From the desk of the 106th President of the Brooklyn Bar Association

Happy New Year on behalf of the Executive Board of the Brooklyn Bar Association.

To the Association’s staff, Committee and Section leaders, members and judicial members, volunteers, and sponsors thank you for your service and financial support.

As we usher in 2022, we look forward to celebrating an important milestone for the Brooklyn Bar Association as it enters into its 150th year of service to the Brooklyn legal community and the Borough of Brooklyn.

To kick off the celebration, the BBA will be rolling out a new logo that represents the Association’s accomplishments and achievements. The new logo will be unveiled during a flag-raising ceremony scheduled for February 2, 2022, at 1 PM in front of the steps of the historic Brooklyn Bar Association building located at 123 Remsen Street, Brooklyn, New York. We invite you to join us for this landmark occasion.

As we journey through 2022, we invite you to join us in continuing a legacy of education and service for the next 150 years.

Respectfully,

Armena Gayle, Esq

Congratulations to our member and trustee Joy Thompson for being honored by the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission during its Diversity Awards Night on Tuesday, November 9, 2021.

The honorees are recognized for outstanding achievements, commitment, and leadership of individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to achieving racial and ethnic fairness in the courts, the community, and the legal profession.

Joy is just one of 11 people to be honored that evening. The event starts at 6 PM and it will be streaming live during the event. Click here to watch the stream.

The other honorees include: Dr. Jodie Roure, Jasmine I. Valle, Lillian M. Moy, Officer Donald Edwards, John M. Caher, Hon. Randolph Treece, Joyce Y. Hartsfield, Hon. La Tia W. Martin, Hon. Lewis L. Douglas, and Hon. Samuel L. Green.

If you need further information about the event, please email: FHWilliams@nycourts.gov.

The Brooklyn Bar Association has rated the following candidates in the upcoming election:

Judge of the Civil Court - Kings County

Hon. Sharen D. Hudson  -  Approved

Hon. Heela Doreen Capell  -  Approved 

Justice of the Supreme Court - 2nd Judicial District

Hon. Richard J. Montelione  -  Approved

Hon. Carolyn Walker - Diallo  -  Approved

Hon. Joy Campanelli  -  Approved

Hon. Consuelo Mallafre Melendez  -  Approved

Hon. Gina Levy Abadi  -  Approved

Hon. Dena Douglas  - Approved

Hon. Lillian Wan  -  Approved

Robert J. Mazzuchin, Jr.  - Not Approved for failure to participate

For further information you may contact Andrew Fallek, Chair of the BBA Judiciary Committee at afalleck@gmail.com

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit invites applications from qualified candidates for a 14-year appointment as United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York, with a duty station in either Manhattan or White Plains, New York. The selection process will be confidential and competitive. Applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or disability.

The current annual salary of a United States Bankruptcy Judge is $201,112.

The Second Circuit uses an open and competitive selection process. All applications are screened by a Merit Selection Committee. The Committee will review applicants using the following criteria: legal competence evidenced by experience with complex legal issues; an aptitude for legal scholarship and writing; familiarity with the courts and court processes; commitment to equal justice under the law; characteristics indicative of a sound judicial temperament; a reputation for integrity, good character and ethical behavior; and physical and mental health sufficient to meet the demands and tenure of the position. The Merit Selection Committee will select a limited number of applicants for interview and will conduct appropriate due diligence inquiries into the candidates’ backgrounds and qualifications. Upon a majority vote of the Second Circuit Judicial Council, the Council will forward the Merit Selection Committee’s Report with any recommendations or comments to the active judges of the Court of Appeals. The selected nominee will be required to satisfy FBI and IRS background investigations prior to appointment.

Basic qualifications for consideration include:

1. Membership in good standing of at least one state bar, the District of Columbia bar, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar, and never other than membership in good standing of every bar of which the applicant has been a member; and

2. A minimum of five years of legal practice experience.

Application forms are posted on the Court’s website at http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov  or may be obtained by calling (212) 857-8700.                                                                                                           

Completed application packages must be in the format required by the Second Circuit and received no later than December 3, 2021.

