Four Alumni Named to Regional 40 Under 40 Lists
Four recent Albany Law School alumni were named to regional lists showcasing emerging leaders across numerous industries.
The Albany Business Review’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2021 featured Amanda De Vito Trinsey ’11 and Brendan Venter ’13.
De Vito Trinsey a partner at Couch White LLP, focuses on energy policy and environmental law.
“Throughout my career, I have oftentimes heard people say that you can’t possibly do it all – have a family and be a full-time attorney with aspirations for partnership and firm management – and that eventually you will have to choose,” De Vito Trinsey told the Business Review. “I never bought into that propaganda. In fact, I am a big proponent of being able to do it all if you work hard and make smart choices.”
Venter a partner in the immigration practice group at Harris Beach PLLC made the jump to the firm two years ago.
“Immigration law is never boring – I’m routinely working on 10-20 different files each day that touch so many different industries. ... I’m in a position to be able to have an immediate and significant impact on the lives of our clients. When we’re fighting with the government on a client’s behalf, it’s not over money, but rather to enable that individual to come to or stay in the United States and achieve their ‘American Dream,’ whether that be to further their career or to reunite with family. It’s a very rewarding area of law to practice,” he told the Business Review.
City & State NY announced their 40 Under 40 groupings in mid-July and featured Katie Birchenough ‘17 and Jeremy Cooney ’10 on the Albany list.
Birchenough, an associate attorney at Greenberg Traurig, specializes in complex commercial litigation, governmental law, and policy affairs, but wasn’t always set on a career in law. She started working in government .as a legislative analyst across several committees within the State Assembly and negotiated and drafted several pieces of legislation. As she learned more, a J.D. seemed like a perfect addition to continue this advocacy work.
“It was neat to be there at that time because we were able to push for reform of an entire system,” she told the Business Review. “But eventually, individual people would come up to tell me that they needed legislation or a new bill passed. And I would tell them, ‘There’s already laws on the books, you need an advocate.’ I realized that I didn't have the ability to do that because I wasn't an attorney. So, I made the decision to go to law school.”
State Senator Jeremy Cooney grew up in Rochester and has made strategic career moves to give back his hometown.
“When you’re raised by a single mom, the community helps raise you,” he told the Business Review. “Running for office gave me the opportunity to give back to the community that helped raise me.”
Cooney, who was sworn in to the state senate in January, has focused on affordable health care and equitable public education. Describing it as a “pivotal moment of (his) first six months in office” and a “tremendous opportunity,” Cooney helped pass a $475 million Rochester School Modernization Program measure that will update facilities and create an estimated 7,000 jobs over the next few years for the alma mater school district.
