Alumni | CLASS NOTES
ClassNotes
1951
Lou Laurino, a World War II veteran who attended Brooklyn Law School under the G.I. Bill after his military service, was featured in the Long Island Herald. “Throughout his career, he navigated the complexities of the legal and political worlds with a steadfast commitment to ethical principles. He was known for his meticulous approach to estate litigation and his ability to mentor young lawyers, including his son, Louis, with whom he practiced law until his retirement at age 92,” the article noted.
1961

1974

1975
Judith A. Ackerman joined Hedayati Law Group in Garden City, N.Y., as part of its expanding matrimonial practice. She brings more than 40 years of legal experience and extensive skills in litigating complex matrimonial matters.
Michael T. Warshaw, a partner at Zager Fuchs, has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who in American Law for having distinguished himself in the realms of civil law, business law, contested estates, personal injury, workers’ compensation, and Social Security Disability.
1976
Stephen J. Silverberg, of the Law Office of Stephen J. Silverberg in Roslyn Heights, N.Y., has been listed in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, in the practice area of elder law, for the 11th consecutive year. He has served as the president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and as a founder, president and member of the New York State chapter of NAELA.
1978
David H. Perecman was named by Forbes Advisor to its list of Best Workers’ Comp Lawyers in New York City for 2024. He has more than 40 years of experience representing personal injury clients in New York.
1982
Alex Avitabile was honored with a “Heart of Cabrini” award at an event hosted by Cabrini Immigrant Services New York City (CIS-NYC). In addition to dedicating his legal career to housing justice, Avitabile has also been a passionate advocate for immigrants and a generous supporter of CIS-NYC, which provides a broad range of culturally and linguistically appropriate services to immigrants, refugees, asylees, and their families.
Barbara Pryor was named as one of the grand marshals in the Maspeth Memorial Day Parade, in Maspeth, Queens, and was featured in the Queens Ledger. She is a real estate attorney in Maspeth, where her father, Stanley Joseph Pryor, opened a practice in the 1950s. She joined in 1982.
1984
Lynn Schulman, a New York City Council member, was named to City & State’s 2024 Power of Diversity: Women 100 list, which honors women who broke barriers in their path to holding a position of power or influence. The publication noted that Schulman, who chairs the city’s health committee, is advocating to allow in vitro fertilization coverage for gay male city employees. Schulman is also prioritizing public health, seeking to increase cancer screenings, and raising life expectancy.
1985
Hon. James McCormack was appointed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul as justice to the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division Second Judicial Department. McCormack serves as an associate justice of the Appellate Term for the Ninth and Tenth – Second Department.
1986
Denise J. Brown was elected officer and appointed as general counsel of the Living Legends Foundation in Los Angeles. A longtime entertainment attorney, Brown started her own practice, working with cross-genre artists, producers, songwriters, and other creative talent. She currently teaches at New York University, as an adjunct instructor at the Clive Davis Institute at Tisch School of the Arts.
1987
Thomas Fleming has joined Gunster, one of Florida’s oldest and largest business law firms, in its business litigation practice as a shareholder in the firm’s Naples office. Fleming specializes in pharmaceutical and life sciences cases.
Joan Gilbride, a partner at Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan, was named as one of the Top Women Leaders in Law for 2024 by Women We Admire. Her practice focuses on the representation of management in employment litigation and complex commercial litigation, and also includes insurance coverage litigation and professional liability defense.
Chanwoo Lee, a commissioner of the New York State Board of Parole, received the Honorable Randall T. Eng Award for excellence in public service within the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.
Ira Reid joined J. Singer Law Group as of counsel with a focus on the firm’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy practice. Reid is a veteran restructuring and insolvency lawyer with a proven track record in handling complex national and international matters.
Bradley Siegel was named president of the Brandeis Association, a Queens County Bar Association of Jewish legal professionals. He founded the Siegel Law Firm in 2007.
Scott Stuart, CEO of Turnaround Management Association, a global nonprofit organization of nearly 10,000 turnaround and corporate renewal professionals, was interviewed in ValientCEO. He mentioned starting out with plans to become an entertainment attorney while attending Brooklyn Law School and then falling into the world of corporate restructuring, “sheerly by accident” after taking a position with the U.S. Department of Justice in the Office of the United States Trustee.
1990
John Bonina was honored by the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers at the 20th Anniversary Academy Membership Reception, which was hosted by Brookly Law School in the Forchelli Center.
