Alumni | CLASS NOTES

ClassNotes

Jeffrey D. Forchelli, chairman and co-managing partner at Forchelli Deegan Terrana, was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 30th edition of The Best Lawyers in America for land use and zoning law. He has been recognized annually since 2018.

Joseph S. Karp has again been named a Florida Super Lawyer in the field of elder law, an honor he has received every year since 2009. Karp is the founder and principal of the Karp Law Firm, with offices in Palm Beach Gardens, Boynton Beach, and Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Richard Stern joined Morgan Lewis as a partner and the lead of a transactional restructuring and bankruptcy litigation team in August. Stern chaired the restructuring and bankruptcy practice of a national law firm and prior to that represented financial institutions for more than 30 years.

Barbara Gomes Serafino published her first book, The Book I Always Promised: Family Curses, Stregas & Adventures from Italy, Portugal & Brooklyn, about her Italian and Portuguese immigrant family, growing up in Brooklyn, becoming an attorney, and her travel adventures.

James Bertini took on Apple and won in a trademark case to protect his brother Charlie Bertini’s right to use AppleJazz for concerts and his recording label.

Ellen Greiper joined Wilson Elser as a lateral partner in the firm’s complex tort and general casualty, construction, and transportation practices in the New York office, bringing more than 30 years of experience to the position.

Robert G. Leonard joined Dechert as a partner in the financial services and investment management practice in New York, bringing to the position deep experience in the formation and operation of hedge funds on behalf of both domestic and international clients.

Helen Gavaris joined McGuireWoods as a partner in New York. She represents corporate fiduciaries and high-net-worth individuals in complex disputes, focusing on contested accounting and related proceedings involving trust diversification issues, charitable trusts, and the valuation and sale of nonpublic companies. She was previously with Loeb & Loeb.

Michael A. Sussmann joined Fenwick as a partner in April. He has been an internationally recognized privacy, cybersecurity, and national security attorney for more than 25 years, beginning in 1997 as a cybercrime prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Nancy Savasta was appointed by New York City Corporation Counsel Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix as chief of the Law Department’s new risk management division in May. She will work with agency partners in identifying and mitigating risks to decrease the potential for harm to the city’s residents and visitors while protecting the city financially.

Joseph Rosato was elected president of the Brooklyn Bar Association in June. Rosato attended Brooklyn Law School at night while working as a court officer.

Lisa Bova-Hiatt was named permanent chief executive officer of the New York City Housing Authority in June after serving as interim CEO since September 2022. She was also named to City & State New York’s “2023 Real Estate Power 100” in July and was appointed the chair (ex officio) of the newly established board of the New York City Public Housing Preservation Trust in May.

Frank Carone was named to City & State New York’s “2023 Brooklyn Power 100.” Carone, who is founder and chair of Oaktree Solutions, a public affairs firm, has also returned as of counsel at Abrams Fensterman. He previously spent a year as chief of staff to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Ari J. Markenson, a partner at Venable, was elected an American Bar Foundation fellow, included in 2024’s The Best Lawyers in America, NYC, for healthcare, and named an adjunct associate professor at Pace University’s College of Health Professions in the Department of Health Science.

Seth Borden has been named associate general counsel of labor and employee relations at Amazon.com.

David Fertig has joined BakerHostetler’s New York office as a partner in the firm’s nationwide litigation practice group and a member of its commercial litigation team.

Gabe Nugent was named general counsel and senior vice president of Syracuse University. He was also appointed chair of the New York State Judicial Screening Committee for the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, by Governor Kathy Hochul in May. Nugent was previously a partner at Barclay Damon.

Douglas Eisenberg was named to City & State New York’s “2023 Real Estate Power 100.” He is co-founder and CEO of A&E Real Estate and was cited for recent acquisitions of two luxury rental buildings on the Upper West Side and a massive apartment portfolio in Brooklyn.

Baaba Halm was appointed to the newly established board of the New York City Public Housing Preservation Trust. Halm is also vice president and New York market leader for Enterprise Community Partners, a national nonprofit focused on affordable rental homes.

Ime Lopez was appointed to the Commission on Judicial Performance for the Fourth Judicial District in Colorado.

Luma Al-Shibib was promoted to co-chair of the Cyber Insurance Recovery Group at Anderson Kill, a national insurance recovery law firm in New York.

Bryan Lewis is rejoining Nixon Peabody as counsel, as the Melville, N.Y.-based firm expands its complex disputes practice. Lewis offers experience representing clients in the banking, construction, healthcare, and technology products and services industries in contractual and business tort litigation. He began his career as an associate at the firm, working there from 2002 to 2009.

Mitchell Korbey was named to City & State New York’s “2023 Real Estate Power 100.” Korbey, who is a partner and chair of the land use and zoning group at Herrick, and an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School, was chosen for his work in helping clients navigate New York City’s complex zoning regulations.

Brian Weinberg, who offers nearly 20 years of investigative and prosecutorial experience, was appointed director of investigations and enforcement for the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government’s Investigations and Enforcement Division.

Errol Louis, the host of “Inside City Hall” on NY1, was named to City & State New York’s “2023 Brooklyn Power 100.”

Neil Weisbard has joined Seyfarth Shaw as a partner in its real estate department in New York. Weisbard brings to Seyfarth extensive experience in land use, zoning, and administrative law matters, and securing construction permits and matters for real estate development for both residential and commercial properties.

Hon. Alex M. Chintella was named administrative law judge of the Federal Maritime Commission in June. Chintella had served at the Federal Railroad Administration since 2017.

Michael Chung joined Brown Rudnick as a partner in the firm’s growth companies and venture capital practice. He was previously a partner at Fox Rothschild.

