New Haven Register highlights School of Law alumni serving ‘an entire class of underserved people’

Several Quinnipiac University School of Law alumni are focusing on providing legal services to people who cannot afford traditional legal fees, but are not poor enough to qualify for free legal aid, the New Haven Register reports.

“We decided we wanted to meet the needs of those people who fall in the middle,” Danielle Robinson Briand, a 2010 graduate who now has a law practice in Bridgeport with fellow Quinnipiac grad Darren Pruslow, told the New Haven Register. “To be able to do that, we had to come up with a business model, which is still a work in progress, that gives us the time to do quality work and still pays our bills.”

The students told the daily newspaper that they decided to pursue what is called “low bono,” or discounted hourly rates and flat fees for legal services. It’s a trend that is catching on among younger attorneys, the Register reports.

“There’s an entire class of underserved people who don’t see the need to shell out a couple thousand dollars for a will,” Brian Young, a Quinnipiac Law grad who has a practice in Fairfield County, told the newspaper. “They don’t consider themselves wealthy. They’re working Joes. They’ve got jobs to get to during the week.”

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Remembering 2012 through our community’s eyes

Many moments, both large and small, helped define 2012 for the Quinnipiac community. Here, Sam DeBlois rocks out at our Sept. 28 Dropkick Murphys and Black 47 concert at our TD Bank Sports Center on our York Hill Campus. We want to see what helped define your year. Please email or tag us in your photos.

As 2012 comes to an end, we are reflecting on the events and moments — both large and small —  that most effectively represented and shaped the year.

We want to see 2012 through the eyes of our students, alumni, faculty and staff.

To accomplish that end, we are asking members of the university community to share the photos that they captured — both on and off of our three campuses.

Please include the names (and get the permission) of everyone photographed as well as the name of the person who took the picture. Please also include a sentence about what is happening in the photo and how/why it helped define your year. Please email the photos to socialmedia@quinnipiac.edu or tag the photos with #qu2012 and @quinnipiacu on Twitter and/or Instagram. All photos must have been taken in 2012.

We will share our favorites across our social media channels beginning on Monday, Dec. 17.

We look forward to seeing the year through your eyes.

School of Business inducts Tim Gannon and Donald Torey into its Business Leader Hall of Fame

Quinnipiac University’s 2012 Business Leader Hall of Fame inductees Donald Torey, of Darien, left, president of alternative assets and director of GE Asset Management Inc., and Tim Gannon, of Palm Beach, Fla., co-founder of Outback Steakhouse, Inc. Torey and Gannon were inducted into Quinnipiac’s Business Leader Hall of Fame at a black-tie dinner ceremony Nov. 16 at the Metropolitan Club in New York City. (Photo by John Hassett.)

The Quinnipiac University School of Business inducted Tim Gannon, co-founder of Outback Steakhouse, Inc., and Donald Torey, president of alternative assets and director of GE Asset Management Inc., into its Business Leader Hall of Fame during a black-tie dinner ceremony Nov. 16 at the Metropolitan Club in New York City.

• Please click here to see more photos from the event.

“The Quinnipiac University School of Business is proud to honor Tim Gannon and Donald Torey as the 2012 inductees into our Business Leader Hall of Fame,” said Matthew L. O’Connor, dean of the School of Business and the master of ceremonies at the 10^th annual induction dinner. “The Hall of Fame honors men and women who exemplify the leadership qualities, business acumen and values that we seek to instill in our students.”

Before Gannon and Torey addressed the audience of more than 200, O’Connor introduced a video that profiled their professional and personal accomplishments. It was evident from each video that in addition to being outstanding businessmen, Gannon and Torey are strong believers in community service.

Torey is on the board of the Stamford Boys and Girls Club and buildOn, a youth engagement organization that emphasizes local community service and builds schools in impoverished areas, including South America and Africa.

“On behalf of GE Company, including Quinnipiac graduate Dave Rusate who helped to represent our company at the event, we congratulate Tim Gannon along with Quinnipiac University’s Outstanding Alumni and Emerging Leader Awardees,” Torey said. “It’s an honor to be recognized as part of this distinguished group of individuals and to take part in a celebration of their accomplishments.”

