Meyer Suozzi Awards Judge Bernard S. Meyer Scholarship To Victoria I. Kusel

Victoria Kusel of Voorheesville, New York, a student at Albany Law School of Union University, has been chosen as the 2012 recipient of the Judge Bernard S. Meyer Scholarship. The award, funded by the law firm of Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C. and administered by The New York Bar Foundation, is presented annually to a student who exhibits excellence in legal writing and advocacy skills. Ms. Kusel was recognized for her legal scholarship for a paper she wrote entitled, “Human Genetic Material as Patentable Subject Matter: Advocating for Consideration of Bioethical Issues.” The topic of Ms. Kusel’s essay seamlessly merged her background in science and biology with her current study of law, discussing the recent controversy over the legal and ethical appropriateness of granting patent protection to human genetic material. Please click on the above PDF to view Ms. Kusel's essay. Lois Carter Schlissel, managing attorney for Meyer, Suozzi English and Klein, P.C. said, “We are very pleased that the Judge Meyer Scholarship has been awarded to Ms.Kusel. This essay contest allows the firm to encourage excellence in legal writing and advocacy among future members of our profession while honoring Judge Meyer for his outstanding work and dedication to the law.” Established in 2004, the award is available to second-year law students attending a law school in New York. A $5,000 scholarship will be applied to Ms. Kusel’s 2012/2013 academic year tuition at Albany Law School of Union University. A 2008 graduate of Rider University, Ms. Kusel is set to complete both her J.D. from Albany Law School her M.S. from Union Graduate College in 2013. She is currently interning at the NYS Task Force of Life and the Law within the NYS Department of Health. In addition, she serves as an Assistant Research Scientist at The Genomics Institute within the NYS Department of Health. Judge Meyer was an associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1979-1986 and practiced with Meyer Suozzi from 1987 until his death in 2005. He earned his law degree at the University Of Maryland School Of Law and was a graduate of Johns Hopkins University. Among his notable accomplishments, he served as special Deputy Attorney General of New York in charge of the Special Attica Investigation and was a member of the Governor’s Commission on Integrity in Government. Andrew J. Turro, Esq., a member of Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C., Hon. Michael A. Ciaffa, a former member of the firm now serving as Nassau County District Court Judge, and Emily Franchina, the Past President of the Nassau County Bar Association comprised the scholarship selection committee and participated in the blind judging of the essay submissions. The Judge Meyer Scholarship is one example of the important initiatives that have been designed to stimulate the growth of The Foundation and to better serve New York's legal profession, the justice system and the community.