St. John's Law Magazine Spring 2021

ST. JOHN’S LAW Magazine | Spring 2021

THE PIVOT A Year of Resilience, Reckoning, and Reinvention

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CONTENTS SPRING 2021

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A Year of Resilience, Reckoning, and Reinvention

DEPARTMENTS 2 From the Dean

THE PIVOT

12

PART I | BEYOND INCLUSION 13

4 Faculty Focus

8 Adjunct Spotlight

14

32 Leadership Spotlight

34 Class Notes

Vital Conversations Dialogue Days Foster Growth and Change The Changemakers Students Craft an Antiracism Agenda

16

Open Doors

Announcing the Jones Fellowship and Aequitas Scholarship

44 Births 45 In Memoriam

17

Commitment In Action

Alumni Establish a Student Scholarship for Black and Latino Men

COLUMNS 24 Advances: Bankruptcy LL.M. Alumni Thrive as Judicial Law Clerks and Practitioners

18

PART II | PANDEMIC SHIFTS 19

A Clinic Student Changes A Life

20

A Faculty Collaboration Leads The Way

28 Trends: What I Learned in Twitter Purgatory

22

Alumni Navigate The New Normal

30 Center Piece: Center for Law and Religion Presents Its Fifth

ALSO INSIDE

26 Traditions: The Nation’s Premier Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition Goes Virtual

Biennial Colloquium

31 On Direct: Senior Director of Student Services Eric Shannon

3

47 Second Acts: Catherine Brienza ’85

9 Welcome Oliver W. Colbert

Meet Our Newest Faculty Members

48 End Note: Student-Run Journals Spotlight Women Scholars SPRING 2021 l 1

FROM THE DEAN’S OFFICE St. John’s Law Magazine Resilience.

Reckoning.

Reinvention.

We’re devoting this issue of St. John’s Law magazine, our first print edition in over a year, to these three words that, animated, have come to define a year like none other for our Law School and our extended community.

Back in March 2020, when the pandemic shuttered New York City, we moved 140 classes taught by 39 full-time and 85 adjunct faculty members completely online in just three days. In just a few more days, all operations—career development, student services, alumni relations, admissions, and more—were fully remote. This allhands effort was a testament to the resilience of our students, faculty, staff, and administration.

When it became clear that we were facing a public health crisis that would last for months, we convened a task force of faculty to think through the challenges of teaching and learning in a socially distant world. That faculty collaboration led the way to reinvention in and beyond the classroom. During the 2020-2021 academic year, approximately half of our classes were fully in person and half were taught online. In both formats, our faculty rose to the challenge and student learning continued unabated. And, in the midst of this reinvention, the Law School continued to thrive: our 1Ls joined us with the highest academic credentials in years, our recent graduates passed the bar at the highest rate in years, our U.S. News ranking improved for the third year in a row, and we continued to hire outstanding new faculty.

At the same time, events outside our socially distanced spaces called us to reckon with our country’s long history of racial injustice. This academic year began with George Floyd’s murder, and the reckoning prompted by that injustice will continue long beyond Derek Chauvin’s conviction. At the Law School, we have spent the year wrestling with the Vincentian question—What must be done?

It’s been humbling to see our students respond to that question with such compassion, energy, and wisdom, even as many of them have been suffering. We’ve also been moved by our alumni, who have supported our students in these efforts and who have worked with us to make St. John’s Law a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and antiracist institution.

As this magazine goes to press, our nation is still reckoning with racism and the lingering pandemic.

But the St. John’s Law community gives us hope. We have the resolve to continue wrestling with St. Vincent’s question. That’s part of our mission. And we’re also well equipped to prepare our students for continued success in the legal profession. That, too, is our mission.

And, as the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel gets brighter, we’re both looking forward to seeing you in person.

Michael A. Simons Sarah Jean Kelly Dean and John V. Brennan Vice Dean for Administration Professor of Law and Ethics

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SPRING 2021 Dean and John V. Brennan Professor of Law and Ethics Michael A. Simons Vice Dean for Administration Sarah Jean Kelly Associate Dean for Law School Advancement Brian J. Woods Assistant Dean for Alumni Relations and CLE Claire C. McKeever ’80SVC, ’93L Editor-in-Chief Trent Anderson Managing Editor and Lead Writer Lori Herz Copy Editors Dominique Cendales Jean Nolan Claire K. Pollicino Art Director Jill Cuddire Rose Creative Group Please send comments to: Editor, St. John’s Law St. John’s University School of Law 8000 Utopia Parkway Queens, NY 11439 lawalumni@stjohns.edu stjohns.edu/law Copyright 2021 St. John’s University School of Law

From left: Adrián E. Alvarez and Marissa Jackson Sow

MEET OUR NEWEST FACULTY MEMBERS

S

everal years ago, the St. John’s Law faculty launched a bold strategic plan anchored by twin goals of academic excellence and student achievement. The plan’s success is evident across key measures: high graduate employment outcomes and bar passage rates; steadily increasing student credentials; sharply rising alumni engagement and support; and programs and initiatives that affirm St. John’s commitment to being an actively antiracist institution.

An important part of the strategic plan is adding new talent to the faculty. In the last four years, St. John’s Law welcomed six full-time faculty members: • • • • • •

Renee Nicole Allen Catherine Baylin Duryea Sheldon A. Evans Kate Klonick Anna Roberts Courtney Selby

And, this year, two additional faculty members are joining the full-time faculty: ADRIÁN E. ALVAREZ joined the faculty in Spring 2021 as an Assistant Professor of Law. He earned his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.A. in Public Affairs from Princeton University, and a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law. He was a federal judicial law clerk in the Western District of Texas right out of law school.

He then practiced as a plaintiffs’ civil rights attorney before joining the nonprofit Children’s Law Center, where he was a staff attorney and, later, a senior staff attorney. Professor Alvarez returned to his law school alma mater as Practitionerin-Residence in the Disability Rights Law Clinic and as an Adjunct Professor of Law. At St. John’s, he will teach Professional Responsibility, Introduction to Lawyering, and a seminar on Disability and the Law.

MARISSA JACKSON SOW joins the Law School faculty as an Assistant Professor of Law and as a Director of the Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights. She holds a B.A. from Northwestern University, a Master of Laws, with merit, from the London School of Economics, and a J.D. from Columbia University. After law school, Professor Jackson Sow clerked for judges in the Eastern District of New York and the Sixth Circuit.

She then taught in the Lawyering program at NYU Law before launching a career in public service. She served as General Counsel in the New York City Mayor’s Office for International Affairs and as Deputy Commissioner for Community Relations at the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Professor Jackson Sow will be teaching Property, Introduction to Lawyering, and Civil Rights courses at St. John’s Law. “We are excited to welcome Adrián and Marissa to our full-time faculty,” says Dean Michael A. Simons. “The success of our graduates is what defines St. John’s Law, and that success comes from the strength of our faculty: outstanding scholars, dedicated teachers, and experienced lawyers. The nine faculty members we have added in the past four years represent our commitment to building that strength for years to come.”

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FACULTY FOCUS {ALLEN}

{BOYLE}

Professor Renee Nicole Allen’s article, “From Academic Freedom to Cancel Culture: Silencing Black Women in the Legal Academy,” will be published in the UCLA Law Review. Her book chapter, “Meet Xennials: The Bridge Between Generations,” published recently in Millennial Leadership in Law Schools: Essays on Disruption, Innovation, and the Future. Professor Allen was an invited speaker at Taking Our Space: Women of Color and Antiracism in Legal Academia, a roundtable hosted by Rutgers Law School.

Professor Robin Boyle was elected assistant editor-in-chief of Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing, an electronic journal published by Thomson Reuters. Her article, “Preventing Predatory Alienation by High-Control Groups: The Application of Human Trafficking Laws to Groups Popularly Known as ‘Cults,’ and Proposed Changes to Laws Regarding Federal Immigration, State Child Marriage, and Undue Influence,” will be published in a special edition of the peerreviewed International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation.

{BARRETT}

{CALABRESE}

Professor John Q. Barrett’s much-noted Oklahoma Law Review article, “Attribution Time: Cal Tinney’s 1937 Quip, ‘A Switch in Time’ll Save Nine,’” solves the mystery of who first said a “switch in time that saved nine” following President Roosevelt’s proposed court-packing law.

Professor Barrett’s many virtual appearances this pandemic year include those at the Robert H. Jackson Center, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Chautauqua Institution, the Holocaust Memorial & Toleration Center of Nassau County, the Federal Bar Association (EDNY), the Federal Bar Council (2d Cir.), the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, Moscow’s Museum of the Great Patriotic War, the Nassau County Bar Association, the 92nd Street Y, and the Holocaust Memorial Center in Michigan. He also published a chapter in Hamilton and the Law, a new book about the celebrated Broadway musical, and a tribute essay, “RBG and the Girls,” in the New York State Bar Association Journal.

Professor Gina Calabrese is serving as an Observer to the Uniform Law Commission’s Drafting Committee for a Uniform Law on Debt Collection Default Judgments, working to address the high percentage of consumer debt default judgments routinely entered against lower-income people in state courts. Her students in the Consumer Justice for the Elderly: Litigation Clinic have helped hundreds of people obtain relief when their money is wrongfully taken, or they can’t access credit or housing, due to default judgments against them. In her role as an Observer, Professor Calabrese provides input to the Drafting Committee drawn from her supervision of law students and from her experience in crafting legislative and public policy reforms. At the Practicing Law Institute’s 24th Annual Consumer Financial Services Institute, she presented Access to Justice as an Ethical Priority: Observations from the Consumer Debt Part, analyzing common practices of consumer debt courts under applicable standards of professional conduct.

{BORGEN}

{CAVANAGH}

“Contested Territory,” a chapter that Professor Christopher J. Borgen wrote for the Oxford Handbook of the International Law of Global Security, examines the uses of international law in resolving territorial disputes. Professor Borgen also spoke about various aspects of law and military space operations at online conferences organized by the U.S. Naval War College and by the University of Nebraska College of Law and presented a work-in-progress, concerning law and the governance of activities in space, at an authors’ roundtable for a forthcoming book on law and diplomacy co-edited by Professor Peggy McGuinness. As chairperson of the Arms Control Committee of the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA), Professor Borgen organized and moderated a panel on the regulation of emerging weapons technologies at the ABILA’s International Law Weekend Online Conference.

“Foreign Discovery under 28 USC Sec. 1782,” a paper by Professor Edward D. Cavanagh, appears in the Federal Courts Law Review, a peer-reviewed journal published by the federal judiciary.

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{DEGIROLAMI} Professor Marc O. DeGirolami’s article, “Reconstructing Malice in the Law of Punitive Damages,” was accepted for publication by the peer-reviewed Journal of Tort Law. His paper, “Establishment’s Political Priority to Free Exercise,” is forthcoming in the Notre Dame Law Review.

FACULTY FOCUS {EVANS}

{LAZARO}

Professor Sheldon A. Evans’ article, “Interest-Based Incorporation: A Statutory Story of Federalism, Delegation, and Democratic Design,” was accepted for publication in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. The paper continues his work exploring inefficiencies and moral dubiety when federal statutes incorporate state laws that have important policy implications across criminal law, immigration, property, and other areas. In “Pandora’s Loot Box,” forthcoming in the George Washington Law Review, Professor Evans expands on his interest in how emerging technology overlaps with criminal regulation in the underdeveloped legal study of virtual worlds. His earlier article, “Categorical Nonuniformity,” appears in the Columbia Law Review and was accepted for presentation at the prestigious Stanford/Harvard/Yale Junior Faculty Forum.

Professor Christine Lazaro presented to the Oregon Bar Association Securities Regulation Section on the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest.

She moderated a panel on Life Under Regulation Best Interest at the Public Investors Advocate Bar Association’s (PIABA) Annual Meeting.

Her article, “An Overview of the Regulation Best Interest Rule Package,” was included in the panel program materials and later published in the PIABA Bar Journal. At the annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools, Professor Lazaro presented on the panel Working in a New World—Employee and Worker Benefits Re-examined in a Time of Crisis and discussed a working paper that examines the regulation of IRAs, specifically when handled by securities brokers. She was also appointed recently to the Executive Committee for the AALS Section on Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation.

{GREENBERG} “Adding Value to Justice Reform Conversations,” a paper by Professor Elayne E. Greenberg, appears in the ABA Dispute Resolution Magazine. Professor Greenberg teamed with her St. John’s Law colleague, Professor Cheryl L. Wade, on “How Will We Celebrate?” a Jurist opinion piece reimagining a more truthful narrative about American racism. Together with Noam Ebner, Professor Greenberg penned “Strengthening Online Dispute Resolution Justice” for the Washington University Journal of Law & Policy and “Designing Binge-worthy Course: Pandemic Pleasures and Covid-19 Consequences,” which appears in the Negotiation Journal. Her article, “Unshackling Plea Bargaining from Racial Bias,” was published in the Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, while “Hey, Big Spender: Ethical Guidelines for Dispute Resolution Professionals When Parties are Backed by Third-Party Funders,” originally in the Arizona State Law Journal, was republished in the book Mandatory Disclosure Rules for Dispute Financing. Professor Greenberg’s follow-up article, “Please Ask, Please Tell: Disclosing Thirdparty Funding in Mediation,” appears in that same edition.

{KRISHNAKUMAR} Professor Anita S. Krishnakumar presented her article, “Statutory History,” virtually at the University of Southern California School of Law and at a statutory interpretation theory seminar at Yale Law School. The article, which is forthcoming in the Virginia Law Review, explores the U.S. Supreme Court’s practice of examining prior versions of a statute— i.e., earlier drafts of the bill that ultimately became law or the original version of a statute that has since been amended—to speculate about a statute’s meaning.

{MCGUINNESS} Professor Peggy McGuinness is co-editing the Research Handbook on Law and Diplomacy with Georgetown Law Professor David Stewart. Out later this year, the book brings together leading scholars and practitioners to address the central theme of the interdependence of diplomacy and international law. Professor McGuinness’s essay, “Congressional Enforcement of International Human Rights,” was published by the Fordham International Law Journal, and her article, “Human Rights Reporting as Human Rights Governance,” appears in the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. Professor McGuinness presented her paper, “The End of American Human Rights Exceptionalism,” at faculty workshops at Marquette Law School and the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law. She also coordinated this year’s Center for International and Comparative Law colloquium series, which brought leading scholars to campus virtually to discuss treaty interpretation, international human rights, and other timely topics related to international law.

{MONTANA} Professor Patricia Montana’s article, “The Power of a Positive Tweet,” appears in the Journal of Legal Writing. Her paper, “Getting It Right

by Writing it Wrong: Embracing Faulty Reasoning as a Teaching Tool,” co-authored with St. John’s Law Adjunct Professor Elyse Pepper, was accepted for publication in The Ohio Northern University Law Review.

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FACULTY FOCUS {MOVSESIAN}

{SHEFF}

Professor Mark Movsesian chaired a panel on religious organizations as part of an online international conference on Law, Religion, and Coronavirus in the United States: A Six-Month Assessment co-sponsored by the law and religion centers at BYU, Emory, St. John’s, and Villanova Law Schools. He participated in web panels on the war in the Caucasus, sponsored by the Philos Project and by St. John’s University, and moderated a Federalist Society panel on the new Supreme Court term. Professor Movsesian also spoke at a virtual roundtable on comparative law and religion at Lomonosov Moscow State University’s Law Faculty. Along with Professor DeGirolami, he inaugurated the Center for Law and Religion’s Student Reading Society, which considered Antigone and Augustine’s City of God. Professor Movsesian’s article, “Severability in Statutes and Contracts,” was cited by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch in his concurring opinion in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants.

“Jefferson’s Taper,” Professor Jeremy Sheff’s article on the philosophical underpinnings of the patent and copyright system, appears in the S.M.U. Law Review. His Seton Hall Law Review essay, “I Choose, You Decide: Structural Tools for Supreme Court Legitimation,” was selected for inclusion in a special Supreme Court Appointments issue of the Cardozo Law Review. Professor Sheff will also have four different book chapters published on philosophical, theoretical, and doctrinal issues in intellectual property law: “Philosophical Approaches to Intellectual Property Law Scholarship,” in Approaches and Methodologies in Intellectual Property Research (Oxford University Press); “Misappropriation-Based Trademark Liability in Comparative Perspective,” in The Cambridge Handbook of International and Comparative Trademark Law (Cambridge University Press); “Finding Dilution,” in the Research Handbook on Trademark Law Reform (Edward Elgar Press), and “University Brands as Geographical Indications,” in Academic Brands: Privatizing, Quantifying, Reforming And Transforming The University (Cambridge University Press).

{ROBERTS} The Academic Advisory Board of the Getting Scholarship into Court Project named Professor Anna Roberts’ Fordham Law Review article, “Convictions as Guilt,” a ‘must-read.’ Professor Roberts presented her forthcoming work, “Victims, Right?” at Brooklyn Law School’s Faculty Workshop and at a Law and Society Association panel that she organized.

Together with UConn School of Law Professor Julia Simon-Kerr, she designed a project to promote reform of the practice of prior conviction impeachment. They launched the project with a roundtable at the Law and Society Association’s annual conference. Professor Roberts has also been invited to present at a Brooklyn Law School conference on Rethinking the Role of the Victim in the Criminal Process.

{SALOMONE} Professor Rosemary C. Salomone participated in a panel discussion on Minorities, Equality & Divided Societies as part of the Global Summit sponsored by the International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism at the University of Texas School of Law. Her presentation on Transformative Constitutionalism: Education and Linguistic Rights in South Africa focused on the transformative vision of the South African Constitution and its role in three Constitutional Court rulings on language and race in South African society.

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{SOVERN} Professor Jeff Sovern published op-eds in the New York Daily News and at Bloomberg Law and was quoted in stories appearing in the Los Angeles Times and at Salon, Roll Call, and Bloomberg Law. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau quoted from one of his co-authored articles and cited another one in its new debt collection rule. Professor Sovern presented his paper, “Six Scandals: Why We Need Consumer Protection Laws Instead of Just Markets,” at the Berkeley Consumer Law Scholars Conference.

{SUBOTNIK} Professor Eva E. Subotnik’s forthcoming book chapter on visual art, copyright, and estates law has been accepted for the Second Annual Art Law Works-in-Progress Symposium.

{WADE} St. John’s Law co-hosted a virtual event celebrating the publication of Professor Cheryl L. Wade’s book, Predatory Lending and the Destruction of the African-American Dream (Cambridge University Press). Co-authored with University of British Columbia Law Professor Janis Sarra, the book examines the racial wealth gap that’s widening with the continued economic exploitation of African Americans through targeted predation, including predatory lending in the home mortgage context. The authors conclude by offering structural, systemic changes to address predatory practices.

FACULTY FOCUS IP LAW IN FOCUS Professors JEREMY SHEFF and EVA E. SUBOTNIK co-direct the Law School’s Intellectual Property Law Center, which presents its INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COLLOQUIUM annually. Colloquium students explore doctrinal, theoretical, and policy issues and hone their critical and analytical skills through deep engagement with leading legal scholarship.

This year’s Colloquium focused on the interaction of intellectual property law and issues of racial, gender, economic, and social justice.

READ ON Facilitated by Professors CHERYL L. WADE and SHELDON A. EVANS, the monthly FIRST FRIDAY BOOK CLUB challenges preconceived notions and inspires newfound depth in understanding as participants discuss books by African American authors that explore some of the most impactful issues of our time.

SPOTLIGHT ON NEW SCHOLARSHIP The Law School’s annual HON. EDWARD D. RE FACULTY WORKSHOP SERIES brings scholars from across the country together to discuss their current research and receive feedback on their works-in-progress from our faculty. Organized by Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship EVA E. SUBOTNIK, this year’s workshop series featured scholarship related to race, racism, and antiracism across a host of domains. The presenters focused on racial justice and racial empowerment issues— particularly those most affecting, experienced by, or relevant to Black Americans.

This year’s Book Club selections, in order, were: • Ellis Cose, The Rage of a Privileged Class: Why are Middle-Class Blacks Angry? Why Should America Care?

• Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Water Dancer • The Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry (Arnold Rampersad & Hilary Herbold, eds.)

• Chancellor Williams, Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race From 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D. • Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents • Janis Sarra & Cheryl L. Wade, Predatory Lending and the Destruction of the African-American Dream Interested in joining the Book Club in the fall?

Visit stjohns.edu/law/faculty/first-friday-book-club to learn more.

FOR MORE Visit our Faculty Scholarship Blog at stjlawfaculty.org.

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ADJUNCT SPOTLIGHT

PETER BERNBAUM Finds a Calling in the Classroom

I

n some ways, when New York shut down in 2020, it was business as usual for Peter Bernbaum. As a longtime corporate attorney, mediator, and hearing officer, he had maintained a home office for years, representing business entities and individuals in a wide variety of industries, including cable television, broadcasting, and new media. But the 20 pounds of snacks sitting in his garage told a different story of change and adaptation in the wake of the pandemic.

In a typical semester, stocked in a box at the front of the classroom, the warehouse club sweets and savories provide much-needed sustenance for the students Bernbaum teaches late in the day as an adjunct professor at St. John’s Law. “Building rapport and community with, and among, my students is a priority for me,” Professor Bernbaum says.

“The snack box certainly helps me do that. With the shift to remote teaching and learning, it’s now on sabbatical, and I’ve donated all the snacks to first responders.

While his snacks are on hiatus, as he has done for the past 10 years, Professor Bernbaum continues to tap his 45 years of experience in the field to guide and inspire St. John’s students in courses that include Drafting ADR Documents, Lawyering, Intensive Negotiation, and the Externship Seminar. “I always wanted to teach, but couldn’t find an opportunity,” he says. “Then, in 2010, I volunteered to judge a

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negotiation competition at the Law School. Afterwards, Professor Elayne Greenberg and former Professor Paul Kirgis asked if I’d be interested in developing and teaching a new dispute resolution course, and I jumped at the chance. With a lot of support from the Law School community, I was in front of my first class just a few months later.”

A highlight of his work at St. John’s, Professor Bernbaum shares, is collaborating with other faculty members and lawyers. “Every time I’m part of a teaching team, I learn new ideas, new methods of teaching, and new legal concepts and theories from my colleagues, who are exceptional, creative, and experienced scholars, educators and legal practitioners,” he says. “In response to student interest in handling ‘real world’ scenarios, I invite clients and professional negotiators to class to work with, negotiate with, and provide real-time feedback to students, who value their input tremendously.”

Professor Bernbaum’s students also benefit from their own close collaborations, even in this year’s virtual environment. “I try to give assignments that involve students working as teams to develop solutions to challenging legal and law practice problems,” Professor Bernbaum explains. “I also try to meet with each student by telephone or online during the semester. This gives me an opportunity to provide personal feedback on their work and discuss their career goals.”

Although he misses teaching in person, Professor Bernbaum is clear that he is exactly where he wants to be. “I couldn’t imagine anything better, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he says. “To me, teaching is a calling. Whether virtually or in person, if they’re sitting in a seat at St. John’s Law, my students are entitled to the best I have.”

Welcome

OLIVER W. COLBERT

Associate Director of Admissions & Diversity Initiatives

Furthering its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, the Law School recently welcomed Oliver Colbert to its full-time Admissions Office team as the first-ever Associate Director of Admissions & Diversity Initiatives.

A native of New York City born and raised in Brooklyn, Oliver currently resides in St. John’s home borough of Queens. He earned his undergraduate degree in Journalism from SUNY Buffalo State and a master’s in Higher Education Administration from Stony Brook University. As a college administrator for six years, Oliver’s work focused on supporting and developing students, specifically students of color from marginalized communities.

His favorite quote, from American novelist, playwright, essayist, poet, and activist James Baldwin, nicely captures the importance of Oliver’s work at St. John’s Law:

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

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THE PIVOT A Year of Resilience, Reckoning, and Reinvention

Over the past year, as the world faced a public health crisis unparalleled in recent history and the United States confronted, again and again, pervasive racism in its systems and structures, the St. John’s Law community came together. In a range of forums and formats, students, faculty, executive leadership, staff, and alumni pivoted to rethink, innovate, and evolve as individuals, as professionals, and as a Law School animated by the Vincentian question: What must be done?

The stories that follow offer a snapshot of this time of resilience, reckoning, and reinvention. They present in two parts: PART I, BEYOND INCLUSION, chronicles just some of the ways our community members are helping to make St. John’s Law not just an inclusive institution, but an actively and ardently antiracist one. PART II, PANDEMIC SHIFTS, shares stories about learning, teaching, and lawyering in the face of unprecedented challenges.

Together, these stories weave a narrative of unity, strength, and success. It’s also a narrative of adversity, and the Law School community’s response to it.

And it’s a narrative that’s still unfolding as the vital work of antiracism and the global pandemic go on.

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PART

I

BEYOND INCLUSION

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VITAL S N O I T A S R CONVE Dialogue Days Foster Growth and Change

SIX

years ago, the police-involved deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and Eric Garner in New York City put issues of anti-Black racism and state-sanctioned violence in the national spotlight. Looking to process their outrage and grief, a group of St. John’s Law students approached Dean Michael A. Simons and Professors Elaine M. Chiu and Rosa Castello ‘06 with an idea.

“They wanted to talk about it, and they wanted the Law School to talk about it,” says Professor Castello, who directs the Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights with Professor Chiu. “We got involved because of our roles with the Ron Brown Center, but it was more than just that. We wanted to help the students make this happen, to give them a space to talk and think about change. I wanted to talk, too, but I also wanted to listen to what the students had to say, to hear how they were hurting, and to understand their concerns.”

With this support, the first Dialogue Day was held at St. John’s Law in January 2015. After gathering in the Belson Moot Court Room for introductory remarks—which included the recitation of ground rules designed to create a safe space and judgment-free zone—students, faculty, and staff broke into small groups for facilitated conversations.

After the breakout sessions, everyone returned to the Mattone Family Atrium for fellowship and refreshments.

“It’s hard to talk about something you find uncomfortable, or that makes you feel attacked because you identify with a certain group,” says Leah Winfield ’17, who helped to organize that first Dialogue Day. “We wanted this community-wide conversation to be about perspective shifting. But it’s not just about holding others accountable. It’s also about looking inwards and examining ourselves. Honest self-

assessment is crucial because today’s St. John’s Law students will be the leaders of reform tomorrow.”

relationships between community members become deeper the more time they spend engaging in that way.”

Dialogue Day’s successful launch inspired Winfield and other students to start the Coalition for Social Justice which, together with the Ron Brown Center, has taken the lead in producing Dialogue Days annually across a range of timely topics, including:

Ashlyn Stone ’23 experienced that deep community connection as a 1L participating in her first Dialogue Day in the fall, when the Law School community gathered online to talk about election law and voter suppression. The topic, she says, had personal resonance. “I grew up in the South and always felt like my political beliefs were well within the minority. I had heard about voter suppression, but Dialogue Day opened my eyes to its full scope and impact.”

• • • • • • •

Immigration policy and reform Gender in America Free speech and its boundaries #MeToo Movement Climate change Inclusivity and diversity Sex trafficking and sex work

This past June, in the wake of the senseless killing of George Floyd, St. John’s Law students, faculty, and staff came together again, this time for a virtual Dialogue Day program about law, justice, and racism. Pharoah SuttonJackson ’21 was one of the lead facilitators of the event, which called participants to action with the prompt: No More Talking, What Are We Going to Do? That action included commitments from the Law School and many of its student groups to becoming actively and ardently antiracist in form and function.

Considering his own Dialogue Day experiences through the years, Sutton-Jackson sees how its unique format sets the event apart. “Dialogue Days aren’t like classrooms or offices, where certain power dynamics control the interaction,” he notes. “Ideally, professors don’t feel the need to teach and can allow themselves to learn. Ideally, administrators can participate and not feel the need to orchestrate. Ideally, students can express themselves without feeling the need to perform or impress. The

It didn’t take Stone long to act on that new awareness.

“A friend called me on Election Day when she was denied a provisional ballot in North Carolina, where she attends college,” she explains. “They asked her for documents that no one is required to provide in order to vote. I knew from attending Dialogue Day that the only recourse was to report the issue to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. So, I did. I was happy to play a small role in combating voter suppression and overjoyed that St. John’s gave me such practical experience to lean into.”

Reflecting on past Dialogue Days and looking forward to future ones, Professor Chiu says: “The greatest reward for me has been to witness the strength and the values of our students, to learn from their experiences and their voices, and to build a bond of respect and trust with them and among them. And I think the greatest reward for St. John’s Law has been its strong commitment to honest, genuine, inclusive, and respectful dialogue, and to that dialogue’s power to transform, to inspire, to teach, and to bring about positive change. While Dialogue Days don’t lead to instant solutions, participants learn to listen genuinely and to consider seriously other points of view.

Many come away with new thoughts and broadened mindsets, and that’s our goal here.”

SPRING 2021 l 13

THE CHANGEMAKERS Students Craft an Antiracism Agenda

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NO MORE TALKING. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? One statement. One question. Linked as a call to action, they brought close to 300 members of the St. John’s Law community together this past June for a virtual Dialogue Day organized by the student-run Coalition for Social Justice (CSJ) and Black Law Students Association (BLSA), along with co-sponsoring student organizations and the Law School’s Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights.

One by one, over three hours, student groups presented their commitments—events, petitions, fundraisers, committees, speakers, outreach, research, and more—to making St. John’s Law an actively antiracist institution and to combating racial injustice in its many forms. Those Dialogue Day pledges made in support of, and in solidarity with, the Law School’s Black students, faculty, staff, and alumni are now the pillars of an action plan that CSJ has memorialized in two publications.

In early September, it published the “St. John’s University School of Law Student Organization Commitment to Racial Justice and Solidarity with Marginalized Communities” (the Contract). The Contract documents the student organizations’ collective commitment to antiracism, articulated through a set of guiding principles and obligations, including organizational change. The Contract also shares each group’s year-to-year obligations and agreement to be held accountable for them.

The Contract’s publication was a meaningful milestone for BLSA President Jasmine Johnson ’21, whose email to her peers and the Law School’s administration sparked the idea for the June Dialogue Day. “I sent the message out of anger, frustration, and desperation,” she says. “I was upset that no one at St. John’s Law had addressed the death of George Floyd. I was upset that allies didn’t appear to be acting like allies to me.” Looking back at the event she helped to launch, and to the collaboration flowing from it, Johnson is heartened.

“As an aspiring lawyer, I’ve witnessed how my ability to advocate can create something bigger than myself,” she shares. “It’s inspiring. And humbling. The project is still growing and developing, and I’m excited to see what comes next.”

Those next steps included CSJ’s January 2021 publication of its multi-part “Full Report on the St. John’s University School of Law’s Anti-Racist Agenda Following the Racial Justice Reckoning of Summer 2020” (the Full Report). Chronicling the evolution of student organization activity from the June Dialogue Day to the start of the Fall 2020 semester, the Full Report reflects on the work done so far, comments on what needs improvement, projects what will come next, and provides a model for other law schools to follow.

Written and edited by CSJ’s Action Plan Committee—which includes Katie Helde ’21, Annalise Leonelli ’22, Ryan Minett ’22, Gabriela Morales ’22, Heidi Simpson ’21, Pharoah Sutton-Jackson ’21, and Jourden Taylor ’22—the Full Report isn’t a static document. Rather, it’s drafted to help advance the process of framing, implementing, monitoring, and evolving the Law School’s antiracism agenda. It also clarifies CSJ’s leading role in that fluid process, stating: “The mere existence and persistence of the Coalition for Social Justice itself is a recognition of and response to the fact that there is still much work

to be done. However, if there is regression, or specific identifiable impediments to continued progress, expect to hear from us.”

Considering her contributions to the Contract and Full Report, Heidi Simpson says, “It’s meant a lot to me to be involved in such innovative projects. The hard work of just a handful of students has spurred an institution-wide shift in discourse and behavior to create a better, more equitable, and just future. And I hope that the students who have stepped up and committed to antiracism at St. John’s Law will take that commitment with them after graduation and become antiracist lawyers.”

Jourden Taylor, whose stirring Memorandum of Support is an appendix to the Contract, is also hopeful that the two publications, and CSJ’s work more broadly, will make a difference. “In a time where ignorance and division plague our nation, our response as an institution was to tell our Black brothers and sisters: ‘We hear your pain,’” he says. “While we still have much of the work to do, I’m inspired by our ability to come together as a community. It brings me great pride that I played some role in inspiring others to join in this fight against racial injustice. Every step towards equality has required a catalyst, and it’s my hope that these publications can serve as the catalyst for real change at St. John’s Law.” As CSJ’s current president, and as a lead organizer and moderator of the June Dialogue Day, Pharoah Sutton-Jackson recognizes the collective effort that went into the two publications and sees continued collaboration as key to the antiracism work ahead.

“That’s what the Contract and Full Report represent to me,” he explains. “They signal the successful unification of the Law School’s affinity groups that so many students have desired, along with the unity of almost all the student organizations in general. And they’re a time stamp of our institution’s substantial step in an evolution that so many members of this community have advocated for tirelessly for a long time. I look forward to moving ahead, together, and will carry this formative experience with me when seeking justice as a lawyer in the coming years.”

The Contract and Full Report are posted on the Law School’s Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion website, which spotlights scholarships, programs, and other resources that St. John’s Law offers with the aim of building and sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive legal profession.

“The June Dialogue Day was the most inspiring event I’ve been involved with in my 22 years at St. John’s Law,” Dean Michael A. Simons says. “As I listened to the student leaders that night, their commitment to supporting their Black peers and to creating an antiracist teaching and learning community was very clear. It was also clear that the students know this is a process—one of identifying and reckoning with the many ways that anti-Black racism pervades legal institutions and legal structures. The Contract and Full Report show that our students are ready, willing, and able to do the hard work that this reckoning requires. The faculty, administration, and staff of St. John’s Law share that commitment. We’re in this together.”

To learn more about the Contract, the Full Report, and the ongoing work of diversity, equity, and inclusion at St. John’s Law, please visit stjohns.edu/law/dei. For more on the student-led Coalition for Social Justice, visit sjucsj.org.

SPRING 2021 l 15

open doors

Announcing the Jones Fellowship and Aequitas Scholarship ST. JOHN’S LAW is launching two important new initiatives to further its commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism: the Theodore T. Jones, Jr. Fellowship and the Aequitas Scholarship.

being actively antiracist. These two new initiatives reflect not just our dedication to diversity in the legal profession, but our commitment to be actively antiracist in pursuit of that goal.”

“Dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion is at the heart of our Law School’s mission,” says Dean Michael A. Simons.

“Our commitment to diversity is shared by the American Bar Association, the Association of American Law Schools, and almost every organization in the country.”

Established in honor of Hon. Theodore T. Jones, Jr. ’72, ’07HON, who built a thriving legal career that took him to the heights of public service on the New York State Court of Appeals, the Theodore T. Jones, Jr. Fellowship provides competitive Black applicants with support over and above their other generous merit scholarships (many of them full-tuition), including: books; a laptop computer and printer; a summer preparatory program; a 1L paid internship; funding to attend the National Black Law Students Association annual conference; as well as alumni, academic support, and professional development mentors. A fund of over $1 million, generated by gifts from alumni and friends, will provide fellowships for approximately 50 students over the next three years.

Yet, even with that shared commitment, underrepresentation in the legal profession persists, Dean Simons notes.

Current data illustrate the point. Although approximately 13 percent of the U.S. population is Black and approximately 12 percent of recent college graduates are Black, only seven percent of law students and five percent of lawyers are Black.

“Educating future lawyers who represent the society they will serve requires more than words and general statements of support,” Dean Simons says. “It requires action. It requires proactive and intentional steps to change the forces that allow inequality and systemic racism to persist. That is the essence of 16 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

“Judge Jones, who passed away in 2012, was a staunch advocate for justice, a dedicated public servant, a highly respected jurist, and a loyal St. John’s Law alumnus,” Dean Simons shares. “His commitment to diversifying the legal profession grew out

of his own experience as a trailblazing lawyer and judge. It’s only fitting that we recognize his life of service by naming this fellowship in his memory. The Theodore T. Jones Fellows, and the diversity they will add to the legal profession, will be a fitting legacy for Ted Jones.”

As a companion initiative, St. John’s Law has established the Aequitas Scholarship.

