People

Buffalo-area personnel announcements, board appointments and more

Paula Catlin was named vice president and relationship manager of National Wealth Management. She comes to the firm from U.S. Trust Bank of America Private Wealth Management, where she served as a vice president and trust officer.

Chiampou Travis Besaw & Kershner LLP named Kathleen Morreale and Jeffrey Senulis managers. Morreale has been with the firm since June 2006 and holds a bachelor's degree from Niagara University. Senulis has been with the firm since November 2003 and has a master's degree from the University of New Hampshire.

Michael Montgomery joined the Vanner Insurance Agency benefits department as a senior account executive. He has more than 25 years of experience in the industry. Kim Stobnicki was named director of sales for the Hunt Realty Division, as well as executive for Vanner Insurance. She has more than 25 years of experience in personal lines insurance.

Michelle Schwach, an associate at Cohen & Lombardo PC, was elected to the board of directors of the Nardin Academy Alumnae Association. She is a 2001 graduate of the school and will serve a three-year term on the board. Schwach is a volunteer with the Erie County Volunteer Lawyers Project and a participant in its Buffalo City Housing Court Attorney of the Morning program. She is also a member of the Family Law and Young Lawyers Sections of the New York State Bar Association.

Brian Moran, a CPA with Lougen Valenti Bookbinder & Weintraub LLP, was promoted to tax senior. He focuses on tax planning and preparation, tax return reviews and research.

Anthony Colucci III, class of '76, was elected chairman of St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute's board of trustees, A graduate of Lawrence University and Catholic University of America (Columbus School of Law), he is managing attorney of Colucci & Gallaher P.C.

Mark Zawodzinski, CPA, was named assistant vice president of Five Star Bank. As financial reporting senior accountant, he is responsible for the preparation and filing of corporate SEC reports. He also analyzes and interprets new accounting pronouncements to ensure the company's accounting and disclosures comply with requirements. He joined the bank in 2008 with more than 16 years of experience in banking and public accounting.

David Adams was named a member of Hurwitz & Fine PC. He spent 13 years as in-house trial attorney for a major insurance company before joining the law firm two years ago. A member of the litigation department, he has extensive experience in labor law, product liability, transportation negligence, employment discrimination, construction negligence and catastrophic injury litigation. A member of the firm's 24-Hour Emergency Response Team, he is immediate past president of the Western New York Defense Trial Lawyers Association.

Freed Maxick & Battaglia CPAs PC employees Joe Schaff and Nick Terranova passed the CPA exam. Schaff is a field exam manager and Terranova is a staff accountant.

Divitta Alexander joined Phillips Lytle LLP as an associate. She previously was general counsel for Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp. At Phillips Lytle, she concentrates on commercial real estate with an emphasis on real estate matters associated with telecommunications infrastructure.

Brian Welsh, partner at Siegel, Kelleher & Kahn LLP, was named district chairman of the Boy Scouts of America's Greater Niagara Frontier Council, Onondaga District. Active in scouting for more than 30 years, he will oversee operations in Amherst, Clarence, Akron, Lancaster, Cheektowaga, Depew and Alden.

James Milbrand joined Hiscock & Barclay LLP as commercial litigation partner in the Buffalo office. He concentrates his practice in the areas of state and federal, commercial, mass tort and health-care litigation. A former partner with Hodgson Russ LLP, his practice includes representation of businesses and professionals with respect to regulatory conformity, "whistle blower" litigation, enforcement of non-competition covenants, section 807 labor disputes, mass tort and various other matters involving civil and criminal investigations.

Kimberly Conidi, associate attorney with Chelus Herdzik Speyer and Monte P.C., was elected to serve a two-year, renewable term on the University at Buffalo Alumni Association's Board of Directors. Also, she recently was appointed by the Erie County Legislature to serve on the advisory board of the Erie County Commission on the Status of Women.

Hiscock & Barclay LLP attorney Eric Schultz discussed "U.S. Immigration Legal Issues and Opportunities for Exporting and Expanding into the U.S. Market" in Sarnia, Ontario, at a recent seminar sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. He is the newly elected chairman for 2010-11 of the Upstate New York chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. The chapter covers New York state north of Westchester County. At the Buffalo law firm, Schultz focuses on U.S. immigration and nationality law.