Class Action - February '12

Vincent A. DeIorio '55 has been appointed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the new Joint Commission on Public Ethics in Albany, N.Y. DeIorio was previously chair of the state Energy Research and Development Authority board of directors and a solo practitioner. He lives in White Plains, N.Y.

Joel Brownstein '58 of Williamsville, N.Y., received the New York State Attorney Emeritus Volunteer of the Year Award from Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled or Disadvantaged of Western New York. Brownstein is a partner in Borins Setel Snitzer & Brownstein in Buffalo.

Hon. Samuel L. Green '67 had a Rochester, N.Y., courtroom named in his honor. Dedication of the Hon. Samuel L. Green Courtroom in the M. Dolores Denman Courthouse took place on Jan. 24. Green is a retired senior associate justice of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, Fourth Department, in Buffalo. He was the first African-American Supreme Court justice to serve the 8th Judicial District and the first African-American outside the New York City area to be named to an appellate division. In addition, he is the longest-serving associate justice in the Fourth Department. Green is a former recipient of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association's Jaeckle Award and Distinguished Alumnus Award. He lives in Buffalo.

Hon. Rose H. Sconiers '73 received the Woman Lawyer of the Year Award from the Women Lawyers of Western New York. Sconiers is an associate justice of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, Fourth Department, in Buffalo. She is a past president of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association, a past recipient of the association's Distinguished Alumna Award and an emeritus member of SUNY Buffalo Law School's Dean's Advisory Council. Sconiers lives in Buffalo.

Rolland E. Kidder '74 was named 2011 Houghton College Alumnus of the Year. Kidder is a member of the board of directors of National Fuel Gas Co. in Williamsville, N.Y. He served previously as founder, chairman and president of Kidder Exploration, an independent Appalachian oil and gas company. He is also a former director of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York and the Pennsylvania Natural Gas Associates, an elected member of the New York State Assembly and a former trustee of the New York Power Authority. Kidder lives in Ashville, N.Y.

Edward J. Barron '75 has joined Greenberg Traurig in the government affairs division in the Washington, D.C., office. He will work on congressional legislative issues and regulatory matters. Barron lives in Chevy Chase, Md.

Kenneth A. Manning '77 was appointed to the New York State Bar Association Committee on Court Structure and Operations. Manning is a partner in the Buffalo-based firm Philips Lytle. He is an emeritus member of SUNY Buffalo Law School's Dean's Advisory Council, a past president of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association and a past recipient of the association's Distinguished Alumnus Award.

James M. Paulino '77 has become an associate in Faraci Lange in Rochester, N.Y. He practices commercial and real estate litigation, including insurance coverage, First Amendment religious freedom, education and employment, real estate and construction law. Paulino lives in Webster, N.Y.

Joel B. Schechter '78 was named president-elect of the Trucking Industry Defense Association. He is a partner in Watson Bennett Colligan & Schechter in Buffalo and chairman of the firm's insurance and trucking defense practice groups. Schecter lives in East Amherst, N.Y.

Sharon Anscombe Osgood '79 received the Divorce Award from the Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project in Buffalo. She is a solo practitioner in Buffalo.

Raymond P. Reichert '79 received the Board of Directors Award from the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo. He is a partner in the tax practice group of Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel in Buffalo, where he resides.

John L. Stainthorp '79 , attorney in the People's Law Office in Chicago, is representing protesters arrested in Chicago during an Iraq War protest in 2003. The City of Chicago is moving toward a settlement. Stainthorp was also featured in a WLS television news story. He is a Chicago resident.

Benjamin J. Bonarigo '82 has been appointed to the board of trustees of Genesee Community College in Batavia, N.Y. He is a partner in Bonarigo & McCutcheon in Batavia, where he resides.

Mark A. Ventrone '82 has become a member of the New York State Bar Association Law, Youth and Citizenship Committee. He is also chair of the Lawyer in the Classroom Committee of the Onondaga County Bar Association in Syracuse, N.Y., where he resides. Ventrone is a partner in the Law Office of Robert A. Durr in Syracuse, specializing in civil litigation.

Kathryn A. Jackson '83 received the Women in Leadership Award from the National Association of Women Business Owners Buffalo Niagara and WKBW-TV in Buffalo. She is a founding member of the association and a past president. Jackson is a solo practitioner in Williamsville, N.Y., practicing business law, estate planning, estates and real estate.

