31st Annual Kate Stoneman Day Celebrates Robust Group of Honorees
Albany Law School’s 31st Annual Kate Stoneman Day was an exciting reunion of beloved community members as well as a posthumous honor for an impactful judge.
This annual event honors Kate Stoneman, Class of 1898, the school's first female graduate and the first woman admitted to the New York State Bar. The ceremony recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to seeking change and expanding opportunities for women within the legal profession.
This year's honorees included:
The Honorable Sheila Abdus-Salaam (posthumously): Judge Abdus-Salaam was the first African American woman to serve on New York's highest court. She graduated from Barnard College in 1974 and earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1977. Her distinguished career included roles as a staff attorney at East Brooklyn Legal Services, Assistant Attorney General in the New York State Department of Law, and General Counsel for the New York City Office of Labor Services. She began her judicial career in 1992 and was appointed as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department in 2009. Judge Abdus-Salaam passed away in April 2017.
Abdus-Salaam was remembered by Hon. Leslie Stein ’81, former judge on the New York Court of Appeals.
“What I mostly want to try to convey is the special person Judge Abdus-Salaam was, and how much she meant to me personally as a colleague and a friend from the first time I met her until the last communication I had with her. Sheila made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. The fact is that she was like that with everyone from your first introduction, she remembered your name, and who you were, no matter how much time passed until the next time your paths crossed,” Stein said. “When I first became a judge on the Court of Appeals. I was immediately drawn to Sheila for advice, or to talk through a decision she was always reasonable, and, like I was eager to try to reach consensus among the judges when possible. She was brilliant and hardworking, but no matter how busy she was, she always took my call, and I never felt hurried to get off the phone.”
Presiding Justice Rolando T. Acosta, a longtime friend and fellow Columbia Law School graduate, delivered the keynote speech in her honor.
“Sheila, you know, was essentially a very shy individual and very soft-spoken, and didn't relish the spotlight. She really didn't, but she nonetheless recognized that her grand, groundbreaking appointment to the Court of Appeals made her a symbol and an inspiration for so many people and she embraced that role. She put herself out there, accepting, never ending, speaking engagements and honors, mingling with the attendees and giving them her personal attention. Sheila not only showed up giving her time so selflessly, but she was also present. Sheila was an excellent listener, which made her a superb mentor and also a great judge. I mean, some of you would be surprised how many judges are not good listeners. even though, of course, listening is a key ingredient of judging right now. When folks spoke to Sheila. They felt like they were being heard. She paid attention. She cared,” Judge Acosta said. “She wasn't looking around the room to move on to someone else, and I think, Leslie pointed that out, she spoke to everyone the same exact way. No matter that person's professional stature or accomplishment, she was incredibly approachable. Sheila's personality, her innate civility, her warmth, and her stellar reputation as a judge made her the perfect role model for young attorneys.”
President & Dean Emerita Alicia Ouellette ’94: Alicia Ouellette served as the 18th President and Dean of Albany Law School and is currently the Jordan D. Schnitzer Dean at Lewis & Clark Law School. During her tenure at Albany Law School, she led the execution of a new strategic plan, established an institutional affiliation with the University at Albany, expanded into online graduate programs, and completed a record-setting fundraising campaign. Prior to joining Albany Law as a faculty member, she was an Assistant Solicitor General in the New York State Attorney General’s Office and clerked for the Hon. Howard A. Levine at the New York Court of Appeals.
“I'm deeply honored to receive the Kate Stoneman award and to stand in the company of the extraordinary women who have received it before me. Kate's story is one of persistence, resilience, and let's be honest, a little bit of stubbornness that I deeply admire. She didn't just accept defeat. She changed the law. That's the kind of audacity that deserves not just recognition, but repetition. To be associated with her legacy and with the remarkable Stoneman Honorees before me is humbling. Each of them in her own way, refused to accept the status quo, and worked to open doors for others. If there's one thing that we know about doors, it's that once they're kicked open they don't easily shut again, at least not if we have anything to say about it. I've been fortunate in my career that I haven't had to kick through doors. I wasn't a first. I was able to push through doors opened by Kate Stoneman and the incredible women who followed her, allowing me to go places I never could have imagined,” Ouellette said.
