The Above the Bar Awards ”“ which recognizes top legal talent in the region ”“ has named the six winners who will be honored June 12 at Pace Law School in White Plains.
Receiving the Pace Setter Award is Robert Feder of Cuddy & Feder; Leading Attorneys Under 40 are Jeffrey A. Lindenbaum of Collen IP, Intellectual Property Law P.C. and Salvatore M. Di Costanzo of McMillan, Constabile, Maker and Perone L.L.P.; Most Socially Conscious Attorney is Mary Beth Quaranta Morrissey of Fordham Schools of Business; Leading In-House Counsel is Laura Alemzadeh of Kawasaki Rail Car Inc.; and Most Promising Pace Law Student is Desirée R. Salomone.
Ӣ Feder, along with Bill Cuddy, founded the firm of Cuddy & Feder in 1971. Feder has been involved in the development, financing, construction, purchase, leasing, and sale of real estate, and has extensive experience in the environmental review of large real estate projects.
He has taught real estate transaction at Pace Law School and Columbia University Graduate School of Business, and has conducted seminars at Pace.
Ӣ Lindenbaum is a partner of the firm Collen IP and practices primarily in the firmӪs litigation department. He has extensive experience before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, having successfully litigated and/or resolved approximately one hundred Opposition and Cancellation disputes.
In 2009, Lindenbaum was the recipient of the Dr. Thomas Marx Award, in Manchester, England, for his paper titled “Fifteen Minutes of Fame can Generate Fifteen Decades of Royalties.”
Ӣ Di Costanzo is an accountant as well as a lawyer. His main area of practice is elder law which consists of wills, trusts, probate and administration of estates, Medicaid planning, asset preservation, nursing home and home care planning and planning for individuals with special needs. Di Costanzo is a frequent author and lecturer on current elder law and tax topics. He is a past chair of the elder law section of the Westchester County Bar Association.
Ӣ Morrissey concentrates her practice in health law. She is the founder and president of the Collaborative for Palliative Care, a consortium of professionals and health care providers dedicated to research, education and advocacy to advance palliative care, and the recipient of the 2012 Aging Services Golden Harvest Corporate Leadership Award.
In January, she became president of the State Society on Aging of New York and president-elect of the Public Health Association of New York City.
Ӣ Alemzadeh is the general counsel at Kawasaki in Yonkers. She leads the companyӪs U.S. legal rail operations, and overseas KawasakiӪs government relations and corporate communications department, as well as the compliance group. Over the past four years, she has been a member of the New York City Transit Museum board of directors, helping bring the Grand Central Centennial exhibit to Westchester.
Ӣ Salomone spent three years in Los Angeles working as a youth care counselor in a residential treatment facility for offending youth. Her experience as a counselor led her to pursue a career in the law with the aim of affecting systemic change. She graduated in May with a Certificate in International Law. She was the recipient of both the Winifred Sobie Pasternack Memorial Award in Civil Rights and the Robert C. and Janet Lee Marville Scholarship for Outstanding Moral and Civil Commitment.
The keynote speaker for the event is David Yassky, dean at Pace Law School. Prior to joining Pace, Yassky spent four years in the Mayor Michael Bloomberg administration as chairman of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. He also served for eight years on the New York City Council.
Also on tap at the event will be an introduction given by Richard Ottinger, dean emeritus of Pace Law. In 1984, having retired from the U.S. Congress, Ottinger came to Pace Law School where his teaching was instrumental in shaping environmental policy and inspiring new generations of environmental lawyers. He was appointed dean of the law school in December 1994 and retired in July 1999.
In addition to the Westchester County Business Journal and Pace Law School, the event is sponsored by Citrin Cooperman, The Westchester Bank, Westchester County Bar Association and Westchester Women”™s Bar Association.
The event begins at 5:30 p.m. at the school”™s White Plains campus on Broadway. To register to attend, contact Holly DeBartolo at hdebartolo@westfairinc.com or 914-358-0743.