John P. Freedenberg '84 has been named product liability practice group chair in Goldberg Segalla in the Buffalo office. Freedenberg, a partner in the firm who practices products liability, catastrophic personal injury and intellectual property, recently became a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator. He lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Timothy L. Prosperi '84 has become second assistant district attorney in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office in Rochester, N.Y. He lives in Fairport, N.Y.

Hon. Lisa Bloch Rodwin '85 will be the keynote speaker at the annual Social Worker Luncheon of the Western Division of the National Association of Social Workers, on March 29 in Amherst, N.Y. Rodwin, an Erie County Family Court judge, lives in Snyder, N.Y.

Kevin C. Gibbons '87 received the Family Law Award from the Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project in Buffalo. Gibbons practices domestic relations law with Gibbons & Stadler in Buffalo. He lives in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Richard A. Grimm III '87 has been elected chair of the board of directors of Upstate New York Transplant Services. Grimm is a partner in Magavern Magavern Grimm in Buffalo and a past member of the board of directors of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. He lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Hon. John G. Farrell '88 of Highland, N.Y., was elected president of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary. Farrell is an administrative law judge for the New York State Workers' Compensation Board in Newburgh, N.Y.

Daniel T. Lukasik '88 of Lancaster, N.Y., has opened the firm Bernhardi & Lukasik in West Seneca, N.Y. The firm handles cases involving personal injury, auto accidents, wrongful death, nursing home abuse, slip and fall, construction accidents, Social Security disability, railroad retirement, the New York State retirement system, workers' compensation, will/estate planning, estate administration, real estate, family law and matrimonial law. Lukasik was previously a partner in Cantor Lukasik Dolce & Panepinto in Buffalo.

Raymond Benitez '89 has become chief of the DWI Bureau in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office in Rochester, N.Y. He lives in Penfield, N.Y.

Julie Falvey '90 received the Divorce Award from the Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project in Buffalo. Falvey is a solo practitioner in Buffalo, where she resides.

Paula Eade Newcomb '90 has been named a partner in Bouvier Partnership in Buffalo. She previously served as special counsel. Newcomb is treasurer of the Erie County Bar Association in Buffalo and a resident of West Seneca, N.Y.

Suzanne L. Bissonette '92 of Eden, N.Y., has been appointed to the New York State Council on Returning Veterans and Their Families. Bissonette is the executive director of Cazenovia Recovery Systems, a Buffalo-based provider of residential mental health and substance abuse treatment and support services.

Miles R. Afsharnik '93 was promoted to senior vice president and national claims and legal resource director for the Professional Risk Group of Wells Fargo Insurance Services in New York City, where he resides. He also spoke at the 2011 annual meeting of the New York State Bar Association and was a panelist at the American Conference Institute's 17th annual Employment Practices Liability Insurance Conference.

Timothy P. Donaher '93 was re-elected Monroe County public defender in Rochester, N.Y. Donaher lives in Webster, N.Y.

Hon. Sharon LoVallo '94 will present a workshop at the annual Social Worker Luncheon of the Western Division of the National Association of Social Workers, on March 29 in Amherst, N.Y. LoVallo, an Erie County Family Court judge, lives in Buffalo.

Kevin E. Raphael '94 participated in the webinar “Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Bootcamp Webinar Series, Part I: Fraud Healthcare Primer” on Jan. 14. He is a partner in Pietragallo Gordon Albano Bosick & Rampanti and is co-chair of the firm's health care litigation practice group in Philadelphia, where he resides.

Peter W. Beadle '96 has become a partner in Biedermann Hoenig Semprevivo in New York City. He concentrates his practice on litigation and appeals involving product liability, aviation, toxic torts, civil rights, municipal liability, employment discrimination and contract disputes. Beadle lives in Rego Park, N.Y.

Wendy Christophersen '96 received the Bankruptcy Award from the Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project in Buffalo. She is a solo practitioner in Buffalo, where she resides.

William T. Gargan '96 has become chief of the Domestic Violence Bureau in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office in Rochester, N.Y., where he resides.

