The Advocacy Institute
The Advocacy Institute gives law students the opportunity to develop and practice their advocacy skills through the guidance of distinguished members of the local bar and bench.
Launched in 2014, the Advocacy Institute is dedicated to helping students cultivate the skills, discipline, and ethics necessary to become creative and principled litigators. The Institute serves as host to the law school’s programs in Trial Advocacy, Appellate Advocacy, and Mediation. These programs provide students with training from leading judges, trial attorneys, and faculty. The dedication of these practitioners and scholars enables our students to develop the litigation skills necessary to successfully advocate on behalf of their future clients.
The Advocacy Institute also seeks to provide new opportunities for our students to apply their first-rate doctrinal and theoretical education to the practice of law. The Advocacy Institute’s National Advisory Board, comprised of nationally recognized practitioners and jurists, provides guidance and counsel to the Institute’s Director as to how to develop, enhance, and expand the Institute’s programs.
The Advocacy Institute depends on the generosity of alumni and friends of the University at Buffalo School of Law for its existence and growth. To become involved in our mission, please contact: law-advocacy@buffalo.edu. Thank you for your support.
Contact Us
- Anthony O'Rourke, Director
- Dawn Skopinski, Associate Director
Trial Advocacy
* Jennifer Scharf, Director
Appellate Advocacy
* Lucinda Finley, Director
Mediation
* Steven Sugarman, Director
National Advisory Board
Christine P. Bartholomew
Professor, University at Buffalo School of Law
Michael A. Battle ’81
Partner, Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Jennifer A. Beckage ’07
Partner, Beckage PLLC
Donald P. Chiari ’83
Partner, Brown Chiari LLP
Robert A. Clifford
Founder/Senior Partner, Clifford Law Offices
Terrence M. Connors ’71, Chair
Partner, Connors LLP
John J. Fromen, Jr. ’87
John J. Fromen, , Attorneys at Law, P.C.
Neil A. Goldberg ’73
Partner, Goldberg Segalla
E. Stewart Jones
Partner, E. Stewart Jones Hacker Murphy
Craig A. Leslie ’97
Partner, Phillips Lytle LLP
Michael D. Mann ’06
Partner, Sidley Austin LLP
Marianne Mariano ’94
Federal Public Defender, Federal Public Defender’s Office
Dr. Teresa A. Miller
Sr. Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives/Chief of Staff, State University of New York
Morgann K. Obrochta ’20
University at Buffalo, School of Law Student
Hon. Erin M. Peradotto ’84
Justice, NYS Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 4th Department
Barry C. Scheck
Professor of Law, Co-Director, Innocence Project, Cardozo Law School
Dennis C. Vacco ’78
Partner, Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman, LLP
Christopher M. Viapiano
Partner, Sullivan Cromwell LLP
Hon. Richard Wesley
Judge, US Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
Staff
Anthony P. O’Rourke
Joseph W. Belluck & Laura L. Aswad Professor of Law;
Director, Advocacy Institute
University at Buffalo School of Law
Dawn M. Skopinski
Associate Director, Advocacy Institute, University at Buffalo School of Law