Maryann Saccomando Freedman is a graduate of the University at Buffalo School of Law and was admitted to the bar in 1959. Her legal career has embraced both the public and private sector. As an Assistant New York State Attorney-General, she represented the state in its many manifestations and successfully prosecuted the "voter registration by mail" case in the highest court of our state, the New York State Court of Appeals. Before returning to private practice, Ms. Freedman served ten years as a Matrimonial Referee in the State Supreme Court. She is currently "of counsel" with the law firm of Cohen and Lombardo.

Ms. Freedman has the distinction of having been the first woman president of both the Erie County Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association as well as the New York Bar Foundation. She sits in the House of Delegates of the New York State Bar Association and was a delegate to the American Bar Association. Ms. Freedman is rated AV, which is the highest possible peer review rating in Legal Ability and Ethical Standards from the prestigious Martindale Hubbell attorney rating firm.

In addition to her extensive service to the profession, Ms. Freedman has also contributed widely to the community. She currently serves as President of the Association for a Buffalo Presidential Center. She has been a regular guest lecturer at Buffalo State College and the State University of New York at Buffalo on issues ranging from the law to women's studies. She has served on the Boards and/or as an officer of the Western New York Heritage Press, the Downtown Nursing Home, the Better Business Bureau, Boy Scouts of America, Zonta Club of Buffalo, Y.M.C.A., Stabilization Committee of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Organization of Italian-American Women, Erie County Citizens Committee against Rape and Sexual Assault and the Buffalo Geological Society. She chaired the United Way Task Force on Delivery of Legal Services to the Poor and was a framer of the City of Buffalo's Code of Ethics. Until recently, Ms. Freedman was the regular co-host of a weekly radio program called "Ask-Women" which aired Saturday mornings on WGR.

Ms. Freedman's many contributions to her profession and community have been recognized in the many honors and awards she has received, among them the New York State Bar Association's prestigious Ruth G. Schapiro Award, Erie County Bar Association "Lawyer of the Year," the Westchester Legal Services Award, the Hilbert College "Fellows Medal," the Interclub Council "Susan B. Anthony Award," the Women Lawyers' "Career Achievement Award," the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's "Woman of the Year.," and the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society's Red Jacket Award. The University of Buffalo and the University's Law School have each honored her as a "Distinguished Alumnus" and the "Buffalo News" named her an "Outstanding Citizen of 1986." In 2001, she was inducted into the Western New York Women's Hall of Fame. The New York State Bar Foundation named a Circle of Giving after Ms. Freedman in 2006 and in January, 2009 she received the Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award. In October 2013 the Women Lawyers of Western New York bestowed upon Ms. Freedman the honor of naming her Woman Lawyer of the Century.

Ms. Freedman is listed in "Who's Who of America," "Who's Who of American Law," 'Who's Who of American Women," "World's Who's Who of Women," "Foremost Women of the Twentieth Century," "Dictionary of International Biography." Ms. Freedman, a certified arbitrator and mediator, maintains a general civil practice and is the Chair of the Matrimonial and Family Law practice at Cohen and Lombardo.