Michael J. Surgalla, Jr. ’82

Michael Surgalla grew up in Frederick, Md. When he was 14, his parents, his three siblings and he moved to Buffalo when his father became head of the microbiology lab at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. His parents instilled in them the importance of a good education, and among the four siblings they earned eight degrees from UB. Both his sister Kathleen Surgalla ’79 and his brother John Surgalla ’84 are UB-trained lawyers.

Surgalla attended Amherst High School, then UB. As an undergraduate, his major was math and science, but he switched to political science because “I was always interested in international law.” He finished his undergraduate program in three years, then entered UB law school. Because his sister went to UB Law before him, he used her experience as a “trial run.”

In his first year he was placed in the experimental section, and he felt intimidated. Later, the classes he enjoyed most were the ones he could use in practice: the theory of criminal and Constitutional law. His favorite professors were Virginia Leary and Thomas Headrick, who was dean at the time. Dean Headrick ended up being his mentor because “Headrick always paid attention to students and their needs.”

Surgalla participated in the innovative International Human Rights Clinic founded by Leary. He recently learned that the clinic is considered nationally to have been the first of its kind, incorporating unique and fascinating projects. As he approached graduation in 1982, he focused solely on the bar exam. After the exam, he went door to door to apply for a job until Cory Hogan hired him for his expanding general and civic practice firm in Amherst. Surgalla was in private practice for a couple of years, but he knew he wanted to pursue an LLM and work in international law. He went to the London School of Economics to see if another country might give him a new and better experience. While the LSE program was great, it showed Surgalla how great Buffalo was. He completed his LLM in 1986.

Surgalla began his government career in 1987 as a trial attorney in the New York District of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in New York City, where there was a huge need for lawyers. He advises students who want government careers to look for where the open jobs are and get your foot in the door.

After a couple of years, he left New York City for Washington to work as a trial attorney for the Criminal Division and has been there ever since. He has visited and worked in Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, China and several other countries. He has worked on United Nations issues and other world problems.