Faculty Awards and Achievements - 2019 Magazine

  

Prof. Vincent Bonventre PROSE Award, Association of American
Publishers, February 2019. (For LIVING ON DEATH ROW: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WAITING TO DIE.)

Prof. Melissa Breger
Excellence in Scholarship, Albany Law School, May 2019.

Prof. J. Stephen Clark
Excellence in Service, Albany Law School, May 2019.

Prof. Michael Hutter
President’s Award, Schenectady County Bar Association, May 2019.

Dean Troy Riddle
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award, National Association of Law Student Affairs Professionals, June 2019.

Prof. Sarah Rogerson
Kimberly A. Troisi-Paton Leadership Award, Capital District Women’s Bar Association, June 2019.

M. Shanara Gilbert Award, Association of American Law Schools Section on Clinical Legal Education, May 2019.

Immigrant Excellence Award, New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators, February 2019.

Peter J. Murrett III Pro Bono Champion Award, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Upstate New York Chapter, October 2018.

Prof. Jenean Taranto
Excellence in Teaching, Albany Law School, May 2019.

The Justice Center
Nonprofit Organization of the Year Award, Capital Region Chamber of Commerce, November 2018.

Faculty Achievements

President and Dean Alicia Ouellette ’94
Spoke as part of an expert group meeting on bioethics and disability at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, in September 2019. The U.N. convened the group, composed of select scholars and experts from around the world, to inform the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ forthcoming report to the Human Rights Council.

Presented “Disability and Health Care: Distrust, Disparities, and a Path Forward” at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., in April 2019.

Secured the largest gift in the history of Albany Law School—$15 million—which will support the clinical programs and pro bono services of The Justice Center.

Prof. Pamela Armstrong ’86
Presented “Kindling Common Sense—Art as a Reflection of Shared or Separate Values” as a panelist at the Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) Annual Conference in August 2019; moderated a panel on “Finding Status in the Legal Academy for Academic Support and Bar Prep Professionals.”

Prof. Ava Ayers
Reconfigured the Government Law Center Fellowship program to prepare students for careers in public service.

Workshopped his academic article, “Sanctuary Values,” at the Emerging Immigration Scholars Conference at Brigham Young University Law School in June 2019.

Gave trainings on immigration law to local-government officials at the conferences of four municipalities’ associations.

[In February 2020, Professor Ava Ayers announced that she is transgender. This article has been edited to reflect her gender identity. Read more here.]

Prof. Ira Mark Bloom
Became a life member of the American Law Institute.

Prof. Vincent Bonventre
Presented on the U.S. Supreme Court and the New York Court of Appeals for justices and court attorneys of the Appellate Division, Third Department in March 2019.

Presented “The Now and Future Supreme Court” to the New York legislative and executive staffs at the 2018 Legislative CLE Program in December 2018.

Appeared twice as a featured guest on the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) podcast Miranda Warnings; gave expert analysis on a range of topics to journalists from the New York Law Journal, Newsday, “The Capitol Pressroom,” “Capital Tonight,” KJZZ (NPR-Phoenix), and elsewhere.

Prof. Melissa Breger
Delivered the remarks “Motherhood Bias” as part of a panel discussion reviewing the book BLAMING MOTHERS: AMERICAN LAW AND THE RISKS TO CHILDREN’S HEALTH and presented her paper “Reforming by Re-Norming: How the Legal System Has the Potential to Change a Toxic Culture of Domestic Violence” during a separate panel at the Law and Society Association’s Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, in June 2018.

Co-authored, with three University at Albany researchers, the working paper “Paddling the Pupils: The Legality (or Not) of Corporal Punishment in Schools,” which was featured in The Conversation. The Conversation’s article was syndicated to news outlets nationwide.

Work cited in several cases and statutes, including opinions by the Sixth Circuit and the Southern District of New York, as well as courts in the Virgin Islands and multiple state courts. She has also been cited extensively by more than 100 law reviews and books.

