Celebrating Cornell Law School’s Exemplary Alumni and Students in Public Service
Since its founding, Cornell Law has fostered a commitment to public service. Scores of graduates have emerged as leaders in social justice movements, legal aid, the judiciary, government practice, and a host of other meaningful not-for-profit organizations. At the 21st Annual Exemplary Alumni Public Service Awards Celebration, alumni, students, their guests, and members of the Cornell Law community gathered in New York City to celebrate the enduring role of public service in the legal profession. Hosted at the New York City Bar Association on February 26, 2026, the event underscored the Law School’s commitment to advancing justice and expanding access to legal representation, and honored the graduates putting those ideals into practice.
Adrienne Larimer, director of Public Interest, works to promote a strong culture of service by encouraging student engagement in public interest law, aiming to expand access to funding opportunities, and strengthening career pathways in the field. For the evening’s event, however, she took on a different role—serving as the program’s master of ceremonies. In her welcome remarks, she gave special recognition to the night’s honorees, praising “the alumni and students who have chosen work that protects people, strengthens communities, and acknowledges the real challenges ahead of us in continuing to do this work.”
Following Larimer’s remarks, Jens David Ohlin, the Allan R. Tessler Dean and Professor of Law, emphasized that the evening recognized more than individual achievements—it celebrated a fundamental principle of democracy. “The rule of law depends on meaningful access to legal representation,” he said, noting that a healthy democracy relies on a legal system where all individuals, regardless of resources or status, have the ability to assert their rights and be heard.
He also raised the vision of Ezra Cornell, who founded Cornell University with the goal of doing “the greatest good.” That guiding principle, he noted, continues to shape the Law School’s mission, with students and faculty advancing justice through clinics and pro bono programs that help defend constitutional rights and uphold the rule of law.
Kristen Stanley, A.B. ’01, J.D. ’07, chair of the Public Service Committee, reflected on her own experience representing people sentenced to death. Stanley noted that public service law requires more than technical skill. “Those of us who choose to work in public service . . . know that it is as much a practice of love as it is a practice of law,” she said, emphasizing that the work demands hope, faith in people, and the courage to stand alongside marginalized communities—even when doing so means standing up to power.
Throughout the evening, the room was filled with energy as each award recipient shared their own words of hope, faith, and courage. Whether guiding individuals through the often-complicated legal process, helping them understand their rights, removing legal barriers to employment and housing, investigating misconduct and corruption affecting underrepresented communities, or working to mitigate the impacts of climate change and advance environmental justice, these exemplary graduates are making a meaningful difference in the lives of those they serve.
Akua Akyea, associate dean for Career Services closed the formal portion of the program noting that this evening is one of the highlights of the year for Cornell Law. She went on to say “rain does not fall on one roof alone, and tonight we’ve seen how the work done by alumni and students touches everyone and impacts individuals we don’t know and have not met. I look forward to continuing to hear about the amazing work you are accomplishing.”
The 2026 Exemplary Public Service Awards recipients:
- Hon. Patrice M. Arent ’81, Utah State Representative and State Senator (Retired)
- Ina Kristine Bergstrom ’04, Executive Director, Neighborhood Legal Services
- Ryan J. Hayward ’04,
Chief of Staff, New York State Inspector General - Charlotte Ruzzica de La Chaussée, LL.M. ’17, International Lawyer, Adviser, Secretariat Working Group Member, Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law
- Brian G. Smith ’78,
Managing Attorney (Retired), Community Health Law Project, New Jersey
Rising Star Award:
Emily Szopinski ’20,
Assistant Federal Public Defender, Federal Public Defender of the Southern District of West Virginia
Pro Bono Award:
Brandon D. Hastings, LL.M. Tech ’24, Partner, Northpoint Legal
The Barry Strom Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award:
Laura L. Rovner ’93, Professor of Law and Founding Director of the Civil Rights Clinic, University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Student Awards:
The Freeman Award for Civil-Human Rights was established from the estate of Professor Emeritus Harrop A. Freeman, J.D. 1930, J.S.D. 1945. A cash prize is awarded to the law student or students who have made the greatest contribution during their law school career to civil-human rights.
- Aziz Ali ’26
- Jasmine Crain ’26
- Paige Osgood ’26
- Walter Rubio ’26
The Stanley E. Gould Prize for Public Interest Law
was established by Stanley E. Gould ’54. A cash prize is awarded each year to a third-year student or students who have shown outstanding dedication to serving public-interest law and public-interest groups.
