We’re pleased to share the latest edition of Class Notes:
‘29
Paul O’Dwyer is the subject of a new biography, An Irish Passion for Justice: The Life of Rebel New York Attorney Paul O’Dwyer (Cornell Press), written by Michael Tubridy and Robert Polner. The book features O’Dwyer’s career highlights, including a term as New York City Council President, high-profile court cases such as his representation of the Harrisburg 8, and his leadership in the diaspora movement to bring peace and justice to Northern Ireland.
‘65
Robert H. Groman is a co-chair of the tax practice group at Forchelli Deegan Terrana.
Vice Dean Emeritus Andrew Simons participated in an ABA Site Accreditation visit to the University of the District of Columbia. He participated in the site visit as an Academician, where he also reviewed the University’s Program of Legal Education.
‘78
Steven Miller, partner at Miller, Montiel & Strano, is chair of the board of directors of Book Fairies, a non-profit that collects and redistributes books to under-resourced communities.
Lauren Wachtler launched her own litigation firm, Wachtler. Her father, former chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, Hon. Sol Wachtler, is of counsel at the firm.
‘79
Gregory Kehoe was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to serve as interim U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida.
Linda S. Plotnicki is a condominium and cooperative services partner at Morritt Hock & Hamroff.
‘80
Diane Heckman is a member of the Authors Committee of the Education Law Reporter, where she recently published two articles: “The New Academic Landscape in the First Year After the Supreme Court’s Opinion in SFFA v. Harvard College and SFFA v. University of North Carolina,” and “An Examination of K-12 Litigation in the First Year After the Supreme Court’s Opinion in SFFA v. Harvard College and SFFA v. University of North Carolina.” These are her 44th and 45th peer reviewed published articles in the area of education law.
Msgr. James Kelly was recognized in a New York Times article about his work with immigrants in Brooklyn. He was given an outstanding alumni award by the St. John’s Public Interest Law Students Association in the spring.
‘84
Michael Balboni is the chair-elect of the Adelphi University Board of Trustees.
‘85
Tim McCausland is senior counsel at Rourke Law.
Jose Perez, deputy general counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF, was recognized as one of El Dario’s 2024 “El” Award honorees. The award honors the achievements of 21 influential Latinos who have made a positive contribution and serve as role models to a new generation.
‘88
Paul W. Butler launched his own firm, Butler Legal Strategies, where his practice will focus on complex legal, regulatory, and national securities challenges.
‘89
Lorraine S. Boss is a member of the newly-formed tax practice group at Forchelli Deegan Terrana.
Heidi Sorvino is the managing partner and financial restructuring and bankruptcy chair in White and Williams’ New York office.
‘90
Laura M. Dilimetin has been promoted to deputy bureau chief at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
Gregory Hessinger is president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
John Macaluso is the chair of the intellectual property group at Gibney Anthony & Flaherty. He also serves as a member of Gibney’s executive committee.
Tom Moonis is the owner and real estate broker at Sweet Home Real Estate of Long Island.
Paul Murphy launched his own litigation firm, Murphy Legal. His practice focuses on defense of white-collar crime and government investigations, and he represents clients in civil litigation matters.
‘91
James G. Bartolotto is associate general counsel for litigation at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Joseph L. Calabrese has been reelected to another four-year term as village justice for the Incorporated Village of Amityville, NY.
Scott T. Horn launched Horn Appellate Group where he serves as principal appellate counsel.
Hon. Peter Lane is a judge in the Civil Court of the City of New York.
John Marcil is the leader of the corporate practice group at Faegre Drinker.
‘92
Hon. Genine Edwards was appointed to a new role as administrative judge for the Kings County Supreme Court, Civil Term.
Maximiliano Rinaldi is senior counsel at Holland & Knight.
‘93
Jen Golub is a partner at Schenck, Price, Smith & King.
Anthony LaPorta has formed his own law firm, LaPorta Law, where he handles trust and estate litigation and administration and guardianship proceedings. He also mediates trust and estate-related disputes.
John McCarroll is general counsel and chief compliance officer at Fifth Season Investments.
Brian E. Murray is senior counsel at Chaves Perlowitz Luftig.
‘94
Hon. Anna Grimaldi is acting justice of the Nassau County Supreme Court.
