WHO WE ARE
The Commercial and Federal Litigation Section was established in 1988, and Robert L. Haig served as the first chair.
The Section’s Bylaws state:
The purpose of this section is to improve the quality of representation of clients, provide a forum for the improvement of law and procedure and enhance the administration of justice in the areas of commercial and federal litigation. These purposes are met by:
- Developing relationships and sharing practice experiences with fellow commercial and federal litigators, state and federal judges, and regulatory and administrative bodies;
- Establishing committees for the purpose of promoting research, analysis, and discussion on relevant current issues affecting commercial and federal litigation;
- Influencing and proposing legislation affecting commercial and federal litigation;
- Developing continuing legal education programs on topics relevant to commercial and federal litigation; and
- Providing networking opportunities for its members.
SECTION BENEFITS
Membership in the Section and participation in our events afford litigators a unique opportunity to interact with the judiciary and to keep abreast of developments in our courts. Judges regularly address our monthly Executive Committee meetings, and many judges attend our Annual Meeting in January and our destination Spring Meeting in May.
At our Annual Meeting, we confer the Fuld Award on a member of the legal profession who has significantly contributed to the practice of commercial law and litigation in New York. At our Spring Meeting we confer the Haig Award, named in honor of our first Section chair, given to a longstanding member of the legal profession who has rendered distinguished public service. The Section holds Bench and Bar meetings throughout the state to bring our members together with the judges of the Commercial Divisions and federal district courts. Members of the Section typically can meet all of their CLE requirements by attending Section events.
SECTION CONTENT
While the Section and its committees comment on many different issues facing the courts in which we practice, one of our most timely and noted contributions has been the Section’s Social Media Ethics Guidelines. The Section’s Guidelines have been quoted in opinions by ethical bodies throughout the nation and have been widely followed by other bar associations.
The Section has been integrally involved with the establishment of the Commercial Division in New York Supreme Court, and with the development of rules of practice in the Commercial Division. Justices assigned to Commercial parts regularly participate in our meetings and events.
COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY
The Section is committed to diversity and inclusion. The Section’s Women’s Initiative Task Force has authored two ground-breaking reports about women attorneys in New York State courtrooms. In 2017, the Task Force published “If Not Now, When? Achieving Equity in the Courtroom and in ADR,” and in 2020 published “The Time Is Now: Achieving Equality for Women Attorneys in the Courtroom and in ADR.” The leadership of the Section has publicly committed to supporting the recommendations of the Task Force in law firms, in-house legal departments, the judiciary and the public sector.
The Section honors its commitment to diversity and inclusion through awards and scholarships. Each year, the Section awards the Shira A. Scheindlin Award for Excellence in the Courtroom to a female litigator who has distinguished herself in the courtroom in the federal or state courts. The award is named for our former Section chair, the Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin (Ret.). The Section also awards the George Bundy Smith Pioneer Award to recognize legal excellence, community commitment and mentoring. The Section awards the Judith S. Kaye Commercial and Federal Litigation Scholarship to female attorneys who have practiced commercial litigation for between two and ten years and a Diversity Fellowship to a diverse first year law student to work in a litigation position in the public sector.
The Section is particularly interested in involving more young attorneys. Membership in the Section provides younger attorneys with the opportunity to network with more senior litigators and to meet members of the judiciary in informal settings. Membership on Section committees offers younger attorneys the opportunity to work with some of the most noted attorneys in our profession on issues facing litigators in the commercial and federal courts of New York.
The Section has been in the forefront of introducing, monitoring and evaluating legal developments at both federal and New York State levels.
Join the Community:
https://communities.nysba.org/communities/community-home?CommunityKey=F2EF3D19-279F-4312-A69D-2195E1D00E0B
Contact the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section Liaison
To learn more about this Section, please contact Katherine Suchocki
ksuchocki@nysba.org
(518) 487-5590
Please do not contact the Section liaison with a request for legal advice or an attorney referral. You can instead visit our ‘Public Resources’ or ‘Lawyer Referral Service’ page for this type of request.
Michael Cardello III, Esq.
Cardello studied at Hofstra University, earning a BBA in marketing and an MBA in finance, and then worked as a financial analyst for five years.
“When I was about 28, I decided to make a significant change in my professional life,” he said. “I decided to leave my job and career and go to law school at 29. I attended Hofstra Law School and graduated when I was 32 – which was one of the best professional decisions I’ve ever made – because my career has been terrific. I love what I do for a living and I can’t imagine doing anything else at this point.”
