Completed_The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Part 2

Members of the New York

County Lawyers’ Association

Committee on the Federal Courts

Stewart David Aaron	Christine M. Fox	Fredrika V. Miller
Robert H. Abrams	Alexander Geiger	Frank Sherwood Moseley
Richard Franklin Albert	Bruce elliott Gerstein	Barbara Moses
Igou Midian Allbray	Hon. Cecelia H. Goetz	Monique J. Mulcare
Irving Anolik	Alan Goggins	Russell D. Munves
Arthur H. Aufses III	Henry Lewis Goodman	Donna R. Newman
Ernest Edward Badway	Brian Dale Graifman	Stephen David Oestreich
Ravi Batra	Glenn Oliver Gray	Gerald Padian
James A. Beha	Adam S. Hakki	Louis Pechman
Jeffrey M. Benjamin	Paul James Hanly Jr.	Daniel Matthew Perez
Scott Mitchell Berman	Vilia Beleckas Hayes	Robert T. Perry
Daniel M. Bernstein	Robert Steven Herbst	Carl E. Person
Edward L. Birnbaum	David Hinshaw	Amy L. Peterson
Jonathan M. Borg	Jonathan L. Hochman	Alan Ira Raylesberg
Patrick A. Bradford	Stephen D. Hoffman	Harriet B. Rosen
Richard W. Brewster	Richard A. Hubell	Lewis Rosenberg
Myron J. Bromberg	Rachel Israel	Amy Rothstein
Krishnan S. Chittur	Andrew Robert JAcobs	James T. Sandnes
Richard S. Ciacci	Grace S. Jean	Andrew P. Saulitis
David Benjamin Cohen	Christopher P. Johnson	Alan H. Scheiner
Charles Dewey Cole Jr.	Ronald E. Joseph	Fritz L. Schweitzer Jr.
Clement J. Colucci	Gregg H. Kanter	Eileen Frances Shapiro
Kevin Concagh	Michael V. Kaplen	Alan R. Sharett
Leslie D. Corwin	Keelin Kavanagh	Joel M. Silverstein
John V. Coulter	Michele S. Kayne	Stephen John Simoni
Jennifer L. Coviello	Christopher J. Keller	Beverly Jo Slaughter
Rolande Regat Cutner	Morrie I. Kleinbart	Gerald Slotnik.
Joseph A. D’Avanzo	Harvey K. Knobloch	David Sorokoff
Ila Casy Deiss	Ms. Diana Kosanovich	Robert S. Stoll
Thomas G. Deluca	Mark Kotwick	Lawrence Alan Sucharow
Henry Nelson Diaz	Donald Martin Kresge	John E. Tardera
Catherine Mary DiDomenico	Hon. Barbara A. Lee	David G. Tobias
David S. Douglas	Leonard J. Levenson	David Lloyd Wales
Hon. Carol R. Edmead	Dana C. Lumsden	H. Elliot Wales
Evan M. Eisland	Thomas V. Marino	Patricia B. Wild
David M. Epstein	Lionel Alan Marks	Richard A. Williamson
Caspar F. Ewig	Mr. Matthew J. Mccauley	Nancy Evelyn Wolff
Michael Farbiarz	Zachary Samuel Mcgee	Michael M. Yi
Martin L. Feinberg	Hon. J. Kevin Mckay	Andrea R. Ziegelman
Braxton Fenner	Michael J. Mcnamara	Donald Marc Zolin

APPENDIX

Chief Judges of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (1990 to 2000)

Hon. Charles L. Brieant (1986 to 1993)

Judge Brieant was born in 1923 in Ossining, New York and was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Richard M. Nixon in He received both his undergraduate and law degree from Columbia University (B.A., 1947; LL.B., 1949) and served in the United States Army Air Corps (1943-1946). Throughout his career, Judge Brieant has served in numerous government positions at the local and state level throughout the State of New York, as a legislator, attorney, and administrator. In addition, he was in private practice at Bleakley, Platt, Schmidt & Fritz in White Plains, New York (1949-1971). During his time as an active United States District Judge, Judge Brieant served on the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

Hon. Thomas P. Griesa (1993 to 2000)

Judge Griesa was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1930. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University (A.B., 1952) and his law degree from Stanford Law School (LL.B., 1958). He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1972 by President Richard M. Nixon after being in private practice at Davis Polk & Wardwell (1960-1972). Judge Griesa also served in the United States Coast Guard (1952-1954) and in the Admiralty and Shipping Section of the Department of Justice (1958-1960). Judge Griesa assumed senior status in 2000.

Hon. Michael B. Mukasey (2000 to present)

Judge Mukasey was born in the Bronx, New York in 1941. He received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University (B.A., 1963) and his law degree from Yale Law School (LL.B., 1967). He began his career in private practice in 1967, when he joined the firm of Webster, Sheffield, Fleischmann, Hitchcock & Brookfield. In 1972, Judge Mukasey joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Criminal Division; from 1975 to 1976, he served in that Office as Chief of the Official Corruption Unit. Judge Mukasey returned to private practice in 1976, working at the firm of Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler until his 1987 appointment to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Ronald Reagan.

Active Judges of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District Of New York

Hon. Harold Baer, Jr.

Judge Baer was born in 1933 in New York, New York. He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton in 1994. He received his undergraduate degree from Hobart College (B.A., 1954) and his law degree from Yale Law School (LL.B., 1957). Judge Baer was Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1961-1967), leaving in 1967 as Chief of the Special Prosecutions Unit and returning from 1970 to 1972 as First Assistant United States Attorney. He was in private practice twice (1968-1970 and 1972-1982), both times with the law firm of Guggenheimer & Untermyer in New York. Judge Baer served as President of the New York County Lawyers’ Association (1979-1981) and was a Justice in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County (1982-1992). Just prior to his appointment to the Southern District, he served as a member of the Mayoral Commission to Investigate Alleged Police Corruption (the Mollen Commission, 1992-1994). At the same time, he was the Executive Judicial Officer of JAMS, an entity specializing in mediation and arbitration. Judge Baer is a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association.

Hon. Deborah A. Batts

Judge Batts was born in 1947 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1994 by President William J. Clinton. She received her undergraduate degree from Radcliffe College (A.B., 1969) and her law degree from Harvard Law School (J.D., 1972). Judge Batts began her legal career by clerking for the Hon. Lawrence W. Pierce of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1972-1973). She was in private practice with Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City (1973- 1979) and then served as an Assistant United States Attorney, Criminal Division, in the Southern District of New York (1979-1984). She was also Special Associate Counsel in the Department of Investigation of The City of New York (1990-1991). Prior to her 1994 appointment to the bench, Judge Batts served as an Associate Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law (1984-1994).

