Class Action - October '11

Daniel T. Roach '53 is listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2012. Roach is a partner in Roach Brown McCarthy & Gruber, practicing litigation defense, in Buffalo. He is a past recipient of the UB Law Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumnus Award and a member emeritus of the Dean's Advisory Council. Roach lives in Buffalo.

Joel Brownstein '58 was elected to the board of directors of the Bar Association of Erie County Foundation in Buffalo. He is a partner in Borins Setel Snitzer & Brownstein in Buffalo. Brownstein lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

Maryann Saccomando Freedman '58 has been named to the 2012 edition of Who's Who in America. She also has been appointed to the board of trustees for the Erie County Supreme Court Library in Buffalo. Freedman is of counsel with Cohen & Lombardo in Buffalo, where she resides.

Joel L. Daniels '63, a Buffalo solo practitioner, is named in The Best Lawyers in America 2012 in the category of criminal defense, non-white-collar. He is a resident of Getzville, N.Y.

Terry D. Smith '66 is listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2012 in the medical malpractice law category. Smith is a senior partner in Smith Miner O'Shea & Smith in Buffalo and lives in Lake View, N.Y.

Arthur A. Russ Jr. '67 has been elected president of the Bar Association of Erie County, in Buffalo. He is of counsel with Phillips Lytle in the Buffalo office, practicing real estate, tax, financing and estate planning. Russ lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

Terrence M. Connors '71 is listed in the "Bet the Company" litigation category in The Best Lawyers in America 2012. Connors is a partner in Connors & Vilardo in Buffalo, a past member of UB Law School's Dean's Advisory Council and a past recipient of the UB Law Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumnus Award. He lives in Buffalo.

James A. Ullman '71 has been named in The Best Lawyers in America 2012. He is a partner in Quarles & Brady in the Phoenix office, practicing franchise law. Ullman is a resident of Paradise Valley, Ariz.

Gerald Grace Jr. '72 received the inaugural Integrity Award from the Bar Association of Niagara County in Lockport, N.Y. He is a senior partner in Walsh, Roberts & Grace, practicing civil litigation in Buffalo. Grace lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Clarence J. Sundram '72 has been named New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's special adviser to vulnerable persons, working out of Albany, N.Y. Sundram evaluates the protection, safety and quality of care of vulnerable persons, the conditions of related state-operated and state-licensed facilities and the fiscal performance of related programs. He lives in Delmar, N.Y.

Paul R. Comeau '73 has been named in The Best Lawyers in America 2012 in the tax law category. He is co-chair of Hodgson Russ in Buffalo, practicing tax and estate planning. Comeau lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

Robert B. Nichols '73 has opened the firm Nichols & Sullivan in Buffalo. He counsels clients regarding personal injury. Nichols lives in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Jerry M. Solomon '73 has become of counsel with Hiscock & Barclay in the Buffalo office. He previously served for 25 years as a regional director for the New York State Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in Rochester, N.Y.

Robert A. Doren '75, a managing member of Bond Schoeneck & King in Buffalo, is listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2012 in the labor law/management category. Doren, who practices labor and employment law, lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

Dale A. Ehman '75 is named in the 2011 New York Super Lawyers Upstate Edition in the personal injury defense category. Ehman, a senior partner in Bouvier Partnership in Buffalo, resides in Amherst, N.Y.

Harry F. Mooney '75 is listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2012. He is a member of Hurwitz & Fine in Buffalo, practicing product liability, professional liability, and large loss and catastrophic injury litigation. Mooney lives in Clarence Center, N.Y.

Robert J. Olivieri '75, a partner in Hodgson Russ in the Buffalo office, is listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2012 in the mergers and acquisitions law category. Olivieri is a Buffalo resident.

Diane F. Bosse '76 has been appointed chair of the accreditation committee of the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. Bosse is of counsel in Hurwitz & Fine in Buffalo. She is a past recipient of the UB Law Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumna Award and a member emeritus of the Dean's Advisory Council. Bosse lives in Clarence, N.Y.

