Alumni | CLASS NOTES

ClassNotes

Carl Steinhouse has authored his 14th book, The War Under the Waves, about the World War II battle against German U-boats fought initially by Britain and then the United States, to ultimately defeat Hitler.

Gene Laks, who specializes in health care law for Barclay Damon, will be listed in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Joseph C. Wasch , of counsel at Greenspoon Marder in Boca Raton, Fla., was recognized as a 2022 Legal Eagle by the publication Franchise Times.

The Wireless History Foundation honored Subotnick as “a pioneer and a visionary in establishing the methods by which the still-evolving and scrappy paging industry could participate in the development of the new cellular licenses, in competition with the dominant wireline Bell System.”

That was in 1982, and for independent broadcasting company Metromedia it was a huge leap of faith. But for Subotnick, whose keen understanding of finance and law had precipitated a rise at Metromedia from federal tax manager to chief financial officer, it was also well worth the challenge. He believed companies such as AT&T, which gave up the rights to cellular licenses, were drastically underestimating how big the new technology could become.

“I went around the country to see what was going on,” Subotnick said. “All these mom-and-pop paging companies were in on it; doing applications for licenses, putting together books on engineering and customer service. So I went back to New York and said to [Metromedia’s then chair] John Kluge, ‘We have to get into this.’”

Setting Metromedia’s sights on the top U.S. markets, Subotnick orchestrated financing to acquire seven of the largest U.S. paging companies and their cellular applications in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C./Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, and Boston. “In 1983, when the awards came in, we had the largest non-phone cellular company in the U.S.,” Subotnick said.

Deals to expand cellular technology in China, Cuba, Russia, and Eastern Europe followed, and Subotnick later brought Metromedia into the fiber-optics and Wi-Fi businesses. Subotnick, who has taken other bold leaps—including being in on the creation of Major League Soccer and breeding and racing thoroughbred horses—attributes his confidence to a “belief in opportunities.”

“All people get them, along with a lot of luck,” he said. “If you don’t react and take a risk, you can miss the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Richard Stern, previously with Luskin, Stern & Eisler, is now a partner at Stroock as part of an expansion of the latter’s restructuring and bankruptcy practice. Stern is also co-chair of Stroock’s restructuring and bankruptcy group.

David H. Cohen, who specializes in real estate law for Moritt Hock & Hamroff, will be listed in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

John D. D’Ercole was named a partner in a newly formed law firm, Leech Tishman Robinson Brog. The new entity came about after Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl expanded its New York City presence by adding 24 attorneys from the prominent business law firm Robinson Brog Leinwand Greene Genovese & Gluck. D’Ercole is part of the litigation and alternative dispute resolution practice group, and is based in the firm’s New York office, where he focuses his practice on complex federal and state commercial litigation matters.

Gregg S. Peterman was named first assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota. He joined the office in 1995 as assistant U.S. Attorney and has been the supervisory assistant U.S. Attorney in Rapid City, S.D., since January 2012. Peterman’s work included prosecuting violent crimes in Indian country, including murder, sexual abuse, aggravated assault, child abuse, and robbery.

James Diamond has been appointed the interim director of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program at the University of Arizona College of Law.

Patricia (Cohen) Putney, a shareholder at Bell, Moore & Richter, in Madison, Wis., was recently appointed chair of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s committee on anti-sexual harassment in the legal profession.She practices as a defense attorney in civil litigation, including medical malpractice, and just completed her second term as a governor on the Board of Governors for the State Bar of Wisconsin. She also sits on the Wisconsin Defense Counsel’s diversity and inclusion committee. She has been voted by her peers as a Super Lawyer every year since 2012.

Peter Antonucci, a former commercial litigator who retired from the practice of law in 2013 to sail around the globe on a megayacht, has come out with a new book, Scandal at Sea: Billionaires in the Deep. His previous book, released in 2019, was titled Billionaire’s Paradise.

Jaime Siegel, CEO and co-founder of FlipTix, was named one of California’s Top 101 CEOs in the events space by Boardroom Media’s CEO.

Peter C. Godfrey, partner at Hodgson Russ, has been named to the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America and will also be honored as a “Lawyer of the Year,” a designation based upon his extremely high overall feedback within specific practice areas and metropolitan regions. Godfrey was recognized for his work in employment law and labor law, both with a specialty in management.

Randy Klein started his career at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office and spent many years in the asset management space. He is now a partner in Paul Evans Catering, a full-service catering business that has been operating in New York City for over 30 years. The catering company works with corporate and not-for-profit clients, including the City University of New York and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and caters a wide variety of parties and receptions within the city.

