UB Law Alumni Association to Honor Six At Awards Dinner

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Five graduates of the University at Buffalo School of Law will receive Distinguished Alumni Awards at the Law Alumni Association's 35th annual meeting and awards dinner, to be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, in the Hyatt Regency Buffalo.

The awards, established by the association's board of directors in 1963, recognize the valuable contributions that UB law school alumni have made to their profession and community.

In addition, Deputy State Assembly Speaker Arthur O. Eve will receive an award "for his distinguished service to the community."

€ Hon. Joseph D. Mintz, '56, of Getzville, Supreme Court justice of the Eighth Judicial District since 1979, will receive an award "for his conscientious and diligent performance in the judiciary."

An instructor in trial technique at the law school, Mintz serves on the New York State Supreme Court Judges Association's Committee on Civil Practice. He is chair of the association's Eighth Judicial District Committee on Judicial Evaluation and the board of the Erie County Bar Association's Aid to Indigent Prisoner Society. He is a past president of the New York State Defenders Association and the Eighth Judicial District Association and former treasurer of the Western New York Trial Lawyers Association.

€ John F. Canale, '47, of Eggertsville, special counsel to the firm of Bouvier, O'Connor, will be honored "for leadership by example as a private practitioner."

A Buffalo native and World War II veteran, Canale is a past president of the Western New York Trial Lawyers Association and a former director of the Erie County Bar Association. Recipient in 1992 of the Defense Lawyer of the Year Award from the Defense Trial Lawyers Association, he is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was in private practice with Canale, Madden & Burke, P.C., prior to its merger with Bouvier, O'Connor.

€ Hon. Dennis C. Vacco, '78, New York State attorney general, will be honored "for his commitment to public service."

A life-long Western New Yorker, Vacco began his career in public service in 1978 as a prosecutor in the Erie County District Attorney's Office. Ten years later, he was appointed U.S. attorney for the 17-county Western District of New York by then-President Ronald Reagan.

Elected to his current position in 1994, Vacco is the first from upstate New York to hold the post since 1928. He assisted in crafting the state's death penalty law and was instrumental in enacting of "Megan's Law," the sex-offender registry and notification act.

€ Hon. Michael A. Battle, '81, of North Buffalo, elected Erie County family court judge in 1996, will be honored "for his many contributions to the betterment of the community."

Battle helped open the Federal Public Defender's Office/Western New York Region and represented indigent clients charged with violating federal criminal law. He also was with the U.S. Attorney's Office in the general litigation unit and the civil division.

He is a former president of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York.

€ Thomas R. Bremer, '79, of Wilton, Conn., senior vice president and general counsel of U.S. Surgical Corp., will be honored "for his exemplary performance in business." Bremer joined the company in 1986 as patent counsel and three years ago was named to his current position. He received a bachelor's degree cum laude in mechanical engineering from UB in 1976.

€ Hon. Arthur O. Eve, deputy New York Assembly speaker, will be recognized "for outstanding service to the community by a non-alumnus."

A graduate of West Virginia State University, Eve is a member of the Assembly committees on Aging and Corporations, and is senior member of the Ways and Means and Rules committees.

First elected to the New York State Assembly representing the 141st District in 1966, Eve has a record of sponsorship and support on a range of issues, including economic development, education, job training and development, social services, crime prevention/parole reform, day care and housing.

Underwriters for the awards dinner are Manufacturers & Traders Trust Co., Personal Trust Services and Trust and Investment Services; Ticor Title Guarantee Corp.; Alan Fenster Associates; ICON Office Solutions and ICON Training (formerly OA Systems and New Horizons Learning Centers); Buyers & Kaczor Reporting Services, Inc.; Peter M. Vito & Associates, Inc., and National Fuel Gas.

Also, Computer Task Group; Coronet Process Service, Inc.; Fiduciary Services, Inc.; Landesman & Associates-General Agent New England Life; Lawley Service, Inc.; Lumsden & McCormick, LLP/John I. Salomon, CPA; Frank R. Papa National Fire Adjustment Co., Inc.; Sanders Legal Publishers, and R. L. Sonnenberger Land Surveyors.