Richard F. DiGiacomo '76 has been named in The Best Lawyers in America 2012 in the real estate law category. He has also been named in the Business First and Buffalo Law Journal 2011 "Who's Who in Law" and listed in the Super Lawyers 2011 list of Top Attorneys in Upstate New York. DiGiacomo is a partner in Nesper Ferber & DiGiacomo in Amherst, N.Y., focusing on real estate and commercial transactions, and is president of the UB Law Alumni Association. He lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

Cheryl Smith Fisher '76 is named in the 2011 Super Lawyers Top 25 Women Lawyers in Upstate New York. Fisher is a partner in Magavern Magavern Grimm in Buffalo, where she resides. She is a past president of the Bar Association of Erie County.

Susan S. Hogan '77 has been elected a member of the board of directors of the Bar Association of Erie County Foundation in Buffalo. Hogan has her own practice in Orchard Park, N.Y., where she resides.

Karen O'Connor '77 has been named as one of the top 100 Irish Lawyers in America by the Irish Legal 100. O'Connor is a Jonathan N. Helfat Distinguished Professor of Political Science, and founder and director emerita of the Women & Politics Institute in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C., where she resides.

Bruce S. Zeftel '77 has been elected president of the Bar Association of Erie County Foundation in Buffalo. Zeftel is a solo practitioner in Buffalo, focusing on tax, title and trust litigation as well as corporate law and mediation. He lives in Tonawanda, N.Y.

Garry M. Graber '78, a partner in Hodgson Russ in Buffalo, is named in The Best Lawyers in America 2012. Graber is a member of UB Law School's Dean's Advisory Council, past president of the UB Law Alumni Association, a past recipient of the association's Distinguished Alumnus Award and a UB Law adjunct faculty member. He lives in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Mark J. Moretti '78 was elected treasurer of the Monroe County Bar Association in Rochester, N.Y., and was appointed to the association's executive committee. He is a partner in the Rochester office of Phillips Lytle, practicing in business and tort litigation. Moretti lives in Pittsford, N.Y.

Stuart M. Rissoff '78 was profiled in New York magazine in the June 19, 2011, edition. Rissoff is a solo practitioner, practicing personal injury in Garden City, N.Y., and the Bronx. He is a resident of Bellmore, N.Y.

William R. Hites '79 has been elected to the board of directors of the Bar Association of Erie County Foundation in Buffalo. He is a Buffalo solo practitioner.

Dan D. Kohane '79 was named program chair for the eighth annual Judicial Symposium sponsored by the National Foundation for Judicial Excellence. Kohane is a senior partner with Hurwitz & Fine in the Buffalo office and an adjunct faculty member at UB Law School. He lives in Buffalo.

Terrie Benson Murray '79 received the 2011 Verizon HopeLine Volunteer Award from Verizon Wireless. She was honored for her dedication and work in establishing the Family Justice Center satellite office in Orchard Park, N.Y., and her efforts to end domestic violence in Western New York. Murray is a partner with Cohen & Lombardo in Buffalo, practicing in estates and trusts, wills and estate planning. She lives in Orchard Park.

Sharon Anscombe Osgood '79 has been elected to the board of directors of the Bar Association of Erie County Foundation in Buffalo. She is a solo practitioner in Buffalo and lives on Grand Island, N.Y.

Roger L. Ross '79 has been elected vice president of the Bar Association of Erie County Foundation in Buffalo. He practices in the firm Hurwitz & Fine in Buffalo, representing clients involved in complex real estate matters. Ross is a resident of Williamsville, N.Y.

Kenneth A. Olena '80 is an associate in HoganWillig in the Buffalo office, practicing family law. Olena previously practiced with Siegel Kelleher & Kahn in Buffalo, where he resides.

Stephen R. Silverstein '80 has joined HoganWillig as an associate in Buffalo. He handles cases involving estate and disability planning, estate administration, elder law and Medicaid, and guardianships. Silverstein lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

Dr. Ross T. Runfola '81 is an award-winning attorney, professor, poet and journalist. He has a book of poems, Up Against the Poetry Establishment: Poetry That Makes Me Literary Road Kill, scheduled for publication in 2011 by Tainted Coffee Press. A founding member of the Guerrilla Poetics Project, he is a Buffalo resident.

