Alumni | CLASS NOTES

ClassNotes

Golden Alumni Honored by Florida Bar Association
The following alumni have been honored by the Florida Bar Association for being members in good standing for 50 years:
Corinne R. Korn ’53
Gerald Korman ’63
Barry M. Elkin ’64
Morris Engelberg ’64
Noel Jay Feinberg ’64
Jack Stein ’66
Kenneth Rappaport ’69
Daniel Retter ’69
Larry H. Schatz ’69
Leonard Zedeck ’69
1969

Jeffrey D. Forchelli was named a 2022 Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America in the area of land use and zoning law for the fifth consecutive year. Forchelli is a member of the Brooklyn Law School Board of Trustees and chair and co-managing partner of Forchelli Deegan & Terrana.

1971

Marc Berman was appointed to the advisory board of Options Solutions. He is currently a senior advisor at OCA Ventures.

1975

Daniel Moskowitz’s novel Bronx Stagger was recognized by the 2021 Independent Press Award program in the “Cross-Genre” category.

1978

Dorothea Regal was named a 2021 Distinguished Leader by the New York Law Journal. She is a partner at Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney.

1980

Jay Cantor founded Gil & Cantor. He focuses his practice in real estate law.

1985

Richard Goldstein joined Summit Health Law Partners as a litigation partner. He previously managed his own private practice.

1988

Roger Slade was elected president of the Dade County Bar Association. He is a shareholder at Haber Law.

1991

Hemalee J. Patel became the general counsel for the Board of Elections in the City of New York. She was previously a special referee for the Supreme Court of Richmond County.

1992

Jeffrey Berkowitz joined Pharma Two B as chair of the board. Berkowitz is the CEO of Real Endpoints.

Martin Friedlander joined American Academy of Matrimonial Attorneys as a fellow. He is currently the principal attorney at his own practice.

Garret Lepaw returned to the Corcoran Group as a senior managing director. He was previously an executive sales manager at Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

1993

Scott Bersin joined Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. He was previously the principal at Seaford High School.

1994

Todd Zarin joined Stearns Weaver Miller as a shareholder in its corporate practice group. He previously managed his own firm, Todd Zarin Consulting.

Frank Carone ’94 and Errol Louis ’05 were included in City & State’s Brooklyn Power 100 for 2021. Carone is an executive partner at Abrams Fensterman, and Louis is the political anchor of Spectrum News NY1 and director of urban reporting at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He has recently joined New York Magazine as a columnist.
1996

Eva Anthony was appointed managing director and wealth & fiduciary advisor of Evercore Wealth Management and Evercore Trust Company. She was previously a senior fiduciary specialist at BNY Mellon Wealth Management.

Allen Huang joined JetBlue Airways as associate general counsel. He was previously deputy general counsel at Virgin America.

1997

Michael Anthony Baston was elected to the board of directors of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the primary advocacy organization for the nation’s community colleges. He is currently president of Rockland Community College in Suffern, N.Y.

Jennifer Cattier joined SK Capital Partners as general counsel and chief compliance officer. She was previously general counsel at Almanac Realty Investors.

William Grandison Ford was appointed an associate justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department. He was elected to the New York State Supreme Court in 2016.

Virginia Trunkes joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani as a partner in its construction practice group. She was previously of counsel at Robinson+Cole.

1999

Jonathan Schulman received the New York City Big Apple Award for Teacher Excellence. He is a fourth grade teacher at P.S. 110 The Monitor School in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

2000

James Fox was elected vice chair of Vinson & Elkins’ senior leadership team. He is co-managing partner of the firm’s New York office.

Jean Soo Park joined the City Bar Justice Center as director of the Federal Pro Se Legal Assistance Project. She was previously a hearing officer at the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings.

2001

Nicole George-Middleton was appointed executive director of the American Society of Composers Foundation. She will continue as senior vice president of membership.

Baaba Halm joined Enterprise Community Partners as its vice president and New York market leader. Halm was previously executive deputy commissioner and chief diversity officer at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development.

John Minardo joined Ironwood Pharmaceuticals as its vice president and chief legal officer. He was previously the vice president at Seqirus.

Lisa Varlack founded the real estate brokerage firm Boulevard Real Properties. She was previously the principal broker at Brooklyn Quarters.

