With more than 60 years of professional experience in the legal profession, Maryann Saccomando Freedman is a lauded attorney who has been serving of counsel with Cohen & Lombardo, P.C. since 1995. In this position, she specializes in arbitration, estates and trusts law, matrimonial and family law, and mediation law. Prior to this current role, Ms. Freedman spent a significant portion of her career with the Supreme Court of the State of New York, serving as matrimonial referee (1980-1990), and Confidential Law Clerk to Justice William J. Ostrowski (1977-1990). Notably, from 1975 to 1977, Ms. Freedman worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the New York State Department of Law. She began her career in the legal arena working as a law clerk for Saperston, McNaughton & Saperston from 1957 to 1959.
In preparation for her illustrious career, Ms. Freedman earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Buffalo School of Law in 1958. Subsequently, she was admitted to the New York State Bar, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in 1959. Thereafter, she was admitted to practice law before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1963. Among her other notable achievements, Ms. Freedman’s career included representing New York State as Assistant Attorney General in the successful prosecution of voter registration by mail before the New York State Court of Appeals, New York State’s highest court.
In recognition of her exceptional accomplishments, Ms. Freedman has been awarded countless accolades throughout the extent of her career. A fellow of the New York Bar Foundation since 1983, Ms. Freedman also holds an AV® Rating from the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell®. She was the first woman President of the Bar Association of Erie County, the New York State Bar Association, and the New York State Bar Foundation. She was the recipient of the Professionalism Award from the New York State Bar Association in 2017, was named Person of the Year by the Federation of Italian-American Societies of Western New York in 2016, was honored as a Woman Attorney Trailblazer by the New York State Bar Association in 2015, the American Bar Association Women Trailblazers Oral History in 2007, and was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the New York Bar Foundation in 2009, among countless other accolades and honors.
Married to Robert P. Freedman since 1961, Ms. Freedman has two children, Hon. Brenda Marie and Donald Vincent. In her spare time, she enjoys collecting rocks, listening to music, gardening, and reading.
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