Feature Story
Law and Order
As Nazareth's new legal studies program takes shape, Connections looks at alumni who have made their mark in the world of law
by Erich Van Dussen
The proverbial long arm of the law guides every aspect of our lives. Our food is regulated for quality. Our clothes were produced under carefully established labor rules. Our jobs, our cars, our marriages鈥攅verything is affected by the law.
鈥淣o matter where you live or what you do, the framework of law in our society impacts all of us every day,鈥 says Olena Prokopovych, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science.
That concept is at the heart of Nazareth鈥檚 new legal studies program, of which Prokopovych is the director, and which accepted its first freshman class in fall 2013. It also sums up the collective experiences of some Nazareth alumni who have found success and fulfillment in a varied array of law-related fields. In or out of the courtroom, these legal professionals are making a difference.
The Defense Attorney
The odd thing about law school, says James Nobles 鈥96 (business administration/art history), is that it doesn鈥檛 really teach you how to be a lawyer.
鈥淚n a lot of [law school] classes, you talk about cases from 100 years ago that have no bearing on what鈥檚 going on today,鈥 says the New York Law School graduate. 鈥淲hat they鈥檙e really teaching you is how to analyze the law. That鈥檚 why you graduate from law school and immediately spend 12 weeks studying for the bar exam. You still need to learn the actual laws as they pertain to your state and the cases you鈥檙e going to have.鈥
Today Nobles is a prominent Rochester-area defense attorney. 鈥淧eople come to me when they have really serious problems and they need help,鈥 he says. A few days after this interview, he鈥檒l defend a person accused of second-degree manslaughter.
Dealing regularly with the life-and-death aspects of trial law is another thing they don鈥檛 cover in law school, Nobles says.
鈥淲hen you鈥檝e got someone who could go to jail for 25 years to life, and 鈥 I鈥檓 the only person in the process who鈥檚 exclusively fighting for that person鈥檚 position, it can be a lot of pressure,鈥 he says. 鈥淏ut in a way, it helps push me to do my best for my clients.鈥
A Judge for All Cases
When Frank Revoir Jr. 鈥88 (business administration) graduated from Albany Law School in 1991, he returned to his hometown of Norwich, N.Y., and began practicing law. During the succeeding decades, he was engaged in seemingly every type of law.
As a solo practitioner in a small town, 鈥渘ecessity required that I represent individuals and businesses in a wide variety of legal matters, in essence, becoming the jack of all trades,鈥 he recalls. However, the overwhelming majority of his practice was devoted to family law, criminal defense work, and estate planning.
That broad-based experience served him well in preparation for his current role as the newly elected County Court Judge of Chenango County. Revoir is a 鈥渕ulti-bench鈥 judge鈥攈e presides over the family court, the county court, and the surrogate鈥檚 court. 鈥淭hey are three distinct courts, with three separate staffs, handling an enormously wide variety of issues that directly impact the daily lives of the people I serve,鈥 he explains.
Having just completed the first year of a 10-year term, Revoir recognizes the significance of his judicial position. 鈥淚 am truly humbled by the trust that the Chenango County citizens have placed in me, and not a day goes by that I am not reminded of that fact,鈥 he says. 鈥淲hether faced with the decision of sentencing a convicted felon to state prison, or removing an abused child from his parents, or issuing a pistol permit, all matters are important and receive my utmost attention and consideration.鈥
Revoir is focused on doing the best job he can over the next 10 years and believes he has found his true calling on the bench. 鈥淭o sum it up, while I enjoyed all my years as an attorney, I love being a judge.鈥
Law Outside the Courtroom
Sara Visingard 鈥01 (economics) is a partner at Harris Beach PLLC, one of the Rochester area鈥檚 largest firms. She represents public and private sector employers throughout the state with respect to labor and employment law and education law matters. While Visingard鈥檚 practice generally does not take her into the courtroom, she often represents employers and school districts in administrative hearings and arbitrations.
While an undergrad at Nazareth, Visingard took advantage of the pre-law concentration that would eventually morph into today鈥檚 legal studies program. She credits her pre-law experience with sharpening her analytical skills, connecting her with on-the-job experience in the legal field (such as an internship at the Monroe County District Attorney鈥檚 Office), and opening her eyes to many legal career paths.
Visingard, who graduated from Syracuse University College of Law, is very happy with the career path she took. She is most inspired when her work involves matters of student safety. 鈥淚 feel like I am making a positive difference,鈥 she states. Defending clients and helping them stay abreast of the ever-changing laws in the labor and employment and education law realm is also fascinating to Visingard. 鈥淚 enjoy what I do because it鈥檚 something different every day. It keeps me on my toes.鈥
Kayla Gibson Cannon 鈥05, also a Syracuse Law School grad, is an associate at Underberg & Kessler, LLP, another large firm serving western and central New York. Her specialty is real estate law, and her clients are diverse鈥攕he represents buyers, sellers, and even lenders. The common thread in each case, she says, is the significance and seriousness of the transaction taking place.
