The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University honored three distinguished leaders of the legal community, as well as outstanding alumni, during its 28th Annual Law Leadership Dinner, held at the Westchester Country Club on March 7, 2023. The celebration was one of the law school’s most successful fundraisers in history, raising vital funds in support of student scholarships, faculty research, and innovative programs.
The Law Leadership Dinner, first held in 1995, is the signature fundraiser for Haub Law and provides the setting for the presentation of the Distinguished Service Award, which honors individuals or organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the legal community, as well as the Rising Star Award, recognizing excellence in practice among alumni in the first 15 years after graduation. This year also marks the second year that Haub Law has awarded the Haub Impact Award to honor an individual who has made a lasting impact on the Haub Law community.
At this year’s Dinner, more than 200 alumni, faculty, students, elected officials and members of the judiciary, and distinguished lawyers attended the event, which was emceed by Board of Visitors member Paul Saunders, Distinguished Visitor from Practice, Georgetown University Law Center. Both Horace E. Anderson, Jr., Dean of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law and Pace University President Marvin Krislov, gave remarks, speaking of the important role that Pace University and the Law School play in supporting our communities, producing leaders, and making a difference.
The 2023 Distinguished Service Award was presented to Susan S. Brown JD '87, Co-Founder, Of Counsel, Glassman & Brown, LLP, and to Anna Marciano Romanella JD '00 VP, Sustainability Zone North America Nestle, General Counsel & Head of Sustainability Nespresso USA. The Haub Impact Award was presented John T. O'Connor JD '86, Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. The Dinner was co-chaired by last year’s Distinguished Service Award Recipient, Mayo Bartlett ’92 and the inaugural Haub Impact Award recipient John C. Lettera ’99.
Lisa Dalfonso, Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc., presented the Distinguished Service Award to Anna Marciano Romanella. During her remarks, Ms. Dalfonso spoke of Anna’s “thirst for knowledge and compassion to be of service for others,” along with her “sincere empathy and unparalleled ethics.” A member of the Advisory Board of the Sustainable Business Law Hub at Elisabeth Haub School of Law, Anna Marciano Romanella is VP, Sustainability Zone North America Nestle, General Counsel & Head of Sustainability, Nespresso USA. Since joining Nestlé five years ago, Anna has advanced the company’s sustainability commitments while helping deliver more sustainable solutions for their customers and consumers. “A proud alumni of Pace, Anna has raised funds, lent her voice, and volunteered to benefit Pace and its students,” remarked Dalfonso.
Carla D. Glassman, a Haub Law graduate and Co-founder of Glassman & Brown, LLP, who now serves as Of Counsel to the law firm, presented the Distinguished Service Award to Susan S. Brown. During her remarks, Ms. Glassman described Susan Brown as a bar association leader and a philanthropist, among much more. “Susan is a zealous advocate who always advocated as hard for the client who couldn’t pay a fee as she did for the one who could,” said Ms. Glassman. A founding member of the law firm Glassman & Brown, LLP, Susan is Counsel to the firm where she practices primarily in the areas of Guardianship, Elder Law, and Estates and Trusts. Over the course of her career, Susan has built strong professional relationships throughout the Westchester County legal community, serving as the immediate past President of the Board of the Westchester Women’s Bar Association Foundation. Previously, she has also served as a Vice President of the Westchester Women’s Bar Association and as co-chair of its Estates and Trusts Committee.
John T. O’Connor was presented with the Haub Impact Award by alumnus John C. Lettera. Mr. Lettera noted that “John’s lawyering skills speak for themselves.” He continued describing John as an avid listener, who is very involved in pro bono work and with charities, with a “unique way of inspiring young lawyers how to think rather than what to think,” and someone who believes in the power of higher education as the foundation to a productive and successful career. John T. O’Connor is a Partner with Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP and has more than 30 years of experience counseling clients on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, equity financings, and general corporate matters. His practice primarily involves representing corporate issuers and private equity investors in the technology and retail and consumer products sectors and has represented clients in the energy and financial services sectors in a broad range of domestic and cross-border transactions and bankruptcy-related mergers and acquisitions.
An early highlight of the dinner was the presentation of the Rising Star Award to: Jonathan Campozano '17, Staff Attorney, Neighbors Link Community Law Practice; Hana Heineken '10, Attorney, ClientEarth; Najia Khalid '09, Partner, Wiggin and Dana LLP; and Shamik N. Trivedi '08, Special Counsel, Internal Revenue Service’s Office of Chief Counsel.
Dean Horace Anderson noted the importance of the presentation of the Rising Star Award. “These four successful alumni represent what the Haub Law mission is all about. These individuals have already demonstrated their leadership in the profession and a commitment to giving back. We are proud to call them Haub Law alumni and are confident that they will leave a lasting influence on not just the legal community, but far beyond it.”
The 2023 Law Leadership Awards Dinner was made possible in large part to a number of generous sponsors, which you can view in the event program.
The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University is proud to announce that Samuel Carvalho has been selected to serve as the new Pace Energy and Climate Center Graduate Fellow. This position is reserved for outstanding Pace Haub Law students who demonstrate exceptional academic and research skills, as well as a strong commitment to climate change and energy law.
The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University welcomed Tyler Maulsby, Deputy Managing Partner of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein and Selz PC, to deliver the 2026 Philip B. Blank Memorial Lecture on Attorney Ethics speaking on, “Legal Ethics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” Held virtually on Monday, January 26, Tyler examined how the expanding use of generative AI is reshaping the legal profession and raising critical ethical questions for lawyers, clients, courts, and the public.
The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University is proud to announce that Achinthi Vithanage, Executive Director of the Environmental Law Program and Professor of Law for Designated Service in Environmental Law at Pace Haub Law, was named to the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Environmental Lawyers: The Green 500. Professor Vithanage has been recognized on this list five times since the publication of the inaugural Lawdragon 500 Leading Environmental & Energy Lawyers list in 2021.