University at Buffalo Law School to Hold 'Students of Color' Dinner April 21

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo Law School will honor its diversity and its graduates' accomplishments at this year's Law School Students of Color Dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 21, in the Buffalo Niagara Marriott, 1340 Millersport Hwy., Amherst.

The dinner recognizes the achievements of distinguished alumni, minority trailblazers, professors and law students set to graduate in May. Co-sponsored by the Asian-American Law Students Association, the Black Law Students Association and the Latin American Law Students Association, the dinner brings together graduating students, continuing students, alumni, faculty and a host of friends to celebrate the achievements of people of color who have been or are associated with the Law School.

Keynote speaker will be John V. Elmore, senior trial counsel and managing attorney for the Buffalo law firm Brown Chiari. He is the author of "Fighting for Your Life: the African American Survival Guide," which addresses the issues of young people and the criminal justice system.

Two Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented. One will go to Buffalo City Court Judge Craig Hannah '95, an active member of the UB Law Alumni Association's Board of Directors. The other will be presented to Alberto M. Benitez '86, Professor of Clinical Law, George Washington University Law School, in Washington, D.C.

The event's Trailblazer Award will be presented to Joseph M. Hanna '05, a partner practicing commercial litigation with the Buffalo law firm Goldberg Segalla. As president of the Minority Bar Association, Hanna has developed a new clerkship program designed to attract students of color to clerkships in Western New York's 8th Judicial District. He's also a familiar face around UB Law School, where, among other contributions, he serves as a student mentor.

Also to be honored at the dinner with the Jacob D. Hyman Professor of the Year award is Professor Stephanie Phillips, whose academic focus is critical race theory, but who also has worked tirelessly with the Black Law Students Association and serves on UB Law's Diversity Committee.

The Monique E. Emdin Award, given in honor of the 2007 UB Law graduate who died of cancer when she was 28, will be presented to a third-year law student. The award is a collaboration between Hiscock & Barclay LLP and Bethesda World Harvest International Church. A "Lift as We Climb" scholarship will be awarded to a high school student.

The event's traditional candle-lighting ceremony will close the evening. Graduating third-year students "pass the torch" to those who will follow them as leaders in UB Law's students of color community.

Since its founding in 1887, the UB Law School -- the State University of New York's only law school -- has established an excellent reputation and is regarded widely as a leader in legal education. Its cutting-edge curriculum provides both a strong theoretical foundation and the practical tools graduates need to succeed in a competitive marketplace. A special emphasis on interdisciplinary studies, public service and opportunities for hands-on clinical education has placed the school among the nation's premier public law schools.