“One of the greatest joys and privileges of my professional life has been to advocate for and mentor the people coming after me— students, young lawyers, and especially those who are raising families while navigating law school and legal careers. The message is often that law is an all-consuming profession, that success requires sacrifice, and that families should somehow take a back seat. I reject that. I believe we're better lawyers, better people, when we embrace the fullness of who we are. Women in this profession are not just fierce advocates in the courtroom. We are fierce advocates in our own homes, for our own children, for our own families, and for the right to build both a career and a life. And that right is one we must protect now more than ever. The ability to make choices about our families, when and how to have them, how to support them, how to balance our roles as professionals and caregivers is fundamental. It's not incidental to justice, it's at the heart of it.”
Kimberly C. Petillo-Décossard, Esq. ’05: Kimberly Petillo-Décossard is a partner at White & Case LLP and serves on the Albany Law School Board of Trustees. She advises corporations, boards, private equity firms, and family offices on complex business law matters, focusing on mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions. Recognized as one of 2020’s “Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A” by Mergers & Acquisitions magazine, she has also been honored by The Legal 500 and IFLR1000. In 2020, she and her husband established The Women’s Leadership Initiative at Albany Law School, providing leadership and networking opportunities for students and alumnae.
“As MLK and Kate Snowman showed us through their examples, individuals and like-minded groups must stand up. We must act in line with our values. We must exert our will to create a better and more just universe, for if we do not, the achievements and progress of those who came before us can and will be lost as legal professionals and aspiring legal professionals. When you see injustice. When you see something that needs change, you cannot sit back and wait for someone else to take the lead.
Rather, I believe we must redouble our commitment to creating, empowering and supporting strong women leaders for this generation and for every generation to follow. That is Kate Snowman's legacy, and that is the mission of the WLI,” Petillo-Décossard said.
The Honorable Betty Weinberg Ellerin (Ret.): Judge Ellerin was the first woman appointed as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division for the First Department and the first female Presiding Justice of that Court. Elected to the bench in 1976, she also served as Deputy Chief Administrative Judge of New York State for the New York City Courts. At age 94 (and a half) she remains very active. She chairs several committees, including the NYS Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts, and has received numerous awards for her contributions to the legal profession. After retiring from the bench in 2005, she joined Alston & Bird LLP as Senior Counsel, she also conducts mediations and arbitrations through JAMS.
“Getting the Kate Stoneman award is an honor and privilege, and that means more than I can say. She has been the subject and heroine of more of my speeches over the years than I can count, keeping in mind the time when she spoke out publicly and forcefully for women's suffrage, and became the 1st woman in this state to become a lawyer,” Judge Ellerin said.
Judge Ellerin spoke of her lengthy career and the inequities she noticed throughout and some of which continue today.
“I was shocked and dismayed within the last couple of weeks to see a survey, but a survey done by one of the media channels that women were getting, I believe it was 86% of the salary that men did for the same job,” She said. “Now that's intolerable. Kate Stoneman would not have tolerated that at all. And she would have been very disappointed in us that we allowed that to continue. We are now raising the issue very emphatically, hoping to change it. I may not be around to see it, but I know that Judge Rosado will be helping lead the charge, and hopefully within the foreseeable future. We will be successful in making sure that women are not only paid equally, but that their work is appreciated by all in our community. That means their work as homemakers and mothers in conjunction with their jobs.”
The day was made even more special with the attendance of Bruce Stoneman-Otto, Kate Stoneman was Bruce's second great grand aunt on his mother's side.
Earlier in the day, ahead of the ceremony, students, faculty and staff joined honorees for a question and answer session and open discussion on experiences in the law and offered frank advice to current law students. Members of Abdus-Salaam’s family also joined in the events of the day in support of her.
“Today is also a day when in Kate Stoneman's honor, we really reaffirm very loudly and clearly and proudly our commitment to the work that she started the strength that she showed the leadership she exhibited and the power of women that she represented,” said President and Dean Cinnamon Carlarne. “It is a time to again, very clearly and very intentionally celebrate the voices, the power, the successes, and the leadership of women in our society, and the influence that these many women leaders have had and continue to have, in helping us move towards a much more inclusive and equitable understanding of the practice of the rule of the practice of law, the rule of law and to the foundations of our democracy.”
