2025-2026 GRAWA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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PRESIDENT
Jennifer Aronson Partner Hodgson Russ LLP
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Jennifer is a partner in Hodgson Russ LLP’s corporate and securities group with a particular focus on nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations. Jennifer is a strategic, mission-aligned advisor in the nonprofit sector, offering strategic guidance to organizations seeking to enhance operational efficiency and ensure long-term sustainability. She has guided numerous nonprofits through critical transitions, including dispositions of assets, mergers, consolidations, joint ventures, and dissolutions. Her extensive experience includes regular engagement with the state charities bureau, regulatory agencies, and the IRS to facilitate compliance and regulatory adherence.
In addition to overseeing structural transitions, Jennifer provides comprehensive legal counsel to public charities and private foundations, addressing matters including but not limited to fundraising, donor relations, scholarships and grant administration, gifts, shared services, taxable subsidiaries and restructuring, and innovative financing solutions. A significant focus of her practice is corporate governance, where she assists clients in developing robust frameworks for ethical decision-making, regulatory compliance, and leadership accountability through board trainings and policy review.
Though her primary focus is on nonprofit organizations, Jennifer also represents public and private companies of varying size and revenue on a broad spectrum of corporate and business law matters. Her expertise extends to corporate structuring and restructuring, investor relations, contract negotiation, vendor agreements, M&A, dissolutions, disposition of assets, finance, and governance policies designed to reinforce organizational integrity.
A significant portion of Jennifer’s practice is dedicated to pro bono work, representing a variety of charitable and educational clients. She focuses on initiatives that foster entrepreneurial opportunities for women, advance educational success for all children, and combat antisemitism. Jennifer is also the creator and host of the “She Talks Law” podcast, which addresses hot topics and important legal issues impacting women entrepreneurs, business owners, and women-led boards.
Beyond her legal practice, Jennifer is a proud mother of 2 very active and incredible sons – Jax and Jagger. She is also an avid road cyclist and certified cycling instructor at Midtown Athletic Club. Jennifer also enjoys spending time with her family in the Finger Lakes or in her hometown of Canandaigua.
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PRESIDENT-ELECT
Leah Cintineo Partner Underberg & Kessler LLP
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Leah is a partner at Underberg & Kessler LLP where she is the chair of both the firm’s litigation department and family law practice group. Leah represents clients in divorce and post-divorce matters, pre-nuptial agreements, high conflict child custody litigation, child support, and guardianship litigation. She also has years of experience handling divorce matters involving businesses, complex financial issues, and extensive marital estates, as well as preparing QDROs for the division of retirement assets at the completion of a divorce. Leah practices in Supreme and Family Courts in counties throughout the Seventh Judicial District. She actively takes cases representing children as the Attorney for the Child. Leah is a member of the Collaborative Law Association of the Rochester Area (CLARA) where she represents clients in collaborative divorces.
In addition to her role as President Elect of GRAWA, Leah is a member of the Monroe County Bar Association Family Law Section and the Ontario County Bar Association. Leah has many accolades including being selected as an Upstate New York Super Lawyers Rising Stars honoree from 2016-2023 and an Upstate New York Super Lawyers honoree in 2024. She was named to the 2024 Daily Record's Power List in Litigation and both the 2022 and 2023 Daily Record's Power 20 in Family Law lists. She was the 2022 recipient of The Daily Record and Rochester Business Journal's Legal Excellence Award for Pro Bono Excellence and is a past recipient of the Rochester Business Journal’s "Forty Under 40" Award. In addition, Leah was the 2017 recipient of the Honorable Michael F. Dillon Attorneys for Children Award for her work advocating for children in court proceedings.
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IMMEDIATE PAST-PRESIDENT
Wende Knapp Partner & Head of Labor and Employment Law Practice Group Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP
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Wende is a Partner & the Head of Labor and Employment Law Practice Group at Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP. Wende is a forward-thinking legal, business, communications, and HR advisor, focusing her practice on employment law counseling and litigation. She has a BA from Canisius College, an MA from Seton Hall University, and her JD from University at Buffalo School of Law.
