Hodgson Russ leads the charge with a major challenge gift

In thinking about Hodgson Russ’ donation to SUNY Buffalo Law School in support of faculty excellence, it helps to think in superlatives:

The oldest law firm in Buffalo …

… Making the biggest philanthropic gift in its 196-year history.

From its leaders’ perspective, the firm’s philanthropy is just the latest chapter in a historic relationship with New York State’s public law school. “This goes back a long way,” says Dan Oliverio ’82, chairman of the firm (and also a member of the Law School’s Dean’s Advisory Council). “Western New York is important to us, and we have always felt we have a role we have to play in communities where we live and do business.”

The firm has pledged a corporate contribution of $250,000, to be paid over five years, to endow a faculty scholar position. It also has challenged its 90 or so equity partners to match that amount in their personal giving.

“Our partners were giving individually anyway,” Oliverio said. “We’ve set it up so we could aggregate our contributions. … One of the issues that Dean Mutua emphasizes is that, in order to advance the Law School, we need star faculty. We thought our gift could be used in part to satisfy that critical need for attracting faculty. We saw it as a unique opportunity.”

Interviewed in the historic Guaranty Building in downtown Buffalo, which Hodgson Russ purchased in 1998 and has restored to its Louis Sullivan- designed splendor, Oliverio and CEO John Amershadian said they expect the Law School gift to be a win-win- win – good for the school, good for the community and good for the firm itself. Partly, they say, a culture of philanthropy makes for a good place to work.

“We are a business,” Amershadian says, “and one of the things we want to do is support causes that are important to our clients.” As well, he says, potential employees have asked in job interviews about the firm’s commitment to the community, indicating that that’s an important factor in their own decisions about where to practice law.

“No one has to be underground here about supporting causes,” Oliverio says. “That’s important to us.” He’s also proud that Hodgson Russ lawyers serve on 146 not-for-profit boards – giving with their time and expertise as well as their checkbook.

And on a practical level, as is the case with most firms in Western New York, a disproportionate share of the next generation of attorneys they hire will take their legal training in O’Brian Hall. “If we are going to thrive, the health and success of SUNY Buffalo Law School is important to us,” Amershadian says.

In addition to serving on the Law School’s Dean’s Advisory Council, Oliverio also is a member of the comparable body in the Department of Systems Engineering in UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. From his perspective, education is in flux. “The legal industry is changing, and legal education has to change with it,” he says. “But I see this as an opportunity. It ensures that the Law School is aggressively trying to get better.

“As the legal industry changes, it’s very important, if you’re going to have a law school, to have a great one, because you’ll be less susceptible to these changes. Now is the time you have to step on the gas. If you don’t run faster when someone is chasing you, you’re going to get caught.” Oliverio also points to the Law School’s position among UB’s other professional schools, including the School of Medicine and Biological Sciences. “If a university’s professional schools are all excellent, it’s good for all of them,” he says.

“The core of excellence in professional schools lifts all boats. For UB to be one of the top 50 research universities in the United States, I can’t tell you how important that is.”

“We think UB has made a huge difference in Western New York, and we want to be a part of that,” Amershadian adds. “The role of the University is unique, and our ties with the Law School are unique. As students are increasingly asking what they get for their money, the state schools still have an edge. We think there’s a future for UB.”