Class Action - June '15

David L. Sweet ’53 received the Special Service Award from the Bar Association of Erie County, in Buffalo. Sweet is president of Main Seneca Corp. in Buffalo. He lives in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Caesar J. Naples ’63 of Sarasota, Fla., will be honored for practicing law for 50 years by the Florida Bar Association at the Boca Raton Resort & Club on June 26. Naples previously served as vice chancellor for faculty and staff relations at California State University and was a partner with Harrison & Naples.

Gerald S. Lippes ’64 received the UB President’s Medal of Honor in recognition of extraordinary service to the University. Lippes is founder and senior partner with the Buffalo firm Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman. He is a past recipient of the SUNY Buffalo Law School and Law Alumni Association’s Jaeckle Award and the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Lippes lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

Hon. William E. Straub ’64 will be honored at the Boca Raton Resort & Club on June 26 by the Florida Bar Association for practicing law for 50 years. Straub is a retired administrative law judge with the Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, in Buffalo. He lives in Estero, Fla.

Hon. Dale M. Volker ’66, former New York State senator, was appointed to the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics, in Albany, N.Y. Volker, a recipient of the Edwin F. Jaeckle Award, is a resident of Lancaster, N.Y.

James P. Renda ’68 received the Charles H. Dougherty Civility Award from the Bar Association of Erie County, in Buffalo. He is a Buffalo solo practitioner concentrating in matrimonial and family law. Renda lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Dale A. Ehman ’75, a partner with Bouvier Partnership in Buffalo, was named to the 2015 Best Law Firms in America list in the personal injury litigation defendants category. Ehman lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Edward D. Manzo ’75 received the 2015 Burton Distinguished Writing Award from the Burton Foundation. Manzo is a partner with Husch Blackwell in the technology, manufacturing and transportation strategic business unit of the Chicago office and was previously co-founder of Cook Alex in Chicago. He is a resident of Lake Forest, Ill.

John C. Doscher ’77 received the Charles H. Dougherty Civility Award from the Bar Association of Erie County, in Buffalo. Doscher is a retired chief of the Erie County district attorney's office, Financial Crimes Bureau, in Buffalo. He lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Garry M. Graber ’78 received the Ken Joyce Excellence in Teaching Award from SUNY Buffalo Law School at the May 23 Commencement ceremony. He is a partner with Hodgson Russ in Buffalo, practicing bankruptcy, corporate restructuring, creditors' rights, financial services, commercial and corporate litigation, and general business law. Graber is a member of the Law School’s Dean’s Advisory Council. He lives in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Hon. Frederick J. Marshall ’79 received the Award of Merit from the Erie County Bar Association in Buffalo. Marshall is a New York State Supreme Court justice, 8th Judicial District, in Buffalo. He lives in Elma, N.Y.

Terrie Benson Murray ’79 was elected recording secretary of the Philanthropic Education Organization’s local chapter CM for a two-year term. Murray is a partner with Cohen & Lombardo in Buffalo, practicing in estates and trusts, wills and estate planning. She lives in Orchard Park.

Michael A. Piette ’80 of Lockport, N.Y., was named chair of the Niagara Area Foundation Council, in Buffalo. Piette is a partner with Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel in Buffalo and a member of the firm’s economic and land development, financial services, housing resources and real estate practice groups. He is a past treasurer of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association.

Cheryl A. Heller ’81 received the Adolph J. Rodenbeck Award from the Monroe County Bar Association in Rochester, N.Y. She recently retired as a partner with Ward Greenberg Heller & Reidy in Rochester, where she resides.

Brian R. Welsh ’83 of East Amherst, N.Y., received the Rev. A. Joseph Bissonette Pro Bono Award from the Bar Association of Erie County, in Buffalo. He is a solo practitioner in Williamsville, N.Y., practicing family law.

George W. Collins Jr. ’84 was named to the 2015 Best Law Firms in America list in the personal injury litigation defendants category. Collins is a partner with Bouvier Partnership in Buffalo, practicing personal injury litigation. He lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Hon. Eugene M. Fahey ’84 received the 2015 Outstanding Jurist Award from the Bar Association of Erie County, in Buffalo. Fahey is associate judge, New York State Court of Appeals, in Buffalo, where he resides.

Jill L. Paperno ’84 was elected president of the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys in Rochester, N.Y. She is second assistant public defender in the Monroe County Public Defender’s Office in Rochester. Paperno lives in Pittsford, N.Y.