After 16 years as a journalist and then a PR executive at Xerox, Wende made a career pivot in 2007. She went to law school and then worked in private practice as a Litigation and Labor & Employment attorney with amazing mentors and colleagues at Woods Oviatt Gilman and Harter Secrest & Emery. She re-joined Xerox in 2014 in its Office of General Counsel and then spent several years with Paychex launching a new service model for the more than 600 customer-facing HR team members. In late-2021, she joined Procore Technologies, Inc. a California-based, hyper-growth construction management software provider where she’s advising every level of the organization on HR- and employment law-related matters around the world and helping develop a global employment law department. Wende is also honored to be a 2011 Forty Under 40 honoree, a 2016 Up-and-Coming Attorney, the recipient of the 2017 Emerging Bar Leader Award, the former chair of the ATHENA International Awards, and past president of Women’s Council, a Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce Affiliate. Wende has also been a proud member of GRAWA since 2010 and has served in a variety of capacities including, but not limited to, on the Board of Directors, as WBASNY Delegate and on the following committees: strategic planning, programs, nominating, and women’s connections. She is also currently the board vice chair for New York Kitchen.
A proud Buffalonian, Wende is married to her partner-in-crime and favorite global traveling companion, Joseph. She is an avid DIY-er and has spent the last 25 years honing her electrical, plumbing, and construction skills on her City of Rochester home and cottage on Conesus Lake. Wende has three adorable, and sometimes mischievous, rescue dogs – Dolly, Hugo, and Gracie Lou!
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SECRETARY
Grace Streicher Trial Support Attorney Harris Appeals, P.A.
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Grace is an appellate and trial support attorney at Harris Appeals, P.A., based out of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. She has over a decade of litigation and clerkship experience. Before joining Harris Appeals, Grace served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr., of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York in Rochester, and as a career clerk at Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach, Florida. Over the course of her clerkships, Grace drafted hundreds of orders, opinions, and bench memos. Before clerking, Grace practiced as a civil and commercial litigator in Boca Raton.
At Harris Appeals, Grace’s practice concentrates on appeals, dispositive and evidentiary motion practice, and research and writing support in state and federal court. She holds a Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio, and is licensed to practice law in Florida, Ohio, and New York.
When not researching and writing, Grace enjoys spending time with her family, reading, walking, dining out, taking fitness classes, and volunteering with Roc City Rotary.
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TREASURER
Randi Proukou Partner Zea Proukou PLLC
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Randi is co-founding and managing partner at Zea Proukou PLLC, representing injured workers and disabled individuals in their Workers’ Compensation and SSD/SSI claims, with offices in Brighton and Canandaigua. Randi leads the firm in their bi-annual community service efforts with local businesses and organizations, and has been active with Girls on the Run as a volunteer coach. Randi has been a frequent presenter and panelist at continuing legal education programs as well as a speaker and mentor at many Nazareth University events.
Randi was President of GRAWA in 2020 – 2021, and previously acted with GRAWA as Membership chair, Family and Careers committee chair, and Women in Leadership committee chair. She is also involved with the Injured Workers’ Bar Association, NOSSCR, and the Monroe County Bar Association, specifically the Solo and Small Firm Committee. Randi is the recipient of the Rochester Women’s Network Up and Coming Businesswoman award, the RBJ’s Forty Under 40 award, GRAWA’s President’s Award, GRAWA’s Crennel-Branch Award, the RBJ’s Women of Excellence Award, a Finalist for the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce Athena Young Professional Award, Nazareth University’s Outstanding Alumni Award, and a Finalist for the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce Athena Organizational Award.
Randi enjoys spending her time as a strong female role model however possible, including as mother to her two children Levi and Lilah.
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CHAPTER DIRECTORS |
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CLE CO-CHAIR
Hon. Jacquelyn Grippe Judge, Rochester City Court Acting Judge, Monroe County Court and Monroe Family Court
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The Honorable Jacquelyn Grippe, is a Rochester City Court Judge also serving as an Acting Judge for both Monroe County Court and Monroe Family Court. She began her ten-year term on January 1, 2023. She presides over the Youth Part, criminal cases, landlord-tenant disputes, and various civil matters.
Judge Grippe graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Antioch College (2006), and went on to graduate Cum Laude with her Juris Doctorate and Masters in International Relations from the Syracuse University School of Law and the Maxwell School of Citizenship (2012).
After law school, Judge Grippe spent more than ten years as an Assistant Public Defender at the Monroe County Public Defender’s Office. There, she represented thousands of clients on felony, misdemeanor and violation level offenses.