The New York State Court System will implement a mandatory vaccination program for judges and non-judicial staff beginning on Monday, Sept. 27, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore explained in her address to the Legal Community this past Monday.

The court is allowing employees with valid medical or religious exemptions to be excused from the program, but they must submit to weekly COVID testing if they don't prove they have at least one one of the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 27.

"Our decision to require immunization of judges and court staff was made following the FDA’s full approval of the Pfizer vaccine, and our decision is fully supported by all of the science and public health guidance," Chief Judge DiFiore said on Monday. 

"We have determined that this is the best and most responsible action that we can take at this time, in the face of the rapidly spreading COVID variants, and as part of our effort to protect the health and safety of our court family and ensure the safest possible environment for the many thousands of New Yorkers who visit and conduct business in our courthouses every day," DiFiore continued. "And we are not alone in that belief, as many public and private employers are now following suit and requiring immunization of their workforces."

Any attorneys and members of the community wishing to access the courts who are not employed by the courts are still required to wear a mask regardless of vaccination status.

Brooklyn Bar Association Statement in Support of the people of Haiti

The BBA stands in solidarity with Haitians struggling with the fallout of an earthquake and severe storms
 

While entrenched in recent political turmoil and the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Haiti finds itself at the heart of a catastrophic earthquake affecting the Haitian people and Haitians abroad, including our vibrant Haitian-American community here in Brooklyn. As we watched the agonizing images of despair and destruction from our televisions and electronic devices and learned of the mounting death toll associated with this weekend's powerful earthquake, we can only take comfort in the indomitable spirit of the Haitian people to overcome and rise above this event of heartache and tragedy. 

The Brooklyn Bar Association expresses its deep condolences to those who lost loved ones in the tragic and deadly earthquake. The Association stands in solidarity with the Haitian people as they rebuild and recover from the disaster.

We encourage our members to assist the Haitian people in their hour of need by donating to dependable charities that will ensure the delivery of non-perishable foods and personal hygiene items and assist with the rebuilding of those communities hardest hit by the earthquake.

Brooklyn Bar Association Executive Board
Wednesday, August 18, 2021

After loosening mask restrictions over the past few months, the New York State Unified Court System announced that starting on Friday, August 13, 2021, it will re-implement some mask restrictions and it will modify the vaccine-pass program that allowed vaccinated judges, court employees, attorneys, and other court users to bypass daily COVID health checks upon entering courthouses.

Here are the details from a memorandum written by Hon. Nancy J. Barry and Hon. Justice A. Barry:

In order to further our ongoing efforts to ensure the health and safety of all employees and court users and in keeping with our commitment to follow the most up to date guidance promulgated by public health authorities, effective Friday, August 13,2021 and until further notice, the Unified Court System will temporarily suspend the green attorney/agency pass and white visitor pass program and require all court users. regardless of vaccination status, to wear a mask or face covering at all times while present in any of our court facilities.

 

ln addition, the orange card program for fully vaccinated judges and non-judicial staff will be modified to require that such card holders wear a mask or face covering in all public areas of the court or facility, as well as any areas and/or situations where physical distancing is not possible. Orange card holders will continue to be able to enter and remain in non-public areas of court facilities without wearing a mask/face covering, being mindful of physical distancing requirements.

 

Uniformed staff will take steps to ensure any signage reflecting exemptions to mask requirements for fully vaccinated individuals is removed or otherwise not visible. as well as begin enforcing the suspension of the attorney/agency), and visitor passes, i.e., masks/face coverings must be worn by court users at all times regardless of vaccination status.

 

Judges and non-judicial staff with orange cards may continue to enter courts/facilities without having to undergo a temperature screening and continue to be exempt from the daily COVID Self-Assessment. All other court users. including green card holders, must have their temperature taken and undergo the COVID screening before entry.

 

Click here to read the memorandum in its entirety.

Dear BBA Members,

Our immediate past president and editor-in-chief of the Brooklyn Barrister, Anthony J. Lamberti, is proud to present another edition of the Barrister.

