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The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University will welcome renowned portrait and collage artist Geoffrey Stein as Artist-in-residence this Spring. The residency is the law school’s first official year-long program of its kind, providing enrichment and educational opportunities for both law and art students at Pace University.

Stein will begin his residency at Haub Law on February 10, 2022, utilizing space in a common area on the 3^rd floor of the Gerber Glass Library each Thursday to showcase his process. He will also have access to the collections of the Library for research and inspiration. The Artist-in-residence will conclude in Spring 2023 with a public lecture, painting demonstration and exhibition of the work completed during the residency period, which will draw inspiration from the people of Haub Law and its rich history.

“We are thrilled to welcome Geoffrey to Haub Law and to be part of this unique experience at a law school. Drawing on his legal background, Geoffrey’s art captures the meaning behind historical moments, political and influential figures by using the work product of his subjects,” said Horace E. Anderson Jr, Dean and Professor of Law at Haub Law. “Not only will we liven our campus with art, but this will be an opportunity to reflect on and memorialize Haub Law’s history.”

Geoffrey Stein is a self-proclaimed “recovering lawyer” who has been painting full-time since 2000. He received his law degree from Albany Law School in 1986, then clerked for an appellate court and practiced reinsurance litigation work for Lloyd's of London and London Market Reinsurers at Sheft & Sheft, Ober|Kaler, and later with Mendes & Mount.He says his background as a lawyer has had a huge influence on his work, both on the process and subject matter. “The organizational and critical skills required in the legal world are incredibly helpful to have when working in the more nebulous and open-ended realm of the art world. The skills necessary to organize a brief or conduct discovery translate easily to complex art projects, which often involve numerous people and more writing then I ever imagined,” says Stein. “Also, there was a strange, but nice, thing I noticed when returning to art school as an allegedly “mature” student: I was not seeking the teachers' approval, but rather simply trying to engage them in a dialogue about the work.”

Stein’s work stems from his interest in the political, financial and media worlds. He calls himself a “conceptual portrait painter” using snippets of text and photographs as the basis of his art to create the subject’s likeness and evoke meaning. His subjects include: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Queen Elizabeth, Anthony Fauci, Kamala Harris, presidents, financial icons, comics and more.

“It was a natural direction for me to try and make work about actors in these worlds, both those I admire and those I don’t,” Stein says. “Increasingly, though, I am most interested in figures whom I admire and provide some hope in this difficult time. For instance, my portrait of A.O.C. was done with copies of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's powerful speech on the House floor addressing Rep. Ted Yoho's awful comments about her. I hope I captured some of her passion and strength in my portrait.”

Stein looks forward to engaging students, faculty and staff in dialog while he works. “The point of any artist residency is to take one out of their everyday world, their comfort zone, and shake things up,” adds Stein. “I have not been in a law school on a regular basis since graduating 35 years ago. I hope that being at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law for a year will help me look at my work in new ways and inspire me to go in unimagined directions.”

Geoffrey Stein received a Certificate in painting from the New York Studio School in 2004 and an MFA from the Slade School of Fine Art, London in 2007. He lives and paints in New York City and Westport and is represented by The Minster Gallery in the UK. Read his story in Attorney at Law Magazine or view his work at his website.

The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University announces that it will honor three distinguished professionals and a group of alumni rising stars at its 27^th Annual Law Leadership Awards Dinner to be held in person on March 10, 2022 at the Westchester Country Club.

The Law Leadership Dinner is the signature fundraiser for Haub Law and a celebration to honor individuals or organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the legal community. The annual celebration provides the setting for the presentation of the Distinguished Service Award, which honors individuals or organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the legal community, the Law School or the practice of law. Additionally, this year, the inaugural Haub Impact Award will also be presented. The Haub Impact Award is given to an individual who has made a lasting impact on the Haub Law community. It recognizes a person who has gone above and beyond to impact students, faculty, and the entire law school.

This year, there are two recipients of the Distinguished Service Award, Mayo Bartlett, a 1992 graduate of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, Principal Attorney at the Law Offices of Mayo Bartlett, PLLC and Brian S. Hermann, a 1991 graduate of Pace University’s Lubin School of Business and a current Partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP. The inaugural recipient of the Haub Impact Award is John C. Lettera ’99, Founder & CEO, RealFi Financial, LLC.

A former Westchester County prosecutor, Mayo Bartlett is a Criminal Defense Lawyer and Civil Rights trial attorney who has extensive experience in criminal law in Westchester County and over the course of his career has built strong and impactful relationships in the Westchester community. “We are grateful for Mayo’s constant willingness to support the law school, as a friend to our programs and as a member of the Board of Visitors. He has been active in the Haub Law School community since graduating, and is a pillar in the greater Westchester legal landscape,” said Dean Horace E. Anderson Jr.