Yolanda Guadagnoli was honored by the Columbian Lawyers Association for the completion of her term as the association’s president at its annual Dinner Dance, which was held in Brooklyn.
Desirée Kim was appointed special counsel for appointments and Unified Court System (UCM) Advisory Groups, overseeing judicial appointment and coordination of key court system commissions.
1991
Georges Nahitchevansky joined the intellectual property practice group at Akerman in its New York office. He focuses his practice on the litigation and counseling of trademark, copyright, and Internet matters across an array of industries in the United States and internationally.
1992
Gabrielle Brussel was named by Women We Admire as one of the Top 25 Chief Community Officers of 2024. She is the chief government and community relations officer of JCDecaux, a multinational corporation based in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, known for its bus-stop advertising systems, billboards, public bicycle rental systems, and street furniture. She joined the company 13 years ago as its first in-house U.S. lawyer.
Jennifer Crompton, who is deputy lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, U.K., spent one year serving as the county’s High Sheriff and has since become a Special Constable, a volunteer police role.
Janice Tinsley, who has been the deputy chief executive officer for customer service at the Suffolk County Water Authority since 2008, and the authority’s chief diversity and equity officer since 2022, was honored by Long Island Business News as a dynamic women leader, who notably provided a vision for diversity, equity and inclusion within the organization while developing and implementing workshops and training for 675 employees.
1993

Tom Frank, an executive vice president and Northern California regional manager in Whittier Trust’s San Francisco office, was a featured speaker in the firm’s webinar on Real Estate in Family Trusts: Critical Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. He is responsible for managing complex client relationships, including investments, planning and family dynamics and fiduciary services.
Joseph Rosato, founding member of The Rosato Firm and the immediate past president of the Brooklyn Bar Association, was honored as one of the marshals at Brooklyn’s 42nd Annual Columbus Day Parade. He has served as president of the Columbian Lawyers Association of Brooklyn and the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Kings County, and as director and treasurer of the Brooklyn Bar Association.
1994
Evan S. Cowit joined Moses Singer as partner and chair of its private clients group, bringing more than 25 years of experience in advising clients on all stages and facets of estate planning and administration, corporate and business succession planning, and tax law.
1995
Hon. Joseph E. Capella, administrative judge of the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the 12th Judicial District, will receive the Peter C. Kopff Trial Advocacy Award from the New York State Bar Association on Jan. 16 in recognition of his high ethical standards, integrity, and the inspiration he provides to young attorneys.
Sergio de la Pava, legal director of New York County Defender Services, discussed his fourth novel, Every Arc Bends Its Radian, a detective story set in Cali, Colombia, in an interview in Publisher’s Weekly. His debut novel, A Naked Singularity, about a young public defender who plots to commit the perfect crime, won the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for debut fiction.
Mike Gordon was named group general counsel and executive vice president of Chiesi, an international pharmaceutical group. He joined Chiesi as vice president, head of legal affairs, and general counsel USA.

1996
Rachel Demarest Gold, director of employment law practice at Abrams Fensterman, was featured in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, where she explains how a national non-compete ban that was struck down by a Texas court will impact employers in New York. She was also the guest speaker at the Columbian Lawyers Association of Brooklyn’s continuing legal education meeting, where she gave an update on recent employment law developments.
Matthew Dietz was named professor and clinical director of the Disability Inclusion and Advocacy Law (DIAL) Clinic at Shepard Broad College of Law at Nova Southeastern University.
Dyan Finguerra-DuCharme was named to Forbes’ inaugural 2024 Top 200 Lawyers list. As the co-chair of the intellectual property group and fashion group and a member of the litigation and media and entertainment groups at Pryor Cashman, she provides hands-on, end-to-end service for a diverse roster of IP clients, with a focus on the beauty, fashion, and luxury industries.
1997
Robert Auritt, a partner at CDAS (Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard), was named as one of the 25 Most Powerful Entertainment Lawyers in New York by the Hollywood Reporter, which noted that Auritt worked as outside general counsel on the U.S. portion of the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, which made its debut in the U.S. market at an event in Long Island.
Dominic Famulari, past president of the Bay Ridge Lawyers Association and partner at the Law Offices of John D. Famulari, spoke about the pitfalls of foreclosures at the group’s 2024 Winter Continuing Legal Education Seminar in Atlantic City, N.J., in March.
