The 33rd Annual Hellenic Lawyers Association Scholarship Dinner Gala

The 33^rd Annual Hellenic Lawyers Association Scholarship Dinner Gala was held recently at NYC’s iconic Pierre Hotel. The lively, sold-out event, began with an extended cocktail reception before the attendees headed into the venue’s Grand Ballroom for the dinner which included the honoree award presentations, law student scholarship ceremony, fundraiser auction, and live Greek music and dancing.

HLA Officers & Board with Members of the Judiciary; PHOTO: BRITTANY NEWMAN

The program was kicked off by HLA President, George N. Zapantis, by inviting Fr. Nektarios Papazafiropoulos, Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, representing Archbishop Elpidophoros, and Fr. Evan Evangelidis of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Stamford, CT., to give the Invocation and opening prayer.

Helen Voutsinas, Consul General of Greece Dinos Konstantinou, George N. Zapantis, Maria Raptis, Nikoforos Mathews, Maria Kazana-Sekeris, Ambassador Evangelos Sekeris; PHOTO: BRITTANY NEWMAN

“On behalf of the Officers and Board of Directors, it’s an honor to have you all with us this evening- we truly appreciate your presence, enthusiasm, and support. This organization is committed to serving attorneys, law students, and the community at large. Our Annual Gala is an occasion where our members, judges, in-house counsel, government officials, dignitaries, business and community leaders gather to celebrate and support our mission, award scholarship recipients, and acknowledge the contributions and achievements of our honorees,” Zapantis said.

Eftihia Pylarinou-Piper, George N, Zapantis, Peter Kakoyiannis, John Catsimatidis; PHOTO: BRITTANY NEWMAN

This year, the HLA celebrated the accomplishments of Nikiforos Mathews, Esq., the evening’s Honoree, and Maria A. Raptis, Esq., who was named, Attorney of the Year. “We express our deep admiration and respect for your exceptional accomplishments. You have distinguished yourselves not only in the legal field but also through your service to our community,” Zapantis commented.

President Zapantis introduced Ms. Maria A. Raptis, who is a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom, where she focuses her practice on representing clients before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice. He highlighted Ms. Raptis’ extraordinary professional accomplishments before calling her up to the podium. Ms. Raptis thanked the HLA’s Officers and Board for honoring her, and further thanked her family and husband for their incredible support. Raptis continued by dedicating the award to her father, who was present, and to the memory of her mother, for dedicating herself to ensure that the family took the right path in life. In her speech, Raptis described her journey and secret to her professional success by saying that: “if you’re coming to the game, come to play- and if you’re playing, play to win.” Her words were inspirational to everyone, especially to many law students who sought out to speak with her later in the evening.

HLA President George N. Zapantis with Major Sharad A. Samy; PHOTO: BRITTANY NEWMAN

Zapantis then invited Major Sharad A. Samy, General Counsel of Commonfund, to the podium to introduce his close friend, and the evening’s Honoree, Nikiforos Mathews. As the event took place on Veterans Day, Zapantis thanked Major Samy, who was in military uniform, for his service, and called for a moment of respect in honor of all veterans. Mr. Mathews and Major Samy both served together as Judge Advocates in the US Army, and have known each other for years. Major Samy drew comparisons between his and Mr. Mathew’s immigrant backgrounds (Major Samy’s family originating from India, and Mathew’s from Greece).

Honoree Nikiforos Mathews & family; PHOTO: BRITTANY NEWMAN

As a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliff’s New York office, Nikiforos Mathews serves as Global Co-head of the Derivatives group, and is a member of the firm’s Finance and Audit Committee. Mr. Mathews spoke about his career path, and encouraged the law students and young attorneys in the room to “strive to be absolutely world class in your career.” Mr. Mathews further thanked his mentors, and spoke of the impact the late Judge Tsoucalas had on him. He also stressed the importance of finding fulfillment through serving and helping others, noting that, for him, there was “no higher honor than serving our great nation.” Mr. Mathews also spoke about the privilege he has to serve the Church as an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as does Mr. Zapantis. Mr. Mathews closed by thanking his wife, Lambrina and family, whom he called his “rock.”

Attorney of the Year Maria A. Raptis & family; PHOTO: BRITTANY NEWMAN

The Honorees were then presented with Citations prepared by Assembly-member Michael Tannousis, and NYS Senator Michael Gianaris.

The program continued with the law student scholarship recipients being introduced by HLA Officers John Zervopoulos and Christina Gotsis to receive their awards. This year’s recipients were: Theodora Danias, Tiffany Deplas, Constantine Gianaris, Olga Gotsis, Vasileios Karamanlis, Yiorgos Maravelias, Sam Namias, Alexander Philliou, Anna Pierratos, Sofia Stefanou, and Eleana Tsiamtsiouris. Following the ceremony, President Zapantis congratulated the scholarship recipients and wished them “every success in their studies and legal careers.”

2023 HLA Scholarship reciepients; PHOTO: BRITTANY NEWMAN

In closing, Zapantis remarked: “We look forward to seeing you all at: our Annual Christmas Party, the Traditional Cutting of the Vasilopita, CLE’s, Workshops, Joint Bar Association Events, Morning Kafe with the HLA, our Supreme Court Admission Trip to Washington DC, the Greek Independence Day Parade, the Annual Judiciary Night, and we encourage your participation in HLA’s law student and young attorney Mentorship Program. We’d also like to express our sincerest appreciation to our sponsors, supporters, members, and friends. Your generosity and participation sustains and bolsters our organization, allowing us to build on our success, and better serve our members, law students and community.”

PHOTO: BRITTANY NEWMAN

Zapantis closed by thanking the Officers and Board for working together to host such a phenomenally successful Gala. The attendees then filled the floor with kefi and danced into the night to live Greek music. For information on the Hellenic Lawyers Association, their website is hlany.org