesper,Ferber & DiGiacomo.

Immediate past president is Dennis R.Mc-Coy ’77,of Hiscock & Barclay LLP.Ilene R.Fleischmann,vice dean in the University atBuffalo Law School,continues as executive di-rector. New directors elected for terms endingin 2010 are:Marc W.Brown ’99,of Phillips Ly-tle LLP;Terrence M.Gilbride ’88,of Hodgson

Russ LLP;Robert P.Heary ’91,of Hiscock & Barclay,LLP;Catherine E.Nagel ’98,of Nuchereno & Nagl;David R.Pfalzgraf Jr. ’97,of Rupp,Baase,Pfalzgraf,Cun-ningham & Coppola LLC;D.Charles Roberts ’97,ofDelaware North Cos.;and Mark J.Stuhlmiller ’99,ofComputer Task Group.

FFrroonntt rrooww,, lleefftt ttoo rriigghhtt::Executive Director IleneR.Fleischmann,AssistantDirector PatriciaWarrington,Pietra G.Lettieri,DanielleShainbrown,StephanieWilliams-Torres andJennifer M.McCann.SSeeccoonndd rrooww,, lleefftt ttoo rriigghhtt::Catherine E.Nagel,Natalie A. Grigg, JesseBaldwin and Bethany J.Gilbert.TThhiirrdd rrooww,, lleefftt ttoo rriigghhtt::Christopher D.Smith andMarc W.Brown.FFoouurrtthh rrooww,, lleefftt ttoo rriigghhtt::Amber Storr,David W.Polak,Brent J.Nowicki,Jack Trachtenberg andJeffrey Lloyd Kingsley.

For more than 100 years, the UB Law AlumniAssociation has served our alumni/ae by sponsor-ing and/or assisting with events and programs thatenhance the education and quality of life withinUB Law School.We help to raise the national repu-tation and visibility of the Law School and provideinvaluable opportunities to all of our graduates.

For more recent graduates, the UB Law Alum-ni Association’s GOLD (Graduates of the LastDecade) Group provides additional low-cost edu-cational and social programs and services de-signed to assist new graduates with the transition

from student to attorney. Membership in theGOLD group is automatic and free upon gradua-tion, and remains in effect during the graduate’sfirst 10 years out of Law School. The Law AlumniAssociation helps underwrite their activities.Weencourage GOLD Group members to enjoy thefull benefits of the UB Law Alumni Association byjoining.

For more information on why you shouldjoin, please call our Executive Director Ilene Fleischmann at (716) 645-7347.

Shouldn’t you be a member of the UB Law Alumni Association?

Officers,directors elected for 2007-08

Margaret P.Gryko ’77

151W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

as they should, for the approval and votes ofthe electorate. Why not? The short answeris that New York’s party system is dead. Al-though the reasons are complex,much ofthe present dysfunction can be traced to thebipartisan gerrymander of the state legisla-ture.

In a modern democracy, the peoplecontrol government indirectly by replacingone set of rulers with another. Alternatesets of rulers are supplied by political par-ties competing for the people’s votes. But inNew York,party democracy has beenthwarted by the parties’collusive legislativegerrymander,which for thirty years has al-located control of the Assembly to Democ-rats and of the Senate to Republicans.

This gerrymander fatally underminesparty democracy because it prevents theelectorate from holding any party account-able for the actions of the government. Be-cause of the gerrymander,no party can bevoted out of the chamber it controls,norcan a single party take control of the entiregovernment. Since neither party can bedisciplined by the voters,neither party hasany incentive to be responsive to their wish-es.

Most proposals for reforming NewYork’s judicial selection process would sub-stitute either gubernatorial appointment oropen primary elections. Yet neither reformis likely to make a difference until the partysystem is fixed.

Virtually all proposals for appointmentwould limit the governor to appointingcandidates who have been cleared by a bi-partisan screening commission. But if theparties are not accountable, there is no rea-son to expect screening commissions underparty control to stop treating judicial ap-pointments as party patronage.

Open primaries wouldn’t fare muchbetter. Insider candidates supported by theparty organization would have a huge ad-vantage over outsiders because of their ac-cess to party campaign resources and ex-pertise. And the parties could still makecross-nomination and noncompetitiondeals to crush outsider campaigns or co-opt serious independents.

Real party accountability will not bepossible until, at a minimum,the biparti-san gerrymander of the state legislature isbroken up. Only when political parties areforced actually to compete with one anoth-er for control of the legislature can NewYork voters influence the operation of theirgovernment and the content of its policies.

Alumni Association


James A. Gardner, Joseph W. Belluck andLaura L. Aswad Professor of Civil Justice,spoke on “Judicial Selection in New York After Lopez-Torres” at the annual alumniluncheon last January at the Union LeagueClub. Since then, the Supreme Court issueda ruling in Lopez-Torres. The Court reversedthe 2nd Circuit and upheld the present system. The following is a summary of his remarks:

New Yorkers have long beendissatisfied with their judi-cial elections. In a sad paro-dy of democracy, the real de-cisions are made not by the

electorate,but by local party bosses who de-cide who will run and whether judicial elec-tions will even be contested.

Last year a federal court pushed judicialelection reform onto the state legislativeagenda by invalidating the existing system.Unless that ruling is reversed by theSupreme Court,which recently took theappeal, the state must craft a new system orface judicial imposition of open primariesfor judicial offices.

While public and judicial concern overNew York’s dysfunctional judicial selectionprocess is understandable, it is misplaced.There is nothing wrong with the structureof New York’s judicial selection institutions.The real dysfunction lies in New York’s par-ty system,which is utterly moribund.

Judges typically are chosen either by ap-pointment or election. Judicial appoint-ment can yield outstanding judges,but issusceptible to abuse in the form of patron-age. New York switched in 1846 from ap-pointive to elective judgeships partly to pre-vent exactly this abuse.

Electing judges,however,has its owndrawbacks. The public may be unable toevaluate the qualifications of judicial candi-

dates. And judges who run for electionmust raise money,opening them to the in-fluence of special interests.

New York’s present system is a reason-able hybrid meant to combine the advan-tages of appointment and election,whileavoiding their respective risks.

The state’s system of electing SupremeCourt judges proceeds in three stages. First,voters from each party elect delegates to ajudicial nominating convention. The dele-gates then convene and select their parties’judicial candidates. The final selection ofjudges is referred back to the people at thegeneral election.

By including the people, this methodguards against patronage appointments.Yet by leaving the identification of judicial

candidates to elected delegates, the systemgains the benefits of appointment by well-informed observers. On paper, then,NewYork’s method for selecting Supreme Courtjudges ought to work as well as any other.

The problem today is that the state’s ju-dicial selection system isn’t working as in-tended. Although the public continues toperform its role, the parties have badly per-verted the system. They extort donationsfrom judicial candidates. They enforce anextralegal system of judicial promotionfrom lower to higher courts. They driveaway qualified candidates who are unwill-ing to play ball. And they collude to thwartpopular choice by cutting deals aboutwhom to run,when,and where.

In short, the parties are not competing,

Professor James A.Gardner tells NYC alumni:

“New York’s judicial selection process is fine – it’s the party system that needs fixing.”

Above: Phillip Brothman’62 and Hon.Erin M.Peradotto ’84

Left: Hon.Lenora B.Foote ’97 with Bruce F.Zeftel ’77

From left to right: Jo Welch Faber ’82 , Rosemarie A.Wyman ’81 and Hon. Barbara Howe ’80

Joseph W.Belluck ’94 and Professor James A.Gardner

U B L A W F O R U M W I N T E R , 2 0 0 8

ROCHESTER: Chambers of Hon.Thomas Van Strydonck

Alumni Association

152 153

WASHINGTON,D.C.: Zaytinya

NEW YORK: The Lotos Club

NEW YORK: The Brasserie

Regional grips & grinsAlumni say “cheese” at Washington, Rochester andNew York City events

Christine H. Farley ’94 and Vice Provost forFaculty Affairs and Frank G.Raichle Pro-fessor of Trial and Appellate Advocacy Lu-cinda M. Finley

David E.Franasiak ’78 and Eric I.Robins ’03

Joseph A.Kresse ’95 and wife Andrea

Michael J. SurgallaJr. ’82 and Lucy P.Weaver ’05

Left to right: MarkC.Ferraro ’10,Adam P. Deisinger’10,Hon. PatriciaMarks,David J.Simoni ’10,Matthew A.Motiwala ’09

Left to right:Vice Dean Ilene R.

Fleischmann,Candace M.Jackson ’09,Michael D.

Mann ’06,and AnshuPasricha ’07

Left to right:Sheikh Ahmad’09,Danielle M.Wanglien ’09,Candace M.Jackson ’09 andTyrone A.Wilson’09

Neal H.Lipschitz ’73

and wife Geri

Christopher A.Wightman ’99and wife Diane

Thomas R.Bremer ’79 and wife Sandy

Left to right:Hon.Thomas M.Van Strydonck’73,Hon.Kenneth R.Fisher andMuchael R.Wolford ’68

Assistant DeanKaren R.Kaczmarski’89 and Douglas W.Dimitroff ’89

Hon. Elena Cacavas-Schietinger ’85

Judge Eugene F.PigottJr. ’73 and JoshuaAgins ’10

Left to right: Sachin Kohli ’06,Keith J.

Gross ’06,Enam Hoque ’06 and Shane

Kiernan ’06

Left, left to right:Craig K.Beiderman ’10,Michael T.Birkby ’10and Gordon Hepworth ’10

Alumni Briefs

154 155

’40sRichard Lipsitz ’43 received theUB Law Alumni Association’sDistinguished Alumnus Award.He was honored for his manycontributions to the betterment ofthe community at the association’s45th annual meeting and dinneron May 3 at the Hyatt RegencyBuffalo. Lipsitz is of counsel in theBuffalo firm Lipsitz Green ScimeCambria.

John Canale ’47 has been includedin Best Lawyers in New York State.Canale is special counsel atBouvier Partnership in Buffalo. Hepractices in bodily injurylitigation.

Joseph C.Vispi ’49 was awardedthe Charles H. Dougherty CivilityAward from the Bar Association ofErie County at its 120th annual

dinner at the Hyatt RegencyBuffalo.Vispi is in private practicein Buffalo.

’50sHon.Mary Ann Killeen ’52received the Women in Law Awardfrom the 8th Judicial District’sGender & Racial FairnessCommittee on May 23 at the HyattRegency Buffalo. Killeen is aretired Erie County Family Courtjudge.

Robert J.Plache ’57 has beennamed one of the best lawyers inAmerica in the Woodward White2008 listing. He is a partner in thefirm Damon & Morey, specializingin probate, trust and estate law inthe Buffalo office. Plache is aformer assistant U.S. attorney forthe Western District of New York

ClassActionClassActionCompiled by Cynthia WattsCompiled by Cynthia Watts

What’s new?Keep in touch with your former classmates, professors

and friends by sending us your personal and professionalnews for publication. Please make sure the news you submitis accurate, complete and legible. Include a color picture ifyou wish.

Three ways to submitClip-out coupon:For your convenience, a clip-out coupon is printed on the

back cover flap.

Add a photo:Include a non-returnable color portrait with your press

release and mail to:Cynthia Watts, Class Action Editor,UB Law Forum,

312 O’Brian Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260.

Via the Web:Fill out the form at www.law.buffalo.edu.To include a hi-resolution color portrait (300 dpi

minimum) e-mail a jpg to: [email protected] questions call (716) 645-2107

1st Row – Richard M.English ’53,Herbert Shafer’50,Hon.James Kane ’53,David A.Doll ’50, Hon.Joseph J.Sedita ’50

2nd Row – Hon.John P.Lane ’53,Harry D.Maynor’57,Richard Lipsitz ’43,John J.Barone ’57,Hon.Charles R.Newman ’50,Wells E.Knibloe ’50,George M.Zimmermann’49

3rd Row – Philip H.Magner Jr. ’49, John W.Rickers Jr. ’52,Andrew Diakun ’52,Alexander J.Russ ’52,Frank R.Papa ’52,Robert J.Plache ’57

U B L A W F O R U M W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

The Law School hosted its fourth annual50+ Reunion Luncheon, an event thatwelcomes alumni who have graduated 50or more years ago.Alumni and guestsjoined Vice Dean Alan S. Carrel ’67 as this

wonderful tradition continued on Aug. 8. In atten-dance were alumni ranging from the classes of 1943 to1957. The event took place in the newly renovated LawSchool Conference Center in O’Brian Hall. In addi-tion to the lively conversations between alums, May2007 graduates Renee M. Rozier and Jacia T. Smithjoined the group and briefed attendees on new developments at the Law Schoolfrom the perspective of recentstudents.

The Law School hosted its fourth annual 50+ Reunion Luncheon

50+ Luncheon

Richard Lipsitz’43,Robert J.

Plache ’57,andFrank R.Papa ’52

Andrew Diakun ’52, Harry D.Maynor’57,Robert J.Plache ’57,and John W.Rickers Jr. ’52

Wells E.Knibloe ’50,John W. RickersJr. ’52,andAlexander J.Russ ’52

Alumni Briefs


and a former lieutenant in the U.S.Navy.

Ronald D.Anton ’58 haspublished his second book,God’sSeven Ways to Ease Suffering. Thebook is dedicated to late UB LawDean Jacob Hyman.Anton servedon the UB Law faculty from 1960to 1962. He is an attorney inNiagara Falls, N.Y.

Maryann Saccomando Freedman’58 was named president of theBuffalo Geological Society and waselected to the board of directors ofWestern New York Heritage Pressfor a three-year term. She is ofcounsel in the Buffalo firm Cohen& Lombardo.

’60sHon.Charles F. Graney ’61 washonored by the Appellate Division,4th Department, in Rochester,N.Y. He received a special awardfor his more than 20 years ofservice to the Law GuardianAdvisory Committee. Graney is aretired Genesee County FamilyCourt judge.

William A. Niese ’61 of Bonsall,Calif., has been named to theboard of the University at BuffaloFoundation for a three-year term.Niese is retired from the TimesMirror Co. of Los Angeles.

Robert D.Kolken ’65 has formedthe Buffalo firm Kolken & Kolkenwith his son, Matthew Kolken. Thefirm specializes in immigrationand nationality law. Kolken is aBuffalo resident.

John A. Cirando ’66 was named tothe 4th Judicial Departmentjudicial screening committee. Hepractices in the Syracuse, N.Y.,firm D.J. & J.A. Cirando.

Alan S.Carrel ’67,vice dean at UBLaw School, received the UB LawAlumni Association’sDistinguished Alumnus Award.Carrel was honored for hiscommitment to public service atthe association’s 45th annualmeeting and dinner at the HyattRegency Buffalo on May 3.

With gratitude, the Law School recognizes those alumni and friends that have given their timeand energy to help organize, plan and attend their reunion event.Although every effort has beenmade to assure the accuracy of the reunion pages, we apologize for any inadvertent errors or mis-takes. If you have any questions or wish to report an inaccuracy, please contact: Amy HayesAtkinson,Assistant Director of Reunion and Special Programs, 315 O’Brian Hall, Buffalo, NY14260-1100 at (716) 645-6224 or e-mail [email protected]

Thank you! And we hope to see everyone at their next reunion.

Check out all the information at www.law.buffalo.edu/reunions.Contact Amy Hayes Atkinsonat (716) 645-6224 or [email protected].