2002

Vicki Andreadis joined Bank Hapoalim International as general counsel. She was previously director and senior counsel for RBC Capital Markets.

Alexandra Chandler was included in Out in National Security and New America’s 2021 LGBTQIA+ Experts in U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy list. Chandler is a policy advocate and impact manager for elections and voting rights at Project Democracy.

Seth Merl joined Reed Smith as a partner in its global corporate practice group. He was previously special counsel at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel.

2004

Manar Waheed joined Facebook as associate general counsel on its civil rights team. She was previously senior legislative and advocacy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

2005

Andrew Brettler was selected as one of the Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers Top 100 Attorneys in Hollywood. He is a partner at Lavely & Singer.

Hylan Fenster was promoted to associate general counsel at Adobe.

Sirimal Mukerjee was appointed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler’s policy staff. He previously served as branch chief in the SEC’s Investment Adviser Regulation Office in the Division of Investment Management’s Rulemaking Office.
Brian Robb joined Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance as senior vice president and head of its cyber/miscellaneous professional liability/tech division in the United States. He was previously assistant vice president at CNA Insurance.

Jill Spielberg joined Abrams Fensterman as a partner and leader of its matrimonial and family law practice group. She was previously a partner at Harold, Salant, Strassfield & Spielberg.

2006

Keith Billotti, co-head of Seward & Kissel’s capital markets practice group, was given the Deal of the Year award by Marine Money. Seward & Kissel was also recognized for the Equity Follow-on Deal of the Year, which was also spearheaded by Billotti.

Daniel Wiig was elected chair of the commercial and federal litigation section of the New York State Bar Association. He is the host of Amicus Curiae, a New York–focused legal podcast sponsored by the New York County Lawyers’ Association.

2007

Jared Ho joined Facebook as associate general counsel for privacy. He was previously at the Federal Trade Commission.

Jordana L. Renert joined Lowenstein Sandler as a partner in its bankruptcy and restructuring practice group. She was previously a partner at Arent Fox.

Josh Shpayher joined USA Vein Clinics as associate general counsel. He was previously general counsel at Simple Laboratories.

2008

Shujah Awan joined Roxe as general counsel and as its chief compliance officer. Awan was previously general counsel and chief compliance officer of CapVenture Partners.

Michael Calcagni was appointed co-vice chair of the Surrogate’s Court Estates & Trusts Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association. He is of counsel at Moritt Hock & Hamroff.

2010

Elliot J. Coz joined Cozen O’Connor as counsel. He focuses his practice in the areas of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, employment law, residential and commercial real estate, and corporate governance.

Alexander Kerzhner joined Forchelli Deegan Terrana as a partner in its corporate and mergers & acquisitions practice group. He was previously an associate at Fox Rothschild.

2011

Risa Chalfin joined Norris McLaughlin as a member in its litigation practice group. She was previously of counsel at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer.

Tom Curtin was promoted to special counsel at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. He focuses his practice in financial restructuring and bankruptcy.

Mathew Thomas was promoted to chief of staff at TriNet USA in its legal and compliance division. He was previously senior corporate counsel within TriNet’s commercial contracts division.

2012

Jaclyn Ruch joined Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder in its corporate practice group.

2013

Cassidy Merriam joined DISH Network as general counsel. Merriam was previously an intellectual property attorney at EmergeCounsel.

2014

Charles Barker was appointed a member of New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission by Governor Phil Murphy. He was previously associate general counsel for Alma Realty Corp.

John Runne was promoted to counsel at David Polk & Wardwell in its capital markets practice group.

2015

Mario G. Bai joined Ellis Law Group as an attorney in its estate planning and corporate practice groups. He previously was a founding member and partner of the Law Offices of Contaldi and Bai.

2016

Daniel S. Chertok joined Archer & Greiner as an associate in its real estate practice group. He was previously an associate at Troutman Pepper.

Ned L. Schultheis joined Kirkland & Ellis as an associate in its private equity and mergers and acquisitions transaction practice group. He was previously an associate at Ropes & Gray.

2018

Ryan Foley joined Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman as a litigation associate. He was previously an assistant district attorney in the appeals bureau of the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.

Rachel Mohabir joined the Queens District Attorney’s Office as an assistant district attorney.

2020

Khaled Mekki joined the TacoCat Company as chief business development officer and community manager.