CLASS NOTES
Spring 2024
Class Notes reflect the recent achievements and milestones of our esteemed alumni. Stay connected by submitting your news and updates.
1978
David M. Dince has joined The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law as New York Senior Counsel.
1979
Sam Himmelstein is being honored on October 25, 2024, by Tenants Political Action Committee, Inc. for his legendary contributions in the fight for tenant protections.
Marie A. Richardson has been named Project Director of Bronx Legal Services at Legal Services NYC. She previously spent 25 years at The Legal Aid Society.
Hon. Jonah Triebwasser, Village Justice for the Village of Red Hook, New York, recently taught a course in commercial driver cases for the National Traffic Law Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. Judge Triebwasser is a member of the faculty of the National Judicial College.
1982
Michael Ketring, General Counsel for The Alliance for Downtown New York, has been recognized in Crain New York Business’s ‘Notable General Counsels’ list.
Christine Lepera, Partner at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, has been named Billboard’s ‘Music Lawyer of the Year.’
1984
Kevin Windels has been promoted to Partner at Kaufman Dolowich, specializing in professional liability cases.
1985
Michael McMahon, Richmond County District Attorney, was sworn in as President of the New York State District Attorney Association.
Glenn Richards has joined the Washington, D.C. office of Dickinson Wright as head of the telecommunications practice. He was previously Partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
1987
Ushir Pandit-Durant, Queens Supreme Court Justice and the first South Asian woman judge elected in New York State, has been awarded the Asian American Judges Association of New York’s AAPI Achievement Award.
1988
Suzanne V. Shane has been appointed Chief Campus Counsel at Stony Brook University. She will serve as the university’s lead attorney, managing and supervising the Office of General Counsel.
1989
Kimberly Glatt, a former municipal judge in the City of Hoboken, has been named a public defender in the Bayonne Municipal Court.
Michael J. Sullivan joined Sills Cummis & Gross as Of Counsel to the firm’s tax, trusts and estates practice group.
1991
Michael Bowe, who is currently Partner at Brown Rudnick, has been named to Forbes’s “America’s Top 200 Lawyers” list.
Gary Ireland has announced that he and his daughter Sydney will collaborate with filmmaker John Corso to produce a feature film advocating for the inclusion of girls in the Scouts BSA.
Robert Orlin has joined STV, a professional services firm that plans, designs, and manages infrastructure projects across North America, as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel.
1994
Susan Ball, Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, and General Counsel of Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida, has been recognized on the 2024 OnCon Icon Awards list as one of the top 50 corporate counsels in the world.
Eric Tuchmann, Chief Legal Officer of the American Arbitration Association, was recognized in Crain New York Business’s list of ‘Notable General Counsels.’
1996
Murielle Steven Walsh, Partner at Pomerantz LLP, was featured in Law360’s “Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar” series, which highlights elite litigators.
1997
Michael Griffin has been promoted to Office Managing Principal in the Seattle, Washington office of Jackson Lewis P.C.
1998
Rubeena S. Sehgal has been named Shareholder in the tax and estate planning practice of Stevens & Lee’s Princeton, New Jersey office.
1999
Gabriel Infante has been promoted to Assistant Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator for the Duke University football team.
Professor Patricia Szobonya, Program Director of Legal Studies at Rockland Community College, has been selected as one of 11 faculty members from U.S. community colleges and minority-serving institutions to participate in the 2024 Overseas Faculty Development Seminar in India, an initiative by the Council of American Overseas Research Centers.
2000
Chrissy Hanisco launched Life Stages Law, PLLC, a boutique virtual law firm specializing in adoption, assisted reproduction technology, and estate planning, serving clients in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Hon. Bianka Perez has been appointed to the Appellate Term of the Supreme Court, First Department, in the First and Twelfth Judicial Districts as an Associate Justice. She is the first person of Dominican descent to sit on the appellate bench.
Marea Wachsman was sworn in as the President of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York on June 1, 2024.