Barri Kass was elevated to partner at leading fundraising and strategic consulting firm CCS Fundraising. Kass, who joined CCS in 2010, has drawn upon her experience in the legal profession to counsel multiple organizations through intensive campaign goal setting, pipeline building, nationwide planning studies, and case development.

Sidney Bashago made partner at Davis Polk, where she is part of the white-collar defense and investigations practice in New York. She represents companies, boards of directors, financial institutions, and individuals in criminal, regulatory, and internal investigations involving allegations of securities fraud, sexual misconduct, foreign corrupt practices, money laundering, and other financial crimes.

Kristina Heuser has been named to the Florida Southwestern State College District Board of Trustees. She is an attorney at Heuser Law Firm and also currently serves on the Collier County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.

Michael Calcagni, who specializes in trusts and estates, including litigation, as a partner at Moritt Hock & Hamroff in Garden City, N.Y., was named to The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch in 2024.

Laurian Cristea has joined Barnes & Thornburg as a partner in the corporate department in the firm’s New York and Raleigh, N.C., offices.

Matthew Modafferi joined Frier Levitt as a partner in the litigation team after having previously served as assistant U.S. attorney, in the civil division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Modafferi will focus his practice on white-collar defense and investigations, and complex civil litigation. Modafferi is also an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School, where he teaches litigation skills and learning from practice.

Alexander Kerzhner, who specializes in corporate law at Forchelli Deegan Terrana, was named to The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch 2024 edition.

Lisa M. Casa, a partner in Forchelli Deegan Terrana’s employment and labor practice group, was appointed as vice chair of the Nassau County Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Committee, effective June 1, 2023. She was also included for the first time in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch in 2024 for her work in commercial litigation and labor and employment law management.

Alumni Jessi Kleinman and Jonathan Byer celebrated their wedding on May 13, 2023, at the Royalton Mansion in Roslyn, N.Y. The couple lives in New York City, where Kleinman is an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and Byer is a partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman.

Joe Binder was named partner at Debevoise & Plimpton as a member of the firm’s investment management group, based in the San Francisco office.

ALUMNI ROCK BILLBOARD’S TOP MUSIC LAWYER LIST

Sony Music Publishing’s Peter Brodsky ’90, executive vice president of business and legal affairs/general counsel, and Nicole Giacco ’00, senior vice president of business and legal affairs, were both recognized for their team’s work in music publishing at Sony, where the legal team closed numerous landmark deals and renewals with music writers in the past year, including Ashley Gorley, Tainy, Anitta, Ryan Tedder, Danger Mouse and Måneskin, and simultaneously expanded its worldwide reach, opening offices in emerging markets including India and Nigeria.

Jordan Bromley ’05, partner/entertainment group leader at Manatt Phelps & Phillips, was part of a team that handled two of the music industry’s top deals of 2022: Dundee Partners’ $1.1 billion acquisition of Kobalt Capital Limited’s music rights portfolio, KMR Music Royalties II; and Francisco Partners’ move to obtain a majority stake in Kobalt Investment.

Alex Kaplan ’00, a partner at Oppenheim + Zebrak, was part of a team that represents three major music groups and was chosen for its record of fighting on their behalf against copyright infringement and piracy.

Cynthia Katz ’10, a partner at Fox Rothschild, was recognized for her work in advising client HarbourView Equity Partners on high-profile acquisitions of music catalogs, including works from Incubus, Brad Paisley, Lady A, and Sum 41.

Paul Schindler ’71, a shareholder/senior chair of New York entertainment and media practice at Greenberg Traurig, was listed as part of a team representing high-profile names including Britney Spears, Katy Perry, and Kacey Musgraves, and organizations including Spotify, Meta, and Epic Games.

Edward Shapiro ’91, a partner in the global entertainment and media industry group at Reed Smith, was lauded for serving as Rihanna’s counsel in all her endeavors, including her Super Bowl halftime show performance and new venture with Puma.

Dorothy Weber ’81, a partner at Herbsman Hafer Weber & Frisch, was credited for working on several catalog sales, including that of Regent Music and Jewel Music to Primary Wave, and the sale of jazz legend Sonny Rollins’ music rights to Reservoir.

Eleor Cohen, an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School, made partner at Levitt & Boccio, where he represents for-profit and nonprofit developers in a wide array of real estate transactions, with a particular focus on the construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of multifamily housing, mixed-use projects, and other complex real estate developments.

Hon. Daniel Faessler became an administrative law judge in 2023 for the California Department of Social Services, State Hearings Division. Previously, he was a senior staff attorney, clinical supervisor, and lecturer at Berkeley Law School’s largest clinical program, East Bay Community Law Center.

Jessica Rickards celebrated her first anniversary with the New York City Department for the Aging as deputy general counsel. She works with Penney Vachiraprapun ’05, who has been serving as general counsel since December 2021.

Ruth Corcoran made partner at Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan, where her practice focuses on the defense of hospitals, physicians, nurses, and other healthcare entities in medical malpractice litigation.

Anthony C. Varbero was named partner at Forchelli Deegan Terrana in its newly formed securities litigation & regulation practice group, which he also co-chairs. Previously, he was affiliated with Joseph Mure Jr. & Associates and brings decades of sophisticated New York City financial and legal services to the Long Island market.

Lena Smith was named partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, where she is based in the New York office and a member of the firm’s tax group.

Andrew Schoulder has joined Norton Rose Fulbright’s New York office, bringing his significant experience advising clients in distressed and special situations, both in and out of court, through restructurings, asset and stock purchases and sales, and loan-to-own transactions.