Hon. Richard M. Berman

Judge Berman was born in 1943 in New York, New York. He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton in 1998. Judge Berman received his undergraduate degree from the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations (B.S., 1964) and his law degree from New York University School of Law (J.D., 1967). He received a Diploma of Comparative Law (1968) and a Diploma of International Law (1970) from the University of Stockholm Faculty of Law, as well as a master’s degree from the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Science (M.S.W., 1996). Judge Berman began his legal career in private practice, as a litigation associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell (1970-1974). He then served as the Executive Assistant to United States Senator Jacob K. Javits (1974-1977), the Executive Director of the New York Alliance to Save Energy, Inc. (1977- 1978), and the General Counsel and Executive Vice President at Warner Cable Corporation (1978-1986). He was a partner at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae (1986-1995) and served as a Judge in the Queens County Family Court (1995-1998). Judge Berman is a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association.

Hon. Naomi Reice Buchwald

Judge Buchwald was born in 1944 in Kingston, New York. She was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton in 1999. She received her undergraduate degree from Brandeis University (B.A., 1965) and her law degree from Columbia University School of Law (LL.B., 1968). Judge Buchwald started her career in private practice as a litigation associate in Marshall, Bratter, Greene, Allison & Tucker in New York (1968-1973). She then spent seven years at the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District; first as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (1973-1976), then as Deputy Chief of the Civil Division (1976-1979), and finally as Chief of the Civil Division (1979-1980). She served as a Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of New York (1980-1999), and as Chief Magistrate.

Hon. Richard C. Casey

Judge Casey was born in 1933 in Ithaca, New York. He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton in 1997. He received his undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross (B.S., 1955) and his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center (LL.B., 1958). Judge Casey served in the United States Army and in several legal positions in the government from 1958 to 1964, including four years as an Assistant United States Attorney, Criminal Division, in the Southern District of New York (1959-1963). He then worked in private practice at Brown & Wood (then known as Brown, Wood, Fuller, Caldwell & Ivey) as an associate (1964- 1970), a partner (1970-1984), and Of Counsel (1984-1997).

Hon. Denny Chin

Judge Chin was born in 1954 in Kowloon, Hong Kong. He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton in 1994. Judge Chin was the first judge of Asian-American descent to be appointed to a federal court in the Second Circuit. He received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University (B.A., 1975) and his law degree from Fordham University School of Law (J.D., 1978). Judge Chin began his legal career by clerking for the Hon. Henry F. Werker of the Southern District of New York from 1978 to 1980. He served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York from 1982 to 1986. He has worked in private practice at Davis Polk & Wardwell; Campbell, Patrick & Chin; and Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, P.C. Judge Chin is a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association.

Hon. Denise Cote

Judge Cote was born in 1946 in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton in 1994 She received her undergraduate degree from St. Mary’s College (B.A., 1968) and her law degree from Columbia University School of Law (J.D., 1975). She also has a graduate degree from Columbia University Graduate Facilities in History (M.A., 1969). Judge Cote served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jack B. Weinstein of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (1975-1976). Judge Cote served as a federal prosecutor for a large part of her legal career, working as an Assistant United States Attorney (1977- 1983) and a Deputy Chief (1983-1985) in the Criminal Division of the Southern District of New York. In 1991, she became the first woman to serve as Chief of the Criminal Division for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District (1991-1994). Judge Cote has worked in private practice with two different firms: Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle; and Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler, where she became a partner in 1988.

Hon. George B. Daniels

Judge Daniels was born in 1953. He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton in 2000. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University (B.A., 1975) and his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law (J.D., 1978). Judge Daniels began his legal career as a criminal defense attorney for the Legal Aid Society of New York (1978-80), and then served as law clerk to Chief Justice Rose E. Bird of the California Supreme Court (1980-1981), before entering into private practice with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York. He then served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York (1983-1989), and held several judicial posts, as a judge in the Criminal Court of the City of New York, first in New York County (1989-1990) and then in Bronx County (1993-1995), and a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York (1995). He was an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School and a trial advocacy instructor at Hofstra Law School, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. In addition, Judge Daniels co-authored a book entitled New York Criminal Law (West Publishing Co., 1996).

Hon. Alvin K. Hellerstein

Judge Hellerstein was born in 1933 in New York, New York. He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton in 1998. He received both his undergraduate (B.A., 1954) and law degree (LL.B., 1956) from Columbia University. Judge Hellerstein was in private practice for nearly forty years with the firm of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP of New York City, where he co-founded Stroock’s Litigation Department. He began his legal career by clerking for the Hon. Edmund L. Palmieri of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1956-1957). He also served as a First Lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in the United States Army (1957-1960).

Hon. Barbara S. Jones

Judge Jones was born in 1947 in Inglewood, California. She was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton in 1995 She received her undergraduate degree from Mount St. Mary’s College (B.A., 1968) and her law degree from Temple University School of Law (J.D., 1973). Judge Jones began her legal career in the United States Department of Justice as a Special Attorney in the Organized Crime and Racketeering Criminal Division, and served as a Special Attorney for its Manhattan Strike Force Against Organized Crime and Racketeering (1973-1977). She was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York (1977- 1987), and in 1984, she became the first woman to be appointed Chief of an Organized Crime Strike Force in that office. In addition, Judge Jones served as Chief of the General Crimes Unit (1983-1984) and Chief of the Organized Crime Unit (1984-1987) in the Southern District. She has been adjunct Associate Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law since 1985.

Hon. Lewis A. Kaplan

Judge Kaplan was born in 1944 in Staten Island, New York. He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton in 1994. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Rochester (A.B., 1966) and his law degree from Harvard Law School (J.D., 1969). Upon graduation from law school, he served as a law clerk for the Hon. Edward M. McEntee of the United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit (1969-1970). Judge Kaplan spent most of his legal career in private practice at the firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where he became partner in 1977 (1970- 1994). He also served as a Special Master in the Westway Litigation in the Southern District from 1982 to 1983.

Hon. John G. Koeltl

Judge Koeltl was born in 1945 in New York, New York. He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton in 1994. He received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University (A.B., 1967) and his law degree from Harvard Law School (J.D., 1971). Upon graduation from law school, Judge Koeltl clerked for the Hon. Edward Weinfeld of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1971-1972), followed by the Hon. Potter Stewart of the United States Supreme Court (1972-1973). Judge Koeltl spent nearly twenty years in private practice with the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton in New York (1975-1994), where he became a partner in 1979. He was also an Assistant Special Prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force in the United States Department of Justice (1973- 1974). Judge Koeltl is a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association.