50+ Reunion Luncheon Wednesday,Aug. 6, 2008

Class 1953 55th Reunion June 26, 2008

Class 1958 50th Reunion May 16 & 17, 2008

Class 1963 45th Reunion June 28, 2008

Class 1968 40th Reunion June 6 & 7, 2008






SAVE THE DATE forYOUR REUNION:1953,1958,1963,1968,1973,1978,1983,1988 and 1998

Class of’52

1st Row – Hon.John J.Gruber,David H.Lund,Hon.Mary Ann Killeen,Phyllis H.Wilkinson,Anthony J. Spann

2nd Row – Hon.David J.Mahoney Jr.,Thomas J.Kelly,Morton H.Abramowitz,John A. Krull,Patrick T.Hurley,Alexander J.Russ

3rd Row – Hon. Mary K.Carr,Harry P.Weinrib,Andrew Diakun,Nicholas A.Pierino,Dominic J. Terranova

Continuing with theirreunion tradition, theClass of 1952 gath-ered on June 21 tohonor their 55-year

reunion from UB Law School. Thedinner was held at the historicalMansion on Delaware Avenue.Folks from Florida and Pennsylva-nia made the trip to visit withfriends and classmates honoringthis milestone.

Above,Dominic J.Terranovaand Andrew Diakun

Hon.David J.Mahoney Jr.and Hon.John J.Gruber

Patrick T.Hurley,Hon.John J.Gruber,and Phyllis H.Wilkinson

Alexander J. Russand Andrew

Diakun

Above: Robert E.Walter ’67,Sheldon B.Benatovich ’67,andAlan S.Biernbaum ’67

Below: Hon.Mark G. Farrell’72,Arthur E. Jackson Jr. ’72,June Bates,and Larry D.Bates ’72

Above:Denise E.O’Donnell ’82,Prof.DianneAvery ’82

Alumni Briefs


Frederick A.Wolf ’67, specialcounsel in the Buffalo firm Damon& Morey, was included in the landuse and zoning law category in the2008 edition of The Best Lawyers inAmerica.Wolf also concentrates hispractice in municipal, banking andbusiness law.

Robert P. Fine ’68,managingpartner in the firm Hurwitz & Finein Buffalo, was named to the 4th

Judicial Department judicialscreening committee. He was alsonamed to The Best Lawyers inAmerica 2007. Fine is a pastrecipient of the UB Law AlumniAssociation DistinguishedAlumnus Award and is an adjunctfaculty member at UB Law School.

Giles P.Manias ’68,a Buffaloattorney, was appointed vicepresident of the Bar Association ofErie County. He chairs theassociation’s senior lawyers’committee and the internationalsister cities committee.

Vincent J.Moore ’69 was listed inThe Best Lawyers in America 2008.Moore is a senior partner in theBuffalo firm Damon & Morey andis chair of the firm’s real estatedepartment.

’70sWilliam E.Mathias II ’71 wasrecognized for his exemplaryperformance in business by the UBLaw Alumni Association. Hereceived the DistinguishedAlumnus Award at the association’s45th annual meeting and dinner onMay 3 at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo.Mathias is managing partner in thefirm Lippes Mathias WexlerFriedman in Buffalo and a memberof UB Law School’s Dean’sAdvisory Council.

Joseph B.Mistrett ’71 has retired aschief federal public defender inBuffalo. He held this position since2004 and previously served as afederal public defender for 15 years.Mistrett will move to Washington,D.C., to be near his family.

Anthony M. Nosek ’71 was namedvillage attorney in Depew, N.Y. Heis of counsel in the Buffalo firm

Cohen & Lombardo andconcentrates his practice in civillitigation, corporate,environmental, estates and trusts,and municipal law. Nosek lives inLancaster, N.Y.

Paul A. Battaglia ’72 is listed in TheBest Lawyers in America for 2008.He is a partner in the firm JaeckleFleischmann & Mugel in theAmherst, N.Y., office. In addition,he is an adjunct instructor at UBLaw School.

Peter J.Battaglia ’72 was electedtreasurer of the Bar Association ofErie County. He is underwritingcounsel at Ticor Title Insurance Co.in Buffalo.

David G.Brock ’72 was named vicechair of Planned Parenthood ofWestern New York. He is alsoincluded in the 2008 edition of TheBest Lawyers in America and islisted in “Who’s Who in Law”2007

by Business First and the BuffaloLaw Journal. Brock is a partner inthe Buffalo firm JaeckleFleischmann & Mugel and formervice president of the UB LawAlumni Association.

Hon.Mark G. Farrell ’72 wasappointed to the SpecialCommission on the Future of theNew York State Courts. He also wasinstalled as president of the NewYork State Magistrates Associationfor 2007-08. Farrell is Amherst,N.Y., town justice and president-elect of the New York StateMagistrates Association. He is apast recipient of the UB LawAlumni Association DistinguishedAlumnus Award and a pastpresident of the UB Law AlumniAssociation.

Samuel Fried ’72 has retired fromthe practice of law and foundedFlights of Fancy Adventures, abirding and golf travel company.He runs the company with his wife,Donna Mages, also a retiredattorney. Fried has run tours to 10states, seven Canadian provincesand territories, eight LatinAmerican countries and Australia.He has published 35 feature articlesin magazines, including the UnitedStates Golf Associationenvironmental section, and over1,000 of his photographs have beenpublished worldwide. Fried is aresident of Bloomfield, Conn.

Anthony J. Latona ’72 spoke at theNational Business Instituteprogram “The Art of Settlement”inBuffalo. Latona is a partner in theBuffalo firm Jaeckle Fleischmann &Mugel in the litigation practicegroup.

Thomas F.Segalla ’72 and Susan E.Van Gelder ’97 co-authored achapter,“Causation in Mold Cases:Practice Pointers for DefendingExposure Claims,”for the DefenseResearch Institute Library Series2007 on Exploring Toxic Tort andEnvironmental Liability Claims.Segalla also was appointed chair ofUSLAW NETWORK’s insurancecommittee. He is a partner in theBuffalo firm Goldberg Segalla and amember of the Defense ResearchInstitute’s Toxic Tort andEnvironmental Law Committee.

John C.Spitzmiller ’72 was namedprogram coordinator of Estate

Analysts of Western New York. Heis a partner in the firm Phillips Lytlein the Buffalo office.

Hon.Lawrence Brenner ’73 wasnamed to the board of the PublicService Commission. Brenner isdeputy chief administrative lawjudge for the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission inWashington, D.C.

James W.Gresens ’73 has become apartner in the Buffalo firm DukeHolzman Photiadis & Gresens. Hewas a former member of the firmGresens & Gresens in Buffalo.

Hon.Thomas M.Van Strydonck’73 received the UB Law AlumniAssociation’s DistinguishedAlumnus Award on May 3 at the45th annual meeting and dinner atthe Hyatt Regency Buffalo. He washonored for his conscientious anddiligent performance in thejudiciary.Van Strydonck is a NewYork State Supreme Court justicefor the 7th Judicial District inRochester, N.Y. He is a member ofUB Law School’s Dean’s AdvisoryCouncil and a trial techniqueinstructor.

Frank J.Buffomante ’74 wasnamed Practitioner of the Year atthe annual Attorney RecognitionReception of the Bar Association ofErie County’s Aid to IndigentPrisoners Society. Buffomante is apartner in the firm Labin &Buffomante in Williamsville, N.Y.

Christopher T. Greene ’74, seniorpartner in the Buffalo firm Damon& Morey, has been included in the2008 edition of The Best Lawyers inAmerica. Greene is a member ofUB Law School’s Dean’s AdvisoryCouncil and a former recipient ofthe Distinguished Alumnus Award.He is a Buffalo resident.

Michele O.Heffernan ’74,a Buffaloresident, is listed in the 2008 editionof The Best Lawyers in America inthe employee benefits category.Heffernan is a partner in theBuffalo firm Jaeckle Fleischmann &Mugel.

Helen Osgood ’74 has become apartner in the firm Damon &Morey in the Buffalo office. She is amember of the firm’s real estate andbanking department. Osgoodhandles matters involving

The weekend of May 18-19 brought the Class of 1957 together for their milestone50-year reunion. The weekend was met with beautiful weather, which further enhanced the momentous weekend.

On Friday, the acclaimed Rue Franklin restaurant was the setting for the Classof 1957’s reunion dinner. Classmates became reacquainted with each other

over cocktails and a sit-down dinner in the Rue’s beautiful atrium.Saturday afternoon, several classmates gathered at the Law School with the dean for

lunch in the recently rehabbed Law School Conference Center on the fifth floor. After thelunch, the class was seated on stage with faculty,VIPs and other dignitaries for the Class of2007 commencement exercises at the Center for the Arts. As part of the ceremony, theClass of 1957 was honored for their accomplishments.

Left to right: William F.Keenan,Richard A.Grimm,Jr., Dr.Charles S.V.Telly,Harry D.Maynor, Thomas J.Shanahan,Mark Klafehn,Grace Marie Ange,WestonB.Wardell Jr., Robert J.Plache,Sanford M.Silver-berg,Richard F.Griffin,F.B.Hamsher,Paul Shatkin

Class of’57Kate Wardell,Weston B.

Wardell Jr., and Harry D.Maynor

Harry D.Maynor andSanford M.Silverberg

Richard A. Grimm Jr.,William F.Keenan,andThomas J.Shanahan

Robert J. Plache,Richard F. Griffin, andDr. Charles S.V. Telly

Maryann Saccomando Freedman ’58

Robert P. Fine ’68

Alumni Briefs


commercial lending and creditrestructuring.

Gregory C.Yungbluth ’74, a seniorpartner in the Buffalo firm Damon& Morey, was included in The BestLawyers in America 2008.Yungbluth is co-chair of the firm’scorporate department.

Dianne Bennett ’75 was appointedchair of the 4th JudicialDepartment judicial screeningcommittee by New York Gov. EliotSpitzer. Bennett is of counsel in theBuffalo firm Hodgson Russ. She is apast recipient of the UB LawAlumni Association DistinguishedAlumna Award.

Dale A. Ehman ’75 was named“Who’s Who in Law”2007 byBusiness First and the Buffalo LawJournal. Ehman practices in theBuffalo firm Bouvier Partnership inpersonal injury litigation. He is aresident of Amherst, N.Y.

Pamela Davis Heilman ’75 hasbeen elected to the board ofgovernors of the Shaw Festival, oneof the largest repertory companiesin North America. Heilman is apartner in the Buffalo firmHodgson Russ in the corporate &securities and nonprofit lawpractice groups. She is also amember of UB Law School’s Dean’sAdvisory Council and is a Buffaloresident.

Charles G.Humphrey ’75 hasbecome a partner in The WagnerLaw Group in Boston. The firmspecializes in ERISA/employeebenefits, and Humphrey will serveclients in Boston and Buffalo.

Edward D.Manzo ’75 is the leadauthor and editor in chief of ClaimConstruction in the Federal Circuit(Thomson West, March 2007).Manzo writes this annually inconjunction with members of thelitigation committee of theIntellectual Property LawAssociation of Chicago. He alsoappeared on the televisionprogram First Business MorningNews on WCIU and MeTV inChicago. He discussed the musicindustry’s winning a major digitalpiracy copyright case. Manzo is afounding partner in the firm CookAlex in Chicago, concentrating hispractice in intellectual propertylitigation and counseling. He is aresident of Lake Forest, Ill.

Harry F.Mooney ’75 received the2007 Robert Kiebala MemorialAward from the Defense TrialLawyers Association of WesternNew York.He is also listed in“Who’s Who in Law”2007 byBusiness First and the Buffalo LawJournal, and was selected for

inclusion in The Best Lawyers inAmerica 2007. Mooney is a memberof the firm Hurwitz & Fine inBuffalo,practicing product liability,professional liability,and large lossand catastrophic injury litigation.

Thomas A.Palmer ’75,a partner inthe Amherst, N.Y., office of JaeckleFleischmann & Mugel, is named inThe Best Lawyers in America 2008.Palmer practices business andcorporate law.

Hon.Janice M. Rosa ’75 was re-elected to the board of trustees ofthe National Council of Juvenileand Family Court Judges. Rosa is aNew York State Supreme Courtjustice, 8th Judicial District, inBuffalo, and is supervising judgefor matrimonial matters.

William F.Savino ’75 wasrecognized in the 2008 edition ofThe Best Lawyers in America. He is asenior partner and chairman in thebusiness litigation and insolvencydepartment in the Buffalo office ofDamon & Morey. Savino is also abridge course lecturer at UB LawSchool and a past president of theUB Law Alumni Association.

Diane F.Bosse ’76 was named to atwo-year term on the law schoolaccreditation committee of theABA section of legal education andadmissions to the bar. Bosse is chairof the New York Board of LawExaminers and is of counsel in thefirm Bender, Crawford & Bender inBuffalo.

Patrick J. Brown ’76 was selected bythe U.S. Court of Appeals for theSecond Circuit to serve a three-yearterm on the attorney advisorygroup to the Second Circuitcriminal justice act committee.Brown is a partner in the firmLoTempio & Brown in Buffalo.

Richard F.DiGiacomo ’76 wasnamed assistant secretary of the UBLaw Alumni Association. He is apartner in the firm Nesper Ferber &DiGiacomo in Amherst, N.Y.

Louis P.DiLorenzo ’76 wasinducted into the LitigationCounsel of America. DiLorenzo ismanaging partner in the firm bondSchoeneck & King in the firm’sNew York City and Garden Cityoffices. He is co-chair of the firm’slabor and employment lawdepartment.

Cheryl Smith Fisher ’76,a partnerin the firm Magavern MagavernGrimm in Buffalo, has beenselected for the 2008 edition of TheBest Lawyers in America. She washonored in the area of ethics andprofessional responsibility law, thefirst time the publicationrecognized this specialty. Fisher ispresident of the Bar Association ofErie County.

Edward J.Kelly ’76 ofJonesborough, Tenn., was named aSenior Fulbright Specialist andspent the summer teachingalternative dispute resolution inBaku,Azerbaijan. Kelly is universitycounsel at East Tennessee StateUniversity and Quillen College ofMedicine in Johnson City, Tenn. Healso teaches law at AppalachianSchool of Law in Grundy,Va.

Richard M.Miller ’76 is a partnerin the firm Fox Rothschild inPrinceton, N.J., where he has beennamed co-chair of theinternational business practicegroup. He previously practiced inthe firm Miller Mitchell, whichmerged with Fox Rothschild.

Rodney O.Personius ’76 wasinducted into the InternationalAcademy of Trial Lawyers at itsannual meeting in Chicago.Personius is a partner in the firmPersonius Melber in Buffalo.

John Stuart ’76 was reappointed toa four-year term as state publicdefender in Minneapolis, where heresides. Stuart has held the positionsince 1990.

John M.Thomas ’76 is resigning asdean of the University at BuffaloSchool of Management. He willcontinue to work with the school’sglobal business programs as afaculty member. Thomas hashelped to establish the school as aleader in international businesseducation. The school was namedby BusinessWeek as one of thecountry’s top five business schoolsfor the fastest return on MBAinvestment. Thomas is a Buffaloresident.

Margaret W.Wong ’76 washonored with the UB Law AlumniAssociation’s DistinguishedAlumna Award on May 3 at the45th annual meeting and dinner atthe Hyatt Regency Buffalo.Wongwas recognized for her leadership

The class of 1962 markedtheir 45th year reunionon June 8-9. Theweekend brought oldfriends together for an

opportunity to reminisce and catchup on current happenings. As inpast reunion traditions, aclassmates-only dinner was held onFriday evening. More than half theclass gathered at the Rue Franklinrestaurant for an evening ofconversation and fine dining.

On Saturday morning,classmates and guests were invitedby Dean Nils Olsen to the LawSchool on UB’s North Campus. Theclass was treated to the unveiling oftheir class composite feature theirsenior pictures created from theiryearbook – The Advocate – whichnow hangs on the third floor on theadministrative wing with other classcomposites.

