Connect Four: A View from the Bench

The NYS Academy of Trial Lawyers is the largest statewide trial bar in the US with 5,700+ lawyer and judge members. We are committed to protecting, preserving and enhancing the civil justice system. Our highly acclaimed CLE programming features extraordinary presenters covering the most timely and important topics.

Justice Saliann Scarpulla is a graduate of Boston University and Brooklyn Law School, summa cum laude. After law school, Justice Scarpulla became Principal Court Attorney to the Hon. Alvin F. Klein. Justice Scarpulla then worked at Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn as a litigation associate from 1988 to 1993. At Proskauer, she gained extensive experience in commercial litigation, accountants’ liability, securities regulations, real estate, contracts, and commercial torts.   In 1993, Justice Scarpulla joined the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as Senior Counsel in the New York Legal Services Office. While there, she represented the FDIC as receiver for numerous failed banks and litigated cases on banking and commercial issues, including ERISA and FIRREA. Justice Scarpulla then became Senior Vice President and Bank Counsel to Hudson United Bank, where she was responsible for all litigation involving the bank and also oversaw the bank’s compliance with state and federal banking regulations.   Justice Scarpulla returned to the New York State court system in 1999 as Principal Court Attorney to the Hon. Eileen Bransten. She was elected to the Civil Court in 2001. While in Civil Court, Justice Scarpulla presided over civil, commercial landlord-tenant, no-fault, pro se, and small claims actions.   In 2009, Justice Scarpulla was appointed an Acting Justice of the Supreme Court and initially presided over a City part, handling civil litigation involving the City of New York as a party. Justice Scarpulla was then assigned to an IAS part, in which she handled a wide variety of civil cases. She was elected to the Supreme Court in 2012 and was assigned to an IAS part with an emphasis on complex asbestos litigation. In addition to her asbestos caseload, Justice Scarpulla handled construction injury/property damage cases, insurance coverage cases, and general commercial litigation.   Justice Scarpulla also presided over actions commenced pursuant to Mental Hygiene Law Article 9. Justice Scarpulla was assigned to the Commercial Division in February 2014. She is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Catholic Lawyers Guild, Columbian Lawyers Association, Jewish Lawyers Guild, Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert, the National Association of Italian American Women, the National Association of Women Judges, the New York County Lawyers Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the New York Women’s Bar Association. Justice Scarpulla is also a frequent lecturer at the Judicial Institute.

- Became the first person of color, Black, and Jamaican appointed to the Third Department by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, effective March 1, 2016, and then became the first minority elevated to Constitutional Associate Justice in January 2021.   - Emigrated from Jamaica, West Indies, where she was born, to the United States.   - Graduated from New York University and City University of New York School of Law.   - Elected as Supreme Court Justice for the 12th Judicial District in 2009 and re-elected in 2023; previously elected Judge of the Civil Court for Bronx County in 2003.   - Served as Principal Law Clerk to both a Supreme Court Justice (Criminal Division) and the Surrogate of Bronx County.   - Engaged in private practice specializing in personal injury and medical malpractice litigation and began legal career as an attorney for the Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division.   - Third Department Representative on the Advisory Committee on Attorney Bar Admission. - Former member of the Unified Court System's Second Special Commission on Fiduciary Appointments.   - Former Adjunct Professor at Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, Lehman College, and Bronx Community College.   - Former Chairwoman of the Board of Directors for a non-profit organization, dedicated to serving special needs, and pre-school children in Bronx County. - Former President and Chairwoman of the Black Bar Association of Bronx County.

Mark C. Dillon is a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, currently serving in its Appellate Division in the Second Judicial Department. He was elected to the Supreme Court in the state's Ninth Judicial District in 1999, before his appointment to the Appellate Division by Governor George Pataki in 2005. He was re-appointed to one of the senior "constitutional" seats at the Appellate Division by Governor David Paterson in January 2009. Justice Dillon has presided in a variety of courts, including the trial parts of the Supreme Courts in Westchester, Rockland, and Dutchess Counties; the Westchester County Court; and the Yorktown Justice Court. His experience on the bench totals 19 years.   Justice Dillon has also been an active civil litigator and trial attorney in state and federal courts in the greater New York City area, at the White Plains firms of Cerussi & Spring, and thereafter, at Dillon & Sarcone, LLP, where he received the highest attorney category rating of Martindale-Hubbell.   Justice Dillon has lectured frequently at CLEs dealing with civil procedure, appellate practice, medical malpractice, matrimonial law, and criminal law, and has written extensively on matters of civil practice in court decisions and in legal publications. Justice Dillon joined the Adjunct Faculty of Fordham Law School during the 2007–08 school year and teaches a course on New York Practice.