- Melissa Fergusson ’26
- Angelina Leach ’26
- Jeena Patel ’26
- Leah Peretsky ’26
The Seymour Herzog Memorial Prize was endowed in honor of the late Seymour Herzog, LL.B. 1936. A cash prize is awarded each year to a student or students who demonstrate excellence in the law and commitment to public-interest law, combined with a love of sports.
- Sofía Cuevas Dorador
- Avery Newcom
- Carrie O’Malley
Cornell Law Sets New Giving Day Record
The Cornell Law community came together on March 12 for Cornell Giving Day, raising a record $755,674 for the Law School through 584 gifts from 510 donors.
The strong participation marked the Law School’s highest total ever raised on Giving Day, while the number of donors and gifts ranked as the second-highest totals in the school’s history. The Law School’s results contributed to a successful day across Cornell University, which raised $11,345,462 from 17,011 donors making 25,277 gifts.
“This year’s Giving Day was an incredible success for Cornell Law School,” said Kevin Sackett, associate dean of Alumni Affairs and Development. “Our alumni and friends are extraordinarily generous throughout the year, and Giving Day is always a wonderful moment to see that support come together in such a visible and inspiring way.”
Support came from across the Cornell Law community, including alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends of the school. For the second consecutive year, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius served as the leading Giving Day Champion, raising more than $25,000 for the Law School as part of the Law Firm Corporate Challenge.
Student participation also played a visible role in the day’s activities. The Cornell Law School Class of 2026 organized a Class Gift campaign in support of the school’s Clinical Programs, raising more than $7,000 over the course of the week. The campaign culminated in a spirited pie-in-the-face competition in the Law School Commons on Giving Day afternoon.
Giving Day supports a wide range of initiatives at Cornell Law School, including student programs, academic initiatives, and the Law School’s Clinical Programs, which provide legal services to communities in Ithaca and beyond while giving students hands-on legal training.
Through their collective generosity, donors helped strengthen the Law School’s ability to educate future legal leaders and expand the reach of its programs in the years ahead.
New York Alumni Annual Luncheon
Cornell Law’s Annual New York Alumni Luncheon once again brought together generations of graduates for one of the Law School’s most enduring and well-attended traditions. Held in New York City on January 29, 2026, at the University Club, the luncheon serves as a cornerstone event for alumni in the region, an opportunity to reconnect with classmates, strengthen professional networks, and celebrate the continued momentum of the Law School. C. Evan Stewart, A.B. ’74, J.D. ’77, served as the Club sponsor, making it possible to host the luncheon at one of the most exclusive and prestigious private social clubs in NYC.
This year’s gathering was especially meaningful, with fifteen admitted students joining the celebration. Their presence added an exciting sense of possibility to the room, offering alumni the chance to welcome the next generation of Cornell lawyers and share insights from their own professional journeys. The interaction between alumni and admitted students underscored the strength and generosity of the Cornell Law community.
The formal program began with welcoming remarks from Michael Wright ’94, president of the Cornell Law School Alumni Association Board. Following lunch, guests engaged in a timely and thought-provoking program titled “Holding the Line: A Conversation on Justice and the Rule of Law.” The fireside chat featured Dean Ohlin and Jessica H. Kim, Distinguished Practitioner in Residence and Rule of Law Fellow.
Kim, who previously served as U.S. Special Prosecutor for the Crime of Aggression, shared insights from her groundbreaking international work supporting accountability efforts related to the war in Ukraine. Drawing on her experience with multinational investigative teams and senior leadership at the U.S. Department of Justice, she and Dean Ohlin explored the mounting challenges to the rule of law—both domestically and internationally—and emphasized why its defense is more critical than ever.
The luncheon would not be possible without the extraordinary generosity of its sponsors: A&O Shearman (Jake Mincemoyer, B.S. ’98, J.D. ’01); Gibson Dunn (David Furman ’86); Samuelson Hause
(Wendy Samuelson ’93); Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (Nicholas Goldin, A.B. ’96, J.D. ’99); Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (David E. Schwartz ’94); Urban American (Philip Eisenberg ’64 and Joshua Eisenberg, B.S. ’96, J.D. ’00); and Walden Macht Haran & Williams (Barry Rashkover ’86).