1st Row – Phillip Brothman,Angelo F. LaDuca, Marvin T. Dubin,Robert D. Gunderman,Waldron S.Hayes Jr., Francis P. McGarry

2nd Row – Melvyn L. Hurwitz, GeraldJ. Greenan Jr., Robert A. Moeller

3rd Row – James R.Walsh,William D.Schulz, Peter D. Cook,Roger T. Davison

Class of’62Melvyn L.Hurwitzand PhillipBrothman

James R.Walsh andRobert A.Moeller

Above: Angelo F. LaDuca, Roger T.Davison, and William D. Schulz

Above: Francis P.McGarry,James R.Walsh,and Phillip Brothman

Anthony M. Nosek ’71

Hon.Mark G. Farrell ’72

Harry F.Mooney ’75

Alumni Briefs


is an adjunct faculty member at UBLaw School.

Michael J. Lombardo ’80 wasrecognized with the Special ServiceAward from the Bar Association ofErie County. Lombardo is amember of the association’s realproperty law subcommittee. He is apartner in the firm Duke HolzmanYaeger & Photiadis in Buffalo.

Michael A. Piette ’80 has beennamed to The Best Lawyers inAmerica 2008 and is listed in“Who’s Who in Law”2007 byBusiness First and the Buffalo LawJournal. He is a partner in the realestate practice group of the firmJaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel inthe Amherst, N.Y., office.

Steven Schwartz ’80 is chief of theDistrict Court trial bureau anddirector of training for the NassauCounty district attorney’s office inMineola, N.Y. He lecturesnationally on trial advocacy, is onthe faculty of the NationalAdvocacy Center in Columbia,S.C., and recently spoke to theNational District AttorneysAssociation executive conference inPark City, Utah. Schwartz resides inBronx, N.Y.

Hon. C. Randall Hinrichs ’81 wasnamed Suffolk County CriminalBar Association Judge of the Year.Hinrichs is a Suffolk county courtjudge in Riverhead, N.Y.

Jean T.Walsh ’81 has beenappointed chair of the New YorkState Bar Association’s criminaljustice section.Walsh is principalrule counsel for the New York StockExchange.

Karla D.Wilsey ’81 received thePresident’s Award for Contributionfrom the Monroe County BarAssociation in Rochester, N.Y.Wilsey is senior vice president andgeneral counsel at Public AbstractCorp., in Rochester.

Maureen T. Alston ’82 ofRochester, N.Y., received theChampion of Diversity Awardfrom the Rochester Black BarAssociation.Alston is managingpartner in the firm Harter Secrest &Emery in the Rochester, N.Y., office.She is the first woman to serve asthe firm’s managing partner.Richard S.Binko ’82 has beenelected second vice president of the

New York State Trial LawyersAssociation. Binko practicespersonal injury law in his firm inCheektowaga, N.Y.

Hon. Christopher E. Cahill ’82 hasbeen nominated by New York Gov.Eliot Spitzer to serve as a SupremeCourt justice in the 3rd JudicialDistrict in Kingston. Cahill servedas law clerk to the late Hon.VincentBradley, who previously held theposition.

Paul J. D’Amato ’82 was namedRegion 8 director of the New YorkState Department ofEnvironmental Conservation, inAvon, N.Y. He has been actingdirector since June.

Richard A.Denmon ’82 wasappointed chair of the disclosureand continuous reportingsubcommittee of the FederalRegulation of Securities committeeof the business section of theAmerican Bar Association. He hasalso been listed in Chambers USAGuide to America’s Leading BusinessLawyers 2007-08 edition, The Legal500 and The Lawdragon 500Leading Dealmakers. He was alsoselected for Florida Super Lawyers2007. In addition, he was a panelistat the 2007 fall meeting of the NewYork State Bar Association businesslaw section in Palm Beach, Fla.

Denmon is a shareholder in thefirm Carlton Fields in Tampa, Fla.He has a transactional practiceconcentrated in securitiesregulation, corporation finance,and mergers and acquisitions.

John P. Feroleto ’82 was named tothe Western New York TrialLawyers Association board ofdirectors. Feroleto is a Buffalo solopractitioner.

John Giardino ’82 has recentlycompleted a $22 millionredevelopment project in Buffaloto beautify dilapidated property.He is also working to redevelop acontinuing care retirementcommunity in Buffalo with theBuffalo Municipal HousingAuthority. Giardino is CEO ofCenterstone Development inBuffalo and a partner in the Buffalofirm Lippes Mathias Wexler &Friedman.

Vincent O. Hanley ’82 has beenelected chairman of the HilbertCollege board of trustees inHamburg, N.Y. He is listed in TheBest Lawyers in America for 2008and in “Who’s Who in Law”2007by Business First and the BuffaloLaw Journal. Hanley is a partner inthe firm Jaeckle Fleischmann &Mugel in the Buffalo office. Hepractices in the firm’s real estate,

economic and land development,business and corporate, andfinancial services practice groups.

Kenneth R.Kirby ’82 has accepteda position as an associate in theBuffalo firm Mattar D’Agostino &Gottlieb. He counsels clientsregarding civil litigation, appeals,professional liability and insurancecoverage.

Brenda Levinson ’82 was electedpresident of the Court AttorneysAssociation of New York City. Theassociation is a labor union thatrepresents court attorneysemployed by the Unified CourtSystem in New York City. Levinsonis a special referee on matrimonialand election matters in BronxSupreme Court.

Denise E.O’Donnell ’82 has beenappointed commissioner of NewYork State’s division of criminaljustice services. She is a formerpartner in the Buffalo firmHodgson Russ and a former firstassistant U.S. attorney for theWestern District of New York.O’Donnell is a Buffalo resident anda past president of the UB LawAlumni Association.

Mark W.Pedersen ’82 has beenappointed to a four-year term as amilitary judge to the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of CriminalAppeals in the U.S. Navy JAGCorps. Pedersen is law clerk toHon. Charles J. Siragusa, U.S.District Court,Western District ofNew York, in Rochester, N.Y.

Catharine M.Venzon ’82,aWilliamsville, N.Y., resident, washonored at the Women ofDistinction Awards dinnersponsored by the Girl ScoutCouncil of Buffalo and ErieCounty. She was recognized for herleadership and work with severaltroops in Williamsville.Venzonpractices in the Venzon Law Firmin Buffalo.

Laurie S.Bloom ’83 was electedvice president of the UB LawAlumni Association. Bloom iscounsel in the firm Nixon Peabodyin Buffalo.

James W.Everett ’83 had his article“Are Promissory Notes Securities?”published in the U.C.C. LawJournal,Vol. 40, No. 2. The articlecritiqued the application of

BirthsTo Steven Schwartz ’80 and Jane Manning, a son,William,on Feb. 17, 2007, in New York City.

To Evan Shapiro ’87 and Steven P. Count, a daughter, Lila,on Aug. 15, 2007, in Brooklyn, N.Y.

To Hilary C.Banker ’96 and Jeffrey Leichtnam, a son,William Stephen, on May 22, 2007, in Buffalo.

To Lourdes M.Ventura ’98 and Rene F. Solorzano, a son,Mateo Rene, on Sept. 26, 2007, in New York City.

To Tara Johnson ’02 and Michael Johnson, a daughter, Sydney,on Nov. 13, 2006, in Webster, N.Y.

To Michael A.Chiantella ’03 and Karen Chiantella,a son, Dylan John-Noel, on November 27, 2007

To Andrea M. Rigdon ’03 and Jay A. Rigdon, a son,Daniel Alexander, on June 5, 2006, in Snyder, N.Y.

by example as a privatepractitioner. She is managingpartner of Margaret W.Wong andAssociates in Cleveland and is alsoa member of UB Law School’sDean’s Advisory Council.

Cynthia A. Falk ’77 was honoredby the 8th Judicial District Gender& Racial Fairness Committee atthe Women in Law Awardsluncheon May 23 at the HyattRegency Buffalo. Falk is a solopractitioner in Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Barry R. Fertel ’77 was re-electedto a four-year term on the citycouncil in New Rochelle, N.Y. Inaddition, Fertel opened his ownpractice in New Rochellespecializing in education law andlitigation.

Margaret P.Gryko ’77 has beeninducted as a fellow of the Collegeof Labor and EmploymentLawyers. She also was elected vicepresident of the Niagara FrontierCorporate Counsel Association.Gryko is assistant general counselat Delaware North Cos. in Buffaloand is president of the UB LawAlumni Association.

R. Michael Tantillo ’77 was namedProsecutor of the Year by the NewYork Prosecutors TrainingInstitute and the New York StateDistrict Attorneys Association.Tantillo is Ontario County districtattorney in Canandaigua, N.Y.,where he resides.

Garry M.Graber ’78 served as amoderator for the New York StateBar Association’s CLE program“Working Out and Litigating theProblem Loan”in Syracuse, N.Y.Graber is a partner in the firmHodgson Russ, in charge of thefirm’s restructuring, bankruptcyand commercial litigation practicegroup. He is a past president of theBar Association of Erie Countyand the UB Law AlumniAssociation, and a past recipient ofthe UB Law Alumni Association’sDistinguished Alumnus Award.

Thomas Maligno ’78 has beennamed executive director of thepublic advocacy center at theTouro Law Center in Central Islip,N.Y. He previously was executivedirector of Nassau Suffolk LawServices.

Mark J. Moretti ’78 was chosen to

serve on the Monroe County BarAssociation board of trustees inRochester, N.Y. He is a partner inthe firm Phillips Lytle in theRochester office.

Hon.Marilyn L. O’Connor ’78 hasretired as a Monroe County familycourt judge in Rochester, N.Y. Shewas honored at a retirementdinner at the Shadow Lake Golf &Racquet Club in Penfield, N.Y.,where she resides.

Mark G.Pearce ’78 was appointedby New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer tothe Commission on IncreasingDiversity in the State GovernmentWorkforce. Pearce is a partner inthe Buffalo firm Creighton PearceJohnsen & Giroux and a pastpresident of the Minority BarAssociation of Western New York.

Vikki L.Pryor ’78 received theEducation Award from theMinority Bar Association of

Western New York. Pryor ispresident of SBLI USA Mutual LifeInsurance in New York City. She isa past recipient of the UB LawAlumni Association’sDistinguished Alumna award andis a member of the UB Law SchoolDean’s Advisory Council.

David F.Smith ’78 has beennamed to the board of directors ofNational Fuel Gas Co. inWilliamsville, N.Y. Smith ispresident and chief operatingofficer of National Fuel andpresident of National Fuel GasSupply Corp. and Empire StatePipeline. Smith joined thecompany in 1978. He is a memberof UB Law School’s Dean’sAdvisory Council and a formerrecipient of the UB Law AlumniAssociation’s DistinguishedAlumnus Award.

Peter F.Brady ’79 was appointedtreasurer of the Bar Association ofErie County. He is a partner in thefirm Brady & Schaefer in Amherst,N.Y.

Richard W.Cole ’79 has joined theHamburg, N.Y., firm Shaw & Shawas an associate. He concentrates inmatrimonial and family law.

Ann E.Evanko ’79 was listed inThe Best Lawyers in America 2007.She is a partner in the Buffalo firmHurwitz & Fine, is a member ofthe management committee andserves as vice president of the firm.

Terrie Benson Murray ’79 waselected for a two-year term to thePhilanthropic EducationOrganization as guard for the CMChapter based in Orchard Park,N.Y. She is one of the foundingmembers of the chapter and is theproject chairperson forEducational Loan Fund. Murray isan associate in the firm Cohen &Lombardo in Buffalo.

Jean C.Powers ’79 was appointedpresident of the Buffalo NiagaraChapter of the NationalAssociation of Women BusinessOwners. She also was named inThe Best Lawyers in America 2008and is listed in “Who’s Who inLaw”2007 by Business First and theBuffalo Law Journal. Powers is apartner in the Amherst, N.Y., officeof the firm Jaeckle Fleischmann &Mugel, practicing in the real estategroup. She is a member of UB Law

School’s Dean’s Advisory Council,a former recipient of the UB LawAlumni Association’sDistinguished Alumna Award, anda past president of the UB LawAlumni Association.

Raymond P.Reichert ’79 has beenre-elected president of the LegalAid Bureau of Buffalo, appears inThe Best Lawyers in America 2008and is listed in “Who’s Who inLaw”2007 by Business First and theBuffalo Law Journal. Reichert is apartner in the firm JaeckleFleischmann & Mugel, practicingin the tax and economic landdevelopment practice group in theBuffalo office.

Michael B.Risman ’79 wasappointed to the board ofdirectors of the Jewish Federationof Greater Buffalo. Risman is apartner in the Buffalo firmHodgson Russ and is a bridgecourse lecturer at UB Law School.

Joseph M.Schnitter ’79 hasbecome a member of the board ofdirectors of the Western New YorkTrial Lawyers Association. He is apartner in the firm Brown & Kellyin Buffalo.

’80sGerard Citera ’80 has joined thefirm Chadbourne & Parke ascounsel in the New York Cityoffice. Citera is a member of thefirm’s securities litigation andregulatory enforcement practicegroup.

Barry Ginsberg ’80 has beennamed general counsel for NewYork State’s Commission onPublic Integrity. He previouslyworked in the New York Countydistrict attorney’s office in NewYork City.

Hon.Barbara Howe ’80,ErieCounty surrogate court judge,received the Women in Law Awardfrom the 8th Judicial District’sGender & Racial FairnessCommittee. She was honored atthe awards luncheon on May 23 atthe Hyatt Regency Buffalo. Howeis a past recipient of the UB LawAlumni Association’sDistinguished Alumna Award and

Garry M.Graber ’78

Ann E.Evanko ’79

Alumni Briefs


Uniform Commercial Code Article8 to promissory notes. Everettworks for the New York StateInsurance Department in Albany,N.Y., where he resides.

Diane M.LaVallee ’83,of Buffalo,was elected to the nominatingcommittee of the Bar Associationof Erie County. LaVallee is a trialadvocacy and bridge courseinstructor at UB Law School.

Hon.E. Jeannette Ogden ’83 wasnamed president-elect of the UBLaw Alumni Association. She is aBuffalo City Court judge and abridge course instructor at UB LawSchool. Ogden is also a pastpresident of the Minority BarAssociation in Buffalo.

Robert W. Patterson ’83 is listed inThe Best Lawyers in America 2008.Patterson is a partner in JaeckleFleischmann & Mugel in theemployee benefits practice group.He is a Buffalo resident.

Hon.Sara Sperrazza ’83 washonored at the fifth annual Womenin the Law Awards luncheon May23 at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo.She was recognized by the 8th

Judicial District’s Gender & RacialFairness Committee for hercontributions to the bench, bar andcommunity. Sperrazza is actingSupreme Court justice and NiagaraCounty Surrogate Court judge inLockport, N.Y.

Amy Ruth Tobol ’83 has beennamed associate dean of theHudson Valley Center of EmpireState College in Hartsdale, N.Y. Sheis also a tenured associate professor.

Perry Binder ’84 co-organized andspoke at the Corporate IntellectualProperty Institute at Georgia StateUniversity in Atlanta, Ga., where heis a Legal Studies professor in theRobinson College of Business. Inaddition, Binder nominated andintroduced Mr. Truett Cathy,founder and chairman of Chick-fil-A restaurants, for the university’sannual IP Legends Award, whichhonors attorneys and businesspeople who have made significantcontributions in the field ofintellectual property.

George W.Collins ’84 of Amherst,N.Y.,was re-elected for a secondterm as vice president of the board

of directors of the Boys & Girls Clubof Buffalo.He also was named to the2007 listing of“Who’s Who in Law”by Business First and the Buffalo LawJournal.Collins is chairman of thelitigation group in the firm BouvierPartnership in Buffalo.

