2008 UB Law Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Awards

Segment Synopsis: Welcome to the 46th Annual UB Law Alumni Association Meeting & Dinner on the 50th Anniversary of Law Day in the U.S. It's been said that where law ends, tyranny begins. It's my pleasure to introduce people seated on the head table: Ilene Fleischmann, Frances Letro, Denise O'Donnell, UB President John Simpson, Robert Boreanaz, Law School Dean Makau Mutua, Thomas Black, Jr., Daniel Lukasik, Hon. E. Jeannette Ogden, Hon. David J. Mahoney, and Richard DiGiacomo. Peggy introduces Dean Mutua to the podium. Welcome attendees. My thanks to the Law Alumni Association for organizing this dinner. Weather has been turbulent for UB Law but I assure you that we have our hands firmly on the controls and Law School Alumni is the best testament, the most visible evidence, of the quality of education that UB provides. The State of NY has decided to pursue and encourage the creation of three other law schools. This is "bad public policy because the public cannot afford it, the market does not need it, and there is no one who is qualified to go to law school who fails to gain access to a law school in this state. I ask you to oppose the state's intention in this matter and assure you that necessary steps are being taken to maintain academic excellence. Thank you, Pres. Simpson, for the University's support of the Law School.

Keywords: Alumni; Alumni Association; Law Students; Other Law Schools general; UB Law School general

Subjects: CAREER: LEGAL; UB LAW MISCELLANEOUS

Segment Synopsis: The Harry Rachlin Oral History Project is an opportunity for individuals to access and learn from UB Law School's history through audio and video recordings of its alumni and associates. [Several clips are shared with the audience.] Please submit your nominations of potential interviewees. The project will eventually be available online. Our thanks go to the Rachlin family for contributing to this worthwhile project.

Keywords: Alumni; Alumni Association; Law School History

Subjects: UB LAW MISCELLANEOUS

Segment Synopsis: Thank you to the following law firms that bought patron tables: Lapp, Mahon, & Gramm, Celino & Barnes, Connors & Villardo, Damon & Morey, Delaware North Companies, Harter, Secrest & Emery, Hiscock & Barclay, Hodgson Russ, Jaeckle, Fleischmann, & Mugel, Kavinoky Cook, Law Office of Francis M. Letro, Lippes, Mathias, Wexler, & Friedman, Lipsitz, Green, Shemay, Cambria, National Fuel, Nixon Peabody, Denise E. O'Donnell, Phillips Lytle, Rupp, Baase, Pfalzgraf, Cunningham, & Coppola, and ______________________ . I want to acknowledge our corporate underwriters for their generosity: (Platinum Level) M & T Bank, Alan Fenster Associates, Inc., Structured Financial Associates, Inc.; (Gold Level) CTG, LCS, Inc.; (Silver Level) Bar Association of Erie County, Cantor, Lukasik, Dolce, & Panepinto; (Bronze Level) Batavia Legal Printing. Donors who have also contributed: Brisbane Consulting Group, Insty Prints, Law Office of Lindy Korn, Jay Sharleia Communication Design, McGavern, McGavern, & Grimm, The Minority Bar Association of WNY, Nesper, Ferber, & DiGiacomo, Surveyors Nussbaumer & Clarke, RL Sonnenberger Land Surveyors, Ticor Title Insurance Company, WNY Chapter of Women's Bar Association of NY, UB Law Alumni Association. Thanks to the media sponsors The Daily Record and the Buffalo Law Journal. Our thanks to Rob Boreanaz, Richard DiGiacomo, Ken Aprocono, Hilary Banker, Vincent Doyle III, Katherine Nagel, and Donald O'Brien. [Citing recent work on the Strategic Planning Process and the selection process for the new dean, Peggy acknowledges support and assistance from the Law Alumni Association Officers and Directors and the Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) Group.] Welcome to the newly elected membersof the UB Law Alumni Association Board of Directors: James W. Grable, Jr., Pietra G. Lettieri, Amy Martocci, Gregory A. Mattacola, Brian W. Melber, Kevin D. Robinson, and Lordes M. Mattura. [Peggy announces new GOLD Group Members of the Board for 2008-09: Stephanie J. Calhoun, Matthew J. Makowski, Carla Miller-Montroy, and Gretchen Nichols.] Thank you also to the leadership of Ilene Fleischmann, Pat Warrington, Amy Hypnarowski, Cynthia Watts, and Lisa Mueller. [She then acknowledges and congratulates members of the Classes of 1948 and 1958 whose names are listed in the Program.]