Elizabeth Everett Miranda '96 received the Champions for Justice Volunteer Award from Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled or Disadvantaged of Western New York. Miranda is an associate professor in the health services administration department at D'Youville College in Buffalo. She lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

David Rodriguez '96 has been appointed general counsel for the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority. Rodriguez previously served as acting corporation counsel for the City of Buffalo. He lives in Buffalo.

Joel J. Java Jr. '98 has been elected secretary of the Defense Trial Lawyers of Western New York. He practices with Roach Brown McCarthy & Gruber in Buffalo.

Thomas P. Kawalec '98 has been elected treasurer of the Defense Trial Lawyers of Western New York. He is a partner in Chelus Herdzik Speyer & Monte in Buffalo, practicing insurance defense litigation, insurance coverage, trials and appeals. Kawalec lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Mickey H. Osterreicher '98 has become of counsel in the media and First Amendment law practice area in Hiscock & Barclay in the Buffalo office. He previously served as director of legal affairs for the Erie County Department of Social Services in Buffalo. Osterreicher is an award-winning photojournalist with 40 years' experience and also serves as general counsel to the National Press Photographers Association. He lives in East Amherst, N.Y.

Andra Ackerman '99 has become deputy chief of the Special Victims Trial Division of the Monroe County District Attorney's Office in Rochester, N.Y. Ackerman previously served as director of human trafficking prevention and policy for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice in Albany, N.Y.

Sarah J. Delaney '99 has become a partner in Goldberg Segalla in the Buffalo office. She handles cases involving insurance coverage analysis and litigation, professional liability and appellate practice. Delaney lives in Snyder, N.Y.

Hon. Amy C. Martoche '99 has been appointed a Buffalo City Court judge. Martoche was previously a partner in Connors & Vilardo in Buffalo and a past member of the board of directors of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. She is a Buffalo resident.

Kirstin Lowry Sommers '99 has been named general counsel for the Seneca Gaming Corp. in Niagara Falls, N.Y. She was previously a solo practitioner in Orchard Park, N.Y, where she resides.

Elizabeth Snyder Fortino '00 was elected president of the Oneida County Bar Association in Utica, N.Y., where she resides. Fortino is an attorney for New York State Mental Hygiene Legal Services in Utica.

Pietra G. Lettieri '01 has been promoted to partner in Harris Beach in the Buffalo office. She practices in the public finance and economic development and tax law practice groups and serves on the energy and telecommunications and media industry teams. Lettieri is vice president of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association and a past president of SUNY Buffalo Law School's GOLD Group. She is a Buffalo resident.

Caroline Morrison '01 has become deputy chief of the Local Courts Bureau in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office in Rochester, N.Y., where she resides.

Margaret M. Murphy '01 has been promoted to a partner in Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker in the New York City office, counseling clients regarding general liability and casualty, toxic tort, environmental and energy, and insurance-reinsurance. She is a resident of Forest Hills, N.Y.

Gretchen M. Nichols '01 joined Leadership Buffalo's Class Experience 2012. She also serves as an executive officer and director for the Amherst Chamber of Commerce in Williamsville, N.Y., where she resides. Nichols is a partner in Nesper Ferber & DiGiacomo in Amherst, N.Y., and a past member of the board of directors of SUNY Buffalo Law School's GOLD Group.

Nicole B. Palmerton '01 has been elected president of the Defense Trial Lawyers of Western New York. She practices in Kaplan Hanson Adams Finder & Fishbein in Williamsville, N.Y., where she resides.

Sheldon K. Smith '01 has been promoted to partner in Nixon Peabody in the Buffalo office. He handles cases involving litigation and dispute resolution, health care litigation, real estate litigation, labor and employment, and electronic discovery and digital evidence. Smith is a member of the board of directors of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. He is a past president of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York, in Buffalo, and a past recipient of the Trail Blazer Award from SUNY Buffalo Law School's Students of Color. He lives in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Perry M. Duckles '02 has become chief of the Major Felony Bureau in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office in Rochester, N.Y. Duckles lives in Penfield, N.Y.

Natalie A. Grigg '02 has accepted a position as an associate in Woods Oviatt Gilman in the firm's residential foreclosure department in Rochester, N.Y. She is a former secretary of SUNY Buffalo Law School's GOLD Group.

