Class Action - October 2025

Margaret W. Wong ’76, founder and managing partner of Margaret W. Wong & Associates LLC, an immigration firm based in Cleveland, interviewed journalist and author Connie Chung at the Cuyahoga County Public Library branch in Parma, Ohio, on Oct. 1. Wong is a member of the School of Law’s Dean’s Advisory Council. She is also a past recipient of the UB Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumna Award for private practice; and the Edwin F. Jaeckle Award, the highest honor the School of Law and the Law Alumni Association can bestow. She is a lifetime member of the Law Alumni Association.

Kenneth A. Manning ’77, retired partner with Phillips Lytle LLP in Buffalo, has joined the panel of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services Inc. in New York City, the largest private provider of alternative dispute resolution services. Manning is a past president of the UB Law Alumni Association, a past recipient of its Distinguished Alumnus Award for private practice and a member of the School of Law’s Dean’s Advisory Council.

Hon. Kathy J. King ’84, justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Second Judicial District, in New York City, has become a member of the School of Law’s Dean’s Advisory Council. She is a past recipient of the UB Law Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumna Award for the judiciary and is a lifetime member of the association.

Piero Bussani ’91 has been named executive vice president and chief legal officer with Hertz Global Holdings Inc., where he will lead global legal affairs, government affairs and sustainability and social impact. He most recently served as chief legal officer with Homebound, a technology-powered home building platform in San Francisco, Calif.

Hon. Trini E. Ross ’92, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York in Buffalo, has joined Harter Secrest & Emery LLP as a partner in the Buffalo office, leading the firm’s government and internal investigations team. She is a past recipient of the UB Law Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumna Award for public service, a past recipient of UB School of Law’s Students of Color Distinguished Alumna Award and a member of the School of Law’s Dean’s Advisory Council.

Patricia S. Ciccarelli ’93, partner with Schnitter Ciccarelli Mills PLLC in Buffalo, has been named to the School of Law’s Dean’s Advisory Council. She is president of the UB Law Alumni Association.

Molly R. Kocialski ’97 has joined the intellectual property practice of Holland & Hart LLP as of counsel in the Denver office. She previously served as director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Rocky Mountain Regional Outreach office in Denver.

Allison J. Tam ’97 has become a member of the School of Law’s Dean’s Advisory Council. She is a partner with Wilkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in New York City.

Wende J. Knapp ’10 has joined Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP as a partner in the Rochester, N.Y., office, leading the employment law practice group. She previously served as assistant general counsel and director of global employment law with Procore Technologies in the New York City office, a global SaaS (Software as a Service) company.

Amat Fatimah ’15 has become special counsel with Goldberg Segalla LLP in the Buffalo office, focusing her practice in civil litigation and trial, construction litigation and counsel, and appellate matters. She previously served as assistant staff counsel with Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. in Buffalo.

Caitlin O'Neil ’15 has become director of career strategies and associate director of The Advocacy Institute at the School of Law.  She most recently served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Buffalo.

Marina A. Barci ’18 has been named to the School of Law’s Dean’s Advisory Council. She is an attorney with Kahana Feld LLP in Buffalo.

Emma G. Powlin ’21 has joined Stark Lattuca as an associate in the Rochester, N.Y., office, concentrating her practice on residential and commercial real estate transactions as well as corporate matters, including entity formation, governance and business transactions. She previously practiced with Morgenstern DeVoesick PLLC in Rochester.

Sophia I. White ’22 has become associated with Bennett Schechter Arcuri & Will LLP in the Buffalo office, practicing defense litigation. She was previously an attorney with Buffalo Biodiesel Inc. in Tonawanda, N.Y.

Giulia L. Buscaglia ’25 has accepted a position as a law clerk with Barclay Damon LLP in the Buffalo office, helping to represent clients in property tax and condemnation and mass and toxic tort matters. 

Renee L. Lauer ’25 has joined Chicago Title Insurance Co. as a law clerk in the Buffalo office, handling policy production in the Title Insurance and Underwriting Division.

Bar Association of Erie County

• Special Service Award: Sarah M. Washington ’16, National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp., Williamsville, N.Y.

