Hodgson Russ Chair Dianne Bennett recognized by several organizations

Daily Record (Rochester, NY), May 6, 2004 by Staff

Dianne Bennett, chair of Hodgson Russ LLP, was recognized recently for her achievements and contributions by Business First and the University at Buffalo Law School Alumni Association. She will also be honored by Everywoman Opportunity Center.

Bennett was named one of the 40 most influential Western New Yorkers by Business First in the publication's April 16 issue. Selections were based in part on a survey of 365 subscribers; the final Western New York A List was chosen by a committee of editors and writers who considered leaders' prominence in the community, including in the local media; number of employees or followers; and leadership positions with charitable organizations.

Bennett was one of five graduates of the University at Buffalo Law School to receive a 2004 Distinguished Alumni Award for contributions to the legal profession and community at the 42nd annual UB Law Alumni Association meeting and dinner, April 28, Hyatt Regency, Buffalo. She was honored in particular for leadership by example as a private practitioner.

Everywoman Opportunity Center will present its 2004 Award of Excellence to Bennett and three other recipients at the organization's 20th annual award dinner, today at the Park Plaza Hotel in Cheektowaga. Everywoman Opportunity Center helps women enter, re-enter, and move forward in the world of paid employment by teaching job-search skills, assisting with career decisions, providing professional interview attire, and helping remove barriers to success.

Dianne Bennett became managing partner of Hodgson Russ in 1998 and chair of the firm in 2001, making Hodgson Russ the first of the United States' 250 largest law firms to be managed by a woman. One of many accomplishments under her leadership was the firm's 2002 purchase of the National Historic Landmark Guaranty Building, designed by Louis Sullivan.

A member of Hodgson Russ's Employee Benefits, General/ International Tax, and Government Relations Practice Groups, Bennett has an extensive employee benefits and international practice, counseling entities from small businesses to international companies and from business owners to senior executives of multinational companies with respect to their personal U.S. income and U.S. estate tax planning issues. She leads the seven-lawyer Hodgson Russ team that wrote and annually updates the 700-page Taxation of Distributions from Qualified Plans, published by Warren Gorham & Lamont. In addition to practicing with Hodgson Russ, Bennett's legal experience includes serving as legislation attorney on the staff of the U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation and as attorney- advisor in the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel of the U.S. Department of Treasury. Bennett has been in the tax and employee benefits sections of The Best Lawyers in America since the publication's inception.

Bennett chairs the Kaleida Health Foundation board and is a member of the steering committee of the Women's TAP Fund (a bi-partisan political action committee dedicated to electing women to local offices in Western New York), a member of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership board, and a trustee of the University at Buffalo Foundation. She also serves on the advisory board of STOR: University at Buffalo's Office of Science, Technology Transfer, and Economic Outreach. Bennett received a J.D. summa cum laude from the University at Buffalo Law School, M.A.s from Stanford University and the University of Illinois, and a B.A. with distinction from Stanford University.