tion accidents, property litigation, consumer financial services litigation & compliance, aviation and complex litigation, automobile liability, product liability, and premises liability— defense.
2002
ALUMNI PROFILE
long road trip with stops in California, Utah, and New Mexico, she decided that her path to the best opportunities lay with Pace Law School. She says she feels an affinity for and gratitude toward many of the faculty at Pace Law School, especially Professor Steven Goldberg who encouraged her to enroll in the Federal Judicial Extern Honors Program. While the experience itself was important to her academic development, it also led to her first full-time employment after law school—a clerkship with the Honorable Charles L. Brieant, United States District Judge in the Southern District of New York. Megan describes Judge Brieant as “an amazing mentor. He never hesitated to share his wisdom and guidance from his more than 30 years on the bench. He would often pull the attorneys aside to share stories relevant to the cases.” She stresses the importance of this clerkship as it applies to her practice of the law, as it gave her a clear understanding of a judge’s process for analyzing and deciding cases. She continues to put this invaluable insight to good use on the other side of the bench. While a law student, Megan participated in the D.C. Externship at the Environmental Protection Agency, traveled to Brazil with the Comparative Environmental Law class, participated in the Environmental Litigation Clinic, was the Co-Managing Editor of the Pace Environmental Law Review with 2003 Pace alumnus and now colleague, John Paul (Of Counsel at
Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.) and was the president of the Environmental Law Society. Megan continues to cultivate her relationship with Pace Law School. She attends alumni events, volunteers to judge the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition, and stays in touch with law school friends. For all of her adventures in and out of the courtroom, Megan embarked on what some would call the greatest adventure this past August: she married her husband, Gee Valdes, with whom she currently resides in White Plains, NY.
health, disability and ERISA, professional liability, and employment litigation. Jennifer Jill O’Hara has become a partner with DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr, LLP and chair of the matrimonial and family law practice group. Marco Olsen (SJD) was a Visiting Scholar at University of California Hastings College of the Law for the 2013-2014 academic year. Marco is a tenured law professor at the Federal University of Espirito Santo and became Dean of the Law School in 2004. His specialty is environmental law.
Michelle M. Arbitrio w as selected as a Rising Star—Westchester’s 40 Under 40 by the Business Council of Westchester in 2014. Michelle is a Partner at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP. She is based in their White Plains office, where her areas of focus are securities & financial services litigation, life,
Katherine S. Brown h as accepted a new position with Lenovo – Business Enterprise Group as IP Counsel.
2003
In 2014, Jessica Bacher was appointed to serve as the chair of the ABA Section of State and Local Government on Distressed Property and presented on this topic at ABA Spring Meeting Hot Topics luncheon and has a forthcoming article that will
James A. Duckham h as been selected as the director of public safety at Ball State University.
appear in the “Urban Lawyer.” This followed her presentation on planning and zoning for sustainable neighborhoods at the ABA Fall meeting. She presented on certification of sustainable cities at the American Planning Association national conference in Atlanta. Ms. Bacher led the Land Use Law Center of Pace Law School’s successful seminar at Yale Law School on controlling the local impacts of hydraulic fracturing, in partnership with the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy. She was also recently appointed Lecturer at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies to teach the Land Use Clinic.
Vanessa M. Losicco w as promoted to the position of Attorney Career Training Manager with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in 2013. She is responsible for coordinating and planning training courses as well as instructing approximately 300 attorneys. With this role, Vanessa is also able to instruct law enforcement on a regular basis. In 2013, Michael J. Vatter w as elected as chair of the Newburgh Community Land Bank, one of the first five land banks created in New York State. Michael was also selected as the Mayor’s representative on the New York State Building Codes Council for cities with a population of fewer than 100,000.
SPRING 2015
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