Class Action - April 2023

Jerome Hesch ’70 of Aventura, Fla., received the Leonard L. Silverstein Lifetime Achievement Award from Bloomberg Tax for his contributions to the estate planning profession. Hesch is director of the 48^th annual Notre Dame Tax & Estate Planning Institute, to be held in South Bend, Ind., Sept. 20 to 22. 

Gary J. Muldoon ’76 wrote Trial Handbook for New York Lawyers, Fourth Edition. He is a partner with Kaman Berlove Marafioti Jacobstein & Goldman LLP in Rochester, N.Y. Muldoon lives in Fairport, N.Y.

Sen. Shelley B. Mayer ’79 will receive the UB Law Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumna Award for public service on May 11 in Buffalo. Mayer is a New York State Senator, 37^th District. She lives in Scarsdale, N.Y.

Hon. Kathy J. King ’84 of Brooklyn, N.Y., will receive the UB Law Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumna Award for the judiciary on May 11 in Buffalo. King is a New York State Supreme Court justice, New York County, in New York City. She is a lifetime member of the UB Law Alumni Association.  

Marc A. Alpert ’86 will receive the UB Law Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Award for business on May 11 in Buffalo. Alpert is senior vice president, general counsel and secretary with Loews Corp. in New York City, where he resides. He is a member of the School of Law’s Dean’s Advisory Council.    

Hon. Kevin M. Carter ’89 received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University at Buffalo School of Law’s Students of Color at their annual dinner on April 12 in Buffalo. Carter is administrative judge, New York State Unified Court System, 8^th Judicial District in Buffalo, where he resides.  

James W. Grable Jr. ’96 will receive the UB Law Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Award for private practice on May 11 in Buffalo. Grable is a partner with Connors LLP in Buffalo. He is a resident of East Amherst, N.Y.

Sarah L. Rugnetta ’03 was named a partner with Constangy Brooks Smith & Prophete LLP in Rochester, N.Y. She is vice chair of the firm’s cybersecurity and data privacy practice. Rugnetta lives in Colden, N.Y.

Ericka N. Bennett ’05 has been promoted to vice president of Corporate Ethics, Research Integrity and Research Subject Protection with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, where she resides. She previously served as assistant vice president and deputy general counsel for research. Bennett is a past member of the board of directors of the UB Law Alumni Association and a past president of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York, in Buffalo.  

Anne E. Joynt ’05 will receive the UB Law Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumna Award for community service on May 11 in Buffalo. She is a partner with Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford LLC in Buffalo. Joynt is a member of the School of Law’s Dean’s Advisory Council and a past president of the law alumni association and the UB Law GOLD Group. She lives in East Amherst, N.Y.    

Richard J. Morrisroe ’11 of Dunkirk, N.Y., was appointed a member of the College Council at SUNY Fredonia by Gov. Kathy Hochul. Morrisroe is of counsel with VanDette Law PLLC in Buffalo. He is a past member of the board of directors of the UB Law Alumni Association.

Christina L. Akers-DiCenzo ’13 has formed the employment law practice Akers-DiCenzo PLLC in Buffalo. Her practice focuses on employee-side employment law counseling, negotiation and litigation services that are client-centered, high touch and sensitive to workplace trauma. Akers-DiCenzo is a Buffalo resident.

Amber J. Melvin ’13 has become assistant vice provost in the UB Office of Inclusive Excellence. She previously served as associate director of the School of Law’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Melvin is a Buffalo resident.

Sarah M. Washington ’16 received the Trailblazer Award from the University at Buffalo School of Law’s Students of Color at their annual dinner on April 12 in Buffalo. Washington is a senior attorney with National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. in Williamsville, N.Y. She is a member of the board of directors of the UB Law Alumni Association and is a past president of the UB Law GOLD Group. She lives in Lake View, N.Y.   

Gerald J. Whalen ’16 has accepted a position as an associate with Rupp Pfalzgraf LLC in Buffalo, practicing business law. Whalen was previously an associate with Colligan Law LLP in Buffalo, where he resides.

Orlando H. Dickson ’19 was appointed to the Erie County Corrections Advisory Board in Buffalo. Dickson is an assistant professor of criminal justice at Medaille College in Buffalo. He is a resident of Amherst, N.Y.  

Samantha R. Podlas ’19 has become associated with Holland & Knight LLP, handling cases involving commercial finance matters, in Nashville, Tenn. She was previously an associate with Barclay Damon in Buffalo.

Caroline M. Cercone ’22 has joined Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP as an associate in the Buffalo office, practicing in the firm’s family wealth and estate planning department. She lives in Clarence Center, N.Y.

Madison T. Nash ’22 of Amherst, N.Y., has accepted a position as an associate with Gabriele Law PLLC in Buffalo, practicing family and matrimonial law.  

Tyler J. Skretny ’22 has become associated with Phillips Lytle LLP in the Buffalo office. He handles cases involving real estate litigation and commercial litigation. Skretny is a resident of West Seneca, N.Y.

Association of Law Secretaries to the Justices of the Supreme and Surrogates’ Courts in the City of New York's William Goodstein Memorial Award for Distinguished Service to the Court

• Hon. Lourdes M. Ventura ’98, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Term, 2^nd, 11^th, 13^th Judicial District, Jamaica, N.Y.

Bar Association of Erie County's Liberty Bell Award

• Marianne Mariano ’94, Federal Public Defender’s Office of Western New York, Buffalo

Bar Association of Erie County's Rev. A. Joseph Bissonette Pro Bono Award

• Raymond N. McCabe ’83, Barclay Damon LLP, Buffalo

Buffalo Business First's 30 Under 30 List

• Robert C. Freeman ’18, Nesper Ferber DiGiacomo Johnson & Grimm LLP, Amherst, N.Y.
• Fallon E. Martin ’20, Hodgson Russ LLP, Buffalo  

Buffalo Niagara Partnership's Athena Awards

• Jamie J. Batt ’05, Rupp Pfalzgraf LLC, Buffalo

Daily Journal's “Top Family Lawyers” Award

• Brandon C. Rose ’09, McManis Faulkner, San Jose, Calif.  

Daily Record's Power 20: Real Estate Law

• Alan R. Feldstein ’69, Boylan Code LLP, Rochester, N.Y.
• Charles W. Russell ’95, Harris Beach PLLC, Rochester, N.Y.
  
• Alison J. Rich ’03, Evans Fox LLP, Rochester, N.Y.
  
• Jason P. Livingston ’05, Pullano & Farrow PLLC, Rochester, N.Y.
  
• Ryan A. Lown ’07, Phillips Lytle LLP, Rochester, N.Y. 
  

Rochester Business Journal's Women of Excellence Awards

• Jean E. Maess ’82, Thomson Reuters, Rochester, N.Y.