Class Notes and In Memoriam

Richard L. O'Rourke '81 is now Senior Counsel To Keane & Beane, P.C. after being a Member of the firm for 35 years.

Brendan O'Neill '85, has retired as Executive Director of the Vineyard Conservation Society.

Professor Anthony Schembri '88 has been appointed as a Professor/Advisor of Criminology (Honorary) at the International Institute of Justice and Police Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

Jacqueline Hattar '91 was recently selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in American 2024 list. She was also selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers, New York, 2023. She is a partner with Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP.

Steven Epstein ‘92 will be sworn in on January 18 as the President of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. This is the largest criminal bar association in NY with over 1200 lawyers, both public and private, throughout the state. Additionally, Governor Hochul appointed Steven to the New York State Commission on Forensic Science. The Commission on Forensic Science was established by Article 49-B of the Executive Law. The Commission is empowered to, among other things, develop minimum standards and a program of accreditation for all forensic laboratories in New York State. 

David Isabel '93 continues to counsel numerous clients regarding the applicability of and compliance with New Jersey's Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA). He is a Director at the firm Trenk Isabel Siddiqi & Shahdanian.

Alumnus and Adjunct Professor Vernon Brown '96 was honored as the recipient of the Entertainment Advocate Award from the Living Legends Foundation at its 2023 Gala last week in Los Angeles, CA. Professor Brown is chairman and CEO of V. Brown & Company, Inc. and has led a remarkable career in the entertainment law industry representing such innovative hip-hop groups as Public Enemy and the platinum selling R&B group Surface.

Alan Zoccolillo '99 was named a deal-maker of the year by the New York Law Journal for 2023. He is currently chair of the North American transactional practice at Baker McKenzie.

Robert M. Nachamie '01 became a Judge in Putnam Valley Town Court on January 01, 2023.

Randi B Heitzman '02 is Sr. Director, Managing Counsel with MVP Healthcare.

Michele J. Glass '05 has joined the firm of Gibbons P.C. as a Director in the Environmental Group.

Scott Aronowitz '06 has been promoted to College Football Replay Official in the Mid-American Conference, and has been appointed to an adjunct professor position at Florida State College at Jacksonville, teaching American Federal Government. He is also an articles contributor with Referee Magazine.

Kate L. Harrison '08 is co-founder and head of marketing for MoveEV, an EV transition company powered by an AI-backed green tech solution, that helps organizations and municipalities convert fleet and employee-owned gas vehicles to electric, take advantage of tax incentives, and reimburse employees for charging at home.

Kerri Durso '08 was recently promoted to partner at Shearman & Sterling.

Clare Kathleen Schum '08 opened her own criminal defense law firm, the Law Office of Clare Schum, LLC, after over 13 years as a public defender.

Lisa Denig '09 has been appointed as Commissioner of Human Resources by Westchester County Executive George Latimer.

Jonathan Engel '09 has been appointed to the New York State Bar Association's Committee on Tort Systems. He was also named to NY Super Lawyers Rising Stars (Personal Injury - General/Plaintiff) for the third year.

Kristen A. Wagner '09 moved from the city of Albany to the suburb of Selkirk, NY with her husband and 3 year old daughter. Kristen also transitioned into a new practice area by joining The Shevy Law Firm in Albany as an Associate Attorney.

Barbara Durkin '10 was honored as the recipient of the SUNY Oneonta Thurgood Marshall Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Achievement Award at the Kente graduation ceremony in May 2023. This award goes to a faculty or staff member who embodies and implements diversity, equity and inclusion across student life and strives to make the college campus a welcoming environment to all student populations. Barbara is Associate Professor of Management Business at SUNY Oneonta.

The Board of Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) has selected Joseph A. Marutollo '10 to serve as a Magistrate Judge for a term of eight years.

Andrew Fiore '11 moved from Con Edison's Mass Tort Litigation group to its Energy & Environmental Law group where he is a senior staff attorney.

Jamie Van Nostrand (LLM '11) is Chair of the Massachusetts Department of Utilities. In addition to being an LLM alum, he is the former executive director of the Pace Energy and Climate Center.

Claire Doutre '13 has been promoted to the position of National Managing Attorney at Kids in Need of Defense (KIND).

Kristen Motel '15 was selected as one of The Business Council of Westchester’s 40 Under 40 Rising Stars.

Shawn Wagner '15 has been appointed Partner at Weber Gallagher.

The US Department of the Interior announced Biden-Harris administration appointees, which includes Haub Law alum Zaheer Tajani '16, who was appointed Senior Advisor for Oversight.

Kevin Bazur '19 has been selected to receive the Pro Bono Advocate of the Year award from Kids in Need of Defense (KIND).

Samuel Manrique '19 was featured in an article on IrishCentral.com.

Irene Kolonias '21 recently joined the law firm Goldberg Segalla's Workers’ Compensation group in White Plains.

Jennifer Timmons '21 is an environmental scientist with California State Water Resources Control Board. She recently closed several water rights complaints, inspected a large CAFO for water rights compliance issues, Closed several water rights revocation requests, worked on a property easement dispute (determined to be beyond our authority to resolve), and learned to use UTVs, Drones, and other field equipment. She uses law and science in her day-to-day work, primarily property and water law.

Dounea Elbroji '22 has joined Grossbach, Grossbach, Tramaglini & Hayes, P.C. as an associate attorney.

Joshua Wright '22 is an associate at Wood, Smith, Henning and Berman in their New York City office.

Kaitlin Campanini '23 had an article published in the Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts, entitled “TikTok Told Me I Have ADHD”: Regulatory Outlook for the Telehealth Revolution.

Michael McNally '23, a Lieutenant JAGC with the United States Navy, has been assigned to the US Sixth Fleet Command in Naples, Italy.

James Naumann '23 was awarded the 2023 Winifred Sobie Pasternack Award for significant contributions to civil liberties. The Haub Law donor award was made for James's significant contributions to the ongoing source-of-income housing discrimination case, Housing Rights Initiative v. Douglas Elliman, while a civil rights intern at Newman Ferrara LLP. In addition, James continues to serve on the Judiciary Committee of the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York.

Bronx District Attorney, Darcel Clark, recently appointed 40 new assistant district attorneys to her office, including four 2023 Haub Law alumni, Emma Cassidy, Gabrielle Yee, Safa Saleh, and Teresa Piccolo.

Raphaella J. Cipollina '23 (JD) '19 (LLM) recently joined the divorce and family law firm of Siegel, Colin & Kaufman, P.C. as an associate.

The Honorable Sandra A. Forster
1940-2023
Judge Forster was a dedicated alumna and friend of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. A graduate of the class of 1979, she remained very committed to the Law School and was a lively presence on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, for which she volunteered her time. She was in private practice for many years before being elected as Greenburg Town Justice, where she served from 2000-2012. Judge Forster is remembered as a lawyer, judge, wife, mother, and grandmother, who will be very missed.