In 2011, Gannon launched Kettle Comfort, Cooking for America, a West Palm Beach, Fla. philanthropic initiative which delivers chef-inspired food to thousands of hungry and nutrition-deprived people daily.

“I am thrilled to be inducted into the Business Leader Hall of Fame,” Gannon said. “I know and have great respect for the people who are giving me this very prestigious honor, and I am very respectful of those colleagues who have received it in the past.”

Several others top businessmen who have been inducted into Quinnipiac’s Business Leader Hall of Fame attended the event, including David Darst, managing director and chief investment strategist, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Global Wealth Management Group; Gabriel Ferrucci, owner and manager of Ferrucci Properties, LLC; Kenneth Neilson, former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Hudson United Bank; and William Weldon, chairman of Johnson & Johnson.

In addition, the School of Business presented Outstanding Business Alumni Awards to Karen Bradbury, president of EBEL Americas and worldwide merchandising director of Movado Group, Inc., and Laura Sequenzia, publisher of “Golf World” magazine.

The School of Business also presented its Emerging Leader Award to Kyle Cook, of Wakefield, R.I., an entrepreneurship major, Jennifer Lydiksen, of Milford, a student in the MBA program, and Alexandra Seitz, of Annanadale, N.J., an economics major. This award is presented to students who demonstrate excellence both in and out of the classroom, including leadership roles on campus and/or significant community service.

School of Law alumni to help Somalia rebuild, find hope

Two Quinnipiac University School of Law alumni are preparing to open a law office in Somalia with the hope of helping the war-torn nation rebuild and find hope, Law.com reports.

Somali cabinet members asked Ryan Bausch and Abdul Abdurahman to open a law office in a business district of Mogadishu, the news organization reports.

After much consideration, they decided that it would give them a great opportunity to make a difference. They will be handling oil and gas law, maritime law, international trade and writing legislation.

Please click here to read the full story.

Reunion holds special place in alumna’s heart

By Dana Coseglio ‘04

Dana Coseglio smiles with her husband, Greg Doucette, on our academic quad on our Mount Carmel Campus during Reunion Weekend on June 23. Greg, who met Dana at the university, proposed to his now wife on the steps of our Arnold Bernhard Library at an alumni weekend two years ago.

“Home is where the heart is” is a famous quote that has been used in music lyrics, movies and greeting cards. Yet, “home” means something different for each person.

Please click here to see photos from this year’s reunion weekend.

New Jersey is my birthplace; I often refer to it as my home. It was my first home. It’s where my family can be found.

At 18, I found my second home at Quinnipiac with another family that I am truly blessed to have.

From the moment I stepped back on its picturesque Mount Carmel Campus this weekend for reunion, I knew I was home.

It was an amazing weekend relaxing on the quad like I had done so many times before. I enjoyed watching people welcoming each other with warm embraces, laughing at stories, taking group pictures, throwing Frisbees and otherwise enjoying campus life.

As we enjoyed the beautiful weather, listened to the alumni band play and savored delicious food, we made new memories we will surely recall and share at future meetings. It was a surreal experience to have the opportunity to stay in a residence hall again.

Returning home always brings a good feeling to the heart. Quinnipiac, like any home, has a mixture of memories, but no matter what, Quinnipiac is our home.

Don’t forget all that Quinnipiac has given you – not just the great education that may have prepared you for the industry you are in today but all of the friendships and memories that were nurtured here. For some of us, the relationships that started have led to marriage and a family.

Every experience you have in life helps to make you who you are today. Quinnipiac was the setting of many of your life experiences.

So I ask you: Why haven’t you gone back to visit your home? Don’t you think it’s time?

I hope to see you at reunion weekend next year.

Editor’s note: Greg Doucette proposed to Dana on the steps of the Arnold Bernhard Library during alumni weekend in 2010. Dana and Greg met in Ledges their freshmen year and dated throughout their time as undergraduate and graduate students at Quinnipiac. They got married on July 10, 2011. Alumni Katie Doyle Mangano and Renee Escarvage were bridesmaids.