FORESTRY & TIMBER LAW

Mr. Colligan is a former director of the New York Forest Owner’s Association and is the legislative liaison between that organization and the Empire State Forest Products Association. Mr. Colligan is also a member and past chairman of the Erie County (New York) Bar Association’s Banking Law Committee. A New York State Bar Association Member, Mr. Colligan is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Colligan has given lectures to the Association of Consulting Foresters, Rural Landowners Association and other Timber/Forestry groups.

David J. Colligan is an attorney and partner in the Buffalo law firm of Watson, Bennett, Colligan, Johnson & Schechter, L.L.P., and has been practicing law for twenty-five years. Mr. Colligan is a frequent lecturer on legal issues affecting landowners including timber trespass, forest ownership succession planning, forest tax laws and estate planning for forest owners. He has written numerous articles published in Tree Farmer magazine and in the New York Forest Owners Association’s Forest Owner magazine. In 2002, he wrote “Forest Land Taxation in the New Millennium: Stewardship Incentivized”, an in-depth review and comparison of forest land taxation laws nationwide for the Denver Law Review.

Mr. Colligan’s interest in trees and forestry caused him to be elected to the Board of the Buffalo Green Fund where he became the Chairman of the Reforest Buffalo Committee of the Buffalo Green Fund. As a member of the Reforest Buffalo Committee, he has acted as project administrator for the 100 % street tree survey of all of the existing trees and available planting sites within the city-owned rights-of-way in Buffalo, New York. The survey covers 42 square miles and 700 miles of streets and identified approximately 67,000 existing trees and approximately 36,000 available planting sites. He acted as project administrator of a Tree Master Plan project for the City of Buffalo.

Mr. Colligan has recently joined the Board of Directors of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy where he is working to promote the restoration of the Olmsted-designed arboretum located at South Park, one of Buffalo’s six Olmsted Parks. He also recently joined the Board of Directors of the Empire State Forest Products Association. On February 22, 2003, at the 41st annual meeting of the New York Forest Owner’s Association, Mr. Colligan received the Heiberg Award for outstanding service to forestry and conservation.

James W. Bennett, Esq:

Mr. Bennett concentrates his practice in commercial and corporate law. A graduate of the Bowling Green State University (B.A., 1968) and the Ohio State University College of Law (J.D., 1971), Mr. Bennett is an experienced attorney admitted to practice in both the Ohio Bar (1971) and the New York Bar (1972).

Craig H. Johnson, Esq.:

Mr. Johnson focuses his practice primarily in the areas of municipal, commercial and residential real estate as well as corporate matters. A graduate of Kent State University (B.A., 1974) and the University of Buffalo School of Law (J.D., 1978), Mr. Johnson is presently the Town Attorney for the Town of Tonawanda, New York and is an expert in the areas of municipal law, land use planning and zoning issues.

Joel B. Schechter, Esq.:

Mr. Schechter practices primarily in the areas of personal injury litigation and insurance defense. A graduate of Brooklyn College of the City University of New York (B.S., 1975) and the University of Buffalo School of Law (J.D., 1978). Mr. Schechter is a former district attorney for Suffolk County and brings with him years of prosecutorial experience.

Mark R. Walling, Esq.:

Mr. Walling practices in the area of commercial and civil litigation. A graduate of Duke University (B.A., 1974) and the North Carolina School of Law (J.D., 1980), Mr. Walling is a former Assistant Attorney General of New York and is experienced in the prosecution of timber trespass cases.

Associates of the Firm:

Roy H. Cunningham, Esq.:

Mr. Cunningham concentrates his practice in the areas of estate planning, business succession planning and tax law. A graduate of the University of West Virginia School of Law (B.A., 1993, J.D., 1996) and the University of Denver (L.L.M., 1997), Mr. Cunningham is fully conversant with the tax ramifications that surround the area of Forestry and Timber law.

John A. Moscati, Esq.:

Of Counsel:

An experienced trial lawyer in all types of personal injury cases, Surrogate's Court matters and civil litigation. Mr. Watson graduated from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Buffalo School of Law and was admitted to the New York Bar in 1943.

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