Class Action - October 2023

Douglas W. Dimitroff ’89 will become managing partner of Phillips Lytle LLP in the Buffalo office in January. He is a member of the School of Law’s Dean’s Advisory Council and a past recipient of the UB Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for private practice.

Hon. John B. Licata ’92, a New York State Supreme Court justice, 8^th Judicial District, has been named supervising judge with the court’s Civil Division, 8^th Judicial District, in Buffalo. He is a lifetime member of the Law Alumni Association.

Molly K. Brennan ’95 has become special counsel with Phillips Lytle LLP in the New York City office, practicing environmental law, land use, permitting and zoning, and regulatory environmental law. Brennan previously served as executive agency counsel with the New York City Department of Sanitation, Environmental Law Division.

Kevin T. Medina ’96 has been named global chief compliance officer with Värde Partners, a leading global alternative investment firm specializing in credit and credit-related assets in New York City. Prior to joining Värde Partners, Medina served as deputy chief compliance officer with Apogem Capital LLC in New York City.

D. Charles Roberts Jr. ’97, a Buffalo solo practitioner, has become of counsel with Gross Shuman P.C. in the Buffalo office, focusing his practice on commercial litigation and business disputes, construction law, health care law and property law. He is also former assistant general counsel with Delaware North in Buffalo and a past president of the UB Law Alumni Association's GOLD Group.

Tasha E. Moore ’98, acting district executive, New York State Unified Court System, Office of Court Administration, 8^th Judicial District in Buffalo, has been named district executive.  

George D. Marron ’99 has become vice president and senior financial adviser with High Probability Advisors in Pittsford, N.Y. In addition, he maintains a solo law practice focused on business and estate planning.

Amy L. Hemenway ’01 has been named partner-in-charge of Harter Secrest & Emery LLP in the Buffalo office. She practices in labor and employment law, litigation, and privacy and data security.  

Kevin J. Espinosa ’09 has been named general counsel with Greenlight Networks, a high-speed fiber internet service provider, in the Buffalo office. Espinosa previously served as senior associate general counsel with M&T Bank in Buffalo.  

Ashley R. Westbrook ’10 is a senior litigation associate with The Glennon Law Firm P.C. in Rochester, N.Y., handling cases involving business law, employment law, matrimonial law, and trusts and estates. She previously served as an assistant conflict defender with the Ontario County Conflict Defender’s Office in Canandaigua, N.Y.

Angelyn M. McDuff ’12 (JD) ’18 (LLM) has been named director of the School of Law’s Legal Analysis, Writing and Research program. She has served as a LAWR instructor since 2019.

Nate T. Yohannes ’12 has become artificial intelligence product management lead with Instagram in New York City. He previously served as corporate strategy leader to the chief technology officer at Microsoft in Seattle. Yohannes is a past recipient of the School of Law’s Students of Color Trailblazer Award and a past member of the Law Alumni Association's Washington, D.C. alumni chapter.

Stewart E. Forbes ’13 was promoted to deputy assistant general counsel for Clean Energy Demonstrations with the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. He previously served as attorney-advisor.

Emily A. Dinsmore ’14 has become a lecturer in law in the School of Law’s Legal Analysis, Writing and Research program. Dinsmore previously served as counsel with Nixon Peabody LLP in the firm’s Buffalo office.

Vanessa C. Gabriele ’14, managing attorney with Gabriele Law PLLC in Buffalo, has become an adjunct professor at the School of Law, teaching Family Law 306 in the undergraduate program. She is a lifetime member of the Law Alumni Association.

Gregory P. Fair ’14 has assumed the role of attorney adviser at the U.S. Social Security Administration in Syracuse, N.Y. He previously served as assistant corporation counsel for the City of Syracuse.

Matthew J. Smith ’16 has joined Barclay Damon LLP as an associate in the firm’s commercial litigation and torts and products liability defense practice areas in the Rochester, N.Y., office. Smith previously practiced with James McElroy & Diehl, P.A., in Charlotte, N.C.  

Orlando H. Dickson ’19 has become an undergraduate lecturer at the School of Law. He was also elected chairman of the Ethics Commission of the Buffalo School Board. Dickson previously served as an assistant professor of criminal justice at Medaille University in Buffalo.  

Renee Segina Moore ’21 has become associated with Underberg & Kessler LLP in the Rochester, N.Y. office, practicing in the firm’s litigation and creditors’ rights groups. Moore, a CPA, was previously an associate with Tully Rinckey PLLC.

