Jennifer R. Scharf
Of Counsel
“My job is to help people efficiently achieve their results and to help them understand what the best result is. I am aggressive and no-nonsense, and I genuinely care about my clients. As a result, together we get swift justice and exceptional outcomes.”
Jennifer returned Duke Holzman in May 2023 on a part time basis, after years as a litigator and in house attorney. She was an associate attorney at Duke Holzman from 2011 – 2014. Jennifer is a trial lawyer with extensive experience in health care and employment law. She always has shared Duke Holzman’s core values of excellence, efficiency, and helping clients quickly identify and achieve their objectives.
Jennifer focuses her practice on representing professionals and businesses in preparing and negotiating employment documents and contracts, representing health care providers and other professionals before licensing agencies and boards, and training businesses in the areas of employment law, health law, and compliance. She significant experience and a history of optimal results in representing both individuals and employers before the New York State Division of Human Rights, federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and in state and federal court.
Jennifer helps people who are physically injured in serious accidents to get justice and those who are survivors of serious discrimination and harassment to hold their abusers accountable.
Jennifer has successfully represented clients in state and federal courts, including trials, appellate proceedings, arbitrations, and mediations. Committed to providing compassionate, responsive, and aggressive service, Jennifer prides herself on excellent client relationships and outstanding results.
In her full-time job, Jennifer is the Associate Dean for Career Services and Director of Trial Advocacy at the University at Buffalo School of Law. Jennifer’s passion for excellence in her representation of clients is matched by her love of legal education, teaching advocacy, and helping students succeed with post-graduate careers. In 2018, Jennifer was awarded the Ken Joyce Excellence in Teaching Award by University at Buffalo School of Law. She also has been named Medical Partner of the Year by the Center for Elder Law and Justice in 2016 and was among the 2015 Legal Elite Leaders by Buffalo Business First.
Jennifer has been named a Fellow of the New York State Bar Foundation and has been selected to the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Upstate New York Super Lawyers list.
Practice Areas:
Healthcare; Professional Services; Employment
Bar Association of Erie County; Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York; UB Law Alumni Association; National Employment Lawyers Association; New York State Trial Lawyers Association
New York State; California, U. S. District Court for the Western New York
University at Buffalo School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 2005
University at Buffalo, B.A., magna cum laude, 2001