Westchester Women's Bar Association


Officers


	About Our Officers DOLORES GEBHARDT (President) Dolores is a partner at McCarthy Fingar LLP in White Plains, New York. Since 2000, she has focused her practice on matrimonial and family law litigation, collaborative law, and civil appeals. Dolores spent the first fifteen years of her career as a labor and employment attorney in New York City. She is a graduate of Cornell University and Hofstra University School of Law, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal. Dolores is also an adjunct professor at Hofstra University School of Law, where she teaches collaborative law. Dolores is an active participant in the effort to enact divorce law reforms, particularly no-fault divorce, in this State. To that end, in 2007, she spoke at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York at a Forum on The Need for No-Fault Divorce Legislation. Together with the Hon. Sondra Miller, Dolores is the author of Justice Abandoned: Forty Years of Stalemate in Actions for Divorce on the Ground of Abandonment, 27 Pace Law Review 605 (2007). Dolores served as WWBA Treasurer in 2009-2010. She was a Vice President from 2006 to 2009, and was the supervising Vice President for the newsletter. She has co-chaired the Programs Committee since 2003, and is relinquishing that job most reluctantly to assume the presidency. In 2007 and 2008, Dolores was a member of the Judicial Screening Committee. She has been a member of the Gender Dynamics Committee since 2008, and is a judge of the annual New York State Unified Court System Ninth Judicial District Gender Fairness Essay Contest. Dolores was a co-chair of the Annual Dinner in 2009 and again this year. In 2005, she served on the planning committee for the dinner celebrating the Hon. Sondra Miller’s career at the Appellate Division and was co-chair of the Souvenir Journal. In 2006, Dolores served on the planning committee for the second annual Celebrating Diversity dinner. In additional to her activities on behalf of the WWBA, Dolores is active in the New York State Bar Association, where she serves on the Committee on Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction. Dolores is also a member of the American Bar Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the Westchester County Bar Association (where she serves as an editor of the newsletter), the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals, and she is a Director of the White Plains Bar Association. DEBORAH A. SCALISE (Immediate Past President) Deborah focuses her practice on the representation of professionals (lawyers, judges, accountants, doctors, pharmacists) in professional responsibility and ethics matters and white collar criminal matters. She is a founding partner of Scalise and Hamilton, LLP in Scarsdale, New York. Before entering private practice, Deborah held the position of Deputy Attorney General in Charge of Public Advocacy for the Westchester Region. Prior to that, she was the Deputy Chief Counsel to the Departmental Disciplinary Committee for the First Judicial Department. In addition, she served as an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County. Deborah received her Juris Doctorate from Brooklyn Law School and also earned Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts Degrees in Forensic Psychology from the John Jay College of the City University of New York. Deborah served three terms as Vice President and served as Treasurer from 2003-2004. Deborah is actively involved in several bar associations where she has coordinated and/or lectured extensively in Continuing Legal Education Programs. She served two terms as Vice President of WBASNY, where she also serves as the Chair of the Professional Ethics Committee. She also serves as Chair of the WWBA’s Grievance/Ethics, Awards and Outreach Committees. She is Secretary of the White Plains Bar Association and serves on the Ethics Advisory Board of the New York County Lawyers Association. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, the New York State Bar Association, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the Eastchester Bar Association, the New Rochelle Bar Association, the Brooklyn Columbian Lawyers Association and the Westchester County Bar Association, where she has served as Co-Chair of the Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee. Deborah has authored several articles related to professional responsibility and ethics issues which were published by the York State Bar Association's Journal; the Westchester County Bar Journal; the New York State Trial Lawyer's Bill of Particulars; the WBASNY newsletter; and the WWBA Newsletter. Deborah was profiled by the American Bar Association’s Student Lawyer Magazine in its February 2005 issue and has been quoted in the New York Times Ethicist Column in its Sunday Magazine. Deborah was nominated by the WWBA and received the 2009 Westchester County Above the Bar Pace Setter Award for “overall excellence in professional and community work, prominence in the Westchester legal profession, fierce determination and success at being the best at what she does and should be recognized and admired by peers and community”. LONYA A. GILBERT (Vice President) This is Lonya Gilbert’s second term as Vice President of the Westchester Women’s Bar Association. She initially started back in 2002 as co-chair of the New Lawyers Committee and has been co-chair of the Matrimonial Committee for the past 6 years. 2006-2008 she was our recording secretary and 2008-2009 she was the corresponding secretary. In 2009 she also became our sponsorship co-chair. Additionally, she sits on the board of the Westchester Women’s Bar Foundation and serves on the Board of the Sarah Newman Nursing Home, Pace University Law School Alumni board and the Executive Committee of the Friends of Gail which is part of the Pace Women’s Justice Center. Lonya has spoken for the Pace Women’s Justice Center and was the 2006 recipient of the Doris Hoffman Outstanding New Lawyer Award. She is also a member of the Westchester County Bar Association, New York State Bar Association and The Justice Brandeis Westchester Law Society. Lonya is an associate at the law firm of Hyman & Gilbert in Larchmont, New York, where she practices in the area of matrimonial, adoption, wills, trusts and estates. She is admitted to practice in New York, Connecticut and Washington D.C. JULIE S. KATTAN (Vice President) This is Julie S. Kattan’s