Managing Full Docket, Increasing Membership Are Atop New TICL Section Chair’s Agenda
3.17.2026
Donald Gerace, the new chair of the Torts, Insurance, and Compensation Law Section, has a full schedule on tap for the upcoming year between increasing membership and putting on top-notch programming.
He emphasized during a recent interview that the section is appealing to many attorneys because of the broad subject matter that its programming and committees address.
“The section covers a wide range of practice areas from plaintiffs to defendants, no-faults, workers’ compensation and municipal law. It’s great to be able to bounce ideas off members. If you have a question, an issue, or an item that you are not sure of, a section member is out there that can help you along,” Gerace said.
He added that the section is focusing on attracting younger lawyers, and that goal is the impetus for an upcoming letter writing campaign outlining the numerous opportunities for section members to make an impact.
He also credits the new membership model for helping drive the section’s expansion.
“The new membership model, well it is almost a couple of years old now, has been really helpful to all sections and it certainly has stimulated an increase our membership,” he said.
The section’s membership grew from 1,564 to 2,242 members, a 43.3% increase, between Dec. 31, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2025, thanks in part to the new model.
Looking ahead, Gerace already has several events planned.
The section, along with the Trial Lawyers Section, will host a reception later this month at the Bar Center for Justice Christina L. Ryba who was recently appointed to the Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Department. The section will host its spring executive committee meeting at the Bar Center on April 16, which coincides with the Court of Appeals Dinner that evening.
In addition, the executive committee’s summer meeting will be at Citi Field while a potential event at Saratoga Racetrack will precede the section’s Fall Destination Meeting in Nashville, also in conjunction with the Trial Lawyers Section.
“There’s a lot of enthusiasm around that, and we’re hoping to attract some younger members of TICL, as well as other sections, and the Tennessee Bar Association is very excited about it, as well as the Nashville Bar. We’re co-sponsoring some events with them, so it should be a lot of fun,” he said.
Gerace also said the section is co-sponsoring the 2026 Trial Academy in October and will continue to review proposed legislation, write white papers and help foster its members’ pro bono work.
A solo practitioner based in Utica, Gerace is a graduate of Albany Law School and Siena University. His Siena connections include Richard Sise, presiding judge New York State Court of Claims, and former Supreme Court Justice Joseph Sise, and Judge Mae D’Agostino, U.S. judge for the Northern District, along with former section chairs Richard Kokel and Thomas Maroney. Maroney is also the association’s secretary.
Two of those members, Judge Richard Sise and Judge Mae D’Agostino were presented with the section’s Outstanding Jurist Award during Annual Meeting in New York City.
Gerace said his own involvement with the association began following conversations with some of those Siena connections who encouraged him to become a member.
He noted that Maroney and Kokel played a key role in his decision to join the association.
Gerace has served in the House of Delegates, on the membership committee and on the section’s subcommittee on diversity. In addition, he has served on the section’s executive committee.
“At the end of the day, we’re always trying to increase our membership and to get more young lawyers involved with the section. I also understand that we’re a volunteer organization and people are busy, so we just have to keep trying to move the needle forward every day.”
