- Workers’ Compensation
- Litigation
Current Employment Position
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Buffalo Claims Associate
- New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers
Verdicts/Settlements/Cases of Note/Favorite Win
- Favorite win was a fraud claim with a permanent disqualification in front of a notoriously picky WCLJ. Our firm was tapped into the case late and there were some issues with the prior litigation. The claimant was working at a laundromat, but claimed that she was not getting paid and was just in training. We had surveillance that helped with that issue but the Board lost the digital audio recording of the claimant’s testimony. So, the claimant essentially got a redo of her testimony after she had already seen all our evidence. She was thus able to change her testimony and tailor it to our proofs. Where we were able to focus was the claimant’s assertion that she was not paid until AFTER we raised fraud and she disclosed her work-activity because she was training without pay for four months. She at first asserted that she received retroactive checks, when we asked for a copy she then said it was direct deposit. The Judge directed her to provide banking records, and she gave incomplete records for a secondary account that showed very little activity. We pointed out that it also did not show the direct deposit of her Workers’ Compensation payments, and provided payment proofs and the information that she had that undisclosed account. We obtained a permanent disqualification despite fate interfering and giving her a second chance. The reason it is my favorite win though, is that while I do not like to judge people, her background check revealed several convictions for cruelty to animals due to her participation in a dog fighting ring. So, it was an unequivocal victory where even claimant’s counsel was happy we triumphed. (Although he gave a heck of a fight for a client he hated, and never let on he hated them until the end.)
- Albany Law School of Union University, Albany, New York
- University of Notre Dame
- B.S. – 2006
- Honors: Fulbright award
- Major: Political Science, Philosophy, and Russian and Eastern European Studies and Philosophy, certificate in non profit administration
- KORA Russian Language Center through the Department of State, Vladimir
- Was coaching my daughter’s travel softball team as the baserunning/fielding coach, but the 12u girls have far outpaced my ability and I know when I am outmatched, 2019 to 2021
- Domestic Violence/Pro Se Divorce clinic at LawNY, 2014 to 2017
- Girl Scout troop leader, 2014 to 2018
- Girl Scout Volunteer and Mentor, 2018 to Present
- Teach for America Teacher in Marvell Arkansas, 2006 to 2008
- English Teacher in Vladmir Russian in orphanage and prison, 2004
- Triage Cancer Center Volunteer, 2021
- Big East Championship
- Big East Academic All-Star
- Partial Athletic Scholarship at the University of Notre Dame
- Undergraduate Fulbright Award
- Albany Law School Journal of Science and Technology
- The Art of the Expert Deposition
- Special Funds Continuing Legal Education course
- My ability to see the entirety of a case, even last minute. I can see the entire battlefield the way Payton Manning sees a defense.
- I am often underestimated in testimony. I have been told that Claimant’s will often comment to that counsel about how they hope that nice attorney is there, this especially comes in handy for fraud claims when they assume that my kind smile, affirmative comments, and cordial nature means that I believe them.
- Noble- a 2.5 year old Chihuahua and Jack Russell Terrier we rescued 2 years ago
- Emmy Grace- a 3.5 year old Chihuahua and Miniature Pinscher mix we rescued 1 year ago
- Wojo – a 9 year old black cat we rescued as a kitten
- Adult tap dancing taught by a former Rockette who puts on a fantastic Christmas show
- Swimming and being a travel softball coach (happily recently demoted back to regular travel softball mom, which means I don’t have to fill in to run bases during practice and I can stop showing off the slides and dives that I always regret the next day)