Named after the Latin concept of justice and fairness and the root of the modern English word “equity,” this scholarship is awarded to incoming students of color from underrepresented backgrounds. The new funding is in addition to financial support that the Law School’s Ron Brown Scholarship Program has long provided to students of color as well as numerous endowed diversity scholarships established by alumni and friends to build and sustain a more diverse and inclusive St. John’s Law. To learn more about the Jones Fellowship and Aequitas Scholarship, please visit the Law School’s Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion website at stjohns.edu/law/dei. For more information about funding or supporting a scholarship, please contact Brian J. Woods, Associate Dean for Law School Advancement, at brian.woods@stjohns.edu

Commitment IN ACTION

Alumni Establish a Student Scholarship for Black and Latino Men

W

hen the successful New York City lawyer and former NAACP Brooklyn chapter president Charles L. Kellar ’41 arrived in Nevada in 1959, the state had no Black attorneys. As an emissary of his NAACP colleague Thurgood Marshall, Kellar was on a mission to change that.

After passing the Nevada bar exam with an almost perfect score, he fought for five years to be admitted to practice and made his mark over a long career fighting for desegregation in the state’s gaming industry, public schools, and housing, among other efforts.

Kellar’s legacy as a pioneering civil rights lawyer and changemaker lives on at St. John’s Law through the Charles L. Kellar ’41 Scholarship, thanks to the generosity of a group of alumni who came together in 2018 to support Black and Latino male students in this meaningful way.

“The struggle for social justice has many heroes, and Charles L. Kellar is one of them,” says Michael Henry ’97, speaking for the group of Kellar Scholarship donors. “Inspired by the generosity of Hon. Reinaldo E. Rivera ’76, ’06HON and other distinguished Law School alumni who have funded student scholarships, we created this opportunity in the same spirit of being legacy-minded and helping others coming behind us to blaze their own trails.”

Entering its third year, the scholarship has already benefited two St. John’s Law students: Devin Fairrow ’20 and Michael Ofori ’21. With the primary goal of lowering the financial

barrier that often prevents students from considering, entering, or finishing law school, the initiative carries the commitment of an alumni group that continues to be a source of encouragement, advice, and career support to the scholarship recipients. Those generous donors now include Henry and: Ralph Carter ’14 Felix Chevalier ’97 Solomon Dailey ’00 Preston Demouchet ’11 Steve Fils-Aime ’13 Darryl Gibbs ’00 Alain Massena ’00 Reginald Rasch ’95 Hon. Kenneth Thompson, Jr. ’76 M. Quentin Williams ’91 “We’re all so deeply grateful for this opportunity to pay it forward for the next generation of diverse lawyers,” Henry says. “Structural and systemic racism have devastated communities of color, economically and otherwise. As a Vincentian institution, the Law School has a responsibility to be a part of the solution and to help rectify that harm. This scholarship is just one small example of what is possible when a community with a shared history, and shared stake in the present and the future, helps to empower historically disenfranchised persons and make opportunity, through education, more accessible.”

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PART

II

PANDEMIC SHIFTS

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A CLINIC STUDENT CHANGES A LIFE

As she walked into the Law School building in early March, Sam Gagnon ’21 experienced a bit of a time warp. About a year ago, as a student in the Law School’s in-house Child Advocacy Clinic, she was assigned to represent a young man who had fled his native Honduras as a victim of violence, poor living conditions, and parental neglect. She was tasked with helping him gain Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) so he could stay in the United States legally in his older brother’s care. Under the supervision of the Clinic’s director, Professor Jennifer Baum, Gagnon started preparing for the Special Findings Order hearing that was a first step in the SIJS process.

Then the pandemic hit.

“Everything came to a full stop,” Gagnon says about the court closures with the COVID-19 lockdown in and beyond New York City. “So, along with our client, we had no choice but to wait it out until the court re-opened for virtual business and called our case.” When that time finally arrived, Gagnon was ready to pick up where she had left off and advocate for a result that would change her client’s life.

“Preparing for a hearing like this involves a lot of moving parts, and the most significant one was helping my client and his brother practice direct examinations, so they knew what to expect at trial and so we could help them best tell their stories,” says Gagnon. Assisted by fellow St. John’s Law students who acted as Spanish interpreters, and guided by Professor Baum, Gagnon met virtually with her client and his brother three times in the week leading up to the hearing, for two to four hours each time. “The toughest part was going over some of the worst parts of my client’s life over and over again,” she shares. “It can be an emotionally draining experience on both sides of the camera.”

To ready the case, Gagnon also had to marshal a range of knowledge and skills honed at St. John’s Law. “As I mentored her, it was wonderful to see Sam pull together almost three years of law school classes to guide the clients through the procedure and laws of the hearing,” Professor Baum says. “She called on her

knowledge of civil procedure, legal writing, family law, children and the law, evidence, professional responsibility, and more.” Along with setting this legal foundation, Gagnon and Professor Baum took the time to reacquaint with their client on a personal level. “We talked about college, and soccer, and the child’s love of Long Island Chinese food, and the older brother’s dream of starting a community banking system one day,” Professor Baum says, adding, “I do believe Sam and I learned as much from these two young and hopeful new Americans as they did from us.”

As the virtual hearing date approached, Gagnon and Professor Baum decided that it would be best for the Clinic advocates, their client, and his brother to all be together physically in the same room for the proceeding. “In addition to the practical benefits of conducting our end of the hearing in person, it was profoundly normalizing to be together, while observing social distancing, for this litigation,” Professor Baum explains. “For me in particular, it felt like a sign that our students were carefully leading us back, little by little, to the world we all left behind before the pandemic.”

Gathered in a makeshift hearing room at the Law School, and connected virtually to the judge presiding in Nassau County Family Court, Gagnon was less nervous than she expected to be for her first court appearance. And she maintained her composure as she navigated technical glitches, issues with the court’s interpreter, and an unexpectedly truncated direct examination.

Afterwards, it took the judge just 10 minutes to render her decision granting the Clinic client SIJS. “Admittedly, it was disappointing to miss out on the opportunity to do full direct examinations, especially with the many hours of preparation we had all put in,” Gagnon says. “With all of this being said, the hearing was a success, and that is truly all we could have hoped for. It felt unbelievable going to bed that night knowing our client can sleep a little sounder with a bright future in the United States ahead of him. I’m humbled and grateful to have played a small role in it.”

SPRING 2021 l 19

Towards the end of November, Dean Michael A. Simons shared a message of gratitude with St. John’s Law faculty and staff. “Later tonight, we will conclude the in-person portion of our semester, which involved hundreds of students, taking over 60 different classes, taught by almost 60 different full-time and adjunct faculty,” he wrote, adding “And, of course, none of this would have worked if we didn’t also offer almost half of our classes online.” As Dean Simons noted, teaching and learning the law in this new normal “took a leap of faith.” It was also a leap of reinvention facilitated by a unique faculty collaboration.

Months earlier, as the public health crisis shuttered New York, Dean Simons convened the Law School’s new Online and Hybrid Learning Task Force to think through the challenges of teaching in remote and in-person environments, identify practices faculty could adopt, and develop actionable recommendations for the fall semester.

Co-chaired by Associate Dean for Library Services and Associate Professor of Legal Research Courtney Selby and Associate Dean for Experiential and Skills-Based Education and Professor of Legal Writing Rachel H. Smith , the Task Force included: • Renee Nicole Allen, Assistant Professor of Legal Writing • Jennifer Baum, Associate Professor of Clinical Legal Education • Catherine Baylin Duryea, Assistant Professor of Law • Robert A. Ruescher, Professor of Legal Writing • Eric Shannon, Adjunct Professor of Law and Senior Director of Student Services • Jeff Sovern, Professor of Law The group was a mix of junior faculty and senior faculty who teach a variety of courses at St. John’s—large 1L, large upper-level, skills, seminar, clinical, and writing. A few came with online teaching experience that predated the pandemic, and some had online learning experience.

“Each of us had knowledge and insights to share and so, so much to learn,” says Dean Selby. “We needed to have the opposite of a stuck mindset to move across multiple iterations of tools and platforms, and our work was better because we taught, and learned from, each other.

Perhaps most importantly, the task force was a relatively diverse and inclusive group, which allowed us to think about the challenges faced by a broad range of students and faculty.”

Working through the summer, the Task Force gathered input from colleagues and students, collected and reviewed resource materials, and coalesced around a set of ideas. The members then drafted recommendations to distribute before the start of the semester.

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“We decided to make general recommendations that would be useful to all faculty and specific recommendations for each type of class,” Dean Smith says. “Some suggestions deal with the nuts and bolts of teaching online, while others with how to accomplish broader goals.

We didn’t expect anyone to follow all our suggestions. Faculty could adopt and adapt them as they liked.”

Reflecting on her Task Force role, Professor Renee Allen says: “Being fairly new to St. John’s, collaborating with the group and the faculty at large provided opportunities for me to get to know my colleagues better, something that was cut short during my first year as a result of the pandemic.” The Task Force also had the benefit of Professor Allen’s experience as an online learner. “I recently completed an online master’s degree in educational psychology with a concentration on adult learning,” she explains. “The faculty used a combination of teaching methods—lecture, short videos, discussion boards, breakout rooms, group presentations—to keep us engaged. So, I felt pretty confident about my ability to ease any skepticism my colleagues had about online learning.”

Professor Allen also tapped that experience as she revised her courses to accommodate remote learning. “With so many COVID-related deaths and after the social unrest last summer, I was most concerned about my students’ physical and mental health as I approached the fall,” she shares. “I think I would have felt the same way if we were in person, but I tried to be mindful of what it’s like to start law school in a mostly remote environment. I was careful to provide opportunities for students to learn, and get the writing practice and feedback that’s essential to a legal writing course, while also getting to know me and each other.”

While Professor Allen and the other Task Force members crafted their recommendations with remote teaching and learning in mind, they knew that faculty teaching in person during the fall semester would also rely on the guidance. As part of its mandate, the Task Force explored options for teaching large 1L classes. Giving the new students a sense of belonging to a Law School community was a top priority, as was facilitating connection and collaboration.

Those priorities, the Task Force concluded, could best be met for 1L doctrinal courses using an in-person, co-located model. Each class would divide and meet in two separate rooms, one where the professor taught in person and the other where the lecture was livestreamed.

With the class meeting twice each week, the professor could switch rooms to give all the students an in-person learning experience.

A Faculty Collaboration Leads The Way As a Task Force member preparing to teach Civil Procedure in the fall, Professor Bob Ruescher took a lead in developing the co-located model. “Dean Simons understood that we had to bring our 1Ls into the building—to the fullest extent safely possible—so they could build a sense of identity as a class,” he says. “The co-located model did that. Even though they were in two different rooms, the students could interact with each other, respond to each other’s comments, and meet with the professor after class for follow-up questions. Most importantly, assembling together in classrooms helped them get to know each other better and bond.”

Looking back on a successful semester that saw his Task Force efforts realized, Professor Ruescher shares: “The best thing about my colocated class was the 1Ls themselves. They were upbeat and worked so hard, and they were totally onboard with the measures the Law School put in place to keep us all safe. They were an inspiration, and a lesson on how to adapt and thrive in difficult times.”

When he taught Contracts in the fall, Professor Christopher J. Borgen benefited from his colleague’s work on the co-located model and from the Task Force’s recommendations. “Their guides and checklists were invaluable,” he says, noting that co-location involves many technical details and procedures. “They turned a massive undertaking into manageable steps for me and my teaching fellows to follow. Like most things, practice led to facility, so by the end of the semester what seemed daunting at first had become second nature.”

The Task Force recommendations also helped Professor Borgen foster student connections at a time when they were especially needed.

“Students play an important role in teaching each other, and I wanted to facilitate those interactions as much as possible,” he explains. In addition to holding online office hours and encouraging students to form virtual study groups, Professor Borgen assigned them ungraded problem sets and suggested they collaborate by reading, revising, and discussing each other’s answers. “It’s important for students to see themselves as part of a learning community, and working through the problems together, after having tried to do so on their own, was meant, in part, to foster that sense of shared enterprise,” he says.

Student engagement was also a major concern for Professor Anna Roberts when she taught Torts online in the fall. But she found the Task Force’s recommendations to be a “tour de force” of practical advice. “I particularly appreciated their sample syllabus language on issues like attendance, participation, and technology,” she says. “That guidance was very welcome in an environment where many of us were

suddenly short on time because of childcare issues. If we liked the sample language, that was one fewer thing to have to spend time on.

The same went for their wonderful, step-by-step guide to launching and conducting an online class.”

Knowing that fully remote 1Ls missed the camaraderie that builds among classmates in person, Professor Roberts put a creative spin on Task Force tips. “Before our first class, I introduced myself in a short video message, and I asked the students to introduce themselves virtually by sharing three things they like, enjoy doing, or are inspired by,” she says. With that input, she divided the class into teams based on common interests and devoted the entire first class to team activities.

Professor Roberts kept the teams together as the semester went on, and she and her teaching assistants met with them online periodically.

“I wanted to make sure that no one was isolated, intellectually or emotionally,” she shares. “I always logged on 15 minutes before class and encouraged students to chat with each other and with me about how they were feeling and what was on their mind. I also regularly assigned small group work.”

While relying on the Task Force recommendations, Professor Roberts also turned to its co-chairs for help from time to time. “Courtney and Rachel consistently welcomed and resolved my questions, she says, admitting, “I’m detailed and persistent in my questioning—I was my teachers’ nightmare—and yet they were so patient and kind in response to every inquiry.” It’s a support role that the two co-chairs continue to play today.

“The switch to online teaching last year forced many of us to rethink how we engage with our students and with the material,” Dean Selby shares. Some of the new ideas that grew out of the Task Force collaboration work even better than methods we used in the past.

Trying new things together has given us a chance to enhance our teaching in ways I didn’t anticipate, and I know that my teaching has improved, and will continue to improve, from this experience.”

Deans Selby and Smith will report on the Task Force’s work in a forthcoming book chapter. In the meantime, Dean Smith is excited to see that work bear fruit. “The Task Force recommendations are part of a living document,” she says. “So many different minds are thinking together about all the ways we can use online tools and platforms to reinvent classroom teaching and learning at St. John’s Law. It’s great to be part of such an innovative faculty collaboration, and I can’t wait to see where it takes us next.”

SPRING 2021 l 21

JIM HERSCHLEIN

Navigate

Alumni

BRITTANY IRVING

J

New

the

ROBERT MOY

JESSICA PALMESE

Normal IM HERSCHLEIN ’85 remembers wondering, “What are we supposed to do?” If there was one thought, one question ricocheting through offices as the pandemic emptied them last year, that was it. But there wasn’t much time for thinking or questioning. Herschlein, the Co-Chair of Complex Litigation at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, along with St. John’s Law alumni in New York, across the country, and around the world, had to figure out how to navigate lawyering in the new normal.

“I had a very strong feeling of being in a play as it was being written,” Herschlein says. “Nobody knew what was to be done, or for that matter what next was to be done, or what conditions were next to be encountered. But we quickly realized we had to take action to serve our clients and—as importantly —to keep our lawyers and staff connected and engaged.” With his team, Herschlein reached out to see how clients were handling the pandemic professionally and personally and to discuss issues they were facing or anticipating. He also adjusted to an ever-changing court schedule as shutdown protocols delayed appearances and adjourned trials.

For Herschlein, and millions of other attorneys fortunate enough to have reliable access, technology facilitated the transition to working from home. “As much as I prefer being in person, and look forward to the day that returns more fully, the biggest surprise for me is how much you can get done with a laptop, a camera, and a strong Wi-Fi signal,” he says. “From video court proceedings, 22 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

to litigation department meetings via Zoom, to online CLE, as time went by, we got used to ‘Virtual Operating Status,’ as my firm refers to it.”

Even with the switch to virtual operations, Herschlein’s litigation practice remains robust. For one new matter, he successfully advocated for the Archdiocese of New York when New York City refused to fund COVID testing for Catholic school students. His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, recognized Herschlein’s victory during a service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. “It was quite an honor, which wouldn’t have happened other than for litigation arising from the pandemic,” says Herschlein.

With the shift to working from home, Irving did gain some new colleagues in the form of her two young children. “Sharing a work space with my elementary-aged child was a struggle,” she admits.

“Although his school did a fantastic job keeping him engaged, it was just difficult when he would be singing in music class and I needed to make a bail application or take testimony on a preliminary hearing in front of a judge. My three-year-old became lovingly known as my paralegal to some judges who were very understanding when he would interrupt. I often had to go into a bathroom or in the hallway of my building for quiet.”

Like Irving and Herschlein, ROBERT MOY ’88, a partner in the Tax, Trusts and Estates and Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions practice groups at Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP, has navigated professional and personal change during the pandemic. But it wasn’t the sudden shift to remote operations that surprised him. Rather, he couldn’t believe how quickly clients and colleagues made the jump to virtual business as usual.

Pandemic lawyering also came with an unexpected upside for BRITTANY (MOORE) IRVING ’10, a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Practice in Manhattan. “I have a new appreciation for digital record keeping,” she shares.

“I had a very paper-heavy practice. But with the pandemic, my office switched to email scheduling and I started to keep an electronic calendar, which is far more accessible than my print calendar book. Also, “While it was a big adjustment, my firm was wellequipped to handle the transition,” Moy says. “We since I no longer receive stacks of paper discovery, I had easy and ready access to a remote server, and now use a system of electronic organization, which effectively and seamlessly switched communications helps me share case information with my colleagues to personnel working remotely. Back in the office, more easily.” certain key personnel worked tirelessly on dayto-day administrative tasks to keep the firm fully Still, Irving says, the public health crisis created a operational.” Even with this support, pandemic number of challenges for her and her clients. “Our lawyering presented its difficulties for Moy, who had administrators were great about getting us the tools to gain some technical skills quickly. we need to work from home, but this pandemic exposed the disadvantages some clients face because “Perhaps my biggest personal challenge was learning they don’t have smartphones and can’t appear to use video conferencing services like Zoom and in court virtually,” she explains. “The internet is WebEx,” he says. “A large part of my practice inconsistent, or it’s too noisy and our clients can’t involves meeting with clients and potential clients in follow the proceeding, or hear me as I try to counsel person, and attending various networking and other them. I had clients who appeared in person and the functions in Manhattan and on Long Island. So, I courts turned them away. Some of these issues have had to pivot and start doing those activities online.” alleviated over time, but there’s still a concern for As he adjusted to his new virtual reality, Moy began people whose lives are on hold because they can’t to appreciate its benefits: notarizing documents for have their day in court.” a closing, witnessing a will signing, conferencing with clients across time zones—it was all so efficient Even when they do get that court day, Irving and and easy that he sees how some virtual practices her clients face some big obstacles. “The court might endure after in-person work resumes. buildings are old and lack proper ventilation,” she says. “So many people are required to be in a Moy also appreciates the lasting impact that courtroom at any one time that social distancing is this past year will have on him personally. “The impossible. It’s impossible to conduct trials in this pandemic has made me more appreciative of way.” Outside the courtroom, Irving misses the my relationships,” he says. “I’ve reached out on daily, face-to-face interactions with her Legal Aid Zoom to friends and family living in different colleagues. “We benefit so much from being able states and overseas who I haven’t spoken to in a to walk into each other’s offices,” she says. “Some while, something I’ll continue doing when we’re of our best legal work is done at the ‘water cooler’ no longer at a social distance. And I know many as we help each other think of creative ways to essential workers, and have several in the family. resolve cases, practice for jury trials, and flesh out I’m definitely thankful to them, and to all essential suppression issues.” workers, for what they do every day.”