Karla Damico Wilsey '81 has joined Abrams Fensterman Fensterman Eisman Greenberg Formato & Einiger as a partner in the Rochester, N.Y., office. She concentrates her practice in business, corporate and employment matters, real estate and leasing transactions, estate planning and administration. Wilsey lives in Honeoye Falls, N.Y.

Jeffrey P. Crandall '82 has joined Davis Polk & Wardwell as a partner in the corporate department in the New York City office. Crandall was previously a partner in Shearman & Sterling in New York City. He lives in Scarsdale, N.Y.

Hon. Paula L. Feroleto '82 received the Legal Service Award from the Minority Bar Association of Western New York in Buffalo. Feroleto is the district administrative judge of the New York State Supreme Court, Eighth Judicial District, in Buffalo, where she resides.

John P. Feroleto '82 received the Wiedemann & Wysocki Award at the American Association for Justice national conference in New York City. He is a solo practitioner in Buffalo, where he resides.

Daniel C. Oliverio '82 has been named co-chair of Hodgson Russ in Buffalo. He is a member of the firm's dispute resolution and intellectual property practice groups, practicing in the Buffalo, New York City and Toronto offices. Oliverio lives in Buffalo.

George W. Collins Jr. '84 is included in the 2011 New York Super Lawyers Upstate Edition in the personal injury defense category. Collins is a partner in the Bouvier Partnership in Buffalo and lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Paul T. Nesper '84, a partner in Nesper Ferber & DiGiacomo in Amherst, N.Y., is listed in the 2011 New York Super Lawyers Upstate Edition in the business and corporate law category. He lives in Getzville, N.Y.

Hon. Erin M. Peradotto '84 received the M. Dolores Denman Lady Justice Award from the Western New York Chapter of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York. She is an associate justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 4th Department, in Buffalo, a past member of the board of directors of the UB Law Alumni Association and a past recipient of the association's Distinguished Alumna Award. Peradotto is a Buffalo resident.

Peter K. Bradley '85 is included in the employee benefits law category in The Best Lawyers in America 2012. Bradley is a partner in Hodgson Russ in the Buffalo office. He lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

Gayle L. Eagan '85, a partner in Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel in the Buffalo office, is listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2012 in the trusts and estates category. She is a past vice president of the UB Law Alumni Association and a past recipient of the association's Distinguished Alumna Award. Eagan is a Buffalo resident.

Mark S. Mulholland '85, a commissioner of the New York State Special Commission on Judicial Compensation, recommended that the annual salary of judges be raised from $195,750 to $220,000. The commission subsequently voted to increase the pay of more than 1,200 New York State judges by 27 percent over three years, giving judges their first pay increase in 12 years. Mulholland is a managing partner and a senior member of the litigation department in Ruskin Moscou Faltischek in Uniondale, N.Y. He resides in Bayport, N.Y.

Barbara A. Piazza '85 was named to the board of directors of Child & Family Services in Buffalo. She practices family and matrimonial law in Rosenthal Siegel & Muenkel in Buffalo and lives in Tonawanda, N.Y.

Catherine T. Wettlaufer '85 is listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2012 in the trusts and estates category. She is a partner in Hiscock & Barclay in the Buffalo office, representing clients in estate, trust and business succession planning and administration. Wettlaufer is a Buffalo resident.

William P. Johnson '86 is co-editor of the New York Real Property Law Journal. Johnson has been co-editor for the past six years and also serves on the New York State Bar Association's Real Property Law Section's executive committee. He is a partner in Nesper Ferber & DiGiacomo in Amherst, N.Y., where he resides.

Lisa McDougall '86 received the 2011 Professional Services Award from the Medical Society of Erie County in Buffalo. McDougall is a partner in Phillips Lytle in the Buffalo office, practicing health care law. She lives in Eggertsville, N.Y.