‘95
Theodore Alatsas was featured in The National Herald’s “The Verdict: Greek-American Lawyers Who Lead” list.
Gary Rosner is the president-elect of the South Broward Bar Association Board of Directors.
‘96
Glenn S. Garbus is director of collections and legal operations at The LCF Group.
Denise M. Miranda was confirmed as commissioner of the New York State Division of Human Rights by the New York State Senate.
‘97
Brian Cohen, partner at Lachtman Cohen & Belowich, is president of the Westchester County Bar Association.
Stephen Walko, managing partner at Ivey, Barnum and O’Mara, was honored with the Greenwich Sentinel Foundation’s 2024 Sentinel Award. The award is given to an exemplary member of the Greenwich, CT, community who embodies humility, kindness, and integrity.
‘99
Patrick L. Basilice is a compliance officer at Act Commodities.
Jennifer Caggiano is senior director of professional development at Covington & Burling.
Donna Jo Fonseca has been promoted to assistant district attorney, deputy bureau chief-ECAB, arraignments & desk appearance ticket unit at the Bronx County District Attorney Office.
Mark A. Hakim has been promoted to partner at Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas.
‘00
Laura Daniels is principal law clerk to Hon. Mary Ann Brigantti in the New York Supreme Court,12th District.
Kenneth Lange is a partner at Goetz Schenker Blee & Wiederhorn.
Kevin Murtagh is director in the office of marine debris disposal and vessel surrendering at the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.
‘01
Michael Ertel is director of practice innovation at Crowell & Moring.
Jannine A. Gordineer has been promoted to litigation counsel at Allstate.
Matthew Weerth is senior vice president, claims management at STO Building Group.
‘02
Andrew Garbarino is of counsel at Ruskin Moscou Faltischek.
Judy Hopkins is the legal director at Milliman IntelliScript.
‘03
Paige Cooperman is executive director, assistant general counsel, international and transactions at Regeneron.
Jennine B. Mazzola has been promoted to equity partner at Taylor, Eldridge and Enders.
‘04
Allison Calkins has been promoted to vice president and associate general counsel in the litigation, regulatory, and compliance department at QBE North America.
Genie Cesar-Fabian is general counsel and chief operating officer at Institutional Limited Partners Association.
Clara Feldman is a partner and chair of the luxury brands practice and member of the real estate industry group at Blank Rome.
Alicia George was featured in the Rooted in the Caribbean podcast, where she shared her journey as a woman in leadership, discussing her Caribbean roots, the challenges she faced in her legal career, and the importance of hard work and faith.
Peter Rivera is a principal law clerk in the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
‘05
Lawrence Opisso has been promoted to bureau chief – major crime bureau at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Jeffrey L. Wilson is a founding partner at Titan Law.
‘06
John David Gardiner is a co-chair of Bodman’s workplace law practice group.
Bryan Johnson is a partner at Johnson Mady.
Tisha Magsino is the director of regulatory and compliance at Moore Holdings (Renewal by Andersen Metro & Midwest).
Michael Schneider has been promoted to partner at Fried Frank.
‘07
Salim Azzam is a partner at O’Melveny & Myers.
Carlos Beato is a partner at Pitta.
Danielle Clarity is treasury manager at Teachers Federal Credit Union.
Christina (Sorbera) DeLay has been promoted to executive director at Santander Bank.
Douglas Levine has been promoted to senior vice president, human resources at 1-800-Flowers.com.
Rachel Stern is vice president of technical claims, management liability at AIG.
‘08
Elizabeth Aboulafia is general counsel at Elecnor Hawkeye.
Joyce Elie is senior vice president at State & Broadway.
Amanda Golob has been appointed to the Housing Trust Fund Advisory Committee for the City of New Orleans.
‘09
Shirley Cheng Hambelton is general counsel, managing director at Benefit Street Partners.
Meghan M. Dolan is principal law clerk to Hon. James F. Matthews in the Suffolk Supreme Court.
Charles Isaac is a change architect at delaware North America.
Jane Lee is senior manager, program claims at Markel.
Liz Lushpenko has been promoted to senior attorney Cahill Gordon & Reindel.
Amanda Pappalardo has been named executive senior counsel in the New York City Mayor’s chief counsel’s office.