Sixteenth Transactional Lawyering Competition Introduces Use of AI Tools This Year
On November 8–9, 2025, thirty-two Cornell Law students participated in the Law School’s 16th Transactional Lawyering Competition. One of the few intramural competitions focused on transactional practice, it offers a practical, moot court–style experience for aspiring deal lawyers. The competition is integrated into the Introduction to Transactional Lawyering course, which is open to all years and is taught by adjunct professor Mark Underberg, A.B. ‘77, J.D. ‘81.
At the competition, sixteen teams of two students each, representing the buyer or seller, engaged in mock negotiations over the sale of a hotel business. The buyer was a private-equity fund and the seller was a public company in the hotel business. The teams were judged by an esteemed panel of twenty-four Cornell Law School alumni, two of whom had participated in the competition when they were students themselves.
After three rounds of negotiations over two days, the winning members of the buyer’s counsel team were Ria Bajaj ’27 and Ben Joffe ’27, and the winning members of the seller’s counsel team were Elena Chatrchyan ’27 and Epiphany Ramirez ’26. Each winning team received a cash prize, generously funded by an anonymous Cornell alum.
The Introduction to Transactional Lawyering course is designed to teach students the basics of how a transaction is negotiated. During the course, in the weeks leading up to competition, students deconstruct a contract asset purchase agreement.
“The class itself does not really reflect what these law students will experience in their first or second years at a law firm,” said Underberg, “but it does give them a window into the light at the end of the tunnel of what they’ll actually be doing as a senior lawyer, running these deals . . . a preview of a few years in advance.”
The alumni who serve as judges for the competition are given students’ drafted memos and contracts in advance. They then observe student teams during the weekend and provide feedback on each negotiation. Alumni judges assess the student teams on whether they were able to achieve client goals and objectives, how professional they were during negotiations, and the quality of their teamwork skills.
This year’s competition marked the first year that students were allowed to use artificial intelligence tools for drafting contracts and identifying key issues in the transaction.
This year’s competition marked the first year that students were allowed to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools for drafting contracts and identifying key issues in the transaction. Throughout the course this past semester, Underberg discussed the different tools available to transactional lawyers. Alumni at the event also chimed in on which tools they often use, how helpful they are, and how they go about incorporating these tools into their practices.
“Contract markups were better this year with the use of AI . . . it certainly sharpened the distinction between preparation and comprehension,” said Underberg. “The negotiations became the true test of understanding among students. Those who knew the provisions—the purpose they serve, how they related to each other, and how they advanced their client’s priorities—had a big edge in the competition over those who had relied on AI without internalizing the substance.”
Over the years, many former students have told Underberg how valuable the Transactional Lawyering course and competition have been in their legal careers. One former student stated, “I wanted to let you know how much the Transactional Lawyering class and the TLC has helped me in my first year in the M&A group. For example, yesterday I was at a negotiation of a really big deal, representing a private-equity firm purchasing a division of a large public company. (Sounds familiar, right?) The two partners running the deal argued for about forty-five minutes about sandbagging and I actually understood what was going on. And I even explained it to the senior associate on my team.”
“It’s an amazing program, other schools have tried to do something like it, and they just never really have, for a variety of reasons,” said Celia Bigoness, clinical professor of law, director of the Blassberg-Rice Center for Entrepreneurship Law, and former course instructor. “It’s an important part of our curriculum, there’s always a waitlist among the students, and it’s just so cool to be in a place where our alumni will do this year after year.”
Ninety-Third Annual Curia Society Dinner
Members of the Cornell Law School community gathered on November 13, 2025, for the 93rd Annual Curia Society Dinner, an evening that brought together alumni and friends for thoughtful dialogue, celebration, and connection. The program featured remarks from Randy Mastro, first deputy mayor of New York City at the time, whose distinguished career in public service and law has shaped policy and advanced justice at the city and national levels.
The evening opened with a warm welcome from Curia Society Co-chair Renee M. Pristas ’09, followed by remarks from Dean Ohlin, who reflected on the importance of civic leadership and public engagement—principles embodied in Mastro’s decades of service.
The program centered on Mastro’s address, “New York City’s Bold Agenda to Fight Antisemitism,” a timely and deeply resonant discussion. As first deputy mayor, Mastro oversaw more than 300,000 employees and a $115 billion budget, working across city agencies to ensure effective service delivery for all residents. His portfolio also included direct oversight of the Department of Finance, the City’s Chief Efficiency Officer, the Mayor’s Office to Facilitate Pro Bono Legal Assistance, the Office of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises, and the Mayor’s Office to Combat Anti-Semitism— through which he detailed the initiatives his team was pursuing to strengthen safety and foster a welcoming environment across New York City.
