Sue Katzoff Named OCBA Distinguished Lawyer Honoree
Published on October 26, 2023
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh will join the Onondaga County Bar Association (OCBA) Thursday night in honoring and celebrating Susan Katzoff, Esq., OCBA’s 2023 Distinguished Lawyer Honoree. Katzoff has served as Corporation Counsel for the City of Syracuse since March 2022.
“Sue has served our residents and City government with unwavering dedication and excellence,” said Mayor Walsh. “She is an exceptional attorney and principled counselor who is dedicated to city government and caring about the community. The City’s Department of Law has excelled under her leadership, and we are lucky to have her.”
As Corporation Counsel, Katzoff is the chief legal officer for the City of Syracuse. She oversees a team of more than 30 lawyers and staff in the City’s Department of Law. The department handles the City’s litigation, legislative drafting, contracting, real estate transactions, collections and a wide variety of other legal matters.
Since 2019 Katzoff has served as president of the board of directors of the Volunteer Lawyers Project of Central New York. In addition, she currently serves as a member and the secretary of the Gifford Foundation Board of Trustees. She has served as outside counsel to the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency (SIDA) since 2007. She remains Of Counsel at Bousquet Holstein LLC. Katzoff obtained her bachelor’s degree in communications and English from SUNY Albany, and her J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law.
OCBA has honored a local attorney for distinguished service to the profession since 1968. The Distinguished Lawyer Committee receives nominations and recommends a candidate to the OCBA Board of Directors for its approval. Honorees must have devoted a full-time professional career to the law; possess exceptional lawyering skills; display a devotion or dedication to the profession as evidenced by involvement or participation in projects or activities, reflecting an unselfish donation of time to the betterment of the profession; and possess ethics beyond reproach.
Katzoff will be honored alongside Hon. James Murphy, Ruger Award Honoree, tonight during the 146th Distinguished Lawyer Celebration and Ruger Centennial Award Presentation.