Keywords: Alumni; Alumni Association; Community Service; Continuing Role; Contributions; Law Firms; Relationship with UB Law; UB Law School general

Subjects: CAREER: LEGAL; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE; UB LAW MISCELLANEOUS

Segment Synopsis: Honorable Jeanette Ogden introduces the Hon. David J. Mahoney (elected in 1993), recipient of the Alumni Association's Judiciary Award.] The three UB Law Alumni who served as his campaign managers were Gene Pigott, Gerald Whalen, and Donna Siwek. Donna told me that Judge Mahoney is always a gentleman, quick with a smile, has a terrific sense of humor and a hearty laugh. He's an avid reader and a student of history, a patron of the arts (especially theatre), a terrific golfer, a squash champion, and works out daily at the BAC. He shares his sense of humor in his monthly cartoons, capturing the profession and other issues of the day, and brings to the bench traits he practiced as a lawyer: being a good lawyer, law partner, Bar leader, and family man. The partners with whom he practiced law and who went on to become judges: Bill Lawless, John Doerr, and Andrew Phelan. Judge Mahoney always advocated for the rights of the less fortunate. He was Chair of the Civil Rights Committee of the NYS Bar Association and President of the Erie County Bar Association.

Keywords: Alumni; Alumni Association; Community Involvement; Judiciary; Practice

Subjects: CAREER: LEGAL; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE; UB LAW MISCELLANEOUS

Segment Synopsis: Rob Boreanaz reports that Fran Letro had the respect of his fellow lawyers and projected a positive image of the profession, citing the variety of community groups Letro supported. Rob cites Letro's friendly, courteous behavior as a professional, and his sharing of the knowledge of the profession as a speaker. Rob describes the hardship and ethics of Letro's upbringing in Olean after his father lost his leg. He cites Letro's mother who worked to support the family and "instilled qualities of modesty, humility, and hard work. Fran's an extraordinary family man and deeply devoted to his roots." In appreciation of the Law School's contribution to Fran's life, he reciprocated with a one-million-dollar donation to the Law School's Courtroom Project. Rob expresses the Alumni Association's gratitude for all of Letro's humanitarian contributions.

Keywords: Accomplishments; Alumni; Alumni Association; Contributions; Law Firms; Practice; Relationship with UB Law

Subjects: CAREER: LEGAL; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE; UB LAW MISCELLANEOUS

Segment Synopsis: According to a 1990 research study lawyers are 3.6 times more likely to suffer from depression that any other professional group studied. During his own recovery, unable to find an online resource and support network geared toward lawyers facing depression, Dan Lukasik launched, and continues to maintain, LawyersWithDepression.com. He subsequently founded a support group in Erie County. He serves as Chair of the Erie County Bar Association's Committee to Assist Lawyers with Depression. He's the Managing Partner of Cantor, Lukasik, Dolce, & Panepinto, a member of the NYS Lawyer's Assistance Committee, and serves on the Board of Compeer of Greater Buffalo and was recognized with its Butler Award, for making a difference to the lives in our community with mental illness. He has turned a difficult experience in his own life into something positive for others.

