Hon. Lenora B. Foote-Beavers ’97

When interviewed in 2019, Foote-Beavers was executive assistant to Presiding Justice Gerald J. Whalen, New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, 4th Department, Buffalo, since 2016. Previously, she had spent a decade as support magistrate for Erie County Family Court and as a corporation counsel for the City of Buffalo.

Her family moved from the East Side of Buffalo to Williamsville to give her a better education. Her mother was the first African-American head nurse at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital when it opened in 1974. Her father was a manager at Texas Instruments. She saw her parents breaking glass ceilings, so it gave her the motivation to do the same. 

While in college, she became pregnant during her first year. She had a son and continued school with the help of community service organizations. “That is why I feel the need to be involved and give back today.”

She attended Erie Community College in the paralegal department, then was accepted to Canisius College with a partial scholarship. She began law school in 1994 and found support with other parents and non-traditional students.

It was a diverse class, split between men and women. The class camaraderie still holds today. Nils Olsen was dean. Foote-Beavers focused on family law. Professors Susan Mangold and Suzanne Tomkins were the principal teachers in that certificate program. She enjoyed working in Family Court. She became involved with the UB Law Alumni Association through the Minority Bar Association and the mentoring program. While pregnant with her second child, she interned with Judge E. Jeannette Ogden. Judge Ogden pushed her, she said, and is still a mentor.

Foote-Beavers’ first job after graduation was at Cigna Insurance. She was then hired by the City of Buffalo for a federally funded program, Save Our Streets, working closely with U.S. Attorney Denise O’Donnell. She has since loved all her positions and the opportunity to give back to the community and families. She believes that as a public law school, UB School of Law helped develop her passion for community service, and she would like to see more law students doing service in the community.

Foote-Beavers believes attorneys have an obligation to those coming after them as well as to those in the community right now. She would like to see more diversity in the legal community, so that the legal profession looks more like the community it serves.

She hopes to campaign for Buffalo City Court judge so she can do more to help people.