Welcome to another edition of See infra, delivering a sampling of news from St. John's Law. 

For a century, St. John’s Law has been a place where excellence is nurtured, prominence is achieved, and impact is made—not only in New York, but across the country and around the world.

On Thursday, June 18, 2026, the Law School community will come together to celebrate that enduring legacy at our 100th Anniversary Gala at Casa Cipriani in Lower Manhattan. Please save the date for this culminating event of our year-long 100th Anniversary Celebration.

You’ll receive your invitation soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please email us at stjohnslaw100@stjohns.edu.

The annual Public Interest Auction on March 19, 2026 will be a milestone celebration of the Law School’s 100th anniversary, the Auction’s 30th anniversary, and the newly renamed DiMartino/Smith Public Interest Center’s 15th anniversary.

This year’s Auction theme is Public Interest Through the Decades! We’re taking attendees on a journey to celebrate how the Center’s work—and public interest work more broadly—have evolved over time.

There are several ways alumni can support this important fundraiser for public interest programs and initiatives at St. John’s Law:

Thank you!

St. John’s Law alumni are on the move, making their mark as leaders in law and business. Here's just a sampling of recent alumni promotions and job changes:

We share alumni news twice a year in Class Notes. To feature your news in the June 2026 edition, please complete our Alumni News Submission Form.

Kicked off in Fall 2025, the Law School’s 100th Anniversary Celebration continued with these recent events for alumni:

1/29 | Center for Bankruptcy Studies Celebration
Our Center for Bankruptcy Studies celebrated 100 years of St. John’s Law at an event hosted by Carrie Hardman '09L, '13LL.M. and Winston & Strawn LLP at the firm’s offices in Midtown Manhattan. The attendees, including bankruptcy judges from New York and Delaware, St. John’s Law alumni in the bankruptcy field, faculty, and current students, enjoyed a special evening in honor of esteemed alumna Hon. Jil Mazer-Marino ‘90, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of New York. View the event photo gallery.

2/3 | A Century of Service: The 2026 Public Interest Silent Auction
For this event, which is a companion to the annual Public Interest Auction in March, alumni and friends mixed, mingled, and bid on wonderful auction items, raising $55,000 to support the DiMartino/Smith Public Interest Center’s programs and initiatives. Many thanks to Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP for hosting at their offices in Manhattan. View the event photo gallery.

2/10 | 100th Anniversary Celebration: Assistant District Attorney Reunion
The iconic New York Athletic Club set the scene as current and past Assistant District Attorneys gathered to honor Melinda Katz ‘90, District Attorney, Queens County; Christopher Liberati-Conant ‘09, District Attorney, Columbia County; Raymond A. Tierney ‘92, District Attorney, Suffolk County; and Thomas Walsh II ‘75, District Attorney, Rockland County. View the event photo gallery.

The February Bankruptcy Alumni Spotlight features Robert Nussbaum'14, a partner in the Financial Restructuring Group at Paul Hastings. The latest Real Estate Alumni Spotlight is on Peter Carrozzo ‘96, who is the CFO, General Counsel, and Co-Founder at Cornerstone Land Abstract and an adjunct professor at St. John’s Law.

Professor Ashley B. Armstrong’s article, “The Stories We (Don’t) Teach,” has been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed Journal of Legal Education. Using the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Title VII decision in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins as a case study, the article explores how legal educators can surface power dynamics, narrative omissions, and institutional context to foster deeper, more critical engagement with doctrine and the role of law. 

Congratulations to Professor Noa Ben-Asher who recently received St. John’s Audre Lorde Faculty Award in recognition of their work to advance justice, expand opportunity, and strengthen the fabric of their community. 

Professor Robin Boyle-Laisure’s article, “Education Theory Integrated in Business Law,” appears in the peer-reviewed Journal of Legal Studies Education. Her book, Taken No More: Protect Your Children Against Traffickers and Cults (Bloomsbury 2025), won the International Impact Book Awards in the category of Parenting–Child Safety and Awareness. Professor Boyle-Laisure offered expert insights on cults and trafficking for a guest appearance on the Life Changes Show.

Professor Patricia Grande Montana’s article, “Invoking the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (“PPRA”) to Safeguard Student Privacy Rights: My Three-Year Battle to Enforce the PPRA Against an Intractable New Jersey School District,” has been accepted for publication in the Mississippi College Law Review. In it, she shares her personal story of advocacy in the movement to restore parental rights and protect children’s privacy in public schools.

On Friday afternoons, Room 116 in the Queens County Civil Courthouse becomes a bridge between classroom learning, community service, and justice in action for Alicia G. Skeeter ’27 and a dedicated group of St. John’s Law students. They are there to assist visitors to the CLARO–Queens Consumer Debt Clinic, which the Queens Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc. runs as part of a consortium of Civil Legal Advice and Resource Offices (CLARO) that provide limited legal advice to low-income New Yorkers facing debt collection lawsuits. Read more about the CLARO program.

Please join us in congratulating our Frank S. Polestino Trial Advocacy Institute (PTAI)/St. John's University School of Law Black Law Students Association (BLSA) team of Briana Davis '26, Alicia Mayo ’26, Arianne Philemy ‘26, and Suzie Saint-Vil Saint Vil ‘27. Coached by alumnus Masai Lord ’14, they advanced through a field of 16 talented teams to win the Northeast Region of the National Black Law Student Association (NEBLSA) Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Competition. The regional victory secures the team a well-deserved spot at the 2026 National Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Competition in March.

The Moot Court Honor Society recently hosted the annual Roy L. Reardon Moot Court Competition, which showcased the current junior staff as they argued before the Hon. James M. Wicks '89 and the Hon. Valerie Brathwaite Nelson. Congratulations to Best Oralist Liam Gaffney ‘27, Second Best Oralist Oksana Holovka ‘26, and Finalists Christina Grochowski ’26 and Ava Sheftick ‘27. Well done, all!

Comments, Suggestions, or Content Ideas?
Please email Lori Herz, See infra's Managing Editor and Lead Writer, at herzl@stjohns.edu.

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