Five Albany Law School alumni have been named to City & State’s annual Trailblazers in Law list. The magazine features “exceptional leaders in the legal field who are carrying out their mission, standing up for their profession and maintaining the rule of law in an era of uncertainty."

Patrick Wildes ’16, Director of the Government Law Center at Albany Law School, is ranked among these legal leaders across government and the private sector.

Last year, Wildes returned to his alma mater as the new director of its Government Law Center. His homecoming came after he served nearly five years   in the New York State Governor’s Office, most recently as the assistant secretary for human services and mental hygiene. In this role, he was instrumental in directing the Hochul administration’s historic $1 billion investment into mental health, in addition to aiding the Governor in prioritizing the state’s response to the opioid overdose crisis and other pressing human services matters. This year, the Government Law Center welcomed its largest ever cohort into the Center’s Fellowship program, which prepares law students for meaningful careers in public service. The Center also serves as a non-partisan analysis hub through explainers and educational programming on state, local, and federal policy in addition to emerging legal issues.

Wildes continues to weigh in on pressing policy matters on the state and federal levels, including the governor’s mental health agenda and federal cuts to funding for mental health and opioid overdose prevention.

Additional alumni listed include: 
 

Michael Avella ’89
Partner, Dickinson & Avella
Avella is a former chief counsel to the state Senate majority. He served under two majority leaders and has a deep understanding of how Albany’s role in taxation, the budget, and racing and gambling policy. Avella now works as a partner at Dickinson & Avella. Among his clients are Silvercup Studios, Capital Region Gaming, Rush Street Gaming, NBCUniversal and the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York, the magazine said. He has also served on the state’s Deferred Compensation Board and the Franchise Oversight Board.

Brielle Christian ’14
Senior Legislative Counsel, New York State Unified Court System
The court system in New York state is a large, complex agency with its own legislative role in addition to its responsibility to interpret and uphold state law. In her role as Senior Legislative Counsel, Christian work to make sure New York State Unified Court System “communicates its needs to the legislative and executive branches.” Christian brings experience as an Assembly and state Senate staffer as well as a gubernatorial attorney to her role representing the court system’s interests in state policymaking and budgetary processes, City & State said.

 

Sean Doolan ’87
President, Hinman Straub
Doolan’s expertise sits at the intersection of several areas—including of government, health care, insurance, and technology law. In his work as president at Albany-based law firm Hinman Straub, the practice is focused on government relations and corporate law, providing expertise to clients as they navigate the complex regulatory and legislative landscape surrounding the health care and insurance sectors. He tackles transactions and complex legal problems with creativity and determination.

 

Jason Lilien ’95
Partner and Co-Chair, Nonprofits and Tax-Exempt Organizations Practice, Loeb & Loeb

Lilien, a leading expert in nonprofit law, “literally wrote legislation governing nonprofit organizations in the state.” A former Charities Bureau chief in the state Attorney General’s Office, Lilien was the principal author of the Nonprofit Revitalization Act of 2013, which was the biggest reform of the state’s charities law in decades. During his tenure as the state’s top charities regulator, he updated other state laws as well. Lilien has used his expertise to help create the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.

Karl Sleight, Partner and Saratoga Springs Office Leader at Lippes Mathias, who serves on the Government Law Center’s Advisory Board, was also named to the list.