By JODI SOKOLOWSKI
Buffalo Law Journal

Paul Battaglia '72 and Jeffrey Crandall '82 are among the elite few who, as University at Buffalo Law School students, had their work published in the Buffalo Law Review.

Now they're among another exclusive group - those recognized for their ongoing contributions to the quarterly academic journal and the legal community at large.

Battaglia and Crandall will be honored at the Buffalo Law Review's 19th annual dinner, to be held Thursday at The Buffalo Club.

"This dinner is a great opportunity to recognize excellence among former Law Review graduates who have made an effort to stay a part of the UB Law community and the Buffalo legal community," said Buffalo Law Review editor-in-chief Amy Frisch, a third-year UB Law student.

Managing Editor Regina Readling said both honorees have done just that - Battaglia as an adjunct professor and Crandall as a resource for students seeking New York City jobs and as a Law Review contributor.

Crandall is a partner in the New York City office of Shearman & Sterling LLP, which hosted the 2007 opening reception for the UB in NYC Program in International Finance and Law. He participated in a course on global investment banking as part of that program.

"I certainly have taken a number of inquiries from students over the years (by) giving good practical advice about what to do," he said.

Battaglia, a partner in Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel LLP's tax practice group, teaches corporate tax law in the fall and corporate reorganization deals in the spring at UB Law.

Both said their experience as Buffalo Law Review contributors was beneficial. Crandall, who served as note-and-comment editor, wrote about legal issues, such as the unauthorized practice of law, that arise when sports agents negotiate contracts for athletes. Battaglia, who was a research editor, wrote two articles about criminal procedural issues.

"The Law Review certainly opened up doors that otherwise wouldn't be available," said Crandall, who believes the experience made him more marketable and helped him to "think like a lawyer" sooner.

Battaglia said he most appreciated the "exercise in teamwork and in honing one's writing skills."

"I think it brings home the need, if you're going to do something, (to) do it right and do it with quality," he said.

Crandall added that he's honored to be considered in the same class as some friends who are prior Law Review honorees: 2006 winner Robert Schwenkel '82, a partner at New York City-based Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP, and 2007 winner Barbara Klippert '75, a partner at New York City-based McKee Nelson.

Two UB Law students will also be honored at Thursday's dinner. The Carlos C. Alden Award will go "to the senior making the greatest contribution to the Buffalo Law Review," and the Justice P. Halpern Award will reward an outstanding Law Review student contributor. That award will go to one of four third-years: Andrea Ott, Jeffrey Gleason, John Lunch or Readling.

This is the first year that award nominations were opened up to the Review's general membership, which is comprised of second- and third-year students, Readling said. The winners were selected out of that pool by the editorial board.

"Who better to make nominations than Law Review members who either had experience interacting with them in employment searches or in the classroom," she said.

Dinner reservations, at $60 a plate, will be accepted through 5 p.m. today. Contact Readling at regina.l.readling@gmail.com.