Albert Gavalis is currently finishing up a one-plus-year contracting assignment for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) distributing public assistance COVID funding to private nonprofit hospitals in FEMA’s Region-9 California.
Lori A. Schwartz was named chair to Leech Tishman’s business restructuring and insolvency practice, providing leadership on the East Coast. Schwartz joined Leech Tishman in 2022 when it absorbed the business law firm Robinson Brog Leinwand Greene Genovese & Gluck.
1998
Joanne Butler, formerly a partner at Shipman & Goodwin, recently joined the Connecticut-based law firm Cummings & Lockwood in its Stamford office as a private clients attorney serving high-net-worth individuals, families, family offices, and closely held businesses in Connecticut and Florida. She brings 23 years of experience developing estate planning strategies for individuals and families.
1999
Matthew J. Bromberg joined Greenberg & Traurig as the firm expands its corporate, investment management, and financial regulatory and compliance practices. Bromberg previously served as general counsel and chief compliance officer for the investment firm Exchange Traded Managers Group.
Douglas F. Eisenberg was elected to a four-year term as trustee on the Cornell Board of Trustees. Eisenberg is a New York City-based real estate investor who in 2011 founded investment firm A&E Real Estate. Eisenberg received his bachelor’s degree in urban and regional planning from Cornell.
Stephanie Cohen Katzovicz, writing as Steph Katzovi, has released MiscommuniCamp!, the sequel to her award-winning middle-grade fiction novel, HurriCamp! Both MiscommuniCamp! and HurriCamp! are available on her website, www.stephkatzovi.com, as well as major online retailers.
Winnie Lee, who is deputy general counsel at Cetera Financial Group, will lead M&A efforts and special projects while overseeing an experienced team of transactional attorneys. Lee joined Cetera’s legal department in 2021 after serving as deputy general counsel for Fir Tree Partners.
2000
Leah Eisenberg joined Pashman Stein Walder Hayden as a partner in its expanding bankruptcy, restructuring, and creditors’ rights practice. Previously, Eisenberg worked at Mayer Brown and at Foley & Lardner. Earlier in her career, she served as the first law clerk to the Hon. Robert E. Gerber, U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Southern District of New York.
Doug Mannal joined Morrison Foerster as a partner in the firm’s business restructuring and insolvency group in the transactions department. Based in the New York office, Mannal brings more than 20 years of experience spanning all aspects of restructuring to the firm.
Michael Schnall recently began serving as director of government and community affairs for Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Jeffrey Schulman joined Blank Rome in New York as a partner in the firm’s insurance recovery group. He was previously a managing partner at Pasich, an insurance recovery boutique law firm.
2001
Kathryn C. Collins, a partner at Feldman, Kleidman, Collins & Sappe, was recently recognized as a 2024 ATHENA Award winner, which is presented by The Chamber Foundation and the Women’s Leadership Alliance of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The award celebrates individuals who excel in their chosen profession, donate time and energy to their community, and actively guide or mentor women to become great leaders.
Kristina Fink joined CVS Health as its new senior vice president, corporate secretary, and chief governance officer. She previously served as vice president, corporate secretary, and chief governance officer at American Express for seven years.
Hon. Adam Silvera was appointed deputy chief administrative judge for New York City Courts, in an appointment approved by Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson. In his new role, Silvera will oversee the administration and day-to-day operations of New York City’s trial courts, which are among the largest and busiest in the country. Silvera is also among the judges who recently shared insights on trial assignment parts at a Columbian Lawyers CLE event and was a featured speaker at the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association’s monthly “Lunch with a Judge” event.
Aline Taireh has written a debut children’s book titled Are There Pancakes in Amsterdam? She is the executive vice president, general counsel (U.S.), and member of the supervisory board of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, a multinational commercial real estate firm headquartered in Paris. Taireh is based in Los Angeles.
Ryan Turner joined Kaufman Dolowich as a partner in its professional liability practice group and will be based in the New York City office. Turner provides coverage analysis for insurance carriers and their insureds, risk retention groups, and captive insurers, and is especially experienced at navigating London-based insurance policies.
2002
Michael Burke has joined Pillsbury as a restructuring partner in New York. Burke focuses on general corporate restructuring and bankruptcy matters and was previously with Sidley Austin.