Victor R. Siclari '86 was promoted to senior managing counsel of the Bank of New York Mellon in Pittsburgh. He is in charge of a newly formed legal team to support distribution of the bank's asset management business with over $1.3 trillion in managed assets. Siclari lives in Pittsburgh.

Joan Casilio Adams '87 is listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2012 in the family law category. Adams has her own practice, J. Adams & Associates, in Williamsville, N.Y., where she resides.

Gregory L. Brown '87 was elected treasurer of the Bar Association of Erie County Foundation in Buffalo. Brown is assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York, in Buffalo, where he resides.

Donna L. Burden '87 was elected deputy treasurer of the Bar Association of Erie County in Buffalo and named a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel. Burden is founding member of Burden Gulisano & Hickey in Buffalo. She is a resident of Williamsville, N.Y.

Hon. Donna M. Siwek '87, a New York State Supreme Court justice, 8th Judicial District in Buffalo, has been elected to the board of directors of the Bar Association of Erie County Foundation in Buffalo, where she resides.

Mark E. Brand '88 has been named executive vice president of Actuarial Consulting Services in Amherst, N.Y., a third-party service provider for defined contribution retirement plans. Brand previously practiced as a partner in the Buffalo firm Phillips Lytle. He is a past member of the board of directors of the UB Law Alumni Association and a past president of UB Law School's GOLD Group.

Hon. John G. Farrell '88 is president of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary. Farrell is the administrative law judge for the New York State Workers' Compensation Board in Newburgh, N.Y. He is a resident of Highland, N.Y.

Paul F. Hammond '88 is listed in the 2011 New York Super Lawyers Upstate Edition in the personal injury defense category. Hammond is a partner in the litigation group in Bouvier Partnership in Buffalo, where he resides.

Mason P. Ashe '89 has become a partner in Jackson Lewis in the Washington, D.C., office. He is a member of the firm's collegiate and professional sports industry group. Ashe was previously founder and president of Ashe Sports & Entertainment Consulting and co-founder of Strickland & Ashe Management Consulting. He lives in Rockville, Md., and is a past member of UB Law School's Dean's Advisory Council.

Hon. Paul G. Buchanan '89 co-authored an article, "Erie County, N.Y., Court Finds Success Using Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines," for Today, a publication of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Buchanan is an Erie County Family Court judge in Buffalo, where he resides.

Thomas F. Keefe '93 has been elected to the board of directors of the Bar Association of Erie County Foundation in Buffalo. Keefe has a private practice in Williamsville, N.Y.

Michelle M. Parker '93 of Derby, N.Y., is included in the 2011 New York Super Lawyers Upstate Edition. She is a partner in Anspach Meeks Ellenberger in Buffalo and a part-time town prosecutor in Evans, N.Y.

David B. Smith '93 of Buffalo has been named chair of the 2011 "A Night to Shine" gala and annual fundraiser for Suneel's Light in Williamsville, N.Y., a foundation that raises funds to research cures for Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. Smith is a partner in Feuerstein & Smith in Buffalo, handling cases involving domestic relations, family law and civil litigation matters.

Mary Q. Wydysh '93 was elected to the board of directors of the Western New York Chapter of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York. Wydysh is a partner in Goldberg Segalla in Buffalo, where she resides. She is a past president of the Western New York Trial Lawyers Association, a past president of the Defense Trial Lawyers Association of Western New York and a past member of the board of directors of the UB Law Alumni Association.

Jeffrey F. Baase '94 has been named a member of the Council on Litigation Management. Baase is a partner in Rupp Baase Pfalzgraf Cunningham & Coppola in Buffalo, practicing insurance litigation, personal injury defense and products liability. He lives in East Aurora, N.Y.

Andre Vitale '94 has become a faculty member of the Southern Public Defender Training Center in Birmingham, Ala., training young public defenders in the art and skill of trial advocacy and client-centered representation. Vitale is special assistant public defender in the Monroe County public defender's office in Rochester, N.Y., where he resides.

