St. John's Law Magazine Fall 2019

Magazine | Fall 2019

SPECIAL REPORT CLASS OF 2015 MAKES ITS MARK IN CRIMINAL PRACTICE

Fa l l 2 0 1 9 E n t e r i n g C l a s s P r o f i l e

Highest GPA Ever!

3.62

GPA median

159

LSAT median

49% one or more years of work 51% straight from college

32%

Students of Color

24 States Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington

applications

259

J.D. students

1L’s with advanced degrees

46

first-generation American

43% men

Plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico

2,397

29

39

LL.M. students

57% women

WE COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU! Thank you to our faculty, to our staff, and especially to our alumni who mentor, hire, and give.

Your dedication and donations make this success possible.

12 SPECIAL REPORT 5 1 0 2 F O S CLAS

RK A M S T I MAKES

IN CRIMIN

AL PRACT

ICE

CONTENTS FALL 2019 FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

4

Marc O. DeGirolami Inaugural Cary Fields ’86HON Professor of Law

2 From the Dean

Meet Our Newest Faculty and Administrators

5 Faculty Focus

Susan C. Bryant ’01 Championing Equal Justice

29 Leadership Spotlight: Jose Perez ’82CBA, ’85L

8

16

17

18

20

21

26

35

Samantha Horn Capicotto ’11 Imparting Lessons From the Past Infographic Pathways to Criminal Practice Barry Jonas ’89 Ensuring Our National Security Kaitlin Nares ’13 Representing Society’s Most Vulnerable

3 Commencement 2019 10 Adjunct Spotlight 30 Alumni Highlights 32 Class Notes 34 In Memoriam

COLUMNS 9 On Direct: Dean Michael A. Simons 22 Trends: Negotiating Justice

Gala Event Celebrates Diversity and Inclusion

24 Advances: Prosecution and Criminal Defense Clinics

Dan Quart ’97 and Adjunct Professor Martin LaFalce Teaming up for Criminal Justice

36 End Note: St. John’s Law Launches a Flex-Time Program

28 Second Acts: Geraldine Hart ‘95

FALL 2019 l 1

FROM THE DEAN St. John’s Law Magazine FALL 2019 Dean and John V. Brennan Professor of Law and Ethics On any given day, in courtrooms and offices across New York City, around the country, and worldwide, you’ll find St. John’s Law graduates making their mark in criminal law practice. This issue of St. John’s Law introduces you to some of the many alumni who are advocating for justice as public defenders, prosecutors, and private practitioners.

They include members of our Class of 2015 who, almost five years after graduating, are hard at work serving the people of New York, keeping Gideon’s Promise, and defending white-collar cases.

Michael A. Simons Associate Dean for Law School Advancement Brian J. Woods Assistant Dean for Alumni Relations and CLE Claire C. McKeever ’80SVC, ’93L Editor-in-Chief

You’ll also meet adjunct professors who bring their expertise from the field to teach our students about today’s criminal practice. Outside the classroom, our students build practical skills handling real criminal cases in our full-year Prosecution Clinic and Criminal Defense Clinic. With this solid foundation, St. John’s students find success on their pathway to criminal practice. As they go, they bring a diversity of perspectives and insights to better serve their clients and the legal profession.

Trent Anderson

That same diversity is making St. John’s Law a better and stronger institution. I’m happy to report that this year’s entering class is one of our strongest and most diverse ever.

Copy Editors Dominique Cendales

As depicted on the inside front cover of this magazine, our 259 new J.D. students hail from across the country and around the world. They attended 118 different colleges as undergraduates, pursued 50 distinct majors, and went on to earn 29 graduate degrees. At least 40 of them are the first college graduates in their family, and 46 are first-generation Americans. Another two dozen were born outside the United States, and 32% of them identify as students of color.

Claire K. Pollicino

Our newest cohort also includes 39 LL.M. students in our Bankruptcy, Transnational Legal Practice, and U.S. Legal Studies LL.M. programs. They come to us from all over the world, including China, Colombia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and the United States. Together, in all their diversity, the newest J.D. and LL.M. students reflect the richness that is New York City and the St. John’s Law family.

Like countless alumni before them, who support alma mater in so many ways, I know our new students will use their St. John’s J.D. proudly in service of others. As I start my 11th year as Dean of the Law School, I couldn’t be prouder of the legacy they’re carrying forward.

All the Best,

Managing Editor and Lead Writer Lori Herz

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 law.stjohns.edu Copyright 2019 St. John’s University

Michael A. Simons Dean and John V. Brennan Professor of Law and Ethics

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This past June, 222 J.D. candidates, 78 LL.M. candidates, and thousands of guests, including many Law School alumni, came together to celebrate Commencement 2019.

COMMENCEMENT

Commencement speaker Jeh Charles Johnson ’19HON, the former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, asked the graduates to rededicate themselves to four core principles of their profession.

First: Your word is your bond.

Second: There must be no compromise in our demands for truth and accuracy. Third, he said, “We must rededicate ourselves to the sanctity of the attorney-client privilege, and the protection of client confidences.” Fourth: Treat others with respect. “Tolerate and celebrate the diversity of this nation,” Johnson said. “Respect those who are different, and encourage others to do the same.”

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MARC O. DeGIROLAMI IS INSTALLED AS THE INAUGURAL CARY FIELDS ’86HON PROFESSOR OF LAW

O

n October 2, 2019, faculty, students, alumni, administrators, family, and friends came together to celebrate the installation of Marc O. DeGirolami as St. John’s inaugural Cary Fields ’86HON Professor of Law.

The new professorship is named for Cary Fields, a successful real estate entrepreneur, generous philanthropist, and devoted family man whose deep connection to St. John’s University and St. John’s Law has its roots in his longtime relationship with his friend and business partner, the late Jerome Belson ’48L, ’80HON.

“It was through Jerry that Cary got introduced to St. John’s and, by 1986, he was so much a part of the family that he had received an honorary degree,” said Dean Michael A. Simons at the ceremony. “Cary became a diehard St. John’s basketball fan, but he was also drawn to the Vincentians. As a Jewish kid from the hardscrabble streets of Mount Vernon, Cary appreciated the Vincentian mission, and he always admired the St. John’s and Vincentian way of ‘doing the right thing.’”

L-R: Cary Fields, Professor Marc O. DeGirolami, and Dean Michael A. Simons In that spirit, in 2011, Fields and his wife, Kathy, established a major scholarship fund at the Law School in honor of the late Maxine Belson ’98HON, Jerry Belson’s wife of 56 years. Now, the up with something no one has thought of before: a new theory, a Fields’ generous gift will endow the first fully-funded professorship at new explanation, a new prescription that will change the law in St. John’s Law in almost 25 years. Marc DeGirolami, who Dean Simons exciting ways. But, like the actor in that old French film says, novelty described as the “complete package: scholar, teacher, and servant,” is as old as the hills. In looking to the virtues of tradition, Marc has well deserves the honor of being named the first Fields Professor. discovered something new and overlooked in the legal academy, something that will add to our knowledge and understanding of Since arriving at St. John’s in 2009, Professor DeGirolami has how law works, and should work.” served the Law School as a dedicated educator, as Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship, and as Associate Academic Dean. His To complement this view of Professor DeGirolami’s scholarship, scholarly work on wide ranging topics and themes includes his Jordan Hummel ’13 offered the celebrants a snapshot of him as a book, The Tragedy of Religious Freedom, from Harvard University beloved and admired teacher and mentor. Tracing her path from an Press; 12 articles and book chapters in just the last five years; unsure 1L in Professor DeGirolami’s Criminal Law class, to her time placements in top law reviews; commentary and mentions in major as one of the first Center for Law and Religion Student Fellows, and media outlets; and the Law and Religion Forum blog and Legal on to her current work as a prosecutor, Hummel said, “Seldom does Spirits podcast, which he produces as Co-Director of St. John’s a day go by that I don’t think about what he taught me.”

Center for Law and Religion with the Center’s Director, Professor Mark L. Movsesian.

Those lessons included never losing sight of the humanity in the law, being an ethical practitioner, and enjoying life outside of work.

Taking the podium at the installation ceremony, Professor Through office hours and weekly Q&A sessions over tea, Hummel Movsesian talked about his colleague and dear friend as “a tireless, shared, Professor DeGirolami always put his students first, helped thoughtful, and influential scholar.” Whether helping to direct the them find their way, and cheered their successes. In closing, she Tradition Project—a three-year endeavor that brought together said to him, “Thank you for teaching us not only to be wonderful scholars, jurists, and commentators to discuss the continuing value lawyers, but to be wonderful people, too.” of tradition in law, politics, and culture—or focusing on one of several concurrent writing projects, Professor Movsesian said, three With tremendous gratitude for the Fields’ generosity in establishing interrelated themes characterize Professor DeGirolami’s work: a the new professorship, for his family, for his students, and for the commitment to old-fashioned legal scholarship; a focus on concrete entire St. John’s Law community, Professor DeGirolami accepted particularities, rather than abstractions; and a recognition of law’s the honor with this reflection on his vocation: “Just as the soil needs inevitable complexity and pluralism. cultivators of the soil, the mind needs teachers. And my students— students like Jordan Hummel and our Center’s fellows today, and “One does not encounter this approach very much in the legal so many others—have shown me that the ongoing cultivation and academy today, but it is Marc’s own—and he has employed it enrichment of the mind is possible in law school in America—right with great skill,” Professor Movsesian observed, adding, “We are here at St. John’s.” accustomed to think of the great scholar as the person who comes

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FACULTY FOCUS Read all about the latest achievements and activities of our outstanding faculty.

{ ALLEN }

Professor Renee Nicole Allen and Memphis Law Professor DeShun Harris presented PechaKucha & Improv: Engaging Gen Y & Z as part of a Writing Connections Workshop on How Great Teachers Continue to Improve. The workshop offered guidance on using interdisciplinary teaching methods and techniques from law-related fields to improve professorial classroom performance and help teachers move beyond their teaching plateaus.

{ BARRETT }

Professor John Q. Barrett lectured recently on topics including Justice Robert H. Jackson, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Nuremberg trials, and the Holocaust at the IADC Corporate Counsel College, Temple Beth El in Boca Raton, FL, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Robert H. Jackson Center, Latham & Watkins, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Chautauqua Institution, and the Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut in Nuremberg, Germany. His newly-published articles are “Attorney General Robert H. Jackson and President Franklin D. Roosevelt” in the Journal of Supreme Court History, which is based on his 2017 Silverman Lecture in the U.S. Supreme Court, and “Justice Jackson in the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Cases” in the Florida International University Law Review, based on his keynote lecture last year at FIU’s symposium on the 75th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette. He also published an essay, “Milbank Loses Hope…and Hadley and Tweed and McCloy,” in the New York Law Journal. Professor Barrett, biographer of Justice Jackson, writes The Jackson List at thejacksonlist.com. Noted in a July Wall Street Journal article, The Jackson List reaches many thousands of lawyers, judges, students, teachers, and others around the world.

{ BORGEN } At the invitation of their International Law Society, Professor Christopher J. Borgen spoke at Brooklyn Law School on the topic of Self-Determination and Secession: Law, Rhetoric and Strategy. He was a panelist at the American Society of International Law Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. on the topic of International Law and Interstellar Events: Who Speaks for Earth? Moderated by Shane Harris of the Washington Post, the panel included past and current NASA officials and considered the legal and institutional issues related to threats such as an asteroid impact. Professor Borgen also continued his work as a core expert in a project drafting a model Manual on the International Law of Military Space Operations, with workshops at the University of Nebraska and in the Hague.

{ BOYLE }

Professor Robin Boyle observed United States v. Raniere, a criminal trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and was interviewed by The Guardian and Brooklyn Courthouse News for her commentary about the prosecution against the purported self-improvement organization, Nxivm. She also summarized criminal and civil law developments affecting cultic organizations and human trafficking groups at the International Cultic Studies Association annual conference held in Manchester, England. Professor Boyle attended the editorial board meeting for Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing at the headquarters of Thompson Reuters, and was re-elected as a member of the publication’s editorial board. She also served as coorganizer and leader of the Scholars’ Forum held at the Empire State Legal Writing Biennial Conference at New York Law School. Professor Boyle’s book, Becoming a Legal Writer: A Workbook with Explanations to Develop Objective Legal Analysis and Writing Skills, with Chris Coughlin and Sandy Patrick, was published by Carolina Academic Press.

{ CUNNINGHAM }

Professor Larry Cunningham served as co-chair of the American Bar Association Law School Associate Deans’ Conference, where he also presented on communication and assessment. He continues to author McKinney’s practice commentaries on New York Vehicle and Traffic Law as well as the asset forfeiture sections of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules.

{ DiLORENZO } “Disclosing Condo-Coop Self-Dealing Contracts,” an article by Professor Vincent DiLorenzo, appears in the N.Y. Real Property Law Journal, which is published by the New York State Bar Association’s Real Property Law Section, with editorial assistance from St. John’s Law students. The article explores the interplay between new disclosure obligations imposed by legislation and liability of directors for breach of fiduciary duty.

{ GREENBERG }

Professor Elayne E. Greenberg’s scholarship on third-party funding in Alternative Dispute Resolution continues to spark interest. She presented Follow the Money: Ethical Guidelines for Dispute Resolution Professionals When Parties are Backed by Third Party Funders at the American Bar Association’s 21st Annual Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference. She was also a guest speaker on the topic at the Garibaldi Inn of Court, and served on a panel discussing Ethical Issues for Attorneys Using Litigation Funding at the Litigation Funding Forum. Professor Greenberg’s Ethical Compass column, “The Changed BATNA,” appeared in the New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer. She has been named one of the Best Lawyers in Mediation for 2020, recognitions she has received in many past years.

FALL 2019 l 5

FACULTY FOCUS { JOSEPH }

A Certain Clarity: Selected Poems, Professor Lawrence Joseph’s ninth book, will be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2020.

Professor Joseph was a featured speaker at the Catholic Imagination Conference: The Future of the Catholic Literary Tradition, at Loyola University in Chicago.