Cheryl L. Johnson ’86 was named in the 2015 Chambers & Partners Guide as a leading lawyer in the corporate/M&A category. She is a partner with Verrill Dana in the Westport, Conn., office, handling cases involving business and corporate law, tax, private funds and advisory matters. Johnson lives in Bridgewater, Conn.

Julie M. Bargnesi ’87 has become a partner with Harris Beach in the Buffalo office. She practices health care law and medical malpractice. Bargnesi lives in Snyder, N.Y.

Gregory M. Vinal ’89 and Jeanne M. Vinal ’89 of Vinal & Vinal in Buffalo are celebrating their firm’s 21-year anniversary. The firm was recently featured in the Buffalo Law Journal . They live in Amherst, N.Y.

Kenneth M. Gossel ’91 was elected to the board of directors of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. He is general manager of National Fuel Gas Co. in Williamsville, N.Y. Gossel lives in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Robert P. Heary ’91 was elected president of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. He is a partner with Barclay Damon in the Buffalo office, practicing labor and employment law. Heary resides in Lancaster, N.Y.

Moses Howden ’91 was appointed county attorney for the Cattaraugus County attorney’s office in Little Valley, N.Y. He previously served as assistant county attorney. Howden lives in Olean, N.Y.

Elizabeth M. Savino ’92 was elected to the board of directors of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. She is vice president for human resources with CTG, an IT solutions and services company in Buffalo. Savino lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Sandra M. Williams ’92 received the William E. McKnight Award from the Volunteer Legal Services Project of Rochester, N.Y., for her commitment to pro bono service. Williams is a Rochester resident and solo practitioner concentrating in family and matrimonial law, wills and estate planning.

Kevin E. Raphael ’94 has been named to the 2015 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list. Raphael is a partner with Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti in Philadelphia and co-chair of the firm’s health care litigation practice group. He is a Philadelphia resident.

Charles D. Grieco ’95 was honored as program committee chair for the 2014 Congress for New Urbanism Conference at the Beacon Awards Luncheon on May 4 at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center. Grieco is a partner with Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel in the environmental and economic and land development practice groups in the Buffalo office. He lives in Buffalo.

Mark W. Pawlak ’95 has been promoted to senior vice president of human resources, employment and administration with Revlon in New York City. Pawlak previously served as vice president of law, employment and benefits and was deputy chief compliance officer. He lives in Livingston, N.J.

Joseph N. Del Vecchio ’96 was named vice president and chief regulatory counsel of National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. in Williamsville, N.Y. He previously served as vice president of National Fuel Resources in Williamsville, N.Y. Del Vecchio is a past vice president of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. He resides in East Aurora, N.Y.

Dr. Sylvia Valentin ’97 was elected to the board of directors of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. She is an associate professor at Niagara University. Valentin lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Erin M. Barclay ’98 has been named deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, in Washington, D.C. She previously served as the acting assistant secretary, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. Barclay resides in Chevy Chase, Md.

Brian D. Gwitt ’98 was elected president-elect of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. He is a partner in the litigation department with Woods Oviatt Gilman in Buffalo. He lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Marc W. Brown ’99 was elected treasurer of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. Brown is a partner with Goldberg Segalla in the Buffalo office. He practices business and commercial litigation. Brown lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

Russell B. Klein ’99 was promoted to deputy attorney general for the business and licensing section of the Colorado attorney general’s office in Denver. Klein previously served as assistant attorney general. He is a resident of Boulder, Colo.

Jeffrey F. Reina ’99 was elected vice president of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. He is a senior partner with Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria in the business and commercial litigation department in Buffalo. Reina lives in North Tonawanda, N.Y.

Stephanie A. Saunders ’00 was elected vice president of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. She is assistant legal counsel with the Buffalo Board of Education and president of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York, in Buffalo, where she resides.

Pietra G. Lettieri ’01 of Lancaster, N.Y., was elected assistant treasurer of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. Lettieri is a partner with Harris Beach in Buffalo in the public finance and economic development and tax law practice groups. She is a past president of the Law School's GOLD Group.

Asker A. Saeed ’01 received the 2015 Edwin Archer Randolph Diversity Award from the Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity. Saeed is director of diversity with Day Pitney in Hartford. He is responsible for leading the firm's diversity initiative in its New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Boston and Washington, D.C., offices. Saeed is a resident of Glastonbury, Conn.