Mark F. Parise joined Morgan Lewis as partner in March, and is based in the firm’s Hartford, Conn., office. He advises clients on a range of governance, regulatory compliance, and transactional issues involving mutual funds, closed-end funds, private equity, and hedge funds. Parise was recognized as Independent Counsel of the Year by With Intelligence (Fund Directions) at the Mutual Fund and ETF Awards ceremony. He was previously with Perkins Coie.
Gwen Stone, operational due diligence director at K2 Advisors, a leading global hedge fund advisor, was interviewed by Hedgeweek ahead of its US Leadership Summit in New York.
2003
Angela DeRose was named head of compliance at Balance Point, an alternative investment manager focused on the lower middle market, which is based in Westport, Conn. She was previously a chief compliance officer at Geller Advisors.
Matthew Scott Eubank, who retired as an assistant attorney general for the State of New York in the Brooklyn regional office, was featured in the Style section of the New York Times. The article was about how he met and married his new wife, Kara Ann Loewentheil, a life coach. The couple married in July.
Paul Libretta joined Holland & Knight as a partner on the firm’s financial services team in New York. Libretta represents clients in connection with structured finance, securitizations and asset-backed lending transactions. He was previously of counsel at Winston & Strawn.
Nicholas Marino has been elected as a shareholder at Foran Glennon. He joined the firm’s New York office in 2017, concentrating his practice on civil litigation defending landlords and contractors in labor law, premises liability, environmental exposure, negligent security, and motor vehicle litigation.
Michael Simkins was profiled in the South Florida Business Journal’s list of “Power Leaders in Real Estate and Power Brokers in Residential and Commercial Real Estate.”
Peter Stambleck took over as section chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Family Law Section and co-chairs its Legal Education Committee after a decade of service on the committee. Stambleck is a matrimonial attorney and a founder of Mosberg Sharma Stambleck and Gross in New York.
Camille Joseph Varlack was named to City & State’s 2024 Power of Diversity: Women 100 list, which honors women who broke barriers in their path to holding a position of power or influence. The publication noted that when Varlack stepped into the role of chief of staff to New York City Mayor Eric Adams in late 2022, she brought a wealth of experience that includes founding her own law firm, serving as a principal attorney for the state court system and holding operations and risk management leadership roles with the Executive Chamber and the state Department of Financial Services. She was appointed Deputy Mayor for Administration in January.
2004
Ewa M. Abrams was named the new president of the Americas division at Kering, where she has served as general counsel of Kering Americas since 2018. Kering, whose star fashion brand is Gucci, is one of the largest publicly traded luxury groups in the world. Abrams joined the Paris-based luxury group after 17 years at Tiffany & Co., where she held the title of vice president — associate general counsel, chief compliance and privacy officer.
Daniel B. Besikof joined Lowenstein Sandler as a partner in the bankruptcy and restructuring department in New York in April. Besikof works on Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, corporate restructurings, and liquidations, representing secured and unsecured creditors, creditors’ committees, debtors, indenture trustees, landlords, equity holders, and distressed investors.
Grace C. Bonilla, president and CEO of the United Way of New York City, was named to City & State’s 2024 Power of Diversity: Women 100 list, which honors women who broke barriers in their path to holding a position of power or influence. Under her leadership, the organization coordinates a variety of health, education, and community assistance programs. Bonilla, who previously served as senior vice president for Latin America at Covenant House International and as president and CEO of the Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, was also the first executive director of former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Task Force on Racial Equity and Inclusion.
Jessica Glass, who became the first female partner at Stenger, Glass, Hagstrom, Lindars & Iuele in 2019, was honored with the ATHENA Award, which recognizes dedicated professionals who are committed to serving the Hudson Valley, N.Y., community and mentoring young women. It is presented each year by The Chamber Foundation and the Women’s Leadership Alliance of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Joshua Kirshner was named as a new board member for the Community Chest of Port Washington. Kirshner, a criminal defense attorney and managing partner of the law office of Joshua D. Kirshner, brings more than 20 years of legal expertise to the board of the community nonprofit organization, which raises and distributes funds to 28 nonprofits serving the needs of Port Washington, N.Y., residents.
Miguel Matos, assistant vice president and part of the executive management group at USAA, a financial services company that offers insurance and banking services to the military community and their families, was featured in an article in Hispanic Executive magazine which charted his rise from humble beginnings growing up in an underserved community in the Bronx to becoming a graduate of Princeton University and Brooklyn Law School. Matos is counsel for USAA’s commercial transaction, M&A, and venture capital areas. He also supports operations for IT, emerging AI technologies, corporate real estate and global procurement.