{ KLONICK }

Professor Kate Klonick received individual research grants from the Knight Foundation, Charles Koch Institute, and the MacArthur Foundation to support her continued research and writing on Facebook, Airbnb, and Waze. In addition, she was a named recipient on an institutional grant to study the Digital Public Sphere at the Yale Law School Information Society Project, as well as on a project grant to study Social Media and Democracy at Yale University with Professor Molly Crockett. Together with Evelyn Douek of Harvard, Professor Klonick wrote “Facebook Releases an Update on Its Oversight Board: Many Questions, Few Answers” for Lawfare and “Facebook’s Federalist Papers” for Slate about Facebook’s Oversight Board. She also teamed with Professor Jennifer Daskal at American University’s Washington Law School to write the New York Times op-ed “When a Politician Is Called a ‘Lousy Traitor,’ Should Facebook Censor It?” about an anticipated ruling out of the European Union against Facebook and free speech. Professor Klonick’s work was cited in testimony and reports from a congressional hearing on Artificial Intelligence and Counterterrorism: Possibilities and Limitations. She has also been featured and quoted widely by multiple news outlets, including NPR, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and the New York Times.

{ KRISHNAKUMAR }

Professor Anita S. Krishnakumar presented her article, “Backdoor Purposivism,” at a faculty colloquium at the University of Houston Law Center. She also authored a short “Academic Highlight” about the Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt case for SCOTUSblog.

{ McGUINNESS }

Professor Peggy McGuinness co-chaired the recent American Branch of the International Law Association Annual Meeting, International Law Weekend. Her book chapter, “Non-Recognition and State Immunities: Toward a Functional Theory,” was published in Unrecognized Subjects in International Law (Scholar Publishing House, Warsaw 2019, Czaplinski & Kleczkowska, eds.). In the chapter, Professor McGuinness argues that courts assessing immunity claims should focus on the acts of the non-recognized entities and their agents, rather than formal government recognition of the entity as a state. In her earlier work, “Treaties, Federalism, and the Contested Legacy of Missouri v. Holland,” a chapter in Supreme Law of the Land?: Debating the Contemporary Effects of Treaties Within the United States Legal System (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2018, Fox, Dubinsky, Roth, eds.), Professor McGuinness examines the effects of federalism on the making and enforcement of treaties in the United States. She is co-editor, with David Stewart (Georgetown Law Center) of the forthcoming Research Handbook in Law and Diplomacy (Edward Elgar, publisher), which includes contributions from leading international lawyers, diplomats, and scholars of international law and international relations examining the interdependency of law and diplomacy in the international system.

{ MOVSESIAN }

Professor Mark L. Movsesian presented his paper, “Masterpiece Cakeshop and the Future of Religious Freedom,” at a conference on Religion and the Administrative State at George Mason University’s Center for the Study of the Administrative State. He was also a commentator at the Federalist Society’s annual Junior Faculty Workshop.

{ ROBERTS }

Professor Anna Roberts published two new pieces recently: “Arrests as Guilt,” in the Alabama Law Review, and a “Response” to an Indiana Law Journal article on opioid policing. She presented her forthcoming Fordham Law Review article, “Convictions as Guilt,” at a Seton Hall School of Law faculty workshop, at the annual meeting of the Law and Society Association, and at the NYC Criminal Justice Ethics Schmooze.

Professor Roberts presented another article, “Arrests as Guilt,” in Deborah Denno’s Criminal Law in Flux seminar at Fordham Law School, and a new piece, “Victims, Right?” at CrimFest! The U.S. Civil Rights Commission quoted and cited two of her articles in its recent report on collateral consequences.

For regular updates on the scholarly work, activities, and initiatives of the St. John’s Law faculty, visit our Faculty Scholarship Blog at stjlawfaculty.org.

You’ll also find our faculty members on Twitter: • @ASKrishnakumar • @CastelloProf • @chris_borgen • @DeanMikeSimons • @GinaCalabrese3 • @jnsheff • @JohnQBarrett • @jsovern • @Klonick • @lawcls • @MarcODeGirolami • @markmovsesian • @profallentweets • @ProfARoberts • @ProfChrisLazaro • @ProfLCunningham • @rachelhsmith • @SusanLandrum1 6 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

FACULTY FOCUS { SALOMONE }

Professor Rosemary C. Salomone made a presentation on the 30th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: The United States as Sole Outlier and led a discussion with UN ambassadors from Canada, Mali, Portugal, and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie on Language and the UN: The Diplomatic View as part of a symposium in New York on the United Nations at 75: Listening, Talking and Taking Action in a Multilingual World. Her commentary, “Court Decision on Language Provokes Cries of Neo-Colonialism,” appeared in the University World News and was cited by petitioners in a letter of protest filed with the Supreme Court of the Philippines. The Court had denied with finality the petitioners’ motion for a rehearing in their challenge to a broad-sweeping and controversial government plan to reform education and remove Filipino language and literature from the university core curriculum.

{ SOVERN }

Professor Jeff Sovern was a discussant and facilitator at the Inaugural Consumer Law Scholars Conference at the Berkeley Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice. He presented his paper, “Do Markets Provide Consumer Protection?” at the 17th Conference of the International Association of Consumer Law held at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cited two of Professor Sovern’s articles in its proposed new debt collection regulations. His recent op-eds include “CFPB Should Cut Back on Texts, Emails Debt Collectors Could Send” in Bloomberg Law Insight and “Congress is considering privacy legislation—be afraid” originally published in The Conversation and republished by the Houston Chronicle and the San Francisco Chronicle.

{ SUBOTNIK }

Professor Eva E. Subotnik has two forthcoming papers. “Existential Copyright and Professional Photography,” co-authored with Jessica Silbey and Peter DiCola, will appear in the Notre Dame Law Review. “The Fine Art of Rummaging: Successors and the Life Cycle of Copyright” will publish in The Research Handbook on Art and Law (Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, co-edited by Jani McCutcheon and Fiona McGaughey).

{ WADE }

Professor Cheryl L. Wade has completed her book Predatory Lending and the Destruction of the African American Dream. Co-authored with Professor Janis Sarra of the University of British Columbia and published by Cambridge University Press, the book is the culmination of years of research on the foreclosure crisis and the history of the economic exploitation of African Americans. While researching the book, Professor Sarra helped to create a short play on the topic that was performed worldwide by an ensemble cast that included Professor Wade. The goal of the play was to present complex financial issues to a wide audience in an accessible way. Professors Wade and Sarra also helped to write and record a song performed by a gospel choir (in which they sang) about the economic exploitation of African Americans. At the invitation of UCLA Professor Devon Carbado, Professor Wade contributed a chapter on “Critical Race Theory and the Corporation” to a book that will be published by Oxford University Press. Professor Wade also moderated a panel on globalization and firm cultures at the AALS Annual Meeting, and she participated in a roundtable discussion about business, race, and climate change organized by the University of British Columbia.

Professors Kayonia L. Whetstone, Anna Roberts, and Sheldon Evans represented St. John’s Law at CrimFest!, an informal, annual conference where scholars of criminal law, criminal procedure, and related criminal justice topics meet to workshop papers.

Professor Whetstone moderated a panel on criminal law structure and institutions. Professor Roberts moderated a panel on substantive criminal law and presented a new project, “Victims, Right?” Professor Evans presented his paper, “Passive Federalism,” which focuses on the interplay between federal collateral consequences and their dependency on state law criminal convictions.

FALL 2019 l 7

MEET OUR NEWEST FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATORS “When alumni ask me ‘How’s the Law School?’ my standard response is ‘stronger than ever’—and it’s true,” says Dean Michael A. Simons. “Our student credentials have risen steadily over the past six years, our bar passage rate is one of the highest in the state, and our employment rate is one of the highest in the country. But the reason for that strength is the people who make up the St. John’s Law family: our students, faculty, administrators, staff, and alumni. I’m thrilled to welcome our newest administrators and faculty members to the family, and I look forward to more great things ahead.”

FACULTY Renee Nicole Allen, Assistant Professor of Legal Writing, comes to St. John’s from the University of Tennessee College of Law, where she was the Director of Academic Success. She received her J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and a B.A. from Mercer University. Professor Allen’s research interests include social justice, legal education, and educational psychology. She recently received an M.A. in Educational Psychology from the University of Tennessee. This year, she is teaching Legal Writing I and II. Assistant Professor of Law Catherine Baylin Duryea joins us from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she was the Charles W. McCurdy Fellow in Legal History. She is a triple graduate of Stanford (B.A., J.D., Ph.D. in History), and her research focuses on human rights, comparative constitutional development, and administrative law. She teaches Administrative Law and a Legal History Seminar at the Law School this year.

Visiting Professor of Law Irina Manta comes to us for the year from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, where she is a Professor of Law and the Director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law. Her research focuses on the intersection of law and the social sciences, especially psychology and economics. A double graduate of Yale, Professor Manta is widely published and has taught at Fordham, Cardozo, Brooklyn, GW, and Arkansas law schools. She is teaching Property and Torts at St. John’s.

Maggie Wittlin, an Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law, is also a Visiting Professor of Law at St. John’s. Her research focuses on evidence, criminal and civil procedure, intellectual property, and law and behavioral sciences. She uses theoretical, mathematical, and empirical methods to study how legal actors— judges, jurors, and lawyers, as well as citizens subject to laws—should and do make decisions. A double graduate of Yale, Professor Wittlin spent several years clerking and practicing law in New York before moving to Nebraska. She will be with us for the fall and is teaching Civil Procedure.

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L -R: Ashleigh Kashimawo, Catherine Duryea, Renee Allen, Maggie Wittlin, Marra Guttenplan, Rachel Smith, and Irina Manta. Not pictured: Courtney Selby

ADMINISTRATORS Courtney Selby started at St. John’s in May as Associate Dean for Library Services and Associate Professor of Legal Research. She spent the last eight years running the law library at Hofstra, and has already brought an infusion of energy and innovation to the Rittenberg Law Library, including a newly configured entryway and updated website and catalogue. Dean Selby is also in the process of adding new professional librarians to the library staff.

In addition to her duties as Professor of Legal Writing, Rachel H. Smith has assumed the newly-created role of Associate Dean for Experiential and Skills-Based Learning. In her three years at St. John’s Law, Dean Smith has distinguished herself as a first-rate teacher, a noteworthy scholar of legal writing pedagogy, and a dedicated institutional servant, making her a wonderful addition to the Law School’s leadership team.

After working as our Director of Graduate Studies for over two years, Ashleigh Georgia Kashimawo is now the inaugural Director of Public Interest Programming at St. John’s Law. A former public defender at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem and the Orleans Public Defenders in New Orleans, she looks forward to overseeing our public interest offerings and increasing support for students pursuing public interest careers.

Marra Guttenplan has joined us as Director of Graduate Studies, and will have administrative responsibility for the Law School’s LL.M. programs and international travel programs. An experienced corporate lawyer and international program director, she was most recently running Global Student Services for St. John’s University study abroad programs.

ON DIRECT

Dean Michael A. Simons

TA: After moving from law practice to teaching at St. John’s Law, you focused your scholarship on sentencing, prosecutorial decision making, and punishment theory. Why did those subjects interest you?

MAS: When I began my work as a scholar, I wrote about what I knew: the work of prosecutors. And as I grew as a scholar, I realized that I’d be able to make the greatest scholarly contribution if I combined theoretical insights with a pragmatic understanding of how things work on the ground. If there’s a common thread running through my scholarly work, it’s an examination of how prosecutors make decisions, which is something I knew well from first-hand experience.

TA: Did you teach 1L Criminal Law from the outset at St. John’s? What other courses have you taught here over the years?

Michael A. Simons is in his 11th year as Dean of St. John’s Law, making him the longesttenured law school dean in New York and one of the longest-serving deans nationwide. He is also an active member of the Law School faculty, having taught Criminal Law every year since arriving at St. John’s in 1998.

Here, Dean Simons sits down with Assistant Dean for Marketing and Communications Trent Anderson to talk about his work as a law professor, scholar, and practitioner.

TA: What are the roots of your interest in criminal law, and how did that interest evolve through law school, your federal clerkship, your service as a federal prosecutor, and your time in private practice?

MAS: What initially attracted me to criminal practice was its inherent connection to people.

With very few exceptions, criminal cases involve individuals—real people who are accused of crimes, real people who have been victimized.

And every case, regardless of how large or small, is very important to the defendant. That gives criminal litigation an immediacy and a potency that’s hard to match. Once I began actually practicing, however, there were other things that energized me: the defense lawyer’s role in helping clients and the prosecutor’s role in seeking justice. Both were very rewarding.

MAS: I’ve taught Criminal Law every year since I started in 1998. I love teaching the course because it engages students with core questions of justice. Unlike many other first-year courses, the issues we discuss in Criminal Law are things about which students often already have opinions. I see my role as giving students the analytical skills and the intellectual vocabulary to justify (and perhaps to change) those opinions.

I’ve also taught other courses that drew on my criminal law experience, most notably Evidence and a Sentencing Seminar. And, for the past 16 years, I’ve taught Introduction to Law, the orientation course that teaches our 1Ls the basics of being a law student. Teaching Intro is exhilarating, because students make so much progress in such a short time. They go from knowing almost nothing about the law to being able to read and brief cases, prepare rudimentary outlines, and even take a practice exam—all in less than two weeks.

TA: Why did you continue teaching after being named Dean of the Law School?

MAS: One reason is selfish: I love teaching.

But it was also important to me for two other reasons. First, teaching regularly keeps me connected with students. Second, and just as important, it keeps me connected with the rest of the faculty, because we’re engaged together in the common enterprise of the Law School.

TA: What are some of the greatest challenges that our criminal justice system faces today?

MAS: I see three great challenges facing the criminal legal system, and they mirror challenges facing the broader society. First, our penological culture is excessively punitive. Mass incarceration is a peculiarly American phenomenon because we punish offenders with far lengthier sentences than any other developed democracy.

Second, the deep-rooted legacy of racism in America is inevitably reflected in the criminal legal system—including in our willingness to impose such lengthy sentences. And third, the political polarization that so profoundly divides America today makes criminal justice reform challenging as well. When one side sees all arrestees as criminals unworthy of respect or compassion, and the other side sees police and prosecutors as oppressors unworthy of respect or compassion, progress is difficult.

TA: What makes St. John’s Law especially well equipped to educate the public defenders, prosecutors, and other practitioners who will need to rise to those challenges?