This past year, the personal and professional have also converged in new and different ways for JESSICA PALMESE ’05. A trial attorney and supervisor in the New York City Law Department’s Labor & Employment Law Division, she was in the middle of a trial in Kings County Supreme Court when everything suddenly shut down. “It was definitely an experience I’ll never forget,” she recalls. “Trials are, at their core, about human connection. So, this was a major disruptor for me and my colleagues. But, as the weeks went on, and after all the technical glitches ironed out, we adjusted to meeting, and connecting, over computer screens. Whether in virtual brainstorming sessions or administrative hearings, just as we’ve learned to smile with our eyes, I think we’ve done a wonderful job preparing and engaging in alternative ways.”

Working from a home she shares with three young children and her husband, Ron Palmese ’03, the Senior VP and General Counsel at Shake Shack, requires some firm boundary setting, Palmese says.

“It can be so easy to lose the divide between work and home when you aren’t physically leaving to go into an office, but it’s so important for your own, and your family’s, wellbeing. We’ve had to be extra diligent about turning off our phones and computers.” She has also noticed a shift in people’s openness about their personal and family obligations. “Everyone is so much more transparent about commitments they are juggling alongside work, across all genders, situations and ages,” she notes.

As the vaccine rollout continues and many workers see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, Palmese thinks about the future of law practice in a reoriented world. “While the legal profession has traditionally required attorneys to report to an office for long days, I do believe there will be a realization that there are aspects of our work that can take place at home—or in a café. That said, I think our best work will still always take place in a room together, bouncing ideas off one another while digging through discovery looking for that smoking gun. I look forward to having those sessions again.”

Meanwhile, Palmese sees “a number of silver linings” in present times. “Despite its many challenges, this last year has made our family unit closer and stronger,” she says. “It’s made us learn to find entertainment at home and to slow down and enjoy the simple things like pizza night or puzzles.

Outside our four walls, this year has given us a renewed respect for our essential workers and for our families’ health and our professions as attorneys.

I sincerely hope and believe that this gratitude will stay with us through the years to come.”

SPRING 2021 l 23

ADVANCES

Bankruptcy LL.M. Alumni Thrive as Judicial Law Clerks and Practitioners This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Bankruptcy LL.M. program at St. John’s Law. In those two decades, it has built a reputation as the nation’s preeminent Master of Laws program devoted to bankruptcy and restructuring. As they pursue their degree full time and part time, St. John’s Bankruptcy LL.M. students gain the knowledge, skills, and experience they need to be leaders in the field.

Like many current and past Bankruptcy LL.M. students, Jennifer Schein ’21LL.M. handled some bankruptcy matters as a lawyer before starting at St. John’s. She was drawn to the “fastpaced, intricate, collaborative, and diverse” practice area and wanted to accrue more extensive, specialized knowledge. “I saw how cases handled in bankruptcy affect our everyday lives—from what we eat and how we get to work to how we treat our environment and what we do on the weekends,” Schein says. “Bankruptcy provides relief to individuals, as well as large corporations and municipalities, based on the

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wide variety of cases at the intersection of federal law, state law, and the code.”

Less than a year into her LL.M. studies, with the support of St. John’s faculty and administrators, Schein earned and began a judicial clerkship with Hon. Lisa Beckerman in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

“Judge Beckerman has been a leading practitioner, and I feel incredibly honored to be one of her first law clerks as she takes the bench,” Schein shares. “I’ve already learned so much through my clerkship, and I have no doubt

that I’ll grow my knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of the Court that will have an immeasurable effect on my career in the future.”

As she looks to that future, Schein finds inspiration in the career of Kristin Going ’02LL.M., a partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP who co-teaches Schein’s Business Bankruptcy Reorganizations class as an adjunct professor at St. John’s Law. Among the first Bankruptcy LL.M. students, Going was a few years out of law school and practicing at a creditor’s rights boutique when she realized that she wanted to

From Left: Jennifer Schein, Kristin Going, Ravi Vohra, Zach Latos, and Emil Khatchatourian

focus on large, complex Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.

“While St. John’s was the only program that offered the bankruptcy focus, I was also eager to learn from the adjunct faculty members—the stars of the New York bankruptcy practice—who gave me and my classmates firsthand accounts of the cases we were studying,” Going says. “At the time, my family and colleagues all thought I was crazy to leave a well-paying job to go back to school for a year. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. The knowledge we acquired in one year of the program would probably take at least 10 years to accumulate through practice.”

Today, Going taps that knowledge as she advises clients across industries in bankruptcy and restructuring matters. “It’s a very diverse practice, and I love the fact that we bankruptcy lawyers move between litigation and transactional issues on a daily basis,” she says. “I also enjoy sharing those practical insights with my St. John’s students.

It’s an opportunity to give the next generation of bankruptcy lawyers the leg up that I received from the LL.M. program.”

Going’s McDermott colleague, Ravi Vohra ’09C, ’13L, ’14LL.M., recognized the value of that ‘leg up’ early on. “By the time I was a 3L at St. John’s, I had already completed about half of the LL.M. curriculum,” says Vohra, who was an editor for the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review and associate director

for the Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition as a J.D. student.

“So it was a no-brainer to commit to another semester for a degree that, in my opinion, would give me the edge in a competitive field. I loved the expediency of it all. If you’re the type of student who fires on all cylinders, the LL.M. program is a perfect environment to absorb as much as you can as quickly as you can.”

Vohra also appreciated the opportunity to learn from acclaimed scholars, expert practitioners, and respected judges who bring their experience and expertise to a range of LL.M. courses, including: • Bankruptcy Tax • Bankruptcy Procedure • Consumer Bankruptcy • Business Bankruptcy Reorganization • Small Business Bankruptcy • International Bankruptcy • Bankruptcy Clerkship Seminar • Complex Bankruptcy Litigation • Valuation & Remedies in Bankruptcy “If you’re an employer looking for restructuring and bankruptcy associates, I don’t think there’s anything better than seeing 30 credits of bankruptcy coursework on a candidate’s resume,” Vohra notes.

That same depth of knowledge, he says, made him a standout clerkship candidate. “I was hired to clerk for Hon. Robert Mayer in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. I owe it all to the faculty and administration at St. John’s. They supported me every single step of the way, from

reviewing resumes and cover letters to conducting mock interviews.”

Zach Latos ’19L, ’20LL.M., who is clerking for Hon. Joseph N. Calloway in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, is equally grateful for the support he received at St. John’s. “When I was a J.D. student, Professor Ray Warner encouraged me to take bankruptcy courses and consider the LL.M. program,” he says. “I followed his advice, and was intrigued by the expansive nature of the practice, which would allow me to be a general practitioner in one sense, and a specialist in another.”

As he built his bankruptcy knowledge and skills at the Law School, Latos was guided by Associate Director of Career Development and Bankruptcy Counseling Laura Schwartz ’90.

“We met several times a week to discuss my career plans and strategize about right-fit clerkships,” he says of his work with Schwartz, adding, “To this day, she continues to mentor me, and I can’t thank her enough for that.”

Through the years, along with Latos, Vohra, and Schein, dozens of St. John’s Bankruptcy LL.M. students and graduates have secured selective judicial clerkships and positions at leading law firms with the help of the program’s faculty and administrators. That track record was just one of the things that brought Emil Khatchatourian ‘13LL.M. to St. John’s Law from California.

“I was excited that prominent bankruptcy judges and practitioners would be my professors and mentors,” he shares. “I also felt that moving to New York—arguably the epicenter of the bankruptcy and restructuring industry—would put me in the right environment to expand my professional network.” From the outset, Khatchatourian aimed to clerk for a bankruptcy judge after wrapping up his LL.M. coursework.

He found champions in and beyond the classroom at St. John’s.

“The faculty played a key role in introducing me to the right people within judicial circles,” he says. “In fact, I interviewed with Judge Chris Klein, who was visiting New York from California, in the chambers of one of my professors, Judge Elizabeth Stong. I’ll never forget the thrill of walking away from the Brooklyn courthouse with an offer to clerk in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California.”

In turn, Khatchatourian notes, his achievements as a law clerk made him that much more appealing as a candidate entering the ranks of a large law firm and sophisticated bankruptcy practice. Today, he is senior counsel at Foley & Lardner LLP in Chicago, where he lives with his wife and fellow LL.M. graduate, Natallie Santana ‘12LL.M., and their young son. “My LL.M. experience is a cornerstone of my success, personally and professionally,” he says. “My family got its start at St. John’s, and my LL.M. paved the way for me to have an enjoyable and enriching career in what is a truly dynamic practice area. I’m right where I want to be.”

SPRING 2021 l 25

TRADITIONS

THE NATION’S PREMIER BANKRUPTCY MOOT COURT COMPETITION GOES VIRTUAL

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Celebrating 2021 Duberstein Competition Winners

T

his past winter, over three days, law students on 34 teams came together from homespun courtrooms across the country and—along with 90 preliminary round judges and brief graders and 25 U.S. federal judges presiding over the advanced rounds—participated in the Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition.

Looking back on the virtual event as one of its organizers, Professor Christine Lazaro credits the longtime collaboration between St. John’s Law and the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI). “It was important to find a way to continue the Competition, and ABI, under the leadership of Executive Director Amy Quackenboss, was a true partner as we navigated the transition from an in-person to a virtual format,” she says.

“With their help, we were able to innovate in ways that will benefit the Competition for years to come.”

Named for distinguished St. John’s alumnus and former ABI Director Hon. Conrad B. Duberstein ’41, ’91HON, who passed away in 2005 at the age of 90, the annual Competition addresses two sophisticated, cutting-edge issues of bankruptcy law. The first issue this year was whether the debtor’s pre-bankruptcy arbitration agreement required submission of an automatic stay dispute to an arbitrator instead of the Bankruptcy Judge. The second issue focused on whether the stay termination provision for successive consumer filings applied only to property of the debtor or also terminated the stay with respect to estate property.

As the competitors explored the issues and developed their arguments, St. John’s and the ABI were hard at work reframing the Competition for its virtual debut on Zoom. They scaled the field back from 60 teams and eliminated some argument rounds to create a schedule that would work across time zones. They also converted to a fully electronic scoring system, anchored by an ABI-developed platform and Competition website, and set up virtual “lobbies” where competitors and judges could meet and interact between rounds.

“There is no way we could have pulled this off without the ABI’s staff and resources,” Professor Lazaro says. “They hosted each of the Zoom competition rooms, which also meant we had tech support in each room, while St. John’s Law ran the virtual lobbies.” Students from the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review (ABILR) and Moot Court Honor Society (MCHS), as well as Moot Court adviser Laura Schwartz ’90 and Professor G. Ray Warner, were also key members of the Law School’s Competition support team. Rounding out the all-hands-on effort was Paul R. Hage ’07LL.M., an alumnus of the Law School’s acclaimed Bankruptcy LL.M. program, who wrote this year’s Competition problem with Hon. John T. Gregg of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Mich.

Along with Hage, a number of other St. John’s Law alumni volunteered their time generously as Competition judges and graders.

“It was inspiring to work behind the scenes as the Competition was reimagined and see it play out in virtual time so successfully,” says Emily Gault ’21, the ABILR Executive Research Editor who prepared the judges’ bench memo and worked closely with them throughout the Competition. “I also appreciate the introduction I got to virtual lawyering, which will continue even after the pandemic subsides.”

Justin Henderson ’21, the MCHS’s Senior Director of the Duberstein Competition and an ABILR senior staff member, agrees that working on the virtual Competition was a formative experience. “I teamed with Dallas Park ’21, the MCHS’s Associate Duberstein Director, to revamp the Competition rules, create matchups for the Competition, and train and assign the virtual courtroom bailiffs,” he shares. “The entire MCHS really stepped up to give the competitors the same experience as prior, in person, competitions. And the competitors did an amazing job with their arguments and courtroom demeanor.”

For the final Competition round, the presiding panel of distinguished federal jurists included: • H on. Bernice B. Donald, U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Cir. • Hon. Barbara J. Houser, Chief Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Tex. • Hon. Cecilia Morris, Chief Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, S.D.N.Y. • Hon. Alan F. Trust, Chief Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, E.D.N.Y. Baylor Law School edged out the University of Texas School of Law to win the overall Competition. The winning team received a $5000 prize from the ABI Endowment Fund, which also provided the second-place team with a $3000 prize. The teams that tied for third place, Emory University School of Law and Mississippi College School of Law, split a $3000 prize. Individual and team awards were also given at the post-Competition ceremony.

“The Duberstein Competition is a wonderful opportunity for law students to be exposed to an area of the law that they may never have considered but for their participation this year,” says Judge Houser, who also serves as president of the ABI. “As someone who has now been involved in this field of law for over 40 years, first as a private practitioner and now as a judge, it requires the perfect blend of stand-up lawyer and sit-down lawyer skills. To have the opportunity to learn about it through this Competition and to meet many professionals who work in it while in law school is an extraordinarily unique experience.”

To learn more about the annual Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, please visit stjohns.edu/law/duberstein.

SPRING 2021 l 27

TRENDS

What I Learned in Twitter Purgatory

BY PROFESSOR KATE KLONICK

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One morning last week, around 7:30, I woke up, rolled over in bed, and reached for my phone to check my email. With one eye open, I quickly scrolled through listserv messages, faculty notices, and some junk and then I saw something that made me sit up, open both eyes, and smile: a message with the subject line “Your Twitter account has been suspended.”

For most people, having their account suspended from a social-media platform is not at all funny. Being cut off from Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube can cause real professional, logistical, and psychological harms: being cut off from business contacts, losing access to third-party sites, becoming unreachable by friends. In a time of quarantine and pandemic, when people are isolated from friends and loved ones for months at a time, access to online communities and conversations is more vital than ever.

But for better or worse, I’m not most users.

For the past five years I have researched and written about the rules that govern online speech and how they are enforced.

Though most of my research has focused on Facebook—I spent the last year embedded at the company with the team charged with building out a new external-appeals system for just this kind of problem—many of Twitter’s rules and policy rationales are similar.

The tweet that had landed me in social-media jail was one I’d sent the night before. I have been co-hosting a daily live-streamed show with Atlantic contributing writer Benjamin Wittes since the beginning of the pandemic, and our guest last Tuesday night had been the writer Molly Jong-Fast. In the midst of the show, she had had a sotto voce conversation with her spouse, who had reached on camera to try to take a plate away. Jong-Fast had jokingly responded, “If you take that I will kill you,” before turning back to the camera and smilingly saying, “Working at home is a delightful adventure.” Although her response was funny in the moment, my quotation of it in a tweet didn’t exactly capture the humor.

But I wasn’t suspended from Twitter for telling a bad joke. Because I’d included the words I will kill you, I was banned for violating Twitter’s rules about incitement to violence.

In the simple notification I received from the company, I could see a lot that many users probably couldn’t. Content that violates the rules of a social-media platform gets flagged in two ways: by other users reporting it or through algorithmic identification. After the recent shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin, social-media companies came under intense

scrutiny to take down posts and accounts that threatened or called for violence. In such a moment, Twitter can cast a wide net for potential infractions by using algorithms that also generate a large number of false positives—say, by flagging lots of postings that include the word kill.

Once a posting is flagged as potentially problematic speech, a human likely still has to review it—but that human is probably a contract worker at a call center–type facility outside the United States. That’s not necessarily a problem, but what counts as humor, satire, or political protest depends heavily on cultural context. In addition, many such centers have been shut down because of the pandemic, and the number of humans reviewing content has been dramatically reduced—making accurate content moderation even harder.

So an overly literal and aggressive AI likely flagged my speech, a human likely reviewed it and did not get the humor—understandable— and removed it. In normal times this would have meant just my tweet coming down, but these are not normal times. So my entire account was suspended. Right now, the public-relations cost for Twitter of keeping up an account that might be spreading violent propaganda is very high—and the downside to the company of suspending the average user is very low.

But I am in a better position than most users to potentially make trouble for the company. Not only do I study speech rules for a living, but I also talk to a lot of journalists about content moderation. Because of my professional focus, I also have an unusually high level of access to people at the company. Which is presumably why, less than an hour after suspending my account, the company reinstated it.

Despite all the shininess of new technology, so often getting suspended accounts or deleted posts restored works the good old-fashioned way: via influence, power, connections. It’s an unfair system that favors elites and disfavors the average user who doesn’t know someone at a technology company, or a government official, or someone with 100,000 followers. And because I disagree with that kind of special treatment, even though I had connections, I was resolved to wait out my appeal—a process that can take up to two weeks.

But a screengrab I had sent to a few friends of the suspension email from Twitter quickly made its way to someone internally at Twitter. Another friend tweeted out the image. Many users found the humor in a

“leading expert” on content moderation being banned for violating content rules and retweeted it. Twenty minutes later, my account was restored.

That’s what it’s like to be on the sweet side of the curve and have a bunch of privilege.

That’s also not how speech regulation should happen. By removing old gatekeepers and making self-publication possible, the internet has been a tremendous democratizing force, expanding both the freedom to speak and the potential audience. But not everything has changed. Many features of old-school cronyism and power imbalances have simply been reproduced online, and some problems— bullying, harassment, abuse, hate speech— have been made much worse.

If society is going to try to correct for the bad, we have to simultaneously try to build out the good. Doing this is not easy. Many people offer simplistic, reactionary opinions of and against Big Tech: “take down more news” or “create panels to judge truth” or “regulate tech companies” or “break tech companies up.” But these angry talking points don’t speak to how any of these policies would work, or how they would solve any problems in the long term. “I will kill you” is a threat, and it is a joke. Censorship and authoritarian surveillance are a real threat, and so are conspiracy theories, misinformation, and cult formation. That you cannot attempt to solve the problems on one side of the spectrum without worsening the issues on the other is exactly what makes online-speech regulation a hard problem, and one deserving of more deliberation than you can fit in 280 characters.

