The Harry A. Rachlin (1926) Oral History Project

Kenneth F. Joyce, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor, received the Edwin F. Jaeckle Award, the highest honor the UB School of Law and the Law Alumni Association can bestow. For 40 years, Professor Joyce has helped define the UB Law experience for the thousands of students he has taught.

Anne E. Joynt ’05, a personal injury partner with Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford LLC, has been involved in volunteer leadership roles in multiple legal and non-legal organizations in Western New York, including as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at the law school and president of the UB Law Alumni Association.

Harvey L. Kaminski ’77, retired president and CEO of Prestige Capital Corp., was honored by the SUNY Board of Trustees and the School of Law when a renovated first-floor classroom in John Lord O’Brian Hall was named the Harvey L. Kaminski Classroom.

Bruce Karpati ’96 is a partner and global chief compliance officer at KKR & Co., Inc., an American global private equity and investment company, which is principally engaged in holding, managing, and investing securities. He’s also a member of the law school’s Dean’s Advisory Council.

Hon. Mary Ann Killeen ’52 worked in private practice with a large firm before becoming a Family Court judge. When she retired, she had served as a Family Court jurist for 22 years, and as supervising judge for eight.

Hon. Kathy J. King ’84, justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County, New York City. A Caribbean American, she is committed to diversity and inclusion in the legal profession for women in the United States and throughout the world.

Kristin Graham Koehler ’94 is managing partner of Sidley Austin’s Washington D.C. office and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Consistently recognized as a leading lawyer for white collar crime, government investigations, and litigation, she previously served as a global co-leader of the firm’s White-Collar Defense and Investigations practice.

Sachin Kohli ’06 is a partner in the New York City office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where he represents public and private companies and private equity funds in connection with acquisitions and divestitures, and provides counsel on general corporate matters. He has advised companies on multibillion-dollar mergers and acquisitions.

Courtland R. LaVallee ’66 was a skilled Buffalo litigator who focused on railroad law and immigration law. He became a partner in a couple of large law firms, argued a case in the U.S. Supreme Court and devoted thousands of hours of pro bono work to helping immigrants.

Professor Virginia A. Leary, a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Emerita, taught human rights and international labor law at UB School of Law from 1975 until she retired as a professor in 1995. A courageous human rights advocate—especially concerning the right to health—she brought people together to promote dialogue and understanding.

Nicole C. Lee ’02, an organizational and public policy leader with the Lee Bayard Group in Washington, D.C., served as the first female president of TransAfrica, the nation’s premier African-American foreign affairs organization. Appointed in 2006, she served for nine years.

Francis M. Letro ’79, a prominent Buffalo trial attorney, received the 35 Edwin F. Jaeckle Award for enhancing the quality and reputation of the law school through exceptional philanthropic leadership. This award is the highest honor the University at Buffalo School of Law and the UB Law Alumni Association can bestow.

Richard Lipsitz Sr. ’43, a founder of Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria, is a Buffalo attorney renowned as a legal heavyweight in labor and civil Rights. He was an early supporter of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and a staunch opponent of the Vietnam War.

James L. Magavern ’59, a civic leader who has addressed critical issues in health care, corporate, and state and local government law during a distinguished career spanning 42 years, is the recipient of the Jaeckle Award, the highest honor the School of Law and the Law Alumni Association can bestow.

Isabel Marcus, a UB Law professor from 1982 to 2019 and a scholar of women’s rights and gender equality, was remembered for her legal scholarship, activism and advocacy. She significantly advanced reproductive rights and civil liberties in Buffalo and beyond, leaving a transformative legacy.

Marianne Mariano ’94 is the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of New York, appointed in May 2008.

Carol M. Matorin ’76, an intellectual property lawyer, is senior vice president and general counsel for Marc Jacobs International in New York City. She also serves as a director of Cool Culture, which partners with over 90 cultural institutions to provide low-income children with free access and experiences that improve literacy and learning.

Hon. Edmund. F. Maxwell ’49 is a federal magistrate judge for the Western District of New York. Previously a private practitioner, he became one of the first magistrate judges in the nation when that position was created in 1971.

Sen. Shelley B. Mayer ’79 is a Democratic New York State Senate member representing the 37 Senate District. She is chair of the Committee on Education. Before her Senate election in 2018 and three subsequent re-elections, she served in the state Assembly for six years.

Hon. Joseph P. McCarthy ’61, an Erie County Court judge since 1978, was the former second in command in the Erie County district attorney’s office under two former district attorneys.