John P.Freedenberg ’84 ofAmherst, N.Y., was selected as thenational chair of the DefenseResearch Institute’s productliability committee. Freedenberg isa partner in the firm GoldbergSegalla in Buffalo, practicing inproduct liability, catastrophicpersonal injury and intellectualproperty litigation.

Hon.Michael L.Hanuszczak ’84co-authored the article “FamilyLaw”which appears in the 2005-06Survey of New York Law, publishedin 2007 by the Syracuse UniversityLaw Review. Hanuszczak is anOnondaga County family courtjudge in Syracuse, N.Y.

Patrick J. Higgins ’84 has beennamed president of the AlbanyCounty Bar Association in Albany,N.Y. Higgins is a partner in the firmPowers & Santola in Albany, wherehe resides.

Jennifer J.Parker ’84 received theBusiness Person of the Year Awardfrom the Minority Bar Associationof Western New York. Parker ispresident and CEO of Black CapitalNetwork in Buffalo, where sheresides.

Nancy W.Saia ’84 received theSpecial Service Award from the BarAssociation of Erie County. She is amember of the association’s realproperty law subcommittee andwas recognized for her efforts increating the association’s new realestate contract. Saia is a Buffalo solopractitioner and a member of theboard of directors of the barassociation.

George F.Bellows ’85 of Buffalo islisted in The Best Lawyers inAmerica 2008. Bellows is a partnerin the business and corporate andfinancial services practice groups inthe firm Jaeckle Fleischmann &Mugel in the Buffalo office.

Sandra Cassidy ’85 has becomecorporate counsel and vicepresident of legal affairs for PlaintiffSupport Services in Amherst, N.Y.

Paula M.Ciprich ’85 was selectedas assistant treasurer of the UB LawAlumni Association. She is generalcounsel at National Fuel Gas Co. inWilliamsville, N.Y.

Victor J.D’Angelo ’85 has joinedthe staff of the New YorkLiquidation Bureau as deputy chiefof staff in the Manhattan office.D’Angelo was previously assistantattorney general in the claimsbureau of the Office of the NewYork State attorney general, inManhattan.

Gayle L.Eagan ’85 was selected forinclusion in The Best Lawyers inAmerica 2008 in the trusts andestates category. She was alsonamed to the 2007 listing of “Who’sWho in Law”by Business First andthe Buffalo Law Journal. Eagan is apartner in the Buffalo firm JaeckleFleischmann & Mugel. She istreasurer of the UB Law AlumniAssociation and a past recipient of

the UB Law Alumni AssociationDistinguished Alumna Award.

Virginia C.McEldowney ’85 wasnamed vice president of theHealthcare Executive Forum ofWestern New York. McEldowney isspecial counsel in the firm Damon& Morey in the Buffalo office. She isa member of the firm’s businessand corporate department and thefirm’s health care group.

Lisa Bloch Rodwin ’85 washonored at the fifth annual ItHappened to Alexa Foundationdinner on June 8, and also receivedthe Susan Still Profile in CourageAward from the Erie CountyFamily Justice Center. Rodwin ischief of the Erie County districtattorney’s office domestic violencebureau in Buffalo.

Alberto Benitez ’86 is listed as oneof the top faculty members, basedon student evaluations of courses,at George Washington UniversityLaw School in Washington, D.C.Benitez is a professor of clinical lawand director of the immigrationclinic.

Deborah A.Kirby ’86 was namedspecial counsel in the firm Colucci& Gallaher in Buffalo. Sheconcentrates her practice in healthand business law.

Kathleen A. Lynch ’86 received the2007 Liberty Bell Award from theBar Association of Erie County. Sheis an attorney for the Western NewYork Law Center in Buffalo andcoordinator of the Mayor’s Anti-Flipping Task Force.

Lisa McDougall ’86 co-authoredThe New York State Physician’sHIPAA Privacy Manual.McDougall is a partner in the firmPhillips Lytle in the Buffalo officeand is coordinator of the firm’shealth care practice group. She is aBuffalo resident.

Gregory Rabb ’86 was elected citycouncil president in Jamestown,N.Y. He is the first openly gayperson to hold that position. Rabbis a Jamestown resident.

Victor R.Siclari ’86 becameassistant general counsel for MellonFinancial Corp. in Pittsburgh, Pa.,supporting the asset managementbusiness. Siclari was previously a

1st Row (seated) – Hon.Timothy J. Drury

2nd Row – Sheldon B.Benatovich, Hon. SamuelL.Green, Robert S.Pacholski,Carol J.Alaimo,Harold J.BrandJr.

3rd Row – Hon.David A.Gerard,Alan S. Carrel,Ralph Morabito,Roger A. Pies

Stairs (top to bottom) –David F.Lawlor, TimothyM.O’Mara,Walter L.Rooth,Paul E.Rudnicki,Hon.Frank J.Clark,Frederick A.Wolf,Alan S.Biernbaum,Robert E.Walter,Michael A.Connors,Arthur A. Russ,Robert M.Kornreich

Classof’67

The 40-year re-union of theClass of 1967was celebratedon June 9.This

momentous occasionbrought together oldfriends and spouses in cele-bration of the accomplish-ments of the class.

The reunion was kickedoff on Saturday morning atthe Law School for abrunch hosted by DeanNils Olsen. Dean Olsenwelcomed the class to theLaw School and treatedthem to a tour of theschool’s facilities. TheCountry Club of Buffaloplayed as the backdrop andlocation for the reuniondinner that evening.Harold Brand and FrankClark acted as emcee forthe evening with tales ofLaw School days and theirescapades, which broughtrave reviews from class-mates and friends.

Above, Harold J.Brand Jr. and Hon.Samuel L. Green

Ralph Morabito,Alan S. Carrel, andHon.Frank J. Clark

David F. Lawlor,Carol J.Alaimo,Robert E.Walter,Paul E. Rudnicki,Hon. Samuel L. Green,and Arthur A.Russ Jr.

Hon.Michael L.Hanuszczak ’84

Donna L.Burden ’87

Alumni Briefs


partner in the investmentmanagement group of Reed Smithin Pittsburgh.

Candace Vogel-Yood ’86 wasawarded the InternationalAssociation of Financial CrimeInvestigators Prosecutor of the YearAward for New York State.Vogel-Yood is an Erie County assistantdistrict attorney in Buffalo. She is amember of the board of directorsof the Erie County Bar Associationand a past member of the board ofdirectors of the UB Law AlumniAssociation.

H.Todd Bullard ’87 has joinedHarris Beach as an equity memberin the Rochester, N.Y., office. Hespecializes in public finance andeconomic development andbusiness and commercial litigation.Bullard also received the TrailblazerAward from the Rochester BlackBar Association.

Donna L.Burden ’87 has partneredwith Jonathan S.Hickey ’01 toform the firm Burden Gulisano &Hickey in Buffalo. The firm willhandle cases involving catastrophicpersonal injury, particularly intrucking/transportationnegligence, as well as productliability, premises liability, labor lawand municipal law. Burden has 20years of experience as a truckinglaw trial attorney. She alsoaddressed the ABA section oflitigation products liabilitycommittee at its Women inProducts Liability conference inNew Orleans, and was reappointedchair of the Defense ResearchInstitute’s trucking law committee.

David P.Flynn ’87 was selected tothe executive committee of theNational Brownfield Association’sNew York chapter for a two-yearterm and is also event committeechair. He also was named vice chairof the ABA section of environment,energy and resources siteremediation committee for a one-year term. Flynn is a partner in thefirm Phillips Lytle in the Buffalooffice and a past member of theboard of directors of the UB LawAlumni Association.

Brian C.Mahoney ’87 was electedto the board of directors of the BarAssociation of Erie County. He isalso treasurer of the Western NewYork Trial Lawyers Association.Mahoney is a member of the firm

Smith Keller Miner & O’Shea inBuffalo.

Michael W.Reville ’87 of Buffalohas been promoted to assistant vicepresident of National Fuel GasDistribution Corp. in Williamsville,N.Y. He is responsible for theutility’s rate matters andcompliance with state and federalrate-related regulations. Revillejoined the company in 1991 as anattorney in the legal department.

Evan Shapiro ’87 is a principal inthe firm Boundas Skarzynski Walsh& Black in New York City. Shefocuses her practice in commercialD&O and E&O insurance. She wasalso named in the New York Times“Super Lawyers”section for thesecond year in a row. Shapiro is aBrooklyn, N.Y., resident.

David M.Stillwell ’87 was re-elected to the board of directors ofthe Western New York Trial

Lawyers Association. He is apartner in the firm Anspach MeeksEllenberger in Buffalo.

D.Andrew Winston ’87 hasaccepted a position as a trialattorney with the EqualEmployment OpportunityCommission in Denver. He writes:“Even after 20 years in the bloodpits of the American legal system, Iam yet to be disabused of thenotion that government can be aforce for good.”

Mark E.Brand ’88 has been namedto the Community ImpactCouncil, a subcommittee of theUnited Way of Buffalo and ErieCounty. Brand is a partner in theBuffalo firm Phillips Lytle. He is apast member of the board ofdirectors of the UB Law AlumniAssociation and a past president ofUB Law School’s GOLD Group.

Terrence M. Gilbride ’88 waselected to the UB Law AlumniAssociation board of directors. Heis a partner in the Buffalo firmHodgson Russ.

William E.Grieshober Jr. ’88 hasbeen named managing director,new ventures division, at RichProducts Corp. in Buffalo. He waspreviously deputy general counselin the corporation.

Paul F.Hammond ’88 was named“Who’s Who in Law”2007 byBusiness First and the Buffalo LawJournal. He is a litigation partnerpracticing in personal injury in theBuffalo firm Bouvier Partnership.Hammond is a Buffalo resident.

Brian M.Martin ’88 has becomesenior vice president, generalcounsel and corporate secretary ofKLA-Tencor in San Jose, Calif. Hepreviously served as vice president,corporate law group, at SunMicrosystems in Menlo Park, Calif.Martin is also an adjunct professorat UB Law School.

Hon.Forrest Strauss ’88 has beenappointed village justice inMonroe, N.Y. He is in charge ofestablishing one of the first justicecourts in New York State in over 20years. In addition, he serves asacting justice in the Village ofHarriman. He continues as a staffattorney for the New York StateGrievance Committee, 9th District,in White Plains.

Gillian D.Brown ’89 was namedspecial counsel in the firm Colucci& Gallaher in Buffalo. He will focushis practice in housing anddevelopment law, municipal law,landlord-tenant law, estate law andcriminal defense work. Brownpreviously served as generalcounsel to the Buffalo MunicipalHousing Authority. He is a Buffaloresident.

Douglas W.Dimitroff ’89 waselected president of the New YorkState Wireless Association, whichhe founded. Dimitroff is a partnerin the Buffalo firm Phillips Lytle.He practices commercial real estateand telecommunications law.

Vincent E.Doyle III ’89 wasappointed to the 4th JudicialDepartment judicial screeningcommittee. Doyle is a partner inthe Buffalo firm Connors & Vilardoand a member of the board ofdirectors of the UB Law AlumniAssociation.

Karen R.Kaczmarski ’89 hasaccepted a position as assistantdean for development at UB LawSchool. She formerly practiced inthe firm Harter Secrest & Emery inBuffalo. In addition, she also hasbeen named to the social servicestransition panel formed by ErieCounty Executive Chris Collins.Kaczmarski is a Hamburg, N.Y.,resident.

Dean P.Smith ’89 and Joseph R.Bergen ’91 have opened thepersonal injury firm Smith Bergen& Schiffmacher in Buffalo. Smithpreviously practiced in the LawOffices of William Mattar inWilliamsville, N.Y.

’90sStuart P.Gelberg ’90 taped a two-part radio program for The LawYou Should Know on radio stationWHPC in Garden City, N.Y. Hewas invited to speak on “The Effectof the 2005 BAPCPA Amendmentsto the Bankruptcy Code.”The showis hosted by Kenneth J. Landau ’80.Gelberg is a solo practitioner inGarden City.

Paula M.Eade Newcomb ’90 wasnamed to the board of directors of

1st Row – Angelo A.Buffomante,Hon.Eric L. Glazer,A. SheldonGould,Bernard M.Brodsky,Isaac Fromm,William Z.Reich,Jeffery A.Spencer,Timothy J.Kane,Larry D.Bates,Warren B.Rosenbaum

2nd Row – Michael L. Calvete,Samuel L. Newman,Hon.MarkG. Farrell,Ralph Cessario,GeraldB.Cohen,Hon.MargaretAnderson Montondo,Thomas F.Segalla,George E.Riedel Jr.,Arthur E. Jackson Jr.,Thomas G.Sellers

3rd Row – John J.QuakenbushJr., Raymond H.Barr,DavidBrock,Charles J.Genese, JohnM.Anderson, Joseph W.Carosella,William C.Lobbins Jr.

To mark their 35th reunion from UBLaw School, the Cass of 1972 gatheredon the weekend of June 8-9.

The weekend commenced on Fridayevening with cocktails and hors

d’oeuvres at the old Law School at 77 W. Eagle St.Alumni came to see how their old law school wasrecently transformed into a marvelous libraryfacility while having an opportunity to catch upwith friends. The festivities continued asclassmates made their way over to Dubois onNiagara Street – a familiar and favorite hangoutfrom their law school days.

On Saturday morning, Dean Nils Olsenwelcomed the class to the “new”Law School onthe UB North Campus.As a special gift, the Classof 1972’s senior yearbook pictures were compiled

into a class composite, framed and hung on thethird floor of O’Brian Hall with other classcomposites.All class members also received theirown copy at the reunion dinner as a reminder oftheir days in Law School.

Classmates continued their reunion weekendwith a stations dinner at Marinaccio’s Restaurantin Amherst, with dance music provided by the SidWinkler Band. It was a great opportunity for all torekindle their Law School relationships andcontinue the class’ reunion tradition.

Class of’72

Above: Jack Montondo, Hon.Margaret R.Anderson Montondo,Diane Quackenbush, and John J. Quackenbush Jr.

William C.Lobbins Jr.,Helen Newman,andSamuel L.Newman

Right:Arthur E. JacksonJr., Lisa Dorato, andJoseph W. Carosella

Left: Seated,Helene Cohenand Gerald B.Cohen.Standing, Isaac Fromm andJessica Fromm

Karen R.Kaczmarski ’89

H.Todd Bullard ’87

Alumni Briefs


the Erie County Bar Foundationfor a three-year term. Newcomb isspecial counsel in the firm BouvierPartnership in Buffalo, where shehandles matters involving toxic tortand personal injury litigation. Sheis a resident of West Seneca, N.Y.

Hon.Wendy S. Ricks ’90 has beenelected town justice in Saugerties,N.Y., for a four-year term. Rickspreviously practiced in the firmRusk Wadlin Heppner &Martuscello in Kingston, N.Y., butrecently opened her own practicein Saugerties.

Tina Marie Stanford ’90 has beennominated by New York Gov. EliotSpitzer to serve as chairwoman ofthe New York State Crime VictimsBoard. Stanford is an Erie Countyassistant district attorney inBuffalo.

Sean P.Beiter ’91 of Amherst,N.Y.,was named president of the GreaterNiagara Frontier Council,BoyScouts of America.He also is namedin the 2008 edition of The BestLawyers in America.Beiter,an EagleScout, is a partner in the firm JaeckleFleischmann & Mugel in Buffalo.

Joseph R. Bergen ’91 is a partner inthe newly formed personal injuryfirm Smith Bergen & Schiffmacherin Buffalo, where he resides. Bergenand Dean P.Smith ’89 opened thefirm in October 2007. Bergenpreviously practiced in the LawOffices of William Mattar inWilliamsville, N.Y.