Keywords: Alumni; Alumni Association; Community Service; Law Firms; Legal Community

Subjects: CAREER: LEGAL; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE; UB LAW MISCELLANEOUS

Segment Synopsis: Denise O'Donnell lives, eats, and sleeps public service. She got honors grades in Law School with the exception of one class that she took the final exam late because she gave birth that week. She still graduated summa cum laude. Upon graduation she went to work for Judge Dolores Denman, clerking for three years in the Appellate Division, then in 1985 she became a Prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of NY. As a young lawyer working with O'Donnell, Rob remembers being struck by her kind, genuine demeanor. In 1993 she became First Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District of NY, responsible for the prosecution of Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City Courthouse bomber, and James Kopp, Barnett Slepian's killer. And in 1997 she was named U.S. Attorney for the Western District of NY, the first female to hold that position in Upstate NY. In 2001 O'Donnell entered private practice with Hodgson Russ. While there she ran for NYS Attorney General but was not elected. In 2007 she was appointed by Gov. Spitzer to be the NYS Commissioner of Criminal Justice Services. She has done countless hours of pro bono work and is a founding member of the NYS Women's Bar Association.

Keywords: Alumni; Appointments; Career / Gender; Community Involvement; Elections; Judiciary; Significant Cases; UB Law School general

Subjects: CAREER: LEGAL; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE; UB LAW MISCELLANEOUS; UB LAW: GENDER

Segment Synopsis: Thomas Black has always had terrific ability to help a fellow lawyer in a difficult closing, always with courtesy and often with humor. Tom is Managing Partner in Black, Mann, & Graham, a firm he founded in 1997. The firm has offices in Texas with over 130 employees, and practices in real estate law, representing clients such as Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual, First Horizon Home Loans, Sun Trust, Mortgage IT, and Wacovia Bank. He was admitted to practice law in NY in 1979 and admitted to the Texas Bar in 1994. He received his B.A. from Notre Dame in 1976 and his J.D. from UB in 1979. He was admitted to practice law in NY in 1979 and admitted to the Texas Bar in 1994. He received his B.A. from Notre Dame in 1976 and his J.D. from UB in 1979. He will receive a Master's in Business Administration from Notre Dame in May. He served as General Counsel of Goldome Realty Credit Corp. From 1985-95 he held senior positions companies such as Empire of America Realty Credit, Foster Mortgage, and Victoria Mortgage. In WNY he was an active speaker for the Erie County Bar Association, always injecting a note of humor. He's a frequent lecturer at mortgage-related seminars and was awarded Faculty Fellow Award in 1991 and the Master Faculty Fellow Award in 2000 by the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. He is active in the area of community service, serving as Chairman of the Board of the Christian Community Action, Inc. serves on the Board of the North Texas Foodbank.

Keywords: Career / Professional Experience; Community Service; Law Firms; Legal Community; Legal Education

Subjects: CAREER: LEGAL; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE; UB LAW MISCELLANEOUS

Segment Synopsis: The achievements of tonight's awardees embody the mission of our larger university community. As a public research university we have committed ourselves to a vision of academic achievement that makes a meaningful and lasting difference in our world. The Law School serves as a model for innovative, socially relevant, first-rate legal education, among the most affordable in the nation. Interim Dean Makau Mutua has advanced the Law School's vision for the future. We recognize him tonight for his outstanding service to UB and to the community. His contributions exemplify the high ideals to which UB Law, and UB itself, aspire. Professor Mutua has contributed in outstanding ways to the mission of UB 2020. He has built upon the achievements and contributions of his distinguished predecessor, Nils Olsen, he has provided instrumental and timely leadership as the Law School continues its strategic pursuit of excellence. As the founding Director of the UB Human Rights Center since 1996, he has helped establish the university as a major international center for human rights scholarship and research while developing key linkages between UB and other worldwide academic institutions, foundations, and NGOs. He is both a SUNY Distinguished Professor and the Law School's Floyd H. and Hilda L. Hurst Faculty Scholar. As one of the world's foremost authorities on human rights law, his impact has been global in scope, shaping human rights and political practice in the U.S., Africa, and within a multi-national context. As Chairman of the Kenya Human rights Commission, he has conducted numerous human rights, diplomatic, and rule-of-law missions in Africa, Latin America, and Europe. He has distinguished himself and our university on an international scale through his scholarship and his profoundly meaningful application of that scholarship.

Keywords: Accomplishments; Contributions; Distinction; Law School History; Practitioners and Faculty

Subjects: PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE; UB LAW FACULTY; UB LAW MISCELLANEOUS