After law school, Cardello clerked for Judge Arthur D. Spatt, a U.S. District judge for the Eastern District of New York, for a year. He then joined Moritt Hock & Hamroff in 1997. He has been there for 27 years, rising to the position of partner in 2006. He serves as the firm’s managing partner, with a practice focused on commercial litigation and acting as a court-appointed discovery referee, adjudicating discovery disputes on behalf of the court.
“That’s a big part of my practice now, and it’s one of my favorite parts of my practice,” he said. “It brings me back to my beginnings as a law clerk in the Eastern District, writing decisions and managing cases from a different perspective than an advocate. But I do still like working as an advocate on behalf of clients, and I still do that.”
Cardello first got involved with the Nassau County Bar Association in various leadership roles. “Then I realized that I need to have a greater exposure to a bigger organization,” he said. “I looked into different types of bar associations and NYSBA, and ComFed specifically, fit the needs of what I was looking for.”
Cardello has been married for 30 years, and he has three adult children. His oldest son is a financial analyst; his middle son just finished his first year at St. John’s University School of Law and his daughter is in graduate school to become a teacher.
Awards
For questions regarding awards and scholarships, please contact Simone Smith at ssmith@nysba.org
STANLEY H. FULD AWARD
The Stanley H. Fuld Award was created by the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section in honor of the late Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. The Section presents the award annually at its Annual Meeting luncheon in January to recognize outstanding contributions to the development of commercial law and jurisprudence in New York State.
Award Criteria: Member of the legal profession who has significantly contributed to the practice of commercial law and litigation in New York.
Nomination Deadline: September 1
Date Presented: During the Section’s Annual Meeting Program in January
ROBERT L. HAIG AWARD
Award Criteria: Long-Standing member of the legal profession who has rendered distinguished public service.
Nomination Deadline: February 1
Date Presented: The award is presented at the Section’s Spring Meeting
SHIRA A. SCHEINDLIN AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE COURTROOM
The Shira A. Scheindlin Award for Excellence in the Courtroom was created by the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section in honor of the Section’s former Chair, who served as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York from September 1994 through April 2016. Prior to serving as a United States District Judge, Judge Scheindlin served as a Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, the general counsel for the New York City Department of Investigation and a commercial litigator in private practice.
The Section will present the Award annually in November, on or around the date when women received the right to vote in New York State in 1917. The Award will be given to a female litigator who has distinguished herself in the courtroom in either the Federal or State Courts in New York and who has shown a commitment to mentoring young attorneys in the legal community.
Date Presented: November
GEORGE BUNDY SMITH PIONEER
Award Criteria: The award recognizes lawyers who demonstrate commitment to legal excellence, community service and mentoring.
Date Presented: The award is presented at the Section’s Smooth Moves Program
ALCOTT – LEBER – YOUNGER COMMITTEE(S) OF THE YEAR AWARD
Award Criteria: The ComFed Committee(s) that have developed programs or projects that have been innovative, of high quality, and have had or are likely to have an impact on the betterment of the profession, the judicial system, or ComFed/NYSBA itself. Factors in determining the award(s) include, but are not limited to, CLE programming; comments on proposed rules; reports; committee meetings, and social/networking events. The Section may present this award to up to two (2) committees each year.
This award is named after Mark Alcott, Esq., Bernice Leber, Esq., and Stephen Younger, Esq., all of whom served as both Chair of the Commercial & Federal Litigation Section and President of the New York State Bar Association.
Nomination Deadline: April 30
Date Presented: The award is presented at the Section’s Spring Meeting
CHAIR’S AWARD
Award Criteria: The ComFed member or members who, in the discretion of the Chair, has/have demonstrated leadership for, and provided significant contributions to, the Section. This award is given at the discretion of the Chair.
Date Presented: The award is presented at the Section’s Spring Meeting
Scholarships
THE HONORABLE JUDITH S. KAYE COMMERCIAL AND FEDERAL LITIGATION SCHOLARSHIP
Eligibility:
Female attorneys who have practiced commercial litigation between two and ten years since their admission to the New York State bar, and who remain in good standing.
Fellowships
KAY CRAWFORD MURRAY COMMERCIAL DIVISION DIVERSITY FELLOWSHIP
The New York Bar Foundation is pleased to offer the Kay Crawford Murray Commercial Division Diversity Fellowship each spring which has been established by The Foundation through a gift from the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association. The Fellowship will be awarded to a current first year (1L) diversity law student who is enrolled in a law school in the State of New York to work in a litigation position in the public sector in the State of New York during the summer.
Mentoring
COMMERCIAL AND FEDERAL LITIGATION SECTION MENTORING COMMITTEE PROGRAM
Looking for a Mentor? NYSBA’s Commercial & Federal Litigation Section is inviting members to participate in our 2022 Mentorship Program.