Hon. Gerard E. Lynch

Judge Lynch was born in 1951 in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Columbia College (B.A., 1972) and from Columbia University School of Law (J.D., 1975). Afterwards, he served as a law clerk to the Hon. Wilfred Feinberg of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1975- 1976) and to the Hon. William J. Brennan, Jr. of the United States Supreme Court (1976-77). Judge Lynch then joined the faculty of the Columbia University School of Law, where he taught for over twenty years (1977-2000). Prior to his appointment to the bench by President William J. Clinton in 2000, he also served in numerous government positions, including as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York (1980- 1983) and as Chief of the Criminal Division of that office (1990-1992). He was Associate Counsel for the Office of Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra (1988-1990). In addition, he was Of Counsel in the law firm of Howard, Darby & Levin, now Covington and Burling (1992-2000).

Hon. Victor Marrero

Judge Marrero was born in 1941 in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He received his undergraduate degree from New York University (B.A., 1964), studied as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Sheffield School of Law (1966-1967), and received his law degree from Yale Law School (LL.B., 1968). Following law school, he was Assistant to Mayor John V. Lindsay in New York City (1968-1970) and served in New York City government until 1977, as Assistant Administrator and Neighborhood Director for the Model Cities Administration (1970-1973), Executive Director for the Department of City Planning (1973-1974), Special Counsel to the Comptroller (1974-1975), and Chairman of the City Planning Commission (1976-1977). He was Commissioner and Vice Chairman of the New York State Housing Finance Agency (1978-1979) and United States Undersecretary of Housing and Urban Development (1979-1981). Judge Marrero was in private practice for over a decade (1981-1993) and then served as Ambassador to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (1993-1999) before his 1999 appointment to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton.

Hon. John S. Martin, Jr.

Judge Martin was born in 1935 in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Manhattan College (B.A., 1957) and Columbia Law School (LL.B., 1961). Judge Martin began his legal career as a law clerk to Hon. Leonard P. Moore of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1961-1962). Judge Martin then served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York (1962-1966) and an Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States (1967-1969). He was in private practice from 1969 to 1980, with the law firms Martin, Obermaier & Morvillo and Schulte Roth & Zabel. Judge Martin served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1980-1983) and then returned to private practice with Schulte Roth & Zabel from 1983 until his appointment to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George Bush, Sr. in 1990.

Hon. Lawrence M. McKenna

Judge McKenna was born in 1933 in New York, New York. He received his undergraduate degree from Fordham College (A.B., 1956) and his law degree from Columbia Law School (LL.B., 1959). Prior to being appointed to the bench by President George Bush, Sr. in 1990, he was in private practice in New York City at the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and was a partner at the law firm Wormser, Kiely, Alessandroni, Hyde & McCann and its successor, Wormser, Kiely, Galef & Jacobs for over thirty years (1959-1990).

Hon. Colleen McMahon

Judge McMahon was born in 1951 in Columbus, Ohio. She received her undergraduate education at Ohio State University (B.A., 1973) and her legal education at Harvard Law School (J.D., 1976). After a few years in private practice at the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Judge McMahon served as Speechwriter and Special Assistant to the Honorable Donald McHenry, United States Mission to the United Nations (1979-1980). She then returned to Paul, Weiss, where in 1984 she became the first woman litigator to be elected as a partner of that firm. Judge McMahon served as a Judge of the New York Court of Claims (1995) and as an Acting Justice of the Supreme Court of New York (1995-1998). In 1998, she was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton.

Hon. William H. Pauley, III

Judge Pauley was born in 1952 in Glen Cove, New York. He graduated from Duke University (A.B., 1974) and received his law degree from Duke University School of Law (J.D., 1977. Thereafter, he worked for the Nassau County Attorney’s Office (1977-1978). Prior to his appointment to the bench by President William J. Clinton in 1998, Judge Pauley was in private practice for approximately twenty years, primarily at the law firm Snitow & Pauley (1978-1998).

Hon. Loretta A. Preska

Judge Preska was born in 1949 in Albany, New York. She graduated from the College of St. Rose (B.A., 1970), Fordham University School of Law (J.D., 1973), and New York University School of Law (LL.M. in Trade Regulation, 1978). Prior to her appointment to the bench by President George Bush, Sr. in 1992, Judge Preska was in private practice for over twenty years, first with Cahill Gordon & Reindel (1973-1982) and then with Hertzog, Calamari & Gleason, where she became a partner in 1983 (1983- 1992). Judge Preska is a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association and, before becoming a District Judge, served on the Association’s Federal Courts Committee. In 2001, Judge Preska received the Edward Weinfeld Award in recognition of her years of dedicated service to the Southern District of New York.

Hon. Jed S. Rakoff

Judge Rakoff was born in 1943 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was appointed in 1996 by President William J. Clinton to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He attended Swarthmore College (B.A., 1964), Oxford University, Balliol College (M.Phil., 1966), and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1969). Judge Rakoff clerked for the Honorable Abraham Freedman, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit (1969-1970). He was in private practice for two years before serving as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1973-1980), where he was Chief of the Business and Securities Fraud Prosecutions Unit. Judge Rakoff then returned to private practice, as a partner at the law firms of Mudge, Rose, Guthrie, Alexander and Ferdon, and Fried Frank Harris Shriver and Jacobsen.

Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin

Judge Scheindlin was born in 1946 in Washington, D.C. She attended the University of Michigan (B.A., 1967), Columbia University (M.A., 1969) and Cornell Law School (J.D., 1975). Prior to her appointment to the bench by President William J. Clinton in 1994, Judge Scheindlin clerked for the Honorable Charles Brieant of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1976-1977) and held various positions in federal and local government (1977-1982), including a four year stint as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York (1977- 1981). She was a Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (1982-1986) before entering private practice as a partner in the law firm of Herzfeld & Rubin (1986-1994). Judge Scheindlin is a member of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules of the Judicial Conference of the United States. Since 1983, Judge Scheindlin has also been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. Judge Scheindlin is a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association.

Hon. Allen G. Schwartz

Judge Schwartz was born in 1934 in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from City College of New York, Baruch College (B.B.A., 1955) and the University of Pennsylvania Law School (LL.B., 1958). Prior to his appointment to the bench by President William J. Clinton in 1994, Judge Schwartz served in the U.S. Army (1958-1959) and U.S. Army Reserves. He was an Assistant District Attorney in New York County (1959-1962) and Corporation Counsel in New York City (1978-1981). He was also in private practice with the law firms Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn and Schwartz, Klink & Schreiber, P.C.

Hon. Sidney H. Stein

Judge Stein was born in 1945 and graduated from Princeton University (A.B., 1967) and Yale Law School (J.D., 1972). He served in the New York Army National Guard (1969-1975), and began his legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Stanley H. Fuld, Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals and Chief Judge of the State of New York (1972-1973). He spent more than twenty years in private practice, with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison (1974-1981) and as a founding partner of Stein, Zauderer, Ellenhorn, Frischer & Sharp (1981-1995). He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton in 1995. Judge Stein is a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association.