Christine Murphy joined Goodwin as a partner in its global real estate industry practice in New York. She joined from Wilkie Farr & Gallagher’s real estate finance group.
2005
Andrew B. Brettler, a partner at Berk Brettler in West Hollywood, Calif., was named to the Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2024, its 18th annual list of the entertainment industry’s 100 most powerful legal advocates. He also made Forbes’ inaugural 2024 Top 200 Lawyers list. Boasting a reputation as a formidable advocate, Brettler is well known in the entertainment and sports industry’s civil law and criminal defense scene, and has represented Prince Andrew, Armie Hammer, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Johnny Depp and has handled professional crises on behalf of the likes of Justin Roiland, Russell Brand, and Colleen Ballinger. He was especially pleased with how things turned out in the blockbuster gambling scandal involving Dodger superstar Shohei Ohtani, the Hollywood Reporter noted.
Nikki Dryden, a human rights lawyer who is focused on gender discrimination in sports and other forms of athlete abuse, was chosen as a Fulbright Global Scholar to Canada and the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2023 and was featured earlier this year on The Fulbright Program website.
Ross Elfand joined King & Spalding as a partner in its business litigation group in New York. Elfand is a veteran antitrust litigator who has served as lead or co-lead counsel in many high-profile antitrust matters on behalf of leading pharmaceutical and technology companies.
Allison Lewis was a guest speaker at a Kings County Criminal Bar Association event where she joined Daniel Chu to deliver a continuing legal education lecture titled “A DNA CLE.” Lewis serves as a staff attorney in the DNA Unit and Homicide Task Force at the Legal Aid Society.
Errol Louis, who has anchored “Inside City Hall” on Spectrum News NY1 since 2010, began hosting a new weekly cable show, “The Big Deal with Errol Louis” on March 1. In an interview with Our Town, a blog for the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Louis explained that the show will air on NY1’s sister channels nationwide, including in California, Florida, Maine, Texas, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Ohio, among others. It is the first weekly national political show for the network. Louis, who previously wrote for the New York Sun and the Daily News, started his broadcast career with appearances on CNN and the “Reporters Roundtable” at NY1.
Sascha Owen was appointed as senior vice chancellor for strategy and policy implementation at the City University of New York (CUNY). A former top official in the offices of the New York City Comptroller and the Manhattan Borough President, Owen joined the senior leadership team of CUNY from Pursuit, an organization that helps low-income New Yorkers gain access to career pathways in the tech industry.
Dan Slater, a lawyer turned writer, released his latest book, The Incorruptibles, published by Little, Brown, on July 16. It is a work of narrative nonfiction set in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the early 1900s, prior to World War I when the city was a “vortex of crime and corruption” populated by gangs jockeying for dominance, workers in the unregulated garment industry, and a squad of uptown, affluent German-Jewish reformers known as The Incorruptibles. After the book’s release, Slater was featured on the Lo-Down podcast, which features news on the Lower East Side of New York City. Slater is also the author of Wolf Boys, which was a Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year, and Love in the Time of Algorithms. He has written for more than a dozen publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.
2006
Jeannie Bail was named the new university librarian at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She brings nearly 25 years of experience in academic and special library settings to the role.
Nithya Das, who leads the global legal team at Diligent as general manager, governance business unit; and chief legal officer, was interviewed for an article that appeared on Medium about strategies for achieving a more equitable representation in corporate boardrooms.
Bradley Pepper joined Shapiro, Blasi, Wasserman & Hermann in South Florida as partner. Pepper focuses on complex commercial litigation matters, general and premise liability, first party property damage disputes, and catastrophic personal injury cases. He spent more than a decade managing his own firm, handling all facets of litigation, including several high-stakes matters that received nationally publicized attention.
Doris D. Short has joined Duane Morris as partner in the firm’s trial practice group in its New York office. Short was previously a partner at Peckar & Abramson.
Charles Small, chief clerk for civil matters, Kings County Supreme Court, received the Outstanding Public Servant Award at a Caribbean American Lawyers Association (CALA) gala.
2007
Steve Auletta joined Young/Sommer as of counsel. Auletta represents clients in civil matters navigating various legal issues in federal and state courts. Previously he was in private practice as a litigator and served as assistant corporation counsel for the City of New York where he defended the city and its employees as a member of the Manhattan Trial Unit and Special Federal Litigation Division.
