Six chosen to receive Distinguished Alumni Awards

Two judges, three practicing attorneys and a public policy leader will be recognized as SUNY Buffalo Law School convenes its 53rd annual alumni dinner and celebrates some of its most successful alumni.

The event, to be held May 13 in the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Buffalo, begins at 6 p.m. Tickets, including patron tables and other levels of sponsorship, are available from Lisa M. Mueller, assistant director of the Law Alumni Association, at 645-3176 or lmueller@buffalo.edu. Online registration is also available online.

The Distinguished Alumni Awards, given to five Buffalo Law alumni and one non-alumnus, are the highlight of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association’s annual dinner.

The awards, given in six categories, will be presented this year to:

For the judiciary, Hon. Judith J. Gische ’80, who serves in New York City as an associate justice of the New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, First Department. Gische has served on the state Supreme Court since her election in 2008 in New York County. She began her judicial career in May 1990 when she was appointed as a judge in the Housing Part, Civil Court of the City of New York. She then was elected a judge of the Civil Court in November 1993, and in 1997 was designated an acting justice of the Supreme Court. Gische also worked in private practice for eight years

For private practice, Dennis R. McCoy ’77, a senior litigation partner with the Buffalo law firm Hiscock & Barclay. Representing clients in major, complex litigation, he has tried cases throughout New York State and the Northeast. A major emphasis of his practice has been representing legal and health care professionals in malpractice actions. He has served as a national and regional counsel for two major companies, managing or directly litigating their highest-exposure cases throughout the United States. He also serves as a court-appointed mediator and is a sought-after lecturer on litigation and professional liability topics.

For community service, Ann E. Evanko ’79, president and managing member of the Buffalo law firm Hurwitz & Fine. Practicing in the areas of employment law and corporate law, she also works to mediate complex business, commercial and employment disputes. In the community, she has been very active with the Western New York chapter of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, including serving a term as its president. Her other service includes major leadership roles with the Western New York Women’s Foundation, the YWCA of Western New York and Everywoman Opportunity Center.

For public service, Nicole C. Lee ’02. Now an organizational and public policy leader with the Lee Bayard Group in Washington, D.C., Lee served as the first female president of TransAfrica, the nation’s premier African-American foreign affairs organization. She has led investigations and missions documenting violations of human rights and dignity of the world’s vulnerable populations, testified before Congress and served as a resource to government officials and media members on international policy issues affecting Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and racial minorities worldwide.

For business, Jonathan S. Beane ’98, executive director, global workforce diversity and inclusion, with Time Warner in New York City. Before joining Time Warner in 2007, Beane held positions with Johnson Controls and with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He also practiced law and was a judicial clerk for Hon. Patricia Timmons-Goodson at the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Beane serves on the board of Howard University’s School of Communications.

For outstanding service to the University and community by a non-alumnus, Hon. William M. Skretny, senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. A graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law, Skretny has been an assistant U.S. Attorney in Illinois and New York, a first deputy district attorney of Erie County, and in private practice in Buffalo. He was confirmed to the District Court in 1990 and assumed senior status this year.