Anna S. M. McCarthy, President, is a Senior Associate in the Buffalo office of Harter Secrest & Emery LLP. Anna focuses in labor and employment at HSE, and she frequently counsels employers in the development of employment policies, wage and hour issues, discipline and termination decisions, discrimination and harassment claims, leave laws, union relations, diversity, equity and inclusion compliance, and employment contract disputes. In 2024, Anna received the Hanna S. Cohn Pro Bono Award from WBASNY,  the Rev. A. Joseph Bissonette Pro Bono Award from the Bar Association of Erie County, and the Pro Bono Award from The Daily Record. Anna was also a recipient of The Daily Record’s Up and Coming Attorneys award in 2019, and she has been selected to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers Rising Stars list since 2018.

Anna is the current co-chair of the WBASNY State Labor and Employment Law Committee, and she is a member of the Attorney Grievance Committee for the Eighth Judicial District. She is a frequent presenter to both legal and non-legal audiences on a range of employment-related issues, including compliance with federal and state anti-discrimination and equal employment opportunity laws, preventing workplace harassment, and creating and maintaining employment policies and practices that foster productive workspaces.

Anna graduated from SUNY Buffalo Law School cum laude, where she received the Buffalo Human Rights Center Summer Fellowship to provide legal assistance to refugees relocating to the Western New York area. Anna is also a graduate of Wellesley College, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish. Prior to attending law school, Ms. McCarthy spent a year in Spain teaching English to both primary school and university students.

Anna lives in Williamsville with her wife, WBASNY WNY Past President Anastasia McCarthy, and their two children.