Spring 2026 Class Notes

Class Notes 

1968 

Alan E. Weiner was featured in an article in the Suffolk County Bar Association’s The Legal Brief on what attorneys do for leisure. The piece focused on Weiner's extensive collection of 2,500 books, primarily concentrated on theater, film, and TV. Weiner, who is semi-retired, explained that the vast collection started by accident: "The film book collection started with one Laurel and Hardy book, and the art book collection started with one book on Norman Rockwell."   

1979  

Charles-Eric Gordon has been installed on the board of directors of the American Academy for Professional Law Enforcement – Long Island. An investigative attorney concentrating on locating missing people, he continues to serve on the Board of the Society of Professional Investigators.  

1980 

Clinton Hegeman announced he was retiring and closing his jewelry store Silver Parrot, located in Stuyvesant Plaza in Guilderland, N.Y. in February 2026, after decades of business. He was featured in the Albany Business Review in an article that reflected on his career, including a transition from being a lawyer to being a retailer.   

1985 

Marcos Zalta was named as part of the slate of new council members in Long Branch, N.J., by Mayor John Pallone, who was seeking re-election to a third term in the upcoming 2026 municipal election this May.  

1986 

Todd L. Platek has released a new novel, Rise of the Great Blue Heron, a sequel to his previous book, G88. It is available in digital and hardcover.  

Hon. Saliann Scarpulla, associate justice of the New York State Appellate Division, First Department, received the Stanley Fuld Award—the highest honor of the New York State Bar Association’s Commercial and Federal Litigation Section. 

1987 

Paul Monte has been appointed to serve as vice chair of Peckar & Abramson. He also currently serves on the firm’s executive committee, is co-managing partner of the New York office, and chairs its infrastructure practice. He also represents many of the industry’s leading public sector contractors in claims and disputes, locally and nationwide. 

1990 

Gwyneth M. Eliasson joined the board of directors of the American Society of Law, Medicine and, & Ethics (ASLME), a nonprofit educational organization with a multidisciplinary focus. During her three-year term, she will serve on the membership committee. 

1991 

Brian Bromberg married Lena Zairis at the Center Avenue Synagogue in Fort Lee, N.J. Although he was a lifetime resident of Brooklyn and Manhattan, Bromberg's beloved finally convinced him to leave the city for Fort Lee, he said. In attendance from Brooklyn Law School were fellow alumni Arthur Miller '81, Helene Bryks '90, David Feldman '92, Jacqueline Bryks '92, Jonathan Fink '92, and Adam Raclaw '96. Brian’s late father, Sol Bromberg '56, was undoubtedly there in spirit. 

Hon. Juliet Howard was sworn in as a judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York. She brings more than 25 years of legal experience devoted to public interest law. 

Steven M. Lutt joined Rosenberg & Estis as a member in the transactions group, and he will also lead the firm's hospitality group. He spent his 35-year career advising owners, developers, and private equity investors on complex real estate and cross-border M&A transactions, particularly in hospitality, energy and sophisticated financing, recapitalization, and joint-venture matters.  

1994 

Frank Carone, founder and chair of Oaktree Solutions, was named to City & State New York’s "2026 Brooklyn Power 100" list, an annual roundup of influential leaders shaping Brooklyn’s political, civic, and policy landscape. He remains an influential figure in New York political and public affairs circles. 

Jeffrey Gewirtz, the chief legal officer and executive vice president, business affairs at Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment (which recently returned to its original name), has been recognized for a second consecutive year on the Legal 500 GC Powerlist: New York 2026, which honors industry leaders who are shaping today’s legal function and guiding organizations through transformation and growth. 

1995 

Jennifer Zucker has joined Vinson & Elkins in its Washington, D.C., office as a partner and co-head of the firm’s nationally recognized government contracts practice. She brings deep experience across the full spectrum of government contracting matters, including high-stakes bid protests, complex contract disputes and terminations, audit, and cost allowability issues, government investigations, and suspension and debarment proceedings. 

1996 

Ari J. Markenson, who holds a master's degree in public health as well as a J.D., was recently appointed as an adjunct professor of law at Columbia Law School, where he teaches a healthcare transactions course. He was also promoted to a full adjunct professor at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. He recently completed a section on conducting healthcare due diligence (Section (§ 3.04[3]), in F. Ciatto, R. Rubinstein, & V. Suryavanshi (Eds.), Due Diligence in Corporate Transactions, Matthew Bender & Company (2026). 

1998 

Lisa Garcia has been appointed commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. A longtime leader in environmental law and public service, Garcia has held senior roles at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and across state and local government.  