MacCaelin A. Sedita ’22 has become executive assistant to the Buffalo city comptroller.

American Inns of Court Professionalism Award

• Terrence M. Connors ’71, Connors LLP, Buffalo

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Bar Association of Erie County

• Special Service Award: Jill K. Bond ’85, retired, Rich Products Corp., Buffalo
  
• Lawyer of the Year Award: Michele A. Brown ’79, former executive director, Children’s Legal Center, Buffalo
• Hon. John T. Curtin Profiles in Courage Award: Hon. Susan M. Eagan ’96, Erie County Court, Buffalo

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Buffalo Business First Power 100 Business Leaders of Color

• Joseph M. Hanna ’05, Goldberg Segalla LLP, Buffalo
• Jennifer J. Parker ’84, Jackson Parker Communications LLC, Buffalo
• Shatorah Roberson ’12, Tesla, Buffalo
• Crystal J. Rodriguez-Dabney ’06 (JD) ’07 (LLM), Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo  
• Trini E. Ross ’92, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of New York, Buffalo
  
• Hon. Rose H. Sconiers ’73, Racial Equity Roundtable, Buffalo; retired from the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 4th Department, 8th Judicial District, Buffalo 
• Carmen L. Snell ’92, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York, Buffalo
• Jacqueline Stover-Stitts ’82, The Golden Cup, Buffalo; Jacqueline Stover-Stitts, Attorney at Law, Buffalo
  
• Samantha I.V. White ’08, Western New York Law Center, Buffalo; The Law Office of Stephanie Adams PLLC, Buffalo

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Daily Record and Rochester Business Journal Legal Excellence Awards 2023:
Leaders in Law

• Jill L. Paperno ’84, Empire Justice Center, Rochester, N.Y.
• Michelle M. Schwach ’08, Erie County Family Court, Buffalo
• Sheldon K. Smith ’01, Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, Buffalo

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Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project

• Solo Practitioner Award: Michael C. Cimasi ’13, Cimasi Law Office, Amherst, N.Y.
• Champion for Justice Award: Joseph V. Deren Jr. ’80, New York State Office of Court Administration, Buffalo
• Wills & Estates Award: Jessica M. Peraza ’15, Lippes Mathias LLP, Buffalo
• Young Lawyer Award: Ifeoluwa M. Popoola ’19, Erie County Department of Law, Buffalo
• Rising Champion for Justice Award: Henry A. Zomerfeld ’14, Hodgson Russ LLP, Buffalo

Hofstra University Alumni Achievement Award

• Marc A. Alpert ’86, Loews Corp., New York City

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Minority Bar Association of Western New York 

• Judicial Excellence Award: Hon. Barbara R. Johnson-Lee ’86, Buffalo City Court  
• Trailblazer Award: Hon. E. Jeannette Ogden ’83, Associate Justice, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 4^th Department, Buffalo
• Outstanding Member Achievement Award: Andrew M. Wilson ’98, Lippes Mathias LLP, Buffalo

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Public Relations Society of America Buffalo Niagara Chapter Excalibur Award

• John F. O'Donnell Jr. ’10, O’Donnell & Associates, Buffalo

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Rochester Area Community Foundation 2023 Philanthropy Award

• H. Todd Bullard ’87, Harris Beach PLLC, Rochester, N.Y.  

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Rochester Business Journal Forty Under 40

• Robert J. Shoemaker ’12 (LLM), Monroe County Law Department, Rochester, N.Y.

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University at Buffalo Alumni Achievement Award for Law

• Kenneth A. Manning ’77, Phillips Lytle LLP, Buffalo

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Up and Coming Lawyers

• Kristen M. Dombroski ’17, McConville Considine Cooman & Morin P.C., Rochester, N.Y.
• Ericka B. Elliott ’13, Underberg & Kessler LLP, Rochester, N.Y.
• Nicole K. Intschert ’13, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 4th Department, Rochester, N.Y.     

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Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, Western New York Chapter,

• Carol A. Condon Outstanding New Lawyer Award: Marina A. Barci ’18, Colliers Engineering & Design, Buffalo
• M. Dolores Denman Lady Justice Award: Anne E. Joynt ’05, Lipsitz Ponterio & Comerford LLC, Buffalo
• Diversity Leadership Award: Jamila A. Lee ’15, School of Law