Justice Henry J. Nowak was elected to the New York State Supreme Court in November 2010. Since 2011, he has handled a wide variety of civil cases. In 2016, he was assigned to the Commercial Division of the Eighth Judicial District.   Justice Nowak also served as a Buffalo City Court Judge from 2003 through 2010. During that time, he was assigned to Buffalo Housing Court, which presided over all housing violations and evictions in the city of Buffalo. He worked to convert the housing part into a true problem-solving forum to remedy housing conditions in the city of Buffalo. As a result of his efforts, he was named Public Servant of the Year in 2006 by the Local Initiative Support Corporation and an Outstanding Citizen of 2010 by The Buffalo News.   Justice Nowak graduated from SUNY at Buffalo Law School in 1993, where he served as the Publications Editor of the Buffalo Law Review. After law school, he worked as a trial attorney at Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria, LLP and Connors & Vilardo, LLP.   For several years during his judicial service, Justice Nowak taught a constitutional law seminar at the SUNY at Buffalo Honors College. Also, he has been a regular instructor on a variety of issues at the New York State Judicial Institute. Justice Nowak has won a number of awards throughout his tenure, including the Pro Bono Award from the Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers' Project, both the Distinguished Leadership Award and Distinguished Service Award, from the Advocates Club of WNY, and the Pewter Plate Award from the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier. Furthermore, Justice Nowak contributed a chapter to the New York State Residential Landlord-Tenant Law and Procedure.

Mr. Gangi focuses on assisting clients with handling and perfecting appeals throughout New York’s appellate courts, including the Appellate Division First and Second Departments, the New York Court of Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. His knowledge of New York’s Practice Rules of the Appellate Division and his ability to find creative solutions to procedural issues make him a valuable asset to his clients. Before transitioning to appellate practice in 2018, Mr. Gangi was a litigator for two prominent South Florida insurance defense firms, where he focused his practice on personal injury and commercial litigation. Mr. Gangi has also worked on several appeals to Florida’s Third and Fourth District Courts of Appeal, which provided him with invaluable insight into the appellate process. Mr. Gangi earned a Bachelor of Science from Florida International University and a Juris Doctor from Saint Thomas University School of Law. He is admitted to the bar in Florida and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Rob Brucato opened Counsel Press’s Buffalo office in 1992 and has managed it continuously since then. During his career spanning over 30 years, he has been personally involved in several thousand appeals, primarily to the New York State Appellate Courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Before joining Counsel Press, Mr. Brucato briefly worked with the U.S. Small Business Administration and also practiced privately. He currently serves as President of the University at Buffalo School of Law Alumni Association. Additionally, he serves as co-chair of the Bar Association of Erie County’s Appellate Practice Committee and is a former director of that organization’s board. Mr. Brucato is actively involved with multiple legal organizations and associations in the upstate New York region. He has presented CLEs on appellate topics to the Bar Association of Erie County, the Monroe County Bar Association, the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Western New York Chapter of WBASNY (Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York), the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys (GRAWA), the SUNY Buffalo Law School Alumni GOLD Group, the Western New York Paralegal Association, and the Paralegal Association of Rochester. He is also a member of the Bar Association of Erie County and the Monroe County Bar Association.

Jacki specializes in assisting Counsel Press clients in their matters within the NY, MA, RI, and DC appellate courts; the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, D.C., and Federal Circuits; and other state and federal appellate courts nationwide. She is a seasoned trial and appellate litigator, having focused her practice on complex litigation, professional liability matters, insurance coverage, zoning board actions, and mass tort cases. She earned her law degree from Roger Williams University School of Law, with honors, and served as the President of the Moot Court Board. She also earned her MSW, BS in Social Work, and BA in Psychology from Syracuse University.