Laurice A.Ghougasian ’91 was apanelist for the American BarAssociation Section on BusinessLaw Spring Meeting program inWashington,D.C.,called “First,DoNo Harm:What Business LawyersNeed to Know to Represent aNonprofit Organization.”Ghougasian is a tax law specialistwith the Exempt OrganizationsDivision,Rulings and Agreementsoffice of the Internal RevenueService in Washington,D.C.TheRulings and Agreements officeprocesses applications for taxexemption and provides directionthrough private letter rulings andtechnical guidance.Prior to hercurrent position at the IRS,Ghougasian served for two years asan administrative law clerk for JudgeDiane Gilbert Sypolt at the U.S.Court of Federal Claims.She residesin Arlington,Va.

Robert P. Heary ’91 is a member ofthe board of directors of the UBLaw Alumni Association. He is amanaging partner in the firmHiscock & Barclay in Buffalo.

Jane E.Hughes ’91 has becomeassociated with the Buffalo firmWatson Bennett Colligan Johnson& Schecter. She focuses her practicein matrimonial and family law.

Lizabeth A.Martin ’91 has beenpromoted to partner in the firmHodgson Russ in the Buffalo office.She is a member of the firm’simmigration practice group,concentrating on U.S.immigration and nationality law.Martin lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

Steven I.Rubinstein ’91 was namedto Dopkins & Co.’s 2007 advisoryboard. Rubinstein is a partner inthe firm Damon & Morey,practicing in the business and

corporate department in theBuffalo office. He practices inhealth care; prior to entering law,Rubinstein maintained a privatepractice in psychotherapy.

Scott B.Schwartz ’91 spoke at apanel discussion for the IntellectualProperty Law Institute hosted bythe Pennsylvania Bar Institute.Schwartz discussed best practicesfor handling actions before thetrademark trial and appeal board.He also co-hosted a discussion ontrademark dilution for theInternational TrademarkAssociation, and gave a lecture on“Anti-Counterfeiting MeasuresFrom the TrademarkAdministrator’s Perspective”for theInternational TrademarkAssociation’s trademarkadministrators workshop series. Heis a member of the intellectualproperty department in the firmCozen O’Connor in Philadelphia.

Laurie Ambrose Walsh ’91 is atenured professor and chair of thehistory and governmentdepartment at Daemen College inAmherst, N.Y. She resides in NorthTonawanda, N.Y.

Steven J.Weiss ’91 was elected co-chair of the low income andaffordable housing subcommitteeof the New York State BarAssociation real estate committee.Weiss is a partner in the firmCannon Heyman & Weiss inBuffalo, practicing in affordablehousing and communitydevelopment transactions.

Thomas P.Cunningham ’92 hasbecome a managing partner in thefirm Rupp Baase PfalzgrafCunningham & Coppola in theBuffalo office. He practices ininsurance defense, insurancecoverage and commerciallitigation. Cunningham is aresident of East Amherst, N.Y.

LaMarr J. Jackson ’92 has become apartner in the firm HarrisChesworth O’Brien JohnstoneWelch & Leone in Rochester, N.Y.Jackson is the first African-American female partner in thefirm. She also received the PioneerAward from the Rochester BlackBar Association. She practices inmatrimonial and family law, laborrelations, business law, trusts andestates, and criminal law.

Russell J.Matuszak ’92 was electedpresident of the Niagara FrontierCorporate Counsel Association. Heis legal counsel for HealthNow NewYork, in Buffalo.

Gregory V.Pajak ’92 has joined theBuffalo firm Cellino & Barnes as apartner, representing victims ofpersonal injury.He previously was apartner in the firm Chelus HerdzikSpeyer Monte & Pajak in Buffalo.

Edward Tirpak ’92 has becomeassociate director of technologyand commercial development atRoswell Park Cancer Institute inBuffalo.

Christopher J.Belter ’93 wasnamed national vice chair of theDefense Research Institute’sconstruction law committee. He isa partner in the firm GoldbergSegalla in Buffalo and lives onGrand Island, N.Y.

Thomas J. Cannavo ’93 has beennamed a partner in the firmKenney Shelton Liptak Nowak inBuffalo. He advises clients onmatters regarding self-insured andinsurance defense litigation,environmental and toxic tortlitigation, and medical malpracticedefense.

Michelle M.Parker ’93 has beenappointed chair of the Erie CountyBar Foundation 2007 campaign.Parker is a partner in the firmAnspach Meeks Ellenberger inBuffalo. She is vice president of theDefense Trial Lawyers of WesternNew York, treasurer of the EvansDemocratic Club and a director ofthe Evans-Brant Chamber ofCommerce in the Town of Evans,N.Y., where she resides.

Mary Q.Wydysh ’93 has beennamed president of the WesternNew York Trial LawyersAssociation.Wydysh is a partner inthe firm Goldberg Segalla inBuffalo. She is a past president ofthe Defense Trial LawyersAssociation of Western New Yorkand a past member of the board ofdirectors of the UB Law AlumniAssociation.

Sharon Angelino ’94 has become apartner in the firm GoldbergSegalla in Buffalo.Angelinohandles cases involving insurancecoverage and health care law. She isa resident of Hamburg, N.Y.

1st Row – Sharyn G.Rogers,Barbara J.Delgross,Leslie Kirschner Rauhala,Christine M. Carty,William D.Maldovan

2nd Row – Rebecca P.Dick,Kandace F.Melillo, Joseph M.Melillo,Flora Miller Sliwa,GeneA.Rauhala, Laurence K.Rubin

3rd Row – Mark C.Rodgers,George A. Rusk,Kenneth A.Manning,Steven J.Pheterson,Michael R.Tantillo,David E.Parker,Barry R.Fertel, John C.Doscher,Ronald B.Eskin

4th Row – David J.Colligan,Charles Chehebar,David J.Clegg,Bruce S.Zeftel,Dennis R.McCoy,Margaret P.Gryko,Donald W. O’Brien Jr., RonaldC.Berger, Michael Cooperman

Class of’77

Alumni and friends from the Class of 1977 commemorated their 30th reunion June 8-9. Thereunion got under way with a happy hour at Shanghai Red’s overlooking Buffalo’s picturesquewaterfront. Even with an unexpected downpour and thunderstorms, spirits remained high asfriends greeted one another and kicked off the reunion weekend.

Saturday morning the class gathered in the lobby of O’Brian Hall for a brunch hosted byDean Nils Olsen. Following the brunch, classmates toured the Law School’s facilities, which provided anopportunity for the alumni to see firsthand the advancements that the school is making.

The renowned Chop House in downtown Buffalo was the site for the Class of 1977’s big reuniondinner. They were treated to scrumptious prepared food with plenty of opportunity for conversationabout their lives today as well as remembering their days in Law School.

Leslie Kirschner Rauhala,Flora Miller Sliwa andLaurence K. Rubin

George A. Rusk and David J. Clegg

Robert P. Heary ’91

LaMarr J. Jackson ’92

Alumni Briefs


Kevin E. Raphael ’94 is joining thePhiladelphia firm PietragalloGordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti.Raphael was previously a memberof Miller Alfano & Raspanti inPhiladelphia, which has mergedwith Pietragallo Bosick & Gordon.He was a guest speaker at thePennsylvania Bar Institute’s 13th

annual Health Law Institute inPhiladelphia, and was selected as aSuper Lawyers Rising Star for2007. He was honored for his workin white-collar criminal defense. Inaddition, he spoke at thePennsylvania Bar Institute’s “A Dayon Health Law”and at theProgressive Audio Conference onthe topic “Non-FDA Use and Off-Label Promotion: Criminal andCivil Risks You Need to Know.”Raphael practices white-collarcriminal defense, criminal andcivil health care fraud defense,complex commercial litigation,professional licensing litigation,health care law and liquorlicensing litigation. He is aPhiladelphia resident.

Monica P.Wallace ’94 was chosenas a local director of the WesternNew York Chapter of the Women’sBar Association of the State ofNew York in Buffalo. She isemployed by the U.S. DistrictCourt,Western District of NewYork, in Buffalo.

Luke P.Bellocchi ’95 has beenappointed assistant commissioner,U.S. Customs & BorderProtection, Department ofHomeland Security, inWashington, D.C. He helpsproduce legislation and policy toprotect the country’s borders fromdangerous items and persons.Bellocchi previously served as astaff member in the U.S. Senateand U.S. House of Representatives.

Hon.John J.Flynn ’95 wasappointed town justice inTonawanda, N.Y. He is also anattorney in the firm BouvierPartnership in Buffalo.

Christine Keller ’95 was namedhead of the health and welfarepractice group of Groom LawGroup in Washington, D.C. Shehas been a principal in the firmsince 2006.

Nicole M.Marro ’95 has beennamed counsel in the firm NixonPeabody in the Rochester, N.Y.,

office. She concentrates in estateplanning and administration andis a member of the firm’s privateclients group.

Sallie G.Randolph ’95 andAnthony N. Elia ’00 were featuredguests in a live 70-minuteteleseminar on the law for writers.They discussed their book AuthorLaw A to Z: A Desktop Guide to

Writers’ Rights and Responsibilities.Randolph is a Buffalo solopractitioner.

Eric W.Schultz ’95 has joined theBuffalo firm Hiscock & Barclay ascounsel. He concentrates in U.S.immigration and nationality law.

Christopher J.Shea ’95 hasmerged his solo practice andformed the litigation firmThompson O’Connor & Shea inMeriden, Conn. Shea handles thefirm’s criminal defense practice.

Joseph N. Del Vecchio ’96 has beenpromoted to vice president ofNational Fuel Resources inWilliamsville, N.Y. He isresponsible for the day-to-daymanagement of the company’senergy marketing segment.Previously assistant vice president,he resides in East Aurora, N.Y.

Daniel W.Gerber ’96 has beenelected chair of the torts, insuranceand compensation law section ofthe New York State BarAssociation. Gerber is a partner inthe firm Goldberg Segalla inBuffalo, practicing in commerciallitigation. He was listed in Who’sWho in Law 2007 and New YorkSuper Lawyers 2007.

Laurie A.Giordano ’96 is afounding member of the newlyformed firm Leclair KoronaGiordano & Cole in Rochester,N.Y.The litigation firmconcentrates its practice incommercial, employment,securities,ERISA, insurance andpersonal injury matters.Giordanowas previously a partner in theRochester firm Wolford & Leclair.She has been named OutstandingYoung Lawyer of the Year for 2007by the New York State BarAssociation and was selected as oneof“The Best Laywers in America.”

Ranjana Kadle ’96 was elected tothe board of managers of theBuffalo Museum of Science. Kadleis a partner in the Buffalo firmHodgson Russ, practicing in theintellectual property andtechnology group, and is a bridgecourse lecturer at UB Law School.

Jonathan J.Kelly ’96 has become apartner in the firm Sidney Austinin the New York City office. Hepractices in the insurance andfinancial services group.

Benjamin D.Pierson ‘96 is apartner in the firm CooleyGodward Kronish inthe New York City office in thebusiness department. He practicescorporate law.

Anita Coles Costello ’97 has beennamed president of the board ofdirectors of HallwallsContemporary Art Center.Costello is a partner in the firmHodgson Russ in the Buffalooffice.

Hon.Lenora B.Foote ’97 wasnamed a state director of theWomen’s Bar Association of theState of New York,Western NewYork Chapter. She also received theLegal Service Award from theMinority Bar Association ofWestern New York. Foote is ErieCounty Family court supportmagistrate in Buffalo. She is amember of the board of directorsof the UB Law Alumni Associationand a past member of UB LawSchool’s GOLD Group. She is aBuffalo resident.

Daniel M. Killelea ’97 is practicingas an associate in the Buffalo firmLipsitz Green Scime Cambria. Hecounsels clients regarding criminaldefense. Killelea previously servedas an assistant district attorney inErie County.

Craig A.Leslie ’97 was chosen asspecial counsel in the firm PhillipsLytle in the Buffalo office. Hefocuses his practice in productsliability, tort litigation, commerciallitigation, and real propertyvaluation and tax assessment.

David R.Pfalzgraf Jr. ’97 has beenelected to the board of directors ofthe UB Law Alumni Association.He is a partner in the Buffalo firmRupp Baase PfalzgrafCunningham & Coppola.

Scott M.Philbin ’97 joined thefirm Bond Schoeneck & King assenior counsel in the Buffalo office.Philbin specializes in litigation andis an Amherst,N.Y., resident.

Mary Comeau Raymond ’97 hasbeen selected as a 2007 Up &Coming Attorney by The DailyRecord in Rochester, N.Y. She isspecial counsel in the Buffalo firmDamon & Morey, practicing in thebusiness and corporatedepartment.

1st Row – Lynne A.Monaco,Janet A.Savrin,Catharine M.Venzon, Johannah M.Farugia,Janis Cohen,Karen StifterSnow, Hon. Paula L.Feroleto,Elizabeth I.Freedman,DianneAvery,Denise E. O’Donnell,Neil E.Botwinoff

2nd Row – Cheryl A. Possenti,Patrick J. Dooley,AndreaSchillaci,Susan A.Eberle, Howard C.Bluver, JohnP.Feroleto,Keith W.Balis,Vincent O. Hanley,Michael H.Doran,Scott S.Oakley,EdwardM.Flint, Julie RosenblumSolarz,Robert C. Schwenkel

3rd Row – Jonathan S.Malamud, Gary A.Carleton,Michael J.Surgalla Jr.,Guy A.Van Baalen,Thomas A.Catalano,William C.Altreuter,John A. Ziegler,Steven B.Getzoff, Joseph A.DeMaria,Louis P.Gigliotti, David H.Nelson,Mark S. Klein,RichardS.Binko

Class of’82Class of’82

The Class of 1982 reunion traditioncontinued in grand fashion for their25th reunion held on May 4-5. Theweekend got under way with cocktails,hors d’oeuvres and breathtaking views

of Lake Erie and Buffalo’s skyline at Shanghai Red’sin the Buffalo Harbor. The night was spentmingling and swapping stories with formerclassmates in a grand setting.

On Saturday, the class gathered once again for adaylong celebration of their accomplishments.The day commenced with brunch at the LawSchool, followed by a tour. Dean Nils Olsen wasthere to greet the alums and show off theimprovements to the school.

That evening, the class was treated to dinnerback on the waterfront, but this time at the BuffaloYacht Club. The outdoor deck was popular amongclassmates and guests due to the gorgeous weather.

Robert C. Schwenkel, Patrick J. Dooley,Edward M. Flint, Richard S. Binko, andin background, Joseph A. DeMaria

Johannah M.Farugia,Catharine M.Venzon,Karen Stifter Snow andJanet A. Savrin

Andrea Schillaci, Steven B.Getzoff, Thomas A. Catalano andElizabeth I. Freedman

Robert C. Schwenkel,Janis Cohen,

Howard C. Bluver andGuy A.Van Baalen

Ranjana Kadle ’96

Anita Coles Costello ’97

David R.Pfalzgraf Jr. ’97

Alumni Briefs


Ventura is deputy chief ofstaff for the New York StateDemocratic Conference, withoffices in Albany and NewYork City.

Marc W. Brown ’99 has beennamed by The Daily Record asa 2007 Up & ComingAttorney. He is an associate inthe Buffalo firm Phillips Lytle,a member of the board ofdirectors of the UB LawAlumni Association and apast president of UB LawSchool’s GOLD Group.

Jennifer K. Dorrer ’99 hasjoined the Hawaii StateLegislative Reference Bureau.She was recently electedsecretary of the governmentlawyers section of the HawaiiState Bar Association. Dorrerlives in Honolulu.

