Whiteman Osterman & Hanna’s Public Affairs Roundtable series, an extension of the Firm’s involvement in legal issues at the intersection of the public and private sectors, with a focus on businesses that are regulated or otherwise vitally affected by public policy and government, serves as a monthly forum for the interchange of ideas between various public officials and private sector leaders in the community.

The program began in 1995 with a presentation about the new Administration of Governor Pataki and the impact those changes in Albany were likely to have throughout the state. That breakfast forum was so well attended and the response so positive that we began a monthly breakfast series, inviting prominent business and professional leaders in the Capital Region to hear from various public officials and community opinionmakers. The preliminary breakfast setting allows our guests to meet informally with the speaker and also to pose questions following the formal presentation. The result is a better understanding of the decision-making process and often a glimpse of future government directions.

Prominent government, business and academic leaders who have addressed our guests include:

• Stephen C. Ainlay, President, Union College
• Hon. Joseph L. Bruno, former Majority Leader, New York State Senate
• Lloyd Constantine, Esq., Senior Advisor to Governor Eliot Spitzer
• Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. House of Representatives
• Hon. Victoria A. Graffeo, Associate Judge of the State of New York Court of Appeals
• Alexander “Pete” Grannis, Commissioner, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
• Hon. Kemp Hannon, New York State Senate
• Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Hon. Gerald D. Jennings, Mayor, City of Albany
• William Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize Award Winner
• Hon. Sheldon Silver, Speaker, New York State Assembly