Hon. Laura Taylor Swain

Judge Swain was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1958. She graduated from Harvard- Radcliffe College (B.A., 1979) and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1982). She was appointed in 2000 to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President William J. Clinton. Judge Swain has been a law clerk for the Honorable Constance Baker Motley in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1982-1983), was in private practice with Debevoise & Plimpton (1982-1996), and served as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge in the Eastern District of New York (1996-2000).

Hon. Kimba M. Wood

Judge Wood was born in Port Townsend, Washington in 1944. She graduated from Connecticut College (B.A., 1965), the London School of Economics (M.Sc., 1966), and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1969). Prior to her appointment to the bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, Judge Wood was associated with Steptoe & Johnson (1969-1970). She then served in the Special Counsel’s Office of the Office of Economic Opportunity Legal Services Program (1970-1971) and in private practice with LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby & MacRae (1971-1988), where she became a partner in 1978.

Senior Judges of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Hon. Robert L. Carter

Judge Carter was born in 1917 in Careyville, Florida. He received his undergraduate degree from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania (A.B., 1937) and his law degree from Howard University Law School (LL.B., 1940). He also received a graduate degree from Columbia University Law School (LL.M., 1942), and honorary degrees from multiple universities. He was a Lieutenant in the United States Army Air Force (1941-1944). Prior to his appointment to the bench by President Richard M. Nixon in 1972, Judge Carter served in a variety of private and public sector positions, including service as assistant special counsel (1945-1956) and general counsel (1956- 1968) to the NAACP, and as a member of the American Delegation to the U.N. Conference on Crime and Treatment of Offenders (1965) and the U.N. Conference of African Jurists on African Legal Process and Individual Rights (1968). He was a partner in the firm Poletti, Freidin, Prashker, Feldman & Gartner (1969-1972). Judge Carter has also taught as an adjunct professor of law at Yale University, New York University, and University of Michigan School of Law. He assumed senior status in 1986.

Hon. Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum

Judge Cedarbaum was born in 1929 in New York, New York. She was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, and assumed senior status in 1998. She received her undergraduate degree from Barnard College (B.A., 1950) and her law degree from Columbia University School of Law (LL.B., 1953). Upon graduating from law school, Judge Cedarbaum served as a law clerk for the Honorable Edward Jordan Dimock of the Southern District of New York (1953-1954). She has served the public in numerous capacities: as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1954-1957); as an attorney in the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. (1958-1959); as First Assistant Counsel for the New York State Moreland Commission on the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law (1963-64); and as Acting Village Justice (1978-82) and Village Justice (1982-86). In addition, Judge Cedarbaum was Associate Counsel to the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1965-1979). Judge Cedarbaum has also served as a part-time legal consultant to law firms advising on litigation matters (1959-1962) and was in private practice at Davis Polk & Wardwell (1979-1986).

Hon. William C. Conner

Judge Conner was born in 1920 in Wichita Falls, Texas. He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Richard M. Nixon in 1973, and assumed senior status in 1987. Judge Conner received both his undergraduate (B.B.A., 1941) and law degree (LL.B., 1942) from the University of Texas, and was a lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve (1942-1946). Judge Conner has been awarded the Jefferson Medal for outstanding contributions to the development of U.S. patent law (1975), was President of the New York Patent Law Association (1972-73), and has served on the Board of Editors of the Manual for Complex Litigation.

Hon. Kevin Thomas Duffy

Judge Duffy was born in 1933 in New York, New York. He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Richard M. Nixon in 1972. He received both his undergraduate (A.B., 1954) and law degree (LL.B., 1958) from Fordham University. Judge Duffy was a clerk for the Honorable J. Edward Lumbard in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1955-1958). He then served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York (1958-1959), where he became Assistant Chief of the Criminal Division (1959-1961). Judge Duffy worked in private practice, as an associate with Whitman, Ransom, & Coulson (1961-1966), and as a partner at Gordon and Gordon (1966-1969). He then served as the New York Regional Director for the Securities and Exchange Commission (1969-72). Judge Duffy is the recipient of the Fordham Alumni Gold Medal for Excellence in the Law (1984), the Distinguished Public Service Award from the New York County Lawyers’ Association (1994), the William O. Douglas Award for Lifetime Achievement (1995), and the Fordham Law Gavel and Shield Association’s first annual Thomas F. Murphy Award (1999). Judge Duffy was honored in 1998 by both the Respect for Law Alliance and the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation for presiding over the trials of the individuals involved in the first attack on the World Trade Center. Judge Duffy assumed senior status in 1998.

Hon. Gerard L. Goettel

Judge Goettel was born in New York, New York in 1928. He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1976 by President Gerald R. Ford, and assumed senior status in 1993. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke University (B.A. 1950) and his law degree from Columbia University (LL.B., 1955). He was a Lieutenant in the United States Coast Guard (1951-53) and an instructor in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve (1953-1961). He served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York (1955-56) and as a Deputy Chief of the Attorney General’s Special Group on Organized Crime, Department of Justice (1958-59). He was associated with the law firms Lowenstein, Pitcher, Hotchkiss, Amann, and Parr (1959-62) and Natanson and Reich (1968-69), and was associate general counsel for The Overmyer Company (1969-71). In addition, Judge Goettel has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham University Law School and Pace University Law School, and as a United States Magistrate for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York of New York (1971- 76).

Hon. Charles S. Haight, Jr.

Judge Haight was born in 1930 in New York, New York. He received his undergraduate degree (A.B., 1952) and law degree (LL.B., 1955) from Yale University. Prior to his appointment to the bench by President Gerald R. Ford in 1976, he served as a trial attorney in the Admiralty and Shipping Section, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice (1955-1957), and worked in private practice for the firm Haight, Gardner, Poor & Havens, where he became a partner in 1968. He is a director of the Kennedy Child Study Center and a member of the board of managers of the Havens Relief Fund Society. Judge Haight assumed senior status in 1995.

Hon. John F. Keenan

Judge Keenan was born in 1929 in New York, New York. He graduated from Manhattan College (B.B.A., 1951) and Fordham University School of Law (LL.B., 1954), and served in the United States Army (1954-1956). Judge Keenan began his legal career in the New York County District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant District Attorney (1956-1973), Administrative Assistant District Attorney (1974), and Chief Assistant District Attorney (1974-1976). He was Special Prosecutor (Deputy Attorney General) in the Investigation into Corruption in the Criminal Justice System of New York City (1976-1979), as well as Chairman and President of the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation (1979-1982), and Criminal Justice Coordinator for the City of New York (1982- 83). Judge Keenan was appointed to the bench in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan and assumed senior status in 1996.