Michael P. Joy '02 has become a partner in the energy and natural resources group in Reed Smith in the Pittsburgh, Pa., office. Joy was previously a partner in Biltekoff & Joy in Buffalo.

S. Philip Unwin '02 has become special counsel with Goldberg Segalla in the Rochester, N.Y., office. Unwin practices labor and employment and workers' compensation law. He is a Rochester resident.

Patrick Farrell '03 has become deputy chief of the Major Felony Bureau in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office in Rochester, N.Y., where he resides.

Joseph M. Tripi '03 received the 2011 FBI Director's Community Leadership Award. Tripi, assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York, in Buffalo, was recognized for his work on the 10th Street and Seventh Street Buffalo gang prosecutions. He lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Timothy A. Ball '04 has been nominated as corporation counsel in Buffalo. His appointment is subject to Common Council approval. Ball is currently assistant corporation counsel in Buffalo, where he resides.

Britta L. McKenna '04 has been promoted to partner in Hodgson Russ in the Buffalo office. She practices estate and trust planning and administration. McKenna also focuses on U.S./Canada cross-border tax and estate planning. She is a Buffalo resident.

Sara Van Strydonck '04 has become chief of the Child Abuse Bureau in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office in Rochester, N.Y., where she resides.

Ericka N. Bennett '05 has been elected a director of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York in Buffalo. Bennett is an associate practicing civil litigation in Phillips Lytle in Buffalo, where she resides.

Robin Schlia '05 has become deputy chief of the Special Investigations Bureau in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office in Rochester, N.Y., where she resides.

Sara L. Anthis '06 received the Solo Practitioner Award from the Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project in Buffalo. A Buffalo solo practitioner, she lives in Tonawanda, N.Y.

Robert C. Atkinson '06 has been promoted to partner with Simpson & Simpson in Williamsville, N.Y. He practices intellectual property, including patent prosecution in optics, chemistry, biotechnology, the mechanical and software arts and trademark law. Atkinson lives in Williamsville.

Geoffrey Kaeuper '06 has become deputy chief of the Appeals Bureau in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office in Rochester, N.Y., where he resides.

Michael Anton Sciortino '06 received the Attorney of the Morning Landlord-Tenant Award from the Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project in Buffalo. Sciortino is assistant director of administrative and learning technology at the School of Public Health and Health Professions at UB. He lives in Getzville, N.Y.

Sonia J. Baez '07 has become an associate in the Dorf Law Firm in Mamaroneck, N.Y., practicing creditors' rights law. She is a resident of New Rochelle, N.Y.

Leah A. Bouquard '07 has been elected vice president of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York, in Buffalo. She also received the Haven House Project Award from the Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project in Buffalo. Bouquard practices adoption and matrimonial and family law with Watson Bennett in Buffalo, where she resides.

Raymond W. Walter '07 was elected to the New York State Assembly, District 148. He previously practiced with Magavern Magavern Grimm in Buffalo and was an Erie County legislator. Walter is a resident of Amherst, N.Y.

Teia M. Bui '08 has joined Gross Shuman Brizdle & Gilfillan in Buffalo, practicing tax law. Bui, a member of the board of directors of SUNY Buffalo Law School's GOLD Group, lives in Tonawanda, N.Y.

Stephanie J. Calhoun '08 has been elected recording secretary of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York, in Buffalo. She is an attorney for the New York State attorney general's office in Buffalo and a member of the board of directors of SUNY Buffalo Law School's GOLD Group. Calhoun lives in Buffalo.

Adrian Dayton '08 co-authored the new book LinkedIn & Blogs for Lawyers: Building High-Value Relationships in a Digital Age. Dayton also wrote Social Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition. He consults and instructs law firms in marketing with a focus on social media strategy. Dayton lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Gary A. Wilson '08 has been elected corresponding secretary of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York, in Buffalo. Wilson, assistant legal counsel for the Buffalo City School District, resides in Buffalo.

Michael T. Jablonski '09 has become associated with Woods Oviatt Gilman in Rochester, N.Y. Jablonski practices in the firm's residential foreclosure department. He lives in Buffalo.

Jordan Z. Marks '09 has become director of government affairs for the San Diego Association of Realtors in San Diego. Marks was previously a staff member for California Sen. Joel Anderson in El Cajon, Calif., where he resides.