second term as Vice President of the Westchester Women’s Bar Association, having served three terms as Corresponding Secretary and Newsletter Editor, and a term as Recording Secretary. She also served as WWBA Co-Chair of the Annual Dinner and Souvenir Journal Committees, as a local Director, as Co-Chair of the New Lawyers Committee, as Chair of the Holiday party, and as Co-Chair of the Directory Committee. In 1998 she was awarded the Westchester Women’s Bar Association Outstanding Student Award. Julie also serves as President of the New Rochelle Bar Association, and is an arbitrator in the New Rochelle Small Claims Court. She is also a member of the New York State Bar Association, Westchester County Bar Association and is active in Rotary International. She concentrates her practice in the areas of Surrogate’s practice, elder law and guardianships, and real estate, including related litigation. While in law school, she clerked in State Supreme Court, Westchester County, and in the Mount Vernon City Court. She has also volunteered with the Legal Aid Society – Civil Division, the offices of State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, and Legal Services of the Hudson Valley. BETH A. WILLENSKY (Vice President) This is Beth Willensky’s second term as WWBA Vice President. She previously served as Corresponding Secretary and Newsletter Editor and has chaired numerous WWBA Committees, including the Corporate and Commercial Committee and the Awards Committee. Beth graduated from Harvard Law School and Cornell University, both with honors. Beth operates a general practice concentrating in commercial litigation and transactional matters, creative dispute resolution, risk management and preventive litigation techniques. A frequent lecturer, Beth has presented CLE seminars for the WWBA, WBASNY, the National Association of Continuing Legal Education, and the Pace Law School New Directions program. In addition she has spoken for groups including the International Council of Shopping Centers, Ski Areas of New York, the National Ski Areas Association, the Women’s Enterprise Development Center and the Westchester Arts Council. For over a decade, Beth has been a mediator for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. She is also a member of the New Rochelle Bar Association. Beth serves as a director and Secretary of the New Rochelle Council on the Arts and has recently joined the Board of the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation. SUSAN EDWARDS (Treasurer) This is Susan Edwards’ first year as treasurer for the WWBA. In the1980’s, she was a legal services attorney in Ohio. She currently manages donor services for the Westchester Community Foundation, a division of the New York Community Trust. A Certified Public Account, she has taught accounting, income tax, and recently presented a module on individual, partnership and corporation tax at the Pace Law School’s New Directions Program. This past year, she moderated panels on IRS Form 990 Preparation and Choosing an Auditor for Nonprofits. She is an incoming board member of the Westchester Estate Planning Counsel and belongs to the Trusts and Estates section of the Westchester County Bar Association. In her role as co-chair of the Taxation Committee of WWBA, twice yearly she coordinates CLE planning between the respective chairs of the WCB and WWBA’s Trust & Estates Committees and the Income Taxation Committees. She is a trustee of the Women’s Bar Foundation. She completed her third—and final—marathon in May. ANNETTE G. HASAPIDIS (Recording Secretary) This is Annette Hasapidis’ first term as WWBA’s Recording Secretary. She previously served as Director and as Chair of the Appellate Practice Committee and WBASNY Director. Annette also serves as a Co-Chair of the Legislation Committee for WBASNY and previously served as a Co-Chair of WBASNY’s Judiciary Committee. Annette graduated from Brooklyn Law School and New York University, both with honors. In 1999, Annette established a solo practice concentrating on civil appellate and complex motion practice and serving law firms and litigants alike. Additionally, she has established Full Court Press, an appellate printing company, to provide full service to her clients. Prior to 1999, she was an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County, an Assistant County Attorney in Westchester County, and a litigator at both the trial and appellate levels in a New York City civil litigation firm. A frequent lecturer, Annette has conducted seminars for the WWBA and the Pace Law School New Directions program. In addition, Annette is a staunch advocate for victims of domestic violence; she has served as pro bono amicus counsel for WBASNY on such issues. Annette is licensed to practice in the State of New York; United States District Court, Eastern District of New York; United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; and United States Supreme Court. She is a member of WBASNY, Westchester County Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, Northern Westchester Bar Association, Dutchess County Bar Association and White Plains Bar Association. Annette also serves as an Executive Board Member of Pace University School of Law’s Women’s Justice Center. LISA M. BLUESTEIN (Corresponding Secretary) This is Lisa Bluestein’s second term as an officer for the Westchester Women’s Bar. She currently serves as a co-chair of the Litigation Committee and is also a member of the Judicial Screening Committee. Lisa formerly served as a WBASNY Director, chair of the Annual Dinner Souvenir Journal, and a co-chair of the By-Laws Committee. Lisa is the principal of Law Offices of Lisa M. Bluestein, LLC, a law firm focusing on commercial litigation, construction law and corporate law matters. Lisa has been a lecturer and moderator for several WWBA CLE programs concerning litigation and construction law issues. She has also served as an arbitrator for the Ninth Judicial District Part 137 Attorney-Client Fee Dispute Resolution Program. Lisa is admitted to practice in states of New York and Connecticut, and is admitted before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of International Trade, and U.S. District Courts of the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. In addition to being a member of the WWBA, Lisa is a member of the New York State Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association, and the Northern Westchester Bar Association.