Torts, Insurance, & Compensation Law and Trial Lawyers Sections

Hon. Christopher P. Baker

Supreme Court Justice

Elmira, NY

Hon.  Christopher P. Baker  is a New York State Supreme Court Justice in Elmira, New York, having been elected on November 5, 2019 and is also assigned as the trial judge for all Child Victims Act cases in the Sixth Judicial District. Justice Baker was elected as the Chemung County Court Judge in 2016 and designated as an Acting Supreme Court Justice of the Supreme Court, 61h Judicial District, in November 2018. Justice Baker served as the Principal Law Clerk and Confidential Attorney to Chemung County Supreme Court Justice Judith F. O’Shea from 2000-2016, and during this time, also served as a Judicial Hearing Officer throughout New York State. From 2002-2008, Justice Baker was the Program Coordinator for the Attorney-Client Fee Dispute Program for the 6th Judicial District, and was also appointed as the Coordinator for the Town and Village Court Action Plan for the 6th Judicial District from 2006-2008.

Justice Baker previously worked as a Chemung County Assistant District Attorney from 1997-2000, and as an associate with a large law firm in New York City concentrating in personal injury.

Justice Baker has been involved in the community as President of the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation; a member of the Arnot Health System’s Executive Search Committee and Planned Giving Committee; Board of Directors, Upstate New York Eating Disorder Service-The Nutrition Clinic and Sol Stone Center; Chainnan of the Board, Sullivan Trail Chapter of The American Red Cross; Attorney Advisor, Horseheads High School Mock Trial Program; Youth Coach, Southport Recreation Association Travel Lacrosse & Town of Elmira Cal Ripken Baseball League; Mentor, Career Development Council; Lector, St. Mary’s Church.

Justice Baker is a 1991 graduate of Le Moyne College, where he played lacrosse, and is a 1995 graduate of the University at Buffalo School of Law.

Hon. Mary Ann Brigantti 

Justice of the New York State Supreme Court,  Bronx County

Justice Brigantti graduated from Fordham University in the Bronx in 1981. She served as a legislative intern to the Assembly Majority Whip during Governor Hugh Carey’s tenure. As a Council on Legal Education Opportunity fellow she attended Suffolk Law School in Boston, Mass. She received her J.D. from Temple University School of Law in Philadelphia, Pa. in 1985 and participated in a study abroad program at Tel Aviv University Law School in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Justice Brigantti served as a Senior Court Attorney to Administrative Justices Israel Rubin and Jacqueline Silbermann of the Civil Court of New York City; she served as a Court Attorney to Judges Carol Huff, Peter Tom and as Pro Se Attorney for the NYC Housing Court. Justice Brigantti was thereafter appointed as Bureau Chief/Executive Board Member with the NYS Attorney General; as an Associate at Borah Goldstein Schwartz and Altschuler and thereafter as Counsel to the Bronx Borough President. By gubernatorial appointment, she served as Board Member to the Commission on NYS Constitutional Revision and Panel Member of the NYS Task Force: Minority Representation on the Bench. By mayoral appointment, Justice Brigantti served as Commissioner to the Equal Employment Practices Commission, Board Member of the NYC Districting Commission and as Board Member of the NYC Health and Hospital Corporation.

In 1997, she was elected Judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York and in 2001 was assigned to the Criminal Court of the City of New York for 3 years. In 2005, she was elected as Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, where she presided over hundreds of labor law, premise liability and medical malpractice trials until she was appointed to manage a specially designated high-volume Motor Vehicle Part from preliminary to pretrial conferences.  Justice Brigantti has successfully settled a high percentage of trial ready cases in the blockbuster parts.  She now serves in her dual capacity as a Supreme Court Justice, re-elected for a second term in 2018 and as Associate Justice of the Appellate Term, First Department appointed in 2021. Justice Brigantti has further stepped up her duties to assist in the pandemic created backlog in the NYC Family Court by volunteering to adjudicate Family Court Custody and Visitation cases.

Justice Brigantti is the 1^st Vice President of the Supreme Court Justices Association of the City of New York, 12^th Judicial District Representative of the Supreme Court Justices Association of the State of New York,  Chair of the 12^th Judicial District Law Library, Board Member of the Gender Fairness Committee of the 12^th Judicial District, Board Member of the Latino Judges Association, Co-Chair Advisory member of the Puerto Rican Bar Association, a member of the Judiciary Committee of the New York State Bar Association, National Association of Women Judges, Bronx Women’s Bar Association and the Bronx Bar Association. She is a participating judge of the Thurgood Marshall Program, and as a Bronx resident, she volunteers with the American Red Cross of Greater NY, NYS Chaplaincy Task Force and with the NYC Office of Emergency Management as a Community Emergency Response Team member. Justice Brigantti has received numerous awards, proclamations and citations for her community service.

