Legal Excellence Awards honorees announced

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The Daily Record and the Rochester Business Journal have announced the honorees for the 2022 Legal Excellence Awards.

Legal Excellence was started by the Rochester Business Journal and The Daily Record to pay tribute to all the ways legal professionals work to make the Greater Rochester community stronger.

Awards are presented in the following categories: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Civil Legal Services, In House Counsel, Law Firm Administrator, Law Firm Diversity, Leaders in Law, Lifetime Achievement, Paralegal, Pro Bono Excellence and Up and Coming Lawyers.

“The 2022 Legal Excellence honorees value their professional accomplishments but commit time and resources to civic involvement and make a significant, positive impact on the region,” said Suzanne Fischer-Huettner, senior group publisher of the Rochester Business Journal and The Daily Record. “We are pleased to recognize their achievements.”

This year’s Legal Excellence recipients will be honored Sept. 19 at an awards celebration at the Hyatt Regency Rochester, 125 East Main St. A general networking reception begins at 5 p.m. with dinner and the awards presentation starting at 6 p.m.

Attendance is limited for this event. Honorees and sponsors get the first chance to secure tables.  A limited number of individual tickets will be available after the sponsor deadline, if the event does not sell out. To secure a sponsorship, contact Suzanne Fischer-Huettner at [email protected]. The event hashtags are #NYTDRevents and #RBJevents.

Honorees will be profiled in the Sept. 23 issues of The Daily Record and Rochester Business Journal and online at NYDailyrecord.com and RBJ.net.

For more information, including the most updated listing of sponsors, visit https://nydailyrecord.com/legal-excellence-awards/.

The 2022 honorees are:

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

• Theodore Baum, McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP

Civil Legal Services

• Vivian Aquilina, The Legal Aid Society of Rochester

In House Counsel

• Tiffany D’Angelo, Allstate Insurance
• Shannon Hillier, Livingston County
• Robin Stein, Morgan Properties

Law Firm Administrator

• Christopher Gill, Nixon Peabody LLP
• Lyndsay Houle, Connors & Ferris LLP
• Nicole J. O’Brien, Harter Secrest & Emery LLP

Law Firm Diversity

• Hurwitz Fine PC

Leaders in Law

• Maritza Buitrago, Seventh Judicial District, Monroe County Family Court
• Jeffrey Calabrese, Harter Secrest & Emery LLP
• Kelly Gotham, NYS Unified Court System
• Grace Hanlon, Office of Court Administration
• John Horn, Harter Secrest & Emery LLP
• Svetlana Ivy, Harris Beach PLLC
• Jason Livingston, Law Offices of Pullano & Farrow
• Kevin Mulvehill, Phillips Lytle LLP
• Seema Rizzo, Gallo & Iacovangelo LLP
• Mark Whitford Jr., Barclay Damon LLP

Lifetime Achievement

• Donald Chesworth, Tully Rinckey PLLC
• Ann Evanko, Hurwitz Fine PC
• Thomas Fink, Davidson Fink LLP

Paralegal

• Nicole Harris, Law Offices of Pullano & Farrow PLLC
• Carla Penazek, Harris Beach PLLC
• Julie Wallace, The Zoghlin Group PLLC
• Erin Warr, Zea Proukou PLLC
• Debra Williamson, Harter Secrest & Emery LLP

Pro Bono Excellence

• Leah Cintineo, Underberg & Kessler LLP

Up and Coming Lawyers

• Taylor Baker, Goldberg Segalla LLP
• Natasha Burdick, Legal Aid Society
• Serena Compitello, Underberg & Kessler LLP
• Elizabeth Curwin, Manning & Napier
• Ninteretse Jean Pierre, Nixon Peabody LLP
• Sean McCabe, Harris Beach PLLC
• Lakeshia McCloud, Legal Assistance of Western New York Inc.
• Senovia Moncada, University of Rochester, Office of Equity and Inclusion
• Sarah A. Pellerin, Harter Secrest & Emery LLP
• Lydia Rainey, Wesley Clark & Peshkin LLP
• Glenn R. Schieck, Harter Secrest & Emery LLP
• Jessica Simon-Rutledge, City of Rochester