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COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES
a quick transition was critical. Interestingly,
Dean Valentini noted that
his parents never graduated from
high school. Currently, 15 percent of
College students are first-generation
college students. A former chair of
the chemistry department, Dean
Valentini’s interaction with students
helped him prepare for his current
role. He described Columbia as being
the greatest college in the greatest
university in the greatest city in
the world. He noted that the 29,393
applicants this year were second to
Harvard. Dean Valentini’s goal is to
figure out what kind of college we
want to be and then determine how
to raise the money to get there.
President Lee C. Bollinger also
spoke at the board meeting. He
stated that he was surprised to
receive Dean Moody-Adams’ resignation,
referred to it as a “painful
moment” and said he tried to persuade
her not to resign. President
Bollinger described there being a
“sense of mistrust,” which he is
determined to overcome. As a law
student at Columbia in 1968 and
having learned about the firing and
rehiring of Dean Austin Quigley,
President Bollinger understands
the historical context for disputes
between the University administration
and the College. But after 10
years as president, he felt we had
moved significantly beyond these
differences. There is an extraordinary
amount of attention focused
on the College, as evidenced by his
teaching a class at CC. He stated
emphatically, “Columbia College
students deserve the very best the
University has to offer.” President
Bollinger strongly endorses the
Core Curriculum and maintaining
need-blind admissions. He is committed
to improving the communication
between Low Library and
the College and finding real solutions
for any mistrust. President
Bollinger also thinks the University
is as great today as any point in the
last 50–60 years. A great University
needs space and resources. The
Manhattanville expansion is a
tremendous opportunity to create
a new campus during the next
half-century. The $4 billion capital
campaign goal, the second highest
amount in the country, was met
early and has since been raised to
$5 billion.
Mark Momjian was a 2011
Alumni Medalist at the University
Commencement. Alumni Medalists
are Columbia alumni selected
to receive this high honor for their
distinguished service of 10 years or
more to the University, including
its schools, alumni associations,
regional Columbia Clubs and
University-wide initiations. Mark
is chair of the Philadelphia ARC
and a tireless supporter of Columbia
College.
From Mark’s firm’s website
(momjiananderer.com/profiles_
mark2.html): “A graduate of Columbia
College and the Columbia
University School of Law, Mark
Momjian’s family law practice
encompasses all aspects of divorce,
support, child custody, and appellate
litigation. He writes and
lectures frequently about trends in
domestic relations, with a special
emphasis on biotechnology’s
impact on family law. A member
of the Board of Editors of The
Matrimonial Strategist since 1994,
Momjian has published dozens of
articles on specialized aspects of
family law, some of which have appeared
in the National Law Journal¸
the American Journal of Family Law,
and Divorce Litigation. His articles
on family law have been cited
in numerous law reviews and
journals, including the Yale Law
Journal, the Virginia Journal of Social
Policy and the Law, Law and Psychology
Review, Law and Inequality, and
the American University Journal of
Gender, Social Policy and the Law.
“Listed in Best Lawyers in America,
Who’s Who in American Law,
and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers,
Momjian has handled family law
cases in over a third of Pennsylvania’s
judicial districts. Momjian is
co-author with his father, Albert
Momjian, of Pennsylvania Family
Law Annotated, published by
Thomson/West and currently in its
tenth edition. Momjian has argued
major appeals before the Pennsylvania
appellate courts, and in
2006 he successfully defended the
constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s
Grandparents’ Visitation Act before
the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
He also successfully argued the
first appellate case in the country
in which a non-biological parent
was directed to pay child support
to her former domestic partner.
Momjian has been quoted on family
law topics in newspapers across
the United States, including The
New York Times, Los Angeles Times,
and The Wall Street Journal, and
he has been interviewed by Larry
King on CNN’s Larry King Live, as
well as by Matt Lauer on NBC’s
The Today Show.”
A more complete description of
Mark’s credentials can be found on
the same site.
Bruce Abramson ’87 GSAS:
“This summer, following nearly
seven years flying solo, I brought
my practice in to become a partner
at Rimon. All of my old contact
information will continue to work,
but please add bruce.abramson@
rimonlaw.com to your list of safe
email addresses. Rimon’s firm
structure provides me with the autonomy
to continue and to expand
my practice in some powerful and
exciting directions. Prior to hang-
WINTER 2011–12
81
ing my own shingle, I spent parts
of my career as a computer scientist,
as a strategic consultant, as an
antitrust and valuation economist,
and as an intellectual property lawyer.
