About

The Rensselaer County Bar Association is a professional body of lawyers serving Rensselaer County, NY. We are dedicated to serving our members. Check out our bylaws, as Approved by the Members at the 2013 Annual Meeting.

2022-2023 Executive Board

2022-2023 Executive Board

President: Linda B. Johnson

Linda B. Johnson is a partner at Hinman, Howard & Kattell, LLP and the senior attorney of the Albany office. Linda initially joined the firm in 2003. She rejoined the firm in 2010 after serving as an appellate court attorney for the New York State Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, Third Judicial Department from 2009-2010. Linda focuses her private practice on plaintiff’s personal injury, civil and criminal appeals, construction disputes, Article 81 Guardianship proceedings and general litigation.

Linda has extensive in-court trial, motion practice, negotiation and mediation experience, and has written and argued countless appeals. Linda is also part-time Rensselaer City Court Judge, presiding over criminal, civil, traffic and code matters. She has served in this role since April 2020.

First Vice-President: Jaime B. Thomas

Jaime has been a lawyer for thirty years, and is a graduate of Lansingburgh High School, The College of St. Rose, and Western New England School of Law. Jaime practices law at the Law Office of Jaime B. Thomas, PLLC, in Latham. His major areas of practice include construction law, business law, litigation, Real Estate, Wills and Estates, and Matrimonial and Family Law.

Jaime has been Schaghticoke Town Justice since 2002, and has also been Acting City Court Judge in Albany, Troy, Rensselaer, Cohoes, Hudson and various Town Courts.
Jaime has been involved with several civic organizations, including as a Past President of the Thomas and Helen Knickerbocker Memorial Playgrounds, and Past President of the Lansingburgh Rotary Club. Jaime is currently President of the Board of Directors of the Lansingburgh Boys and Girls Club. Jaime lives in Speigletown with his wife Janet, and they are visited frequently by Jennifer when she gets away from Manhattan.

Second Vice-President: Anne L. Von Fricken-Coonrad

Anne Coonrad graduated from Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing in 1984 and practiced nursing for over 30 years, predominately as a staff nurse in the emergency department at Samaritan Hospital. In the late 1990’s, she developed the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program for Rensselaer County. The SANE program provides victims of sexual violence individualized care and evaluation by specially trained nurses. Ms. Coonrad worked closely with local law enforcement agencies, the Rensselaer County District Attorney’s office, and community leaders as the Coordinator of this program.

After graduating from Albany Law School in 2005, Ms. Coonrad joined the Rensselaer County District Attorney’s office as an Assistant District Attorney (ADA). As an ADA Ms. Coonrad prosecuted criminal cases and served as Appellate Counsel before leaving in 2008 to join the Unified Court System assigned to Troy City Court. Ms. Coonrad is currently an Associate Court Attorney in City Court providing legal advice to the criminal and civil parts, as well as to the Acting Family Court Judge for Rensselaer County. Since 2015, Ms. Coonrad has volunteered to serve as a Law Competition Faculty member for the Moot Court program in Rensselaer County. Ms. Coonrad is an Executive Committee Member of the Rensselaer County Bar Association serving as its Secretary.

Ms. Coonrad remains active in nursing as a member of the New York State Board for Nursing and serves as its current Vice-Chairperson. The Nursing Board’s primary mission is to protect the public from unsafe practice. In this role, Ms. Coonrad participates as a panel member during disciplinary and moral character hearings and acts as an advisor during Professional Assistance Program meetings. Ms. Coonrad is the treasurer and board member of the Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association.

Third Vice-President: Tara Kersey

Tara (Colangione) Kersey is the Principal Law Clerk to the Hon. Gerald W. Connolly, Administrative Judge of New York State’s Third Judicial District. She has served as principal law clerk to Judge Connolly since January 2007. In 2006, she served as an Assistant Counsel for Governor George E. Pataki and prior to such position, commencing in late 2001, she was in private practice at Holland & Knight, LLP in Boston, Massachusetts. Ms. Kersey earned her B.A. from the State University of New York at Geneseo in 1996, a J.D./M.B.A. from Albany Law School and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2001, and an L.L.M. in Taxation from Boston University in 2005. She was an Associate Editor of the Albany Law Review. Ms. Kersey was born and raised in Troy, New York and currently resides in Troy with her husband John.