MAS: Two reasons. The first is our faculty. We have a great roster of Criminal Law professors with broad experience: Elaine Chiu served in the Manhattan DA’s Office; Larry Cunningham served in the Bronx DA’s Office; and Anna Roberts, one of our newest faculty members, spent several years as a public defender with the Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem.

Add to that our Prosecution Clinic, Criminal Defense Clinic, our outstanding adjunct faculty (which includes at least a dozen current prosecutors and defense lawyers), and our dozens of criminal law externships, and students have an endless supply of mentors and training opportunities. The second reason is our culture and history. The path to criminal law practice goes through public service, because almost all criminal practitioners begin their careers as either public defenders or prosecutors. And St. John’s Law has a long and rich tradition of producing lawyers who serve the public.

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ADJUNCT SPOTLIGHT Our adjunct professors bring real-world experience from the field to the classroom at St. John’s Law. Here, we introduce you to three exceptional educators who are helping our students learn about, and build skills in, criminal law and practice.

Name: HON. JOSEPH F. BIANCO Occupation: Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit St. John’s Law Courses: Criminal Procedure: Adjudication; Criminal Procedure: Sentencing/Post-Conviction; Counterterrorism Law

FROM THE FIELD: My 13 years on the district court provided me with an invaluable foundation for my current work on the Second Circuit. When I look back over the many trials over which I have presided and decisions I’ve had to make, it’s really amazing how many different and unexpected issues and factual scenarios have arisen.

As a Circuit Judge, I’m able to call upon those experiences in analyzing the many legal issues that arise before the Court. The most important matters in people’s lives—such as their freedom, their jobs, their homes, their reputation—and in the life of the communities we serve are decided every day in the courts of the Second Circuit. It’s so rewarding to use my legal skills, just like so many other participants in court, to contribute in a meaningful way to this important work of our justice system. I’m able to look back upon each day and see how my public service is making a difference. I also really believe that, when I’m able to perform my job as a judge in a humble way that shows respect and basic human dignity to everyone who comes through the courthouse doors, my work can impact the world person by person.

TO THE CLASSROOM: Teaching the law is also a real calling for me and the students and faculty at St. John’s make me feel like I’m part of their Law School family. I tell students all the time that I’m living proof that you don’t know how your career may play out. If someone had told me in law school that I would someday serve as a District Court Judge and then on the Second Circuit, I would have said they were absolutely crazy. I try to convey to students that the key to success is to work really hard every day, at everything you do, in law school and beyond. Treat other people the right way, find an area of the law that you’re passionate about, and then pursue it with all your heart. My primary goal as a professor is to instill this desire and hope within the heart of each student, and then fully equip them in class with the tools they’ll need to be successful in whatever area of the law they ultimately choose to pursue.

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Name: BRAD LEVENTHAL Occupation: Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney, Major Crimes Division; Bureau Chief, Homicide Trial Bureau, Queens District Attorney’s Office St. John’s Law Courses: Advanced Trial Advocacy; Evidence

FROM THE FIELD: As the deputy executive of the major crimes division, I act in an upper-level managerial capacity and help oversee the operation of four key bureaus. As Bureau Chief, I’m responsible for overseeing the daily operation of a Homicide Trial Bureau comprised of eight assistant district attorneys, approximately six detective investigators, and other support staff. My job, in part, is to evaluate the strengths and challenges of my office’s homicide cases; discuss investigative and trial strategies; meet with witnesses, defense attorneys, and judges; discuss issues of law and admissibility of evidence; and help the ADAs be the most prepared they can be for an upcoming grand jury presentation, pre-trial hearing, or trial. I also personally maintain a small case load of homicides and, on average, will try one or two homicides a year.

TO THE CLASSROOM: St. John’s is a great place to work, and my students are hardworking, eager to learn, and enthusiastic about the law. I feel that my years of practical experience in the field allow me to provide the students with a practical, real-world application of the law, legal analysis, and public policy I teach in class.

I’m often able to provide real-life examples based upon real cases I’ve handled in the past or am presently prosecuting. I’m also able to offer perspective on the major changes the criminal justice system is undergoing here in New York and nationwide. Future ADAs will have to successfully implement these vast changes, assuring that defendants get treated fairly and receive a fair trial while also seeking to protect the safety and security of the victims, their families, and any witnesses.

Name: RACHEL SINGER Occupation: Chief, Forensic Science & Cold Case Unit, Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office St. John’s Law Courses: Evidence: Forensic DNA

FROM THE FIELD: Before moving to the Brooklyn DA’s Office, I worked as an ADA in the Bronx for 16 years. I started my career in the Sex Crimes & Domestic Violence Unit, where I handled many DNA cases over the early years, including complex sexual assault cases. I learned on the job from Office mentors and from the forensic biologists at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). Fast forward, and I now lecture around the country on various legal/forensic topics, teaching other prosecutors and law enforcement how to understand and utilize this material in their cases. In my current role, I oversee all forensic-based cases for the Office and assist in grand jury presentations and trial strategy. I also work with the New York City Police Department and OCME’s forensic lab to ensure that evidence is processed and tested correctly. In addition, I teach CLE programs for attorneys in my Office and across New York and oversee, review, and evaluate cold case homicides for prosecution.

TO THE CLASSROOM: This is my first semester teaching as an adjunct at St. John’s Law, and I look forward to offering the students not only the legal perspective, but the practical application of what they learn. The biggest challenge for students and attorneys alike is understanding the fast-evolving technologies and how to explain them to a jury. For example, DNA testing in the forensic community has transitioned to using probabilistic genotyping software that calculates a likelihood ratio. In many cases, that means no more source attribution or ‘match’ language, but rather the probability that an individual’s DNA is included in an evidence sample. This is a big departure from what attorneys were used to hearing when it came to matching a defendant and a crime scene sample. Prosecutors have to be extremely careful now to not misstate or overstate the statistical evidence at trial because the concept of probability can be hard for factfinders to grasp.

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SPECIAL REPORT

5 1 0 2 F O S LAS

C

MAKES IT

S MARK

E C I T C A R AL P

N I M I IN CR

It’s going on five years since the Class of 2015 walked across the commencement stage at Carnesecca Arena, donned their ceremonial hoods, and became St. John’s Law graduates.

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s their professors, family, and friends cheered them on, 20 of St. John’s newest lawyers looked forward to working as assistant district attorneys in and around New York City. Others were excited to launch their careers as public defenders across the country, and as associates in white-collar defense practices at top New York law firms.

All of the graduates benefited from the Law School’s integrated approach to legal study and career development. Students focus on a legal discipline in their second year, gain hands-on experience through internships, externships, and clinics, and network through a range of events, student organizations, and co-curricular activities.

When they return to campus, the Class of 2015 is welcome at the Center for Trial and Appellate Advocacy, which launched in 2017 as a resource for aspiring and practicing criminal attorneys and other advocates. Home to the Frank S. Polestino Trial Advocacy Institute (PTAI) and the Moot Court Honor Society, the Center is also a hub for foundational and upper level courses, including Criminal Law; Evidence; Legal Writing; Criminal Procedure; Juvenile Justice; Trial Advocacy; Appellate Advocacy; and New York Practice.

“By design, our curriculum is a bridge to real-world practice,” says Dean Larry Cunningham, who has served as the Center’s Director since it opened. “We

regularly add new courses and revamp existing ones that prepare our graduates to succeed as advocates in diverse settings.

For instance, we’re one of the few schools offering Advanced Trial Advocacy, which focuses on defined topics. We have a course on Evidence: Forensic DNA this year, and students explore pressing legal issues in our Contemporary Criminal Justice Seminar.”

The Center operates in collaboration with the Law School’s Career Development Office, where career counselors with experience in criminal and civil advocacy provide individualized guidance. From the first year on, they help students pursue opportunities for building their courtroom skillset.

IN THIS SPECIAL REPORT, WE CATCH UP WITH SOME MEMBERS OF THE CLASS OF 2015 WHO ARE USING THE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND EXPERIENCE THEY GAINED AT ST. JOHN’S LAW TO MAKE THEIR MARK IN CRIMINAL PRACTICE.

SERVING THE PEOPLE

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hen NICHOLAS COOPER stepped into the courtroom as a newly-minted Queens ADA, it was a homecoming of sorts.

“I can remember sitting in the Belson Moot Court Room with my parents on Admitted Students Day at St. John’s Law,” he says.

“Students were putting on a short mock trial and it was riveting. From that moment, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my law degree.”

To hone his skills, Cooper joined PTAI, which sponsors trial training programs, competitions, and trial-related legal writing forums that promote and support St. John’s reputation as a leader in the field of trial advocacy.

“It was like a chess match mixed with legal concepts, creative thinking, and showmanship,” says Cooper, recalling his first PTAI competition. “I was hooked and, with the help of alumni coaches, over the years I got much more comfortable speaking on my feet. I also learned to think more creatively, developed control over my volume and my attitude, became more adept at working with others, and I learned how to cross examine.”

Cooper carried that skillset into practice at the Queens District Attorney’s Office,

where he is now in the Supreme Court Trial Division handling felony cases. He finds the work rewarding, and appreciates the unique role that he and his fellow ADAs play in the criminal justice system. “My job as a prosecutor is to do the right thing,” Cooper says, “whether that means taking a case to trial, offering a plea bargain with mental health treatment, or dismissing a case in the interest of justice.”

Cooper’s classmate, CHRISTOPHER EATON, agrees and is proud to serve as an ADA in the Green Zone Trial Bureau at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.

“I currently have a caseload of about 30 felonies, including gun possession, assault, robbery, burglary, and attempted murder,” he says. “I’ve already taken six trials to verdict as either first or second chair. So, just five years out of St. John’s, I’ve gained substantial courtroom experience.”

Eaton, who participated in PTAI internal competitions and was the Vice President and President of the Student Bar Association at St. John’s Law, found his time in the Law School’s full-year Prosecution Clinic especially formative on his career path. “It was a great, immersive introduction to the work of being a prosecutor, and I

highly recommend the Clinic to any student who is considering being an ADA,” he says.

The Prosecution Clinic, along with PTAI, also helped MEGAN LEO prepare for her career as an ADA in the Bronx District Attorney’s Office. “I went to St. John’s intending to be a prosecutor,” she says. “PTAI and the Clinic gave me unrivaled opportunities to get a wide range of practical experience and develop my own style as a courtroom advocate. When you start doing trials on the job, there are always new things to learn, especially with changing case law, but the skills I gained at St. John’s got me off to a strong start.”

While she handles challenging cases on assignment in her office’s Domestic Violence Bureau, Leo says it’s a privilege to serve as an ADA. “It’s very gratifying to connect with people, and to try to make a difference in their lives and in the wellbeing of the community.”

For Nicholas Cooper, that service to others is the highest calling. “Our work as prosecutors certainly impacts the victims of crimes individually,” he says. “But that impact ripples out across the city and well beyond it as we seek justice on behalf of all the people of New York.”

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KEEPING GIDEON’S PROMISE

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n the landmark case Gideon v.

Wainwright, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that indigent criminal defendants have a constitutional right to a court-appointed lawyer. Writing for the majority, Justice Hugo Black stated that “reason and reflection require us to recognize that in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.”

Some 50 years later, public defenders work tirelessly to keep Gideon’s promise, a difficult job in a country where more than 80 percent of those charged with felonies are indigent.

From a young age, MARYANNE KAISHIAN believed she was up to the task.

“The more I learned about the criminal legal system, the more I knew I wanted to be a defense attorney,” she says. “I was deeply troubled by the inequities I read about and saw as a child and teenager, and thought that I should work to balance the scales. I went to St. John’s Law to become a public defender.”

Pursuing her career goal, Kaishian participated in PTAI, competing nationally and eventually serving on its executive board. “Although the stakes are obviously not the same in these competitions, the courtroom simulations really did prepare me for work as a trial lawyer,” she says. Kaishian also built practical skills in the Law School’s full-year Criminal Defense Clinic. “I was assigned to the Legal Aid Society in Queens and it was an incredible experience,” she says. “I handled criminal cases from arraignments to conclusion.”

Today, Kaishian is a staff attorney in the Criminal Defense Practice at Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS), one of New York City’s largest legal services providers. “I’m a member of the Adolescent Representation Team at BDS, and defend young people who are accused of misdemeanors and felonies in Kings County,” she explains.

It’s hard, but meaningful, work. “The criminal legal system is incredibly dehumanizing for people, and for young people that can be particularly impactful,” says Kaishian.

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“They’re in their formative years when they experience the trauma of arrest and incarceration, and it’s often preceded by personal trauma in their lives. Being a public defender is an opportunity to treat people with dignity and humanity, and to show them that they’re worth fighting for.”

That fight can take a toll, however, since public defenders carry heavy caseloads.

“Burnout is a very real part of our job, so I have to savor the small victories and keep going,” Kaishian says. The same view fuels the work of Kaishian’s classmate, NAHID NOORI, an Assistant Public Defender with the Miami-Dade County Public Defender’s Office.

“I represent clients charged with second and third degree felonies at all stages of the criminal process,” Noori shares. “This runs the gamut from interviewing clients and witnesses, to conducting investigations with our investigative team, to researching novel issues of law, and drafting motions and memoranda. No two days are ever the same.

As public defenders we’re constantly pressed for more time to complete our work, but we forge on to ensure that our clients receive the best legal representation.”

Noori didn’t have a set career path when she arrived at St. John’s Law, but participating in PTAI was pivotal. “I learned that I had talent as a trial attorney. Presence can’t be manufactured. You either have it, or you don’t. I loved being taught the mechanics of the courtroom by real-life practitioners. It prepared me well for my later work.”

After graduation, Noori started as a prosecutor in Miami, but soon realized the job wasn’t for her. “I resigned, switched sides, and never looked back,” she recalls, adding that her work is about reshaping perspective. “Public defenders are in the business of humanization. Our clients are human beings who deserve every shred of dignity. Many of them come from communities that are deeply underserved and impacted by institutionalized racism.

Poverty carries its own unique burden for our clients. Then there is the bias-based policing that’s rampant in many of these poorer communities. Being able to stand

against great injustice is crucially important. It reshapes how our clients are perceived and received by prosecutors, judges, and others.”

Like Noori, ASHLEY VARNADO became a public defender to uplift underserved individuals and communities. “As a public defender, you can make a difference,” she says. “Oftentimes, those with financial means are able to navigate the criminal justice system more successfully. I take pride in ensuring that my clients are not prejudiced due to their economic status and receive the full protection of the law.”