Konstantine G. Paschalidis is a partner at KI Legal.
Gust Passias has been promoted to managing director, global head of conflicts and code of ethics at Blackstone.
Daniel Valenti is a partner in Troutman Pepper Locke’s real estate practice group.
‘10
Caitlin E. Cline is counsel at Farrell Fritz.
Lawrence Han, partner at Rivkin Radler, has been recognized by City & State in its inaugural Asian Trailblazers list, which spotlights exemplary individuals highlighting their extensive experience and noteworthy accomplishments as leaders of New York’s Asian American communities.
Renton Persaud has been promoted to partner at Gallardo Levin Reiter & Rogers.
Stefanie Singer has been promoted to partner at Novogradac & Company.
‘11
Sulie Arias is a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
Matthew Capobianco has been elevated to shareholder at Littler.
Amanda Lewis is senior tax manager at BST & Co. CPAs.
Laura Sarkis is senior director and assistant general counsel at Regeneron.
Daniel R. Smith is managing partner at Smith, Cheung & Lauterborn.
‘12
Jaime Leggett has been promoted to partner at Bast Amron.
Meaghan Lipton is professional lines claims examiner at Berkley Re.
Elisa Pickel is managing director, trust counsel – associate director of estate administration at Fiduciary Trust International.
Mary Vitale is an assistant U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
Michael L. Webb has been promoted to partner at Farrell Fritz.
‘13
Adam Cohen is senior counsel at Christensen Hsu Sipes.
Bryan Denberg is deputy general counsel at Diamond Communications.
Thomas J. Greene has been promoted to director at TD Securities.
Kap Misir is vice president, business and legal affairs, talent development and talent relations at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Corinne Scotti is a partner at Black Marjieh & Sanford.
Ourania Sdogos is director and counsel at American Express.
Matthew Silverman is a partner at Pryor Cashman.
‘14
John Harras is counsel at Venable.
Mona Patel has been promoted to counsel at Thompson Coburn, where she represents banks and other financial institutions in a variety of commercial finance transactions.
Stephanie Rainaud has been promoted to partner at Holland & Knight.
Andrew Richmond is counsel at Pryor Cashman.
Sarah Ross is capital markets counsel at Perkins Coie.
Ravi Vohra is an associate at Goldberg Weprin Finkel Goldstein.
Kevin Wallace is senior manager of professional development and attorney training at Weil, Gotshal & Manges.
Benjamin Yeamans co-founded a new law firm, Group Five Legal, that provides fractional counsel, labor and employment, and commercial services.
‘15
Maria Castiglie is a senior associate at Arnold & Porter.
Justin Curcio has been promoted to partner at Curcio Law.
Thomas Engelhardt has been promoted to partner at Latham & Watkins.
Christen Giannaros is appellate counsel at Horn Appellate Group.
Jonathan Goeringer has been promoted to partner in the insurance practice group at Foley & Lardner.
Vincent Iannece is associate general counsel, litigation at Interactive Brokers.
Michael Impellizeri is a partner at Rivkin Radler.
Morgan Luchs is an equity partner at Gotez Platzer.
Alesya Nasimova has been promoted to global head of privacy, data protection officer at Brex.
Florince Payen is assistant chief counsel at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Alexa Pearlman has been promoted to principal counsel, enforcement at FINRA.
Julian Rodriguez has been promoted to of counsel in the real estate operations department at Greenberg Traurig.
Colleen Vecchione is supervising attorney at The Door – A Center of Alternatives.
‘16
Alexander Becker is special counsel at Milbank.
Evan Feuerstein is a partner at Kelly, Rode & Kelly.
Adam Haft is an associate in Blank Rome’s corporate, M&A, and securities group.
Sean Jefferson has been promoted to partner in the entertainment group at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz.
Zachary Nastro has been promoted to of counsel at Connell Foley.
Christopher Pedraita is a partner at Cole, Scott & Kissane.
Michael Rich has been promoted to equity member at Otterbourg.
Elleana Spanos is senior commercial counsel at Incora.
Thomas Straub is a senior associate at Jaroslawicz & Jaros.
Courtney Swartz is an associate at Clyde & Co.
Brianna Walsh has been promoted to partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.
Kevin Wong has been promoted to senior manager, senior corporate counsel for the international business at Taco Bell.