Hon. Ben Battles was appointed a judge on the Vermont Superior Court by Governor Phil Scott. Battles previously served as division chief and solicitor general at the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and practiced at the law firms of Pollock Cohen, Boies Schiller Flexner, and Cahill Gordon & Reindel.
Carrie Goldberg, the founding attorney of C.A. Goldberg, was featured in two media publications: The Hill and the New York Times, both of which discussed her work. Goldberg focuses on victims’ rights law, with practice areas spanning from revenge porn and sextortion to tech product liability. She is also the author of the 2019 book Nobody’s Victim: Fighting Psychos, Stalkers, Pervs, and Trolls.
Kirstin Krueger was appointed as the interim director of the state of New Jersey’s Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) in April, where her responsibilities will include overseeing the investigations and enforcement work of ABC, including coordination with municipal and state law enforcement agencies. Krueger, who previously served as deputy director at ABC, began her career in the state’s Department of Law and Public Safety as a special assistant and then counsel to the Attorney General in 2019; she was appointed to her current role as deputy director in 2023. She had previously served as a prosecutor with the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor in New York City and the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office in Staten Island.

2008
Krista Baughman wrote an article about how a California federal court’s decision in a discipline case involving a 7-year-old impacts the First Amendment rights of young students for the Daily Journal/California Lawyer. A partner at Dhillon Law Group, Baughman focuses her practice on First Amendment and anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) law and litigation.
Britt Burner was interviewed for the New York Bar Association’s website, speaking about how she became an elder law attorney, following in her mother’s footsteps without planning to do so. She was recently named as the new chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Elder Law and Special Needs section. Burner joined her mother’s firm, now known as Burner Prudenti Law, in 2014 and made partner in 2022.
2009
Leesa Fenderson was named a business analyst consultant and staff attorney at the Dramatists Guild. Fenderson has been dedicated to preserving the rights of artists and educating them on how best to manage their intellectual property since she worked as a contract coordinator at Hachette Book Group, and that dedication led her to law school. After working as a lawyer, including at Rolling Stone magazine, she shifted her focus to writing, and her fiction work is forthcoming in Joyland and Story magazines.
Kiran Nasir Gore has been awarded the American Society of International Law’s 2024 Certificate of Merit for “high technical craftsmanship and utility to lawyers and scholars” for her edited book The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties in Investor-State Disputes: History, Evolution and Future (Wolters Kluwer, 2022), co-authored with Esmé Shirlow.
Adam Kalish, of the Law Firm of Adam Kalish, was honored as the outgoing president of the Bay Ridge Lawyers Association.
Shorav Kaushik joined King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul in Bethlehem, Pa., where he focuses his practice in litigation and education law and brings extensive experience managing clients’ exposure in tort claims. He has also handled federal and state industrial actions and advised on all aspects of risk management. In addition, he also joined the board of directors of the National Museum of Industrial History in Bethlehem.
Martha F. Reichert has been elevated to the role of partner with Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo. She joined the firm in 2020 as an associate.
Mahsa Saeidi, a four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, joined CBS News New York as an investigative reporter in March of 2024. She was previously a reporter at WFLA-TV in Tampa, Fla. Prior to becoming a broadcast journalist, Saeidi was a prosecutor in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
Gabriel Vincent Teese, previously a partner in Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott’s commercial litigation and AI autonomous robot practice group, cofounded Cyber Law Firm with another alum, Star Kashman ’23. The launch of the new boutique law firm was featured in Law360 and Law.com.
2010
Erin Applebaum, a partner with Kreindler in its aviation practice, co-authored with Taylor Sandella ’22 a New York Law Journal article about the legal implications of a rise in severe turbulence events for airline travelers, including incidents that have caused serious injuries and even death. Applebaum, who represents the interests of passengers severely injured or killed in general aviation accidents and commercial airline disasters, is considered by many in the aviation community to be a foremost authority on litigating claims governed by the Montreal Convention, the international treaty on commercial air travel.
Valerie Chianuri, general counsel and head of people and operations at the computational design and engineering software company, nTopology Inc., has joined the Board of Directors of Lighthouse Guild, the leading not-for-profit vision and healthcare organization. She is a legal and operational expert with more than two decades of experience in the financial and technology industries.
