Defense Trial Lawyers of Western New York Association announces Annual Awards
The Defense Trial Lawyers of Western New York Association (DTLA-WNY) announces that local attorney David R. Adams will be awarded the highest honor bestowed by that organization: the Robert M. Kiebala Memorial Award as the 2023 Defense Trial Lawyer of the Year.
The award is presented to the attorney who best exemplifies the Association’s mission of “promoting the highest standard of trial conduct through member education and advocating the defense position in civil cases with the judiciary and where appropriate in the New York State legislature.”
David has been in practice in New York State for over 25 years and has served in many leadership roles in the legal community during that time, including as a past President of DTLA-WNY. David is the Chair of the NYS Labor Law (Scaffold Law) & Construction Defect team, a member of the New York State Bar Association (Trial Lawyers; Torts, Insurance and Compensation and the Labor and Employment Law sections), the Bar Association of Erie County, and the Western New York Trial Lawyers Association. He is a member at Hurwitz Fine PC, where he developed and leads the firm’s CAT (High Exposure/Catastrophic Injury) Team, heads the firm’s 24-Hour Emergency Response Team for construction site accidents, and is a member of the firm’s 24-Hour Emergency Response Team for trucking accidents.
David earned his Juris Doctor from the University at Buffalo School of Law where he was awarded the Connelly Award for outstanding performance in trial technique and was selected to the UB Law School National Mock Trial Team. He is a cum laude graduate of Canisius College.
The DTLA’s 2023 Sherwood Civility Award is bestowed upon Daniel Connors, a founder of Nash Connors, P.C. and a Co-Chair of the Litigation Department. During the course of his career, Dan has defended catastrophic personal injury cases in the area of trucking and transportation negligence, product liability, as well as labor law and premises liability. Dan’s reputation in the legal community is such that he is regularly retained by attorneys from outside firms to act as an arbitrator to assist in the resolution of their client’s matters. Dan is a cum laude graduate of West Virginia University and earned his Juris Doctor from the University at Buffalo School of Law.
These awards will be given at the annual meeting on Wednesday, December 13, from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm at The Saturn Club. In addition, the following board members will be honored as their term comes to a close: John DePaolo, Melissa Habberfield, Marina Murray, and Marc Schulz. President Nancy Long will turn over her duties to current vice-president, Sean Spencer. Ms. Long will remain on the board for a one-year emeritus term.