Professor Kate Klonick joined the Law School faculty in 2018. She teaches Property, Internet Law, and a seminar on Information Privacy and is a fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School. Her recent scholarship includes the Harvard Law Review article, “The New Governors,” and the Yale Law Journal article, “The Facebook Oversight Board: Creating an Independent Institution to Adjudicate Online Free Expression.”

©2020 Kate Klonick, as first published in The Atlantic.

SPRING 2021 l 29

CENTER PIECE

Center for Law & Religion P resents I ts F ifth B iennial C olloquium uring the Fall 2020 semester, the Law School’s Center for Law and Religion hosted its fifth biennial Colloquium in Law and Religion. Taught by the Center’s co-directors, Professors Marc O. DeGirolami and Mark L. Movsesian, the seminar course gives selected students an opportunity to study important issues in law and religion with prominent thinkers in the field.

Launching the Colloquium in 2012, Professors DeGirolami and Movsesian designed it as a series of workshops in which speakers present papers and cases addressing a variety of law and religion topics and perspectives. This year, Hon. Steven Menashi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit discussed some of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s leading law and religion cases. Professor Jed Atkins, who teaches in Duke University’s Classics Department, presented his work on ideas of religious freedom in Ancient Rome and, in another workshop, Notre Dame Law Professor Stephanie Barclay shared her work on a Coasean analysis of the idea of harm in the debate over religious accommodations.

The Colloquium series also featured Professor Paul Horwitz from the University of Alabama School of Law, who considered some of the claims about the conflict between “pagan” and Christian culture today in the work of Professor Steven Smith.

Professor Amy Sepinwall, who teaches in the Legal Studies and

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Business Ethics Department at the University of Pennsylvania, led a discussion of her paper on anti-discrimination law in the marketplace. And, during his workshop, Professor Carter Snead from Notre Dame Law School talked about his new book, What It Means To Be Human, which concerns the law and theoretical assumptions of modern bioethics.

Although planned as an in-person seminar, the Colloquium moved online this year due to COVID-19’s travel restrictions.

But the virtual format didn’t impact the enthusiasm or engagement of the students, who asked the speakers questions and offered their own insights and opinions on the issues.

“The Colloquium is a valuable course for our students on several fronts,” Professor DeGirolami says. “It exposes them to some of the leading scholarship on an important and controversial set of subjects. And it allows them to hone their skills in careful reading and clear expression—skills that will be very important to them in practice, whatever area they specialize in. It’s a course that compels them to test their ideas in conversations with scholars who have studied these issues very deeply.” Professor Movsesian adds, “It’s always a great pleasure to watch the students in the Colloquium grow in skill and confidence over the course of the semester. They really rise to the challenge.”

Looking back on the unique experience, Center for Law and Religion Student Fellow Catherine Mapelli ’21 shares that participating in the Fall 2020 Colloquium was a highlight of her time at St. John’s Law. “The colloquium was a really rewarding class, and unlike any other seminar I’ve taken during law school,” she says. “It was a phenomenal opportunity to speak directly with judges and scholars, engage with my peers about timely and interesting subjects, and receive consistent, helpful feedback on writing assignments from the professors.

I would highly recommend the colloquium to any second- or third-year student.”

Established in 2010, the Center for Law and Religion at St. John’s Law provides a forum for the study of law and religion from domestic, international, and comparative perspectives.

Its podcast series, Legal Spirits, offers commentary on law and religion stories of contemporary interest. The Center also hosts academic conferences, public events, and a regularly updated blog, the Law and Religion Forum. For more information, please contact Professor DeGirolami at marc.degirolami@stjohns.edu and Professor Movsesian at mark.movsesian@stjohns.edu.

ON DIRECT

Senior Director of Student Services Eric Shannon

went out the window and students developed needs on a scale and frequency not seen before.

Having so much to do was a distraction from my own worries about the pandemic and the quickly changing world. Then again, so much of my work was about the effects of the pandemic that it was impossible to block it out at times.

Ultimately, taking this role on at this unique moment forced me to practice what I preach.

I had to re-evaluate my work-life boundaries. I even learned mindfulness meditation, though it’s still not part of my daily routine.

TA: What do you see as the common thread weaving through your past and present roles at St. John’s Law?

After serving in the shared role of Acting Dean of Students and, before that, working with students as part of the Career Development Office team, Eric Shannon was named the Law School’s Senior Director of Student Services this past summer.

Shannon came to St. John’s in 2018 from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, where he was an associate in the Litigation Group. He is a graduate of Cornell University, Fordham’s Graduate School of Education, and NYU School of Law. Before law school, he taught high school biology through Teach for America.

ES: There are many common threads, but the biggest one is that every day I feel as though I’m helping students navigate their individual pathways to becoming legal professionals.

I have so much respect for legal advocates, and for the genuine power and privilege of a legal education. I’ve always been fascinated by people, too—by their aspirations, by what motivates them, and by what unique perspective they bring to the table.

TA: What do you most enjoy about your work in Student Services?

The Office of Student Services provides vital support to St. John’s Law students that, with the public health crisis, has become even more vital. Here, Shannon talks to Associate Dean for External Relations Trent Anderson about his work overseeing the academic, intellectual, psychological, and personal aspects of student life.

ES: I really enjoy getting to know our students and helping them achieve their professional goals.

Connecting with our students, and being a part of this chapter of their lives, is a unique privilege.

I remember teachers, advisors, and counselors who helped me at different points in my life, and I hold them in high esteem. Part of my job is having to deliver less-than-happy news to students. But even on these more personally challenging days, I remind myself that how I go about doing this work can make a difference. To do this while telegraphing empathy and compassion is also an opportunity to make an impact.

TA: What was it like to start in Student Services as the pandemic was having such a sweeping impact?

TA: How has Student Services adapted to meet the needs of students who are engaging with the Law School remotely?

ES: It was extremely challenging, but also tremendously rewarding. Despite having been at St. John’s for over two years, I was humbled by how much I didn’t know about Law School operations. And then, right at the same time, ‘standard operating procedure’ in many ways

ES: I’m proud of the many ways that my colleague, Student Services Coordinator Zach Piper, and I have re-visited programming and student engagement to meet the needs of our remote students. We enjoy an extremely collaborative relationship with the other

student-facing administrators and deans. At the start of the academic year, we sent welcome packages to all remote 1Ls to remind them that, wherever they are, they’re part of the St. John’s Law community. We also prioritized regular check-in phone calls and created a virtual wellness resource list that grew into our monthly Wellness Newsletter. This fall, we provided a quiet, secure location at the Law School where our graduates could take the bar exam. And, together with our Student Bar Association and student groups, we’re always looking for new ways to connect with students and connect them with one another.

TA: Over the summer, you gave students a virtual tour of your house plants as part of the Pizza Socials program series. Why are programs like that so important?

ES: These programs really help students who are struggling with feeling isolated, as we all are to varying degrees right now. They allow students to experience an intimate, low-stakes, non-academic event hosted by faculty and administrators. For mine, I got to talk about something I’m passionate about and to literally, albeit virtually, invite 20 students into my home for an evening. We laughed and shared stories about successes and failures and just spent time with one another. It was great.

TA: During this challenging time, our alumni have given generously to the Law School’s Student Emergency Fund and Student Opportunity Fund. Is there ongoing student need that our alumni can help meet?

ES: Absolutely. To anyone reading this who has already contributed to either of these efforts: Thank you! Your contributions make a big difference in our students’ lives. I’ve been proud to serve on the Law Student Emergency Fund Committee since its launch in Spring 2020.

The Fund makes it possible for us to quickly and directly help students facing unanticipated emergency financial need. We’ve worked to help students who suddenly lost employment, who experienced injuries or medical emergencies, and who find themselves in unsafe situations. I can’t tell you how many students have expressed both sincere gratitude for this support and a desire to give back down the road when they’re able to.

SPRING 2021 l 31

LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT

ALUMNAE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL LAUNCHES When Rose F. DiMartino ’81 graduated from St. John’s Law and started at Willkie Farr & Gallagher 40 years ago, there was just one female partner at the prestigious New York City law firm. And there were no onsite programs to support women attorneys. So DiMartino found camaraderie and community through a social group called “Women of Willkie” that met regularly off site.

at Brown Rudnick. 3Ls Willow Stowe and Sam Gagnon, president and vice-president of the Women’s Law Society, respectively, marshalled student input.

“It was great to be around other women trying to make it at the firm,” says DiMartino, who retired recently as a partner at Willkie, having built a successful asset management practice there over 37 years. “But it was still a lonely path. I could have used a forum to learn from others about things like the importance of getting credit for my contributions and how to understand the culture of the firm and make it work for me.”

With this insight into the unique challenges that women face in their legal careers, DiMartino was happy to help when Dean Michael A. Simons and Associate Dean for Law School Advancement Brian J. Woods came to her with the idea of forming an Alumnae Leadership Council at St. John’s Law. “They were looking for a person to take the idea forward,” she recalls. “I had strong views on the headwinds I and many women face in law and was willing, with the Law School’s support, to work with other alumnae to build a supportive community. Brian was instrumental in identifying a group of women who might be interested in being a part of this initiative and we were up and running.”

To frame out the Council’s agenda, the alumnae teamed with the Law School’s student-run Women’s Law Society. “I was so impressed with what the students had been doing and thought that this new initiative could be helpful to them in their transition to practice after graduation and beyond,” DiMartino says. After surveys and discussions revealed that students and alumnae alike were seeking mentors, the Council prioritized that support by creating its Mentoring Circles program.

Like all aspects of the Council’s rollout, designing Mentoring Circles as a series of six sessions for up to 60 mentees and 18 mentors was a collaborative effort. Alumnae taking the lead included Elisa Garcia ’85, Macy’s chief legal officer, Andrea Alonso ’78C, ’81L, managing partner at Morris Duffy Alonso & Faley, and Danielle D’Aquilla ’12, partner 32 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

The Mentoring Circles, which began in April, have covered a range of topics, including: • Owning Your Professional and Leadership Development • Networking • Having a Life and Family While Practicing Law • Executive Presence

For Stowe, collaborating on this initiative over the past year has been a formative experience. “The Council has been an invaluable resource, providing advice while listening and internalizing student opinions and perspectives,” she says. “The Mentoring Circles provide an amazing opportunity for members of the Women’s Law Society and other students—who are often nervous about entering the legal field and unaware of what they don’t know—to ask questions and form lasting mentorship relationships. I’m excited to participate myself as we create this community of powerful St. John’s Law women.”

As she looks forward to the group’s activities, DiMartino sees an expansive future for the Alumnae Leadership Council in partnership with the Women’s Law Society, other student groups at the Law School—many of which are women-led—faculty, administrators, and St. John’s Law Alumni Association chapters.

“Our goal is, over time, to develop a vibrant network of young alumnae, mid-career alumnae, and senior professionals who connect with each other and with current students, sharing their multi-varied and prodigious talents and skills,” DiMartino says, noting that today’s law school classes are about 50 percent female. “As the Council offers support, education, and community, alumnae and students will build on their great St. John’s Law education and help one another grow into the leaders they are capable of becoming.”

To learn more about the Alumnae Leadership Council and opportunities to participate in, and support, its work, please contact Kala Andrews Giddish at andrewsk@stjohns.edu.

LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT

MAKING HISTORY Michelle Johnson ’05 Leads the Law School Alumni Association

T

to get their insight. Ultimately, I realized I could offer a diverse perspective and a fresh set of eyes and ears that could be leveraged to create a great synergy. With that possibility, my only option was to say ‘yes’.”

Satterfield ’77, ‘05HON. “Watching Judge Satterfield and her service to St. John’s when I was a student was a key factor in my decision to become as involved with the Law School as I’ve become,” Johnson explains.

“I started with contact information for seven alumni,” Johnson says. “From that core group, in less than a year, we grew quickly and, today, we have over 50 members who practice in the sports, entertainment, and intellectual property arenas. There is so much individual and collective insight and wisdom to be shared, and I enjoy facilitating that exchange for the benefit of our industry, our profession, and our alma mater.”

Johnson began her leadership term at a pivotal time, in the midst of a pandemic and as the Law School continued to examine, reframe, and reaffirm its commitment to being an actively antiracist institution. “I stand on a path paved by the great accomplishments, hard work, and contributions of many esteemed Black St. John’s alumni, Johnson notes. “It’s meaningful to personify the Law School in its evolution as an antiracist institution. Still, I‘m very clear that it will take much more than can be accomplished during my term to make the tangible, permanent progress we’re all hoping to finally achieve.”

Leading by example is also a priority for Johnson. She worked with alumni, faculty, and administrators to present A Letter to My Younger Self, a cross-functional dialogue with St. John’s Law students about navigating bias and discrimination encountered on their career path. And, in the fall, she took the host seat for an episode of the Law Matters webcast, interviewing Dean Michael A. Simons about the start of the academic year and the unique challenges that came with it.

he idea came to Michelle Johnson five years ago. About a decade into a successful career as an entertainment lawyer working across broadcast and digital media, she wanted to connect with other St. John’s Law alumni in the field.

Her experience with that practice affinity group, coupled with her deep commitment to supporting St. John’s Law, made Johnson a natural choice to lead the Law School Alumni Association. She assumed the oneyear role over the summer, becoming the first Black woman to guide the organization and its global membership as president.

“I was incredibly nervous when first I got the offer,” says Johnson. “But I spoke to a number of people I respect—long-standing Alumni Association members with a track record of dedicated service to St. John’s—

As she contributes to that progress, Johnson draws inspiration from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book about Abraham Lincoln, Team of Rivals, which underscores the importance of reaching out, listening, and asking questions. “That’s what I did with our alumni and student bodies,” Johnson says. “I connected with them to figure out where and how I could be most impactful.”

She also reconnected with alumni who had mentored her, including Hon. Patricia P.

Now more than midway through her presidency, Johnson relishes the opportunity to help the Alumni Association build connections to, and pride in, alma mater through its many activities, including chapter events and programs. “The camaraderie and wealth of knowledge and experience that exists within the St. John’s Law Alumni Association is in an elite class all its own,” she says. “I’m delighted to play a part in amplifying the notable contributions our members have made in and outside of the legal profession.

It’s truly an honor.”

SPRING 2021 l 33

CLASS NOTES

’51

Justin L. Vigdor, who is of counsel to Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC, was named to the 2020 Best Lawyers in America list for corporate law.

’58

William Croutier was honored at the 57th annual St. Agnes Parish Celebration, Hoop it Up, in recognition for his service to the community and St. Agnes Parish.

’61

Hon. Joseph W. Bellacosa ’87HON published two biography reviews in the New York Law Journal. In May he reviewed Arnold A. Offner’s book, Hubert Humphrey: The Conscience of the Country, and, in June, he reviewed Stephen Budiansky’s Oliver Wendell Holmes: A Life in War, Law and Ideas.

Judge Bellacosa also authored the New York Law Journal commentary “A Bird’s Eye View of John Roberts’ Institutional Integrity.” His article, “Overhauling New York’s Trial Courts – Chief Judge DiFiore and the Lesson of History,” appeared in the New York State Bar Association Journal, as did his review of Joan Biskupic’s book, The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice Roberts.

’66

Charles Wroblewski received the Town of Hempstead Hometown Hero Award, which is presented to “brave residents who have demonstrated exemplary service to the community.”

He is also the recipient of the

34 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

2020 Humanitarian Service Award presented by the Former Agents of the FBI Foundation.

’67

John (Jack) Barnosky, a partner in the estate and litigation practice group at Farrell Fritz, P.C., was named to the 2020 and 2021 Best Lawyers in America lists and to Super Lawyers’ 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list.

The New York State Court of Appeals has appointed Hon. Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick ’03HON as chair of the State Board of Law Examiners, which prepares and administers the bar examination for admission of attorneys. Justice Ciparick is co-chair of the national appellate practice group at Greenberg Traurig, LLP and previously served as a judge of the New York State Court of Appeals.

She spent 34 years on the bench, the last 19 on New York’s highest court.

’69

Marquis Who’s Who, the world’s premier publisher of biographical profiles, presented Thomas Michael Laquercia with its Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. The founding attorney and the chief executive officer of Laquercia, LLP, Laquercia is a sought-after trial lawyer who provides representation for insurance carriers, businesses, and individuals.

’70

Donald T. DeCarlo co-authored Workplace Stress: Past, Present and Future with Pittsburg Law Professor David Torrey. The book examines current stressors that may result in workers compensation and other state and federal claims, including those pursued by first responders.

The authors also review studies and surveys related to stress causes and results along with solutions used by individuals and businesses to prevent or control stress and related claims.

Lawrence M. Kaye, co-chair of Herrick’s art law group, presented a program on Recovering Nazi-Looted Art as part of the Museum of Jewish Heritage’s special exhibition: Auschwitz: Not Long Ago. Not Far Away.

Best Lawyers in America named Terry O’Neil a 2020 Lawyer of the Year for employment law– management. O’Neill, who is a member at Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC, was also included in Super Lawyers’ 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list.

’71

Anthony P. Gentile received the New York City Trial Lawyers Alliance’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization’s 85th Annual Banquet.

’74

Frank Amoroso published his ninth book, Korea Forgotten Sacrifice, just in time for the 70th anniversary of the Korean War.

’75

Dick O’Connell is the principal at NewGate Retail Advisors, which provides personalized, full-scope real estate advisory and implementation services to specialty retailers.

’76

Ronald A. Fatoullah, a partner at Ronald Fatoullah & Associates, has been named to the 2021 Best Lawyers in America list. He focuses his practice on elder law, litigation, and trusts & estates.

Paul Pfingst, a partner at Higgs Fletcher & Mack (HFM), has become a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in North America.

Before rejoining HFM, he served as the San Diego County District Attorney, earning the coveted William French Smith Award for outstanding contributions to law enforcement from the United States Attorney General.

’77

Edward C. Radin, a member at Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC, has been named to the 2020 Best Lawyers in America list and was included in Super Lawyers’ 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list for estates and probate.

Charles M. Strain, a partner in the corporate law practice group at Farrell Fritz, P.C., was named to the 2020 and 2021 Best Lawyers in America lists.

CLASS NOTES

’78

Erica B. Garay, founder of Garay ADR Services, has been appointed to the DENY ADR Advisory Council for a 2–year term.

