New York State Bar Association Elects 2014-2015 Officers

ALBANY, NY (01/31/2014)(readMedia)-- David P. Miranda of Albany (Heslin Rothenberg Farley and Mesiti) today was named president-elect designee of the New York State Bar Association.

The House of Delegates, the association's governing body, elected Miranda during its Annual Meeting in New York City. He will begin a one-year term as president-elect on June 1, 2014, and a one-year term as president on June 1, 2015.

Ellen G. Makofsky of Garden City (Raskin & Makofsky) was elected to a one-year term as secretary. Sharon Stern Gerstman of Buffalo (Magavern Magavern Grimm) was elected to a second one-year term as treasurer.

Current President-elect Glenn Lau-Kee of Manhattan will assume the presidency on June 1, 2014, succeeding David M. Schraver of Rochester (Nixon Peabody).

A partner of Kee & Lau-Kee, he concentrates his practice in real estate and business law. He is a graduate of Yale College and Boston University School of Law.

A 15-year member of the State Bar Association, Lau-Kee is a member the Executive Committee and House of Delegates and co-chair of the Membership Committee. Lau-Kee was a member of the Task Force on the State of Our Courthouses and the Special Committees on Legal Specialization, Multijurisdictional Practice and Sarbanes-Oxley Issues.

He is secretary and board member of the US-Asia Institute. He previously served on the boards of the Greater New York City YMCA, the Fund for Modern Courts and The New York Bar Foundation. He is a past president of the Asian American Bar Association of New York. He was appointed by former Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye to serve on the Commission to Examine Solo and Small Firm Practice, and the Committee to Promote Public Trust and Confidence in the Legal System.

The newly elected officers are:

David P. Miranda, President-elect Designee: Miranda is a partner at Heslin Rothenberg Farley and Mesiti in Albany. He is a trial attorney whose intellectual property law practice includes trademark, copyright, trade secret, false advertising, patent infringement and Internet-related issues.

A 24-year member of the State Bar Association, Miranda is secretary of the association and a member of its Executive Committee and House of Delegates. He chairs the Committee on Resolutions. He previously chaired the Electronic Communications Committee and the Young Lawyers Section. He co-chaired the Special Committee on Strategic Planning.

He is a member of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, Committee on Annual Award, Committee on Continuing Legal Education and Membership Committee. He is a past member of the Task Force on E-Filing and the Special Committee on Cyberspace Law.

Miranda is a past president of the Albany County Bar Association. He has served on the Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission for the Third Judicial District.

A resident of Voorheesville, Miranda graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo and Albany Law School.

Ellen G. Makofsky, Secretary: Makofsky is a founding partner of Raskin & Makofsky. She concentrates her practice in elder law and trusts and estates.

A 26-year member of the State Bar, Makofsky is a member of the House of Delegates. She was a member-at-large on the Executive Committee for four years. She chaired the Elder Law Section and is a member of the Senior Lawyers and the Trusts and Estates Law sections. She is a member of the Committee on Continuing Legal Education and the Membership Committee. She also is chair-elect of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, New York Chapter.

A resident of Sands Point, Makofsky graduated from Boston University and earned her law degree cum laude from Brooklyn Law School.

Sharon Stern Gerstman, Treasurer: Gerstman is of counsel to Magavern Magavern Grimm in Buffalo. She concentrates her practice in the areas of mediation and arbitration, and appellate practice.

A 33-year member of the State Bar, Gerstman previously served on the Executive Committee as an Eighth Judicial District vice-president. She is a member of the House of Delegates, Finance Committee, Dispute Resolution Section, and Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Section's Executive Committee.

She was chair of the Committee on Civil Practice Law and Rules and the Special Committee on Lawyer Advertising and Lawyer Referral Services. She previously co-chaired the Task Force on E-Filing and the Special Committees on Lawyer Advertising and Strategic Planning. She also served on the American Bar Association's Board of Governors for three years and is a member of the ABA's House of Delegates.

A resident of Amherst, Gerstman graduated from Brown University and earned her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She received a master's degree from Yale Law School.

The 75,000-member New York State Bar Association is the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. It was founded in 1876.

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