Varnado is completing her first year as an Assistant Public Defender in the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender in Chicago, where she is assigned to a misdemeanor courtroom in suburban Markham. As she handles her caseload of mostly driving-related offenses, she draws on knowledge and skills she gained at St. John’s Law, particularly as a student advocate in the in-house Consumer Justice for the Elderly: Litigation Clinic and as a member of the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development.

It’s a welcome opportunity to have a positive impact, and Varnado, who grew up in south suburban Chicago, is eager to affect change.

“I want resources for my clients,” she shares.

“Some struggle with job and education opportunities, but there aren’t many places I can refer them. If a client wants to go to college, I want to be able to connect them to a mentor who will help them navigate the admissions process. If a client wants to learn a trade, I want to hand them an application to a program before they leave the courtroom.

I hope that, one day, I can be instrumental in changing this.”

Considering the next generation of public defenders, Varnado says: “I’d tell any St. John’s Law student interested in helping the underserved as a public defender to take the time to listen to their clients.

Get to know their back stories. You quickly learn that people can make mistakes, but it doesn’t define who they are. With you as their advocate, they can move forward with dignity and humanity.”

DEFENDING WHITE-COLLAR CASES

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eports have it that the criminologist Edwin Sutherland first coined the term “white-collar crime” at a gathering of the American Sociological Society in 1939, in recounting Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt’s bold admission about his family fortune: “You don’t suppose you can run a railroad in accordance with the statutes, do you?”

Today, white-collar offenses include public corruption; money laundering; corporate fraud; securities and commodities fraud; mortgage fraud; financial institution fraud; bank fraud and embezzlement; fraud against the government; election law violations; mass marketing fraud; health care fraud, and more. Defending corporations and individuals accused of these financial crimes has become a global enterprise engaging some of the world’s leading law firms.

JOHN HUNT, an associate at Arnold & Porter who represents corporate clients, financial institutions, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and individuals in a broad range of commercial suits, likes the nature of white-collar work.

“In other areas of my practice, large sums of money are typically on the line, but it feels more high-stakes when someone’s freedom is pending,” he says. “I also like interfacing with law enforcement, whether it’s the U.S. Attorney’s Office or the State AG.” Hunt came to St. John’s Law looking to positively impact people’s lives in a tangible way. He also knew that he wanted to litigate, and hone practical skills on the St. John’s Law Review and in the classroom. “Dean Andrew Simons, my 1L Torts professor, would respond to students’ answers by asking them: ‘But how would you analyze it?’ At first, I only half understood what he meant. Then it clicked that law school was about the analysis, not the answer. I became interested in criminal law after I took Judge Bianco’s Counterterrorism course. Also, hearing Dean Mike Simons talk about his time as a federal prosecutor was inspiring.”

Like his classmate Hunt, VINCENT IANNECE wanted to be a litigator even before he got to St. John’s. “My parents met at the Law School, and then worked as criminal defense attorneys, so I grew up watching them in the courtroom,” he says. “I always enjoyed the idea of being an advocate, representing the interests of others, and helping people in their time of greatest need.”

Iannece excelled academically and earned a spot on the St. John’s Law Review, where he served as an Associate Managing Editor. “It was a great experience,” he recalls. “Editing and reviewing scholarly articles instilled an

attention to detail and exposed me to hot-button legal issues. I also got to work on my note with Vince Alexander, one of my favorite professors and one of the most respected experts in New York procedural and evidentiary law.”

As a senior litigation associate at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Iannece now handles a range of white-collar criminal matters. He says the role requires him to be “a master of the facts” as he oversees document production, prepares witnesses, and drafts documents and memoranda. “These cases involve extensive investigation. I enjoy sifting through the vast record and talking with clients to gain an understanding of what actually took place and build out our narrative. It takes a lot of hard work to distill and present the facts and the law in a digestible manner.”

Working on white-collar cases is also rewarding for BARI NADWORNY, an associate at BakerHostetler. “My responsibilities in these matters vary, which makes the work fun and exciting,” she says. “I draft memoranda of law, discovery documents, and submissions to enforcement authorities. I prepare clients for depositions and government interviews, and I conduct legal research and factual analyses. I also coordinate with expert witnesses in preparing their reports.”

Nadworny learned the value of paying close attention to detail as Editor-in-Chief of the St. John’s Law Review. Guiding the journal’s content and process allowed her to develop her leadership abilities and style. It also shaped her perspective on helping people navigate challenges.

“One of the things that makes white-collar criminal defense practice so interesting is that our clients are real individuals, with interests and families, who have found themselves, for one reason or another, in a difficult situation,” Nadworny shares. “Over the course of a matter, I learn a lot about my clients as people, so the outcome, and any positive developments along the way, are very meaningful.”

Just as white-collar matters involve people with complex stories, they also come with other complexities, which makes them particularly appealing to MICHAEL LEWIS, an associate at DLA Piper. “White-collar work isn’t constrained to a particular practice area,” he observes. “It touches everything—bankruptcy, intellectual property, commercial transactions, government investigations. To me, there’s nothing more enjoyable than taking an initially foreign concept and learning everything I can about it. Our attorney teams are leanly staffed, so I really get to dive into cases and gain significant, substantive experience.”

Lewis grew up listening to his father’s war stories about life as a criminal defense attorney and assumed he would follow in his footsteps. He credits internships with Hon. Daniel D. Angiolillo ’77 in the New York Appellate Division, Second Department and Hon. Vincent L. Briccetti in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York with shaping the career he has today. He also gained valuable insight as a Notes & Comments Editor on the St. John’s Law Review.

Looking ahead, Lewis welcomes the opportunity to build his practice.

“White-collar work has presented a number of fascinating opportunities, like understanding the intricacies of a public airport, deciphering how an engine operates to emit pollutants, and investigating allegations of improper payments to secure contracts,” he says.

“It’s never boring, and is challenging in all the best ways.”

SANDY TOMASIK, an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton, couldn’t agree more.

“White-collar cases are often high-profile and move very fast,” she says. “They can be stressful, but they keep you on your toes.

Another thing I love about white-collar is that a lot of the practice is detective work. It’s very fact-intensive, and it’s fun to uncover those facts and see how they impact things.”

Tomasik’s typical responsibilities in whitecollar matters range from drafting talking points for presentations to the government, to managing document review, and preparing witnesses for interviews. They are all tasks that her clerkship with Hon. Henry Pitman in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York prepared her to handle capably. “The chance to work one-on-one with a judge was invaluable and taught me so much, from how to write and argue to the intangible qualities of what makes a great lawyer,” she says.

Tomasik also gained valuable experience at St. John’s Law, where she was an Associate Managing Editor on the St. John’s Law Review. Looking to “make a difference on a macro-level,” she found a mentor in the Law School’s Vice Dean Emeritus, Andrew J. Simons ’65. “I’ll never forget sitting in his office and him telling me: ‘Your career is going to be wildly unpredictable. But that’s the exciting thing about it,’” she says. “And he was completely right. Never in a million years did I think I’d be in the position I’m in now, working in white-collar criminal defense at a major law firm, and I’m excited to see what happens next.”

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CHAMPIONING EQUAL JUSTICE Susan C. Bryant ’01 Advocates For New York’s Public Defenders And Public Defense Clients

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arlier this year, New York State lawmakers passed a suite of criminal justice reforms ending cash bail for most criminal charges, accelerating discovery deadlines, and curtailing speedy trial delays.

It was a watershed moment for Susan C. Bryant, who advocated for the sweeping changes as Executive Director of the New York State Defenders Association (NYSDA), a non-profit membership organization that has supported New York’s public defense community since 1967.

Bryant assumed NYSDA’s top leadership role this past spring, after serving as a staff attorney, special counsel, and deputy director there for 12 years. “NYSDA’s mission is to improve the quality and scope of public defense representation in New York, and our core value of client-centered representation guides my work,” Bryant says. “Among other responsibilities, I ensure that we provide high-quality services to our members through direct assistance, trainings, publications, and our Public Defense Case Management System. We also offer a weeklong, statewide Basic Trial Skills Program and a Veterans Defense Program, among other programs and initiatives.”

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It’s rewarding work that taps knowledge and skills that Bryant gained while exploring different areas of the law at St. John’s. She counts Law School Professors Lawrence Joseph and Margaret Turano ’77 as important mentors, and considers her St. John’s Law Review writing and editing experiences formative. Her time at St. John’s Law, Bryant says, prepared her well for a professional path that took her from federal law clerk, to U.S. Department of Justice Honors Program attorney, and into private practice before joining NYSDA. As she continues to serve her organization’s mission, Bryant sees advancing the cause of equal justice in New York as an ongoing

effort. “At times, it’s hard to believe all the successes the defense community, including NYSDA and many advocacy groups, achieved during this legislative session,” she says. “But we must remember all the years it took to get us to this point and, more importantly, all the individuals and families who suffered along the way. More hard work lies ahead, and I’m incredibly grateful to NYSDA’s dedicated staff and to the talented and caring attorneys, investigators, social workers, mitigation specialists, parent advocates, support staff, and others in the public defense community who fight for justice every day.”

Bryant also sees the opportunities that lie ahead for law school students and graduates. “It’s an incredible time to be a public defender in New York,” she says.

“The State has started to make a significant financial investment in public defense, at least on the criminal justice side. This funding will allow public defense providers in each county—public defender and conflict defender offices, legal aid societies, and assigned counsel programs—to hire more attorneys. The work is challenging and also rewarding. At the end of the day, you know you’re making a difference.”

Imparting Lessons From The Past Samantha Horn Capicotto ’11 Works To Prevent Atrocity Crimes Worldwide

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he relic gas chamber stood as a stark reminder, just 100 yards from the classroom where Samantha Capicotto led a week-long training on mass atrocity prevention and policy for 20 U.S. government officials this past summer. The group had traveled to Poland’s Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp to participate in the flagship program of the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR), a non-governmental organization based in New York City.

For the last 10 years, alongside her colleagues, Capicotto has developed, coordinated, and presented the annual training as Program Director of the Global Raphael Lemkin Seminar for Genocide Prevention at AIPR, where she also serves as Director of Policy and Planning. It’s a vocation, she says, forged on an interest in international human rights that sparked in college and grew as she studied at St. John’s Law. “I was in a professor’s office during my 2L year, talking about my future, and mentioned my interest in human rights,” Capicotto recalls. “She very kindly set up a dinner with one of her former students and his wife, who worked at AIPR. Through that connection, I got a summer internship at AIPR, stayed on part time during my last year at St. John’s, and then started full time after taking the bar exam.”

Capicotto quickly assumed responsibility for the genocide prevention seminar, which is organized in partnership with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum and the United Nation’s Joint Office of the Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect. With no shortage of opportunities to improve the lives of marginalized or vulnerable populations everywhere, it’s a critical undertaking.

“We hold our programs on former atrocity sites to harness the power of place, so participants build the capacity to prevent future crimes by learning lessons from the past,” Capicotto explains. “My AIPR colleagues then work tirelessly to provide ongoing support to our

program participants, who carry the prevention effort forward in their home countries and across nations and regions. They do the heavy lifting of identifying and disrupting the cultural, social, ethnic, and other processes that, over time, can escalate into acts of genocide or mass atrocity violence.”

For all its challenges, Capicotto finds her crime prevention role at AIPR incredibly rewarding, “When you spend a week at Auschwitz with someone, you stop being Samantha from AIPR, Elke from the Netherland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or Jamila from the Court of Appeal of Kenya,” she says. “You’re Sam, Elke, and Jamila, three human beings who have the opportunity to play a key role in making sure the atrocities witnessed at this place don’t occur elsewhere. Our participants return to their humanity during that week, and go home with the tools and support network they need to make prevention a reality.”

While it operates in over 80 countries around the world, AIPR recognizes that crucial work needs to be done in the United States as well. In her leadership role, Capicotto has trained U.S. law enforcement personnel in preventing atrocities by protecting human and civil rights.

“Genocide is fundamentally a human problem,” she notes. “As citizens of democracies, it’s all the more important now to be vigilant, to be proactive, and to fight for our legitimate institutions and the rule of law, which keep us all in check from our more basic instincts.”

As she continues to serve people across borders, boundaries, and cultures, Capicotto is grateful to be able to use her law degree to bridge divides and forge deep and lasting connections. “I’ve learned so much about what it means to be a global citizen,” she says. “It’s something I’ll always have to work hard at, but I can honestly say that I have people I care about all over the world, practicing all manner of religions, or not, and coming from so many walks of life.

This is such a great honor, and I have St. John’s Law and AIPR to thank for it.”

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Courses Contemporary Criminal Justice Seminar C r i m i n a l P ro c e d u re : A d j u d i c a t i o n Issues of Race & Gender in the Law N e w Yo r k C r i m i n a l P r a c t i c e

( P u b l i c I n t e re s t F e l l o w ) R e s e a rc h A s s i s t a n t , P ro f . K a t e L e v i n e

L e g a l I n t e r n , S p e c i a l I n v e s t i g a t i o n s B u re a u , B ro n x D i s t r i c t A t t o r n e y ’s O ff i c e ( B X D A )

1L Summer

California

2L and 3L [Adam & Sharlene] Criminal Procedure: Investigation Evidence Tr i a l A d v o c a c y : P TA I

1L [Adam & Sharlene] Constitutional Law Criminal Law

St. John’s School of Law

Courses International Criminal Law

Legal Intern, Catholic Charity Community Services, Immigration Legal Services

1L Summer

New York City

START!

PATHWAYS TO CRIMINAL PRACTICE

At St. John’s Law, Sharlene Disla ’19 and Adam Myren ’19 built the skills and knowledge they needed to succeed as criminal lawyers.

From their first year in to their first job out, we’re tracing their . . .

START!

