By MATT CHANDLER
mchandler@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1654

Many Western New Yorkers feel a loyalty to the region and say they have a real passion for living and working here.

If and when people move away, they often do so begrudgingly, and sometimes only when their financial needs dictate it.

For those who are considering practicing law, having the University at Buffalo Law School practically in their backyard can be  a major plus. In fact, graduates frequently comment on how they feel fortunate that they were able to earn a degree without having to leave the area. And in a scenario akin to Eden's Patrick Kaleta getting a shot to play for the hometown team, many graduates jump at the opportunity to stay local and put their JD degree to use right here at home.

Out-of-towners are drawn to UB Law, as well, often coming from downstate and even outside New York. And it's safe to say that by the time they graduate, Western New York has won them over. In fact, many will ultimately decide to plant some roots and practice law here rather than set out in search of a lucrative, big-city job.

As UB Law makes preparations to celebrate its 125th anniversary next year, the Buffalo Law Journal asked graduates from across the region to share thoughts and memories from their time spent as a law student. We also asked them to talk about their experiences with the school since graduation and how they think the program has made a difference in the local legal community.

Jason Ulatowski, '07
Rupp Baase Pfalzgraf Cunningham & Coppola LLC

One of the most seemingly daunting tasks facing a first-year law student is the yearlong research and writing class. Stripped away is the flowery language and in-depth descriptions often used to fill the final few pages of a 20-page college term paper. Nothing is substituted in its place, but rather, students are required to make their writing concise, accurate and persuasive.  

The challenge of altering a writing style developed over years of schooling - a seemingly insurmountable task at the time - gradually became an achievable goal, thanks to my tremendous research and writing professor. Though tough at times, she was steadfast in her mission to make us effective legal writers and, ultimately, effective lawyers. She taught us not only invaluable writing skills, but also invaluable lawyering skills such as time management and how to deliver a winning oral argument.

I always will carry fond memories of my research and writing professor and credit her in large part for helping me to establish a solid foundation for my legal career. Thank you, Professor Haynes!   

Terrence Gilbride, '88
Hodgson Russ LLP

If I have a distinct memory of my law school experience, it was getting locked in the law library at 2 o'clock in the morning on a holiday weekend while site checking for the law review. We had keys to the faculty library, which is on the sixth floor of the law library, so we could go in after hours for site-checking purposes. I am in there late one night working and I realize there is a book in the main library that I need. It's 2 a.m. and we weren't supposed to go into the main library after hours, but I figured it's 2 in the morning, no one is really going to care. I left the faculty library, got on to the elevator in the main library and pressed the button to go to the second floor and get the book. The elevator stopped between two floors. I spent probably a half-hour in the elevator, trapped between two floors. There was no phone, no panic button and the law library wasn't going to open until Tuesday morning (this was Saturday night). So finally, I pried the doors open and even though I was between two floors, there was about a foot of space. And after debating it for a while, I made a run for it, dove out and rolled onto the floor. By then it was about 3 in the morning and I just took the stairs for the rest of the night!

Dan Joyce, '84
Hodgson Russ LLP

My recollections of UB span two campuses and more than 30 years. I am a native of Buffalo, but in the fall of 1979 I worked for an insurance company in northern New Jersey. I attended an event at a Manhattan hotel where UB and other schools provided information about various programs. There I met Arlene Bergwall and learned about UB's dual degree JD/MBA program. I really don't think I would have returned to Buffalo had not Arlene spent so much time and provided so much attention to me that day.

The dual degree program was an integral part of my transition from a liberal arts bachelor's degree to a career as a business attorney. There were so many great administrators and teachers at the School of Maangement, but I would have to single out Dean Joe Alutto, Don Simet, Phil Perry, Jerry Newman, Sue Hamlen and Bob Chatov as having a special impact on me and my career.

When I look back to my law school years, I think of the remarkable transformation that has taken place. We assembled that first year as a bunch of young, eager students who really knew nothing about the law or the practice of law. I now see my classmates on a daily basis - faces on billboards, names on letterhead and building nameplates, quotations in the print media and interviews in the electronic media - as a reflection of the legal landscape in all areas of the law, including private practice, public service, politics, the judiciary and law enforcement. I am grateful to the memorable law school professors who are responsible for that transformation.