Erik Dykema has joined the faculty of The Katz School of Science and Health at Yeshiva University in New York, where he teaches classes at the intersection of law and technology. He began his law career as a patent litigator with King & Spalding. In 2013, he founded CaseRails, a legal tech startup, litigating intellectual property and medical technology cases in cooperation with several premier law firms.
Douglas J. Klein was named to Law 360’s 40 under 40 for 2024 in the employment sector. Klein is office managing principal in the New York office of Jackson Lewis, where he defends complex employment litigations, counsels on traditional labor matters, and provides day-to-day preventive support.
Michael Kwiatkowski was promoted to partner in the bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice group at Cullen and Dykman in Uniondale, N.Y.
Liberty McAteer returned to Moses Singer as a partner in its intellectual property and AI & data law groups as the firm continues its strategic investment in growing its data and AI practice. McAteer rejoined the firm after serving as deputy counsel at FreeWire Technologies, a Silicon Valley-based, battery-integrated electric vehicle charging station manufacturer.
Josh Miller was appointed partner at OGC, a law firm whose team of experienced general counsels and senior in-house attorneys augment corporate legal teams and provide fractional general counsel services to early-stage companies. His addition will significantly expand OGC’s capabilities in the retail and consumer goods sector and create a foothold for the firm in the Pacific Northwest region, the company said.
Jen Tarolli was featured in an article in Genesee Valley Pennysaver about finding balance between job and family. Tarolli volunteers as co-president of Parenting Village, which provides essential support to families in the Rochester area. She works at the University of Rochester, supporting a department that conducts clinical research in neurological diseases.
Anthony Wong joined Dickinson Wright as of counsel in its office in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He practices in the areas of commercial litigation, construction, transportation, and insurance matters.
2011
Lisa M. Casa, a partner in the employment and labor practice group at Forchelli Deegan Terrana, was appointed vice chair of the Nassau County Bar Association’s labor and employment law committee.
Jonathan E. Orell joined Leech Tishman as a partner in the real estate practice group. He is based in the New York office and will focus his practice on transactional real estate, bringing extensive experience in the leasing, acquisition, sale, and financing of commercial properties.
Laura Zaccone was named head of legal at NTT Research. She joined the division in October 2024 and was most recently senior director, corporate counsel, with the parent company NTT Ltd., for six years.
2012
Nick Caro was appointed as a partner at Davis Polk in the firm’s sponsor finance practice in New York. He brings a mix of private equity and corporate finance experience to his new role and was previously a partner in the private equity and debt finance practices at Goodwin Procter.
Jaclyn S. Ruch joined Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff as partner. Ruch represents private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in connection with buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, sales, joint ventures, restructurings, growth investments, and other investments, including control and non-control investments and co-investments. Ruch previously spent three years at Greenberg Traurig, where she was partner.
2013
Hon. Yekaterina Blinova was appointed to the bench of the New York City Housing Court. After joining the Unified Court System in 2017 as a court attorney in Bronx Housing Court, she most recently served as an associate court attorney in the Kings County Supreme Court, Civil Term’s Law Department. Prior to her court career, she worked as a staff attorney at the New York Legal Assistance Group’s tenants’ rights unit, engaging in litigation and advocacy on behalf of low-income New Yorkers.
Corey Briskin joined the sexual abuse practice group at Levy Konigsberg, a leading complex litigation boutique firm, where his practice focuses on pursuing justice for juvenile and adult survivors of sexual abuse in correctional facilities and other institutional settings across the nation.
Jason Feingertz was promoted in April to partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth, where he maintains a general corporate tax practice, advising clients on state, federal, and international tax matters. He represents clients of various industries in tax planning, audit defense, and tax litigation.
Amy Johnson joined Fried Frank as a partner in the private equity funds group and the asset management practice in New York. She was previously with Goodwin Procter, where she was a partner in the private equity group and a member of the private investment funds practice.
Scott Rolnik joined Kirkland & Ellis as a partner in the firm’s debt finance practice group. Rolnik advises private equity firms and their portfolio companies, as well as public companies on structuring, negotiating, and documenting debt finance and other capital markets transactions, including syndicated credit facilities and private credit and direct lending financings. He joined from Ropes & Gray.
Kiran Sheffrin, who is of counsel in tax at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York, was named to Law 360’s 40 under 40 for 2024 for her work in tax law. Sheffrin focuses her practice on advising clients on the tax and structuring aspects of mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs and other divestitures, restructurings, joint ventures and financing transactions, both in the United States and in connection with cross-border transactions.
