Alumni | UPDATE

ClassNotes
1969

Jeffrey Forchelli has been named to Wagner College’s Board of Trustees. Forchelli is a member of the Brooklyn Law School Board of Trustees and chairman and comanaging partner of Forchelli Deegan & Terrana. The Jeffrey D. Forchelli Conference Center in Feil Hall is named in honor of his family.

Michael Rikon was selected for the Top Attorney of the Decade Award for 2020 by the International Association of Top Professionals. Rikon is a partner at Goldstein, Rikon, Rikon & Houghton and focuses his practice on condemnation and eminent domain cases.

1978

Marshall D. Feiring joined Dentons as partner in its capital markets group. He was previously at Sidley Austin.

Eileen T. Nugent joined Morrow Sodali’s newly formed strategic advisory board. She is currently of counsel at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in its mergers and acquisitions group. She is also a member of the Brooklyn Law School Board of Trustees.

Alumni Elected Leaders of Professional Organizations

Anthony Lamberti ’90, partner at Armstrong & Lamberti, was installed as president of the Brooklyn Bar Association in June. He started his career as a court officer, later attending Brooklyn Law School at night, starting in 1986. He practices in the areas of guardianship, elder law, and trusts and estates.

Anta Cissé-Green ’03, associate general counsel at NYU Langone Medical Center, was installed as the president of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association in July. She was previously senior counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in its private client services group.

Jenny Chung ’14 was named president of the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey in May. In addition, she was elected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America as one of the “Ones to Watch” in commercial litigation. She is an associate at Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi.

1981

Sylvia Goldschmidt was named a Top Prominent Attorney by Continental Who’s Who for her outstanding contributions in the field of law and acknowledgment of her excellence as founding partner at Goldschmidt & Genovese. Goldschmidt focuses her practice on family law matters.

1983

James A. Hicks joined Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer as counsel in its workers’ compensation group. He focuses his practice on advocating for the rights of injured workers and workers diagnosed with occupational illnesses.

1985

James I. Glasser received the 2020 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Second Circuit. Glasser is a partner at Wiggin and Dana and head of its litigation group.

1986

Saliann Scarpulla was appointed an associate justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, in the First Department of New York State. She previously served as a justice on the New York State Supreme Court.

1987

Michael Gottfried joined Elkins Kalt Weintraub Reuben Gartside as a partner to help launch its bankruptcy and restructuring group. Gottfried was previously a partner at Landau Gottfried & Berger.

1989

Evan M. Goldberg, principal owner of his own law practice and past president of the NYS Trial Lawyers Association, was appointed chair of the legislative committee of the New York State Bar Association. Goldberg focuses his practice on personal injury law.

1992

Naftali Dembitzer was promoted to partner at DLA Piper. Dembitzer’s practice areas include state and local taxes, real estate transfer taxes, federal and state tax audits and controversies, and federal and state employment taxes.

1995

Rebecca Leon joined Baker McKenzie as a partner in its North America litigation and government enforcement group. She was previously at Holland & Knight.

1996

Ari Markenson was elected to the board of directors of the American Health Law Association. Markenson is partner at Winston & Strawn and co-chair of its health care and life sciences industry group.

1998

Kalman Magyar launched Tanchaz Talk, an English-language program focusing primarily on Hungarian folk music. He launched the podcast in July to keep enthusiasts connected during the pandemic. He is also managing partner at his Toronto-based commercial law firm, Magyar, Bogle & O’Hara.

1999

Samuel Kohn joined Dorsey & Whitney as a partner in its business reorganizations group. He was previously a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright.

2000

Keith Brandofino joined Thompson & Knight as partner in its real estate and banking group. He was previously a partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton.

Maria Corvaia O’Donnell ’01

Maria Corvaia O’Donnell ’01 started a plaintiff-side insurance practice in 2014, and since has had a long streak of successful decisions, helping her clients repair property damage on their homes.

A serial entrepreneur, she started her first firm in 2006 as a new mother, realizing that the only way to “have it all” by raising a family and building a career was through the flexibility of her own practice. That firm, which began in her home, grew into one of the largest fully female-owned insurance defense firms in the state of Florida, with over 20 attorneys on staff. Due to that experience as a working mother, she supports the continued advancement of women in business, who may encounter difficulties similar to the ones she overcame.

O’Donnell said she owes much of her career success to Myron Chaitovsky, the former director of admissions at the Law School, who helped steward her application. In 2013, she donated a seat in the Moot Court Room in his honor, to show her gratitude, the first ever donated in honor of a member of the Law School administration.

“Because of people like [Chaitovsky],” said O’Donnell, “people like me can have a chance to succeed, people who might not have otherwise had that opportunity.”