Judge Grippe lives in the City of Rochester with her husband three children. In addition to her work in the court system, Judge Grippe is an active member of the Rochester community. She serves on the Board of the Rochester Imagination Library, a non-profit that mails one free, brand-new book each month to children under five years old living in the City of Rochester. Additionally, she works with the Adams Street Rec Center and is proud to host an annual Trunk or Treat and Easter Egg Hunt right in her neighborhood. Judge Grippe is also a member of the Gender Fairness in the Courtroom Committee, the Monroe County Bar Association, and was newly appointed to the Board of the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys.
Judge Grippe enjoys travel, reading, cooking, exploring farmers markets, and tending to her five backyard chickens.
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CLE CO-CHAIR
Kate Nearpass Co-Founder Nearpass & Koegel, PLLC
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Kate is the co-founder of Nearpass & Koegel PLLC, a Rochester-based law firm with a focus on conducting independent workplace and campus investigations. Kate's practice includes conducting impartial investigations for a variety of organizations, including higher education institutions, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities. Kate also has a robust higher ed practice and, in addition to conducting Title IX investigations, regularly serves as Title IX hearing officer, Title IX appellate officer, interim Title IX Coordinator, and interim director of college and university equity and compliance offices. Kate is also teaching faculty for the Association of Workplace Investigators’ (AWI) Training Institute and an AWI Certificate Holder. Prior to launching Nearpass & Koegel, Kate spent over a decade in higher education as in-house labor and employment counsel, Title IX coordinator, and AVP for Civil Rights Compliance. Kate began her career as a litigator, practicing civil litigation and labor and employment law with both boutique and national firms. Kate earned her J.D. from Albany Law School and her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College. She is licensed as an attorney and private investigator in New York.
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DIVERSITY CO-CHAIR
Lauren Maddox Civil Rights Investigator University of Rochester
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Lauren is a Civil Rights Investigator at University of Rochester. Originally from Miami, Florida, Lauren recently relocated to Rochester. She is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law. She started her legal career as in house counsel for insurers and has experience representing clients in state and federal court. Lauren has experience representing individuals and insurers in first party property matters. Prior to joining the Civil Rights Compliance Team at the University of Rochester, she worked on commercial litigation and employment matters at Adams Leclair LLP.
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DIVERSITY CO-CHAIR
Caroline Rodriguez State Prosecutor Monroe County District Attorney's Office
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Caroline is a state prosecutor at the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office in Rochester. She works in the Public Integrity and Economic Crimes Bureau focusing on helping victims and safeguarding the public from white collar crime. Caroline grew up in an old farmhouse in Lima, New York. For middle school, she moved with her family to Bogota, Colombia where she attended Collegio Nuevo Granda. After the stint abroad, she graduated from Honeoye Falls-Lima High School. She attended Cornell University, majoring in Spanish Language and Literature and minoring in Art History. She became interested in law after taking a Comparative Health Care Course while studying abroad in Havana, Cuba. She learned that the legal priorities of both countries helped shape the direction and goals of medical care. Upon graduation from Cornell University, she moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina for two years. She worked as a language and math tutor, and volunteered at the United States Embassy as the General Manager of the American Citizens Services Association and as an organizer of legal conferences. She also read 3-5 books a week and learned how to cook. Upon returning to the United States, she attended Albany Law School.
When not working, Caroline enjoys reading, running, and eating amazing food. You can also find her volunteering as a board member of the City of Rochester Bilingual Charter School, Eugenio Maria de Hostos. She looks forward to bringing her diverse background to GRAWA’s DEI committee and to the greater Rochester community.
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LEGISLATIVE CHAIR
Catherine Cerulli, PhD Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC)
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Catherine is currently an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). Dr. Cerulli was the Director of Susan B. Anthony Center and the Laboratory of Interpersonal Violence and Victimization. She currently is the CEO and Founder of HLP, LLC, a consultant service which focuses on the intersection of Health, Law and Policy. She received a PhD in criminal justice from SUNY at Albany, NY in 2004 and her Master's Degree in criminal justice from SUNY at Albany, NY in 1998. She holds a JD from the University at Buffalo law school. Dr. Cerulli received the Excellence in Public Service award from the SUNY Albany Alumni Association in 2014 and the National Institute of Mental Health New Investigator Award in 2005.