Hon. Whitman Knapp

Judge Knapp was born in 1909 in New York, New York. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale College (A.B., 1931) and his law degree from Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1934). Prior to his appointment to the bench in 1972 by President Richard M. Nixon, he was in private practice with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft (1934-1937); Donovan Leisure Newton & Lumbard (1941); and Barrett, Knapp, Smith, Schapiro & Simon (1950-1972). Judge Knapp served in the District Attorney’s Office for New York County as Deputy Assistant District Attorney (1937-1941), Chief of the Indictments and Frauds Division (1942-1944), and Chief of the Appeals Bureau (1944-1950). He was Chairman of the so-called Knapp Commission, which investigated allegations of corruption in New York City’s Police Department (1970-72). He was also a member of the Temporary Commission on Revision of the New York State Penal Law and Code of Criminal Procedure (1953-54). Judge Knapp assumed senior status in 1987.

Hon. Shirley Wohl Kram

Judge Kram was born in New York, New York. She attended the College of the City of New York and Brooklyn Law School (LL.B., 1950). Prior to her appointment to the bench in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan, Judge Kram served as a judge for the Family Court, the Civil Court and the Criminal Court of the City of New York (1971-1983). She has also worked for the Legal Aid Society, where she was head of the Narcotics Unit, and coauthored a book entitled The Law of Child Custody: Development of the Substantive Law (D.C. Heath & Co., 1982). Judge Kram assumed senior status in 1993.

Hon. Morris Edward Lasker

Judge Lasker was born in 1917 in Hartsdale, New York. He graduated from Harvard College (B.A., 1938) and from Yale Law School (LL.B., 1941). Prior to his 1968 appointment to the bench by President Lyndon B. Johnson, he was staff attorney for the United States Senate Committee Investigating National Defense Programs (1941-1942) and was in private practice in New York City (1946-1968). He was Town Attorney for New Castle, New York (1955-1957) and a New Castle Justice of the Peace (1957-1958). Judge Lasker is a former Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Center for Research in Crime and Justice at the New York University School of Law, and is a former member of the Executive Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He assumed senior status on October 3, 1983.

Hon. Peter K. Leisure

Judge Leisure was born in 1929 in New York, New York. He graduated from Yale University (B.A., 1952) and the University of Virginia School of Law (LL.B., 1958). Prior to his appointment to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, Judge Leisure served as a Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve, Artillery (1953-1955), and as an Assistant United States Attorney, Criminal Division, in the Southern District of New York (1962- 1966). In addition, he spent many years in private practice, associated with Breed, Abbott & Morgan, and as a partner with Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle and with Whitman Ransom (1966-1984). He was a member of the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Ethics (1990-1994). Judge Leisure assumed senior status in 1997.

Hon. Constance Baker Motley

Judge Motley was born in New Haven, Connecticut. She graduated from New York University (B.A., 1943) and Columbia University (LL.B., 1946) and has received honorary degrees from numerous universities. Prior to her appointment to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966, Judge Motley was on the legal staff of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (1945-1965). She was President of the Borough of Manhattan (1965-1966) and served in the New York State Senate (1964-1965). During her tenure with the NAACP, Judge Motley was a principal trial attorney, where she worked on the briefs for Brown v. Board of Education with Thurgood Marshall, who would later become a Justice of the United States Supreme Court; represented Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in connection with 1963 demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama; and argued a series of vital civil rights cases before the United States Supreme Court. Judge Motley was the first African-American woman to sit on the federal bench, and the first woman to serve as a judge of the Southern District. She served as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from June 1, 1982 until October 1, 1986, and assumed senior status in 1986.

Hon. Richard Owen

Judge Owen was born in 1922 in New York, New York. He graduated from Dartmouth College (A.B., 1945) and Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1950). Prior to his appointment to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Richard M. Nixon in 1973, Judge Owen served in the United States Army Air Corps (1942-1945), for which he received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York (1953-1955), a Special Assistant United States Attorney General (1954), and a Senior Trial Attorney in the Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice (1955-1958), before returning to private practice (1958-1974). He was also an assistant professor at New York University School of Law (1951-1953). Judge Owen assumed senior status in 1989.

Hon. Robert P. Patterson, Jr.

Judge Patterson was born in 1923 in New York, New York. He graduated from Harvard College (B.A., 1947) and Columbia Law School (LL.B., 1950) and served in the United States Army Air Corps. Prior to his appointment to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, Judge Patterson held several positions in the state and federal government, including Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District (1953-1956), and he served as a Special Hearing Officer for conscientious objectors for the United States Department of Justice (1961-1968). He practiced in the private sector with Patterson, Belknap & Webb (1956-1988), where he became a partner in 1960. Judge Patterson assumed senior status in 1998.

Hon. Milton Pollack

Judge Pollack was born in 1906 in New York, New York. He graduated from Columbia University (B.A., 1927) and Columbia Law School (J.D., 1929). Prior to his appointment to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967, Judge Pollack was in private practice in New York City (1929-1967). Since his appointment, he has served on multiple committees of the Judicial Conference of the United States. Judge Pollack assumed senior status in 1983.

Hon. Leonard B. Sand

Judge Sand was born in 1928 in New York, New York. He attended New York University School of Commerce (B.S., 1947) and Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1951). Prior to his appointment to the bench by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, Judge Sand served as law clerk in the United States Department of Justice (1952-1953), as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York (1953-1954), and as an Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States (1956-1959). Judge Sand was in private practice with Rosenman, Goldmark, Colin & Kaye (1954-1956) and Robinson, Silverman, Pearce, Aronsohn, Sand & Berman (1959-1978). He was elected as a Delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1967 and has served as adjunct Professor of Law at New York University School of Law. In addition, Judge Sand has authored numerous volumes of the highly influential treatises on federal jury instructions that bear his name. Judge Sand assumed senior status in 1993.

Hon. John E. Sprizzo

Judge Sprizzo was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1934 and attended St. John’s University (B.A., 1956; LL.B., 1959). Prior to his appointment to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, Judge Sprizzo worked in the Organized Crime Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice (1959-1963), was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1963-1968), Chief Appellate Attorney (1965-1966), and Assistant Chief of the Criminal Division (1966-1968) before returning to private practice with Curtis, Mallet- Prevost, Colt & Mosle (1970-1981). He was also Associate Professor of Law at Fordham Law School from 1968 to 1972. Judge Sprizzo assumed senior status in 2000.

Hon. Lousis L. Stanton

Judge Stanton was born in New York, New York in 1927. He graduated from Yale University (B.A., 1950) and the University of Virginia School of Law (LL.B., 1955). He served in the United States Merchant Marine Cadet Corps from 1945 to 1947 and was on active duty as a Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps from 1950 to 1952. Prior to his appointment to the bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1985, Judge Stanton was in private practice in New York City with Davis Polk & Wardwell (1955-1966) and Carter, Ledyard & Milburn (1966-1985), where he became a partner in 1967. Judge Stanton assumed senior status in 1996.