鈥淭his is one of the most important and certainly most expensive investments they will ever make in their lifetime,鈥 Cannon says. 鈥淎 house represents so much to a client: It鈥檚 where they go to relax, eat, sleep, and spend quality time with their families. It is where they want their children to grow up and feel protected from the world. I want to make sure that they鈥檙e represented in the best possible manner.鈥
While Cannon鈥檚 initial spark of legal curiosity started at age five, it was not ignited until late in her junior year at Nazareth. 鈥淚 was majoring in business administration and economics, and I began to think that the law combined with my business degree would be a great way to help others.鈥 With timely encouragement from professors Timothy Kneeland, Ph.D., and Roy Stein, J.D. (a law-school graduate and Nazareth faculty member), she crammed for her LSATs and assembled her law school applications. The rest is legal history.
The Political Operatives
Katie LaShomb 鈥10 set her sights on a public-service career as an eighth grader, after the 2001 World Trade Center attacks. While majoring in political science at Nazareth, that goal was refined through a pair of internships in both Washington, D.C., and Rochester, N.Y.鈥攚ith the Embassy of Papua, New Guinea, and with U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, congresswoman for New York鈥檚 25th district, respectively. She completed that last experience just before graduating and joined Rep. Slaughter鈥檚 team as a community liaison and press assistant a month after leaving college. 鈥淚 like to joke that I told them they were never going to get rid of me,鈥 she says.
While LaShomb鈥檚 legislative portfolio focuses on education and domestic violence, her broader mission is simply to listen to the people of the 25th and make sure the government is working for them. 鈥淭he congresswoman always tells us that this is the people鈥檚 office,鈥 she says. 鈥淲e have a public trust. We can鈥檛 abuse it.鈥
Sarah Malloy-Good 鈥07 majored in social work at Nazareth, but her mother is an attorney. She views her job as a liaison to New York State Assembly member Deborah Glick as an ideal marriage of those two seemingly disparate careers.
鈥淚t goes back to the roots of social work鈥攄oing all we can to help others in society,鈥 says Malloy-Good, who works in the assembly member鈥檚 lower Manhattan district.
Her job requires a thorough familiarity with a range of fluctuating policy themes鈥攆rom land use and zoning to taxes and education鈥攁nything that can impact constituents鈥 lives. 鈥淭he phone can ring at any time with someone in our district who has an issue. We do our best to try to address those issues and offer support for them.鈥
Although she doesn鈥檛 rule out running for office herself someday, she鈥檚 certain that her professional future is in the public sector. 鈥淚鈥檓 a government nerd,鈥 she laughs.
Both Malloy-Good and LaShomb agree that Nazareth鈥檚 legal studies program would have been a tempting option had it been available when they were students.
鈥淚t would probably have been a very hard decision,鈥 Malloy-Good says, 鈥渂ut I鈥檓 very happy with the path I took.鈥
The Case for Legal Studies
Nazareth鈥檚 new legal studies program is the result of an evolving process, Dr. Prokopovych says鈥攐ne that reflects both national trends and the proven interests of Nazareth students.
Where the pre-law minor was originally designed primarily to help students prepare for law school, legal studies aims wider. 鈥淣ational surveys of employers emphasize the importance of solid writing and critical thinking skills,鈥 she says. 鈥淭he program answers those needs鈥攁nd by helping students develop an understanding of our legal system, it helps drive their success in business, or in non-profit management, or criminal justice, or government, politics, and policy.鈥
The major begins with a foundation in philosophy, rhetoric, and ethics, before advancing to classwork in legal areas such as the Constitution and family and criminal law. At least one internship experience is required; and the program has been kept deliberately compact to allow for second majors or complementary studies to be added鈥攁n option that is strongly encouraged among legal studies students.
Nazareth President Daan Braveman, a law-school graduate himself, teaches the program鈥檚 Introduction to Law course. He views the legal studies program as an extension of a liberal arts tradition and one that can prepare students for an array of careers.
鈥淧eople think a law degree means you are going to practice law like you see on television, but a law degree opens a wide range of opportunities,鈥 Braveman says.
In fact, Nazareth鈥檚 president epitomizes that position. He began his career as a civil rights attorney before moving on to teach law at Syracuse University, which led in turn to the higher-education administration track that brought him to Nazareth eight years ago.
鈥淚f you had told me when I was 21 that I would be president of a college someday, I probably would have said you were crazy,鈥 he says. 鈥淏ut it was all made possible by my preparation in law school, and my liberal arts education before that.鈥
Erich Van Dussen is a freelance writer in Rochester, New York.
Frank Revoir Jr. '88, county court judge of Chenango County, N.Y.
Kayla Gibson Cannon '05, associate at the Rochester firm Underberg & Kessler, LLP
Katie LaShomb '10, community liaison and press assistant to U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter
For more information on Nazareth's legal studies program, visit naz.edu/legal-studies.