2000 

Eric Winstrom was selected to lead the Pensacola Police Department in Florida, wrapping up a national search for the city's next chief of police. Winstrom, who has been the chief in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was appointed by Mayor D.C. Reeves and started his new position in March.  

2001 

David Kwang Soo Kim (David K. S. Kim) joined immigration law firm Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt as the managing partner of the firm's new New York office. Kim previously served as the United States Immigration Judge for three years.  

2002 

Andrew H. Lipton was promoted to managing director at Morgan Stanley. Andrew is the head of the Americas market/conduct regulatory relations group in Morgan Stanley's legal and compliance division.  

Teepoo Riaz joined Baldor Specialty Foods, the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic food distributor, as chief legal and administrative officer. In this role, Riaz oversees all legal affairs, human resources, and risk functions. Previously, Riaz guided e-commerce grocer FreshDirect to a sale and more recently represented storied food brands in their consumer-packaged goods strategies. 

Jordan Wishnew was promoted to partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel where he focuses his practice on a wide variety of restructuring-related matters representing banks, direct lenders, CLOs, distressed investment funds, administrative and collateral agents, and other strategic parties.  

2004 

Joseph Anci was elevated to principal status at national employment law firm Jackson Lewis in the New York City office. Anci focuses his practice on employment-related litigation before federal and state courts and administrative agencies and has served as lead counsel in trials, hearings, and arbitrations involving claims arising under statutes such as Title VII, the ADA and the ADEA. 

Richard Laconte was elected to the New York Insurance Association's Board of Directors. He is the senior vice president and deputy general counsel for government and industry relations at Allstate Insurance Co., leading Allstate’s legislative and regulatory affairs, and public policy initiatives.  

2005 

Cliff Cone joined Sidley Austin as a partner in the investment funds group, where he will continue to focus on semi-liquid and permanent capital structures across asset classes within and outside of the Investment Company Act. Previously, he spent 19 years at Clifford Chance. 

Arik Hirschfeld joined as a partner at Honigman. 

Timothy Kelly was named general counsel at Playhouse Square, a major not-for-profit performing arts and theater district in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It is the largest performing arts center outside of New York City.  

Hon. Karen Lin was appointed as an associate justice of the Appellate Term, Second Department, bench in New York on Feb. 25 by Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas. Serving the 2nd, 11th, and 13th Judicial Districts, the court hears appeals from the New York City Civil and Criminal Courts in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Justice Lin previously served as a Queens Supreme Court justice. 

2006 

Shan Haider has joined Winston & Strawn as a structured finance partner in the firm’s transactions department in New York. Haider advises institutional capital providers in deploying capital through various investment vehicles, in highly regulated markets.  

2007 

Nicole S. Forchelli, a partner in Forchelli Deegan Terrana's tax certiorari and municipal practice groups, was recently appointed a member of the Institute for Professionals in Taxation's (IPT) 2026 property tax symposium committee. 

2009 

Laurian Cristea joined the NatGold Board as a member of its board of directors as an independent non-executive director and as a strategic advisor to the CEO. 

Leslie McMillan has recently joined Kahana Feld as a partner in the firm's New York City office, as part of the general liability practice group. A skilled litigator, she brings 15 years of litigation experience and previously served as trial counsel for two national insurance companies and as a litigation attorney in private practice. 

2010 

Marni Blank changed her career path and founded Begin With The End, where she assists those in need of end-of-life planning, including care and emotional support.  

Anthony Wong was named as a member of Dickinson Wright in the firm’s Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., office. He brings a comprehensive background in commercial litigation with a particular focus on the construction, transportation, and insurance sectors.  

2011 

Heather Weaver was named partner at Lowenstein Sandler, where she is based in the New Jersey office. She brings more than a decade of experience litigating and pursuing alternative dispute resolution for a wide range of complex insurance coverage and commercial disputes in state and federal courts.  

2012 

Erika Cabo has joined Greenberg Traurig as of counsel in the firm's Miami office as part of the firm's financial regulatory and compliance, as well as blockchain and digital assets practices. She joined from Sidley Austin in Miami.  

2013 

Max Feder joined Burr & Forman as counsel in the firm’s real estate practice group in Charleston, S.C. He focuses on complex corporate and real estate matters, advising a range of institutional investors and capital providers on acquisitions, dispositions, financings, and joint-venture arrangements. 

Xiu Ming “Lily” Gao was promoted to partner at Duane Morris.  

Wendy LaManque was promoted to partner at Pryor Cashman. She remains a member of the firm's labor and employment group, and will continue to practice collective bargaining, discrimination and harassment, and labor-management relations representation and general advisory services with a focus on healthcare professionals. 