Thomas D. Glascock '95 of Huntington, N.Y., has been appointed to the Molloy College Business Advisory Council in Rockville Centre, N.Y. He is an associate in Forchelli Curto Deegan Schwartz Mineo Cohn & Terrana in the Mineola, N.Y., office, practicing in the corporate, real estate, and trusts and estates practice groups.

Hilary C. Banker '96 has been named to Buffalo Business First "40 Under Forty" 2011. Banker is a partner in Burgio Kita & Curvin, practicing civil litigation and insurance defense law in Buffalo, where she resides.

Benjamin R. Dwyer '96 was appointed to the executive committee of the International Section of the New York State Bar Association. Dwyer is of counsel to Nixon Peabody in the Buffalo office and lives in East Amherst, N.Y.

Menelik Alleyne '97 is associate general counsel for the Department of Human Services in Atlanta, primarily dealing with child welfare matters. Alleyne resides in Atlanta.

Rosanna Berardi '97 authored Chapter 6 in The Road to Independence: 101 Women's Journeys to Starting Their Own Law Firms . She is the founder of Berardi Immigration Law, one of the only woman-owned immigration law firms in the Buffalo Niagara region. Berardi is a resident of Lancaster, N.Y.

Nadia Shahram '97 received the Business First Women of Influence 2011 Award for creativity. Shahram is an attorney and matrimonial mediator for Matrimonial Mediation Services of Buffalo and an adjunct faculty member at UB Law School. She lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

Michelle L. Jaros '98 has been appointed assistant principal of Kenmore West High School in the Town of Tonawanda, N.Y. She previously served as assistant principal of Pioneer High School in Yorkshire, N.Y. Jaros is a Buffalo resident.

John J. Koeppel '98 is included in the 2011 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in the categories of mergers and acquisitions and private equity/investment funds. He is chair of Nixon Peabody's investment funds practice and a partner in the firm's Buffalo and New York City offices. Koeppel lives in Hamburg, N.Y.

Maurice McNab '99 has been appointed section editor of the National Bar Association Magazine committee. McNab, a solo practitioner in Greenville, S.C., lives in Simpsonville, S.C.

Marc A. Romanowski '99 has been promoted to partner in Harter Secrest & Emery in the Buffalo office. He handles cases involving administrative permitting and enforcement actions, environmental litigation, land use, zoning and municipal law. Romanowski lives in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Barbara H. O'Neill '00 has been appointed to the New York State Bar Association Committee for Attorneys in Public Service. She previously served as assistant counsel at the New York State Department of Transportation and associate counsel to the New York State Commission on Public Integrity. O'Neill resides in Buffalo and Albany, N.Y.

Megan M. Wolfinger '00 is counsel at Healthcare REIT, Inc., in Toledo, Ohio. Wolfinger practices real estate law in the senior housing and medical office sectors. She lives in Perrysburg, Ohio.

Elizabeth D. Carlson '01 has been named to Buffalo Business First "40 Under Forty" 2011. She is a partner in Hodgson Russ, practicing labor and employment law, in Buffalo, where she resides.

Amy L. Hemenway '01, an associate in Harter Secrest & Emery in Buffalo, has been named to Buffalo Business First "40 Under Forty" 2011. She lives in Tonawanda, N.Y.

Margaret M. Murphy '01 was elected to the board of directors of the New York City chapter of the National Association of Insurance Women. Murphy is an associate in Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker in the New York City office. She is a resident of Forest Hills, N.Y.

Gretchen M. Nichols '01 has been appointed chair of the Women in Leadership Committee for the Buffalo Niagara Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. In addition, she is chair of the Amherst Chamber of Commerce's Business Resource Council in Amherst, N.Y. Nichols is a partner in Nesper Ferber & DiGiacomo in Amherst and lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

Jason Stanek '01 of Riverdale, Md., has been appointed a special assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C. He was previously a policy adviser to Commissioner Philip D. Moeller in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C.