Hon. Vito C. Caruso

Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Courts Outside of New York City

Since July, 2019 Vito C. Caruso has served as Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Courts Outside New York City. He was appointed to such position b y Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks, with the consultation and approval of Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and the Presiding Justices of the Appellate Divisions of the Second, Third and Fourth Judicial Departments.

Judge Caruso is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of all trial-level courts in the 57 counties outside of New York City, which includes over 700 justices and over 5,500 non-judicial employees. He works with local Administrative Judges in overseeing implementation of the court system’s programs and initiatives and in optimizing allocation of personnel and other court resources to meet the needs and goals of those courts. Additionally, he is responsible for oversight of New York’s local Town and Village Courts.

Judge Caruso is the son of the late Leonarda and Pellegrino Caruso and was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and Economics from SUNY New Paltz and has the distinction of being one of the last lawyers certified and admitted to the practice of law after reading for the New York Bar.

After a successful career in the private practice of law, Judge Caruso was elected to the New York State Supreme Court in 1994, and was re-elected in 2008. He was appointed as Administrative Judge for the Fourth Judicial District in June, 2004 and served in that capacity for fifteen years, in addition to his Supreme Court duties. Several of his more significant opinions have been published in the “Miscellaneous Reports.”

He is a member of the New York State Bar Association, Judicial Section, a member and Past Director of the Schenectady County Bar Association, and a Charter Member and current President of the New York State Greater Capital District Italian American Bar Association. He has served on the Board of Trustees of the Schenectady County Community College, is a Past District Deputy of the New York State Elks Association, is a member of the Order of Sons of Italy, the Rotterdam Knights of Columbus, and a former volunteer firefighter.

Judge Caruso is proud to have been the first recipient of the Pro Bono Distinguished Service Award of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York and has been honored by the Schenectady County Bar Association for outstanding service to the community. In 2018, he received the Hon. Anthony V. Cardona Award for Judicial Excellence from the Italian American Bar Association.

Judge Caruso is married to Judith (Juracka) Caruso. They have one daughter, Mary Elizabeth, and reside in Rotterdam, New York. He is a communicant of St. Gabriel’s Roman Catholic Church where he also serves as Eucharistic Minister.

Patrick M. Connors

Albany Law School

Albany, NY

Patrick M. Connors is the Albert and Angela Farone Distinguished Professor in New York Civil Practice at Albany Law School where he has taught New York Practice and Legal Ethics since 2000. Commencing with the January 2013 supplement, Professor Connors became the author for the treatise Siegel, New York Practice. The publication’s sixth edition, “David D. Siegel & Patrick M. Connors, New York Practice (6th ed. 2018),” was released in March, 2018. The treatise has been cited in thousands of reported decisions and has been called “The Bible” for litigation in New York State courts.

He received his B.A. degree from Georgetown University and his J.D. degree from St. John’s University School of Law, where he was an editor of the Law Review and research assistant to Professor David D. Siegel. Upon graduation from St. John’s in 1988, Professor Connors served as a personal law clerk to Judge Richard D. Simons of the New York Court of Appeals until 1991. From 1991 until May of 2000 he was an associate and then member of the litigation department at Hancock & Estabrook, LLP, in Syracuse, New York.

Professor Connors is also the author of the McKinney’s Practice Commentaries for CPLR Article 22, Stay, Motions, Orders and Mandates, Article 23, Subpoenas, Oaths and Affirmations, Article 30, Remedies and Pleading, and Article 31, Disclosure. He also authored the Practice Commentaries for the former New York Rules of Professional Conduct and several articles in the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act. He is currently an author of the New York Practice column and the annual Court of Appeals Roundup on New York Civil Practice, which are published in the New York Law Journal. From 1992 through 2003, he was a Reporter for the Committee on New York Pattern Jury Instructions (“PJI”), the panel of New York State Supreme Court Justices that drafts and oversees the frequent revisions of the standard jury charges in civil cases. His publications have been cited in hundreds of reported cases.

He was a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Ethics from 1996 through 2016. He served on the New York State Attorney Grievance Committee for the Fifth Judicial District from 1997 until 2000. He was the Reporter for the New York State Bar Association’s Special Committee on the Code of Judicial Conduct, which published a report recommending substantial amendments to New York’s Code of Judicial Conduct. He was also the Reporter for the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Non-lawyer Ownership of Law Firms. He is a member of the Office of Court Administration’s Advisory Committee on Civil Practice and served as a member of the New York State Bar Association’s CPLR Committee from 2003 through 2007.