2001
Heather M. Rago, an experienced workers’ compensation litigator, has been elevated to Partner at Goldberg Segalla’s Newark, New Jersey office.
2002
Andrew N. Fluger has been promoted to Special Counsel in the Civil Litigation practice in Goldberg Segalla’s White Plains, New York office.
Douglas Singleterry has been re-elected to a second term on the Somerset County Board of County Commissioners.
2003
Melissa G. Andrieux, Chief Diversity Officer and Chief Client Relations Officer for Dorf Nelson & Zauderer LLP, has been awarded the Business Council of Westchester’s Ambassador of the Year Award.
Joseph McCarthy joined the Hamilton, New Jersey office of Stark & Stark as Partner.
Ilir Mujalovic has been named Practice Leader, U.S. Capital Markets and Global ICM at the newly merged firm A&O Shearman.
Megan Penick, a seasoned corporate, securities, and capital markets lawyer, has joined Dorsey & Whitney LLP as a Capital Markets Partner.
John Rutenberg has been named Chair of The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau’s 2024 Board of Directors. He is the Commercial Market President for Truist Financial Corporation.
2004
Marisa Okun, a seasoned litigator specializing in general liability issues, has been elevated to Partner at Wilson Elser.
Ilona Posner has been promoted to Partner at the firm Moritt Hock & Hamroff. She focuses her practice on complex commercial real estate transactions.
Matthew R. Smalls, Senior Vice President at MirRam Group, has been named among City & State’s ‘2024 Who’s Who in Government Relations’ list.
2005
Daniel Desalvo has been confirmed as a New Jersey Superior Court Judge for Hudson County.
2006
Gerald Brown joined Dechert LLP as Partner in its financial services practice group. He was previously Partner at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP.
2007
Christopher Boies joined Paul Hastings as Partner in the financial restructuring group. He was previously Partner at King & Spalding.
Shawn Kodes has been named the new Co-Chair of Paul Hastings’ asset-backed finance group. He was previously Partner at Weil Gotshal & Manges.
Chris Nguyen has been named Chief Executive Officer of the California Lawyers Association, one of the largest voluntary bar associations in the U.S. He will also serve as CEO of the California Lawyers Foundation.
Scott D. Taffet, an experienced trial attorney, has joined Marshall Dennehey’s Westchester County office as a shareholder in the Casualty Department.
2008
Josh Block, Bloomberg Industry Group Executive Producer, accepted the company's first Emmy Award for his 2022 video on New York City's property tax system. He is Executive Producer of Bloomberg Law's UnCommon Law podcast, which was selected for the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award in 2023.
Chance Miller was named Athletic Director at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina. He was previously Senior Deputy Athletics Director at the University of South Carolina.
2009
Frank G. DiSpirito, a civil litigator in the Garden City, New Jersey office of Goldberg Segalla, has been elevated to Partner.
Lev Ekster, a longtime executive of Bowlero Corporation, has been promoted to company President.
Andrea Mauro has been appointed as Special Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division of the Rhode Island Attorney General. She was formerly Deputy Chief of the Enterprise, Major, and Cyber Crimes Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
Ryan Steinman, an intellectual property attorney, has been promoted to Principal at the firm Fish & Richardson.
2010
Charli B. Baldinger has been named Partner in the workers' compensation practice of Vaughan Baio & Partners.
Eric C. Henry, Head of Regulatory and External Affairs at Ocean Winds North America, has been recognized in City & State’s ‘2024 Who’s Who in Government Relations’ list.’
Robert P. Miraglia, General Counsel to the Bronx Borough President, has been named among a list of ‘Notable General Counsels’ by Crain New York Business.
Matteo Percontino has been elevated to Partner at the Hackensack, New Jersey office of Cole Schotz P.C. He works in its bankruptcy and corporate restructuring practice.
Kassandra Perez-Desir, Head of Government Relations for New York, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico at DoorDash, was honored in the ‘2024 Who’s Who in Government Relations’ list by City & State.