Brian Hermann is Deputy Chair of the Restructuring Department at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Brian focuses on a range of restructuring and bankruptcy matters for both borrower and lender clients. He is also a member of the firm’s Media, Sports and Entertainment Group and has developed a sub-specialty working on a number of music, media and entertainment company restructurings and related matters. “Brian graduated from Pace University’s Lubin School of Business in 1991 and since then has dedicated his time and expertise back to Pace. He is a partner at an AM100 law firm and an expert in the complex field of bankruptcy and restructuring. Brian has been honored as a thought leader, a dealmaker, an innovator, and as a best lawyer – we are proud to call Brian an alumnus of Pace University and to join the ranks of those who have honored him,” said Dean Anderson.

John Lettera has over 21 years of legal experience and over 27 years experience in real estate debt originations and acquisitions as well as equity investing. He founded and has successfully managed two financing funds worth over $100 million. At RealFi, based in White Plains, NY, he employs 16 graduates of Haub Law, building and mentoring a management team with a diverse combination of legal, financial, management, real estate, transactional and investment skills. “John is a champion of Haub Law, he is a member of the School’s Board of Visitors, an adjunct professor at the Law School, and a frequent participant on panels held by the Law School. Most recently, his firm provided a generous five-year grant to name our Investor Rights Clinic after RealFi Financial LLC, allowing us to continue to providing a unique experiential learning opportunity to our students. We are grateful for John’s continued support and commitment of his time,” said Dean Anderson. In 2013, at the Law School’s Annual Leadership Awards Dinner held that year, John received the Distinguished Service Award recognizing his support.

In addition, this year, Haub Law will celebrate the five alumni recipients of the annual Rising Star Award. The Rising Star Award is given annually in recognition of a legal professional who has impacted the field of law during the first fifteen years of the recipient's legal career. The Rising Star Awardee will have demonstrated a commitment to Haub Law, the legal profession, and an ingenuity of thought that has the potential for having substantial and lasting influence upon the legal profession. This year’s Rising Star recipients are: Cherie Phoenix-Sharpe ’07, General Counsel to Connecticut Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz, Fatima Silva ’08, Managing Attorney at Silva Law and Co-Host of Reasonable Doubt on Investigation Discovery at Discovery Inc., Michael Bauscher ’10, Partner at Carter Ledyard, Kevin Sylvester ’14, Chief of Police at Ossining Police Department, and Cayleigh Eckhardt ’15, Attorney-Advisor at US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The Law School inaugurated its Leadership Awards Dinner in 1995. Through sponsorships and a journal produced for the event, funds are raised that help to underwrite the law school’s academic programs, faculty and students. At last year’s annual Leadership Awards Dinner, Virginia Wong, Haub Law Class of ’93, a partner with Nixon Peabody, LLP was honored. Last year’s Rising Star Award recipients included Keji Ayorinde, ’08, Associate General Counsel, Facebook; Robyn Downing ’17, Associate, Alston Bird; Caesar Lopez ’12, Chief Administrative Officer, Orlando Soccer; Christopher Messina, ’10, Legal Director, Brooklyn Brewery; and Steven Sarno, ’09, Senior Corporate Counsel, Environmental Compliance, Amazon.

The Biden Administration, in a virtual event that took place on Friday, January 28th, recognized the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. Haub Law was one of 99 law schools in 35 states and Puerto Rico who responded to the Attorney General’s Call to Action to the legal profession to address the housing and eviction crisis, and help increase housing stability and access to justice in their communities. Representing the Biden Administration at the event were, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Vanita Gupta, Associate Attorney General of the United States, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, Gene Sperling, Senior Advisor to the President, American Rescue Plan Coordinator, as well as Law School Deans, administration and students from across the country.

A statement from the White House and Department of Justice highlighted that over the past five months, more than 2,100 law students dedicated over 81,000 hours to serve over 10,000 households, based on a survey tracking the effort facilitated by Georgetown University Law Center Dean William Treanor and New York University School of Law Dean Trevor Morrison.

Noted on Haub Law’s response to the Call to Action by Attorney General Merrick Garland was the Law School’s strategic mission to create student opportunities to address access to justice (A2J) gaps. During summer 2021, the law school’s summer fellowship program funded several law students to work full-time at legal services organizations assisting client representation in housing and eviction matters, both in New York and across the country. This past fall 2021, in our inaugural A2J Lab class, an interdisciplinary team of 6 Haub Law and 6 Computer Science students designed the prototype for a web mobile application to help low income Westchester renters address rental habitability issues, including a crucial recordkeeping capability that can be used to collect evidence to defend tenants in eviction and rent non-payment proceedings. Further, this spring 2022, through a collaboration with community partners and Westchester courts, Haub Law students will engage in pro bono work assisting court referees in Housing and Veterans Court cases, among others, and Haub Law will sponsor its inaugural A2J Program and Workshop, specifically spotlighting Housing Law and Right to Counsel in Eviction, bringing community leaders, advocates, and students together to brainstorm about ways to address the housing crisis. Our many Centers and Clinics provide students and community members with continuous opportunities to address and help remedy the A2J gaps present. In addition to the experiential learning aimed at addressing A2J gaps, Haub Law addresses it on the curricular side as well with several courses, including our Access to Justice Seminar, and in the work our Centers do in bringing in speakers on housing and eviction matters. Further, there are many guided law student participants in research and writing projects focused on addressing housing access and the eviction crisis.