Senior Administrators

Christopher J. Caruso joined the law school’s administration in 2013. Chris is a graduate of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University and the Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (B.A. Economics). Prior to his return to Hofstra, Dean Caruso practiced in the area of commercial bankruptcy. Most recently, he was a partner in the Business Reorganization, Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights and Corporate Trust practice groups of Moses & Singer LLP in New York City. He began his legal career in the New York office of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP.

Since graduating Hofstra Law, Dean Caruso has remained actively involved with Hofstra Law and Hofstra University. From 2008 through 2013, he served as President of Hofstra Law’s alumni association and was active in restructuring the alumni board and establishing committees for alumni to work directly with different departments, including the Office of Career Services. Dean Caruso also served as Chairman of the Dean’s Advisory Board of the Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

As a student at Hofstra Law, Dean Caruso was the Managing Editor of Articles for the Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal, a participant in moot court and the recipient of the Distinguished Service to the School award.

Tara-Marie Desruisseaux is the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law. With a deep commitment to cultivating inclusive environments, she is dedicated to implementing long-term plans and structures that foster a supportive community for all students, faculty, and staff. Tara-Marie joined the Law School in May 2023, after earning her PhD in Urban Education Policy from the University of Southern California. Prior to joining Hofstra Law, she served as the Recruiting and Diversity Coordinator at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where she actively promoted diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Danielle Collins Groner is the Assistant Dean for Communications and Marketing at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law. Groner is responsible for developing and implementing strategic campaigns to improve brand awareness, increase applications, and foster a culture of giving, as well as to support the communications needs of all departments, centers, institutes, clinics and faculty scholarship at Hofstra Law.

Prior to joining Hofstra Law, Groner worked with a variety of businesses and institutions to develop communications plans, events, branding initiatives, and publications, most recently at State University of New York at Old Westbury. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the SUNY Old Westbury Presidential Award for Leadership, a Long Island Digital Award, and was named to the Long Island Business News’ top “30 Under 30” business leaders list in September 2017. She earned a Master of Arts in higher education administration from Stony Brook University and has a Bachelor of Arts in mass communication from Iona University, where she graduated magna cum laude.

Robert Harrison is Associate Dean for Enrollment Management where he oversees all aspects of law school enrollment, and has been involved with law school admissions for over 20 years. Before entering law school admissions, Dean Harrison was a practicing attorney with Brody & Fabiani, where he specialized in the defense of toxic tort matters, including AIDS transfusion cases, asbestos litigation, and labor law. Before that he was with Martin, Clearwater & Bell, where he specialized in the defense of professional liability matters, including medical, attorney, and architecture malpractice. Dean Harrison has also taught Professional Responsibility since 2010, and was awarded Adjunct Professor of the Year at St. John’s Law School for the 2013-2014 academic year. He received his B.A. degree from Brandeis University and his J.D. degree from Boston University School of Law.

Brian T. Kaspar received his B.S. in Management from Fairfield University in 1995 and received his M.B.A. in Banking and Finance from Hofstra University in 1998. Mr. Kaspar has been working for Hofstra University since 1995. He first started in the Graduate Admissions Office as a Graduate Assistant. After 1 ½ years, he became an Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Admissions. In 1998, he moved over to the Office of Student Accounts, where he worked for over 6 years. He joined the Law School as the Assistant Registrar in August 2004. In April 2007, he became the Law School Registrar.

Lisa Monticciolo is the Dean of Students and Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. As the Dean of Students, Lisa works with faculty and other Law School administrative offices to orient students to law school life, and to provide resources and counseling on a variety of matters that may arise in both students’ academic and personal lives. Her office promotes the well-being of students within the law school and the university communities and sets the strategic vision for how the OSA can most effectively support students in a demanding pre-professional program, starting with new student and transfer orientations and spanning through Commencement. In her role as the Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Lisa has led the development of Hofstra Law School’s strategic plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion in collaboration with the DEI faculty, administration, student, and alumni committees.

Prior to the Law School, Lisa served as the Director of Programs at Hofstra University's Continuing Education division. In her capacity as Director, Lisa was responsible for the Legal Studies and Pre-Collegiate programs. Prior to joining Hofstra University in 1999, Lisa was the Regional Director of Human Resources for Federated Department Stores, Inc. where she was responsible for employee relations and organizational development. Lisa also served as Legal Consultant to Compliance Reports, an organization that specializes in ADA compliance.

Lisa was an instructor in the Paralegal Studies program and Legal Nurse Consultant program as well as a certified trainer in Sexual Harassment and Diversity. Lisa currently serves as the co-chair of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee, is on the board of the Diversity and Inclusion University Committee and serves as an American Bar Association accreditation site evaluator. Lisa received her B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College and her J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law.

Professor Ostrow teaches courses in Property, Land Use Law, Real Estate Transactions and State and Local Government Law. Her research focuses on land use and local governance, with an emphasis on the interaction between federal law and local land use policies. Professor Ostrow also teaches the 'Representing Health Care Providers' course in Hofstra Law's online health law and policy programs. Her articles have been published in a wide variety of journals, including the Yale Law Journal, Indiana Law Review, Emory Law Journal, Florida Law Review and Harvard Journal on Legislation. Professor Ostrow has received a number of awards and honors for her scholarship. In particular, she was selected for participation in the Harvard/Stanford/Yale Junior Faculty Forum, was awarded Hofstra University's Lawrence A. Stessin Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Publication, and won the American Association of Law School's Scholarly Paper Competition.

Before joining the Hofstra faculty in January, 2007, Professor Ostrow worked as a real estate attorney in Davis Polk's corporate department. Her practice included the representation of real estate investment funds, lenders, borrowers, landlords and tenants in sophisticated commercial real estate transactions. Professor Ostrow received her JD from Columbia Law School in 2003. While at Columbia, Professor Ostrow was a James Kent Scholar, a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an Editor of the Columbia Law Review. In 1999, Professor Ostrow graduated, summa cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in political science.