Audrey A. Seeley ’01 was named co-chair of the litigation department with Hurwitz & Fine in the Buffalo office. She specializes in insurance coverage, no-fault coverage, municipal and environmental counseling, and governmental liability. Seeley lives in West Valley, N.Y.

Christopher E. Copeland ’02 was elected vice president of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. He is vice president of M&T Bank in Buffalo. Copeland lives in Elma, N.Y.

Sarah Frederick ’02 received the Heart of an Educator Award from the Community Action Organization of Erie County, in Buffalo. She is a solo practitioner and president of Lawyers for Learning, in Buffalo.  Frederick lives in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Natalie A. Grigg ’02 received the Top Women in Law Award from The Daily Record. Grigg is a partner with Woods Oviatt Gilman in Rochester, N.Y., where she resides. She is supervising partner in the firm’s default servicing group, handling cases involving foreclosures and loss mitigation.

Marc R. Davies '03 received the Outstanding Service Award from SUNY Buffalo Law School at its commencement on May 23. Davies is associate director of Career Services at the law school. He resides in Williamsville, N.Y.

Lisa Sharp ’04 has become corporate counsel with CFA Institute in Charlottesville, Va., where she resides. Sharp was also elected president of the John Marshall Inn of Court, in Richmond, Va.

Joseph M. Hanna ’05 received the 2015 Lawyer of the Year Award from the Bar Association of Erie County in Buffalo. He was also named to the 2015 Rising Stars list by the New York Law Journal. Hanna is a partner with Goldberg Segalla in Buffalo. He is a past president of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York and a past member of the board of directors of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. Hanna resides in Amherst, N.Y.

Hon. Kenneth R. Kraus ’05 was appointed town judge in Chili, N.Y. He is a partner with Evans & Fox in Rochester, N.Y., where he resides.

Bartholomew Chacchia ’06 joined Bond Schoeneck & King as special counsel in the Rochester, N.Y., office, practicing business law. Chacchia lives in Fairport, N.Y.

Ryan P. Crawford ’06 was elected secretary of SUNY Buffalo Law School’s GOLD Group. Crawford is an associate with Gibson McAskill & Crosby, practicing litigation in Buffalo. He lives in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Elizabeth Fox-Solomon ’06 has become a trial attorney with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Buffalo, where she resides. She was previously a law clerk for Hon. Erin M. Peradotto ’84, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, in Buffalo. Fox-Solomon is a past member of the board of directors of SUNY Buffalo Law School’s GOLD Group.

Meghann N. Roehl ’06 has accepted a position as a partner with Harris Beach in the Buffalo office. She is a member of the firm’s health care industry team. Roehl lives in Buffalo.

Elizabeth A. Kraengel ’07 was elected to the board of directors of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. She is a partner with Duke Holzman Photiadis & Gresens in Buffalo, where she resides.

Jason G. Ulatowski ’07 of Buffalo was elected to the board of directors of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. He is a partner with Rupp Baase Pfalzgraf & Cunningham in Buffalo.

Joshua E. Dubs ’08 was elected a member of the board of directors of SUNY Buffalo Law School’s GOLD Group. Dubs is a Buffalo solo practitioner. He resides in North Tonawanda, N.Y.

Jeffrey P. Gleason ’08 of Buffalo was elected president-elect of SUNY Buffalo Law School’s GOLD Group. He practices as an associate with Woods Oviatt Gilman in the business and finance department in the Buffalo office.

Michael J. Hecker ’09 was elected president of SUNY Buffalo Law School’s GOLD Group. He is a senior associate with Hodgson Russ in the Buffalo office, practicing environmental law. Hecker resides in Amherst, N.Y.

Marnie E. Smith ’09 was elected secretary-elect of SUNY Buffalo Law School’s GOLD Group. Smith is an associate with Harris Beach, practicing labor and employment law in Buffalo, where she resides.

Jeffrey T. Fiut ’10 was elected treasurer of SUNY Buffalo Law School’s GOLD Group. Fiut practices business litigation as an associate with Hodgson Russ in Buffalo, where he resides.

Matthew A. Louisos ’10 has joined Cohen & Lombardo as an associate in Buffalo. He counsels clients regarding civil litigation. Louisos is a resident of Amherst, N.Y.

Chenoa Maye ’10 was named a “2015 Up & Coming Attorney” by The Daily Record. She is a solo practitioner in Rochester, N.Y., where she resides.