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2 L Ye a r

Staff Member, Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

Civil Procedure TA, Prof. Jeff Sovern

Criminal Law TA, Dean Michael A. Simons

Member, Public Interest Law Student Association

3 L Ye a r

C r i m i n a l D e f e n s e A t t o r n e y, B ro o k l y n D e f e n d e r S e r v i c e s

END

S t u d e n t A t t o r n e y, P ro s e c u t i o n C l i n i c , D o m e s t i c V i o l e n c e B u re a u , B X D A

A s s i s t a n t D i s t r i c t A t t o r n e y, B X D A

END

Yo r k C o u n c i l o f D e f e n s e L a w y e r s S a m Dawson Summer Fellow)

Mentor, Black Law Student Association

Street Law Coordinator, Latin American Law Students Association

Finalist & Best Cross Examination Award, Brian Peterson Memorial First Year Trial Competition

First Place, Quinnipiac University Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition

Finalist, American Association for Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition

Senior Staff Member, N.Y. Real Property Law Journal

Associate Board Member, PTAI

L e g a l I n t e r n , T h e L e g a l A i d S o c i e t y, Queens Criminal Defense Practice (New

Champion, 2018 Florida State University Mock Trial Competition

Managing Director, PTAI

DeanĘźs Award for Excellence in Refugee & Immigrant Rights Litigation Clinic

St. Thomas More Scholar

2L Summer

Activities & Honors

L e g a l I n t e r n , B ro o k l y n D e f e n d e r S e r v i c e s ( P u b l i c I n t e re s t F e l l o w )

2L Summer

Activities & Honors

Services, Immigration Legal Servicess

Intern, Refugee and Immigrant Rights Litigation Clinic, Catholic Charity Community

Sharlene Disla

S t u d e n t A t t o r n e y, C r i m i n a l D e f e n s e C l i n i c , B ro o k l y n D e f e n d e r S e r v i c e s

2 L Ye a r

Adam Myren

FALL 2019 l 19

ENSURING OUR NATIONAL SECURITY Barry Jonas ’89 Builds A Career Prosecuting Terrorism’s Financers he verdict came in seven years after the 9/11 attacks, a major milestone in the counterterrorism efforts that came in their wake.

Five defendants were convicted on 108 criminal counts for funneling millions of dollars to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas through their Texasbased charity, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF).

It was a complex case, and its investigation and prosecution brought together a team of experts in terrorism financing that included Barry Jonas, who was then a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Counterterrorism Section. “Terrorism Financing cases are white-collar cases with a few twists.” Jonas says. “In most instances, the money is wired to countries that don’t cooperate with the United States, through charities and other entities that act as a cover for the terrorist organization. Unraveling the money trail and proving that the defendants intended the money to go to a terrorist organization is challenging, especially when a lot of the evidence is overseas. You need to think outside the box, and that’s just what we did in the HLF case.”

While he describes his long career in public service as “a lot of being in the right place at the right time,” Jonas can 20 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

trace his professional path back to his 3L year at St. John’s Law, when he interned at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. A few years after graduation, he moved to Washington, D.C. to prosecute criminal cases for the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division.

That turned out to be a gateway to his future counterterrorism work.

“I prosecuted a tax fraud case involving a family that owned grocery stores in New Orleans and sent proceeds of their crime to the West Bank, to build a home there,” Jonas recalls. The case got some media coverage, and the attention of a former colleague who thought that Jonas would make a good liaison between the Internal Revenue Service and the DOJ on terrorism financing cases. “I was exploring that opportunity

when 9/11 happened,” says Jonas. “The same colleague put together a Terrorism Financing Task Force, and I was fortunate enough to be selected for it. I was assigned to the HLF investigation and it was off to the races.”

Through his work on the HLF investigation and prosecution, Jonas met fellow federal prosecutors who were handling a related terrorist financing case in Chicago. In 2009, they recruited him to join their team at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, where Jonas is now the senior advisor to the office’s National Security and Cybercrimes Section. “I prosecute terrorism and other national security cases, such as counterespionage, theft of trade secrets, or export violations, as well as some white-collar cases,” Jonas says. “I also provide advice to colleagues on terrorism investigations that I may not be working.”

As Jonas sees it, the upsides of the job far outweigh any downsides. “Trials are very stressful and they take over your life, but I love doing them,” he shares. “On bad days, when my frustration level is high, I take a moment and remind myself that I’m fortunate to work on interesting and important matters that involve national security. Every day I get to work with dedicated prosecutors and agents whose mission is simply to help people. Our investigations and prosecutions have saved lives. It’s a great feeling to be able to say I represent the United States.”

REPRESENTING SOCIETY’S MOST VULNERABLE Kaitlin Nares ’13 Gives People A Voice When They Need It Most What do you want to be when you grow up?

“To know Korey and the other four members of the Central Park Five changed my life,” says Nares, who remains friends with Wise. “I was a That question has stumped generations of kids (and adults) for as long year old when they were arrested, entered high school when they were as it’s been asked. But not Kaitlin Nares. When she had to give a 4th exonerated, and was a practicing lawyer when they finally received grade presentation in response to that timeless query, she didn’t hesitate. some measure of justice with the settlement of their civil case. The Putting on her older sister’s graduation gown, she stood up and proudly Netflix documentary series When They See Us gave Korey a chance told the class that she wanted to be U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth to share his story, from his perspective, and millions of eyes have been Bader Ginsberg. opened to pervasive problems in our criminal justice system.”

“My mother was a civil rights activist and told me at an early age about RBG’s fight for equal justice under the law for women,” Nares says. “As I got older, I read as many books as I could on legal activists like Thurgood Marshall and other incredible legal minds on the Supreme Court.” Through the years, Nares’s aspirations never faded and she started her legal studies at St. John’s intent on practicing civil rights law in New York after graduation.

The Law School offered her ample opportunity to achieve her goals.

“I participated in the Criminal Defense Clinic and the Child Advocacy Clinic, which were run in partnership with the Legal Aid Society,” says Nares. “My clinic experience allowed me to meet and help people who needed and appreciated my help. There were times when I felt that a client was falling through the cracks and it fueled me to make sure that someone stood up for them.”

Nares seized another formative opportunity in her final year at St. John’s, when she interned at a boutique law firm dedicated to civil rights advocacy and representation. The firm represented Korey Wise, one of five young men who were wrongfully convicted and ultimately exonerated in the high-profile Central Park Jogger Case, in his successful civil suit against New York City.

Now living in Colorado, where she is an associate at the Zinda Law Group, Nares continues to give people a voice when they need it most.

“From the start of my career to this day, I haven’t lost my passion for helping people seek justice,” she says. “I now represent seriously and catastrophically injured clients. My firm and I hope to make a difference in people’s lives by educating the community on their rights under the law and helping our clients seek the closure they need to move on with their lives.”

Nares’s work on behalf of Korey Wise and other clients is depicted in False Confessions, a documentary film that screened recently in New York City. It delivers a cautionary message about the state of the criminal justice system that resonates deeply with Nares, who also sees an opening for hope. “The next generation needs strong, courageous, and competent lawyers to seek justice,” she says. “Like that little girl who wanted to be RGB, I choose to believe that being a lawyer is a noble profession and that we can change the laws that can ultimately change society.”

FALL 2019 l 21

TRENDS

NEGOTIATING JUSTICE Professors Take Their Plea Bargaining

Field Work And Scholarship To The Classroom 22 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

A few years ago, Professor Charles Bobis ’68

plea bargaining process, and develop ways

In addition to other Task Force contributions,

asked his colleague, Professor Elayne E.

to manage that bias. Third, I want to teach the

Professor Roberts worked on recommendations

Greenberg, if she would teach his Criminal

trainees how to use negotiation skills to more

for removing obstacles to effective attorney-

Defense Clinic students how to plea bargain.

effectively advance their clients’ justice goals.”

client communication when clients are in pre-

It was a novel request, even for Professor

trial detention. “We tried to focus on concrete,

Greenberg, who is Assistant Dean for Dispute

Professor Greenberg took her interest in

achievable reform,” she says. “We emphasized

Resolution Programs, Professor of Legal

plea bargaining into the field when she was

the fear, anxiety, confusion, and other emotional

Practice, and Director of the Hugh L. Carey

invited to join the New York County Lawyers

injuries that people in custody can suffer.

Center for Dispute Resolution at St. John’s Law.

Association’s Plea Bargaining Task Force, which

Discussions often erase those emotions, in favor

brought together state and federal prosecutors,

of a stereotypical, dehumanized view. We also

“As a former public defender, Charles knew that

defense attorneys, judges, and academics.

pushed back against the pervasive assumption

plea bargaining, as typically practiced, doesn’t

“What was particularly interesting about the

that people who are arrested and charged are

yield optimal justice outcomes,” says Professor

Task Force is that it convened a diverse group

guilty, which I’ve written about. In making our

Greenberg. “He wanted his students to learn

of legal actors who, although involved in plea

recommendations, we were up front about their

how to plea bargain more effectively, and I

limitations. We were missing the perspective

welcomed the opportunity to develop a practical

of detainees, who best

and impactful training for aspiring and practicing

understand the privacy,

defense attorneys and prosecutors.”

time, process, and protection they need to communicate

It was a significant undertaking in an age when

effectively about plea

a large percentage of people accused of crimes

bargaining and other matters

plead guilty. Scholars, reformers, and others who

with counsel.”

study plea bargains attribute their widespread use to an array of factors. Lawmakers have

Bringing her field work

criminalized more and more behaviors, leading

and scholarship back to

to millions of arrests and a surge in the number

St. John’s, Professor Roberts

of people being detained pre-trial. Many of those detainees face minor charges, but remain

L -R: Elayne Greenberg and Anna Roberts

stresses the importance of offering students diverse

incarcerated because of a flawed cash bail

bargaining, usually remain siloed in their areas

perspectives. “While my background is in public

system. Guilty pleas become their fastest route

of practice without ever engaging with each

defense, and while I am passionately committed

to freedom. Add in overworked public defenders

other,” she explains. “We all came to this forum

to protecting the rights of those who are subject

and prosecutors, protracted trial delays, and the

committed to do justice and motivated to seek

to prosecution, the classroom isn’t a platform

well-known “trial penalty”—the great odds that

and recommend meaningful reforms.”

for imposing my, or any, particular view of our

an accused will face a higher sentence if they

criminal justice system,” she says.

invoke the right to trial and lose—and there is

As she worked with the Task Force, Professor

more than enough incentive to take a plea, even

Greenberg thought it would benefit from

Towards that end, Professor Roberts has

for people who are innocent.

the insights of her St. John’s Law colleague,

incorporated a broad range of materials and

Professor Anna Roberts, whose scholarship

guest speakers—prosecutorial, defense,

“Plea bargaining is our criminal justice

focuses on assumptions and stereotypes that

scholarly, and policy-focused—into the

system’s primary resolution process,” Professor

contribute to, and are fueled by, criminal

curriculum in her upper-level Contemporary

Greenberg notes. “So it’s a vital negotiation

records. Professor Roberts was delighted to

Issues in Criminal Justice Seminar as well as

skill for aspiring and practicing criminal

come on board. “I was a public defender in

in her 1L Criminal Law classes. “My job is to

attorneys to hone. My goals with the training

New York City and I research, write, and teach

make sure my students have the tools they need

are three-fold: First and foremost, I want

about criminal justice, so the Task Force was

to do their own investigations and reach their

participants to understand that plea bargaining

a wonderful opportunity for me to share my

own conclusions as critical thinkers,” she says.

is negotiating justice, and to appreciate the great

work, learn from others, and help to move the

“They’ll need that strong foundation to rise to

responsibilities that come with it. Second, I

conversation and reform efforts around plea

the challenge, in plea bargaining and countless

want to help them become aware of how their

bargaining forward,” she says.

other scenarios, of achieving the best possible

racialized, implicit biases could influence the

outcome for their clients.”

FALL 2019 l 23

ADVANCES

LEARNING HANDS ON ON ANY GIVEN DAY, YOU CAN FIND St. John’s Law students hard at work, learning about criminal practice hands-on at prosecutor and public defender offices in and around New York City. They are among hundreds of students who have benefitted from participating in the Law School’s full-year Prosecution Clinic and Criminal Defense Clinic through the years.

Scott Kessler

Joseph McCormack

Pishoy Yacoub

Mary Kate Quinn

24 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

“The Prosecution Clinic launched in 1996 as a pilot program with four students under the guidance of Queens ADA Scott Kessler,” says Dean Larry Cunningham, who took over as Clinic Director this fall with Kessler’s retirement. “Scott brought us his experience and expertise as a seasoned prosecutor who rose through the ranks at the Queens District Attorney’s Office, tried significant cases, and transformed the office’s Domestic Violence Bureau during his tenure there. He has trained, mentored, and stewarded the careers of countless students and new lawyers, and helped us grow the Clinic to include partnerships with the Queens, Bronx, Nassau, and Suffolk DA’s Offices. We’re very fortunate to have had Scott at the Clinic’s helm for over two decades.”

theory, remains one of the best examples of it. Teaching was also very rewarding. Having a room full of smart, inquiring minds asking probing questions compels you to consider and analyze the ‘whys’ of what you do as a prosecutor, and not just the ‘hows.’”

Pishoy Yacoub ’05, who serves as Chief of the Litigation Training Bureau at the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, is one of many St. John’s Law alumni who consider the Prosecution Clinic a formative experience. So he was delighted when Kessler asked him to help teach it two years ago. “I supervise students who are assigned to the Bronx DA by conferencing their cases with them, providing offers on their cases, and preparing them for hearings and trial,” he says.

“I also teach classes on topics in criminal law and procedure. I’m so honored to be able to give back to the Law School and program that shaped my career as a prosecutor.”

Students in the Prosecution Clinic experience the criminal justice system at work, not just by observing it, but by representing the People of the State of New York in real cases. “It’s a rare opportunity for students to see exactly what it’s like to be a big city ADA,” Kessler says. “They work under a practice order and do everything that first-year assistants are allowed to do in court. Many students even get a chance to try their first case while still in law school.”

Teaching the Prosecution Clinic has also been a welcome opportunity for Mary Kate Quinn ’08, who learned from Kessler at St. John’s and then worked with him as a Section Chief in the Domestic Violence Bureau at the Queens District Attorney’s Office. “I’ve been involved in the clinic for the last decade,” she shares.

“When I first joined the DA’s Office in 2010 as a misdemeanor assistant, I supervised Clinic students and oversaw their hearings and trials.

I also guest lectured on opening statements.

Over the years, it’s been wonderful to see the Queens DA’s Office filled with former Clinic students, from the Intake Bureau all the way to the Homicide Bureau.”