Program Description: NYSBA’s Commercial & Federal Litigation Section (“ComFed”) is happy to announce the re-launch of its Mentoring Committee Program (the “Program”). The Program, which will run from January 2022 – June 2022, is focused on matching mentors and mentees based not only practice areas but also personal interests in an effort to facilitate lasting and career-long relationships that are personally and professionally compatible. ComFed will sponsor appropriate events for the mentors and mentees during this time to meet the aforementioned objectives.
Please note: In order to be considered for membership in the Program, the applicant must be a member of the New York State Bar Association and Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, so if you’re not already a member…join today.
Deadline: October 30, 2021
Next Steps: Mentees may submit their application below. Space is limited, so not every applicant will necessarily be matched with a mentor. To the extent possible, we will match mentees and mentors located in the same geographical area.
Questions? Contact Program Co-Chair Maryann Stallone: stallone@thsh.com
Contests
JUDGE ROBERT A. KATZMANN MEMORIAL ESSAY CONTEST
The Judge Robert A. Katzmann Memorial Essay Contest was created jointly by the Justice For All Initiative of the Federal Courts of the Second Circuit (“Justice For All”) and the New York State Bar Association Commercial and Federal Litigation Section (the “Section”) in honor of the late Judge Robert A. Katzmann, who served as a United States Circuit Court Judge on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1999 through 2021, and was that court’s Chief Judge from 2013-2020. Prior to his appointment as a Circuit Judge, Judge Katzmann was a Fellow of the Brookings Institute and a Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. Judge Katzmann was a great supporter of the Section.
Justice For All will manage the solicitation process for essay submissions by reaching out to New York high school students to provide the Essay Contest criteria, which will focus on civic education, an issue that was near and dear to Judge Katzmann. Justice For All and Section members will review the Essay Contest Submissions and determine the First, Second and Third prize winners. Justice For All and the Section will present the Essay Contest winners with their awards at a reception to be held at the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse. The Section will publish the Essay Contest winners in the Section’s Newsletter.
The Essay Contest Awards will be initially funded through the graciousness and generosity of Judge Shira Scheindlin, the Section’s former Chair, who served as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York from 1994 through 2016
Date Presented: April/May
COVID-19 INFORMATION PAGE
Our Section has worked on building a Commercial & Federal Litigation Section COVID-19 Information Page to provide a place to easily access the information which is of interest to our members, including the latest information on accessing the courts and litigating during these challenging times. While we recognize that NYSBA has its own page, and we can redirect our members to that content where applicable, we developed our own outline of contents and are seeking support form section members to build the best resource possible.
COMMERCIAL DIVISION JUDGES CONTACT INFORMATION
2016 AMENDMENTS TO THE UNIFORM RULES FOR SUPREME AND COUNTY COURTS, RULES GOVERNING APPEALS, AND CERTAIN OTHER RULES OF INTEREST TO CIVIL LITIGATORS
202.5(e)(1)(v): Adds certain documents, testimony, and evidence in matrimonial actions to categories of confidential personal information – Effective Date: 3/1/2016 (Court – Sup)
202.16(m): Adds a provision on omission or redaction of confidential personal information from matrimonial decisions – Effective Date: 3/1/2016 (Court – Sup)
202.70(g), Rule 3: Adds a provision on settlement conferences before a justice other than a justice assigned to the case – Effective Date: 7/1/2016 (Court – Sup)
202.70(g), Rule 11-g: Adds a proposed form of confidentiality order – Effective Date: 7/1/2016 (Court – Sup)
202.70(g), Rule 14-a: Adds a new rule on procedures at disclosure conferences conducted by non-judicial personnel – Effective Date: 7/1/2016 (Court – Sup)
500.1(j), (l): Changes “computer-generated” papers to “papers prepared by a word-processing system” and changes “Times Roman” to “Times New Roman” – Effective Date: 6/22/2016 (Court – Ct. App.)
500.11(m): Adds word and page limits for submissions in alternative procedure for selected appeals – Effective Date: 6/22/2016 (Court – Ct. App.)
500.13(c): Adds word and page limits for briefs in normal course appeals – Effective Date: 6/22/2016 (Court – Ct. App.)
500.23: Requires that amicus submissions meet word and page limits of 500.11(m) and 500.13(c) – Effective Date: 6/22/2016 (Court – Ct. App.)
800.23(c): Increased fees for admission certificates – Effective Date: 2/1/2016 (Court – 3d Dep’t)
Notes: On May 23, 2016, effective July 1, 2016, the Administrative Judge of the Courts rescinded the Appendix of Official Forms for the CPLR. See CPLR 107. AO/119/16.