Joanna T. McKeegan ’10 has accepted a position as assistant district attorney with the Rockland County district attorney’s office in New City, N.Y. McKeegan previously served as assistant director for career services at SUNY Buffalo Law School. She resides in Garnerville, N.Y.

Kara E. Stoddart ’10 of Pittsford, N.Y., was named a “2015 Up & Coming Attorney” by The Daily Record. She is an associate with Harris Beach in the Rochester, N.Y., office, practicing in the business and commercial litigation practice group.

Elizabeth R. Blazey-Pennel ’11 was elected treasurer-elect of SUNY Buffalo Law School’s GOLD Group. Blazey-Pennel is an attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel, Criminal Tax Division, of the Internal Revenue Service in Buffalo. She lives in Getzville, N.Y.

Bradford J. Reid ’11 has become associated with Goldberg Segalla in the Rochester, N.Y., office, practicing workers’ compensation. He is a Rochester resident.

Duwaine T. Bascoe ’12 was named a “2015 Up & Coming Attorney” by The Daily Record. Bascoe is an associate with Woods Oviatt Gilman, practicing litigation in the Rochester, N.Y., office. He lives in Penfield, N.Y.

Lydia H. Beebe ’12 was elected to the board of directors of SUNY Buffalo Law School’s GOLD Group. She is an associate with Barclay Damon in the Buffalo office, counseling clients regarding trusts and estates. Beebe is a Buffalo resident.

Cristin L. Murray ’12 of Hamburg, N.Y., was elected to the board of directors of SUNY Buffalo Law School’s GOLD Group. Murray practices as an associate with Hodgson Russ in the corporate and securities practice group in the Buffalo office.

Anthony R. Scalia ’12 was named a “2015 Up & Coming Attorney” by The Daily Record. Scalia is an associate with the Law Offices of Pullano & Farrow in Rochester, N.Y., practicing corporate and real property law. He is a Rochester resident.

Paul Snyder IV ’12 of East Amherst, N.Y., was named to the 2015 Buffalo Business First “30 Under Thirty.” Snyder is vice president of transportation for Innovative Health Services of America, in Buffalo.

Nikole Wynn ’12 was named to Buffalo Business First “30 Under Thirty” for 2015. She is a staff attorney with the Erie County Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers Project, in Buffalo. Wynn lives on Grand Island, N.Y.

Rafael F. Pignataro ’13 was named to Buffalo Business First “30 Under Thirty” for 2015. Pignataro is an associate with Hodgson Russ in the Buffalo office, practicing real estate development and banking and finance. He lives in West Seneca, N.Y.

Nicholas A. Romano ’13 of Cheektowaga, N.Y., was elected to the board of directors of SUNY Buffalo Law School’s GOLD Group. He practices with Connors & Vilardo in Buffalo, concentrating in civil litigation, personal injury, medical malpractice, professional discipline and criminal defense.

Emily Dinsmore ’14 has become an associate with Hodgson Russ. She practices public finance in Buffalo, where she resides.

Logan Geen ’14 is practicing as an associate with Hodgson Russ in the Buffalo office. He represents health care providers in regulatory and corporate matters.

Chelsea Latta ’14 of Buffalo has accepted a position as an associate with Hodgson Russ. Latta practices immigration law in the Buffalo office.

Graham Leonard ’14 has become associated with Hodgson Russ in the Buffalo office. He is a member of the firm’s estates and trusts practice group. Leonard lives in Kenmore, N.Y.

Matthew Scherer ’14 has joined Hodgson Russ as an associate. Scherer handles cases involving corporate and business law in the Buffalo office. He is a resident of Amherst, N.Y.

Rebecca L. Schnirel ’14 has become an associate with Cantor Fink & Taub in the Buffalo office, practicing personal injury. She is a Buffalo resident.

Henry A. Zomerfeld ’14 is practicing as an associate with Wolfgang & Weinmann in Buffalo. Zomerfeld counsels clients regarding civil and commercial litigation and criminal defense matters. He lives in Kenmore, N.Y.

Emily M. Berry ’15 of Williamsville, N.Y., was elected to the board of directors of SUNY Buffalo Law School’s GOLD Group.

Caitlin E. O’Neil ’15 was elected to the board of directors of SUNY Buffalo Law School’s GOLD Group. She practices with Connors & Vilardo in Buffalo, where she resides.