Following the formal program, Curia Society Co-chair Alfred L. Fatale III ’07, delivered closing remarks before guests transitioned into a post-program dinner and networking reception. Attendees had the opportunity to meet Mastro, discuss the evening’s topic in greater depth, and enjoy lively conversation with fellow alumni and friends. The reception provided a warm, collegial setting that reflected the Curia Society’s longstanding mission: fostering community, supporting dialogue, and strengthening the ties that define the Cornell Law family.
Cornell Law Alumni Sworn In to Supreme Court Bar
On October 8, 2025, a small cohort of eleven Cornell Law School alumni experienced one of the profession’s greatest honors—being sworn in to the Supreme Court Bar in front of the justices of the United States Supreme Court. Standing together in that historic courtroom, surrounded by fellow Cornellians, each alumnus took the oath to “conduct myself uprightly and according to the law, and that I will support the Constitution of the United States . . .” before the nation’s highest court, marking a moment of profound pride and shared achievement.
The group included Degi Altantuya, LL.M. ’10; Priscilla Combari ’12; David Furman ’86; Gayle Littleton ’99; James Hill ’91; Stephanie Holland ’96; Ariane Horn, A.B. ’91, J.D. ’96; Sheila Fischer Kiernan ’00; Jeffrey Kochian ’98; Charles Rechlin, A.B. ’68, J.D. ’71; and Marc Rubenstein, A.B. ’86, J.D. ’89. Larry Brandman ’85 moved the group’s admission and added a meaningful sense of tradition to the occasion.
Many alumni brought spouses and other loved ones to witness the milestone. The mix of generations created a warm, family-like atmosphere befitting the Cornell Law community.
The two-day gathering in the country’s capital featured a dinner for alumni and guests, a morning-of breakfast at the Court, and the opportunity to observe oral arguments in the courtroom. Alumni praised the experience wholeheartedly.
Ariane Horn noted “It was a great honor to be sworn in with an impressive group of alumni. I was proud to represent Cornell Law before the high court. A highlight was sharing the experience with my son Alex, who is considering law school in the near future. There is no better way to demonstrate the lasting ties created by the Cornell Law community.” Gayle Littleton added “I am deeply honored to have been admitted to the Supreme Court Bar and grateful to the Law School for seeking our admission. Standing before the full Court and taking the oath with fellow alums was humbling and thrilling. The formality of the ceremony, which was held in the Supreme Court Chamber, underscored both the Court’s institutional significance and the importance that we all have as lawyers to preserve the rule of law.” And Larry Brandman shared, “It was a great privilege to have played a role in this special day at the Supreme Court for these eleven outstanding Cornell Law School alumni and their families and friends. I was reminded of how fortunate I am to have attended Cornell Law School.”
In Memoriam
Marianne Artusio, J.D. ’71
Murray Beckerman, J.D. ’51
Laura W. Boynton, A.B. ’77, J.D. ’81
Edward Charles Coffey, J.D. ’73
Jon M. Dickinson, BEE, ’64,
LL.B. ’64
Richard J. Drake, J.D. ’59
J. William Ernstrom, J.D. ’71
Townsend (Tim) Foster Jr., LL.B. ’55
Frank J. Franzino, AB ’67, J.D. ’70
Stephen D. Fromang, J.D. ’76
Ellen Gambrell, LL.B. ’66
John M. Gant, LL.B. ’67
Henry S. Hacker, J.D. ’68
George E. Henries, J.D. ’61
Carl R. Hollander, A.B. ’65, J.D. ’68
Thomas A. Klee, B.S. ‘66, J.D. ‘69
Sheldon I. Krebs, J.D. ’66
Allan Michael Lerner, J.D. ’67
Robert M. Libbey, J.D. ’63
John M. Loftus, J.D. ’59
Alan R. Persons, LL.B. ’56
Henry M. Porter, A.B. ’58, LL.B. ’60
Martin Rubashkin, A.B. ’54, J.D. ’56
Robert F. Seely, J.D. ’69
Richard J. Sinnott, J.D. ’73
David A. Trager, J.D. ’57
E. Terry Warren, A.B. ’52, J.D. ’56
Walter S. Westfall, LL.B. ’60
Carl F. Yeich, J.D. ’81
Roger W. Zaenglein, LL.B. ’51, M.B.A. ’56