Damon M.Gruber ’99 hasjoined the firm GoldbergSegalla as an associate in theBuffalo office. Heconcentrates his practice inworkers’compensationclaims.

Amy C. Martoche ’99 hasbeen named a partner in theBuffalo firm Connors & Vilardo.She has been with the firm since2001.

Timothy P. Noonan ’99 is writing amonthly column for State TaxNotes.“Noonan’s Notes on TaxPractice”discusses practice andprocedure issues for the state andlocal tax practitioner. Noonan is apartner in the firm Hodgson Russin Buffalo.

John A. Orlowski ’99 recently gavea presentation,“NewEnvironmental Law AffectingLenders: EPA’s All AppropriateInquiry Standard,”at a CLEprogram in conjunction with thebanking law committee of the BarAssociation of Erie County.Orlowski practices in the Buffalofirm Phillips Lytle and advisesclients on the impact ofenvironmental laws on real estateand business transactions andproperty development.

Marc A. Romanowski ’99 hasjoined the firm Harter Secrest &Emery in the Buffalo office. He isan associate practicing in the firm’senvironmental group.Romanowski is a Buffalo resident.

Daniel E.Sarzynski ’99 was nameda partner in the Buffalo firm RuppBaase Pfalzgraf Cunningham &Coppola. He counsels clientsregarding commercial andconstruction litigation.

Amy E.Schwartz ’99 was listed as a2007 Up & Coming Attorney byThe Daily Record in Rochester, N.Y.Schwartz is an attorney in thedomestic violence department forthe Empire Justice Center inRochester.

Kristopher A. Schwarzmueller ’99has joined the Buffalo firmHerschel Gelber. He concentrateshis practice in litigation.

Mark J. Stuhlmiller ’99 was namedto the UB Law Alumni Associationboard of directors. He is assistantgeneral counsel at Computer TaskGroup in Buffalo.

’00sJames M.Appler ’00 has beennamed a partner in the Buffalofirm Rupp Baase PfalzgrafCunningham & Coppola. Heconcentrates his practice ininsurance litigation.

Wynn L.Bowman ’00 has joinedRupp Baase Pfalzgraf Cunningham& Coppola in the Rochester, N.Y.office. He is a trial attorneyfocusing his practice in insurancedefense litigation matters and is aRochester resident.

Irene Chiu ’00 has transferred fromthe New Jersey office in the firmMorgan Lewis Bockius to the NewYork City office. She had an article,“What You Need to Know AboutDoing Business in China,”published in New Jersey TechNews.Chiu also addressed the ChinaPanel at the National Asian PacificAmerican Bar Association’s annualconvention in Las Vegas and wasinvited by the Taiwan government

to speak at the Global Forum forHealth Leaders 2007 in Tapei. Shealso had speaking engagements inChicago,Atlantic City, N.J., NewYork and China. Her updatedarticle on “Doing Business inChina”was published in the secondedition of Morgan Lewis’LifeScience Deskbook.

Anthony N. Elia ’00 and Sallie G.Randolph ’95 co-authored thebook Author Law A to Z: A DesktopGuide to Writers’ Rights andResponsibilities. They discussedtheir book on a live 70-minute teleseminar on the lawfor writers. Elia practices in theNew York City firm SilverbergStonehill Goldsmith & Haber.

Kimberly Girdlestone ’00 hasentered the social welfare Ph.D.program at the University atBuffalo. She is a Buffalo resident.

Kelly J.Philips ’00 has becomepresident of the Western New YorkChapter of the Women’s BarAssociation of the State of NewYork, in Buffalo. She is an associatein The Sugarman Law Firm in theBuffalo office.

David W.Polak ’00 has started hisown practice in West Seneca, N.Y.Polak focuses his practice inpersonal injury, labor andemployment discriminationclaims, and insurance litigation,representing individuals andmedical providers regarding no-fault matters to obtainreimbursement for servicesprovided, vehicle and traffic, andminor criminal matters. He is aformer member of the board ofdirectors of the UB Law AlumniAssociation.

Margot Schoenborn ’00 joined theNew York State Office of theAttorney General, Medicaid FraudControl Unit, as a special assistantattorney general in the Buffalooffice. She is assigned to theSpecial Projects Unit, whichoperates throughout New YorkState with the primary mission ofinvestigating facilities, institutionsand cost-based providers andparticipating in joint state-federalinvestigations of pharmaceuticalpricing practices and Medicaiddrug rebate underpayments.

Jonathan S.Hickey ’01 and DonnaL.Burden ’87 have formed the firm

MarriagesCongratulations to the following newlyweds:Mahindra Maharaj ’93 and Melinda Joelle Gray, Nov. 17, 2007

Selina A.Regan ’93 and Stephen M. Molineaux, July 7, 2007

Colleen M. Farrell ’97 and Brett Rewakowski on June 23, 2007

James M.Appler III ’00 and Carrie P.Parks ’03, May 12, 2007

Shannon S. Fuhrman ’01 and John G. Olivier, July 21, 2007

Brendan Kelleher ’01 and Jennifer Bermel ’07,August 25, 2007

Amol K.Pachnanda ’03 and Ellen K. Poch ’03, July 21, 2007

Meredith J.Pelton ’03 and Dr. Christopher Clancy,Aug. 26, 2006

Matthew J. Batt ’05 and Jamie L. Jasinski ’05, Dec. 1, 2007

John M.Cordon ’05 and Jennifer Rene Tata,August 10, 2007

Julieann Mathis ’05 and Brian M.Swann ’05, October 20, 2007

Yadira A.Ramos ’05 and Jeffrey L. Herbert, March 24, 2007

Meghann N.Carroll ’06 and Timothy Roehl, Sept. 22, 2007

Kristen Houseknecht ’06 and Joseph Verciglio ’06, Sept. 2, 2007

Jennifer C.Tsai ’06 and Timothy James Nestler, Sept. 1, 2007

Matthew J. Morton ’07 and Melissa M.Piotrowicz ’07, Sept. 1, 2007

D.Charles Roberts ’97,corporatecounsel for Delaware North Cos. inBuffalo, was appointed to the boardof directors of the UB Law AlumniAssociation. He is a past presidentof UB Law School’s GOLD Group.

Michael P.Stuermer ’97 wasselected as a 2007 Up & ComingAttorney by The Daily Record.Stuermer is a senior partner in thefirm Lipsitz Green Scime Cambriain Buffalo.

Susan E.Van Gelder ’97 andThomas F.Segalla ’72 co-authoreda chapter,“Causation in MoldCases: Practice Pointers forDefending Exposure Claims,”forthe Defense Research InstituteLibrary Series 2007 on ExploringToxic Tort and EnvironmentalLiability Claims. She is a partner inthe Buffalo firm Goldberg Segallaand a member of the DefenseResearch Institute’s Toxic Tort andEnvironmental Law Committee.

Kelly V.Zarcone ’97 is a localdirector of the Western New YorkChapter of the Women’s BarAssociation of the State of NewYork. She practices at ZarconeAssociates in Amherst, N.Y.

Erin M. Barclay ’98, formerexecutive director of the Networkof East-West Women, wasappointed to the position of deputydirector of the Office of Africa,Asiaand Europe in the Bureau forInternational Narcotics and LawEnforcement at the U.S.Department of State inWashington, D.C. Barclay resides inD.C. with her husband, DanielUllman ’97.

Jennifer L.Burke ’98 has accepted aposition at Shaw & Shaw inHamburg, N.Y. She is an associateconcentrating her practice in realestate and banking law.

Hon.Betty Calvo-Torres ’98 hasbeen appointed a Buffalo CityCourt judge. She is the firstHispanic female judge in Buffalo’shistory. Calvo-Torres was mostrecently of counsel in the Buffalofirm Cantor Lukasik Dolce &Panepinto. She is president of theHispanic Women’s League andimmediate past president of theMinority Bar Association ofWestern New York. She alsoreceived a Special RecognitionAward at the Entre Nosotras 12th

annual awards luncheon in Albany,N.Y., and the Trailblazer Awardfrom the Minority Bar Associationof Western New York.

Matthew Clabeaux ’98 chose an“alternative career”as a publicschool teacher. He has written andcartoon illustrated a memoir abouthis experiences, My First Year inPurgatory. The book chroniclesClabeaux’s misadventures in acrumbling urban school district. Topreview or purchase the book visitwww.lulu.com/content/630141 orwww.myfirstyearinpurgatory.org.

Tasha Dandridge ’98 was electedrecording secretary of the MinorityBar Association of Western NewYork, in Buffalo. Dandridge is anassociate in the firm Hurwitz &Fine in Buffalo, where she resides.Joan M.Fildes ’98 has becomeassociated with the Buffalo firmWilder & Linneball. She practicesin insurance defense, commerciallitigation and personal injury.

Fildes was formerly a partner in thefirm Kavinoky Cook in Buffalo.

Denise Grey ’98 has become anassociate in the firm BrownsteinHyatt Farber Schreck in the LasVegas office. She is a member of thefirm’s employee benefits, executivecompensation and ERISA practice.

Shannon M. Heneghan ’98 hasbecome a partner in the SugarmanLaw Firm in the Syracuse, N.Y.,office. She practices in the firm’slitigation department.

John J.Koeppel ’98 was named apartner in the firm Nixon Peabodyin the Buffalo office. He handlescases involving fund promotion,private equity, mergers andacquisitions, financial services andgeneral corporate matters.

Tasha E.Moore ’98 has beennamed president of the MinorityBar Association of Western NewYork, in Buffalo. She works for theNew York State Division of HumanRights in Buffalo and is a memberof the board of directors of UB LawSchool’s GOLD Group.

Catherine E.Nagel ’98 was electedto the board of directors of the UBLaw Alumni Association. She is apartner in the firm Nuchereno &Nagel in Buffalo.

Bridget M.O’Connell ’98 waselected secretary of the Western NewYork Chapter of the Women’s BarAssociation of the State of NewYork, in Buffalo.O’Connell practicesmatrimonial and family law in thefirm Lipsitz Green Scime Cambriain Buffalo,where she resides.

Jennifer Persico ’98 was electeddeputy treasurer of the WesternNew York Trial LawyersAssociation. She practices andresides in Buffalo.

Lisa D.Primerano ’98 wasappointed treasurer of theWomen’s Bar Association of NewYork,Western New York Chapter.Primerano practices in the firmLippes Mathias Wexler in Buffalo,where she resides. She is a memberof the board of directors of UB LawSchool’s GOLD Group.Max T.Raterman ’98 is assistantspecial agent in charge for theTransportation SecurityAdministration in Atlantic City,N.J. He is in charge of legal and

investigative training and alsorecently helped develop theadministration’s line-levelsupervision training.

Stephen A. Sharkey ’98 hasaccepted a position as seniorcounsel in the Buffalo firm BondSchoeneck & King. He representsfinancial institutions and otherbusinesses in complex commerciallitigation involving banking law,Uniform Commercial Code andgeneral contract law. Sharkey livesin Williamsville, N.Y.

Heath J.Szymczak ’98 was selectedas a “40 Under 40”award recipientby Business First of Buffalo.Szymczak is a partner in theBuffalo firm Jaeckle Fleischmann &Mugel, handling cases involvingbusiness-related torts, complexcommercial litigation and civillitigation. He is director of theCanisius College AlumniAssociation and a member of theCanisius College Pre-Law AdvisoryCouncil in Buffalo.

Carlisle Toppin ’98 has become anassociate in the firm Paul HastingsJanofsky & Walker in theWashington, D.C., office. He is amember of the firm’s executivecompensation, employee benefitsand ERISA practice.

Peter C.Trimarchi ’98 has beennamed of counsel in the firmWhiteman Osterman & Hanna inAlbany, N.Y. He specializes inenvironmental law and alternativeenergy development and siting.Trimarchi was previously anassociate in the firm White & Casein Manhattan.

Ayoka Tucker ’98 received the Hon.Michael F. Dillon Law GuardianAward from the Appellate Division,4th Department, Law GuardianProgram in Rochester, N.Y. She alsoreceived a special Certificate ofRecognition from the BarAssociation of Erie County’s Aid toIndigent Prisoners Society. Tuckeris a Buffalo solo practitioner.

Lourdes M.Ventura ’98 washonored in March at the fifthannual Queens Women in BusinessAward Networking Event inQueens, N.Y., and the LatinAmerican Cultural Center ofQueens and the Latin AmericanWomen’s Council Women’sHistory Month Celebration.

Timothy P.Noonan ’99

John A. Orlowski ’99

Alumni Briefs


Burden Gulisano & Hickey inBuffalo. The firm will handle casesinvolving catastrophic personalinjury, particularly intrucking/transportationnegligence, as well as productliability, premises liability, labor lawand municipal law.

Roseanne McMorrow Lennon ’01has become an assistant attorneygeneral in the Buffalo regionaloffice of the New York Stateattorney general’s office. She waspreviously an assistant districtattorney in Erie County.

Pietra G. Lettieri ’01 was electedpresident of UB Law School’sGOLD Group. She is an associate inthe firm Harris Beach in Buffalo.

Patrick A.Makin ’01 has accepted aposition as an associate in the firmGetman & Biryla in Buffalo. Hehandles cases involvingcommercial and constructionlitigation, corporate and businesstransactions as well as commercialand residential real estatetransactions and estate planningand administration.

Nicole B.Palmerton ’01 became apartner in the Buffalo firm Brown& Kelly. Palmerton handles casesinvolving insurance defenselitigation and the representation ofmunicipalities and corporations.She lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

Erin C. Duggan Pemberton ’01 ofLincoln, Neb., is an associate in thefirm Wolfe Snowden Hurd Luers &Ahl in Lincoln. She focuses herpractice in medical malpracticedefense, insurance defense andemployment law.

Robert J.Skutnik ’01 is serving asacademic liaison to the New YorkState Victim Assistance Academy.Skutnik is senior programcoordinator for the Center forHealth & Social Science ResearchFoundation at Buffalo StateCollege.

Sheldon Smith ’01,an OrchardPark, N.Y., resident, was named tothe board of directors of theMinority Bar Association ofWestern New York, in Buffalo.Smith is an associate in the firmNixon Peabody in the Buffalooffice.

Ellen B.Sturm ’01 is a businesslitigation associate in the firmSkadden Arps Slate Meagher &Flom in Wilmington, Del., whereshe resides.

Frank V.Balon ’02 has becomeassociated with the firm Hiscock &Barclay in the Buffalo office. Balon

specializes in torts, productsliability, insurance coverage andprofessional malpractice. He livesin West Seneca, N.Y.

Nadine C.Bell ’02 joined theSyracuse, N.Y., firm CostelloCooney & Fearon. Bell practicesmunicipal law, land use andzoning.

Tracie L.Covey ’02 has accepted aposition as an associate in the firmBond Schoeneck & King in theBuffalo office. She is a member ofthe firm’s labor and employmentlaw department, focusing on casesregarding the National LaborRelations Act, the Family andMedical Leave Act and the FairLabor Standards Act.

Joanna Dickinson ’02 is practicingas an associate in the Buffalo firmPhillips Lytle. She specializes in trialmatters including motor vehicleaccidents, real property valuationand tax assessment, personalinjury, workplace accidents andinsurance coverage. Dickinson livesin Buffalo.

Hillary K.Green ’02 has accepted aposition as an associate in theBuffalo firm Rupp Baase PfalzgrafCunningham & Coppola. Shepractices in commercial andemployment litigation and is aBuffalo resident.

Natalie A. Grigg ’02 is a statedirector of the Women’s BarAssociation of the State of NewYork,Western New York Chapter,in Buffalo. Grigg is a litigationattorney in the Buffalo firm RuppBaase Pfalzgraf CunninghamCoppola and a member of theboard of directors of UB LawSchool’s GOLD Group. She is aresident of Tonawanda, N.Y.