Tara Walsh has been named Partner in the New Jersey firm Ansell Law. She specializes in criminal defense and municipal court defense.
2011
Benjamin Burge, a Partner at Rupp Pfalzgraf LLC practicing startup formation, banking, and estate planning, has been recognized in Buffalo Business First’s ‘40 Under 40’ list.
Benjamin N. Hirschler has been appointed as Special Counsel to the firm Windels Marx. He represents financial institutions and real estate operators in connection with acquisitions, sales, financing, and refinancing of commercial properties.
Ian Turetsky has been promoted to Partner in the Global Commercial Disputes Group at Reed Smith. In addition, Reed Smith also promoted Kiriaki Tourikis ’03 to Counsel.
2012
Chaim Bueno has been promoted to Senior Counsel in the real estate practice of Morrison Cohen.
Eric J. Einhart, Partner at the Russo Law Group in Garden City, was elected Vice President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) for the 2024–25 term. He will serve as President of NAELA for the 2025–26 term.
Steven Harding, an elected member of the Connecticut State Senate, has been named the Senate Minority Leader for the State’s Republican Party.
Trevor A. Prince Jr. has been elevated to Partner at Archer & Greiner within its business litigation group.
Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Felicia A. B. Reid as Executive Deputy Director and Acting Executive Director of the New York State Office of Cannabis Management. She spent the last six years at the Office of Children and Family Services.
2013
Timothy S. Carr, an experienced litigator who represents transportation companies in general liability issues, has been promoted to Partner at Goldberg Segalla’s West Palm Beach, Florida office.
Jason Rindenau has joined Haistack Law Firm, the legal division of haistack.ai, as its Managing Director. In this role, he utilizes his diverse background that combines the analytical rigor of legal practice with the creative spark of the entertainment world.
2014
Eric Knowles was elevated to Counsel in the real estate department at Fox Rothschild. Based in the firm’s New York office, he focuses his practice on representing developers, lenders, owners, purchasers, nonprofits and other clients with various land use and zoning issues.
Ariana LoGiudice has been elevated to Counsel at Saiber LLC, where practices in the firm’s Gaming Law practice group.
Shirley Paul has been appointed Assistant Counsel for Judiciary by Governor Kathy Hochul. She most recently served in the Executive Chamber as Senior Advisor and Director of Constituency Affairs.
2015
Jennifer Gong has been promoted to Partner at Finn Dixon & Herling. She specializes in executive compensation and employment and benefits matters.
Michael Isselin joined DLA Piper as Partner in its trademark, copyright and media practice. He was previously Partner at Reed Smith.
Edward Velky has been named Principal at the firm Bressler Amery & Ross. He works in business, complex commercial, construction, and general litigation.
2016
Brian Ruiz has joined Goldberg Segalla in its Worker’s Compensation practice group in the Newark, New Jersey office.
2017
Ed Kiernan was appointed General Counsel of The Charter Revision Commission. He currently serves as Senior Counsel in the Office of City Hall Chief Counsel.
2018
John D. Naphor has joined Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C. as an Associate in its Litigation Group. His practice in the New Jersey-based law firm will focus on defense litigation.
2019
John Muldoon has joined the real estate firm Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. as an Associate within the Litigation Department.
Luke S. Shemeth, an experienced litigator who specializes in complex civil litigation, has been promoted to Of Counsel at Rawle & Henderson LLP.
2021
Angelica Aminov has joined Norton Rose as an Associate. In this role, she counsels clients throughout the investigation, containment, and remediation of data breaches and other security incidents.
Erin Peake, an attorney with Slater Slater Schulman LLP, received the Doris S. Hoffman Outstanding New Lawyer Award from the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York.
2022
Michelle Kerrigan has joined Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst & Doukas as an Associate within its Transactional Department. She focuses her practice on commercial and real estate litigation in the firm’s New Brunswick, New Jersey office.