Professor Connors is a frequent lecturer at continuing legal education seminars on recent developments in New York Practice, professional ethics and legal malpractice. He has also served as an expert witness and consultant on issues pertaining to attorney ethics, legal malpractice, and civil procedure.

Hon. Mae A. D’Agostino

United States District Judge, Northern District of New York

Mae A. D’Agostino is a United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York. At the time of her appointment in 2011, she was a trial attorney with the Albany Law firm of D’Agostino, Krackeler, Baynes and Maguire.

Judge D’Agostino earned her B.A. from Siena College and her J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law.

Judge D’Agostino is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

She has served as the Chair of the State-Federal Judicial Counsel and is currently co-chair of the Second Circuit’s Law Week Committee.

Judge D’Agostino also co-chairs the annual Trial Re-Enactment Committee, which produces a historical trial re-enactment annually at the federal court houses in Albany and Syracuse.

The Judge has a particular interest in civic outreach, hosting children of all ages at outreach programs, and a strong interest in presenting at continuing legal education seminars – specifically for young lawyers.

William Friedlander, Esq.

Bill Friedlander currently serves as Vice Chair of the Trial Lawyer Section of the New York State Bar Association. He is also a member of the NYSBA Task Force for Nursing Home and Long Term Care. He is a charter member of the American Association for Justice President’s Club, and has served as past Chair of the Small Firm Solo Practitioner and Family Law sections of the American Association for Justice. He has also Chaired the Firearms and Ammunition Litigation Group and the School Violence Litigation Group.

Bill is a founder and former member of the Board of Directors of the New York Academy of Trial Lawyers and former member of the Board of Directors of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and is a past President of his local Bar Association.

He also serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Nursing Home Litigation Group, which he helped form in 2005. He has published many articles in national legal magazines and has lectured throughout the United States on numerous legal topics.

Michael J. Hutter, Esq.

Albany Law School; Special Counsel, Powers & Santola, LLP

Albany, NY

Michael J. Hutter is a Professor of Law at Albany Law School, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1976.  He is also Special Counsel to the Albany law firm of Powers & Santola, LLP.

Professor Hutter is an honors graduate of Brown University, receiving scholarships during his four years of matriculation, and Boston College Law School.  In law school he was the Editor-In-Chief of Boston College’s law review (Annual Survey), and was elected to the Order of the Coif.  After graduation, Professor Hutter served as law clerk to Judge Matthew J. Jasen, an Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals.  From 1979-1984, he was the Executive Director of the New York State Law Revision Commission. He also served as Chair, NYS Capital Defender Office from 2005-2008. In 1999, Professor Hutter was selected as one of seven nominees to the Court of Appeals by the State Commission on Judicial Nomination.  He presently serves as a member of Governor Cuomo’s Third Judicial Department Screening Committee, a Commissioner on the New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination and a  Commissioner on the New York State Law Revision Commission. Professor Hutter is a past President of the Albany County Bar Association (2013).

Professor Hutter’s teaching areas include Evidence, New York Practice, Federal Jurisdiction, Conflict of Laws, and Unfair Competition.  He authors a bi-monthly “Evidence” column for the New York Law Journal wherein he comments on and discusses recently decided court decisions raising evidence issues. In his practice, Professor Hutter specializes in appellate practice.  He has argued over 350 appeals in all of New York’s appellate courts, state and federal, and many of the cases in which he represented the prevailing party are landmark decisions.

Nadine Johnson, Esq.

Chief of Staff and Principal Counsel to Hon. Desmond Greene, Administrative Judge in New York State Supreme Court, Richmond County

Staten Island, NY

Nadine C. Johnson, Esq. practices criminal and civil litigation as Principal Counsel and Chief of Staff to the Administrative Judge for Supreme Court, Richmond County.

She also serves the court as a Commissioner, with New York State Court’s Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission for Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts and she is President of the Association of Law Secretaries to Supreme and Surrogate Court Judges.

In addition, Ms. Johnson taught Law, Media and Navigating NY Courts as Adjunct Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice for ten years.
Ms. Johnson received her Juris Doctor Degree from New York Law School where she currently serves as a Director on its Alumni Board and her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism from the City College of New York.

Ms. Johnson has been a featured moderator, panelist and speaker on many occasions throughout her careers, and has received a number of honors including Trailblazer Award from the Asian American law students group at NYLS; President’s Award from the National Bar Association and Lawyer of the Year Award from the New York County Lawyers Assoc. She has also been featured in a number of publications including the New York Law Journal.