Rio Guerrero, the founding principal attorney of Guerrero Law Firm, will be listed in The Best Lawyers in America for
the fourth consecutive year.

Gabe Nugent, who specializes in commercial litigation for Barclay Damon, will be listed in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Debbie Barbara Dudis, an assistant district attorney (ADA) at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, has transitioned from Frank Dudis, becoming the first openly trans ADA in that position.

Richard W. Donner, who specializes in real estate law for Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, will be listed in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Peter Beardsley is a partner at Loeb & Loeb. Beardsley, who is based in the New York City office, made partner in December 2021, and maintains a diverse lending practice, focusing on cash flow credit facilities, fund finance, private bank lending to high-net-worth individuals, asset-based loans, and lender finance.

Brian Hsu of Goldstein Hall was named to Crain’s New York’s 2022 list “Diverse Leaders in Law.” The list recognizes individuals who have demonstrated commitment to community service, philanthropy, professional mentorship, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Photo credit: Matt Sayles

Gregory Zamfotis was featured in a Crain’s New York article about the success of his growing retail coffee chain, Gregorys Coffee, which now has 36 locations across New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut and the District of Columbia. He announced plans to launch a new menu with more plant-based options and to add drive-throughs at some of its locations.

Michael Calcagni, counsel to Moritt Hock & Hamroff, was recently appointed to serve as co-chair of the Nassau County Bar Association’s Surrogate’s Court Estates & Trusts Committee. He focuses his practice on complex trust and estate litigation in both state and federal court. Additionally, Calcagni will be listed in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Lauren A. Jones was named associate general counsel for Con Edison. In this role, she is the lead attorney responsible for more than 2,300 general litigation/liability lawsuits brought against Con Ed. Using in-house and outside counsel, Jones focuses on the defense and resolution of property damage and personal injury matters.

Kiran Nasir Gore, who focuses her legal practice on international dispute resolution and public international law, has co-edited and co-authored a new book, The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties in Investor-State Disputes: History, Evolution, and Future (published by Wolters Kluwer). The book is the first consolidated analysis of how the “treaty on treaties” has informed the interpretation, application, and development of international investment law and the resolution of investor-state disputes.

Alexander Kerzhner, a partner at Forchelli Deegan Terrana specializing in corporate law, was named to the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America under the category “Ones to Watch.” He is a member of the corporate and mergers and acquisitions practice group and is also a certified public accountant. He serves as outside general counsel to numerous emerging growth companies and focuses his practice on complex transactions across a wide range of industries.

Nicholas Richard joined Cozen O’Connor’s real estate practice, where he will be handling complex commercial real estate transactions with a focus on joint venture acquisitions, dispositions, and ownership restructurings. He was previously special counsel in the real estate practice group of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, and an associate counsel of Silverstein Properties.

Sarah A. Westby, co-chair of Shipman & Goodwin’s cannabis team and a member of the firm’s employment and labor practice group, was one of three attorneys at the firm who was recognized for her outstanding pro bono contributions with the inaugural Shipman Pro Bono Award, which was presented to her at the firm’s Lawyers’ Retreat on Sept. 14. The award includes a $500 donation by the firm to a legal organization of each recipient’s choice.

Jonathan Lax was appointed deputy chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York’s business and securities fraud section. Lax previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the general crimes, international narcotics, money laundering, and BSF sections.

Daniel M. Zupnick was promoted to partner at Ritholz Levy Fields. He focuses his practice on commercial, corporate, and intellectual property transactional matters for clients in the apparel, action sports, entertainment, film and television, consumer goods, and hospitality industries (see “How Five Alumni Landed at One Boutique Entertainment Law Firm”).

Cody Brown was promoted to partner at Ritholz Levy Fields. He focuses his practice on the entertainment industry, including television, film, music, and digital media (see “How Five Alumni Landed at One Boutique Entertainment Law Firm”).

Ricky Liang, CEO of the Sun Sun Group and principal attorney at Ricky Liang, P.C., has opened a new restaurant, the Congee Dim Sum House, located at 207 Bowery in Manhattan, where 37 types of dim sum will be served. It is a sibling to what Time Out New York described as the “beloved Congee Village” on the Lower East Side in Manhattan and represents the third spot opened by Ricky and his father, Peter, who also own Congee Village Restaurant & Bar in Flushing.

Ryan J. Foley has joined Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as an associate in the mass torts, insurance, and consumer litigation group.

Jamie Robinson has joined K&L Gates as a senior associate in its asset management and investment funds practice.

Alex Pia has joined Morrison Cohen as a litigation associate.

Henry Jones has joined Wrobel Markham as an associate.