BUFFALO, NY – Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman LLP today announced it is a founding donor of the University at Buffalo School of Law Advocacy Institute. Launched in 2014, the Institute offers students unparalleled opportunities to hone skills in the critical work of advocating for their clients. In addition, Dennis C. Vacco, a partner at Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman LLP, was named to the Institute’s National Advisory Board.

“Advocacy plays a crucial role in the practice of law,” said Vacco. “The UB School of Law Advocacy Institute provides students with a more focused level of preparation for trial work and appellate arguments. Through the Advocacy Institute, UB law students have excelled in local, regional and national trial advocacy competitions.”

The Institute, which depends on support from alumni and friends of UB School of Law, offers four components - trial advocacy, appellate advocacy, alternative dispute resolution and the innocence and justice project. The Institute is overseen by a National Advisory Board which provides guidance and counsel to the director of the Advocacy Institute to develop, enhance and expand its programs.

Mr. Vacco is a former New York State attorney general and focuses his practice on government investigations and compliance with the complex and ever-changing rules of the state and federal governments.