Lauren Wachtler, a partner in the commercial litigation practice group at Barclay Daman Law, received the New York State Bar Association Commercial & Federal Litigation Section’s prestigious Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin Award for Excellence in the Courtroom. The Section presents the award to women litigators who have distinguished themselves in New York’s federal and state courts and who have shown a commitment to mentoring young attorneys.

’79

Lamb & Barnosky, LLP partner Eugene Barnosky was named to Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers list for schools and education.

Michael E. Ferdman, a partner at Barclay Damon LLP, was selected to Buffalo Business First’s 2019 Legal Elite of Western New York list. He was also included in Super Lawyers’ 2020 Upstate New York Super Lawyers list.

Super Lawyers named Anthony R. Gambardella to its 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list. He is a partner in the insurance coverage practice group at Rivkin Radler LLP. L’Abbate, Balkan, Colavita & Contini, LLP partner Marian C. Rice, who focuses her practice on the representation of attorneys and risk management for lawyers, was named to Super Lawyers’ 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list.

Ernest R. Stolzer, a member at Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC, was selected to the 2020 Best Lawyers in America list.

Jon Zuckerman has joined Lee NYC as the firm’s chief operating officer.

’80

Alan J. Schwartz, principal and managing attorney of the Law Offices of Alan J. Schwartz, PC, has been elected as a board member of Long Island Community Chest, an on-going fund to provide immediate, short-term financial support to needy individuals and families on Long Island.

’81

Charlotte Biblow, a partner in the environmental practice group at Farrell Fritz, P.C., was named to the Super Lawyers’ 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list.

Paul Feiner was re-elected Greenburgh Town Supervisor for his 15th term. He is now the longest– serving chief elected official in Westchester County, and will be the longest– serving Town Supervisor in Greenburgh’s history.

Hon. Maureen T. Liccione is a judge presiding in the New York State Court of Claims.

’82

Stuart I. Gordon, a partner in the bankruptcy and corporate law practice group at Rivkin Radler LLP, was named to Super Lawyers’ 2019 and 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers lists.

’83

Practitioner and adjunct professor Anthony M. Sabino has been elected dean of the Nassau Academy of Law, the Continuing Legal Education arm of the Nassau County Bar Association.

Robert Spolzino has joined Abrams, Fensterman, Fensterman, Eisman, Formato, Ferrara, Wolf & Carone, LLP as a partner in the firm’s White Plains office.

Joseph Trotti, a partner at Vishnick McGovern Milizio, LLP and head of the firm’s matrimonial and family law practice, was featured on News 12’s “The New Normal” segment, discussing schools reopening after the COVID-19 lockdown.

’84

Harriett Schleifer has been elected president of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the leading global Jewish advocacy organization. She is the first woman to head AJC since its founding in 1906.

Brooklyn Defender Services Executive Director Lisa Schreibersdorf was honored at the 2019 Brooklyn Bar Association Foundation Annual Dinner.

John V. Terrana is Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP’s co-managing partner and chairs the firm’s tax certiorari practice group. He was named to Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers list.

After a long career in private practice and as a senior vice president and senior managing counsel at State Street Bank and Trust Company in Boston, Mary Moran Zeven has been named director of the graduate program in banking and financial law at Boston University School of Law.

’85

David Cassidy is a partner at Pillinger Miller Tarallo, LLP specializing in commercial litigation, environmental and toxic torts, and insurance coverage.

Hon. Deborah A. Kaplan, Administrative Judge, New York County Supreme Court, Civil Term, has been appointed co-chair of the New York State Justice Task Force, where she works alongside co-chair and fellow St. John’s Law alumna Hon. Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick ’67, ’03HON. Evan H. Krinick, a partner in the insurance coverage practice group at Rivkin Radler LLP, was named to Super Lawyers’ 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list.

Farrell Fritz, P.C. partner John McEntee, who works in the firm’s commercial litigation practice group, was named to Super Lawyers’ 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list.

Knobbe Martens partner Joseph Re, a trial and appellate attorney with a national reputation for winning high-stakes patent and trademark cases, is the 2020-2021 president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association.

Super Lawyers selected Rivkin Radler LLP partner Pia E. Riverso to its 2019 and 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers lists. She is a partner in the firm’s commercial litigation practice group.

’86

Alfred C. Cerullo, III, president of Grand Central Partnership, was named to City & State’s Staten Island Power 100 list and 2020 Responsible 100 list.

SPRING 2021 l 35

CLASS NOTES Alan C. Eagle, a partner in the insurance coverage practice group at Rivkin Radler LLP, was named to Super Lawyers’ 2019 and 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers lists for insurance coverage.

Louise Ann Kelleher, an arbitrator and consultant, has established LAKelleher, LLC.

’87

Greenberg Traurig, LLP shareholder Kenneth A. Gerasimovich is the recipient of Lawyers Alliance for New York’s Cornerstone Award.

James C. Ricca, a partner at Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP, a member of the firm’s real estate law group, and cochair of its banking law group, was selected to Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers list.

law. Blake was also selected to Super Lawyers’ 2019 Massachusetts Super Lawyers list.

Nicholas M. Cardascia has joined Cullen and Dykman LLP as a partner in the firm’s general, tort and insurance litigation department.

Catherine A. Diviney has been selected for inclusion in the 2020 Best Lawyers in America list. She is a partner in the health care practice at Hancock Estabrook, LLP and a member of the firm’s executive committee.

Michael E. Jones has rejoined Barry McTiernan & Moore LLC, where he handles general liability matters, including premises liability, construction site accidents, motor vehicle accidents, and workplace accidents.

Robert J. Lally has joined Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP as a partner in the firm’s construction law practice group.

Robert E. Sandler, a partner in the real estate practice group at Farrell Fritz, P.C., has been named to the 2020 and 2021 Best Lawyers in America lists.

Eric Kramer, a partner in the trusts and estates practice group at Farrell Fritz, P.C., was named to Super Lawyers’ 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list.

Best Lawyers in America named Blume Forte, Fried, Zerres & Molinari principal Michael B. Zerres a 2019 Plaintiff’s Products Liability Lawyer of the Year for the Newark Metro Area.

Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP partner Patrick McCormick has been elected Treasurer of the Suffolk County Bar Association.

’88

Merril Biscone, senior counsel in appeals practice group at Rivkin Radler LLP, was named to Super Lawyers’ 2019 and 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers lists for appellate practice.

Dan Blake has joined Barclay Damon LLP as a partner. His practice concentrates on employment and business litigation as well as employment counseling and labor

36 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

Linda Oliva has joined Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C., where her practice focuses on medical negligence.

Paul Pennock has joined Morgan & Morgan as a partner in the firm’s mass torts practice group, where he will lead litigation strategy.

’89

Lorraine Stacknowitz Boss has joined Forchelli Deegan Terrana, LLP as a partner in the firm’s tax, trusts & estates practice group.

Robert Cote is CEO of Cote Capital, which provides investors and entrepreneurs with a new way of investing in emerging companies.

Hon. Andrew A. Crecca has been appointed the administrative judge for the Suffolk County Courts. In that role, he supervises 80 judges and about 900 employees.

Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP partner Daniel Deegan was selected as a Long Island Business News 2020 Long Island Business Hall of Fame inductee for his commitment to excellence. He was also included in Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers list.

Hon. Nestor Diaz was elected to serve as a New York City Civil Court Judge.

Paul Ferrillo has joined McDermott Will & Emery as a partner in the firm’s litigation practice group. He focuses his practice on corporate governance issues, complex securities class action, major data breaches and other cybersecurity matters, and corporate investigations.

James Wicks was sworn in as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York.

’90

Jon Devendorf, a partner at Barclay Damon LLP, was included in the 2020 Upstate New York Super Lawyers. His practice concentrates in business litigation.

Laura M. Dilimetin has joined Rosenberg, Fortuna & Laitman, LLP, concentrating her practice on commercial litigation and employment litigation.

Teresa Killeen Kenny was sworn in as the Orangetown Town Supervisor, making her the first female supervisor in Rockland County’s history.

Super Lawyers named Cheryl F. Korman to its 2019 and 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers lists. She is a partner in the appellate practice group at Rivkin Radler LLP. Christopher J. Kutner, a partner in the health services practice group at Rivkin Radler LLP, has been named to the 2020 and 2021 Best Lawyers in America list and to Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers lists.

Alan B. Hodish, was inducted into the 2020 class of the Long Island Metropolitan Lacrosse Foundation’s Hall of Fame as a coach-contributor to the sport of lacrosse. He was a coach at Levittown Memorial High School before serving as the head coach at Hempstead High School from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. Hodish continues to coach a 5th-6th grade lacrosse team under the banner of the Hempstead Police Athletic League.

Howard M. Miller, a member at Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC, was included in Super Lawyers’ 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list for employment and labor. He has also been named to the 2020 and 2021 Best Lawyers in America lists.

Brian Whiteley, a partner at Barclay Damon LLP, was selected to Super Lawyers’ 2019 Massachusetts Super Lawyers list for business litigation.

Roy Breitenbach has joined Harris Beach, PLLC as a partner on the firm’s health care industry team.

’91

CLASS NOTES Christopher Caputo has been installed as president of the Columbian Lawyers Association of Brooklyn.

Frank Cara has been named a partner at Troutman Pepper. His practice focuses on contract review and drafting; preparing claim submissions to owner agencies; advising on employment, labor, and union issues; representing clients in construction/commercial litigation matters as outside counsel; and drafting corporate documents.

Joseph V. Cuomo, co-chair of the corporate and mergers & acquisitions practice group at Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP was named to Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers list.

Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP partner Kathleen Deegan Dickson was selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers list. She concentrates her practice in real estate development, including land use and zoning law.

Harry J. Giknavorian has joined Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. as director of intelligence.

Peter J. O’Malley is the founder of Kenosis Capital LLC, a merchant advisory firm where he provides strategic advice to clients regarding business development and financing.

He was recently appointed to the board of directors at Barnwell Industries.

Maura A. McLoughlin has joined the commercial and estate litigation department at Farrell Fritz, P.C. as managing attorney.

’92

Joseph P. Asselta, a partner at Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP and chair of the firm’s construction law

practice group, was selected to Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers list.

Andria S. Kelly is a partner at Cullen and Dykman LLP, where she works in the firm’s general, tort and insurance Litigation department.

Hon. Karen (Lynch) Moroney has been elected to serve as a judge in the Nassau County District Court.

William T. (Bill) Reid, IV, a founding member of Reid Collins & Tsai LLP, has been named to the 2020 Best Lawyers in America list.

Hon. Matthew Titone, surrogate of Richmond County, was named to the City & State’s Staten Island Power 100 list.

’93

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance has named Andy Barberis to the company leadership role of senior vice president of claims.

Scott Beechert is the chief operating officer and general counsel at Granby Capital Management, LLC. Gerard R. Luckman is a partner at Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP and chairs the firm’s bankruptcy & corporate restructuring practice group. He was selected to Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers list. He has also been appointed to the Institute of Management Accountants–Long Island Chapter Board of Directors.

Timothy Selby was elected chairman of Alston & Bird LLP, where he heads the investment management practice and serves as chair of the firm’s partners’ committee. Selby focuses his practice on advising clients with respect to the structuring and management of hedge funds, managed futures funds, private equity

funds, and publicly offered-direct participation programs.

Robert Storti has been promoted to managing director at Bank of America, Private Bank.

’94

Matthew Abrusci is the managing director and head of the U.S. Capital Markets law group at RBC Capital Markets.

’95

Super Lawyers named Farrell Fritz, P.C. partner Patrick T. Collins to its 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list. He works in the firm’s bankruptcy and restructuring practice group.

Sean Conroy of the Louisiana National Guard was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.

Laurence A. Grayer, general counsel, vice president, and chief compliance officer at Creative Associates International, received a 2021 OnCon Icon Top 50 Corporate Counsel Award. DAC Live recognized him as one of Washington DC’s Top Corporate Counsel for 2019, and the Association of Corporate Counsel presented him with its Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award for his volunteer legal work with Veterans Moving Forward.

Gary S. Rosner, a partner at Ritter Chusid, LLP, has joined Nova Southeastern University as an adjunct professor in the paralegal studies program.

’96

Christopher Butler has joined Bowhead Specialty as the head of claims.

Hon. Leigh Cheng was elected to serve as a New York City civil court judge.

Kevin Fogarty, a longtime capitol hill staffer has established Ambrose Partners, an integrated government and public affairs solution firm.

He previously served as a senior advisor on Capitol Hill for over 20 years, including as chief of staff and communications director for Congressman Peter King.

Craig M. Johnson, founder and CEO of Long Point Advisors, was included in City and State’s 2020 Responsible 100 list.

Matthew Larkin, a partner at Barclay Damon LLP, was included in Super Lawyers’ the 2020 Upstate New York Super Lawyers. He concentrates his practice in products defense.

Mark R. Ustin, a partner and head of the New York State regulatory & government relations practice group at Farrell Fritz, P.C., has been elected president of the board of directors for St. Catherine’s Center for Children.

’97

Felix Chevalier, founding partner of the Chevalier Law Firm, PLLC and co-founder of Urban Capital Network, has launched FelixChevalier.com with a focus on international market entry.

Michael Choi has been named special counsel for complex financial investigations at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.

SPRING 2021 l 37

CLASS NOTES Safe Center of Long Island honored DiMascio & Associates, LLP for the firm’s pro bono work on behalf of victims of domestic violence. Father and son John DiMascio, Sr. ’83 and John DiMascio, Jr. are partners in the firm, which specializes in family law.

Hon. Denise Johnson was elected to serve as a New York City civil court judge.

Foley & Mansfield partner Timothy Ferguson is heading up the product liability and toxic tort division in the firm’s Miami office.

Francesca Sena is a vice president at Cowen and Company.

’98

Corey Ackerman has been named Director, Contracts & Commercial and Assistant General Counsel at iCIMS. The Los Angeles office of Kids in Need of Defense has named Nelson Castillo a Pro Bono Attorney of the Year in recognition of his 10-plus years of service to the organization.

Thomas Devaney has joined Jones Day as a partner in the firm’s private equity practice group.

NY Magazine featured Ken Jewell as a Leader in the Law–2018 and 2019.

Jewell, who was also named to the Super Lawyers’ 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list, concentrates his practice in family law.

Barbara Leone is vice president, E & O Complex Claims at AIG. Matthew D. Norfolk has opened Norfolk Law, PLLC. Marc Riccio has joined MR21 Advisory as a strategic advisor.

38 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

Courtney Rocket is a member at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. John Veracoechea is head of health care claims at AIG.

’99

Noreen Arralde recently became an associate village justice for the Incorporated Village of East Williston.

Joseph Moreno, a former federal prosecutor and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP partner, has joined SAP National Securities Services, Inc. as general counsel.

Moreno is a frequent commentator on legal issues for Bloomberg Law and other media outlets and is president of the St. John’s Law Alumni Association’s Washington, D.C. chapter.

Renee L. Wilm was named chief legal officer of Liberty Media Corporation, Qurate Retail, Inc., GCI Liberty, Inc., Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Inc., and Liberty Broadband Corporation.

’00

Lowenstein Sandler LLP has announced that Jeffrey Cohen, a partner and vice chair of the firm’s bankruptcy, financial reorganization & creditors’ rights department, assumed leadership of the practice as its new chair.

Long Island Business News included Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP partner Theresa A. Driscoll in its special publication: 2020 Who’s Who Women in Professional Services.

Hon. Jessica Earle-Gargan was elected to serve as a New York City civil court judge.

Darryl Gibbs has been named chief diversity officer at Equitable. In this role, he is responsible for fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment across the organization, positioning the company to fully deliver on its mission as it helps more Americans face the future with confidence.

Michael Comerford has joined Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP as a partner. He provides restructuring and insolvency counsel.

Robert Langdon, a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, received Law360’s MVP–Private Equity award.

James Gallagher has joined Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe & Garofalo, LLP as counsel in their Charlotte, NC office.

Kenneth Lange was named to Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers list. He is a member at Smith Mazure, P.C. and focuses his practice on insurance coverage.

Liza Milgrim-Reyes, a member at Sullivan Papain Block McGrath Coffinas & Cannavo, P.C., was sworn in as the president of the Long Island Hispanic Bar Association.

’01

Mark Murphy is chief operating officer at Digital Currency Group.

Gregory Michel has been promoted to chief procurement officer at the National Basketball Association.

Kevin Ryan is the communications director and legislative director at the New York City Council.

’02

Frank W. Brennan is a partner at Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP concentrating his practice in construction law, commercial litigation, and labor and employment law. He was included in Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers list.

James Byrnes has joined Berkshire Hathway Specialty Insurance as vice president in the company’s construction professional liability insurance group.

Kathryn Carney Cole, a partner in the commercial litigation practice group at Farrell Fritz, P.C., was named to Super Lawyers’ 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list.

David Dunn has joined Providence, a leading financial advisory firm, as a principal and head of the firm’s newly opened office in Stamford, CT.

Darren A. Pascarella, counsel at Farrell Fritz, P.C., has been elected to the board of directors for the Caumsett Foundation.

Julie Weerth is a senior vice president for severity casualty claims at Chubb.

’03

Robert Cristiano has joined Duffy & Duffy, PLLC, where he practices personal injury law with a concentration in medical malpractice.

Erin Frost has been named a partner at Cullen and Dykman LLP, where she works in the firm’s general, tort and insurance litigation department.

Her practice includes construction site litigation, premises liability, products liability, and property damage litigation.

Long Island Business News recognized Ana C. Shields as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in Business.

The list recognizes the most dynamic and influential women who have demonstrated leadership in their

CLASS NOTES chosen career though mentoring and community involvement. Shields is a principal at Jackson Lewis P.C., where she concentrates her practice in employment law.

Fortune interviewed Worthy Company co-founder and CCO Nydia Durand Shipman about her business and predictions for the plant-based food industry.

Ferish Patel has joined Cooley LLP as a partner in the firm’s Singapore office.

’04

Crain’s New York Business has named Eugenie (Genie) Cesar-Fabian to its inaugural Notable LGBTQ Leaders and Executives list. Cesar-Fabian is general counsel, chief compliance officer, and partner at Palladium Equity Partners, a middle market private equity firm with approximately $3 billion in assets under management.

Matthew DiDora has founded the Law Office of Matthew F. Didora, P.C. in Garden City, NY, where he concentrates his practice in commercial litigation and transactional matters.

Jessica Copeland has joined Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC as a member in the firm’s data privacy, cybersecurity and intellectual property practice group. She recently wrote an article for the New York Law Journal on COVID-19 and cybersecurity.