Hon. Joseph A. McCormack ’86 agrees that Prosecution Clinic students gain unrivaled experience. A longtime Bronx ADA and Bureau Chief who now presides in Brooklyn Criminal Court, he taught the Clinic’s classroom sessions alongside Kessler for almost 20 years. “It was one of the best experiences of my life,” Judge McCormack says, adding, “We were pioneers at the forefront of experiential learning, and I think the Clinic, with its mix of practice and

Quinn continues to oversee Clinic students who are assigned to misdemeanor ADAs under her direct supervision. She keeps an opendoor policy, and encourages the students to observe her in the courtroom. “Last semester, while Scott and Pishoy were teaching a Clinic class on cross examination, I happened to be trying a case where both the defendant and the victim testified for the defense,” she says. “The students came to watch my cross

Students Build Key Lawyering Skills in the prosecution and Criminal Defense Clinics examinations, and saw the Clinic’s lessons in action. Afterwards, we discussed what worked, what could have gone better, and why I asked certain questions. I was impressed with their insights.”

The Prosecution Clinic students made a strong impression on Tara Coughlin ’01 as well when she started working with them last year at the Nassau District Attorney’s Office, where she is Deputy Bureau Chief in the Special Victims Bureau. “I’m astonished by the level of talent the St. John’s students display as they interview witnesses, prepare for hearings, construct arguments, and respond to motions” she says.

“Being a student prosecutor, you realize that you determine what direction a case takes, you feel the weight of the responsibility of investigating a matter thoroughly, and you feel the heat of stepping into court. It’s an amazing way to stretch yourself.”

Like the Prosecution Clinic, the Law School’s Criminal Defense Clinic has shaped the knowledge, skills, and career paths of many St. John’s Law students and alumni. Launched in 2010 in partnership with the Legal Aid Society’s Queens Criminal Defense Practice and Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS), it offers students a unique opportunity to represent indigent clients accused of misdemeanors and other minor offenses under the supervision of a designated mentor-attorney in the New York City Criminal Court.

“Our students assume all the duties of a criminal defense lawyer and handle all aspects of their clients’ cases, from arraignment to disposition,” says Professor Charles Bobis ’68, a former public defender who has taught in the Clinic from the start. “As they shoulder the responsibility of providing their clients a competent, ethical, and zealous defense, and interact with other legal professionals, the students learn first-hand about the professional norms they will live by, no matter where they eventually practice. The Clinic also teaches the importance of providing clientcentered representation that respects the client’s

autonomy as our students provide counsel on, and pursue, their client’s interests.”

Robert Moeller, a Supervising Attorney with the Legal Aid Society and another of the Criminal Defense Clinic’s original faculty members, also sees the Clinic as a conduit to each participant’s personal and professional growth. “The Clinic students are treated the same, and do the same work as, new hire lawyers in Legal Aid’s Criminal Defense Practice,” he notes. “They come away from their clinical experience confident in their research, writing, and oral advocacy abilities, which makes them excellent candidates in the competitive job market.”

Seeing his students grow and develop as attorneys is, Moeller says, “the greatest thrill.”

Laura Saft couldn’t agree more. She helped to launch BDS with St. John’s Law alumna Lisa Schreibersdorf ’84, and now serves as the public defender organization’s Deputy Director.

Saft rounds out the founding faculty trio who continue to teach, supervise, and inspire Criminal Defense Clinic students today.

“I love introducing the students to all the complexities of criminal defense practice, and teaching them how to relate to clients charged with crimes with respect and dignity,” she says. “It’s also very gratifying to see how the students overcome their pre-conceived notions of what it means to defend people charged with crimes and come to view their clients as individuals, and not just people defined by their alleged bad acts.”

Professor Bobis finds the same reward in his work in the Clinic. “It’s the students themselves that I’ve most enjoyed,” he says. “They want to use their St. John’s Law degree to improve society, and to make it fairer, especially when it comes to how the criminal process treats the poor and disadvantaged. As the Clinic year progresses, they see more and more how unfair the process can be, and they want to change it. That gives me hope for the future of our profession.”

Tara Coughlin

Charles Bobis

Bob Moeller

Laura Saft

FALL 2019 l 25

GALA EVENT CELEBRATES DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AT ST. JOHN’S LAW It’s always a memorable evening when the St. John’s Law community comes together for the annual Diversity & Inclusion Gala.

The 2019 celebration last April was no exception. Yessica J. Pinales ’19 was one of several student speakers who addressed the 200 celebrants at the scenic Tribeca Rooftop in lower Manhattan. She was just eight years old when her family left everything behind in the Dominican Republic and came to New York in search of the American dream.

“We had to start all over again, but my parents showed me the value of education, instilled a strong work ethic, and encouraged me to use my diverse background to influence positive change,” she said.

26 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

Pinales put those family values into action as she graduated from college, charted a successful career as a bank manager, and then started at St. John’s Law. “My experiences as one of the few women of color in a professional setting inspired me to pursue a law degree,” she said. “When I first visited St. John’s, I knew it would be the ideal place for my legal education. Walking through the hallways and seeing people from various backgrounds, I feel at home. There’s a commitment here to diversity and inclusion not as a distant goal, but as an everyday norm.”

That commitment, Pinales said, was behind the guidance and support the Law School gave her as she served as national chair of the National Latina/o Law Student Association during her 3L year. “I wouldn’t have succeeded in this leadership and change agent role without it.” The same commitment drives Kamille Dean’s work as Director of Diversity and Inclusion and Director of the Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights at St. John’s Law.

“From extensive diversity trainings for our students, shared by our students, alumni, faculty, and administrators.” Despite her busy schedule as a faculty, and staff to Law School programming successful Queens business owner who also runs that highlights the contributions of our diverse her own law practice, Cheung remains steadfast community, we’re on a mission,” Dean shared in her dedication to the Gala and alma mater. at the Gala. “That mission is based on the “When you bring together a diverse community Vincentian values that St. John’s is built upon, like St. John’s, magic happens.” including service and social justice. It’s through this lens that we provide a safe and welcoming Like Cheung, Ikhwan A. Rafeek ’08, who is space at the Law School for students to learn and of counsel at Otterbourg P.C., finds it very grow in an inclusive environment of innovation meaningful to support the Gala and diversity and inspiration.” and inclusion at St. John’s Law more broadly.

“We live in an increasingly diverse society, and Taking the Gala podium, Joshua R. Beckham ’19 there is tremendous value in law students also spotlighted the Law School’s mission engaging with people from various backgrounds of educating students who bring a range of as they prepare to become advocates,” he backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to observed. “I was born in Guyana, South America their legal studies. Beckham, who was active in and grew up in Queens, which is one of the the Law School’s OUTLaws and Allies student most diverse places in the world, yet there was organization, came to St. John’s to make a still so much I learned about people and their difference. “I’m from a low-income family in rural backgrounds when I attended St. John’s.”

Louisiana, and there were many times when we were taken advantage of because we didn’t know Rafeek carried this awareness to Otterbourg, a our rights,” he said. “I wanted to be that person law firm that has strong ties to St. John’s Law who could stand up for my rights, as well as for and a deep commitment to diversity and inclusion. the rights of others. When underrepresented In addition to making a generous contribution people see attorneys they can identify with, it gives to the Gala, Otterbourg hosted a recent Alumni them some assurance that they are represented in of Color Networking Event and has supported the law and government. And I think this is, at its the Law School in various other ways. “I’ve been heart, one of St. John’s main goals.” fortunate to work at Otterbourg for my entire Gala attendee Maurice Sayeh ‘12CPS, ‘17L agrees. legal career,” Rafeek said. “The firm’s chairman, Richard L. Stehl ’92, and other current and former “Although magnificent strides have been made, Otterbourg lawyers model the value of giving diversity and inclusion are goals that still must back to St. John’s. With their example, I remain be pursued in and beyond the legal profession committed to diversity initiatives at the Law because no one should feel alone or discouraged School and in the profession.” when chasing their dreams,” he said. “No matter your color, creed, religion, or background, your voice and dreams matter.” Sayeh, who completed Rafeek reaffirmed this commitment recently by establishing a scholarship to benefit the Ronald a federal clerkship and is active in the Law School H. Brown Law School Prep Program for College Alumni Association’s Alumni of Color Chapter, Students, an award-winning pipeline initiative at recalled his excitement three years ago when he St. John’s Law. “My wife and I were impressed learned that the Law School was planning its first with the Prep Program,” he shared. “Like so Diversity & Inclusion Gala. many others, when I was young, I didn’t know anyone who could guide me on the path to law “It’s a very special night,” he said of the nowschool. The Prep Program is an excellent resource annual event. “Alumni, current students, and for college students who seek that guidance. even prospective students who may be the The experience alone can inspire them to push minority in their respective fields or classes can forward, despite any obstacles they may face.” be ambassadors of goodwill. We come together to celebrate our accomplishments, experience Reflecting on the contributions of generous alumni, fellowship, embrace each other, and welcome the faculty, and staff and on the slate of impressive next generation. The Gala means a lot to me, and I speakers at the Diversity & Inclusion Gala—which look forward to continuing to support it.” also included Shandy Abraham ’14CPS, ’19L, Wanyu Cho ’19, and Jasmine Johnson ’21— The special event is also a standout for Sayeh’s Kamille Dean said: “We’re all in a position to classmate, Olivia Cheung ‘11C, ‘17L, who served influence a change in shining a light on issues of on the 2019 Gala planning committee. “As an bias, discrimination, and injustice. Our visionary alumna, it’s crucial for me to support students by leadership at St. John’s Law, with Dean Michael A. connecting and sharing ideas and initiatives that Simons at the helm, is charting a unique course of bring about change,” she explained. “Our goal in planning the Gala has always been to celebrate the inclusion. In gathering resources and galvanizing the strength of our diverse alumni, we’re lighting a Law School’s dynamic and vibrant diversity. Our path of achievement from our campus in Queens efforts culminate in a wonderful, and wonderfully to points throughout the world.” unique, event that reflects future-facing values

FALL 2019 l 27

SECOND ACTS

MAKING HISTORY Geraldine Hart ’95 Takes The Helm At The Suffolk County Police Department

L

aw enforcement is in Geraldine Hart’s blood. Her father, who was a sergeant with the New York City Police Department, was the native Long Islander’s first role model. Then came a fifth grade field trip to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters in Washington, D.C. “At the time, the FBI had everything under one roof, so we could walk around and see the ballistics and crime scene evidence testing as well as the firing range,” Hart recalls.

“That day gave me a real feel for what an FBI agent does. To me, it was very appealing.”

Through the years, that appeal never dimmed, and Hart started her legal studies at St. John’s Law aiming to work for the FBI after graduation. In addition to learning the fundamentals of the law in class, she honed her courtroom advocacy skills as a member of the Moot Court Honor Society. “To get on your feet and argue your position in front of a panel of judges was very helpful in building my abilities and confidence as a lawyer,” says Hart.

She also gained invaluable experience as an intern in the NYPD’s legal unit and with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). “I worked on civil rights and environmental cases at DOJ,” Hart shares. “It was amazing just to be in the mix with some of those federal

28 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

cases, and I still remember the prosecutors who worked on them.” Hart carried the knowledge and skills she gained in those internships into her first full-time job with the FBI, and on to a law enforcement career there that spanned 21 years.

when I was with the FBI on Long Island, so I was delighted to be selected for the position from among 100 applicants,” she says of the milestone move that makes her the first women to serve as Commissioner of the Suffolk County Police Department.

“I first worked on health care fraud investigations in Suffolk and Nassau counties before being transferred to the Luchese Organized Crime Squad,” Hart explains. “In 2012, I earned a promotion to Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI’s Genovese Organized Crime Squad and, two years later, I was selected as the Senior Supervisory Resident Agent, overseeing the FBI’s Long Island office.”

“It’s been a tremendous honor for me to work with these extraordinary people, who dedicate themselves fully to keeping Suffolk County safe,” Hart says, reflecting on her first year on the job. “A focus of our efforts has been to dismantle MS-13, the vicious, transnational street gang responsible for more than 30 deaths on Long Island in recent years. As a career law enforcement agent, and as a mother of teenagers, this has been especially significant and gratifying work.”

In that leadership role, Hart directly supervised the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, composed of agents and law enforcement personnel from 10 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. She also supervised violent crime investigations, as well as operations committed to investigating white-collar crime and to supporting counterterrorism and counterintelligence efforts.

According to Hart, leaving a successful career at the FBI after two decades to lead one of the largest police departments in the country was a natural transition. “I worked very closely with the Suffolk police force

As she continues the vital work of protecting Suffolk County and its residents, Hart is grateful for the foundation she built at St. John’s Law. “The Law School afforded me a truly unique perspective on utilizing a law degree for a career in public service,” she says. “It helped me make my childhood dream a reality and, every day, I have the great reward of helping others by ensuring their safety and security.”

This story has been adapted from the original, which was written by Meg Nugent Dwyer for St. John’s University and published online at bit.ly/2kqGSQ0.

LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT

JOSE PEREZ ’82CBA, ’85L Advocates For The Nation’s Latinx Community If you trace the U.S.-Mexico border to the southern tip of Texas, you’ll find Brownsville, a city of about 183,000 people, most of whom identify as Hispanic or Latino. It was a fitting location for LatinoJustice PRLDEF’s (LatinoJustice) 5th Annual Latinx Criminal Justice Convening, which brought local and national organizations together over two days this past summer for conversations about Latinos in the criminal justice and immigration systems across the United States.

Jose Perez has been LatinoJustice’s Deputy General Counsel for a decade. “Since launching in 1972 as the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, our organization has been one of the foremost national nonprofits working to advance, promote, and protect the legal rights of the Latinx community,” he says. “We’re active in various federal, state, and local criminal justice reform efforts on issues ranging from mass incarceration, to the criminalization of immigrants, to supporting marijuana decriminalization and the closing of Rikers Island.”

As the organization’s second-in-command, Perez supports the vital work of LatinoJustice in diverse ways. He oversees its legal division and serves as litigation director. He also assists with pre-law pipeline programming, advocacy campaigns, and funding efforts. “I wear different hats, but I’m particularly proud of the many legal interns I’ve recruited and hired over the past decade,” he says. “It’s wonderful to see them graduate, become practicing attorneys, and return to us as mentors, advisory board members, and collaborators on pro bono matters.”

later, I’m still working with and supervising law students as they conduct Street Law’s education workshops and Know Your Rights trainings throughout New York City.”

