The 12th annual Above the Bar Awards will be held June 5 at Whitby Castle on the grounds of the Rye Golf Club from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Presented by the Westchester County Business Journal, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University and Citrin Cooperman, the awards will be presented to: Richard M. Gardella of Bertine, Hufnagel, Headley, Zeltner, Drummond & Dohn LLP who will receive the Pace Setter Award; Natalie J. Sobchak of the Pace Women”™s Justice Center who will receive the Most Socially Conscious Attorney Award; Kim Patricia Berg of Gould & Berg LLP who will receive the Leading Civil Rights Attorney Award; Julie C. Curley of DelBello, Donnellan, Weingarten, Wise & Wiederkehr LLP who will receive the Leading Attorney Under 40 Award; and Sarah Cinquemani who will receive the Most Promising Pace Law Student Award.
Gardella concentrates his practice in the areas of municipal and land use law and appellate litigation. A former journalist, Gardella is editor-in-chief of Westchester Lawyer, the monthly magazine of the Westchester County Bar Association, the ABA”™s State and Local Government Law Section as well as the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility.
Sobchak has been the director of pro bono programs at the Justice Center for seven years. She has built and manages programs that include more than 50 volunteers and student interns who donate nearly 9,000 hours of service each year. She is also a trombonist who has played at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall
Berg focuses her practice in the areas of employment harassment, discrimination, retaliation, civil rights, commercial litigation, wills, trusts and estates. In her spare time, she trains martial arts and has a second-degree black belt, and a blue belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu.
Curley concentrates her practice representing a variety of corporate and individual debtors, with an emphasis on construction reorganizations and real estate workouts. Curley, together with the Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, established a pro se clinic to assist individuals who cannot afford an attorney to file their own Chapter 7 bankruptcy petitions.
Cinquemani graduated magna cum laude from the school of law this month with a certificate in environmental law. While at Pace, she was the president of the Student Bar Association.
Dee DelBello, publisher of the Westchester County Business Journal, said, “The teamwork and dedicated commitment of the judges to select the most deserving attorneys give this award program credibility and distinction.”
“Some of the country”™s top attorneys are from Westchester County, and they deserve the recognition,” said Alan G. Badey, regional managing partner of Citrin Cooperman, White Plains office. “The nominees in our annual event are top-notch. I consider it a privilege to be able to continue to honor them in our 12th year of the Above the Bar awards.”
