FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 2, 2004

Hancock Lawyer Receives State Bar Award

HANCOCK, NEW YORK-- Leonard E. Sienko, Jr. of Hancock, a sole
practitioner, was the first recipient of the General Practice, Solo & Small
Firm Section's Charlie Shorter Award in recognition of his outstanding
service to the section. The award was presented at the New York State Bar
Association Annual Meeting.

Sienko is a former Delaware County Bar Association president. He has
been a general practice lawyer for more than 25 years and is well known
by local bar associations for his use of the Internet to conduct legal
research. Along with maintaining the Delaware County Bar Association's
web site, Sienko established the first law firm web site in Delaware County
for his firm, The Sienko Law Office.

Sienko received his undergraduate degree from Boston College (1968); a
M. Div. from Andover-Newton Theological School (1971); and his law
degree from Boston College Law School (1977)

This is not Sienko's first recognition by his peers in the section. In 2002,
Sienko was also recognized by the section as the "outstanding and
innovative lawyer" of the year. Sienko serves as contributing editor of the
section's electronic newsletter, wEbrief. He has also written several articles
and book chapters about using the Internet to assist attorneys with legal
research and their practice.

In his remarks at the section dinner last week in Manhattan, Sienko said: "I
am honored to receive this award named for one of the pioneers in the use
of technology in law practice. Charlie Shorter, from Norwich, was out
front in recognizing the advantages of word processing, fax machines,
computers, and the use of paralegals in the rural law practice."

-30-

For Further Information:

Susan Fitzpatrick
New York State Bar Association
One Elk Street
Albany, NY 12207
phone 518-487-5561
fax 518-463-8527
mailto:SFITZPATRICK@nysba.org