2002

Leslie Rosen joined Connecticut College’s Board of Trustees. She is a principal at Rosen Harbottle Commercial Real Estate.

Florelee Wan was promoted to partner at Wong Fleming in its insurance coverage and defense, products liability, and premises liability groups. Wan previously was an associate at Schenck, Price, Smith & King.

2003

Winston M. Paes was promoted to partner at Debevoise & Plimpton in its white-collar and regulatory defense groups. Paes was previously an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, spending two years as chief of the business and securities fraud section.

Camille J. Varlack was appointed as a trustee of the SUNY Board of Trustees. She is a partner and the chief operating officer of Bradford Edwards & Varlack.

2004

Ryan Thompson opened the law firm Thompson Esquire, which concentrates on Title IX, sexual misconduct, and civil rights law and investigations. Previously the Title IX coordinator and civil rights officer at Niagara University, Thompson has been called one of the top legal scholars in this concentration by Buffalo Business First and the Buffalo Law Journal.

2006

Jodi Siegel Stein joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton as a partner in its real estate, land use, and environmental groups. She was previously a partner at Herrick, Feinstein.

Alex Threadgold joined Fox Rothschild as a partner in its entertainment and sports law group. He previously was in-house director of business affairs at VP Records and its distribution, music publishing, apparel, booking, and international affiliates.

2007

Joe DiGiglio joined the financial services regulatory consultancy Bovill as a managing consultant. He was previously a senior compliance officer at Cadre, a real estate investment firm.

Keith Sheldon joined Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming as its president of entertainment. Sheldon previously worked for BSE Global, parent company of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center.

David M. Knapp joined Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman as partner in its insurance group. He was previously a partner at Ward Greenberg Heller & Reidy.

Kenneth Anand ’02 and Jared Goldstein ’17

Kenneth Anand ’02, cofounder and COO of Roth House, a luxury apparel and accessory house, and Jared Goldstein ’17, legal counsel at the marketing company LiveIntent, will release their new book, Sneaker Law (Sneaker Law LLC, 2020), in December. The book, aimed at designers, collectors, law students, and entrepreneurs, details everything needed to succeed in the sneaker industry, a multibillion-dollar business requiring expertise in legal fields such as patents, trade secrets, and endorsement deals.

“We wanted to cover everything,” says Goldstein. “When we started outlining [the book], we realized how many facets of business and law touch upon sneakers.”

They previewed the book during a lecture earlier this year at Harvard Law School’s Fashion Law Lab. The book also has received advance coverage from Business Insider, Women’s Wear Daily, Yeezy Mafia, and other media outlets.

Anand and Goldstein continue to actively engage with Brooklyn Law School students. Through the Law School’s externship program, they brought on Rylan Brook ’20 and Daphne Spector ’22 to assist with writing their book. Anand also gave a talk to students sponsored by the Career Development Center, where he discussed his work and offered career advice.

2008

Shujah Awan joined CapVenture Partners, an alternative asset management firm, as partner and general counsel. Awan was previously the vice president and deputy general counsel at Biz2Credit Inc.

Max McCann was promoted to executive senior attorney for litigation and special projects in the Florida Department of Financial Services General Counsel’s Office.

2009

Alex C. Drylewski was named a 2020 Rising Star by the New York Law Journal. He is a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in its complex litigation and trials group.

2011

Zachary H. Klein was promoted to general counsel for the New York Islanders National Hockey League franchise and named general counsel for UBS Arena at Belmont Park, the Islanders’ future home.

2012

Jared Newman was promoted to senior counsel at real estate services and investment firm CBRE Group. He was previously an associate at Chaves Perlowitz Luftig.

Erika L. Lorshbough was promoted to deputy policy director at the ACLU of New York. She monitors and analyzes legislative activity and agency action affecting civil rights and civil liberties and works with coalition partners to promote community-driven law reform based upon constitutional principles.

2013

Dong Joo Lee was appointed as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the fraud and public corruption section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

2014

Meagan Dean was promoted to partner at McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia and managing partner of the firm’s Syracuse, N.Y., office.

Nate Hennagin joined Amazon Studios in the Culver City, Calif., office as corporate counsel, labor relations. He was previously counsel in the legal department at the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).

Dacia Read joined the Office of Rhode Island Governor Gina M. Raimondo as deputy chief of staff. She was previously assistant secretary for human services at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services for Rhode Island.

2016

Benjamin Schachter joined Riemer & Braunstein as an associate in its real estate finance group. He was previously an associate at Goldstein Hall.

Steven Ballew and Katie Harrigan were married on June 27, 2020. The wedding took place in the Brooklyn Law School courtyard after their previous plans were upended due to the pandemic.

Steven Ballew and Katie Harrigan