A native New Yorker and former journalist, Ms. Johnson has created and implemented a number of programs focusing on maintaining and increasing diversity as well as programs for outreach to youth. She is an active participant in numerous legal and civic organizations, including the boards of several not for profits benefiting youth and family.

In her professional capacity as a lawyer, among many other appointments, Ms. Johnson has also served as a Member, Planning Committee, NY Chapter of American Constitution Society; New York State Bar Assoc Special Committee on Civil Rights. She has testified before the legislature in Albany regarding the importance of the elective process for NYS Judges and its importance for diversity on the bench.

She is a former Director, National Bar Association, Region II, (Region II of the National Bar Association (NBA) encompasses NYS, CT and VT with ten affiliate chapters, including MBBA and the NBA represents over 40,000 attorneys, judges, law students and other professionals nationally and globally.)

Ms. Johnson also served as President, of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association (MBBA) representing several thousand attorneys, judges, law students and other professionals in the New York Tri-State area.

One of her favorite quotes is ‘be the change you wish to see in the world’ – Mahatmas Ghandi.

Peter C. Kopff

Peter C. Kopff, LLC

Garden City, NY

Peter C. Kopff has tried complicated medical malpractice cases since his first medical malpractice defense verdict in May 1977.  Recognized by top plaintiff’s counsel as fearless and effective at trial, his clients have won defendant’s verdicts on liability and causation in New York State and federal courts.

Peter has a special interest in economic issues.  His cross-examinations of economists have turned juries against exaggerating plaintiff’s counsel and have been featured in state bar seminars.

Recognized as one of America’s top trial lawyers by The National Law Journal based on repeated defense victories against New York’s most revered plaintiff’s trial counsel, Mr. Kopff has been featured for his innovative courtroom tactics in The New York Law Journal and The National Law Journal.

Peter is an active participant in state and defense bar association education for attorneys.  He is an alumnus of Princeton University (1970, BA).  He has lectured at his alma mater Albany Law School (1975, JD) on trial techniques, and he has received their Distinguished Alumnus Award and served on the Board of Trustees for more than a decade.

When assigned a case early on, he pursues technical defenses for dismissal with success affirmed in the appellate courts barring Complaints for Worker’s Compensation and Statute of Limitations.  He also pursues mitigation and culpable conduct defenses where patients have history of smoking in cancer, heart, lungs or circulatory cases.  This defense can greatly assist in jury trials on the issue of damages.

Kenneth Krajewski

Pillinger Miller Trallo, LLP

Ken has devoted his career to the practice of personal injury and property damage defense in the areas of product liability, environmental and toxic tort litigation, New York Scaffold Law, automobile and truck accidents, property care and maintenance, fire loss, and all areas of insurance defense and civil litigation.

Ken’s practice involves the defense and counseling of manufacturers defending asbestos and toxic exposure matters, as well as contractors, small business owners, property owners, landscape and snow removal businesses, construction equipment manufacturers, tool manufacturers, crane and specialty vehicle manufacturers, automobile and parts manufacturers, tire manufacturers, and consumer products manufacturers.

A native of Western New York, Ken is a graduate of Empire State College and the Capital University Law School, cum laude. Ken was named a Super Lawyer in the practice area of Personal Injury Defense (2008 -2018), and a member of Western New York’s “Legal Elite” by Buffalo Business First, in association with the Buffalo Law Journal.

Ken is the former Chair (2016-17) of the New York Bar Association Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law (TICL) Section; former Chair of the Toxic Torts Committee, former Chair of the Automobile Liability Committee; former officer and director of the Defense Trial Lawyers Association of Western New York; and past president of The Advocate’s Club of Western New York. He remains on the Executive Committee of TICL as an Eighth Judicial District Representative and as one of TICL’s delegates to the New York State Bar Association House of Delegates. He is also an Eighth Judicial District Representative for the Trial Lawyers Section of the New York State Bar Association.

Ken is also a member of the Erie County Bar Association; the Defense Research Institute, the International Association of Defense Counsel, Self-Insurer’s Association of the Niagara Frontier (SIANF), and the New York Bar. Ken is admitted to the Northern, Southern, and Western U.S. District Courts, the Court of Appeals – Second Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Ken has served as a lecturer and moderator on insurance and personal injury topics for state and local bar associations, and is a frequent in-house lecturer for insurers. He is a publication contributor on a number of legal topics, and is the editor of Chapter 23 – Uninsured Motorists Coverage in NYSBA’s Insurance Law Practice, 3^rd.

Amanda K. Kuryluk, Esq.

