Blank Rome's Ahmed Joins Community Association's Rising Leader Mentorship Program

ADIL SYED AHMED

Adil Syed Ahmed, a real estate associate at Blank Rome, has been selected to join the 2017-18 class of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey's (HCDNNJ) inaugural Rising Leaders Mentorship Program. The 12-month program, which launched on Sept. 26, is designed to forge strong connections within the community development field and foster the next generation of leaders. It will prepare diverse mid- to senior-level professionals who demonstrate the necessary passion and potential for advancement into positions of responsibility. The rising leaders class will be matched with experienced mentors in the field and, over the course of one year, rising leaders and mentors alike will build capacity in both personal and professional ways through one-on-one meetings, professional development trainings, and networking events. This year's mentors include Patrick Morrissy, former executive director of HANDS; Betsey Hall, former president of Homeless Solutions; Darlene Robinson, PNC Bank; Mark McBride, TD Bank; and Alle Ries, M&T Bank. Based in Blank Rome's Philadelphia office, Ahmed counsels real estate investment funds, privately held and publicly traded companies, and financial institutions in all aspects of their acquisition, disposition, financing, and leasing of real estate. Ahmed serves as a member of The Indus Entrepreneurs–Philadelphia and the Fordham Law Entrepreneurial Law Advisory Council. He also serves of the board of Global Emergency Response and Assistance, a nonprofit organization that assists refugees in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania adjust to life in the U.S.

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice Adds Four Board Members

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) in Montclair has announced the addition of four trustees with deep experience in the legal profession and a history of public service and pro bono work in New Jersey. The new trustees are former Essex County Assignment Judge Patricia K. Costello, now of counsel at Chiesa, Shahinian & Giantomasi in West Orange; William Krovatin, senior vice president and assistant general counsel, intellectual property, at Merck & Co., Inc., in Kenilworth; Mary Frances Palisano, a partner at Gibbons in Newark; and Geoffrey Rosamond, a partner at McCarter & English in Newark.

Costello served for more than 25 years as a New Jersey Superior Court judge, including 10 years as Essex County's assignment judge. Previously, she served on the Hudson County Superior Court. She concentrates her practice on mediation and arbitration of civil, chancery and matrimonial matters, including probate, commercial litigation, and labor and employment disputes.

Krovatin, who heads the intellectual property group in the general counsel's office at Merck, handles a wide range of matters, including

patent procurement, licensing of intellectual property, litigation and trademarks. As a VLJ volunteer, he has handled bankruptcy matters, often for people whose medical bills have become too large.

Palisano is a litigator who focuses on criminal defense, juvenile, school discipline and special education matters. A longtime VLJ