David Eskew, a founding partner at the boutique law firm Abell Eskew Landau LLP, co-authored the article “Propensity – Persuasion and Prejudice: A Look at ‘Other Acts’ Evidence and What the Defense Can Do About It” with fellow alumnus and Teitler & Teitler, LLP partner Paul A. Murphy ’90.

’05

Florina Altshiler has been named a partner at Russo & Toner, LLP, where her litigation practice concentrates in labor law and premise liability matters and also includes medical malpractice and general negligence law.

Bill D. Bensinger, a partner at Christian & Small LLP, has been recognized in the 2020 edition of Chambers USA. He focuses his practice on commercial dispute litigation, bankruptcy, and restructuring litigation.

Brian Connor has joined Barbiero Bisch & O’Connor LLP as an associate.

LL.M. alumnus Ian Fredericks has been named president at Hilco Merchant Resources, LLC. Elizabeth Daitz Lombardo, the New York City Police Department’s inaugural executive director, civil litigation, was chosen as a 2019–2020 White House Fellow. The White House Fellowship provides professionals from diverse backgrounds an opportunity to engage in public service by serving in various roles in the federal government.

’06

Stephanie M. Alberts, a partner in Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP’s tax, trusts & estates practice group, was selected to Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Rising Stars list.

Meghan Flaherty has been named an AVP Excess Casualty Claims at Core Specialty Insurance Holdings, Inc. Annmarie Giblin has launched Giblin Law, PLLC with a focus on cyber and privacy law and litigation.

Robert Graham has been promoted to partner at Slater and Matsil, LLP, where he focuses his practice on intellectual property.

William Ng, a shareholder at Littler Mendelson P.C., has been named president-elect of the Asian Bar Association of New York.

Allen Levine is assistant general counsel, litigation at AIG.

Christos Pamboukes has joined BakerHostetler as senior legal researcher.

Nicholas B. Malito, counsel at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP, has been named to Irish America’s Business 100 list, which recognizes IrishAmerican and Irish-born leaders who have achieved success in business.

Kelly McDonald has been promoted to director at Barclays.

Curtis Young has been promoted to managing director at Grant Thornton LLP.

’07

Carlos Beato is a member at Pitta, Bishop & Del Giorno LLC, where he oversees procurement advisories and advises on government contracting, administrative and regulatory matters, legislation, and initiatives at all three levels of government. He also engages in direct government and legislative advocacy on behalf of labor, corporate, not-for-profit, and small business clients.

Marc Berkowitz has joined Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP as a partner in their intellectual property group. He concentrates his practice in intellectual property and e-commerce litigation.

Lisa Marie Harris is a partner in the labor and employment practice group at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP. Eleonora M. Migliaccio has been promoted to senior relationship partner at Bloomberg Industry Group.

City & State honored Jamie Porco, associate director of professional development and pro bono programs at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, at The Responsible 100 Awards.

The annual awards ceremony honors an elite group of 100 New Yorkers who are setting new standards of excellence, dedication, and leadership in improving their communities and making transformative change.

Anaupama Yerramalli has joined Latham & Watkins, LLP as counsel.

She represents debtors, official and ad hoc committees, bondholders, lenders, and other creditors and investors in complex and multifaceted bankruptcies and restructurings, both in and out of court.

’08

Hon. Carl Falotico is a judge in Schenectady City Court.

Massimo Giugliano has been named a partner in the corporate and insolvency, creditors’ rights & financial products practice groups at Davis & Gilbert LLP. Sheryl Busell Giugliano has joined Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C. as a partner, with a practice focused on bankruptcy and restructuring.

Christine Hogan has joined Wigdor LLP as a partner focusing on plaintiff employment issues.

Vinny Lee is litigation counsel at Viatris.

SPRING 2021 l 39

CLASS NOTES Naomi Moss has been promoted to partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where she represents debtors, official and unofficial committees of unsecured creditors, secured lender groups, debtor-inpossession lenders, institutional investors, hedge funds and acquirers of businesses and assets, focusing on in- and out-of-court restructurings, with an emphasis on bondholder committees and creditors’ committees in large, complex cases.

National Grid. She was profiled in The Top 100 Magazine.

Ikhwan A. Rafeek has been promoted to member at Otterbourg P.C., where he practices in the firm’s banking and finance department.

Marc T. Ladd has joined Cohen Ziffer, Frenchman & McKenna as a partner. He represents and advises large corporate policyholders, handling a wide range of insurance coverage disputes in federal and state courts and other venues.

Brian G. Smith has been promoted to special counsel at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, where he focuses his practice in the areas of estate and tax planning, estate and trust administration, litigation, family law and charitable giving for high-networth individuals.

Richard Spatola is counsel at Calgani & Kanefsky where he concentrates on corporate investigations and integrity as well as white collar criminal and regulatory defense.

Paul Vitale is counsel at Wade, Clark, Mulcahy LLP, where he handles the defense of premises liability, property damage, labor law, products liability, and general liability claims, from inception through trial and appeal.

’09

Paul Bartels is counsel at Bell Law Group, PLLC, where he practices in the fields of labor and employment law, personal injury, insurance defense, and civil and commercial litigation.

Tanya N. Blocker has been promoted to assistant general counsel, US director, UK senior manager, employment & labor at

40 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

Hon. Vanessa Fang has been appointed to serves as a New York State Housing Court Judge.

Tom Gerrity has been promoted to counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Brooke Hazen has joined the Elate Group, Inc. as in-house counsel.

Erica Markowitz has joined the Law Offices of Aaron Katsman, a boutique residential real estate firm.

Raymond Mascia, a shareholder at Anderson Kill, was selected as a Law360 Rising Star. He is a member of the firm’s insurance recovery group.

Chris Walch is COO & Co-Founder of LifeScore Ltd., an adaptive music platform that creates unique, realtime soundtracks. She is also the founder of Women of Winter, a Montana-based, grassroots community organization that showcases women who are carving their own paths in the mountains and in life.

’10

James Byrne is a senior vice president, senior trust officer at Bank of America–Private Bank.

Philip A. Butler, an associate in the land use and zoning law practice group at Farrell Fritz, P.C., was selected to the 2021 Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch list.

Daniel Buckley has joined Michael A. Neufeld & Assoc., LLC., focusing on trusts & estates and estates planning.

Victoria Cantrella is director of labor relations at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Ben Casper is an Israel-based director at Avison Young, a global commercial real estate company.

Christina R. Kormylo Errico has joined Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance as a complex claims director.

Meghan Fox has been promoted to counsel in the executive compensation and employee benefits practice group at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Lawrence S. Han, a member of Rivkin Radler LLP’s complex torts & product liability practice group, was named to Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Rising Star list.

George Klidonas has joined Latham & Watkins LLP as a partner in the firm’s restructuring and special situations practices.

Darnisha A. Lewis-Bonilla has joined the litigation team at the Williams Law Firm.

Nicholas B. Malito has joined Fox Rothschild LLP as a partner in the real estate department.

Tara McDevitt has been promoted to counsel at Harras Bloom & Archer LLP, where she focuses her practice on litigation and real estate.

Matthew S. McNamara is senior corporate counsel at GAF, a leader in the building materials industry and America’s largest roofing manufacturer.

LL.M. alumnus James Newton has been named partner at Morrison & Foerster, where he is a member of the finance department and part of the business & restructuring group.

Best Lawyers recognized Vishnick McGovern Milizio, LLP partner Constantina Papageorgiou for her work in trusts and estates.

Kristin Roshelli was named a partner at King & Spalding LLP, where she represents health care clients in transactional, regulatory and compliance matters, with particular emphasis on joint venture transactions, affiliations involving academic medical centers, and internal investigations involving alleged Medicare or Medicaid overpayments.

Sean Scuderi has been promoted to counsel at Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP. Stefanie Ann Singer has been promoted to general counsel and chief risk officer at Novogradac & Company LLP. She was featured in a Vanguard article about finding worklife balance.

Crain’s New York Business included Nick E. Smith in its Notable Black Leaders and Executives list. He serves as first deputy public advocate in the Office of the New York City Public Advocate.

Lee Soffer is general counsel at BA Sports Nutrition, LLC, the company that produces the popular Bodyarmor Sports Drink.

’11

Samantha Alessi has become an Assistant United States Attorney at the Department of Justice.

Vladimir Ampov is an associate at Sperber, Denenberg & Kahan, P.C. Patrick Brand has been promoted to senior investigative counsel at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

CLASS NOTES Preston Demouchet has been promoted to counsel at Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP, where he focuses his practice on tax and estate planning and administration of estates and trusts.

Wkame H. Dowe has joined Citi as a compliance risk management officer.

Robert J. Guidotti has been promoted to principal at Jackson Lewis, P.C. He counsels employers of varying sizes and industries in a wide range of labor and employment matters.

Elizabeth Riordan Hurley has been named senior law attorney at Northeast New Jersey Legal Services.

Brendan Lantry, an attorney at Menicucci Villa Cilmi PLLC, was named to City & State’s Staten Island Power 100 list.

Eric Lipenholtz has joined Adam America Real Estate as general counsel.

Matthew B. Meisel, has joined the commercial litigation and real estate practice groups at Rivkin Radler LLP. Lawyers Alliance for New York honored Christopher J. Palmese with its Cornerstone Award. He is an associate in the real estate department at Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Tim Poydenis is a partner in Goodwin’s technology companies group, where his practice focuses on representing emerging growth companies and venture capital investors. He received Public Counsel’s 2020 Pro Bono Award.

Amanda Reynolds has joined J. Joyce & Associates, P.C. in South Jordan, UT. Laura Fanelli Sarkis is associate director, corporate counsel at Regeneron, a leading biotechnology company that invents lifetransforming medicines for people with serious diseases.

Matthew Shatzkes has been promoted to partner at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, where he works in the corporate practice group and is a member of the firm’s health care practice team.

Dennis R. Smith has opened the Law Offices of Dennis R. Smith, PLLC, focusing on personal injury and construction accidents.

Causeartist has named George Tsiatis, CEO & co-founder of The Resolution Project, one of its NonProfit Leaders Who Will Impact the World in 2021.

Michael Vanunu, an associate in Rivkin Radler, LLP’s insurance fraud practice group, was selected to the 2021 Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch list.

Jacklyn Zitelli has been promoted to counsel at Farrell Fritz, P.C., where she represents corporate and individual clients in the financing, sale, and acquisition of commercial and residential real estate.

’12

Corinne Donohue Adams, an attorney at Yumkas, Vidmar, Sweeney & Mulrenin, LLC, concentrates her practice on bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, litigation, and transactional matters. She has been selected to Super Lawyers’ Rising Star list for the past four years, and was included in Best Lawyers in America for 2021.

Adams also received the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation’s Rising Star SemiFinalist Award and authored an article that appeared in the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal.

Moshe Bobker is a partner at Tane, Waterman & Wurtzel, P.C., where he practices civil litigation.

Danielle A. D’Aquila has been promoted to partner in the litigation and arbitration practice group at Brown Rudnick LLP. Leah Edelboim has joined Cadwalader, Wichersham & Taft LLP as special counsel.

Jennifer Elson was promoted to partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP., where she is a member of the general liability and construction practices.

Mariya Solovey has been promoted to complex claims director at AIG. Michael Webb has been promoted to counsel at Nixon Peabody LLP, where he practices in all areas of real estate, handling a broad array of commercial transactions.

’13

Michael Goldberg is a vice president at Hiltzik Strategies, a strategic communications and consulting firm.

Christine Bezas, an associate at Rivkin Radler LLP, was selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Rising Stars list for health care.

Amazon presented Stephanie Grenald with its Superhero Award for her outstanding pro bono leadership.

Gregory Bruno is a senior associate at Day Pitney LLP, focusing on complex commercial litigation matters.

Bryan M. Kotliar has joined Katten Muchin Roseman LLP as a partner in the firm’s insolvency and restructuring practice.

John Coco, who maintains his own personal injury law firm in Plainview, NY, was included in Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Rising Stars list.

Dean McGee has joined McCabe, Coleman, Ventosa & Patterson PLLC as a partner and is the head of the firm’s civil litigation department.

Adam Cohen is senior attorney at Weg & Myers, P.C.

Lena Paxos has been named a partner at Condon Paxos PLLC, where she handles all aspects of commercial and general civil liability matters.

David A. Cooper is starting as a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York.

Terence Cremins has been named a director at Sterling National Bank.

Robert L. Renda, an associate at Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP, was included in the inaugural edition of the Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch list, which recognizes associates and other lawyers who are earlier in their careers for their outstanding professional excellence.

He was also selected to Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Rising Stars list.

Kristina Duffy, an associate at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP, represents parties in intellectual property, professional liability, and commercial litigation cases. She was selected to the 2021 Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch list.

Christopher Rubino, a partner at Thompson Burton PPLC, was included in Super Lawyers’ 2020 Mid-South Rising Star list. He practices in the area of commercial real estate.

Jeffrey P. Gorak, an associate in Rivkin Radler LLP’s trusts & estates practice group, was named to Super Lawyers’ 2019 and 2020 New York Metro Rising Stars list for trusts and estates.

Daniel Fisher has joined Merck & Co. as legal director.

SPRING 2021 l 41

CLASS NOTES Ian Hayes has been named a partner at Creighton Johnsen & Giroux. His practice includes representing private and public-sector labor unions in arbitration, administrative agency work, and litigation, as well as individual employees in various labor and employment matters.

Yasmin Khawaja has joined NBCUniversal Media, LLC as counsel.

Lisa Lin has been promoted to principal court attorney in the Queens County Criminal Court.

Andrew Lipton has joined Robinson & Cole in their insurance and reinsurance practice group.

Piergiorgio Maselli has been promoted to partner at Kranjac Tripodi & Partners LLP, where he works in the corporate and transactional practice group.

’14

Pamela Albanese has been promoted to partner at Mendes & Mount LLP, where she works in the counseling services and professional liability practice areas.

Michele Chavez has joined the insurance fraud practice group at Rivkin Radler LLP. She focuses her practice on insurance defense and nofault insurance fraud matters.

Joseph Donnelly is a partner at Donnelly Stehn LLP, a firm focusing on personal injury, employment discrimination, real estate, civil rights, criminal defense, and construction litigation matters.

Tracy Edwards is a litigation associate at Phillips Lytle LLP.

Chris Newton has been named acting director of the Homeowner & Consumer Rights Project at Queens Legal Services.

Frank Gramarossa has been promoted to partner at Welby Brady & Greenblatt, LLP, focusing on construction law and labor law.

Peter J. Sluka has joined Farrell Fritz, P.C. as a commercial litigation associate.

Epstein Becker & Green P.C. associate Christopher Lech was selected to the 2021 Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch list. He is in the firm’s employment, labor & workforce management, litigation & business disputes, and employee benefits & executive compensation practices.

Ethan Smith is a partner in the Seattle office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the firm’s data privacy and cybersecurity practice team. His practice focuses on responding to data security incidents.

Jessica Stukonis has been promoted to senior counsel, legal affairs at Bustle Digital Group.

Alyssa Zuckerman was named a partner at Lamb & Barnosky, LLP, where she represents public and private sector employers in labor, employment, and education law matters.

Shazana Zumpfe-Cochran is senior contractor relations manager at Amazon.

42 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

Alicia A. Matusheski has been promoted to counsel at Perkins Coie LLP, where she counsels clients on a range of complex trademark issues.

Michael Molina has joined Flock Safety as counsel. The company builds ethically designed crime solving technology.

Sonia A. Russo, an associate in the commercial litigation practice group at Farrell Fritz, P.C., was selected to the 2021 Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch list.

Edda Santiago was selected as a 2021 Council of Urban Professional New York Fellow.

Erik Snipas is an associate in Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP’s land use & zoning and industrial development agency benefits & government incentives practice groups. He was selected to Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Rising Stars list.

Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP associate Brenna R. Strype, who focuses her practice on land use and zoning and commercial litigation, was selected to Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Rising Stars list.

Benjamin Yeamans has been promoted to senior counsel at Publicis Groupe.

’15

Justin Arborn has joined Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP in their global litigation group.

Cristina Delise has been promoted to senior attorney at the Lanier Law firm, where she practices in the pharmaceutical litigation and business litigation divisions.

Yasmin Khawaja is counsel at NBCUniversal Media, LLC, where her work focuses on labor relations.

Salvatore Lapetina has joined Furman Kornfeld & Brennan LLP, concentrating on general liability litigation and construction accident litigation.

As senior counsel at Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP, Kristin Lee handles complex civil litigation involving professional liability matters, catastrophic injury, and medical negligence.

Viktoriya Liberchuk, an associate in the commercial litigation practice group at Farrell Fritz, P.C., was

selected to the 2021 Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch list.

Ayanna Y. Thomas, an associate at Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC, was named to the 2021 Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch list.

She concentrates her practice in education law.

’16

Anthony Biondo, an associate at Steptoe & Johnson, LLP, was included in the 2021 Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch list. His practice focuses on patent litigation, copyright, and trade secrets.

Donald P. Casadonte, Jr. has joined Turek Roth & Grossman LLP and is focusing his practice on commercial, business, and real estate matters.

Daniel Coleman has joined Barclay Damon LLP in the firm’s torts & products liability defense and professional liability practice groups.

Cecilia R. Ehresman has joined K&L Gates as an associate in the firm’s labor, employment, and workplace safety practice group.

Anthony J. Holesworth has joined Legion Athletics as Director of Talent and Business Affairs.

Shanshe Khosroshvili is vice president and counsel at Credit Suisse.

Josephine Marino is a partner at Gemelli Gross Shapiro & Marino, where she concentrates her practice on family law matters.

Steven Masillo has joined Paul, Weiss, Wharton & Garrison, LLP as an associate in the firm’s corporate and finance practice group.

Michael Mulia has joined Wagner, Berkow & Brandt, LLP, a firm that concentrates on real estate,

CLASS NOTES corporate, commercial litigation, and cooperative and condominium law.

Rose Nankervis has joined Nixon Peabody in their labor and employment law practice.

Matthew O’Neill has joined KPMG US in Washington, DC as an associate in the mergers and acquisitions tax group.

Alysha Preston is an intellectual property associate at Baker McKenzie.

She serves as co-chair of the New York office’s diversity and inclusion committee and is active in assisting with the firm’s pro bono matters. She was named to National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 list.

Amier Shenoda is an associate at McGlinchey Stafford PLLC, where he represents mortgage servicers and lenders in a wide variety of commercial litigation and consumer financial services litigation. He was named to Super Lawyers’ 2020 New York Metro Rising Stars list for real estate.

