Buffalo Law Review to Honor U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Telesca

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The editorial board of the Buffalo Law Review at the University at Buffalo Law School will honor Judge Michael A. Telesca, United States District Court Judge for the Western District of New York, at their 12th annual Law Review dinner.

The event will be held on April 20 in the Saturn Club, 977 Delaware Ave.

He is being recognized "for his distinguished service to the Western New York community and the UB Law School."

According to Nicholas H. Mancuso, editor-in-chief of the Law Review, "We are extremely excited to be honoring a UB Law alumnus who has been an inspiration and a role model to so many law students."

Born and raised in Rochester, Telesca received his bachelor's degree from the University of Rochester and his J.D. from the UB School of Law, in 1955. Following law school, he served as a staff legal officer in the United States Marine Corps. Judge Telesca then entered private practice, eventually becoming a partner with Lamb, Webster, Walz & Telesca. He was elected Surrogate Court Judge, Monroe County, in 1972, and served as designated justice of the New York State Supreme Court for nearly 10 years.

Telesca was appointed by President Reagan to the United States District Court for the Western District of New York in 1982, and served as the District's Chief Justice from 1989 to 1996. In 1996, he was appointed by Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist to the Alien Terrorist Removal Court.

Telesca has served on the board of directors of the Federal Judicial Center, the Second Circuit Judicial Council and the Editorial Advisory Board of the State-Federal Judicial Observer.

In the Rochester community, Telesca has served on numerous boards of directors and advisory boards, including those for the Association for Mentally Retarded Persons, the National Kidney Foundation, the ARC of Monroe County and Main West Attorneys at Law, Inc.

In addition to this year's Buffalo Law Review award, Telesca has received Outstanding Alumni Awards from the University of Rochester and the University at Buffalo Law School, and the Community Development Service's Humanitarian Award.

Former members of Buffalo Law Review can contact Deborah Karet at 716-645-2059 to make a reservation.