--------------------

Buffalo Business First Power 100 Business Leaders of Color

• Kimberlee McGrath Dunlop ’03, Seneca Gaming Corp., Niagara Falls, N.Y.
• Lenora B. Foote-Beavers ’97, Evergreen Health, Buffalo
• Joseph M. Hanna ’05, Goldberg Segalla LLP, Buffalo
• James L. Harrington ’19, Erie County District Attorney’s Office, Buffalo
• Jennifer J. Parker ’84, Jackson Parker Communications LLC, Buffalo
• Crystal J. Rodriguez-Dabney ’06 (JD), ’07 (LLM), Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo
• Jacqueline Stover-Stitts ’82, The Golden Cup, Buffalo; Jacqueline Stover-Stitts, Attorney at Law, Buffalo
• Sarah M. Washington ’16, National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp., Williamsville, N.Y.

--------------------

City & State New York 2025 Westchester Power 100

• No. 8: Hon. Shelley B. Mayer ’79, New York State Senate, District 37
• No. 18: Hon. Yadira A. Ramos-Herbert ’05, Mayor, New Rochelle, N.Y.
• No. 25: Hon. Thomas M. Roach Jr. ’86, Mayor, White Plains, N.Y.

--------------------

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Power 100

• Natalia Marte ’20, Phillips Lytle LLP, Washington, D.C.

--------------------

Monroe County Bar Association Foundation Humanitarian Award

• Katherine E. Courtney ’06, Empire Justice Center, Rochester, N.Y.  

--------------------

National Association of Women Judges 2025 Justice Vaino Spencer Leadership Award

• Hon. Kathy J. King ’84, New York State Supreme Court, Second Judicial District, New York City

--------------------

National Fuel Gas Co. 2025 Black Achiever

• Sarah M. Washington ’16, National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp., Williamsville, N.Y.

--------------------

New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, Hon. Shirley Troutman Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

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

New York Super Lawyers Upstate Edition, Top 25 Women

• Hilary C. Banker ’96, Burgio Curvin & Banker, Buffalo
• Meghan M. Brown ’06, Goldberg Segalla LLP, Buffalo
• Melissa A. Cavagnaro ’05, Mattingly Cavagnaro LLP, Buffalo
• Ann E. Evanko ’79, Hurwitz Fine, Buffalo
• Amy M. Habib Rittling ’95, Lippes Mathias LLP, Buffalo
• Anne E. Joynt ’05, Lipsitz Ponterio & Comerford LLC, Buffalo
• Elizabeth A. Kraengel ’07, Duke Holzman Photiadis & Ritter LLP, Buffalo
• Elizabeth M. Midgley ’06, Hurwitz Fine, Buffalo
• Shari Jo Reich ’86, Reich/Emerson LLP, Buffalo
• Andrea Schillaci ’82, Hurwitz Fine, Buffalo
• Ginger D. Schröder '90, Schröder Joseph & Associates, Buffalo
• Erin S. Torcello ’07, Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC, Buffalo

--------------------

Rochester Business Journal and Daily Record Attorneys of the Year

• Leaders in Law: Wende J. Knapp ’10, Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP, Rochester, N.Y.
• Leaders in Law: Anthony J. Kuhn ’15, Tully Rinckey PLLC, Buffalo
• Leaders in Law: Chenoa A. Maye ’10, Maye Mediation LLC, Rochester, N.Y.
• Leaders in Law: Kevin T. Merriman ’92, Lippes Mathias LLP, Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y.
• Leaders in Law: Charles W. Russell ’95, Harris Beach Murtha, Rochester, N.Y.
• Up and Coming Lawyers: Matthew A. Eldred ’15, Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, Rochester, N.Y.
• Up and Coming Lawyers: Julia J. Henrichs ’11, Phillips Lytle LLP, Rochester, N.Y.  

--------------------

University at Buffalo Distinguished Alumni Award

• Honors College: Hon. Henry J. Nowak ’93, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 4^th Department, Buffalo
• School of Law: Michael J. Hecker ’09, Hodgson Russ LLP, Buffalo

--------------------

Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, Western New York Chapter

• M. Dolores Denman Lady Justice Award: Judith M. Gerber ’84, Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo Inc.
• President’s Award: Denise E. O'Donnell ’82, retired policymaker and public leader
• Carol A. Condon Outstanding New Lawyer Award: Rachael Sparacino ’22, Serotte Law Firm, Buffalo
• Diversity Leadership Award: Sarah M. Washington ’16, National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp., Williamsville, N.Y.