These experiences allowed me
to combine expert witness work
(in both valuation and computing/
software/Internet industry issues)
with strategic advising of small
businesses and startups, while
pursuing my research interests at
the intersection of technology, business,
law and public policy.
“Rimon lets me continue working
on all of these topics. In addition, it
provides me with colleagues who
can help me augment my valuation,
IP, business planning, strategy
and negotiation services with a full
suite of services critical for corporate
growth. Of equal importance, how-
ever, is the extent to which the firm’s
philosophy mirrors my own. One
of the reasons that I hung my own
shingle was my desire to work with
clients large and small, on a variety
of matters, in ways that are simply
not possible under a standard
billable-hour arrangement. Through
the years, I crafted a variety of agreements
with my clients, including
reduced hourly rates, success or
contingency fees, equity arrangements
and fixed-fee-for-fixed-task
agreements. Rimon prides itself
on its preference for alternative,
value-driven fee arrangements as
appropriate to the needs of the clients.
As a result, I can continue to say
what I have been telling prospective
clients for years: If you believe that
I can make a positive contribution
to your business’s growth, to your
negotiations or to resolving your
dispute, we will find a compensation
structure that lets us work
together. Along these same lines, I
am particularly excited about our
forthcoming launch of a program
that combines mentoring and legal
concierge services, targeting small
companies and tech startups. Watch
for that announcement soon!”
Bruce holds a Ph.D. in computer
science from Columbia and a J.D.
from Georgetown. His clients have
included The World Bank, the
governments of Greece and India,
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
Procter & Gamble, HotJobs, AOL,
RealNetworks, Bandag, Pitney Bowes,
IBM, Northrop, Duke Energy and
Neopost. Prior to joining Rimon, he
developed a practice through his
two firms that he founded, Informationism
and Gordian Solutions.
Bruce has published five books and
more than 40 scholarly articles.
Eric Epstein: “I live with my wife,
Michele Shapiro ’85 Barnard, ’91J,
and daughter, Esme, in Manhattan. I
am a manager and senior counsel for
the New York City Law Department
and Office of Corporation Counsel.
Michele is a senior editor for Weight
Watchers magazine. Esme is a seventh
grader at Salk School of Science.
I was looking forward to seeing
many of my Columbia friends at
Homecoming.”
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Dennis Klainberg
Berklay Cargo Worldwide
14 Bond St., Ste 233
Great Neck, NY 11021
dennis@berklay.com
Michael Ackerman, in his own
words: “After working as an
entertainment lawyer forever,
with the music industry in freefall
and thoughts about how I could
afford college for my 9-year-old
son, Landon, keeping me awake at
night, I looked for an escape ladder.
I fortunately found one in the
class action claims administration
business. I recently joined Heffler
Claims Administration — a pioneer
in the industry, virtually inventing
claims administration in the 1960s
— and became its first employee
outside of Pennsylvania (the company
is based in Philadelphia). So
if you know any lawyers who have
class action cases requiring notice
provision or claims administration,
I hope you’ll send them my way:
mackerman@heffler.com.”
A bit closer to home, Rich Macksoud:
“Hurricane Irene threatened
to disrupt things, but I dropped off
my son, James ’15, for New Student
orientation on what turned out to
be a beautiful morning. James is a
graduate of Montclair (N.J.) H.S.,
where he was involved in Model
UN and Model Congress. He also
was part of the national championship
team in the annual Fed
Challenge economic competition
sponsored by the Federal Reserve.
James plans to focus on the social
sciences (economics, anthropology).
He is taking Lit Hum and is thrilled
that he got a single in Jay versus a
double in Carman (which, by the
way, looks shockingly the same
after more than 25 years). Rich also
noted he “was thrilled at the opportunity
to actually drive and park on
College Walk during the drop off.”
Rich recently joined uTest, a startup
that provides “crowd-sourced”
web and mobile testing, and is a
major account manager. Rich and
his wife soon will celebrate their
20th anniversary. They live in Montclair
with their other son, John.
And even closer to home, in addition
to the office address change
(which you may note at the top of
the column), Dennis Klainberg is
proud to announce the recent (and
final!) bar mitzvah in his immediate
family, that of Jacob Philip. With
No. 1 son Adam enjoying a successful
freshman year at SUNY New
Paltz, and daughters Emma and
Sydney shining as thespians and