Hon. Robert W. Sweet

Judge Sweet was born in Yonkers, New York in 1922. He graduated from Yale University (B.A., 1944; LL.B., 1948). He served as a Lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve from 1943 to 1946. Prior to his appointment to the bench by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, Judge Sweet was in private practice (1948-1953; 1955-1965; 1970-1978), and served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1953-1955), Executive Assistant to the Mayor of the City of New York (1966), and Deputy Mayor for the City of New York (1966-1969). He was a partner in the law firm Casey, Lane and Mittendorf (1957-1965) and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom (1970- 1978). Judge Sweet assumed senior status in 1991.

Hon. Robert J. Ward

Judge Ward was born in New York, New York in 1926. He graduated from Harvard College (B.S., 1945) and Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1949). He served in the United States Naval Reserve (1944-1946) and was discharged as a Lieutenant (j.g.). Prior to his appointment to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Richard M. Nixon in 1972, Judge Ward was an Assistant District Attorney for New York County (1951-1955), an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1956-1961), and in private practice (1961-1972). Judge Ward assumed senior status in 1991.

Magistrate Judges of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Hon. Ronald L. Ellis

Judge Ellis was born in LaFourche, Louisiana in 1950. He was appointed United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of New York in 1993, and is currently serving as the District’s Chief Magistrate Judge. He graduated from Manhattan College with a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree, and from the New York University School of Law. Prior to becoming a Judge, he served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the New York University School of Law and at the New York Law School, and in various leadership capacities at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, including as Director of the Poverty and Justice Program.

Hon. Michael H. Dolinger

Judge Dolinger graduated from Columbia College (B.A., 1968), and from Columbia Law School (J.D., 1972). Prior to his appointment as United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of New York in 1984, he was law clerk to the Honorable Wilfred Feinberg of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, was associated with the law firm of Nickerson, Kramer, Lowenstein, Nessen, Kamin & Soll, and served from 1976 until 1984 as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Hon. Douglas F. Eaton

Judge Eaton was born in Plainfeld, New Jersey in 1942. He graduated from Harvard College (B.A., 1963), and from Harvard Law School (J.D., 1966). Judge Eaton was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1996, following 20 years as a solo practitioner in Manhattan. Prior to becoming a solo practitioner, Judge Eaton was law clerk to a United States District Judge, served as a member of the United States Coast Guard Reserve, was an attorney in the New York City Department of Investigation, was associated with the law firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed, and from 1971 until 1975 was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Hon. Kevin N. Fox

Judge Fox graduated from Columbia College (B.A., 1978), and from Brooklyn Law School (J.D., 1981). Prior to his appointment to the bench in 1997, Judge Fox served in the Criminal Defense Division of the Legal Aid Society of New York (1981-87), was Executive Director of Governor Mario Cuomo’s Task Force on Bias-Related Violence (1987-88), and worked as an attorney in the Law Department of the New York City Transit Authority (1989). Judge Fox then served as Deputy City Personnel Director and General Counsel for the New York City Department of Personnel (1990-94), and in the Law Department of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (1994-97).

Hon. Mark D. Fox

Judge Fox was born in the Bronx, New York in 1943. Judge Fox attended the State University of New York at Buffalo (B.A., 1964) and Brooklyn Law School (J.D., 1967). He served in the United States Army until 1970 in the Criminal Investigation Division. From 1970 to 1973, Judge Fox was an Assistant District Attorney, first in Bronx County and then in Orange County. He then took a position as Chief Trial Attorney with the Orange County Legal Aid Society, followed by stints as Chief Attorney and Public Defender for Orange County. From 1977 until his full-time appointment in 1991 (he was appointed part-time Magistrate in 1988), Judge Fox was in private practice with Bravoso, Fox and Coffill in Port Jervis, New York. In 2000, Judge Fox served as a visiting lecturer in trial practice at the Harvard Law School.

Hon. James C. Francis IV

Judge Francis was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1952. He graduated from Yale College (B.A., 1974), the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (M.P.P., 1978) and Yale Law School ( J.D., 1978). Prior to his appointment as Magistrate Judge in 1985, Judge Francis was law clerk to the Honorable Robert L. Carter, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1978-79), and served at the Legal Aid Society of New York (1979-85), where his practice focused on impact litigation.

Hon. Deborah Freeman

Judge Freeman was born in Jamaica, New York in 1957. She graduated from Yale College (B.A., 1979), and from the New York University School of Law (J.D., 1986). Prior to her appointment to the bench in 2001, she was associated with the law firm of Parker Auspitz Neesemann & Delehanty P.C. (1986-87), and then worked at the New York office of Morrison & Foerster LLP as an associate (1987-1995) and a litigation partner (1995-2001). From 1993 to 1999, Judge Freeman was a Director of the Legal Aid Society of New York.

Hon. Martin R. Goldberg

Judge Goldberg was born in the Bronx, New York in 1945. He graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University (B.A., 1966), and from New York Law School (J.D., 1969). Prior to his appointment to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1992, he was engaged in private practice (1981-1992), served as Chief Assistant District Attorney and Acting District Attorney for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (1972-1980), and worked at the Legal Aid Society of New York (1970- 1972).

Hon. Gabriel Gorenstein

Judge Gorenstein was born in New York City in 1957. He received his B.A. degree from Yale University in 1979 and J.D. degree from Columbia Law School in 1984. Judge Gorenstein clerked for Judge Spottswood W. Robinson, III, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. From 1985 to 1987, Judge Gorenstein was an associate with Debevoise & Plimpton in New York City. In 1987, he became an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, Civil Division, and in 1990, was named Chief of the Civil Rights Unit. He was named Chief Appellate Attorney in 1991. In 1994, JudgeGorenstein was appointed General Counsel of the New York City Human Resources Administration. He served as Acting First Deputy Commissioner of the HRA from 1996 to 1997. From 1998 to his appointment in 2001, Judge Gorenstein served as a New York City Criminal Court Judge. Since 1997, Judge Gorenstein has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School.

Hon. Theodore H. Katz

Judge Katz was appointed as a magistrate judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1991 and has served as the District’s Chief Magistrate Judge. Judge Katz was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1947. He graduated from Brandeis University (B.S., 1968) and Columbia Law School (J.D. 1973). After graduation, Judge Katz served as law clerk to Judge Robert L. Carter, United States District Judge in the Southern District of New York. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he worked as a staff attorney at the New York City Human Rights Commission and as a staff attorney and director of the Prisoners’ Rights Project of the New York Legal Aid Society.

Hon. Frank Maas

Judge Maas was born in New York, New York in 1950. He graduated from Harpur College, State University of New York at Binghamton (B.A., 1972) and New York University School of Law (J.D., 1976). Prior to his appointment to the bench in 1999, Judge Maas was Law Clerk to the late Honorable Henry F. Werker, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1976-1978); Assistant United States Attorney, Criminal Division, Southern District of New York (1980-1986); Deputy Commissioner and First Deputy Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigations (1995-1999); and Deputy Commissioner and Special Counsel, New York City Department of Business Services. He was in private practice at the law firms of Curtis, Mallet- Prevost, Colt & Mosle (1978-1980) and Phillips, Lytle, Hitchcock, Blaine & Huber (1986-95).

