Albany Law School Promotes Five Faculty Members
Albany Law School is proud to recognize five outstanding faculty members on their recent promotions, a reflection of their excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service to our community.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum has been promoted to Distinguished Professor of Law, recognizing her legacy of excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service across the fields of health law, bioethics and civil rights. Professor Tenenbaum is a widely published expert in health law, bioethics, and tort law and she teaches courses and holds appointments at both Albany Law School and Albany Medical College. She is a previous winner of Albany Law’s Distinguished Educator for Excellence in Scholarship Award and the Director’s Award for Scholarship Distinction as well as serving on the Ethics Review Committee at Albany Medical College.
Assistant Professor Dan Bollana ’16 has been promoted to Associate Professor of Law. Professor Bollana currently serves as the School’s Director of Bar Success and has distinguished himself through his leadership, dedication to student achievement, and contributions to the academic success and bar support programming and curriculum. Prior to serving in his current role, Professor Bollana was an associate at Milbank LLP in their Litigation & Arbitration Practice Group, Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Syracuse, and coached and counseled students as Associate Director of the Career and Professional Development Center at Albany Law School.
Assistant Professor Kanika Johar ’13 has been promoted to Associate Professor of Law. Professor Johar teaches Introduction to Lawyering while also serving a critical role in preparing graduates for bar success and serving as the Faculty Advisor for the moot court program. Professor Johar began her legal career at the New York State Court of Appeals, first as Central Legal Research Staff-Senior Court Attorney, then as Confidential Law Clerk for Hon. Eugene F. Pigott, Jr., and later as Senior Counsel for the Board of Law Examiners. Professor Johar then practiced with O’Brien & Wood, before beginning her teaching career.
Assistant Professor Caitlain Devereaux Lewis ’11 has been promoted to Associate Professor of Law. Professor Lewis teaches Introduction to Lawyering and Introduction to Intellectual Property. Her scholarship engages critical questions at the intersection of AI and legal education. She began her legal career first as a law clerk and then a career clerk for the Honorable Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade. From there, she clerked for the Honorable Evan J. Wallach for the Federal Circuit, before moving to the Library of Congress where she served first as a legislative attorney and later as a supervisory attorney.
Assistant Professor Dale Margolin Cecka has been promoted to Associate Professor of Law. Professor Cecka serves as Director of the Family Violence Litigation Clinic within the Edward P. Swyer Justice Center. She is a leading family law scholar and has published thirteen articles and two book chapters as well as authoring many op-eds. She is regularly featured on podcasts and in the national media. She began her legal career as a Skadden Fellow at the Legal Aid Society and was previously a Clinical Professor of Law and at the University of Richmond School of Law where she founded and directed Richmond’s Family Law Clinic.
The promotions were approved by the Albany Law School Board of Trustees at its meeting on May 14, 2026.
