Beyond the Office: From tennis court to courtroom, Lana Ivy plays her A game

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Svetlana Khvalina was in the news frequently from 1995 to 2004 – while she was playing varsity tennis at Brighton High School then earning her bachelor’s degree at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, on a full athletic scholarship.

From 2004 to 2007, her hours on the tennis court took a back seat to earning her JD at William and Mary School of Law in Williamsburg, where she also served on Law Review – and worked as a tennis instructor at the McCormack-Nagelson Tennis Center.

Immediately following graduation she signed on at Ropes & Gray LLP, working in their Manhattan office where time and space to play tennis was rare. But she managed to play in the local USTA and Corporate leagues and work part-time as a hitting partner at Roosevelt Island Raquet Club.

In 2010 when Khvalina returned to Rochester to work for Harris Beach PLLC, she also got married and changed her last name to Ivy.  So in the legal community, most of us know her as Lana Ivy.

Paddle tennis

With two young children now in the picture, Ivy’s time available for tennis has been minimized, but not eliminated.  In fact, she and fellow attorney and friend Carey Ann Denefrio play doubles in the city’s paddle tennis women’s league.

“Paddle tennis is big in Rochester,” Ivy explained. “There are 14 different levels of teams, and typically 16 teams (pairs) in each level.”

A typical league season runs October to March, and there are paddle tennis courts at Midtown Athletic Club and every country club location. Ivy also plays two or three tournaments per season, and those run all day on a Saturday.

“Knowing tennis is a huge advantage in paddle tennis,” Ivy noted. “And the schedules tend to be workable for attorneys. It is very social and you meet lots of people. It’s also a great way to do something outdoors during the winter months.”

In the beginning

Ivy was born in Moscow where she lived until she was 11. In 1994, her parents sought refuge in the United States; and, with Ivy’s aunt, uncle and cousins already in Rochester, it was natural for her parents and 16-year-old sister to settle here.

When new to Rochester, Ivy began taking group tennis lessons with Dave Strebel at the Harley School.

“He played a critical role in my early career,” Ivy said. “I’d been playing tennis since I was six years old, but Dave made me fall in love with the game.”

By the time Ivy was 13, she was teaching tennis. Over the years she taught at the Harley School, University of Rochester, the McCormack-Nagelson Tennis Center at the College of William & Mary, and at Roosevelt Island Racquet Club in New York City.

During the six years Ivy played for Brighton (1995-2000), her team won six consecutive Sectional Team Titles, and Ivy individually won five consecutive Sectional singles titles (1996-2000). She was a six-time All-County selection and was named Monroe County Player of the Year in 1999 and 2000. In the summer of 2000, Ivy won her first of three Rochester District Open Women’s Championships.

During her senior year of high school, Ivy was recognized with the Lester B. Harrison Sports Achievement Award and was a finalist in the WHAM Sportswoman of the year (high school category). In 2009, shortly before moving back to Rochester, she was inducted into the Rochester Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Ivy credits her tennis background with teaching her discipline and aiding her through law school and in the practice of law.

Legal career

After getting the “big-law” experience at Ropes & Gray, where she represented financial, healthcare, and pharmaceutical companies in large civil litigations and investigations, Ivy wanted to find a place where she could see herself long-term when she came back to Rochester. She selected Harris Beach, excited about the firm’s growing Business and Commercial Litigation practice and the plentiful number of experienced attorneys at the firm to learn from.

Ivy is a member of the firm and its Business and Commercial Litigation and Appellate Practice Groups.  Her litigation practice is focused on complex commercial disputes in state and federal courts across the state, although it is not unusual for her to be involved in cases pending out of state.

Ivy has substantial appellate experience and handles appeals in all of the appellate courts in New York.

Family

Ivy met her husband, Brian Ivy, in law school. Originally from Austin, Texas, he came to Rochester to work at Phillips Lytle LLP, where he was elected partner last year.  He recently accepted a position with Conifer Realty and is now Property Finance Director at the affordable housing development company.

They have two daughters:  Alix, age 4.5; and Gabi, 11 months.

Ivy is hopeful that at least one of her daughters falls in love with tennis.

Meanwhile, Ivy’s sister Anna did pursue a tennis career, coaching at the University of Rochester and at an academy in Dubai since graduating from Syracuse University. Anna Tozin returned to Rochester in 2015 and is currently coaching tennis at Midtown Athletic Club.

Community service

A member of the Monroe County Bar Association, Ivy has served on the MCBA’s Litigation Council since 2012, and has chaired and presented at CLE programs regarding trial and appellate practice. She has also presented at a New York State Bar Association CLE program and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation of the Monroe County Bar. She also served as an attorney advisor to the Pittsford-Mendon High School mock trial team.

Beyond the legal community, Ivy has served for three years on the Board of Directors of  Borinquen Dance Theatre, a nonprofit organization with a mission of teaching youth, especially at-risk youth, discipline and life skills through dance.

Ivy admits she was never a dancer, but says that she relates to the mission of the organization and values the impact it has.

“Dance is doing for these kids what tennis did for me,” Ivy shared.  “These kids are getting world class training and experience will help them down the road in whatever they choose to do.”