Thomas Haidon ’02 was appointedas a senior legal adviser to theUnited Nations DevelopmentProgramme in Jakarta, Indonesia,from January to July 2007. Haidonprovided legal advice on humanrights issues, developmentassistance and the implementationof U.N. reform at the country level.He returned to New Zealand in July2007 to an appointment as a seniorpolicy adviser with the NewZealand government’simmigration policy division, wherehe focuses on international legal

aspects of New Zealand’simmigration law and policy.

Scott T.Hanson ’02 has joined thefirm Harter Secrest & Emery inBuffalo. He practices in the firm’slitigation group, specializing incommercial litigation, productsliability defense, and intellectualproperty prosecution andlitigation. Hanson is a member ofUB Law School’s GOLD Groupand lives in Clarence Center, N.Y.

Tara Johnson ’02 has becomeassociate counsel for ExcellusHealth Plan in Rochester, N.Y.Johnson lives in Webster, N.Y.

Jeffrey L. Kingsley ’02 has joinedthe Buffalo firm Goldberg Segallaas an associate. He specializes incommercial litigation, bankruptcyand restructuring insurancecoverage, and extra-contractualliability litigation. Kingsley istreasurer-elect of UB Law School’sGOLD Group.

Kevin J.Kruppa ’02 has becomeassociated with the firm RuppBaase Pfalzgraf Cunningham &Coppola in Buffalo. Heconcentrates his practice ininsurance defense.

Temi Ofuya ’02 has become vicepresident of the legal-global wealthmanagement group of MorganStanley in Purchase, N.Y. Ofuya waspreviously practicing in the firmWeil Gotshal & Manges in NewYork City.

Jessica D.Owens ’02 has acceptedan attorney position with U.S.Citizenship and ImmigrationServices, Refugee and Asylum LawDivision, in Washington, D.C. Shewill provide legal advice indomestic asylum law and practice,overseas refugee resettlementprograms, temporary protectedstatus, T and U visas, specialimmigrant juvenile petitions andthe Convention Against Torture.Owens previously worked for theU.S. Department of HomelandSecurity in San Francisco.

Kimberly A.Stock ’02 has beenpromoted to senior attorney in thelegal division at the Federal DepositInsurance Corp. in Washington,D.C.

1st Row – Kevin S. O’Shaughnessy, ColleenRogers Losi, Doris A. Carbonell-Medina,Carol A. Fitzsimmons, Nancy Tantillo Holtby,Carol A. Flaherty, Paul W. Kullman, Paul K.Holbrook, Hon. Donna M. Siwek, JoanCasilio Adams, M. Katherine Kremer

2nd Row – Gerald R. Saffioti Jr., Peter H.Abdella, Steven J. Ricca, Mary M.Comerford,Amy J. Murphy, Karen M. Buckley,Carol Giarrizzo Bridge, Jay M. Lippman,Philip S. Chamot

3rd Row – Wilmer A. Rodriguez Nunci, Hon.George R.Villegas, Rosanne M. Gugino, ElaineM. Pers, Michael A. Benson, Jay D. Kenigsberg

4th Row – Lawrence M. Spaccasi, David M.Crosby, Louis Rosado, John J.Weinholtz, DorothyH. Ferguson, Samuel M. Spiritos, Leslie ShumanKramer, Judith M. Kubiniec, Hon. John L. Michalski

Stairs (top to bottom) – M. Mark Jacquinot, Eric J.Snyder, Hugh M. Russ III, Celia M. Spiritos, Martin J.Zuffranieri, Rachel A. Roth, Craig R.Watson, Paul J.Karp, Thomas C. Farley Jr., Margot S. Bennett, Robin E.Nackman, John P. Thielman, Mark G. Nackman, G.Steven Pigeon, Sharon J. Schwartz, H. Todd Bullard,Brian D. Bornstein, Tina L. Snee, Martha M.Anderson

The 20th reunion for the Class of 1987 washeld on May 4-5 in Buffalo. An excellentturnout of more than 90 classmates andfriends helped to create an ideal weekendfor these alums reconnect.

On Friday things got under way with a traditionalBuffalo happy hour at the class’ former stompinggrounds of the Steer Restaurant in the UniversityDistrict. The night provided plenty of laughs andopportunities to catch up with old friends.

Saturday morning brought the Class of 1987together at the Law School. Dean Nils Olsen hosteda brunch to welcome many alums back to the LawSchool for the first time since their days of studyingin the library and classes with their professors.After the brunch, the class was given a tour so thatthey could see firsthand just how much things havechanged since their days at the school.A favorite ofall classmates was the third floor of O’Brian, wherethe class’ third-year composite hangs on the wall.Extra time was spent checking out all the picturesand seeing just how everyone has changed.

On the evening of May 5, the reunion wascapped off at the historic Buffalo Club, where theywere treated to a delicious meal with plenty ofcocktails, food and great conversation.

Class of’87

Top: Joan Casilio Adams,Hon.Donna M. Siwek,and Amy J.Murphy Above: Mark G.Nackman andRobin E.Nackman

Jonathan S.Hickey ’01

Joanna Dickinson ’02

Stephanie G.Elliott ’03

Alumni Briefs


Tiffany M. Szymanek ’02 wasnamed a state director of theWestern New York Chapter of theWomen’s Bar Association of theState of New York, in Buffalo.Szymanek is a Buffalo attorney.

James C.Thoman ’02 won the U.S.Masters National SkiingChampionship in Big Sky, Mont.Thoman is a member of thebusiness restructuring andbankruptcy practice group and thecommercial transactions practicegroup in the firm Menter Rudin &Trivelpiece in Syracuse, N.Y.

Christopher G.Todd ’02 practicesas an associate in the firm PhillipsLytle in Buffalo. He focuses hispractice in commercial litigationand product liability. Todd residesin Hamburg, N.Y.

Jessica M.Baker ’03 was elected tothe board of directors of UB LawSchool’s GOLD Group. Shepractices as an associate in the firmHiscock & Barclay in Buffalo.

Meredith Clancy ’03 of Rochester,N.Y., has joined Harter Secrest &Emery in the Rochester office. Shepractices in the firm’s real estategroup as an associate. Shepreviously practiced in the firmSommer Udall Hardwick Ahern &Hyatt in Santa Fe, N.M.

Aimana El-Bahtity ’03 hasaccepted a position as an associatein the firm Rupp Baase PfalzgrafCunningham & Coppola inBuffalo. She practices in insurancedefense.

Stephanie G. Elliott ’03 joined thefirm Rupp Baase PfalzgrafCunningham & Coppola inBuffalo. Elliott concentrates herpractice in insurance defense andcommercial litigation includingautomobile liability, premisesliability and labor law.

Melissa Ann Foti ’03 was elected astate director of the Western NewYork Chapter of the Women’s BarAssociation of the State of NewYork. She is an associate in the firmKenney Shelton Liptak & Nowakin Buffalo.

Richard A. Hall ’03 has becomeassociated with the firm GoldbergSegalla in the Buffalo office. Hecounsels clients regardingnegligence, premises liability,

railroad litigation and generallitigation. Hall resides in Buffalo.

Bernadette M.Hoppe ’03 wasappointed president of the boardof directors of the New York StatePerinatal Association. Hoppe has afamily law practice in Buffalo.

Thomas M. Krol ’03 joined theBuffalo firm Phillips Lytle as anassociate. Kroll specializes incommercial litigation. He is aresident of Lake View, N.Y.

Langston D. McFadden ’03 hasaccepted a position as an associatein the firm Harter Secrest & Emeryin the Rochester, N.Y., office. Heconcentrates his practice in generallitigation. He is a Rochesterresident.

Dia H.Nicolatos ’03 was named tothe board of directors of theMental Health Association of ErieCounty. She practices in theBuffalo firm Phillips Lytle inpharmaceutical litigation.

Marybeth Priore ’03 of EastAmherst, N.Y., has been namedpresident-elect of the WesternNew York Chapter of the Women’sBar Association of the State ofNew York, in Buffalo. Priore is anassociate in the Buffalo firmColucci & Gallaher, practicing inproducts liability, intellectualproperty and general litigation.

Jack Quinn ’03,a New York Stateassemblyman in the 146th

Assembly District (R,C,I-Hamburg), has joined theHamburg, N.Y., firm Shaw & Shawas special counsel handlingmatters involving personal injury.Quinn is a resident of Hamburg.

Mark A.Starosielec ’03 has becomean associate in the firm Hurwitz &Fine in Buffalo.He practices inlitigation, focusing on automobileliability and tort defense.

Joseph M. Tripi ’03 has joined theBuffalo firm Lipsitz Green ScimeCambria as an associate, practicingin plaintiff ’s personal injury law.He was formerly an assistantdistrict attorney in Nassau County.

Jaclyn S.Wanemaker ’03 hasjoined the firm HoganWillig inAmherst, N.Y. She practices inpersonal injury.

Divitta M.Alexander ’04 wasappointed to the Buffalo UrbanLeague board of directors. She isan associate in the firm LippesMathias Wexler Friedman inBuffalo.

Jesse Baldwin ’04 was electedtreasurer of UB Law School’s

GOLD Group. He is an associate inthe firm Damon & Morey in theBuffalo office.

Lisa Danish ’04 has joined the firmMcGuireWoods in the Richmond,Va., office. She is an associate in theenvironmental litigation/toxic tortdepartment and concentrates oncomplex litigation, with a focus ontoxic torts and products liability.Danish also spent six weeksworking with barristers inLondon, Edinburgh and Belfast asa recipient of an American Inns ofCourt Pegasus Scholarship.

Bethany J.Gilbert ’04 has beenelected to an 18-month term onthe board of directors of KevinGuest House in Buffalo, thenation’s first hospital hospitalityhouse. Gilbert is an associate in thefirm Hodgson Russ in Buffalo andis president-elect of UB LawSchool’s GOLD Group.

Jason W.Januszkiewicz ’04 is anassociate in the firm Rupp BaasePfalzgraf Cunningham & Coppolain the Buffalo office. He focuses hispractice in real estate andmortgage lending.

Christy Canali Lilley ’04 accepteda position as assistant divisioncounsel for Corning CableSystems, a division of CorningInc., in Hickory, N.C. She waspreviously an associate in thecorporate transactions andsecurities group of Alston & Birdin Charlotte, N.C., where sheresides with her husband, JamesLilley ’04.

James J.Lilley ’04 has become vicepresident, financial planner, in theexecutive financial planningservices group of Wachovia WealthManagement of Wachovia Bank inCharlotte, N.C. He was previouslya financial analyst for the Ayco Co.,a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, inPittsburgh. Lilley and his wife,Christy Canali Lilley ’04, reside inCharlotte.

Jennifer M.McCann ’04 wasappointed to UB Law School’sGOLD Group board of directors.She practices in the firm Hurwitz& Fine in Buffalo.

Stephen J.McCann ’04 has joinedthe Buffalo firm Duke HolzmanPhotiadis & Gresens as anassociate. McCann was a former

Class of’97W

ith a great turnout of over 80 alumni andfriends, the Class of 1997 created amemorable reunion dinnercommemorating their 10th reunion on May5.Alumni from California to Canada made

the trip to visit with friends and family from Law School days.The one-day reunion started on Saturday morning in the

lobby of O’Brian Hall for a brunch hosted by Dean NilsOlsen. Following the brunch, classmates toured the LawSchool’s facilities, which provided an opportunity for thealumni to see firsthand the advancements that the school ismaking. The renowned Chop House in downtown Buffalowas the site for the Class of 1997’s big reunion dinner. Theywere treated to scrumptious prepared food with plenty ofopportunity for conversation about their lives today as well asremembering their days in Law School.

1st Row – KatherineGorham, CatherineNugent Panepinto,Frank J.Longo,Allison Puglisi Tam,Kathryn K.Lee,Collen M.Farrell,Mark D.Arcara

2nd Row – Charles D.Roberts Jr., Michael E.Plochocki, Jeremy W.Schulman,Linda G.Rouse-Kelly,Thomas Tam,Caroline A.Wojtaszek,Kristina A. Karle, Julie M.Rosenberg,Prudence C.Philbin, Scott M.Philbin,David R.Pfalzgraf Jr.

Stairs (top to bottom) –Steven E.Laprade, Holly A.Beecher,Craig A.Leslie,Lynn Wolfgang Catalano,David J.Luzon, Nancy A.Pappal,Allison FieldsStravino, Jeffrey C.Stravino, Joanna L.Silver,Mary C.Raymond,KarenE.Richardson,Anne M.Peterson,Denise A.Yates,Michael P.Stuermer,Danielle M.Grimm,Jennifer S. McGinty,RobertA.Scalione,Bridget M.O’Connell, Jessica V.Murphy, Jennifer D.Bowen,Valerie CurryBradley,Melissa HancockNickson,MollybethKocialski McAlpine

Top: Prudence C.Philbin,Scott M. Philbin and Julie M.Rosenberg

Left: David R.Pfalzgraf Jr.,Debi Plochocki, Michael E.Plochocki and Colleen M.Farrell

Bethany J.Gilbert ’04

Lisa Danish ’04

Melissa N.Subjeck ’06

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

Joseph Gawlowicz ’06 hasaccepted a position as an associatein the firm Harter Secrest & Emeryin the Rochester, N.Y., office. Hepractices in the firm’s labor andemployment law group.

Keith J. Gross ’06 is assistantgeneral counsel at Local 6 UNITEHERE in Manhattan.

Minryu Sarah Kim ’06 is anassociate in the Buffalo firmPhillips Lytle. Kim focuses herpractice in civil litigation includingcommercial, corporate and estate law.

Colleen M. Malchow ’06 hasjoined the firm Lewis & Lewis inBuffalo, specializing in workers’compensation law. Malchow is aformer social worker whoadvocated for the rights ofdomestic violence victims. She is aresident of Cheektowaga, N.Y.

Ryan K.Micklus ’06 practices asan associate in the firm Damon &Morey in the Buffalo office.He deals with business andcorporate law.

Carla J. Miller Montroy ’06 joinedthe firm Chelus Herdzik SpeyerMonte & Pajak in theCheektowaga, N.Y., office. She isan associate practicing in litigationand is a West Seneca, N.Y.,resident.

Brent J. Nowicki ’06 is an associatein the firm Hodgson Russ in theBuffalo office. Nowicki practices inthe business litigation practicegroup, focusing in insurancecoverage litigation. He is amember of the board of directorsof UB Law School’s GOLD Group.

Patrick A. Quinlan ’06 has joinedthe firm Hamilton Brook SmithReynolds as an associate in theConcord, Mass., office. Hepractices in intellectual property,focusing on patent preparationand prosecution in electrical andcomputer technologies.

Dana L. Rappa ’06 has joined thefirm Harris Beach in the Pittsford,N.Y., office. Rappa practices as anassociate in the public finance andeconomic development practicegroup. She is a resident of Batavia,N.Y.

Crystal J. Rodriguez ’06 wasrecently appointed by Buffalo

Mayor Byron W. Brown to theBuffalo Municipal HousingAuthority board ofcommissioners. She is also one of15 New York State unified courtsystem legal fellows and iscurrently assigned to Hon. SharonS. Townsend, administrative judge,New York State Supreme Court,8th Judicial District, in Buffalo.

Edward J.Snyder ’06 has moved hispractice from the Rochester,N.Y.,office of Harter Secrest & Emery tothe Buffalo office.Snyder is anassociate in the firm’s corporategroup specializing in generalbusiness matters including mergersand acquisitions and securities.Helives in East Aurora,N.Y.