Cameron B. Weil joined Polsinelli as a shareholder in its New York City and Miami offices. Weil represents investors, sellers, buyers, owners, and lenders in successfully navigating complexities in the real estate and related capital markets.
Molly Zamoiski was named partner at Chemtob Moss Forman & Beyda, a family law firm focused on handling divorce and complex high-asset cases.
2014
Jake Kohn joined Nelson Mullins as a senior policy adviser in the firm’s government relations practice, based in the Washington, D.C., office. A seasoned lobbyist with a background in political law and policy, he was most recently the vice president at Lobbyit where he led the company’s efforts in the healthcare, workforce development, and transportation sectors.
Ryan Merola was named as chief of staff to New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch. He served as chief of staff under Tisch when she headed the city’s Department of Sanitation and worked in the NYPD’s technology and counterterrorism departments.
Dacia Read was named as chief of staff to Brown University President Christina H. Paxson, a role in which she will serve as a member of the President’s Cabinet, supporting Paxson in advancing university goals, providing strategic advice on key priorities, and overseeing all operations in the president’s office. Read served most recently as vice president of strategic government growth at Unite Us, a technology company that builds networks of health and social service providers with a focus on improving patient care.

2016
Andrew Kissner, who is of counsel at Morrison Foerster in its business restructuring and insolvency practice in New York, was named to Law 360’s 40 under 40 for 2024 for his work in bankruptcy law. His primary practice is advising clients with respect to novel and complex insolvency issues, with a particular focus on cross-border and governmental restructurings.
Christopher Mull joined Honigman in Ann Arbor, Mich., as a partner in the firm’s real estate transactions practice group. Mull focuses on commercial real estate law, advising large and mid-market clients navigating transactions across a diverse range of real estate asset classes and structures.

2018
Maxwell Bottini was promoted to partner at the New York litigation boutique firm Coffey Modica. Bottini, who joined the firm soon after it was founded in 2021, practices labor and professional liability law, out of New York and Connecticut, defending both general contractors and subcontractors.
Elizabeth Wazny (formerly Knowlton) joined Tobin, Bernardon & Wazny as a partner handling criminal, family, and matrimonial matters.
2020
Travis Elliott ran his fourth consecutive New York City Marathon to raise money for Parkinson’s research. Elliott chose to run for Parkinson’s Champions and the Parkinson’s Foundation in honor of his dad, Randy Knaggs, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s more than 10 years ago.
2021
Caitlin Cash joined Rivkin Radler as an associate in the firm’s insurance fraud group. She focuses her practice on investigating and prosecuting civil lawsuits in state and federal court, including the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Joanna Chalifoux was appointed as one of 20 new assistant district attorneys in Suffolk County, N.Y., by Suffolk County D.A. Raymond A. Tierney.
2022

Matthew Barden was appointed as one of 20 new assistant district attorneys in Suffolk County, N.Y., by Suffolk County D.A. Raymond A. Tierney.
Michael Wozniak has joined Lyons & Simmons in Dallas as an associate focused on personal injury and wrongful death litigation. Prior to joining Lyons & Simmons, Wozniak completed a judicial clerkship for the Honorable Renée Harris Toliver of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and was an associate at the Philadelphia law firm of Kline & Specter.
2023
Jillian Ingrisano is an associate in the restructuring practice at Weil, Gotshal. She previously completed a clerkship at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Star Kashman, who cofounded Cyber Law Firm this summer with Gabriel Vincent Tese ’09, was featured in the alumni spotlight section of the Spring 2024 edition of Binghamton University Magazine, where she discussed her work on Google Dorking. The launch of Cyber Law Firm was covered in Law360, where the cofounding partners, Kashman and Tese, discussed the complementary types of experience they bring to the table. The launch was also featured in Law.com, and Kashman spoke to the ABA Journal about becoming a founding partner as well.
Kayla Kershen, a law clerk at Troutman Amin’s Miami office, authored an article for TCPAWorld, a blog that covers news related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). She wrote about how SelectQuote was hit with “yet another” TCPA class action complaint.
Isabella Pisani was appointed as a new associate at Cuddy & Feder in its White Plains, N.Y., office.
2024
Andrew Crawford was one of 14 new assistant district attorneys as part of the Fall 2024 class of ADAs in the Richmond County District Attorney’s office in Staten Island.