As he supports the mission of LatinoJustice, Perez sees great opportunity ahead. In 2017, the organization received a major grant from Google to fund its criminal justice reform efforts. “That critical funding kickstarted our Reenvision Justicia program,” Perez says. “It’s taking on the hard, but important, task of expanding the black-white binary focus on criminal justice issues to include the brown, i.e. Latinx, experience and perspective.”

Perez’s leadership at LatinoJustice follows a long public interest career that started just after his graduation from St. John’s Law and includes turns as a New York City public defender, as a prosecutor at the city and state levels, and as a law school clinical supervisor teaching litigation skills. But even before he earned his J.D., Perez was acting on his deep commitment to serving the greater good by empowering Latinos and other underrepresented and marginalized communities.

Recently, LatinoJustice conducted the first-ever national poll on Latinx perspectives on criminal justice issues. The organization’s aim for 2020 is to address the Latinx criminal justice racial data gap. “There’s no reliable data on how many Latinos are arrested each year, or how many are in prison, on probation, or on parole,” Perez shares. “That’s a huge problem for the Latinx community, and the entire criminal justice system, that we want to tackle by drafting and implementing model state legislation.”

“When I was a 1L, I joined the Black Law Student Association, which was known as BLSA, and helped push the organization to recognize its Latinx members by changing its name to BALLSA,” he explains. “I also worked with the administration to expand recruitment and admission of students of color to the Law School, and created the Spanish Street Law Program, which continues its work today as Street Law en Español. Some 35 years

Perez also sees great opportunity ahead for those entering the legal profession. “There’s an urgent need for socially conscious lawyers to stand up for those who are targeted by unjust and discriminatory policies and to give them a voice,” he says. “We’re a privileged group, and we can and should use that privilege for the betterment of all, but especially to uplift the poor and disenfranchised.”

FALL 2019 l 29

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS 1 | On March 19, 2019, Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch LLP, along with David H. Wollmuth ’87, Bridget Croutier ’15, and Roselind Hallinan ’14, graciously sponsored Celebrating Women at Andaz 5th Avenue in Manhattan. Now in its second year and sponsored by the Law School’s Women’s Law Society, the event spotlights St. John’s history of supporting women in the legal profession.

Tanya N. Blocker ’09, Senior Counsel at Gordon & Rees Scully Mansukhani and President of the Association of Black Women Attorneys, was presented with the Influencer Award. Eileen Dillon ’86, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, received the Trailblazer Award. Katie Shepherd ’09, National Advocacy Counsel at the American Immigration Counsel, received the Public Service Award. Completing the slate of honorees, the evening’s Outstanding Alumna Award went to Denise F. Keane ’76, General

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Counsel and Executive Vice President (ret.) at Altria.

2 | Brooklyn’s Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club was a fitting venue for a Brooklyn Chapter Gathering on April 9, 2019. Everyone enjoyed some fun competition on the courts and got better acquainted over fabulous beverages and delicious food.

3 | On April 11, 2019, the Manhattan Chapter hosted the Hon. John E. Sprizzo Reception at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan. Dean Michael A. Simons welcomed alumni and members of the bench and bar who came together to celebrate Janet DiFiore ’81, ’17HON, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals and the State of New York. The Hon. John E. Sprizzo Award that Judge DiFiore received as part of the evening’s festivities recognizes individuals for their commitment to the rule of law and is

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ANNUAL MEETING At the Alumni Association Annual Meeting on May 21, 2019, Dean Michael A. Simons presented outgoing president Steven J. Gartner ’84 with an award in recognition of his leadership and dedication over the past year. Dean Simons also announced the creation of the Claire C. McKeever ’93 Scholarship at St. John’s Law, honoring one of the Law School’s most loyal alumni: Assistant Dean for Alumni Relations and CLE Claire C. McKeever ’80SVC, ’93L.

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HERE IS THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION’S NEW SLATE OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS OFFICERS President Michael Mattone ’91 President-Elect Michelle Johnson ’05 Vice Presidents Ralph Carter ’14 James Herschlein ’85 Rachel Paras ’04

DIRECTORS Second Three-Year Term (Expires in 2022) John Curley ’08 Meryl Diamond ’99 Melissa King ’09 Thomas Maroney ’80 Megan Quail ’13 Patrick Smith ’00C, ’06L Richard Spatola ’08

Secretary Lisa Chun ’00 Treasurer Eun Chong Thorsen ’08 30 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

First Three-Year Term (Expires in 2022) Frank Cavanagh ’07 Olivia Cheung ’17 Christopher Eisenhardt ’16 Christopher Hoffman ’07 Ashley Kloepfer ’11 Nominating Committee (Term Expires in 2022) Steven J. Gartner ’84 Janice Robinson ’82 Hon. Matthew Sciarrino ’90NDC, ’93L

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named for its first recipient, the late Hon. John E. Sprizzo ‘56C, ‘59L, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York.

The Nassau Chapter held its Spring Networking Happy Hours at Copperhill in Williston Park on March 6, April 3, and May 1, 2019. These events are wonderful opportunities for alumni who live and/or work in Nassau County to meet in a relaxing environment and share their interests in the law and alma mater.

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4 | The iconic Metropolitan Club in Manhattan once again played host to the Law Review Alumni Reception, which was held on May 20, 2019. Dean Michael A. Simons started the evening off with a ceremonial farewell to the journal’s graduating members.

The celebration continued with tributes to event honoree Adam Hakki ’97, Global Managing Partner and Global Head of the Litigation Practice and Disputes Unit at Shearman & Sterling LLP. 5 | On May 29, 2019, the Western New York Chapter hosted a Night at the Ballpark at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, as the Buffalo Bisons took on the Syracuse Chiefs. It was the second year for this fun family event, and alumni enjoyed their own stadium suite as they mixed, mingled, and sampled traditional ballpark fare.

6 | The Law School hosted a complimentary CLE Night at the Movies on May 30, 2019 as part of the St. John’s University Alumni Weekend. Matthew K. Flanagan ’92 and his alumni team of Lauren Russo ’16 and Timothy Gallagher ’17 presented Lights, Camera —Ethics: A Cinematic Review of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Over 100 alumni attended the program and viewed clips from fan-favorite movies as the team explored some of the real-world ethical issues raised by the on-screen action and dialogue.

on June 27, 2019. Alumni from the Classes of 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014 connected with friends old and new and party hopped with Dean Michael A. Simons and St. John’s Law faculty and administrators.

9 | On July 2, 2019, members of the Law School’s Loughlin Society spent an evening among the cheers and jeers at the Citifield Subway Series between the Mets and Yankees. The Loughlin Society is St. John’s leadership giving society, and this marked the third year that Law Loughlin members came together to experience this spirited New York City sporting event.

The Fisherman’s Catch in Point Lookout set the scene for the Nassau Chapter’s July 17, 2019 Summer Networking Happy Hour.

Over 30 alumni members took in the beautiful views of Reynolds Channel as they enjoyed good food and even better company.

10 | On July 30 and 31, 2019, Dean Michael A. Simons and Law School faculty and administrators were on hand to greet, cheer on, and feed St. John’s New York State Bar Exam Takers at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan and at points north in Albany and Saratoga.

11 | After a rainout on the original event date, the Law School Alumni Association hosted the Hon. Theodore T. Jones, Jr. ’72, ’07HON Memorial Golf Outing on August 6, 2019 at the beautiful Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle. This time, the weather cooperated fully and everyone had a great day out on the green. Once again, Philip McManus ’68C, ’72L did a fantastic job as event chair, helping to raise funds for the Law School’s Hon. Theodore T. Jones, Jr. ’72 Memorial Scholarship.

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7 | On June 13, 2019, the Manhattan Chapter and the Recent Graduates Chapter hosted a Billiards Night at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan. As pros and more seasoned players offered tips to novices of the game, everyone enjoyed the classic ambiance and good cheer.

8 | The New York Athletic Club was also the venue for Reunion 2019, which was held

FALL 2019 l 31

CLASS NOTES

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’86 ’87 ’88

Heather Butts, founder of L.E.A.R.N for Life Consulting, L.L.C., was the Grand Marshal of the P-rade at Princeton University, a reunion tradition that began in the 1890s.

Haug Partners LLP has elected Ed Haug Chairman of the firm and Chair of its Executive Committee and Compensation Committee.

James “Jim” Kelleher, Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer at Liberty Mutual Group, is the first recipient of the Lawyers Clearinghouse Pro Bono Excellence Award, which was created to acknowledge the contributions of the Clearinghouse’s pro bono volunteers.

Long Island Center for Business and Professional Women honored Koeppel Martone & Leistman, L.L.C. partner Jamie Patrice Alpern at its 2019 Achievers Awards Gala.

’90 Queens Borough President Melinda Katz won the Democratic primary for Queens District Attorney. She will face former NYPD police officer and current Queens defense attorney Joe Murray in the November election.

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

Tara Higgins is a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, where she focuses her practice on the development, financing, acquisition, disposition, and restructuring of energy and infrastructure projects.

Eric M. Kramer, a partner at Farrell Fritz, P.C., has been appointed to the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts Council of Overseers.

Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP partner Patrick McCormick was elected Secretary of the Suffolk County Bar Association.

Anthony “Skip” Piscitelli has joined CMW Public Affairs as counselor and senior advisor. He advises the firm and manages city and state government affairs for a variety of clients and causes in both the non-profit and forprofit sectors.

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U.S. and foreign banks and financial institutions in complex domestic and international commercial lending and other financing transactions.

An accomplished C-level executive and business partner, she has a proven track record of providing leadership, strategy, execution, and subject matter expertise in meeting regulatory requirements and mitigating risk across enterprises.

Commercial Observer has named Herrick Feinstein LLP partner Scott E. Mollen to its Power Counsel list, which features the most influential professionals in commercial real estate.

He is one of only five attorneys to receive the honor for 2019.

Ellen McCarthy is head of Compliance USA at Computershare.

32 l ST. JOHN’S LAW MAGAZINE

Carroll & Carroll, P.C. partner Michael C. Carroll was sworn in as a council member for City of Irvine, CA.

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Keith C. Hauprich has joined the National Music Publishers’ Association Board of Directors on behalf of BMG, where he is General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs for the North American Division.

Anthony Hershey has been elected the At-Large City Councilor in Glenwood Springs, CO, where he also serves as a Deputy District Attorney.

Lisa Kurbiel is Head of Secretariat at the UN Development Coordination Office, managing the UN’s Joint SDG Fund.

Ari Nat has joined Approved Funding as a senior mortgage banker.

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Jenny Sherman is celebrating the 10th anniversary of her law firm, Law Offices of J.J. Sherman, P.C. She concentrates her practice in contracts and commercial real estate and works with retail, finance, and tech companies who are in expansion mode in the United States.

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Spyros Arsenis is counsel in the real estate and commercial leasing groups at Tarter, Krinsky & Drogin LLP, where his practice focuses on leasing, commercial financing, lending, and sports law.

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Long Island Business News recently presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to George J. Tsunis. The Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Chartwell Hotels, Tsunis is also a developer, philanthropist, and public policy advisor with a strong interest at the intersection of economic and foreign affairs. Prior to founding Chartwell, he was a partner at Rivkin Radler.

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Gary S. Rosner, a partner at Ritter Chusid, LLP, has been appointed to the Florida Bar’s Governmental and Public Advocacy Committee.

Stephen J. Angelson is a partner at Zukerman Gore Brandeis & Crossman, LLP, where he chairs the firm’s banking and finance department and has a diverse practice representing

The Trailblazer District of the Suffolk County Council of the Boy Scouts of America presented its 36th Annual Good Deed Award to Brian T. Egan, who is a partner at Egan & Golden LLP.

Harris J. Diamond has joined Blank Rome LLP as a partner in the firm’s finance, restructuring, and bankruptcy practice group.

James P. Duffy IV has joined Reed Smith LLP as a partner in the firm’s international arbitration practice, where he handles all aspects of international arbitration.

Tara Mulrooney has joined Zetlin & De Chiara LLP as a partner. She represents owners, including

CLASS NOTES developers, real estate investment trusts, luxury retailers, employee benefit funds, major professional sports leagues, hotel operators, and high net worth individuals in drafting and negotiating a full range of construction-related agreements.

’02 ’03

The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors has named Brian Levine its In-House Counsel/Director of Legal Services & Professional Standards Administrator.

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Michael Ciraolo, Ph.D. has joined Neurotrope Inc. as General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer. Neurotrope is a clinicalstage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Denis Reo has been named Chief Clerk of the New York State Supreme Court’s Civil Term in Manhattan and is the Court’s highest-ranking nonjudicial employee.

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Cindy Chen Delano is one of the founders of the investment firm Invictus Global Management. After working as a bankruptcy attorney at top international firms, Delano transitioned to the hedge fund industry in 2016. She has also become a thoughtful voice in the ongoing conversation about increasing diversity in the hedge fund space, as featured in a recent Barron’s article.

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Florina Altshiler, a senior associate and litigation attorney at Russo & Toner, LLP, and Jessica Rando Copeland, a partner in the blockchain and cryptocurrency practice group at Hudgson Russ LLP, have been certified and appointed as Federal Court Mediators in the Western District of New York. They have also been instrumental in establishing the Law School Alumni Association’s Western New York Chapter.

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As Executive Vice President and General Counsel for NuHealth/NUMC, Megan C. Ryan is the corporation’s chief legal officer, overseeing all of its legal, corporate governance, privacy, and ethics functions. She was recently elected a North Merrick School Board Trustee and received the 2019 Long Island Power Woman Award presented by the Long Island Press.

Daniel Mevorach has joined Cullen and Dykman LLP as a partner in the firm’s construction litigation department. He focuses his practice on complex litigation, including insurance coverage, construction defects, products liability, condominium disputes, and large-exposure general liability litigations. He also assists insurance and construction industry clients with non-litigation matters, including assessment of risk transfer, business and contract disputes, and insurance counseling.

Edmund Witter works at the King County Bar Association’s Housing Justice Project in Seattle, WA, with a focus on fighting evictions in court while working to revise Washington laws that lack equity between landlords and tenants. He is also working on legislative efforts to establish a state-wide eviction fund.