CLICK HERE TO READ: Brooklyn Barrister Summer 2021

This quarter's issue has photos from our Wine Tasting event at Giando's on the Water in June, and from a meeting of our officers with officers from the New York State Bar Association and Hon. Hector LaSalle, the presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department.

It also has an elder law update, a medical malpractice update, and the President's Message from Armena Gayle!

To view the Summer 2021 issue of the Barrister, please click here.

Congratulations to President Armena Gayle for being named to City & State's Brooklyn Power 100!

Congratulations also must be extended to other 2021 Brooklyn Power 100 members: our Past President Frank Carone, Justice Rosemarie Montalbano, a long-time member of our association, Kenneth Fisher, a long-time member, and Jovia Radix, the daughter of Justice Sylvia Hinds-Radix, Appellate Division, Second Department

The Brooklyn Power 100 list is published annually by City & State New York and it ranks the biggest political players in the borough.

Gayle has been a practicing attorney since 1993 after she graduated from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and then the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. She began working at the Kings County District Attorney's Office in 1994 and left to start a private practice in East New York in 1996, an office she still maintains.

Gayle's practice includes work as Counsel to the Public Administrator of Kings County, a position she served under the Honorable Diana A. Johnson and currently serves under the Honorable Harriet L. Thompson. In addition to her work in private practice, Gayle also served as a part-time staff attorney with Housing Works, Inc., Client Legal Services from 2000 to 2020, where she provided legal services to indigent New Yorkers battling the twin crises of HIV/AIDS and homelessness.

Gayle is a Delegate with the New York State Bar Association’s House of Delegates and is a Second District Representative for the New York State Bar Associations Nominating Committee. She served as a Former Committee Member to the New York State Grievance Committee for the 2nd, 11th, and 13th, Judicial Districts and is a recipient of the 1999 Pro Bono Award from the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project.

The New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination announced on Monday that it is seeking recommendations and applications for an opening on the Court of Appeals that will open at the end of the year.

Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals Hon. Eugene Fahey is retiring at the end of the year and prospective replacements have until August 6, 2021 to submit applications.

Applications can be downloaded at www.nysegov.com or you can contact Henry M. Greenberg, the Commission's Counsel, c/o Greenberg Traurig LLP, 54 State Street, 6th Floor, Albany, NY 12208 (greenbergh@gtlaw.com, Tel: 518-689-1492). Email completed applications to CJN_Applications@gtlaw.com or mail them to Greenberg Traurig LLP, 54 State Street, 6th Floor, Albany, NY 12208.

Anyone who applied for vacancies left by Hon. Leslie E. Stein and Hon. Paul G. Feinman may also be considered for this position. They do not need to submit an additional application, but they do need to indicate to the Commission on or before August 6, 2021 that they want to be considered.

From the press release:

The Commission was created by Article 6, § 2 of the New York State Constitution.  Consistent with its mandate, the Commission is entrusted with the responsibility for evaluating, and then recommending to the Governor, candidates to fill vacancies on the Court of Appeals.  The Commission vigorously seeks out, carefully evaluates and then nominates to the Governor three to seven well-qualified candidates from the extraordinary, diverse community of lawyers admitted to practice in New York State for at least ten years.  The Governor’s appointment is subject to confirmation by the New York State Senate.

To fill past judicial vacancies on the Court, the Commission has nominated to the Governor a wide variety of lawyers, including private practitioners, public interest attorneys, law professors, government officials and sitting Federal and State judges.  While prospective candidates must file an application with the Commission, recommendations may be made by anyone who believes that a prospective candidate could be an excellent Judge of the Court.  Recommendations of qualified candidates for a vacancy are encouraged and may be made to the Commission’s Counsel.

If any person or organization wishes to receive copies of future Commission press releases, please provide an e-mail or mailing address to the Commission’s Counsel.  The Commission will register the address and make every effort to distribute future press releases in the designated manner.  Persons interested in learning more about the Commission are encouraged to visit its website: www.nysegov.com/cjn.