Class Action - April 2024

Mark A. Rosen ’81 has joined the construction law firm Peckar & Abramson, P.C., as a senior partner in the firm’s River Edge, N.J., and New York City offices. Rosen concentrates his practice in construction and contract law, public contract law, arbitration, surety and complex commercial litigation. He was previously a partner with McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP in Morristown, N.J.

Hon. Eugene M. Fahey ’84, retired associate judge of the New York State Court of Appeals in Buffalo, was honored at the Buffalo Law Review’s 33^rd Annual Dinner on April 26. Fahey is a past recipient of the UB Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for the judiciary. 

Hon. Leslie A. Stroth ’86 was elected a New York State Supreme Court justice, 1^st Judicial District, Civil Branch, in New York City. Stroth previously served as a civil court judge in New York City and a criminal court judge in Bronx, N.Y.   

Terrence M. Gilbride ’88, senior vice president and chief legal officer with the Buffalo Bills LLC, will receive the UB Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for private practice on May 8 in Buffalo. Gilbride is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council and a past president of the UB Law Alumni Association.

Emmanuel C. Nneji ’89 was elected district attorney with the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office in Kingston, N.Y. Nneji formerly served as chief assistant district attorney with the office.

Hon. Henry J. Nowak ’93 will receive the UB Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for the judiciary on May 8 in Buffalo. Nowak is an associate justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 4^th Department, in Buffalo.

John J. Flynn ’95 has become a partner with Lippes Mathias LLP in Buffalo, in the firm’s municipal law practice team. Flynn previously served as Erie County district attorney in Buffalo. He is a past recipient of the UB Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for public service.

Hon. Craig D. Hannah ’95, a New York State Supreme Court justice, 8^th Judicial District, in Buffalo, was appointed to the court’s Appellate Division, 4^th Department, in Buffalo. He is a past recipient of the UB Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for the judiciary and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council.  

Bruce Karpati ’96 will receive the UB Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for business on May 8 in Buffalo. Karpati, a partner with the global investment company KKR & Co. Inc. in New York City, is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council. 

Hon. John L. Sinatra Jr. ’96 was honored at the Buffalo Law Review’s 33^rd Annual Dinner on April 26. Sinatra is a judge for the U.S. District Court, Western District of New York, in Buffalo.

Jeffrey J. Weiss ’96 has become a member of Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC in the Buffalo office, representing school districts in special education matters, including appeals to the Office of State Review, impartial due process hearings, and state and federal court actions. Weiss was previously a partner with Harris Beach PLLC in Buffalo.

Erin M. Barclay ’98 will receive the UB Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumna Award for public service on May 8 in Buffalo. She is acting director of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Civil Rights in Washington, D.C.  

Kimberly W. Sayoc ’98 has become senior counsel with Underberg & Kessler LLP in the corporate & business and commercial lending practice groups in the Buffalo office. Prior to joining the firm, Sayoc was a corporate attorney in private practice in Buffalo.   

Edmund J. Russell III ’99 has become a partner with Hodgson Russ LLP in the Rochester, N.Y., office, concentrating his practice in public finance matters. He was previously a partner with Underberg & Kessler LLP in Rochester.

Hon. Stephanie A. Saunders ’00 will receive the UB Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumna Award for community service on May 8 in Buffalo. A New York Court of Claims judge in Buffalo, she is the second African-American appointed to the court in Western New York.

Pietra G. Zaffram ’01 has joined Hodgson Russ LLP as a partner in the firm’s Buffalo office in the real estate and finance practice. She was previously a partner with Harris Beach in Buffalo. Zaffram is a past president of the UB Law Alumni Association and the association’s GOLD Group.

Luke S. Bassis ’03 has been named director of procurement for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, overseeing over 70 staff responsible for delivering the region's most important transportation and infrastructure projects. He has also been named chair of the Policy and Practice Subcommittee of the General Services Administration Federal Advisory Committee and was appointed deputy chair of the Government and Public Interest Section of the Hispanic National Bar Association.

Stephanie J. Calhoun '08 received the Trailblazer Award from the School of Law’s Students of Color at their 33rd Annual Dinner on April 4.  Calhoun serves as an assistant attorney general with the New York State Attorney General’s Office in Buffalo and is a member of the board of directors of the UB Law Alumni Association.

Siana J. McLean ’10, counsel with Richards & Jurusik Immigration Law in Buffalo, has become a partner, leading the firm's asylum and removal defense practice.

Ericka B. Elliott ’13 has been appointed to the board of directors of the St. Ann’s Foundation in Rochester, N.Y., which promotes the highest levels of independence, and physical and spiritual well-being of older adults in the Catholic tradition of excellence in care and services. Elliott is an associate in the health care and litigation practice groups with Underberg & Kessler LLP in Rochester.

Jamila A. Lee ’15, vice dean for student affairs at the School of Law, received the Administrator of the Year Award from the school’s Students of Color at their 33rd Annual Dinner on April 4.

Andrew R. Mark ’17 has become associated with Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC in Buffalo, practicing labor and employment law. Mark focuses his practice on representing school districts in special education, general education, and labor and employment matters. He previously practiced with Harris Beach PLLC in Buffalo.

James J. Zawodzinski, Jr. ’18 was recognitized for his exemplary service and activism on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community at the School of Law’s OUTLaw Dinner on Friday, March 8. He is a senior associate with Hodgson Russ LLP in Buffalo.

Kelsey R. Hatfield ’20 has joined Richards & Jurusik Immigration Law in Buffalo, specializing in asylum, removal defense, and family and business immigration matters.

Natalia Marte ’20 received the Distinguished Alum Award from the School of Law’s Students of Color at their 33rd Annual Dinner on April 4. Marte is an associate with Phillips Lytle LLP in Buffalo and a member of the board of directors of the UB Law Alumni Association’s GOLD Group.

Chloe J. Nowak ’20 has accepted a position as an associate with Goldberg Segalla LLP in the firm’s employment and labor practice group in the Buffalo office. She was previously an associate with Phillips Lytle LLP in Buffalo.

Enoch Kun ’22 has authored his first law review article Betrayal of Democracy: How the Republican Party Became an Authoritarian Party in the North Carolina Central Law Review, exploring the transformation of the Republican Party during the tenure of former President Donald Trump. Kun is an assistant attorney with the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General in Menands, N.Y.