She was formerly an Assistant District Attorney in Monroe County, New York, where she created a special misdemeanor domestic violence unit in 1995. She has been working on issues surrounding domestic violence and child abuse for over three decades, in a variety of capacities. Various federal agencies have funded Dr. Cerulli's work, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Justice, the Office on Violence Against Women, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Veteran's Administration. She works internationally to ameliorate violence and currently is assisting with projects addressing the health and welfare of individuals living in the Sub Mekong region. She is a founding Board Member for the Crisis Nursery of Greater Rochester, Inc., a grass roots organization providing emergency respite care for greater Rochester area families with young children. She recently cofounded Amicus Certus, a not for profit dedicated to educating the public on the need to decrease our incarceration policies and utilize trauma-informed systems in the criminal justice system.
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MEDIA CO-CHAIR
Nichole Austin Attorney Faraci Lange, LLP
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Nichole is an attorney at Faraci Lange, LLP, in Rochester, New York, where she focuses on personal injury, medical malpractice, and torts litigation. She holds a bachelor's degree from SUNY Geneseo, a master's degree from SUNY Albany, and a juris doctor degree from UB Law. She is an active member of the Monroe County Bar Association, serving as the past chair of the Lawyers for Learning Committee. She is currently the co-chair of GRAWA's Family and Careers Committee and also serves as a Media co-chair. Ms. Austin resides Penfield, New York, with her husband and son.
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MEDIA CO-CHAIR
Kristin Merrick Partner Faraci Lange, LLP
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Kristin is a partner at Faraci Lange, LLP and focuses her legal practice on all types of personal injury litigation, including negligence matters, products liability, medical malpractice, motor vehicle accident and premise liability matters. Kristin has been selected for inclusion as a Best Lawyer in America each year since 2020 and in the Upstate New York Super Lawyers as a Rising Star from 2018-2022. She was recognized as an Up & Coming Attorney (2016), a Top Woman in Law (2020), and Forty Under 40 (2024) by the Daily Record and was an ATHENA Young Professional finalist (2024).
Kristin currently serves as GRAWA’s social media co-chair. Previously, she served as a GRAWA board member from 2020-2022 and as the Women’s Health Committee Co-Chair from 2019-2020 and 2023-2025. In addition to serving on the GRAWA Board, Kristin serves on the Board of the Monroe County Bar Association’s Lawyers for Learning Committee and has been a volunteer for Lawyers for Learning since 2015 where she meets and mentors students weekly.
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MEMBERSHIP CO-CHAIR
Regina MacAdam Assistant General Counsel Rochester Regional Health
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Regina works in-house as Assistant General Counsel at Rochester Regional Health, an integrated health care system providing care in Rochester, the Finger Lakes region, and Northern New York. Regina is a member of the Executive Leadership Forum at Rochester Regional Health, and recently was honored with the Women of Excellence award from the Rochester Business Journal. She has been involved with GRAWA and on the board for years, serving as the CLE Co-Chair for 2024 – 2025, Treasurer for 2022 – 2024, and the Nominations Committee Chair for 2020 – 2022.
Regina received her B.A. from Columbia College, and her J.D. from Columbia Law School. She joined GRAWA years ago when her oldest daughter was a baby, and spent many years attending Family & Career Committee meetings as she juggled her career and family, eventually serving as co-chair of that committee. She served on the Memorial Art Gallery Board of Directors for 15 years.
Regina and her husband, Stephen, live in Brighton with their two young adult daughters, Maggie and Mary.
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MEMBERSHIP CO-CHAIR
Lauren Whiting Fiduciary Officer ESL Trust Services, LLC
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Lauren is a Fiduciary Officer at ESL Trust Services, LLC. In her role, Lauren administers estates and trusts and ensures all accounts comply with legal, regulatory, and estate planning document guidelines. Prior to joining ESL Trust Services five years ago, Lauren was a Private Clients Associate Attorney at Nixon Peabody LLP and a Trust and Estate Planning Associate Attorney at Pullano & Farrow PLLC.
Lauren is on the Monroe County Bar Association (MCBA) Board of Trustees and also serves on the MCBA Foundation Jazz for Justice Committee. She is involved with GRAWA and is the Membership Chair this year. Lauren is also on the Rochester Regional Health Foundation Board and the Professional Advisors Liaison Committee for the Rochester Area Community Foundation.
Outside of professional activities, Lauren enjoys her free time with her two children (soon to be three!) and her husband and loves to hike, run, and travel.