Amber E. Storr ’06 has become anassociate in the firm Damon &Morey in the Buffalo office. Shepractices in business litigation andis a member of the board ofdirectors of UB Law School’sGOLD Group.

Melissa N. Subjeck ’06 practices asan associate in the firm HodgsonRuss in the Buffalo office. Sheconcentrates her practice inbusiness litigation.

Nikki L. Baldwin ’07 is practicingas an associate in the firm Hiscock& Barclay in the Albany, N.Y.,office. She counsels clients in tortsand products liability defense aswell as insurance coverage matters.

Baldwin is a resident ofRotterdam, N.Y.

Peter H.Brown ’07 has accepted atwo-year position in the consulatein Johannesburg, South Africa.

Anne M.Burak ’07 is an associatein the firm Hiscock & Barclay inthe Syracuse, N.Y., office.A formerresident of Camillus, N.Y., shefocuses her practice in commerciallitigation.

Erica M. DiRenzo ’07 has becomean associate in the firm Hiscock &Barclay in the Rochester, N.Y.,office. She concentrates ininsurance, professionalmalpractice, and torts andproducts liability defense. She is aRochester resident.

Monique E.Emdin ’07 has joinedthe firm Hiscock & Barclay as anassociate in the Buffalo office. Shehandles cases involving realproperty tax and condemnation aswell as torts and products liabilityissues. Emdin, formerly of theBronx, N.Y., currently resides inBuffalo.

Anshu Pasricha ’07 is movingfrom the New York City office inthe firm Sullivan & Cromwell, tothe Melbourne,Australia office.Pasricha will be working withclients in Australia and NewZealand as well as other areas inthe pacific. He will be focusing onissuer side capital markets.

Richard T.Tucker ’07 is practicingin the firm Phillips Lytle as an as-sociate in the Rochester, N.Y., of-fice. He counsels clients regardinglitigation matters including busi-ness torts, construction, insurancecoverage and premises liability.Tucker lives in Honeoye, N.Y.

Thomas Tuori ’07 practices in theenvironmental practice group inthe firm Harter Secrest & Emery inthe Rochester, N.Y., office. Hejoined the firm as an associate andhas 16 years previous experience asan environmental consultant.Tuori is a Rochester resident.

InMemoriamThe Law School extends its deepest condolences to the fami-lies and friends of the following friends and alumni/ae:

William J.Diamond ’31,Getzville, New YorkWilliam H.Earl ’37,Lockport, New YorkGeorge R.Blair Sr. ’38,Elma, New YorkCrucian S.Messina ’38, Amherst, New YorkVincent S.White ’39,BuffaloRobyn L.Dare ’42,Niskayuna, New YorkRobert W. Grimm ’47,Pendleton, New YorkFrancis R.Whitcher ’49,Silver Creek, New YorkCharles D.Wallace ’51,Orchard Park, New YorkHon.Edward J.Murty Jr. ’52,Falls Church,VirginiaHon.John V. Rogowski ’52,Amherst, New YorkRichard C.Kahl ’53,Youngstown, New YorkDavid M.Coffey ’54,West Seneca, New YorkThomas M.Donovan ’54,Williamsville, New YorkJohn T. Frizzell ’55,Hamburg, New YorkArnold E.Galbo ’55,BuffaloRonald G.Gannon ’55,Grand Island, New YorkPasquale C.Pace ’55,Orchard Park, New YorkGeorge E.Henfling ’58,Midlothian,VirginiaHon.Edgar C. NeMoyer ’61,BuffaloAbraham Abramovsky ’70,New York, New YorkDonald H.Lischer ’72,Rochester, New YorkAnthony M. Miranda ’73,Hamburg, New YorkMichael J.Karger ’74,Manhattan Beach, CaliforniaRobert B.Allen ’77, BuffaloBette D.Patterson ’78,Amherst, New YorkSteven Meyer ’85,East Amherst, New YorkRobbie Billingsley ’88,Buffalo

Jacob D.Hyman, former dean of UB Law School and a longtime faculty member, died April 8, 2007, in his Edgewater, Fla., home after a brief illness. He was 97.

Milton Kaplan,a professor who taught at UB Law School for more thantwo decades, died Feb. 26, 2007. He was 91.

Alumni Briefs

178 179U B L A W F O R U M

associate in the Buffalo firmDamon & Morey and is a residentof Amherst, N.Y.

Brian G.Manka ’04 has becomeassociated with the firm Hiscock &Barclay in the Buffalo office.Manka concentrates his practice inprofessional malpractice andproducts liability defense. He is aresident of West Seneca, N.Y.

Rita Nischal ’04 has joined thefirm Watson Bennett ColliganJohnson & Schechter in Buffalo asan associate. She concentrates herpractice in corporate andcommercial law.

Steven E.Peiper ’04 is an associatein the Buffalo firm Hurwitz &Fine. He concentrates his practicein insurance coverage, truckingliability and tort defense.

Sarah K.Ranni ’04 has accepted aposition as an associate in the firmPhillips Lytle in the Buffalo office.She practices in the corporatepractice group, specializing inemployee benefits law. Ranni is aBuffalo resident.

Cory E.Barry ’05 is an associate inthe firm Orrick Herrington &Sutcliffe in Washington, D.C.,specializing in structured financeand derivatives transactions. Barrywas previously an associate in thefirm Cadwalader Wickersham &Taft in New York City.

Megan A.Gomez ’05 has accepteda position as associate counsel atUnivera Healthcare in Buffalo.Gomez previously was an associatein the firm Brown & Kelly inBuffalo, where she resides.

Melinda L.Grabowski ’05 hasjoined the firm Damon & Morey.She practices in the Buffalo officeas an associate in general litigation.

Joseph M. Hanna ’05 was honoredby the American Bar Association,which named his article “Bewareof Dawg, Beware of Owner, Too:Cleveland Fights for Its BelovedDawg Pound and Wins”amongthe best published by the ABA’sgeneral practice solo and smallfirm division magazine. He wasalso named the Defense ResearchInstitute’s Atlantic marketingchairman for its October 2007annual meeting. He will overseemarketing in New York, New

Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.He also was accepted intoLeadership Buffalo’s 2007 RisingLeaders class. Hanna is an associatein the firm Goldberg Segalla inBuffalo.

Jamie L. Jasinksi ’05 practices inthe firm Jaeckle Fleischmann &Mugel in the Buffalo office. She is

an associate in the business andcorporate practice group.

Thomas L. Kennedy ’05 ofSyracuse, N.Y., has joined the firmBond Schoeneck & King in theSyracuse office. He practices in thefirm’s business restructuring,creditors’ rights and bankruptcypractice group.

Thad G.McMurray ’05 is associateintellectual property manager forthe Office of Science, TechnologyTransfer and Economic Outreachat the University at Buffalo. Hisprimary responsibility is to overseethe preparation and prosecutionof patent applications for UBtechnology.

Molly L.Mallia ’05 has beenelected a local director of theWestern New York Chapter of theWomen’s Bar Association of theState of New York. Mallia issecretary-elect of UB Law School’sGOLD Group and is an associatein the firm Damon & Morey inBuffalo, where she resides.

John G.Miskey IV ’05 joined thefirm Bagwell Holt Smith Tillman &Jones in Chapel Hill,N.C.Miskeyhandles cases involving family law,real estate and civil litigation.He isa resident of Raleigh.

Christopher R.Poole ’05 hasbecome associated with the firmChelus Herdzik Speyer & Monte inBuffalo. Poole will practice ingeneral litigation and generalpractice matters.

Brendan J.Rich ’05 wasnominated for the AmericanDiabetes Association LeadershipVolunteer Development Program.He is an associate in the firmPhillips Lytle in the Buffalo office.

Jennifer R.Scharf ’05 was named astate director of the Women’s BarAssociation of the State of NewYork,Western New York Chapter.Scharf practices as an associate inthe firm Connors & Vilardo inBuffalo.

Lt.Robert C.Whitaker ’05 is alieutenant in the U.S. Navy JudgeAdvocate General’s Corps. He is adeputy staff judge advocate atCamp Taqaddum, Iraq, where heserves as prosecutor and assistantgeneral counsel to the 2nd MarineLogistics Group.

David T.Archer ’06 is practicing asan associate in the firm HarterSecrest & Emery in the Buffalooffice. He joined the firm’slitigation group and practicescommercial litigation.

Karla Braun-Kolbe ’06 hasbecome associated with theBuffalo firm Phillips Lytle. Shespecializes in corporate law.

Marie Butchello ’06 has accepted aposition as an associate in the firmHiscock & Barclay in the Buffalooffice. She specializes in realproperty tax and condemnation.

Julie R.Carvotta ’06 is an associatein the firm Harris Beach in theRochester, N.Y., office. She is amember of the corporate practicegroup representing businesses,not-for-profit organizations andhealth care providers.

Carrie A. Christy ’06 has becomean associate in the firm PhillipsLytle in Buffalo. Christy joined thefirm’s commercial practice group.She is a resident of Williamsville,N.Y.

Kimberly A.Colaiacovo ’06practices as an associate in theBuffalo office in the firm HarrisBeach. Colaiacovo handles casesinvolving business andcommercial litigation, contractdisputes, zoning and land usematters and general defenselitigation. Furthermore, sherepresents clients in contestedmatrimonial actions in regards toequitable distribution andfinancial evaluation of assets.

Christofer C.Fattey ’06 hasaccepted a position as an associatein the firm Hodgson Russ in theBuffalo office. He specializes incommercial real estate.

Elizabeth Fox-Solomon ’06practices in the firm JaeckleFleischmann & Mugel as anassociate in the Buffalo office. Sheconcentrates her practice in laborand employment law.

Paul S.Fusco ’06 focuses hispractice in tax and employeebenefits law. He joined the firmBoylan Brown Code Vigdor &Wilson as an associate in theRochester, N.Y., office.

Carrie A. Christy ’06

Brent J.Nowicki ’06

Julie R.Carvotta ’06


What is good for the Univer-sity is good for WesternNew York.That is the core message ofUB Believers,an ambi-

tious effort to build a constituency of sup-porters that reaches far beyond the campuslimits.Through the University’s Division ofExternal Affairs, the campaign has won theloyalties of more than 4,000 individuals –and counting.

“People will advocate for pre-K through12 education,because they have kids,”saysRyan McPherson ’02,who coordinates theprogram.“They are attuned to issuesaround health care and the economy.Buthigher education seldom,makes it into thatmix.People who see higher education as acritical investment in our future tend not tobe as well organized as other groups.”

UB Believers aims to change that,reach-ing out to the Western New York communi-ty with a message that emphasizes the Uni-versity’s incredible economic benefits for itsregion.When residents come to understandUB’s current and future potential for revi-talizing the area’s economy,McPhersonsays, they will become advocates for theUniversity and will make that supportknown to the community and their electedofficials.

It is an easy argument to make,saysMcPherson,who serves as chief of staff forMarsha Henderson,vice president for exter-nal affairs.UB’s economic impact for 2005-06 was estimated at $1.5 billion; with full re-alization of the UB 2020 plan,which wouldincrease the student body by 10,000 stu-dents, the impact is projected to be $2.6 bil-lion annually, in 2006 dollars.And that fig-ure includes everything from direct spend-ing by the University’s students, faculty andstaff, to construction spending,to the thirdof a billion dollars in annual research expen-ditures the University leverages. The num-ber,however,does not take into account thethousands of jobs created by the commer-cialization of UB-developed technology.

No other economic engine,McPhersonsays,has anywhere near the University’s po-tential to grow the region’s financial health

and overall quality of life.“In my heart ofhearts,”he says,“I think the best strategy inmoving Western New York forward is tosupport the University and its research base.This is the best investment people can makeif they want to see Buffalo Niagara transi-tion our economy and reach our potential.”

Those who sign on as UB Believers(www.buffalo.edu/YourUB) receive a bi-weekly e-mail with key news from the Uni-versity and opportunities to advocate forUB as it moves toward its goal of becominga preeminent public research university.

The goal is to have a ready core of sup-porters to lobby state lawmakers on legisla-tion important to the University.That in-cludes funding allocations,of course,butextends to policy decisions that affect UB aswell.For example,McPherson says, the Leg-islature’s decision to allow differential tu-ition for UB Law School,rather than followin lockstep with general State University ofNew York tuition rates,has enabled majorimprovements to O’Brian Hall and has al-lowed the Law School to increase its studentdiversity with targeted financial aid.

If you live in Western New York,youhave seen solicitations for UB Believers.Thepitch is being made everywhere from bill-boards to direct mail to a major Internet

presence, including Facebook and MySpacepages.There are even videos in support ofthe cause;“we are trying to tell rational sto-ries in emotional ways that increase reso-nance with our message and demonstratethe massive impact UB has,”McPhersonsays.

The cause is a personal one for McPher-son,a New Hampshire native who workedon developing and formulating public poli-cy and then advocating those positions inNew Hampshire and Washington,D.C.,be-fore coming to UB Law.During Law Schoolhe worked in UB’s Office of GovernmentRelations, then became assistant vice presi-dent for government and community rela-tions.

What good was his legal education?McPherson says he gets that question a lot.But,he says,“I use the three years I wasthere,and the training,every single day.Iuse the skills in terms of judgment, lookingat a problem,analyzing it,weighing differ-ent options and building coalitions.As alawyer,you are trained to look at both sidesof an issue.They teach you to ask the rightquestions and push where you need topush.”

One other thing,he says:With such ex-periences as the seven-hour exam in NilsOlsen’s civil procedure course,and studyingfor the Bar exam,Law School teaches some-thing about stamina.

McPherson needs that for the triathlonshe competes in,and for keeping up with abusy young family; he and his wife,Alexan-dra (who runs an environmental organiza-tion dedicated to designing cleaner prod-ucts and manufacturing processes),have a4-year-old daughter, Jasmine,and a 2-year-old son,Sayward.

But it also comes in handy in weeks likethe one that led to New York Gov.EliotSpitzer declaring, in his State of the Statemessage, that “UB will become an economicengine for Buffalo,and a flagship institutionfor a world-class public university system.”“That was a great moment,”McPhersonsays,“to see the governor buy into the visionof UB 2020.It was something our universityhas been working on for a long time.”

True believerRyan McPherson ’02 guides UB Believers community outreach effort

Thanks UB alumni! You currently make up the largest group of UB Believers,

which includes more than 4,000 members. But we still need your help to grow

stronger. If you haven’t already, please sign up. Then encourage your friends,

family, coworkers, and neighbors to join the UB Believers and advocate for a

brighter future for the next generation. And for all of us.

See what’s new. Join up. Take action. Visit www.bu�alo.edu/YourUB.

5131 UB_Today-7.125x9.75-R.indd 1 1/17/08 11:54:17 AM

University at Buffalo Law School

John Lord O’Brian Hall

Buffalo, NY 14260-1100

Address service requested

PresortedBound Printed

MatterU.S. Postage

PAIDBuffalo NY

Permit No. 311

wwee mmoovvee ffoorrwwaarrdd..WWhheenn yyoouu ggiivvee bbaacckk,,

UUBB LLaaww SScchhooooll iiss oonn tthhee mmoovvee.. We are always llooookkiinngg ffoorrwwaarrdd..We have an excellent faculty, a talented and diverse student body, a cutting-edge

curriculum, and a strong alumni network. To compete with the top schools,

yyoouurr ssuuppppoorrtt iiss ccrruucciiaall as we take our Law School to even greater heights.

To learn more about ggiivviinngg bbaacckk,, contact Deborah Scott, Vice Dean for

Development, at (716) 645-2113 or e-mail her at [email protected].

dean olsen returns to the faculty makau mutua named interim

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