Prof. Raymond Brescia
Named Hon. Harold R. Tyler Chair in Law and Technology; also named an academic fellow of the Pound Civil Justice Institute, a national legal think tank, in February 2019.

Named to the transition team for New York Attorney General Tish James and served as the coordinator of the housing policy working group.

Spoke at the Code for America Summit, a national conference tackling government’s biggest challenges in the digital age, in Oakland, Calif., in May 2019.

Prof. Joe Buffington
Directed the Albany Law School bar success program; outperformed peer institutions on the July 2018 and February 2019 bar exams.

Presented a training session with Professors Ava Ayers and Keith Hirokawa on “Legal Writing for Non-Lawyers” to engineers and other professionals at the New York State Department of Transportation. The training was organized through the Public Service Workshops program.

Taught the course Sales for the first time—a blend of bar prep and training for practice.

Prof. Christine Sgarlata Chung
Offered an innovative and successful prep course for the new Securities Industry Essentials exam.

Appeared on Spectrum News’ syndicated pro-gram “Capital Tonight” to discuss the Mueller Report and its key takeaways in April 2019.

Gave expert analysis on a range of topics to journalists from Newsday, Times Union, Daily Gazette, and “The Capitol Pressroom.”

Prof. J. Stephen Clark
Delivered the 4th Annual Katheryn D. Katz ’70 Memorial Lecture, “Progressively Incorrect: A Gay Liberationist Critique in the Social Justice Era,” at Albany Law School in October 2018.

Joined CTV in Canada to discuss the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court in September and October 2018.

Published the op-ed “Gays in the military reassures #MeToo movement that you don’t have to win to make progress” in The Hill in October 2018.

Prof. Jaya Connors
Recognized by the Albany County Bar Foundation for her work as director of the Family Violence Litigation Clinic, which received a grant from the foundation, in November 2018.

Presented on “Kinship Foster Care Denials and Due Process” at the NYSBA Partnership Conference in Albany, N.Y., in October 2018.

Supervised 16 law interns who represented more than 40 clients with chronic health impairments. Through the Health Law Clinic, the students worked on a range of legal matters, including appeals of denials of health insurance coverage, family court cases involving the well-being of children, eligibility challenges, and denials of crucial public benefits.

Prof. Joe Connors
Appointed as a member of the New York State Lawyer Assistance Committee and as co-chair of the Capital District Lawyers Helping Lawyers Committee.

Presented on “Kinship Foster Care Denials and Due Process” at the NYSBA Partnership Conference in Albany, N.Y., in October 2018.

Supervised 16 law interns who represented more than 40 clients with chronic health impairments. Through the Health Law Clinic, the students worked on a range of legal matters, including appeals of denials of health insurance coverage, family court cases involving the well-being of children, eligibility challenges, and denials of crucial public benefits.

Prof. Patrick Connors
Presented the program “Intersection of the Court of Appeals and Appellate Division Jurisdiction” with Judge Victoria Graffeo ’77 (Ret.) at the New York State Appellate Judges Seminar in Wading River, N.Y., in July 2019. The program was attended by the judges of the Court of Appeals and the justices of all four departments in the appellate division.

Appointed to the NYSBA Task Force on the New York Bar Exam in April 2019. The task force is studying the recent changes to the New York Bar Exam and is conducting public forums throughout the state to discuss the issue.

Treatise NEW YORK PRACTICE was cited seven times in the three opinions in Williams v. Beemiller—N.Y.3d—2019 WL 2030257 (2019). In Williams, an Ohio firearm merchant sold a gun to an Ohio resident in Ohio. The gun was then resold on the black market and used by a gang member to shoot the plaintiff in Buffalo. The court held that the plaintiff could not obtain long-arm jurisdiction over the Ohio firearm merchant in New York State court.