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NOMINATING CHAIR
Leigh Ann Chute Staff Attorney Legal Aid Society of Rochester
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Leigh Ann has been a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Rochester since 2014. She is currently the Director of the Family Law Unit where she focuses on direct civil legal representation of domestic violence survivors in family law matters. She has also practiced in housing and consumer law, representing tenants facing eviction in Rochester City Court. Leigh Ann received her B.A. from American University in Washington, D.C. in 2009. She then attended the University at Buffalo Law School, specializing in clinical domestic violence work and graduating with her J.D in 2012. Leigh Ann feels passionately about providing competent legal counsel to clients who would otherwise go unrepresented, and for continuing to strive for equity for all. |
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PROGRAMS CO-CHAIR
Tiffany D'Angelo In-House Trial Attorney Allstate Insurance
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Tiffany is an in-house trial attorney for Allstate Insurance where she focuses her practice on defending personal injury actions, including motor vehicle accidents; falls and dog bite cases. She received her Bachelor’s Degree cum laude from Syracuse University and her JD from Syracuse University College of Law. Tiffany is a member of GRAWA; secretary of the MCBA Litigation Council and the Membership Chair of Lawyers for Learning. Tiffany has been with Lawyers for Learning since 2017 and loves working with the students she mentors. Previously, Tiffany volunteered with the Center For Youth’s Crisis Nursery and the Pittsford Community Library.
During her free time, Tiffany enjoys reading; running; golf and spending time with her 10 year old daughter, Julia and dog. |
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PROGRAMS CO-CHAIR
Erin Elmouji Partner Mancuso Brightman, PLLC
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Erin is a Partner at the firm of Mancuso Brightman PLLC, where she focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation. Erin was honored with the MCBA’s Raymond J. Pauley Award in 2024, and with GRAWA's President's Award in 2022, and has received Legal Excellence Awards from the Rochester Business Journal and The Daily Record in both 2021 and 2023, as well as being named "One to Watch" for Commercial Litigation in multiple years by "The Best Lawyers in America."
Erin also devotes a substantial portion of her practice to pro bono legal representation, primarily in the areas of social justice and protection of civil rights, and she has been repeatedly recognized for her pro bono and volunteer contributions; Erin has been regularly included on the Pro Bono Honor Roll for the Western District of New York since moving to Rochester in 2019, and she received the Hanna S. Cohn Pro Bono Award from the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York in 2025, the Pro Bono Award from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York in 2024, and the William E. McKnight Volunteer Service Award from JustCause in 2023.
Originally from the Southern Tier, Erin earned her B.A. and M.A. from St. Bonaventure University, and her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. Erin practiced with the firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in Manhattan for six years before moving to the Rochester area and joining the firm of Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP in 2019. Very active with local bar associations, Erin has been the acting Secretary for the Lawyers' Coalition for Racial and Social Justice, a coalition of the Monroe County Bar Association, Rochester Black Bar Association, and GRAWA since 2019, and has previously chaired GRAWA's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Membership Committees. Erin has also served on the Board of Trustees of the MCBA since 2023, and was selected as one of only eleven community members comprising the inaugural antiracism task force of the MCBA: the President’s Commission on Anti-Racism.
Erin lives in Pittsford with her husband (Adil), and their four daughters.
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WBASNY DELEGATE
Claire Bopp Litigation Attorney Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC
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Claire is a skilled litigation attorney with over a decade of experience representing clients in trial and appellate courts and administrative proceedings. With a broad substantive background and experience in an array of industry sectors, she is a trusted advisor who assists clients to manage risk and achieve their ultimate goals. Consistently recognized as a “Rising Star” and “One to Watch” by Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers, Claire represents health care institutions, corporations, employers, school districts, and other businesses through all phases of the litigation process from pre-trial investigation through trial and post-trial appeals before state and federal courts. Claire has extensive experience representing hospitals and health systems, medical and dental professionals, nursing homes, and other ancillary medical care providers in professional liability and malpractice actions. In addition to Claire’s healthcare litigation experience, she represents and advises clients in employment matters. Claire regularly conducts employee investigations and has litigated employment disputes involving discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination and breaches of fiduciary duty. Claire also has experience representing clients in commercial disputes and intellectual property litigation.
Claire's approach to client service is designed to help her clients achieve their short-term tactical goals while keeping their long-term strategic objectives front and center. She understands the legal terrain, pitfalls, and nuances of high-stakes litigation and she effectively helps her clients navigate contentious situations. |
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WBASNY DELEGATE
Hon. Joanne Winslow (Ret.)
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