Chanel Smith was promoted to cochair of the Legal Aid Society’s Child Welfare Action Committee.

Katharine Suominen is a litigation associate at McDermott, Will & Emery. She focuses her practice on litigation matters, including complex commercial litigation for public and private companies, white collar criminal defense and investigations, internal corporate investigations and design and implementation of compliance programs, and insurance coverage disputes.

Garrett Joseph Sweeney is a victim’s legal counsel for the U.S. Marine Corp.

James West has joined Tane Waterman & Wurtzel, P.C. His practice concentrates on real estate transactions, condominium and cooperative law, and general corporate law.

Ashley Zangara has joined Disney as an employee relations manager for the new direct to consumer international segment.

Maria Miller is a senior litigation associate at Cullen and Dykman LLP, where she works in the firm’s construction litigation group.

Jonathan Schwartz has joined Loeb & Loeb LLP as an associate. He has a broad-based corporate practice focused on a wide range of business.

’17

Rebecca Schwartz has joined Sweeney, Reich & Bolz, LLP.

’19

Keren Baruch is an associate in the corporate practice group at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP. LL.M. alumna Claudia Carbone, a litigation and arbitration attorney at Wuersch & Gering LLP, is a Visiting Assistant Professor for International Capital Markets Law at Universita della Calabria.

Nicholas Coffaro is an associate in the corporate practice at Dentons.

He focuses his practice primarily on fund formation for various private equity clients.

Kaveh Dabashi is an associate in the labor & employment department at Seyfarth Shaw LLP. The Alan T. Brown Fund of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation presented Alyssa N. D’Antonio with its 2020 Young Leader Award. D’Antonio, an associate at Lerner, David, Littenberg, Krumholz & Mentlik LLP, has been a diligent volunteer for the Foundation, which serves the paralysis community.

’18

Divya Acharya has joined EY Law LLP (Canada), concentrating on tax controversy.

Tasnova Amanullah has joined Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP, where her practice focuses on general liability matters.

Mackenzie Brennan has been promoted to senior assistant counsel to the New York Chief Administrative Judge in the New York State Unified Court System.

Gregory C. Brown has joined Jackson Lewis P.C. as an associate representing employers in workplace law matters.

Kyle Gens has joined the Lois Law firm as an associate, concentrating his practice on defending employers in New York workers’ compensation matters.

Christopher Hofmann is an associate at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP.

Michael C. DeBenedetto, III has joined Kiernan Trebach LLP, focusing on civil litigation.

Aaron Jacob has become a partner at Seltzer & Associates PLLC.

Stephen N. Kulhanek has joined Murtha Cullina LLP as an associate in the firm’s intellectual property practice group.

Gabriella Labita has joined Fox Rothschild LLP in New York as an associate in the firm’s real estate department.

Naffie Lamin, an associate at Shearman & Sterling LLP, was named to National Black Lawyers’ Top 40 Under 40 list.

Keith Olsen has joined Ingerman Smith, L.L.P. as an associate.

Adam Lau is associate corporate counsel at EquiLend.

Amanda Tersigni has joined Cullen & Dykman LLP as an associate in the firm’s bankruptcy and creditors rights practice group.

Crystal Barnes has joined the labor and employment practice group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Kelly Frevele is an associate in the U.S. capital markets group at Clifford Chance LLP. Chelsea Glynn has joined Ahmuty, Demers & McManus as an associate.

She focuses her practice on defending cases involving automobile liability, construction site accidents, premises liability, products liability, and property damage.

’20

William Healy has joined Carman Callahan & Ingham, LLP. Hunter Igoe is an assistant corporation counsel at the New York City Law Department.

Alexis Minichini is an attorney at the Nevada Defense Group.

Omar Mulamekic has joined Tyson & Mendes as an associate. His practice focuses on complex litigation, including construction, transportation, and catastrophic injury matters.

DID YOU KNOW? We now publish Class Notes quarterly at stjohnslawseeinfra.com. To submit your news, please email mckeevec@stjohns.edu. We look forward to hearing from you!

SPRING 2021 l 43



BIRTHS

 Mary Wachowicz Kulhanek ’15 and Stephen Kulhanek ’17 welcomed Arthur Kasper in April 2020.



 J onah H. Blumenthal ’16, wife Tehilla, and big brother Gavi welcomed Ezra in June 2020.

 S haron G. Cheng ’87 and Paul Cheng welcomed granddaughter Victoria Sun in October 2020.

arguerite M Downing Peck ’86 and Ernest Peck ’86 welcomed grandson Owen Michael Cacace in September 2020.

ssistant Dean A for Admissions and Recruitment Alicia Meehan, husband Bill, and big sisters Bridget and Shea welcomed Brooks in January 2021.

 Kathryn Pando Pickel ’14 and James Pickel welcomed James Christopher III in January 2021.

 J oseph Moreno ’99, wife Tera, and big sisters and brothers Niamh, Joseph, Cian, Katherine, Margaret, Bridget, and Claire welcomed John Paul in April 2020.

 Director of Public Interest Programming Ashleigh Georgia Kashimawo and Kazeem Kashimawo welcomed Kalilah in November 2020.

44 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

 Lisa Cattan-Riad ’10 , husband Emo Riad ’09, and big sister Noelle Teresa welcomed Miles Felix in November 2020.

IN MEMORIAM Edwin T. Carine, Jr. , ’38C, ’40L, ’59Ed

Anthony Caputo ’59

John Venditto ’75

Hon. Leon Deutsch ’46

Howard Rubenstein ’59

Kevin G. Fox ’76

John P. Mahon ’48

Joseph Tranfo ’59

Edmund Waldron ’76

Marcus Silverman ’49

Francis J. Coyne ’60

Adrianne May Blair ’77

Hon. Thomas DeCaro ’50

James Finnerty ’60

Lawrence Sheldon ’77

Joseph Amaru ’51

Mary Jennerjahn ’58 UC, ’60L

James Fabian ’78

Joseph A. Atkinson ’51

William J. Doyle ’61

Hon. Mary Ellen Fitzmaurice ’79

Robert Gasser ’49C, ’51L

John J. Jerome ’59CBA, ’61L

Robin Mary Heaney ’80

Thomas J Graham ’48UC, ’51L

Anthony Puma ’61

Hon. John F. Leonard ’78C, ’80L

Alexander S. Parks ’51

Robert J. Sabo ’61

David Tomney ’80

Annamarie Brown ’52

Hon. Salvatore Nicosia ’62

Ted M. Rosenberg ’82

Joseph A. Cutro ’52

Michael McMorrow ’63

Richard White ’84

Ernest Loser ’52

Hon. Edward A. Maron ’64

Cynthia Good, ’85

Charles J. Meyerson ’52

Rosario Romanelli ’64

Marla E. Carleen ’86

Dolores Neway ’52

Robert Boyd ’65

Susan G. Jamiolkowski ’87

Melvin Paradise ’52

Hon. Thomas P. Zolezzi ’65

Monica Koch ’87

Joseph J. Lawton, Jr. ’53

Kenneth Koock ’66

Joan K. Martin ’88

Victor Donald Russo, Jr. ’53

James LiBuono ’66

Ivan Bahamonde ’85C, ’91L

Joseph Demiglio ’54

Stanley Nosel ’66

Kathleen T. Fitzgerald ’91

John Guigon ’51UC, ’54L

John J. Sweeney ’66

Elsa Rodriguez Preston ’91

Patrick Finnegan ’55

Peter Mancino ’64C, ’67L

Margaret Crowley Farrell ’92

Gregory Hammill ’55

Thomas E. Ward ’67

Msgr. John A. Alesandro ’94

Jonathan H. Sherwood ’55

Hon. Robert Nahman ’68

Randall Cutler ’94

Blair W. F. Allen, Jr ’56

Ruurd G. Leegstra ’69

Gregory Kottmeier ’96

James L. Kenefick ’56

Michael Mantell ’69

William Phelon ’00

Robert E. Quirk ’56

John V. Daly ’71

Walter J. Glibowski ’02

Frank A. Finnerty ’57

Edward Donovan ’69CBA, ’71L

Christopher Pennington ’06

Francis X. Maloney ’57

Thomas Fegan ’73

Nicholas Stadtmueller ’12

Thomas McCaffrey ’57

Donald Iodice ’73

Brittany Heaney ’16

Richard T. Nolan ’57

Thomas J. Ryan ’73

Taitu Goodwin ’18LLM

William Grace Crane ’58

George Hagerty ’74

Howard Goldson ’58

Vincent Sachar ’69C, ’74L

Rev. Richard Kehoe, C.M., former Law School Chaplain

Joseph G. Gorayeb ’55 UC, ’58

Steve Germansky ’75

Professor George Reese

Russell Leggett ’58

Steven London ’75

SPRING 2021 l 45

IN MEMORIAM Peter Lou Peter Lou was a remarkably generous and kind man. His legacy is embodied in Christy Li ‘21, the inaugural recipient of the scholarship he established at the Law School to honor his late wife, Sui-Wah Li Lou.

Hon. Michael H. Melkonian ’90 Hon. Michael H. Melkonian entered public service as counsel to New York State Senator Serphin R. Maltese and then assumed a succession of state government roles. His judicial career began in the Court of Claims, and he later presided in the New York State Supreme Court. Judge Melkonian also proudly served his country in the U.S. Army Reserve and the New York State Army National Guard.

Hon. Elaine Jackson Stack ’79

Newsday_Bill_Davis

Hon. Elaine Jackson Stack graduated college at 39 and St. John’s Law at 47. She went on to become an organized crime prosecutor, a criminal defense lawyer, a state Supreme Court judge, a family law mediator, and an adjunct professor at St. John’s Law.

Professor Nicholas Weiskopf Professor Nicholas Weiskopf was on the Law School’s full-time faculty for 32 years, teaching Contracts, Drafting, Commercial Arbitration, and Legal Writing. When the Admissions Committee was created in the late 1990s, at an important time in St. John’s history, he was the Committee’s first chair. After his retirement in 2014, he continued to teach Commercial Arbitration for several years.

46 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

SECOND ACTS

MAKING AN IMPACT to Boston and I saw it as an opportunity for a career change.” Unable to find a right-fit public interest position after a long search, Brienza returned to private real estate practice.

“Even though it wasn’t ideal, continuing as a corporate lawyer was valuable as I learned to meet stringent work standards and explored complex problems,” she says. “I also had exposure to environmental law and became passionately interested in the climate change.”

L

ife can take circuitous routes. When Catherine Brienza arrived at St. John’s Law in the early 1980s, she was intent on becoming a public interest lawyer. But the draw to BigLaw proved hard for the Brooklyn-raised fireman’s daughter to resist and, after graduating, she started her career in corporate real estate. Five years later, still at the firm and on a partnership track, Brienza again felt pulled in a different direction.

“I was happy at the law firm, and was fortunate to work with a senior partner who was funny, super intelligent, and relatable,” she says. “But then my husband and I moved

After starting a family, Brienza left the law and found other ways to make an impact, volunteering to support children with autism and tutoring youth from underserved communities. “Working with these children was a second passion of mine, but I also remained involved politically, raising awareness and funds for environmentally-focused political candidates,” she shares. Years later, Brienza’s passions and past ambitions coalesced after she attended the 2017 Women’s March, the worldwide protest held the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

“I felt the call for change and, believing that many voters were influenced by poor or slanted information, I wanted to educate the public about the intricacies of underlying laws, policies, and governmental procedures,” she says. “There needed to be more critical thinking on the part of voters in choosing and voting for candidates.” With that aim and incentive, Brienza founded JOLT USA, a New Jersey non-profit dedicated to the activation of an educated citizenry.

Catherine Brienza ’85 from immigration to voter suppression, and, of course, the environment,” she explains.

“After each event, participants wrote postcards to our representatives advocating for, or opposing, particular measures. We also organized rallies and marches for causes, including Black Lives Matter, gun reform, and Pride. The March for Our Lives in Hackensack, which JOLT co-hosted, garnered over 2000 attendees, and our voter registration and get out the vote efforts in 2020 contributed to wins in battleground states.”

For her work at JOLT USA and its community outreach arm, RidgewoodJOLT, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez presented Brienza with the Evangelina Menendez Trailblazer Award in 2019. The honor recognizes her commitment to educating and empowering others. That same commitment guided Brienza when she and her husband established a generous student scholarship at St. John’s Law recently.

“I grew up in a working-class family and was the first to attend college and law school,” Brienza says. “Receiving a scholarship to St. John’s not only lightened my economic burden, but also motivated me to work extremely hard. With this scholarship, my husband and I are paying that support forward with an unwavering belief in firstgeneration students. At JOLT, I see firsthand in our interns their belief, commitment, motivation, and drive. The future is in their hands. And I hope the Law School scholarship will help someone like them, so they can make a positive impact on the world.”

“We began by hosting monthly events with experts on issues of public importance, ranging SPRING 2021 l 47

END NOTE

Student-Run Journals Spotlight Women Scholars This past October, the St. John’s Law Review hosted a symposium titled Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment.

Months later, the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development (JCRED) marked a milestone with the publication of two symposium issues featuring articles by women legal scholars.

systemic racism,” says JCRED Editor-in-Chief Ron Eniclerico ’21. “Our symposium issue opens with a book review and then includes two critical evaluations of the book before ending with a response from Professor Hernández.” The issue, which was out in February, features the following scholars in order of appearance:

Those efforts, which include a Law Review symposium issue published in Spring 2021, were led by students who guide the journals, and the scholarship they spotlight, as editorial board members. “Our main goal for the symposium wasn’t to celebrate white women’s suffrage,” says Sam Gagnon ’21, who took the lead in organizing the 19th Amendment commemoration as the Law Review’s symposium editor. “We invited a diverse group of women lawyers and educators to share their work so we could use it as an opportunity to think critically about the role of the law in women’s lives.”

• Jasmine Mitchell: “Commentary and Book Review: Multiracials and Civil Rights: Mixed-Race Stories of Discrimination”

Like they did at the symposium, in the companion Law Review issue contributors explore the vital role women have played in shaping America’s cultural landscape by persistently demanding equality and opportunity. Even after the 19th Amendment was ratified, the fight for voting rights continued for many women. And, for some, it’s ongoing as gender equality in its many forms remains elusive. The Law Review’s symposium issue includes these authors and articles:

• Tanya Katerí Hernández: “Is There A ‘Mulatto Escape Hatch’ Out of Racism?: A Reflection on Multiracial Exceptionalism During A Time of #BlackLivesMatter”

• Taunya Lovell Banks: “Commemorating the Forgotten Intersection of the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments” • Nora V. Demleitner: “Sex Work at the Intersection of Criminal Justice Reform and Anti-Trafficking Hysteria” • Alissa Rubin Gomez: “The Mismeasure of Success” • Kit Johnson: “Rising Up Without Pushing Down: Lessons Learned from the Suffragettes’ Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric” • Nicole Ligon: “Protecting Women’s Voices: Preventing Retaliatory Defamation Claims in the #MeToo Context” • Mikah K. Thompson: “Sexual Exploitation and the Adultified Black Girl” The struggle for equality, expressed and experienced as the intersectionality of gender, race, and class, also anchors the legal scholarship showcased in JCRED’s two latest issues. The first, a follow-up to a 2019 symposium held at St. John’s Law, reflects on Multiracials and Civil Rights: Mixed-Race Stories of Discrimination, a book by Fordham’s Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law, Tanya Katerí Hernández.

“In her book, Professor Hernández looks to a series of court cases to expose the discrimination faced by multiracial people, incorporating it into a discussion about the causes of, and potential remedies to,

48 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

• Taunya Lovell Banks: “Personal Identity Equality and Racial Misrecognition: Review Essay of Multiracials and Civil Rights: Mixed-Race Stories of Discrimination” • Nancy Chi Cantalupo: “I Think You Didn’t Get It Because They Misidentified You As Latina”: A Commentary on Multiracials and Civil Rights: Mixed-Race Stories of Discrimination”

In the second of JCRED’s two symposium issues, the contributors consider the regulation of personal appearance in the legal profession as it impacts women, who are often scrutinized and critiqued for how they dress, style their hair, and otherwise express themselves outwardly.

These challenges and criticisms can be even greater for women of color and for LGBTQ women, and spark heated discussions about sexism and gender inequality in the field. The March publication features the scholarly work of: • Shannon Cumberbatch: “When Your Identity is Inherently “Unprofessional”: Navigating Rules of Professional Appearance Rooting in Cisheteronormative Whiteness as Black Women and Gender Non-Conforming Professionals” • Rebekah Hanley & Malcolm MacWilliamson: “Model Dress Code: Promoting Genderless Attire Rules to Foster an Inclusive Legal Profession” • Ann Juliano: “How to Look Like A Lawyer” • Ruthann Robson: “Why Don’t We All Just Wear Robes?”

“Organizing the Law Review symposium was a highlight of my time at St. John’s,” says Sam Gagnon, reflecting on the experience. “It was an awesome opportunity to increase awareness about two of my greatest passions—gender equality and voting rights—while lifting up the voices of brilliant women in the legal field. And to do so on behalf of, and with the full support of, the Law School community made it all the more empowering.”

“Last summer, the Student Opportunity Fund opened doors to a position with the Law School’s Mattone Institute. Among other projects, I researched how the pandemic has impacted commercial leasing and helped to produce a bi-weekly digest of real estate industry news. It was a truly formative experience that will pay dividends throughout my legal career.”

— Michelle Artiles ’21

PUT ST. JOHN’S LAW STUDENTS TO WORK Like Michelle, our students are eager to be on the job, learning the law through hands-on experience. But the pandemic continues to impact their summer work plans.

That’s where our STUDENT OPPORTUNITY FUND comes in, providing stipends for summer employment, including: • Research positions at the Law School • Clinical work representing underserved and marginalized New Yorkers • Public interest fellowships PLEASE SUPPORT THE FUND TODAY BY GIVING ONLINE AT STJOHNS.EDU/LAW/GIVE.

THANK YOU!

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY NEW YORK

School of Law 8000 Utopia Parkway Queens, NY 11439

CALLING ALL BANKRUPTCY LL.M. ALUMNI We’re getting ready to celebrate the 20th anniversary of St. John’s LL.M. in Bankruptcy program this fall. It’s going to be a great evening, and you can help us mark the milestone by joining the Event Planning Committee.

INTERESTED? Please email Brian Woods at brian.woods@stjohns.edu