By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

Buffalo lawyer Maryann Saccomando Freedman, of counsel to Cohen Lombardo PC, will receive the New York Bar Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award tomorrow in New York City. The award, given annually, recognizes former foundation officers or directors.

Saccomando Freedman holds the distinction of having been the first woman president of the New York Bar Foundation - and of the New York State Bar Association and the Bar Association of Erie County as well.

Asked what it meant to receive such an honor from the foundation, Saccomando Freedman paused, smiled and said, "It means you're either dead or old, one or the other."

On a serious note, she called the award "an honor" and said it is something she never could have imagined more than 50 years ago when she began practicing law.

"Truthfully, I was speechless when I was told," she said. "As a past president of the foundation, I am aware of the honor and distinction of this award."

Saccomando Freedman said it is particularly satisfying to be recognized by her peers given the obstacles she overcame as a woman graduating from law school in the 1950s.

"I was born during the Depression to an immigrant blacksmith and an immigrant seamstress," Saccomando Freedman said. "I grew up during World War II and I came out of law school at a time when women weren't really accepted in this profession ... or any profession. The few of us there actually were, were considered to be rather odd."

With that as a backdrop to begin her legal career, she said, she was routinely offered jobs at firms looking for a secretary, not a lawyer.

"I was determined I was going to practice law, even if it meant hanging a shingle in front of my parents' house to do it," she said. "We (women) had to work twice as hard, produce twice as much, work twice as long, for half the pay."

Saccomando Freedman may be best known for her role in breaking down the gender road block that existed at one of Buffalo's most exclusive establishments, The Buffalo Club. During her tenure as the president of the Bar Association of Erie County in the early 1980s, she was invited to attend an event at the private club. When she arrived, she was directed to a separate entrance women were required to use, an entrance that took them to a pink elevator and offered them limited access to the club.

"I was there in an official capacity, and I was not about to do that," she said. "I decided I was going to go where the boys go, and my path was physically blocked," Saccomando Freedman recalled. In response, she refused to attend the event and instead began a legal fight to gain equal access to The Buffalo Club and other private clubs.

Saccomando Freedman said she was "certainly not singlehandedly" responsible for the change in the clubs' policies on admitting women. "But ultimately, the fight led to the City of Buffalo passing an ordinance called the Private Club Law," she said, "saying you may not be exclusive in your membership."

Rocco Lucente, managing partner of Cohen Lombardo, called Saccomando Freedman "an amazing woman" who has been an asset to the whole Buffalo legal community.

"We are very fortunate to have her as a part of our firm," Lucente said. Referring to the State Bar Foundation award, he said, "This is another of her many tremendous, tremendous accomplishments, and we are very proud of her."

For her part, Saccomando Freedman said she still has a passion for the law, loves what she does everyday and is proud of the role she has played in opening doors for women in the local legal community.

"There was one day a couple of years ago when I was at Du Bois for coffee and when I walked in, I was speechless," she said, referring to a Niagara Square restaurant frequented by lawyers and judges. "Sitting at one table was the woman administrative judge, the woman (county) surrogate, the woman County Court judge, a woman Family Court judge and a woman City Court judge. I never thought in my lifetime that I would see that."

Bernice Leber, president of the New York State Bar Association, calls Saccomando Freedman a "trailblazer" who paved the way for future women to lead the bar.

"She was well ahead of her time," Leber said. "She worked hard to raise awareness for pro bono work, and she was one of the pre-eminent women in the profession."