Come to the Brooklyn Bar Association Annual Meeting on May 11

The Brooklyn Bar Association will hold its annual meeting on Wednesday, May 11 at 6 p.m. where he will present awards to the Hon. Frank Seddio and four others at a ceremony.

Seddio, a former Surrogate Court judge and former president of the Brooklyn Bar Association, will receive the Distinguished Service Award for his service and commitment to the association.

The other recipients are Treasurer Daniel Antonelli, who will receive the Freda S. Nisnewitz Award, and Natasha Pasternak, David Polk and Danny Taveras, who will all receive the Nathan R. Sobel Award.

The BBA will also recognize outgoing directors – Adam Kalish and Pauline Yeung-Ha.

The annual meeting has been held virtually for two years due to COVID, however, this year the association decided to have it in a hybrid format where people can attend the event in person or watch on Zoom.

Seddio, the former chairman of the Kings County Democratic Party, was by no means a president in name. Instead, he maintained his law firm and worked with the Democratic Party while serving as president.

Seddio paid special attention to Aimee Richter, who was president after him, and often joined her in organizing events so he could better prepare her for her own term. He has also not given up on his passion for the BBA since his resignation and is a regular at committee meetings, events and continuing legal education conferences.

“His character and enthusiasm have been instrumental in setting the tone for the entire association,” said President-elect Richard Klass. “People see Frank Seddio log into Zoom meetings and they think, ‘If Frank comes, I can’t miss the meeting.

Prior to the annual meeting, the BBA will announce the results of its elections. It may seem like a formality after the nominating committee has already vetted the candidates and selected some of the best in the legal community. However, it will be a special night for Angelicque Moreno, who will be added to the board as the new treasurer.

Moreno, who is general counsel for Avanzino & Moreno PC, previously served as president of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers and vice president of the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association. Moreno will be in line to potentially become president of the BBA after rising through the ranks of the board.

Richard Klass will be installed on June 13 at the borough hall

The Brooklyn Bar Association will install its next president, Richard Klass, in a ceremony in the Borough Hall courtroom on Monday, June 13.

Klass is a graduate of Hofstra University and New York Law School. He briefly worked in criminal defense after interning at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, then worked for current Appeals Division Judge Betsy Barros.

Klass soon came out on his own and soon became known for his private practice and a quintessential Court Street lawyer.

Klass’ private practice began in a shared suite with his uncle and two other attorneys. They often gave him extra work that started him off on his own, but he eventually taught himself how to give depositions, motion exercises, and how to prepare for a court appearance.

Klass became involved with the BBA through attorney Steve Cohn, who encouraged him to join, and he made a name for himself working with the mentorship committee. Klass received the Distinguished Service Award for his work with this committee, which he has since revived as president-elect.

Klass will be installed alongside officers Joseph Rosato, who will become president-elect, Anthony Vaughn, Jr., as first vice president, Christina Golkin, second vice president, Daniel Antonelli, secretary, and Angelicque Moreno, treasurer.

Class of 2025 administrators will also be installed. They include former directors Martin Edelman, Gregory LaSpina, Margarita Racanelli and Scott Rynecki. New directors joining the BBA will include Dean Delianites, Michael Farkas and Natoya McGhie.

It’s Installation Week: BWBA will install Susan Mauro on June 14

The day after Klass is installed, the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association will hold its own installation ceremony for new president Susan Mauro.

The ceremony will take place at the Brooklyn Bar Association building on Remsen Street.

Mauro is a partner at Ahmuty Demers & McManus where she is one of the firm’s senior litigators working at the trial and appellate court level. A graduate of St. John’s University and New York Law School, Mauro began working for Zawacki, Everett, Gray & McLaughlin until 2006 when she moved to Abrams Fensterman, where she worked for more than 13 years.

While Mauro became a litigator, she got her start as a paralegal specialist in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York before law school. There, she helped prosecute major drug cartel cases in the Criminal Division’s narcotics unit.

Robert Abruzzese is the former legal editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and the current director of member services for the Brooklyn Bar Association. Now as a legal columnist for the Eagle, Abruzzese writes about the BBA and the local legal community. For more information on joining the Brooklyn Bar Association, you can contact him by email at [email protected].