Class Action - December 2025

Richard L. Reinhold ’76 has joined Caplin & Drysdale as of counsel in the firm’s international tax practice group in the New York City office. He most recently served as special counsel in the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (International) of the Internal Revenue Service.

David E. Franasiak ’78 will receive the 2026 Edwin F. Jaeckle Award, the highest honor the University at Buffalo School of Law and the UB Law Alumni Association can bestow, on Feb. 24 in New York City. Franasiak is principal in Williams & Jensen PLLC, and a past recipient of the Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for business. 

Hon. Kathy J. King ’84, New York State Supreme Court justice, Second Judicial District, in New York City, received the 2025 Justice Vaino Spencer Leadership Award from the National Association of Women Judges. Justice King serves on the School of Law’s Dean’s Advisory Council and is a past recipient of the UB Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumna Award for the judiciary. She is a lifetime member of the association.

Joseline Peña-Melnyk ’91 was elected as the 109th speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. She is the second woman and first Afro-Latina to hold the position. Peña-Melnyk was elected to the House of Delegates in 2006 and has served on the House Health and Government Operations Committee throughout her tenure.

Trini E. Ross ’92 has been appointed to Buffalo Mayor-elect Sean Ryan’s transition team. She is a partner with Harter Secrest & Emery LLP in the Buffalo office. Former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, Ross is a past recipient of the UB Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumna Award for public service and the School of Law’s Students of Color Distinguished Alumna Award. She also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council.

John W. Dillon ’94, a solo practitioner in New Hartford, N.Y., was elected a New York State Supreme Court justice, 5^th Judicial District, in Syracuse.

Elizabeth Snyder Fortino ’00 was elected a New York State Supreme Court justice, 5^th Judicial District, in Syracuse. She most recently served as director of Mental Hygiene Legal Service, New York State Appellate Division, Fourth Department, in Rochester.  

Paul E. Perrier ’08 has been appointed chief sport officer with Golf Canada in Oakville, Ont., Canada. Perrier previously served as executive senior associate athletic director and deputy athletic director of the University of Southern California.

Sarah P. Rera ’09 has joined Benderson Development LLC in Buffalo as senior counsel, litigation. Rera previously served as an administrative attorney with Gross Shuman PC in Buffalo, and has participated in the law school’s mentor program for 1L students.

Caitlin M. Higgins ’13 has become litigation counsel with Instacart. She previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of New York, in Buffalo.   

Saadia Iqbal ’13 has become a reference and instruction librarian with the Charles B. Sears Law Library at UB School of Law. She most recently served as a reference and scholarly services librarian and adjunct professor with the Rittenberg Law Library at St. John’s University School of Law.

Ryan M. Poplawski ’15 has been named to the 2025 Upstate New York Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. Poplawski is a partner with Hancock Estabrook LLP in Syracuse, N.Y., focusing on personal injury, products liability, professional malpractice and commercial litigation.

Talia E. Rodriguez ’15 was elected to the Buffalo School Board representing the West District, becoming the first Latina elected to the board. She serves as health equity coordinator with the Seneca Street Community Development Corp. in Buffalo.

Rebecca A. Valentine ’21 has joined Barclay Damon LLP as an associate in the Buffalo office, practicing environmental law, including litigation related to mass torts. She was previously an associate with Phillips Lytle LLP in Buffalo.

Morgan Bedford ’25 has accepted a position as a law clerk in the business and commercial group of the Buffalo office of Goldberg Segalla.

David H. Reinharz ’25 has accepted a position as an associate with Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC, in the labor and employment department in the Long Island, N.Y., office.

Kyli Tripoli ’25, a law clerk with Clark Peshkin in Rochester, N.Y., has accepted a position as an associate with the firm.

Buffalo Business First 40 Under 40

• Chelsea N. Latta ’14, Hodgson Russ LLP, Buffalo
• Anastasia McCarthy ’15, Hurwitz Fine, Buffalo

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Minority Bar Association of Western New York 2026 E-Board

• President: Deonna M. Jones ’19, Buffalo City School District
• Vice President/President Elect: Samuel Borbor-Sawyer ’17, Phillips Lytle LLP, Buffalo
• Treasurer: Kevin L. Southern ’19, Erie County District Attorney’s Office, Buffalo
• Deputy Treasurer: Arrianna Z. Hart ’20, City of Buffalo
• Corresponding Secretary: Paulette Campbell ’12, New York State Attorney General’s Office, Buffalo
• Recording Secretary: Nicholas A. Ramirez ’22, Western New York Law Center, Buffalo
• Director: Allana S. Benton ’21, Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, Buffalo
• Director: Yomaris Sanchez-Orona ’23, Ogletree Deakins, Buffalo

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Monroe County Bar Association's Outstanding Jurist Award

• Hon. Fatimat Olabisi Reid ’05, New York State Supreme Court, 7^th Judicial District; Monroe County Family Court, Rochester

New York State Bar Association

• Martin B. Adelman Lifetime Achievement Award: Norman P. Effman ’68, Wyoming County Attica Legal Aid Bureau, Warsaw, N.Y.
• Vincent E. Doyle Jr. Award for Contribution in the Criminal Justice System: Hon. Gerald James Whalen ’83, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, Buffalo
• 2026 Kay Crawford Murray Memorial Award: Kareen V. Zeitounzian ’02, Harris Beach Murtha, Rochester, N.Y.

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United States District Court, Western District of New York

• CJA Award: Paul G. Dell ’93, Law Offices of Paul G. Dell, Buffalo
• CJA Award: Justin D. Ginter ’11, Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP, Buffalo
• Special Service Award: Anne M. Noble ’92, Bar Association of Erie County, Buffalo
• Pro Bono Award: Sean M. O'Brien ’13, Lippes Mathias LLP, Buffalo
• Pro Bono Award: Anna Marie Richmond ’84, Anna Marie Richmond, Attorney at Law, Buffalo