Melinda Saran

A 1986 graduate of the University of Rochester, Melinda Saran received a B.A. in psychology, cum laude, and a master’s of public health. She received her J.D. from the University at Buffalo School of Law. At UB, Saran teaches Legal Profession and Ethics, Special Education Law and a colloquium for J.D./MSW dual-degree students.

Before becoming vice dean, Saran was supervising attorney for the Special Education Law Clinic. During this time she also served as associate director and acting director of clinical education at the School of Law. A frequent lecturer on education and disability law issues, Saran trains educators, attorneys, individuals with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, and other professionals. She has written chapters in Benefits Management for Working People With Disabilities: An Advocate’s Manual (Greater Upstate Law Project) and co-wrote a chapter on “Discipline of Students With Disabilities” in Representing People With Disabilities, now in its third edition (New York State Bar Association).

She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Hannah Cohn Pro Bono Award from the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York in 2007. In December 2008, she was named Lawyer of the Year by the Women Lawyers of Western New York.