Joshua Yanez is operations manager at Crewcial Partners.
‘17
Sheharyar Ali is the founder of Sheharyar Ali Law Group, where his practice focuses on commercial litigation, criminal defense, personal injury, and civil defense.
Bingjie Liu is a director at Merck.
Keren Baruch Longo participated in a St. John’s University APD Series: “Balancing Life – Being a Boss at Work and at Home.”
Rebecca Schwartz is an associate at Phillips & Paolicelli.
Ryan Soebke has been promoted to partner at Cullen and Dykman.
Madeline Tusa is counsel at Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
Antonio G. Vozza is senior underwriting counsel at First American Title.
‘18
Colleen Angus-Yamada is employment counsel at Campus.
Corey Baron is an associate at Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello.
Mackenzie Joy Brennan is a legal analyst at Thomson Reuters.
Yesenia Campiglia Abrams is an associate court attorney in the New York State Unified Court System.
Cory Neunzig has been promoted to the major crimes bureau in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
George Pikus is a litigation associate at Barton.
Liam Ray is associate general counsel at Northwell Health.
Jonathan Schwartz is legal counsel at Hartree Partners.
Allison Smalley is an associate family law attorney at MeehanLaw.
‘19
James Bozek has been promoted to claims consultant at Nationwide.
Arianna Clark has been promoted to senior associate at Alston & Bird.
Katherine Cody is an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Czareena Dotchev, senior strategist, government relations at the International Trademark Association, has been named to City & State New York’s “Who’s Who in Government Relations” list, which recognizes notable figures influencing policy and spending in New York.
K. Terrell Hutchins is an associate in the finance, restructuring, and bankruptcy group at Blank Rome.
Thomas Mosczczynski is a deputy district attorney at the San Diego District Attorney’s Office.
Jonathan Sclar is a trusts and estates litigation associate at Farrell Fritz.
Dean Tsanatelis is special counsel at Haworth Barber & Gerstman.
Michelle Yepes is community legal clinics supervising attorney at Catholic Charities – Refugee and Immigration Services.
‘20
Victoria Benalcazar is associate cyber claim counsel at Travelers.
Joshua Emert has been promoted to associate general counsel at Nielsen.
Kylie McLaughlin is a trial attorney in the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Justin Penchuk is an associate in Rivkin Radler’s general liability practice group.
Danielle Stefanucci is a senior associate at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.
Dan Vitagliano will clerk for Associate Justice Clarence Thomas in the U.S. Supreme Court in October Term 2027.
‘21
Zach Benaharon is an associate at Lowenstein Sandler.
Tiffany Heravi has been promoted to associate general counsel at WorldQuant.
Yalda Khwaja is an associate at TittmannWeix.
Zachary Manasia is an associate Cohen Liuzzo.
Kayla Mistretta is an associate at Dechert.
Alexa Moreno is an assistant district attorney in the cold case unit of the homicide bureau in the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Sam (Gagnon) Pauley is a litigation associate at Ballard Spahr.
NallyAnn Scaturro’s article “Tough Pill to Swallow: Supreme Court Nixes Mass Torts Defendants’ Addiction to Nonconsensual Third-Party Releases” was published in the June 2025 edition of Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law.
Sadia Shamid has been promoted to senior staff attorney at Legal Service NYC.
Paul Spagnoli is an associate at Haynes and Boone.
‘22
Stephanie Algarin Santiago has joined Carmele & Wood.
Lianna Murphy is associate counsel at Peloton Interactive.
Diana Nelson is an associate at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.
Adam Ratner is a structured transactions associate at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
‘23
Nadia Balkaran is an associate at Rawle & Henderson.
Rory Buckley is an associate at Weitz & Luxenberg.
Emma Lammers has been promoted to Agency Attorney Level 1 at the NYC Administration for Children’s Services.
Willow Liu is in-house counsel at Globevisa Group.
‘24
Esteban Angeles is a law clerk at Labaton Keller Sucharow.
Jordan Biener is an associate at Meister Seelig & Fein.
Amanda Gazzo is an attorney at State Farm.
Camila Morcos is an associate in Forchelli Deegan Terrana’s tax certiorari practice group.
Alex Tomaro is a law clerk at Campolo, Middleton & McCormack.
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