Newsmakers

New Associations

Kenneth L. Allen has been appointed vice president and general counsel at Boston Bread, a franchise of Panera Bread.

Ronald J. Ciardiello has joined the legal search firm Major, Lindsey & Africa as managing director in the Boston office.

Gregory Pastore recently joined Prince Lobel Glovsky & Tye in Boston as of counsel for the firm’s real estate and corporate practice groups. Pastore was most recently vice president and general counsel for Friendly Ice Cream Corporation based in Wilbraham, Mass. Prior to joining Friendly’s, he was vice president, general counsel and secretary for Bertucci’s Corporation.

Former Massachusetts Turnpike Authority General Counsel Peter R. Pendergast has rejoined the Boston office of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo as of counsel.

Professional Honors

Robert Patrick Cooper was recently elected chairman of the National Bankers Association, which represents the interests of banks owned by minorities and women. He is the first Massachusetts attorney elected to chairman of the 80-year-old association. Cooper is senior counsel at OneUnited Bank in Boston, the largest African-American owned bank in the U.S. Cooper recently testified before Congress on the role of minority banks and federal regulations designed to encourage access to bank loans in inner city communities. He was previously associate general counsel at Battenfeld GmbH in Germany and was a corporate law attorney at WilmerHale.

Barbara A. O’Donnell, a partner in the Boston office of Robinson & Cole, has been elected vice chairwoman of the Insurance Coverage Section of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel.