The law firm of Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria announced Diane M. Perri Roberts of Lewiston was named a 2018 recipient of the Shira A. Scheindlin Award for Excellence in the Courtroom by the New York State Bar Association.
The Shira A. Scheindlin Award for Excellence in the Courtroom is awarded annually to one or two female litigators who have distinguished themselves in the courtroom in either the federal or state courts in New York, and who have shown a commitment to mentoring young attorneys in the legal community. Honorees are selected by a panel of judges and litigators from across New York.
The Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association created the Shira A. Scheindlin Award for Excellence in the Courtroom to honor Shira Scheindlin, who served as a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of New York from 1994-2016. The award is presented annually in the month of November to commemorate the date in 1917 when women received the right to vote in New York state.
Perri Roberts is the first litigator from the Buffalo/Niagara Region to receive the award.
Perri Roberts stated, "I was both humbled and honored when I received the call from the president of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the State Bar Association, letting me know I was selected as one of the two state-wide recipients this year of the Shira Scheindlin award for Excellence in the Courtroom. Judge Scheindlin and the Section have helped bring to the forefront the challenges female litigators often face while advocating for their clients, perhaps more so in the business/commercial litigation area. It is a high point in my legal career to be chosen by such an esteemed panel to receive this award."
Perri Roberts, a partner at Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria, focuses her practice in the areas of employment litigation and commercial litigation. She represents businesses in contract disputes and employment matters in federal and state court as well as in mediations and arbitrations.
New York state passed one of the nation's strongest and most comprehensive sexual harassment prevention legislation packages in 2018. Perri Roberts has remained at the forefront of these laws and worked to ensure employers are in compliance with sexual harassment standards through services that include: creating policies, developing training, and conducting investigations for clients.
Perri Roberts also defends employers in labor matters brought before the EEOC, the New York State Division of Human Rights, and OSHA. She earned a J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo, an MBA from Niagara University, and a B.S. from the State University College of New York at Buffalo.
Perri Roberts is chair of the Lewiston Democratic Committee and special counsel to the Niagara County Democratic Committee.
In addition to the Shira A. Scheindlin Award for Excellence in the Courtroom, Perri Roberts has been recognized by her peers in Super Lawyers and Business First's Legal Elite of WNY.