Prof. Danshera Cords
Quoted in the Weekly Journal (Puerto Rico) article “How the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Affects Charitable Giving” in August 2019.

Gave expert analysis to journalists from USA Today, The Hill, and City & State regarding tax issues and President Trump.

Prof. Edward De Barbieri
Directing a transactional clinical program supported by a significant campaign gift.

Awarded a three-year, $150,000 grant from New York State for Albany Law School’s veterans’ and service members’ rights pro bono program.

Quoted in the Associated Press article “Fiat Chrysler Deal Gives Detroit Residents First Crack at Jobs” in August 2019.

Prof. Shahrokh Falati
Discussed the IP case Helsinn Healthcare v. Teva Pharmaceuticals at the Intellectual Property and Innovation American Inn of Court’s meeting in May 2019.

Co-organized the second Innovation and Technology Law Summer Academy at Università di Padova Law School in Italy in June 2019.

Prof. Anthony Paul Farley
Elected to the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT) Board of Governors at the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, La., in January 2019.

Elected to the executive committee of the AALS Section on Civil Rights.

Prof. Peter Halewood
Named Governor George E. Pataki Distinguished Professor of International Commercial Law.

Named chair of the AALS Section on International Human Rights.

Co-organized panels on commercial supply chains, human rights, and human rights indicators for the AALS Annual Meeting in January 2019.

Dean Antony Haynes
Moderated the panel “Internet of Things: What Do Corporations Need to Know?” at the Association of Corporate Counsel Cybersecurity Summit at American University Washington College of Law in January 2019.

Presented on bias in machine learning at the 22nd Annual New York State Cyber Security Conference and 14th Annual Symposium on Information Assurance in Albany, N.Y., in June 2019.

Profiled in the Modern Counsel article “Albany Law School’s Antony Haynes Has a Human Take on Tech” in October 2018.

Prof. Robert Heverly ’92
Appointed as the associate reporter for the drafting committee of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws project, “Tort Law Relating to Drones Act”; appointed by the president of NYSBA to the Legal Education Committee.

Participated on the panel “The Internet of Bodies: Cyborgs and the Law” at the AALS Annual Meeting in January 2019.

Quoted in the Legaltech News article “The Internet of Bodies: A Convenient—and, Yes, Creepy—New Platform for Data Discovery” in January 2019.

Prof. Keith Hirokawa
Presented “Climate Disruption and Ecosystem Tradeoffs” at the 5th Annual Sustainability Conference of American Legal Educators at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in May 2019.

Presented at the Ecosystem Services Policy Writing Workshop at Vanderbilt University Law School in March 2019.

Presented “Watershed Governance as an Ecosystem Services Opportunity” as a keynote speaker at the 2018 Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association Annual Conference in Boise, Idaho, in October 2018.

Prof. Michael Hutter
Delivered three presentations at the 2019 Summer Sessions for New York State Judges in June and July 2019, speaking on the admissibility of medical evidence in automobile litigation. He also prepared and gave three national CLE lectures, sponsored by the National Law Foundation, in July 2019.

Published several evidence columns in the New York Law Journal, including “’People v. Smith’: Missing Witness Charge in Civil and Criminal Cases” in August 2019; issued the next-to-last article, “Authentication,” and submitted the final article, “Best Evidence,” for the Guide to New York Evidence, issued by a judicial committee for which Professor Hutter serves as reporter.

Served as the court-appointed mediator in a pending action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in July 2019.

Prof. Mary Lynch
Best Practices for Legal Education Blog inducted into the ABA Journal Blawg 100 Hall of Fame.

Participated in Wolters Kluwer’s 6th Annual Leading Edge Conference, an invitation-only gathering of the country’s top legal education thought leaders, in July 2019.

Facilitated the op-ed “Blasey Ford’s Courage Will Change History,” co-signed by members of the Albany Law School faculty and students and published by the New York Law Journal in October 2018.