V. Christopher Potenza '02 has become a member of Hurwitz & Fine in the Buffalo office. Potenza concentrates his practice in commercial litigation. He is a Buffalo resident.

James S. Skloda '02 spoke on "Not-for-Profit Real Property Tax Exemptions" at the summer meeting of the New York State Bar Association's real property section. Skloda is a partner in Hancock Estabrook in Syracuse, N.Y., and lives in Clay, N.Y.

Marybeth Priore '03 was elected secretary of the Western New York Chapter of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York. She is a member of Colluci & Gallaher in Buffalo and lives in East Amherst, N.Y.

Sarah K. Ranni '04 was elected treasurer of the Western New York Chapter of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York. She is an associate in Phillips Lytle, practicing corporate, employee benefits, not-for-profit, tax and telecommunications law in Buffalo, where she resides.

Cristina A. Bahr '05 has joined Harris Beach as an associate in the Rochester, N.Y., office. She practices labor and employment law and lives in Brighton, N.Y.

Timothy D. Boldt '05 has been promoted to partner in Ernstrom & Dreste in the Rochester, N.Y., office. He practices commercial litigation and lives in Rochester.

Sean C. McPhee '05, an associate in Phillips Lytle in Buffalo, has been named to Buffalo Business First "40 Under Forty" 2011. He is a Buffalo resident.

Scott R. Simpson '05 has become an associate in Nixon Peabody in the Rochester, N.Y., office, practicing health care law. Simpson lives in Spencerport, N.Y.

Sarah E. Hansen '07 has become associated with Burden Gulisano & Hickey in Buffalo. She concentrates her practice in personal injury involving trucking and transportation accidents, motor vehicle accidents and premises liability. Hansen is a resident of East Aurora, N.Y.

Michael H. Kooshoian '07 has joined LoTempio & Brown as an associate in Buffalo, practicing personal injury and criminal defense. He was previously an assistant district attorney for the Erie County District Attorney's Office in Buffalo, where he resides.

Alexander C. Collichio '08 has accepted a position as an associate in Harter Secrest & Emery in the Rochester, N.Y., office. Collichio practices in the firm's labor and employment litigation practice group. He is a resident of Rochester.

Joshua E. Dubs '08 of North Tonawanda, N.Y., has joined Friedman & Ranzenhofer as an associate in the Buffalo office. He was previously a solo practitioner concentrating his practice in criminal defense, business law, wills and estates, and general litigation in Buffalo. Dubs is a member of the board of directors of UB Law School's GOLD Group.

Ryan M. Murphy '08 has become associated with Hodgson Russ, practicing in the employee benefits practice group in the Buffalo office.

Christina M. Petrella '08 is practicing as an associate with Harris Beach in the Rochester, N.Y., office, counseling clients regarding business and commercial litigation. Petrella is a resident of Greece, N.Y.

Patrick E. Fitzsimmons '09 has joined Hodgson Russ as an associate in the Buffalo office. He concentrates his practice in corporate and securities law, mergers and acquisitions, and real estate and finance. Fitzsimmons was previously an associate with Ropes & Gray in the New York City office.

Eduardo González '09 has been named to the Maryland Daily Record "Twenty in Their Twenties" list and also received the Daily Record Leaders in Law Award. González is a trilingual attorney in Hearne & Bailey in Salisbury, Md. He practices business/corporate, criminal defense, DWI/DUI, estate planning, wills and trusts, probate, municipal law, real estate, land use planning/zoning, foreclosure and traffic law. González lives in Eden, Md.

Chad E. Murray '09 is an associate in Bouvier Partnership in Buffalo, practicing litigation. He previously practiced in the Law Offices of William K. Mattar in Williamsville, N.Y. Murray lives in Tonawanda, N.Y.

Emina Poricanin '09 has accepted a position as an associate with Hodgson Russ, practicing in the labor and employment practice group in the Buffalo office.

John P. Touhey '10 has become an associate with Greco Trapp in Buffalo, where he resides. Touhey practices disability, labor and employment, business/commercial litigation, and matrimonial and family law.