New Adjunct Professors Announced at Touro Law

Nancy Burner, Esq. is the Founder and Managing Partner of Nancy Burner & Associates P.C., an Estate planning, Elder Law, Trust and Estates firm. Nancy Burner has been practicing law since 1988 and began the firm in 1995. She is a member of the Elder Law and Trust and Estates sections of the New York State Bar Association, Co-Chair of the Elder Law committee of the Suffolk County Bar Association; and a member of the Real Property, Trust and Probate Committee of the American Bar Association.  She has been a contributing editor to the New York State Bar Association Treatise: Guardianship Practice in New York, and previously taught Guardianship training courses accredited by the Office of Court Administration.  In addition, she has acted as Petitioner’s counsel, Court Evaluator, assigned Counsel, and Guardian. She is past president of the Suffolk County Women’s Bar Association.  Nancy is a Trustee of the Lawyer’s Fund for Client Protection, having been appointed for a fifth term by the New York State Court of Appeals. 

The Hon. Chris Ann Kelley was elected as a Suffolk District Court Judge in 2007, where she handled misdemeanor, vehicle & traffic and environmental crimes. In 2012, she was appointed as an Acting County Court Judge, assigned to a specialized Domestic Violence part, hearing both felony and misdemeanor crimes of violence between family members and intimate partners.  Judge Kelley began her legal career as a Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney, working in the District Court, Grand Jury, Family Crime and East End Bureaus. After leaving the DA’s office she was in private practice for 14 years, handling civil and criminal litigation and representing children in Family Court Abuse and Neglect proceedings. In 2002, she returned to public service when she accepted appointment as Court Attorney-Referee in the Supreme Court Integrated Domestic Violence Part. In 2004, she transferred to Family Court, where she decided Child Custody, Paternity and Family Offense proceedings.

Anthony La Pinta is managing partner of the law firm of Reynolds, Caronia, Gianelli & La Pinta.  He is an experienced trial attorney concentrating in all phases of federal and state criminal defense and plaintiff’s personal injury. Mr. La Pinta has practiced law for over twenty three years and has successfully defended many high profile cases that have drawn national media attention.Mr. La Pinta is a Past President of the Suffolk County Criminal Bar Association, a former Chairperson of the Suffolk County Bar Association’s Ethics and Professionalism Committee, and a current member of the Attorney Grievance Committee.  He is an active member of the New York State Association of Trial Lawyers, the Suffolk and Nassau County Criminal Courts Bar Association, the National and New York State Associations of Criminal Defense Attorneys and the New York State Defenders Association. 

Jim Montes is Touro Law Center’s Assistant Dean for Career Services, a position he has held since September 1, 2014.  Previously he was a partner at the global law firm of Nixon Peabody LLP, based in Manhattan, where his practice concentrated in public and project finance.  At Nixon Peabody, Mr. Montes was involved in public and private securities offerings of municipal, state and local governments, served as bond and underwriter’s counsel in connection with tax-exempt and taxable bond financings, and led the firm’s New York State General Obligations practice serving local municipalities as bond counsel.

Touro Law Center’s faculty is comprised of approximately 45 full-time members and more than 50 adjunct faculty members who are actively engaged in research, making noteworthy contributions to legal scholarship, and law reform. They bring talent and experience to the classroom as well as a genuine passion for teaching. In addition, they’re uniquely dedicated to the success of our student body – priding themselves on accessibility while creating an open and cooperative learning environment that is dynamic and enriching.

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Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center’s 185,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art law school is located adjacent to both a state and a federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York. Touro Law’s proximity to the courthouses, coupled with programming developed to integrate the courtroom into the classroom, provide a one-of-a kind learning model for law students, combining a rigorous curriculum taught by expert faculty with a practical courtroom experience. Touro Law, which has a student body of approximately 650 and an alumni base of more than 6,000, offers full- and part-time J.D. programs, several dual degree programs and graduate law programs for US and foreign law graduates. Touro Law Center is part of the Touro College system.

Touro Law’s newly implemented Portals to Practice is a cutting-edge, experiential learning program that reconceives and restructures the law school experience. Portals to Practice expands the scope and quality of legal education by focusing on the development of legal professionals, from pre-law through post-graduation.

About the Touro College and University System

Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 19,000 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has branch campuses, locations and instructional sites in the New York area, as well as branch campuses and programs in Berlin, Jerusalem, Moscow, Paris and Florida. New York Medical College, Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus, as well as Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/media/.