Prof. Nancy Maurer
Presented “More Roads to Rome: Alternative Conceptions of Educating Lawyers for a Just Society” at the European Network for Clinical Legal Education and International Journal of Clinical Education (IJCLE) Conference at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, in July 2019.

Presented “Assessing Cultural Competence as a J.D. Learning Outcome in Clinics, Hybrids, and Field Placements” with Professor Shahrokh Falati at the International Journal of Clinical Education (IJCLE) Conference at the University of Melbourne, Australia, in November 2018.

Presented on “Ethical Issues in Representing Clients with Diminished Capacity” at the Albany Government Law Review symposium, Autonomy and Awareness, in February 2019.

Dean Connie Mayer
Appointed to the New York Court of Appeals Advisory Committee on Skills and Values in January 2019.

Facilitated the workgroup panel “Law Schools Working in the Community: Addressing Civil Legal Needs Arising from Entanglement with the Criminal Justice System” at the 8th Annual Law School Access to Justice Conference at Brooklyn Law School in May 2019.

Quoted in the Times Union article “Law Clinic & Justice Center a lifeline for many,” published in the paper’s annual special section on non-profit work, in November 2018.

Prof. David Pratt
Named Jay and Ruth Caplan Distinguished Professor of Law.

Quoted extensively in the media for his work advising retirees from St. Clare’s Hospital who lost all or part of their pensions.

Joined Bloomberg TV for an in-studio discussion on companies offering student loan forgiveness as a recruitment tool in July 2018.

Dean Rosemary Queenan
Serving on the conference committee for the National Association of Law Student Affairs Professionals (NALSAP) 2020 Annual Conference.

Promoted to tenure track in May 2019.

Dean Troy Riddle
Moderated the panel “Free Speech on Campus: A Delicate Balancing Test” and presented during the session “How to Engage with Historically Marginalized Communities” at the AALS Annual Meeting in January 2019.

Organized the Albany Law School Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s inaugural pre-orientation program, Lighting the Pathway, in August 2019.

Prof. Sarah Rogerson
Led the Detention Outreach Project at Albany County Correctional Facility in the summer and fall of 2018.

Served as co-counsel on Kinimo Ngoran’s deportation defense legal team, winter 2019. The case was featured in The Intercept article “The ‘Guerrilla Habeas Team’ Combating ICE in New York.”

Prof. Christian Sundquist
Elected chair-elect of the AALS Section on Evidence.

Elected chair-elect of the AALS Section on Minority Groups.

Participated on the panel “Grant Development and Management in Law Schools” at the American Bar Association’s Associate Deans Conference in Chicago, Ill., in June 2019.

Prof. Jenean Taranto
Promoted to tenure track as an associate professor.

Coached, with Professor Nancy Maurer, the Albany Law School students who won the regional round and competed in the national finals of the ABA Negotiation Competition in Chicago, Ill., in February 2019.

Prof. Evelyn Tenenbaum
Awarded full tenure as a professor of law.

Presented “Vouchers as a Foundation for a New Approach to Determining the Equities of Live Kidney Donation” at the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) Conference in Anaheim, Calif., in October 2018.

Presented “Half a Chance: Addressing the Ethical, Legal, and Organizational Challenges of Splitting Donated Livers” at the Health Law Professors Conference in Chicago, Ill., in June 2019 and “Ethical and Policy Concerns Regarding Negligent Prenatal Testing for Late-Onset Genetic Conditions” at the Reproductive Ethics Conference in Albany, N.Y., in April 2019.

Prof. David Walker
Named director of Albany Law School’s Schaffer Law Library.

Prof. Donna Young
Named President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy.

Appointed a joint faculty member in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University at Albany.

Delivered the keynote address “Regulating Harassment in the Academy” at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations in March 2019.

FOR MORE PUBLICATIONS, AWARDS, AND ACHIEVEMENTS, VISIT ALBANYLAW.EDU/FACULTY.