Announcing the Mattone Center for Law and Religion
Dean Michael A. Simons announced this week that the Center for Law and Religion at St. John’s Law will be named in honor of alumni Denise Melillo Mattone and Michael X. Mattone, in recognition of their transformative gift to endow the Center’s activities. The multimillion-dollar gift will allow the Denise ‘90 and Michael ‘91 Mattone Center for Law and Religion to offer new educational programs and expand its impact as a hub for exploring issues of law and religion in the United States and around the world. Read the full announcement, including statements from Center Co-Directors Mark Movsesian and Marc DeGirolami.

Honoring Dean Michael A. Simons  
Join the celebration!

Dean Michael A. Simons is completing his St. John’s Law deanship at the end of May and, now through 12/31, we’re honoring him with a special calendar-year-end fundraiser.

Your gift of any amount to the Michael and Karen Simons Scholarship Fund, or to the general St. John’s Law Fund, will build on Dean Simons’ 15 years of impactful leadership while supporting our hardworking students.

It’s quick and easy to give online today.

We’ll recognize everyone who donates to the Michael and Karen Simons Scholarship Fund at the Alumni Association Luncheon on 1/26, where Dean Simons will receive the Law School’s St. Thomas More Award for his moral leadership (more Luncheon details below).

Thanks for your support! 

Mark Your Calendars! 
1/20 | Student Org Day at MSG 
We’re bringing the Law School’s student groups and co-curricular programs together with alumni at Madison Square Garden to cheer on St. John's Red Storm and Coach Rick Pitino as they take on the Marquette Golden Eagles in a Big East showdown! After the game, please join us for a fun and festive student-alumni reception. RSVP online today. 
 
1/26 | Alumni Association Luncheon 
You’re cordially invited to the annual Alumni Association Luncheon at the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom. St. John’s Law alumni will come together as we honor this year’s Belson Medal recipients and present Dean Michael A. Simons with the St. Thomas More Award for his moral leadership over the past 15 years. You’ll also have a chance to bid high and often at a silent auction benefitting our Public Interest Center. Luncheon attendees are invited to join us for an afterparty at Connolly’s Pub & Restaurant, where we'll celebrate Dean Simons and wish him well as he completes his deanship. To RSVP and sponsor the Luncheon, visit our event website.  

Read All About It/Tell Us All About It 
The latest editions of Class Notes and Births & Marriages are online at stjohnslawseeinfra.com. Now we want to hear from you! We publish Class Notes, Births & Marriages, and In Memoriam twice a year (around 6/1 and 12/1). You can share your news with us through our Alumni News Submission Form. Send us your submission by May 15, 2024 to be included in the next publication. 

Former NFL Player Michael Catapano '21 Inspires Tomorrow’s Lawyers 
Watching players take the field on NFL Sundays, Michael Catapano’s father would tell his young son to ask himself, “why can’t that be me?” That question became a lodestar on a career path that has taken Catapano from his years as a professional football player to his current work as a commercial litigator at McKool Smith and into volunteer service inspiring future lawyers. Read the full story.

One Great Fish Story 
“Fly fishing has given me the ability to meet many different kinds of people from different backgrounds, who all share wonderful experiences and stories. While the world constantly changes around us, we come together and forge enduring connections through a sport we love. It’s incredibly gratifying.” From the streams of South Africa to New York’s Catskill Mountains, Janice Robinson '82 has found respite and meaning through fly fishing. Read on. 

Professor Noa Ben-Asher presented their article, “Transforming Legal Sex,” at the UVA Law & Inequality Colloquium and at a Utah Law Review Symposium titled The Criminalization of Care: Health and The Home. 

Professors Rosa Castello and Rachel Paras presented at the New England Legal Writing Conference: The Future of Legal Education is Golden on a panel addressing the ways professors can collaborate on, and incorporate assessments into, legal writing and skills courses to introduce and prepare students for the NextGen Bar Exam. 

Professor Miriam A. Cherry spoke to the Department of Labor on The Future of Work: Artificial Intelligence and Workplace Surveillance. Her talk focused on technology and intrusive monitoring of employees, and what unions and regulators can do about it. 

Professor Mark Movsesian participated in a webinar, The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict & Humanitarian Crisis, sponsored by the St. John’s University CRS Global Campus Committee. He spoke about the failure of international law to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Karabakh’s Armenians and the complex role of religion as a factor in the conflict. 

Professor Eva Subotnik presented her co-authored article, “Copyright’s Capacity Gap” (forthcoming UC Davis Law Review), at the 2023 IP Mosaic Conference, which addressed IP Rights and Wrongs: Advancing Social Justice and Ethics. 

Professor G. Ray Warner spoke at the Enterprise Groups and Financial Difficulties Conference at Leiden University, the oldest university in the Netherlands. His presentation, entitled Texas Two-Stepping to Sidestep Liability, explored the use of the Texas Divisional Merger provision coupled with a Chapter 11 filing to address mass tort liabilities. That technique received publicity recently when Johnson & Johnson attempted to use it to address its talc liability. 

Clinic Student Finds Career Affirmation 
Esteban Angeles '24 was waiting in line, inching closer to the Queens County Civil Court clerk’s window, when he overheard a woman ask for an attorney who could assist her with two consumer debt cases. Turning to her, Esteban said he could help. Along with two classmates from the Law School’s in-house Consumer Justice for the Elderly: Litigation Clinic and the Clinic’s director, Professor Ann Goldweber, Esteban was in court that morning to participate in the Volunteer Lawyer for the Day (VLFD) Consumer Debt Program. Read about Esteban's career-affirming experience volunteering in court.  

Alumnus Helps Students Serve the Greater Good 
Thanks to generous support from alumnus Robert J. Gunther '81C, '84L, law student Emily Trumble '24 gained invaluable experience while serving the greater good as a 2023 Summer Public Interest Fellow. “I came to law school knowing I wanted to use my law degree to advocate for vulnerable communities as a public defender,” she says. “This past summer, I was honored to work in the Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Practice. Thanks to Mr. Gunther, and because he prioritizes public defense work, I’ve been able to grow as an advocate and help those most in need during the process.” Read more. 

Kudos!
Congrats to the Frank S. Polestino Trial Advocacy Institute team of Krista Apostle '24, John Di Leo '24, Matthew Oster '24, and Emily Trumble '24, who won the Gold Cup National Mock Trial Competition hosted by University of the Pacific - McGeorge School of Law. The team was coached by Brian Hughes '07 and Jana McNulty. 

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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