Hon. Andrew J. Peck

Judge Peck was born in New York, New York in 1953. He graduated from Cornell University (A.B., 1974) and Duke University Law School (J.D. 1977). Prior to his appointment to the bench in 1995, Judge Peck was law clerk to the Honorable Paul Roney, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (1977-1978) and in private practice with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, & Garrison (1978-1995).

Hon. Henry Pitman

Judge Pitman was born in 1953 in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Fordham University (B.A., 1975; J.D., 1978). Prior to his appointment to the bench in 1995, Judge Pitman was law clerk to the Honorable Lloyd F. McMahon, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1978-1979), and an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1985-1990). Judge Pitman was also in private practice with the law firms Chadbourne & Parke; Hall, McNicol, Hamilton & Clark; and Lieberman & Nowak.

Hon. Lisa Margaret Smith

Judge Smith was born in 1955 in Hamilton, New York. She graduated from Earlham College (B.A., 1977) and Duke University School of Law (J.D., 1980). Prior to her appointment to the bench in 1995, Judge Smith was Assistant District Attorney, Kings County (1980-1985); Assistant Attorney General, New York State Department of Law (1985-1986); Supervising Senior Assistant District Attorney, Kings County (1986-1987); and Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1987-1995).

Hon. George A. Yanthis

Judge Yanthis was born in 1948 in Rome, New York. He graduated from Kent State University (B.B.A., 1970) and Syracuse University College of Law (J.D., 1974). He served as Lieutenant Colonel in the New York Army National Guard and a Staff Judge Advocate for the 42nd Infantry Division. Prior to his appointment to the bench in 1997, Judge Yanthis was a staff attorney for the New York State Urban Development Corporation, Radisson Development Office (1974-1975); the New York State Assembly (1975-1976); and the Office of the New York State Secretary of State (1976-1980). Judge Yanthis also served for nearly seventeen years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York (1980-1997).

Former Judges of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (1990 to 2000)

Hon. Kenneth Conboy

Judge Conboy was born in 1938 in New York, New York. He was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and served until his resignation in 1993. Judge Conboy attended Fordham College (A.B., 1961), University of Virginia School of Law (J.D., 1964), and Columbia University (M.A., 1980). He was a Captain in the United States Army (1964-66). Judge Conboy worked in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, where he served as Trial Assistant, Chief of the Rackets Bureau, and Executive Assistant District Attorney (1966-1977). He also served at the New York City Police Department, as Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel (1978-1983), was New York City’s Criminal Justice Coordinator (1984-86), and was appointed by the governor to serve on the New York State Crime Control Planning Board and Joint State/City Commission on Integrity in Government. Judge Conboy resigned his judgeship in 1993, and in 1994 he resumed private practice in New York City.

Hon. Louis J. Freeh

Judge Freeh was born in 1950 in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was nominated by President George Bush, Sr. in 1992 to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and served until his resignation in 1993. He attended Rutgers College (B.A., 1971), Rutgers University School of Law (J.D., 1974), and New York University School of Law (LL.M., 1984). Following law school, he was a special agent in the F.B.I. from 1975 to 1980. He worked in the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York as Assistant U.S. Attorney (1981-1987); Chief of the Organized Crime Unit (1987-1989), Deputy U.S. Attorney (1989), and Associate U.S. Attorney (1989-1990). He then served as Special Prosecutor for the Department of Justice (1990-1991) and, following his resignation from the bench, as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1993-2001). Judge Freeh was also a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association, and served on the Association’s Federal Courts Committee.

Hon. Pierre N. Leval

Judge Leval was born in 1936 in New York, New York. Judge Leval attended Harvard University (A.B., 1959; LL.B., 1963). Upon graduation, he served as law clerk to the Hon.

Henry J. Friendly, United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit (1963-1964). He worked as Chief Assistant District Attorney in New York County and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he was Chief of Appeals. He was also in private practice with the firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. He was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 and served as District Judge until his appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1993 by President William J. Clinton, where he assumed senior status in 2002. Judge Leval is a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association.

Hon. Charles M. Metzner

Judge Metzner was born in New York, New York in 1912. He received both his undergraduate (A.B., 1931) and law degree (LL.B., 1933) from Columbia University. He began his legal career in private practice, and then served as a research assistant to the Judicial Council of the State of New York (1934-1941) and as a law secretary to the Hon. William C. Hecht, New York State Supreme Court (1942-1953). He served as an executive assistant to the Attorney General of the United States (1953-1954), before returning to private practice, with Chapman, Walsh & O’Connell (1954-1959). He also served as a director of the New York County Lawyers’ Association from 1957 to 1959. Following his 1959 appointment by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Metzner chaired the United States Judicial Conference Committee on the Administration of the Magistrates System (1969-1981). Judge Metzner assumed senior status in 1977.

Hon. Barrington D. Parker, Jr.

Judge Parker was born in 1944 in Washington, D.C. He received his undergraduate degree at Yale College (B.A., 1965) and his law degree from Yale Law School (LL.B., 1969). He then served as law clerk to Hon. Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr., United States District Judge in the District of Columbia (1969-1970). Prior to his appointment to the bench in 1994 by President William J. Clinton, Judge Parker was in private practice in New York City for over twenty (20) years with Sullivan & Cromwell (1970-1977), Parker Auspitz Neesemann & Delehanty, P.C. (1977-1987), and Morrison & Foerster (1987-1994). He was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2001 by President George W. Bush.

Hon. Sonia Sotomayor

Judge Sotomayor was born in the Bronx, New York in 1954. She was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George W. Bush, Sr. in 1991 and served until her appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1998 by President William J. Clinton. Judge Sotomayor attended Princeton University (B.A., 1976) and Yale Law School (J.D., 1979). She served as an Assistant District Attorney in New York County from 1979 to 1984 and was then in private practice with Pavia and Harcourt, where she became a partner in 1988 (1984-1992). She is an Adjunct Professor at New York University School of Law and a Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School.

Hon. John M. Walker, Jr.

Judge Walker was born in New York, New York in 1940. He received a bachelor’s degree from Yale University (B.A. 1962) and a law degree from University of Michigan Law School (J.D., 1966), and he served as a Private First- Class in the United States Marine Corps Reserves (1963-67). Following school and military service, he was State Counsel to the Republic of Botswana (1966- 1968), worked in private practice (1969-1970), and served as Assistant United States Attorney, Criminal Division, in the Southern District of New York (1970- 1975). Judge Walker returned in 1975 to private practice with the firm Carter, Ledyard & Milburn, first as an associate and then as a partner (1975-1981). He then served Assistant Secretary of the United States Treasury Department (1981- 1985) until his 1985 appointment by President Ronald Reagan to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. In 1989, Judge Walker was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit by President George Bush, Sr. where he has served as Chief Judge from 2000 to the present.