Treasurer: David Fronk

David FronkDavid M. M. Fronk is the Law Clerk to the Hon. Adam W. Silverman, Acting Supreme Court Justice in the Third Judicial District since 2021. David previously served as a Law Clerk to the Hon. Raymond Elliott III, retired Supreme Court Justice in the Third Judicial District, and as a Appellate Court Attorney for the Appellate Division, Third Department.

He graduated summa cum laude from Western New England University School of Law, earning the school’s highest honor – the Norman Prance Award – and the Edward B. Cooley Award for Excellence in Labor Law. He earned his B.A. in History and Honors Political Science from SUNY Albany, graduating summa cum laude and earning the President’s Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research.

Prior to his legal career, David worked in various local government positions, including as Director of Operations for the City of Schenectady, the Town of Niskayuna, and the Schenectady County Legislature.

Mr. Fronk lives with his wife, Laura, and their two children in Rotterdam, New York. Mr. Fronk is also active in his local community, including serving on the Schenectady County Public Library Board of Trustees and supporting various pediatric cancer charities. His son is a pediatric cancer survivor.

Secretary: April M. Dalbec

April M. DalbecApril M. Dalbec is a partner in the law firm of Whiteman Osterman Hanna LLP. Ms. Dalbec focuses in matrimonial, family court, and plaintiff’s personal injury litigation. She is admitted to practice in the state courts of New York and Massachusetts and is also admitted to practice in numerous federal courts including the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.

April graduated cum laude from the undergraduate program at the New York State University at Albany in 1998. She went on to attend Albany Law School, where she graduated cum laude, in 2001. While in law school, April served on the executive board of the Albany Law Review as a Note and Comment Editor.

April is a member of the Rensselaer County Bar Association where she currently serves on the board as the Secretary. April has been a member of the Capital District Women’s Bar Association since 2002 and was the president in 2014-2015. She is also a member of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, New York State Bar Association, and the Albany County Bar Association.

April lives in the Town of East Greenbush with her husband, Rick, their daughter, Alexandra and their son, Jackson. In her free time, April is a certified health and wellness coach assisting others in meeting their health goals.

Immediate Past President: Jennifer C. Shatz

Jennifer Shatz is Principal Law Clerk to the Hon. Justin Corcoran, Supreme Court Justice in the Third Judicial District. In that capacity, Ms. Shatz researches and analyzes complex legal issues, drafts decisions and orders, conducts conferences, and confers with and advises the Judge on a daily basis on the variety of civil actions pending before the Court. Jennifer previously served a Principal Law Clerk to the Hon. Patrick J. McGrath, Supreme Court Justice in the Third Judicial District. Prior to her clerkships, Ms. Shatz was the Bureau Chief of the Special Victims Unit in the Rensselaer County District Attorney’s Office, overseeing the prosecution of sexually based offenses against children and adults, as well as all crimes against children. She was also the Chief Appellate Attorney for the last year of her employment there, arguing cases before the Third Department and the Court of Appeals. She graduated from Albany Law School in 2003, where she was an Associate Editor of the Law Review. Ms. Shatz is also active in her local community, including the Brittonkill Parent Teachers Student Association and the Brunswick Food Pantry. Jennifer resides in Brunswick with her husband Mark and her daughter Ella.

Executive Committee

  • Linda B. Johnson
  • Jaime B. Thomas
  • Anne L. Von Fricken-Coonrad
  • Tara C. Kersey
  • David Fronk
  • April M. Dalbec
  • Jennifer C. Shatz
  • Richard D. Ceresia
  • Michael J. Derevlany
  • Jessica B. Mocerine
  • Kevin P. Glasheen
  • Dana L. Salazar
  • James E. Prout
  • Edward O. Spain

Administrative Assistant

  • Christine Ward