Home > News & Seminars > News Releases > 2005 News Releases > Hodgson Russ partner David A Farmelo elected chair of National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys

Hodgson Russ partner David A. Farmelo elected chair of National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys

May 2, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Lisa Kane
716.848.1335
lkane@hodgsonruss.com

BUFFALO, N.Y. — David A. Farmelo, Esq., a partner at Hodgson Russ LLP, was elected chairman of the National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys at the council's annual business meeting. That meeting was part of the council's annual School Law Seminar, which was held in conjunction with NSBA's 65th Annual Conference and Exposition in San Diego, Calif., April 16 to 19. As Chair of COSA, Mr. Farmelo also serves as an ex officio member of the board of directors of NSBA. 

The Council of School Attorneys is a membership organization of over 3,000 attorneys nationwide who work to improve the practice of school law and thereby reduce the impact of adverse legal decisions on the resources of public schools. Founded in 1940, NSBA is a federation of associations of school boards across the United States and its territories. NSBA represents the nation's 95,000 school board members, who govern 14,890 local school districts serving more than 47 million public school students. NSBA policy is determined by a 150-member delegate assembly of local school board members. The 25-member board of directors translates this policy into action.

Mr. Farmelo concentrates his practice in education law and public and private sector labor relations and employment law. He is a past president of the New York State Association of School Attorneys, Inc. and has served as the editor of The Green Book: Recent Decisions in Education Law, a publication of that organization. He has authored numerous articles for state and national professional organizations on topics related to education and employment law, and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

Karl W. Kristoff, Esq., also a partner at Hodgson Russ and lead attorney in the Firm's Education Law Practice Group, spoke at the conference during the Council of School Attorneys' School Law Seminar. Mr. Kristoff gave a presentation entitled "How to Train Administrators to Conduct Investigations of Allegations of Employee and Student Misconduct." Mr. Kristoff has practiced law since 1968 and has concentrated his practice in both school law and public sector labor relations work for the past 29 years. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America. 

With approximately 200 attorneys practicing in all major areas of law, Hodgson Russ is the 205th largest law firm headquartered in the United States, as reported by the National Law Journal. It is one of approximately 100 firms in the country listed in America's Greatest Places to Work With a Law Degree. In addition, Hodgson Russ was recently named one of the country's most admired employers by American Employer Digest. The Firm, which was established in 1817 and is among the oldest law firms in the U.S., is the only law firm that can count two former U.S. presidents, Millard Fillmore and Grover Cleveland, among its alumni. The six offices of Hodgson Russ are located in Albany, Buffalo, Johnstown, and New York City, New York; Boca Raton, Florida; and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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