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Yonatan Bernstein has joined Rivkin Radler LLP as an associate in the firm’s compliance, investigations & white-collar, and insurance fraud practice groups.

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Fatima M. Arash, General Counsel at Diamond Properties LLC, was featured in Vanguard Law Magazine, a legal trade publication with worldwide reach.

Michael J. Dischley has joined Hurwitz & Fine, PC as an associate in the firm’s litigation and insurance coverage departments. His practice focuses primarily on New York labor law, construction site accidents, premises liability, automobile and commercial trucking litigation, professional liability, insurance law, and general liability insurance defense.

Alison Weintraub Berson is a member at Cozen O’Connor P.C., where she focuses her practice on commercial litigation.

Eric A. Sauter is a member in the real estate finance group at Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC, where he focuses his practice on asset-based finance and commercial real estate.

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Valerie K. Ferrier has joined Martin Clearwater & Bell LLP as a partner and head of the firm’s labor and employment practice group.

Adrienne M. Hollander is Assistant General Counsel at American Regent, Inc., a leading manufacturer of generic and branded specialty injectables.

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matters and compliance with SEC and stock exchange rules and regulations.

Chantal Roberts is Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary at Outfront Media.

Eric T. Juergens has been named a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. A member of the firm’s capital markets, banking, and private equity groups, his practice focuses on the securities laws, representations of issuers and financial intermediaries in capital markets transactions, and providing public companies with advice on corporate governance

Masoud Mortazavi has joined the Weinstein Law Group as an associate.

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Erin Donnelly is a co-founder of Grueter Golf, a new endeavor she started with four friends to encourage women to play golf.

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Jonathan Goodwill has joined Carlton Fields, P.A. in the firm’s intellectual property practice group, where he handles all aspects of trademark, copyright, and domain name practice and portfolio management.

We’d like to hear from you!

Please send your Class Notes submissions to Assistant Dean for Alumni Relations and CLE Claire C. McKeever ’80SVC, ’93L at mckeevec@stjohns.edu.

FALL 2019 l 33

IN MEMORIAM Ned Feldman ’42

James E. Hayes ’56UC, ’58L

Juan Travieso ’66C, ’69L

Col. Milton Norman ’48

Edward V. Atnally ’59

Alfred J. Del Re ’70

Hon. Louis C. Palella ’48

James McEvoy ’53C, ’59L

Elizabeth A. Allen ‘75

Hon. Thomas B. Galligan ’50

William A. Smith, Jr. ’59

James O’Boyle ’75

Thomas S. Kirk ’50

Eileen Jones ’60

Robert Alter ’76

John N. Romano ’52

Gerald N. Goldberg ’65

James P. Gilroy ’76CBA, ’78L

Daniel J. Dougherty, Sr. ’53

Hon. George Peck ‘66

Mary Burke Starr ’79

John L. Farrell ‘55

Irwin Roitman ’66

Patrick Thomas Frost ’94

Thomas W. Gleason ’55

Hon. Malcolm P. Strohson ’67

Archna Kumar Curry ’00

Lee H. Turner ‘56

Robert Gibbons ’68

Noreen Conroy Domingo ‘91C, ‘02L

James M. Furey ’51C, ‘57L

Kevin Hughes ’68

Stephen M. Dolben ‘04

Hon. Mildred Pafundi Rosen ’55CBA, ’57L

Joseph S. Dornbush ’69

David Ferraro ’19HON In early May 2019, third-year evening student David Ferraro passed away at age 26 from injuries he sustained in an accident while traveling to St. John’s Law to study for his last exam of the semester.

In June, David’s Family attended the Law School’s Commencement Exercises, which were dedicated to his memory. His father, former New York State Assemblyman and Brooklyn Republican Party Chairman Arnaldo Ferraro, spoke of his son’s keen interest in the law and drive to enter the esteemed profession. He also accepted David’s honorary degree from the Law School.

To honor their loved one, David’s family has established the David Ferraro Scholarship Fund at St. John’s Law, for students of Italian origin.

Ann M. Vaughn Murphy ’76C Ann Murphy passed away peacefully at home on Sept. 13, 2019. She served as Assistant Dean for Alumni Relations at St. John’s Law from 1993 until her retirement in 1999.

For many years before that, Murphy was an integral member of the St. John’s Law family. Her husband, John Murphy ‘56, served as Dean of the Law School from 1970 until his death in 1980. And their two sons, Tom ’95 and Paul ’90, both served as Editor-in-Chief of the St. John’s Law Review.

She will be missed.

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Joseph O. Giaimo ’59CBA, ’61L, ’86HON Joseph Giaimo passed away on May 28, 2019 at the age of 84.

He attended Brooklyn Technical High School and joined the Navy when he was just 17. Upon his honorable discharge from military service, he attended St. John’s University and then St. John’s Law, graduating at the top of his class.

Giaimo began his esteemed legal career as an Assistant Legislative Representative to New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner. Later, he became well-known in Albany while serving as Assistant Counsel to a number of Democratic leaders in the New York State Assembly.

After launching his own law practice in Queens, Giaimo represented jazz musician Bobby Scott, cosmetics icon Aaron Morse, comedian Corbett Monica, and hip hop/ film artist LL Cool J, among other notable clients. They all appreciated his brilliant legal mind as well as his pasta, which he often started cooking at midnight.

Through the years, Giaimo remained a devoted St. John’s basketball fan, and could be found screaming at referees from the stands of Madison Square Garden. He found equal pleasure in cooking and hospitality, and made his mark in New York City’s restaurant world as part-owner of Eamonn Doran’s in Manhattan and Brooklyn Heights.

Always the life of the party, he will be remembered fondly.

TEAMING UP FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE Dan Quart ’97 and Adjunct Professor Martin LaFalce Help To Reform New York Law

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ictor had just returned to his native New York City from Texas to care for his ailing sister. He found work on a demolition crew, and his co-worker gave him a small folding knife to cut up carpets and drapes. He always carried the knife for easy access on the job.

It took one police stop, and one officer’s wrist flick, for Victor to be charged with felony gravity knife possession under a 1958 New York statute outlawing knives that rely on gravity to open and lock into place. “Victor’s arrest was one of thousands of gravity knife arrests and prosecutions in New York City in recent years,” says Martin LaFalce, an adjunct professor at St. John’s Law and the Legal Aid Society staff attorney who represented Victor.

While Victor’s case was pending, LaFalce decided to take action and advocate for reform. “I asked Legal Aid to let me work on Copeland v. Vance, a void for vagueness challenge to the gravity knife law brought in federal court,” he recalls. “We had solid data on gravity knife arrests, including the number city wide, the racial breakdown, and the disparities in charges brought by the different DA’s offices.

We also found over 120 stores in Manhattan selling the knives. None of the storeowners were arrested, but thousands of our clients, overwhelmingly men of color, were.”

LaFalce took his advocacy to the legislature when a Legal Aid colleague introduced him to New York State Assembly Member Dan Quart, who represents District 73 in Manhattan. Quart had been working on the gravity knife issue for some time and welcomed the collaboration. “No one should have to risk their freedom to carry a tool they regularly use for work,” Quart says. “Yet, under the State’s outdated gravity knife law, thousands of otherwise law-abiding New Yorkers were forced into unnecessary interactions with the criminal justice system. Supported by a broad coalition that included public defenders, organized labor, and a knife rights organization, we drafted common sense legislation that protects individuals from arbitrary and unjust prosecution for carrying a work tool.”

Martin LaFalce (center) and Dan Quart (right)

Quart, who was elected to office in 2011, took up the gravity knife cause with a deep commitment to serving the greater good. “I grew up in a socially conscious family,” he says. “My dad encouraged me to think about a career in the law because attorneys are in a unique position to help others. That’s something that St. John’s also stressed.

More is expected of lawyers than self-enrichment. There has to be some level of selfless service. That creed has guided my experience as an attorney and as an elected official.”

It took seven years, but in May 2019, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed a bill to decriminalize the possession of gravity knives in New York. LaFalce credits Quart’s unwavering leadership and dedication to the effort. “It’s an honor to work with Dan because he cares deeply about fairness in the criminal justice system, even though so many of the issues affect poor communities of color outside of his Upper East Side district,” he says. “Dan’s also a tremendous advocate because he does his homework. He studies the issues very carefully, meets with reform experts, and then goes to Albany to advocate. He’s tremendous.”

The admiration is mutual, and Quart looks forward to continuing his work with LaFalce. “It started with gravity knives, but our collaboration goes well beyond that, extending to a whole host of criminal justice and social justice issues,” he says. “A good lawyer thinks about what it means to—and why it’s important to—reform our criminal justice system, and Marty is one of the most passionate and dedicated fighters for justice I know.”

LaFalce, who first came to St. John’s Law to guest lecture about the gravity knife effort, brings that passion from the field to the classroom teaching Criminal Procedure at the Law School. “I think students learn best when they associate legal doctrines with compelling, real-world narratives and issues,” he shares. “As a practitioner, I’m also in a position to help students think about what matters in the law, and how they can use their knowledge and skills not only to assist clients, but to ensure through impact litigation and legislative action that we eliminate practices that have long disenfranchised poor communities of color. As the next generation of lawyers, they can advocate for systemic change.”

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END NOTE L -R: Wendy Closson and Jonathan Camargo

MEETING THE NEEDS OF TODAY’S PART-TIME STUDENTS

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St. John’s Law Launches A Flex-Time Program

endy Closson ’23 took anything but a direct route to St. John’s Law, where she began her legal studies this fall. “My path to law school was neither a curve, nor a straight line,” she says. “It was more like a spiral, since I’d been circling around the idea for 30 years. I’m here today only because St. John’s has a flex-time program. It’s made that longtime idea a reality.”

It’s a flexible option that Jonathan Camargo ’23 appreciates as he starts his 1L year at St. John’s Law. “For people like me, who may have taken a little longer to find their footing, the flex-time program is phenomenal because it allows us to work and study at the same time,” he says. “I need to continue working in order to afford my legal education and reach my longtime dream of becoming a prosecutor.”

Over the years, Closson had built a very successful career as a software developer, consultant, and industry speaker. She also navigated life’s highs and lows, marrying, having children, surviving cancer, and remarrying. More recently, Closson tapped her entrepreneurial drive for several ventures, including a brick and mortar family business that she helped resuscitate.

After college, Camargo took a job at the Queens District Attorney’s Office, helping the assistant district attorneys manage their caseloads. “I’m currently assigned to a unique program for victims of domestic violence,” he says. “My bureau does important work, and it’s become an extended family of sorts for me. The ADAs’ passion for their work is inspiring and a huge motivator as I begin my studies at St. John’s.”

“Once the family company was thriving again, I knew I could step away,” she says. “I took the LSATs and started the application process.” Considering her options, Closson was excited to learn about St. John’s new flex-time program. “As a mother of two young kids, part-time law school was really my only choice,” she says. “St. John’s had the most flexible program when it came to scheduling. I also know many St. John’s lawyers, including ones I’ve hired with great results. So I had no doubt that I would get an excellent legal education.”

Since its founding in 1925, St. John’s Law has been committed to educating a diverse student body, including students with substantial work and family responsibilities who can’t attend classes full time. The Law School’s flex-time program offers the same curriculum, taught by the same faculty, as its full-time program. Students take 23 credits during their first year and complete their J.D. in four years. Along the way, they can participate in clinical and co-curricular programs, join on-campus organizations, and take on journal and other leadership roles.

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As it has for Closson and Camargo, the part-time program has provided a pathway to practice for generations of St. John’s lawyers. “We originally offered our part-time program in the evening and welcomed doctors and nurses, teachers, police and fire personnel, parents raising children, and many others,” says Dean Michael A. Simons. “When flexible work schedules started replacing the traditional 40-hour work week, we knew we had to evolve the program to keep pace. So we reconceived it as a daytime program with flexible scheduling that better meets the needs of today’s part-time law students.”

Closson thinks it’s an important change. “There are many people, who will make exceptional lawyers, who have the resources to go to school full time,” she notes. “But there are others who don’t, and they have great potential and a lot of wisdom and insights to offer. I, certainly, come to the Law School with a very unique intersection of life experiences and expertise. I believe they will make me a better lawyer, but they come with a need for flexibility. That’s why I chose St. John’s part-time program, and am grateful for it.”

EVENTS CALENDAR The St. John’s Law Alumni Association hosts and participates in many events throughout the year.

Below is just a sampling of the slate of upcoming events. Please visit our online events calendar at stjohns.edu/law for full event details and updates as they come in.

November 12, 2019 Armed Forces Society Reception School of Law, Queens, NY December 3, 2019 Brooklyn Chapter Holiday Gathering and Toy Drive Floyd NY, Brooklyn, NY December 4, 2019 Nassau Chapter Holiday Luncheon The Carltun, East Meadow, NY December 5, 2019 Westchester Chapter Holiday Luncheon Westchester Hills Country Club, White Plains, NY

December 13-16, 2019 Washington Weekend and Group SCOTUS Admission Washington, D.C. January 24, 2020 Alumni Luncheon Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom, New York, NY

April 2, 2020 Diversity & Inclusion Gala Tribeca Rooftop, New York, NY May 27, 2020 Law Review Reception Metropolitan Club, New York, NY

February 8 and 9, 2020 Spring CLE Weekend School of Law, Queens, NY March 26, 2020 Public Interest Auction School of Law, Queens, NY

June 25, 2020 New York Athletic Club, New York, NY

SAVE-THE-DATE | APRIL 2, 2020

Diversity & Inclusion Gala TRIBECA ROOFTOP | MANHATTAN

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

School of Law 8000 Utopia Parkway Queens, NY 11439

EVERY GIFT MAKES A DIFFERENCE “Alumni giving has a real, concrete impact on students.

Because of generous alumni, I had the financial ability to accept a federal clerkship, an opportunity that not all of my colleagues from other schools can afford with their student loan debt. Years after their donation, those alumni have helped put me in a position to grow my career and eventually give back to St. John’s Law.”

—Daniel Gilpin ’17

PLEASE SUPPORT SCHOLARSHIPS AT ST. JOHN’S LAW. USE THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE TO MAKE YOUR GIFT, OR GIVE ONLINE AT STJOHNS.EDU/LAW-GIVING