Hon. Michael A. Telesca to Receive 2006 Jaeckle Award

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Hon. Michael A. Telesca, whose career on the bench has encompassed county, state and federal judgeships, will receive the 2006 Edwin F. Jaeckle Award from the University at Buffalo Law School and the UB Law Alumni Association at a luncheon to be held on Nov. 18 in the Buffalo Hyatt Regency.

The award, which is named for UB Law alumnus Edwin F. Jaeckle, class of 1915, is the highest honor the Law School and the Law Alumni Association can bestow. It is given annually to an individual who has distinguished herself or himself and has made significant contributions to the Law School and to the legal profession.

Telesca is a 1955 graduate of the UB Law School.

Prior Jaeckle Award winners include the Hon. Charles S. Desmond, Frank G. Raichle Jr., M. Robert Koren, Manly Fleischmann, the Hon. M. Dolores Denman and former UB president William R. Greiner.

The luncheon and award presentation will follow the morning-long UB Law Alumni Convocation, an annual continuing legal educational program, which will focus on "Technology and the Practice of Law (Plus Singing, Pasta Making and 3 CLE Credits!)." Experts will discuss new federal rules for electronic discovery; how to advance a legal practice utilizing new media; and new state regulations for advertising.

The full morning program is approved for 3 CLE credits, 1 in ethics and 2 for professional practice. The convocation will begin at 8:30 a.m. and be followed by the luncheon at 12:30 p.m.

UB Law Dean and Professor Nils Olsen noted that Telesca's public service is exemplary. "Mike's immense ability and integrity as a judge, coupled with his enormous compassion, has vastly improved the lives of others over the course of his long and distinguished career. He is an exceptionally worthy recipient of the Jaeckle Award," Olsen said.

Telesca has served since 1982 as a U.S. District Court judge for the Western District of New York, and was chief justice of that court from 1989-96. He continues as a District Court judge, based in Rochester, and in 1996 was appointed to the federal Alien Terrorist Removal Court.

Telesca has served on the board of directors of the Federal Judicial Center, a training school for federal judges in Washington, D.C.; the Second Circuit Judicial Council; and the Editorial Advisory Board of the State-Federal Judicial Observer.

Born and raised in Rochester, Telesca graduated from the University of Rochester in 1952. He served as a staff legal officer in the U.S. Marine Corps after his years at UB Law. He then entered private practice, eventually becoming a partner with the Rochester firm Lamb, Webster, Walz & Telesca. He was elected a Monroe County Surrogate Court judge in 1972, and was a designated justice of the New York State Supreme Court for nearly 10 years.

At UB, Telesca was honored in 1986 with a Distinguished Alumnus Award for his judicial work, and in 2001 with a Buffalo Law Review award recognizing his service to the UB Law School and the Western New York community.

He has served on numerous boards of directors and advisory boards, including those for the Association for Mentally Retarded Persons, the National Kidney Foundation, the Genesee Hospital Foundation and the ARC of Monroe County, an advocacy group for mentally disabled persons. He also has been active with the Rochester chapter of the UB Law Alumni Association and serves as an emeritus member of the Dean's Advisory Council at the Law School.

The Acappellants, a singing group composed of the Hon. Erin Peradotto and Buffalo attorneys Jack Freedenberg, Will Schoellkopf and Ellen Simpson, will provide additional entertainment. Paul J. Suozzi, a partner at Hurwitz & Fine, P.C., and his wife Karen L. Spencer, archives and special collections librarian in the Law School's Charles B. Sears Law Library, will demonstrate original pasta recipes, including egg pasta, pasta verde and lasagna a la Mama Suozzi.

The program is sponsored by Forge Consulting LLC, Bar Association of Erie County, The Daily Record, CCH Inc., and LexisNexis.

The fee to attend both the convocation and Jaeckle luncheon is $75 per person for Law Alumni Association members who have paid their dues for 2006-07, and $85 per person for all others. A table of 10 may be purchased for $750. Patron tickets are available for an additional $25 for individuals and an additional $200 for firms. Patrons will be listed in the luncheon program.

The fee includes 3 CLE credits, reference materials, breakfast and the Jaeckle Award luncheon. Advance registration is recommended. Please respond by Nov. 10. Call the UB Law Alumni Office at 645-2107 or mail a check made payable to the UB Law Alumni Association to UB Law Alumni Office, 312 O'Brian Hall, Buffalo, N.Y. 14260. Fax registration will be accepted for those paying by credit card (Fax: 716-645-5940). Free parking will be available.