Mark Moretti, '78
Phillips Lytle LLP

I had Professor Laufer for torts who was a master of the Socratic method, which most of us had just observed being employed in the then-just released movie "Paper Chase." Rather than ducking the potential "embarrasment which sometimes came from being called on," I found the intellectual challenge an exercise I enjoyed and something which I still enjoy when faced with a "hot" bench at the trial or appellate level."

Joseph Hanna, '05
Goldberg Segalla LLP

During my first week of law school, we had our introductory Research and Writing Class. In that first class, there was a guy with a scarf wrapped around his neck (note that class was inside); another guy who looked out of place and much older than the rest of us; and finally, this third guy who was sitting in the front row and could not have been sitting any closer to the teacher. As that first class started to move along, the scarf guy kept raising his hand, the old guy had this know-it-all attitude, and the voice of the teacher's pet in the front of the room kept cracking every time he was called on.

I then started thinking to myself, "Why does this feel like high school all over again?" Later on that same evening, a lot of the people from the section went to Tully's. The Washington Redskins and New York Jets were on TV and we all started to bond over the game. I started to think to myself that Kyle, Chris and Joe were not as bad as they initially seemed. During that game, I declared myself a sports expert and guaranteed that the New York Jets were a lock to win that game. As you can imagine, they lost.

For the last eight years, these guys have not let me forget that. And over the course of the last eight years, these three guys have become my best friends. I have a feeling that they would probably tell a little different version of the story but, like typical lawyers, they are more apt to spin the facts of the story to their benefit.

Melissa Vincton, '09
Rupp Baase Pfalzgraf Cunnigham & Coppola LLC

UB Law School fosters a congenial and cooperative relationship between its students that carries over into the practice of law.

While we did learn about strategy and engaging in adversarial representation, I truly believe that the law school encourages a basic level of integrity that sets its graduates apart from those of other law schools. We have all heard the stories about those law schools where students engage in underhanded tactics like stealing books from the library or even drafting incorrect class notes to share. At UB, you could always look to your classmates for some help and trust that they were not trying to profit from their own misdeeds.

The integrity instilled in UB Law graduates allows them to focus on practicing law without the need for devious tactics and carries over into more honorable interactions between the members of Buffalo's legal community.

Diane Bosse, '76
Hurwitz & Fine P.C.

Great teachers: In my years at UB Law School, our initiation into the profession was guided by a cadre of law teachers who challenged and inspired us. Ken Joyce, Lou DelCotto, Wade Newhouse, Bob Fleming, Adolph Homberger, Bill Greiner, Andy Spanogle, Al Mugel - it was a privilege to learn the art of lawyering at their able hands.

A sense of community: When you meet a new lawyer in Buffalo, the question is not generally where did you go to law school, but rather, what year did you graduate from THE law school.  The bond of shared experience, even though separated by years or even generations, is strong. The collegiality and mutual respect enjoyed by lawyers in this community is directly related to the common source of the legal education of so many of the great lawyers who populate this town.

Hugh Russ III, '87
Hodgson Russ LLP

I had gone to college at Harvard and then worked for a couple of years in New England as a schoolteacher before returning to go to UB for law school. I don't know exactly what I expected from law school but I think I underestimated the calibur of student at UB so that in the first few weeks, I remember being absolutely amazed and astounded at how smart they were. I guess because I was an Ivy League snob, I was expecting a lesser caliber of student and I was really pleasantly surprised and even intimidated.

Fast-forwarding to where I am today, I am a trial lawyer with roughly 25 years of experience and some of the best lawyers I see are graduates of UB Law. I've had the opportunity to practice in jurisdictions all over the country and I've had some national cases, and I think the lawyers coming out of UB are as good, if not better, than any lawyers in the country.

Sean Beiter, '91
Goldberg Segalla LLP

In my third year, I took a course from legendary professor and former dean, Wade Newhouse, on "Public Sector Labor Law in New York State." It was horrible. There was no textbook: Dean Newhouse used the galleys from an unpublished textbook that he was editing. The class was painful: I never understood any of Dean Newhouse's lectures, and I failed to see the relevance of any of the reading assignments. Despite all of that, I did manage to receive an "H" in the course (which was the top grade at the time).

Of all of the courses that I took at UB, this was, by far, the worst.