Former Magistrate Judges of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (1990 to 2000)

Hon. Leonard Bernikow

Judge Bernikow was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1934. He graduated from Queens College, City University of New York (B.A., 1956) and from New York University School of Law (LL.B., 1959). Following military service and a stint in private practice, Judge Bernikow served as a staff attorney for the criminal division of the Legal Aid Society (1965-1968). Prior to being appointed Magistrate Judge in 1975, he was an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the General Litigation Division of the Law Department of the City of New York (1968-1975), and became head of that division in 1972.

Hon.Naomi Reice Buchwald

Judge Buchwald was appointed a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York in 1999 by President William J. Clinton, and her biography appears above.

Hon. Barbara A. Lee

Judge Lee was born in Meriden, Connecticut in 1937. She graduated from Boston University (A.B., 1959) and Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1962). From 1962 to 1966, she served as a staff attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Judge Lee was in private practice, first as an associate and then as a partner, with the law firm Poletti Freidin Prashker Feldman and Gartner (1968- 1982). She then worked as a solo practitioner (1982-1988) until her appointment to a seven-year term as a Magistrate Judge. Judge Lee is a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association, and has served on the Association’s Federal Courts Committee.

Hon. Nina Gershon

Judge Gershon was born in 1940 in Chicago, Illinois. She graduated from Cornell University (B.A., 1962) and Yale Law School (J.D., 1965), and was a Fulbright Scholar at the London School of Economics/Hampstead Clinic (1965- 1966). Judge Gershon was an attorney in the Appellate Division, First Department’s Mental Health Information Service (1966-68), and served as an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of New York (1968-1976), becoming Chief of the Consumer Protection Division in 1975. In 1976, she entered duty as a Magistrate Judge, and was the first Chief Magistrate Judge of the Southern District of New York, serving a two-year term from 1992-1994. She was appointed as a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York in 1996 by President William J. Clinton.

Hon. Sharon Ellen Grubin

Judge Grubin received a bachelor’s degree from Smith College and a law degree from Boston University School of Law. She was associated with the law firm of White & Case until she entered on duty as a Magistrate Judge in 1984. She has taught seminars and conducted lectures at New York University School of Law, Yale Law School, Brooklyn Law School, and New York Law School. Judge Grubin retired in 2000.

Hon. Kathleen Anne Roberts

Judge Roberts received a bachelor’s degree from University of Massachusetts (B.A., 1971) and a law degree from Yale Law School (J.D., 1977). She served as a law clerk to the Honorable William C. Conner of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1977-1979) and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, in both the civil and criminal divisions (1979-1985). She was a Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of New York from 1985 to 1995. In 1995, Judge Roberts began employment as an arbitrator, and she is currently a full-time ADR neutral for JAMS, as well as an Adjunct Professor at New York University School of Law, where she teaches Alternative Dispute Resolution. Judge Roberts is a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association.

Hon. Joel J. Tyler

Judge Tyler attended Indiana University and New York University (B.A., 1943). He graduated from Fordham Law School, having attended classes at night while working during the day. Judge Tyler worked in the law department of Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation (1947-1951) before opening his own practice in 1951. He served as Commissioner of Licenses for the City of New York (1966-1968), and served on the Criminal Court of New York (1968-1976), during which time he famously ruled that the pornographic film “Deep Throat” was obscene. Judge Tyler subsequently served as a New York State Supreme Court Justice (1976-1978), and as law secretary to Justice Theodore R. Kupferman of the Appellate Division, First Department (1978-1979). He entered on duty as a Magistrate Judge in 1979, a post he held until his retirement in 1991.

Footnotes:

1. Proceedings Had on November 3, 1939 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of its Organization 9 (1939) (alteration supplied) (hereinafter “Proceedings”).

2. The United States District Court for the District of New York convened for the first time on November 3, 1789. The United States Supreme Court did not hold its first session until February 1790. See H. Paul Burak, History of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York 1, Federal Bar Ass’n of N.Y., N.J. and Conn. (1962) (hereinafter “History”).

3. History of the Federal Judiciary, http://www.fjc.gov, web site of the Federal Judicial Center, Washington, D.C. This includes the six who served in the District of New York before the Southern District of New York was created in 1814. History at 27.

4. Of Judge Weinfeld, the Southern District’s most venerated member, Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., once noted that “[t]here is general agreement on bench and bar throughout the nation that there is no better judge on any court.” Edward Weinfeld: A Judicious Life 49, Federal Bar Foundation (1998) (hereinafter “Weinfeld”).

5. Weinfeld at 49.

6. History at 1 (quoting Hough, The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York 8 (1934) (hereinafter “Hough”).

7. Id

8. Proceedings at 16.

9. History at 2.

10. Id.

11. Id. at 3.

12. Hough at 18. Interestingly, at inception, the Southern District of New York included, in addition to the City of New York, the upstate counties of Albany, Delaware, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Schoharie. Id. This oddity was corrected in 1815 when these counties were transferred to the Northern District of New York. Id. at 19.

13. Id. at 23.

14. History at 5.

15. Id. Judge David N. Edelstein is the Court’s longest-serving judge. Judge Edelstein served an incredible 49 years on the Court, beginning in 1951 with a recess appointment by President Harry S. Truman and ending with his death in 2000. Four other judges have served for 35 or more years on the Southern District bench: Judge Weinfeld (1950-1988, 38 years), Judge John Clark Knox (1918-1955, 37 years), Judge Milton Pollack (1967- present, 35 years) and Judge Irving Ben Cooper (1961-1996, 35 years).

16. Id.

17. Proceedings at 16.

18. History at 5.

19. Id.

20. Id.

21. Id.

22. Hough at 34.

23. History at 12.

24. Id. The United States Circuit Court of Appeals was established in 1891. Id. at 11.

25. Id. at 12.

26. Hough at 34.

27. History at 15.

28. Proceedings at 1, 7.

29. Id. at 26.

30. Id. at 10.

31. History at 16.

32. Id.

33. Id. at 17.

34. Id. at 18.

35. Weinfeld at 13.

36. Id.

37. Id.

38. Id. at 44.

39. Id. at 46.

40. Id.

41. Id. at 44.

42. Id. at 47.

43. Id. at 42.

44. The Report Subcommittee wishes to thank Melissa T. Aoyagi for her substantial contributions to the research and writing of this Report, and Kathryn E. Kinkade, whose meticulous research and lucid writing greatly enriched this Report.

45. Information for the judicial biographies that follow are drawn primarily from two sources: the Federal Judicial Center (www.fjc.gov) and the Second Circuit Redbook series published by the Federal Bar Council, from the years 1989-1990 through the years 2001-2002. The Committee wishes to thank the Federal Bar Council for providing this valuable resource.

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Completed_The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Part 1

Completed_The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Part 2