University of Buffalo Law School honors five at alumni dinner

Daily Record (Rochester, NY), Apr 19, 2004 by Staff

Five graduates of the University at Buffalo Law School will receive Distinguished Alumni Awards for their contributions to the legal profession and community at the 42nd annual UB Law Alumni Association meeting and dinner to be held at 6 p.m. on April 28 in the Hyatt Regency Buffalo.

The alumni association will also recognize a non-alumnus, Matthew J. Murphy III, Niagara County District Attorney, who will receive a special award for outstanding service to the university and community.

As district attorney for Niagara County, Matt Murphy has worked tirelessly and effectively with UB Law School students and instructors in the family violence clinic to enhance the effectiveness and availability of support and prosecution of domestic violence throughout the county, while significantly contributing to the quality of the educational experience for our students, said Nils Olsen, dean of the law school.

In addition to Murphy, awards also will be presented to:

* Judge Eugene F. Pigott, Jr., 1973, presiding justice, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department. Judge Pigott will be honored for his conscientious and diligent performance in the judiciary.

A trial attorney for nearly 25 years prior to assuming the bench in 1997, he was appointed to his present position in 2000 by Gov. George Pataki. He is active in several civil and charitable organizations, including the law school's Dean's Advisory Council.

* Dianne Bennett, 1975, chair of the law firm Hodgson Russ LLP, will be honored for her leadership by example as a private practitioner.

One of the few women in the country to chair a large law firm, she is an authority on corporate and individual taxation (domestic and international), employee benefits and cross-border tax planning. She serves on numerous local, state and national boards, and chairs the Kaleida Health Foundation Board. She is a member of the board of trustees of the University at Buffalo Foundation.

* Oliver C. Young, 1980, principal court attorney for the New York State Supreme Court, will be honored for his commitment to public service.

Judicial law clerk to the judges of the Supreme and Erie County courts, he is supervisor of the Eighth Judicial District staff and serves as a referee in uncontested matrimonial actions. He currently chairs the New York State Bar Association's Committee on Citizenship Education, and is a director of the Bar Association of Erie County and the Western New York Law Center.

* Jean C. Powers, 1979, a partner in the law firm Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel LLP, will be honored for her many contributions to the betterment of our community.

A member of her firm's real estate practice group, she represents developers, lenders and business entities in the acquisition, financing and disposition of commercial and industrial real property, and is the lead person in her department involved with bond-financed transactions. She serves on the law school's Dean's Advisory Council, and is a vice president of the BAEC's Volunteer Lawyers Project. She is a former president of the UB Law Alumni Association and the UB Alumni Association, and a member of the board of trustees of the UB Foundation. Powers served as chair of the board of trustees of Trocaire College.

* Erik D. Lindauer, 1981, partner in the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, will be honored for his exemplary performance in business.

Lindauer is a partner in his firm's banking practice and project finance specialty groups. He concentrates his practice in transactional banking, secured lending, commercial law (Uniform Commercial Code), corporate reorganizations and bankruptcy. Lindauer's financing experience includes advising clients in a broad range of complex secured and unsecured financings, including acquisition, project, cable television and media financings. He is also a member of the law school's Dean's Advisory Council.

The dinner also will mark the end of the Law Alumni Association's membership drive for 2004-05. Alumni who have not renewed or joined the association for this year are requested to send in their $50 dues to the Alumni Office, 312 O'Brian Hall, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, N.Y. 14260.

For more information on the dinner, contact the law alumni office at (716) 645-2107 or e-mail law-alumni@buffalo.edu.