Alina Levi was recently promoted to shareholder at Polsinelli.  

Megan Mengüç joined the Washington, D.C., office of Ogletree Deakins as an associate in the employment tax practice group and the employee benefits and executive compensation practice group. She advises public and private companies on complex employment tax matters as well as on the design and compliance of executive compensation and employee benefit arrangements.  

Cassandra M. Vogel was elevated to partner at Yanwitt, where she represents clients in a wide range of complex litigation matters, including commercial disputes, real estate litigation, contract and shareholder matters, tax disputes and government and regulatory proceedings. 

Roman Zelichenko, founder and CEO of LaborLess and GMI Rocket, was featured in a Q&A that appeared in Reuters' Practical Law The Journal. 

2015 

Shannon Aimée Daugherty was elevated to partner at Cohen & Gresser in New York, where she is a member of the firm's litigation and arbitration and white-collar defense and regulation practice groups. She advises corporations and individuals on internal and government investigations and a wide range of complex commercial disputes before federal and state courts. She was recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in business litigation and by The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch in white collar criminal defense.  

Liana-Marie Lien was featured in Law.com’s “How I Made Partner” series for her remarkable path to partnership at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and affiliates. In the interview, she advises aspiring partners to try to learn from everyone because, "Having a diverse range of experiences and perspectives will enhance your creativity and overall legal skills, which will make you a more effective lawyer and adviser."  

2016 

Luke S. Pontier, a real estate attorney at Day Pitney, was named to the firm’s 2026 partner class. He practices in the firm’s real estate department and represents buyers, sellers, and developers across a broad range of real estate and land-use matters. 

Nicholas Liakas, senior partner and cofounder of Liakas Law, was named to City & State New York’s “2026 Brooklyn Power 100” list — an annual roundup of influential leaders shaping Brooklyn’s political, civic, and policy landscape. He has been active in personal injury litigation and policy discussions related to public safety and justice reform.  

2017 

Haley Tynes, in-house antitrust and competition counsel for Microsoft, joined the board of directors of Eastside Legal Assistance Program (ELAP), a nonprofit organization that empowers individuals in King County (Washington State) to achieve fair and equal justice through free civil legal aid and community education. Prior to joining the board, Tynes partnered with ELAP in a pro bono capacity and represented survivors of domestic violence.  

2018 

Kristina Barry was promoted to partner at Grunfeld Desiderio Lebowitz Silverman and Klestadt (GDLSK), an international trade and customs law firm. She first joined the firm as an intern in 2017, having previously completed a judicial internship at the United States Court of International Trade as a law student. She brings deep experience advising clients on complex international trade compliance and enforcement matters. 

2022 

Joseph Famulari II has joined Moritt Hock & Hamroff as a member of the firm's litigation practice group. Based in the Garden City, N.Y., office, he concentrates his practice in commercial and real estate litigation.  

Casey McIntyre was named associate general counsel in the investigations group at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Co., covering the Americas division.  

James Sanderson was named corporate associate in Blank Rome's New York office, where he brings his expertise in corporate transactions, capital markets, and M&A to a nationally recognized practice. 

Daphne Spector launched her private law practice in New York City, Daphne Spector Law Practice, where she oversees trademark filings and proceedings, copyright, fashion law, contracts, entity formation, domain name disputes, commercial, advertising compliance, artificial intelligence issues and more, for innovative companies in a range of industries. 

2023 

Alex (Oleksandr) Kozlov joined Fragomen as an associate. Kozlov assists multinational corporate clients in the high-technology sector with employment-based immigration matters. 

2024 

Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn was named to City & State New York’s "2026 Brooklyn Power 100" list — an annual roundup of influential leaders shaping Brooklyn’s political, civic, and policy landscape. She is Chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party and Majority Whip in the New York State Assembly, representing the 42nd Assembly District. In 2024, she was also elected to the Brooklyn Law School Board of Trustees, bringing her experience as a legislator and public servant to the Law School’s governing body. 

Hilary Drabkin joined Rivkin Radler as an associate in the firm's insurance fraud and recovery practice group in the Uniondale, N.Y., office. Prior to joining Rivkin Radler, she clerked for Justice Arthur F. Engoron of the New York State Supreme Court, New York County.  

2025 

Zoe Mazzu joined Klein Solomon Mills as an associate attorney in its litigation practice team. During law school, she was a Dennis J. Block Center for International Business Law fellow, a staff editor for the Brooklyn Journal of International Law, served on the executive board of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Honors Society, and participated in the Brooklyn Law Incubator and Policy (BLIP) Clinic.