Maguire Cardona PC

Albany, NY

Amanda Kuryluk is a partner with the law firm of Maguire Cardona, P.C.

She is a 2007 graduate of Siena College’s honors program where she earned a dual degree in Political Science and Spanish. She graduated from the Claude W. Pettit College of Law of Ohio Northern University in 2010, where she received her J.D. In law school, Amanda was an Associate Editor to the Ohio Northern Law Review Journal, a member of Phi Alpha Delta, worked as a research assistant, and was the recipient of the Dean’s Scholarship for Academic Excellence (2008-2010). During law school Amanda volunteered at Ohio Northern’s Legal Clinic, where she provided legal services in the areas of family law, social security disability, and other general civil litigation matters to the underserved and disadvantaged.

She is admitted to practice in the State of New York, State of New Jersey, the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, and the Third Federal Circuit.

Amanda is a Fellow of the New York State Bar Association, a District Representative for NYSBA’s TICL Section, currently serves as trustee on Ellis Medicine’s Foundation Board, and is a board member of the Albany County Bar Association.

Amanda currently focuses her practice in the areas of medical malpractice, premises liability, serious motor vehicle accidents, and product’s liability.

Hon. Evelyn J. LaPorte

Kings County Supreme Court, Civil Team

Justice Evelyn J. Laporte has traveled a long and winding road in her journey to the bench. She was born and raised in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico. When she arrived in New York City in 1973 she did not speak any English. Undaunted, she plunged forward, struggling with the language as she attended CUNY colleges and eventually found her way to John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Like many students, Justice Laporte had to work many jobs just to get by. She did babysitting, was a telephone operator, and even worked in a meat factory to name a few. Often she was working more than three jobs at once while attending college and helping to support her family back in Puerto Rico.

Her diligence paid off. She received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the same college. In 1986, Justice Laporte received a Juris Doctor Degree from the Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C. and upon her graduation from Law School, Justice Laporte returned to New York City and began her many years of public service.

Justice Laporte’s legal career includes the New York City and State court systems. She gained a wide range of experience working in Civil Court, by initiating civil lawsuits under the Nuisance Abatement Law of the New York City Administrative Code, as she fought to obtain permanent injunctions and civil penalties against owners and operators of premises that were using their property as store fronts for drug operations. In Housing Court Justice Laporte handled residential non-payment, holdover, and licensee trials. And in Family Court she conducted hearings on neglected and abused children. She has also done work handling administrative hearings for Social Security and Medicare benefits.

A former Assistant District Attorney for nearly twelve years, Justice Laporte conducted countless suppression hearings, grand jury presentations, trials (jury/non-jury) and handled several high profile cases. Justice Laporte built a reputation prosecuting numerous felonies and misdemeanor cases involving sexual abuse and domestic violence; cases that present a special challenge because, due to the victim and perpetrator’s relationship, the victims often do not wish to press charges. Justice Laporte has successfully prosecuted both types of cases where the victim has cooperated with the prosecution and where the victim did not cooperate.
In 2005, Justice Laporte was elected to the Civil Court in Kings County, and began presiding over criminal cases, where she heard misdemeanor and felony cases. In addition, during her years as a Civil Court Judge assigned to Criminal Court, Justice Laporte published sixteen of her numerous decisions in the New York Law Reporter.

In 2014, she was elected to serve as a Justice in the New York State Supreme Court, Kings County. At present, Justice Laporte presides over felony trials in Supreme Court, Criminal Term – from Murder cases, attempted murder cases, Assaults, DWI, Burglary, Robberies and drug cases and others.

In 2016 Justice Laporte received the “La Flor De Maga Award” by the Puerto Rican Bar Association. She was also a recipient of the “Most Outstanding Women Award” recognition from El Diario newspaper in 2015. Due to her broad range of experience, she has become a highly sought after public speaker on the subject of domestic violence and the criminal justice system.

Justice Laporte is the Former Region 1 President of the National Hispanic Prosecutors Association. She was selected by the U.S. Department of Justice to participate in training prosecutors and law enforcement personnel in Chile and Honduras on the U.S. Criminal Justice System in 2001. That same year, she was also selected by the Vera Institute of New York City to participate in training judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement and service providers in Chile on issues of domestic violence and child abuse.

Presently, Justice Laporte is a member of the Puerto Rican Bar Association, the Brooklyn Bar Association, the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association, the Kings County Criminal Bar Association and the Latino Judges Association

Betty Lugo

Pacheco & Lugo, LLC

Brooklyn, NY

Betty Lugo is a founding member of Pacheco & Lugo, LLC, the first Hispanic women owned law firm in New York established at One World Trade Center in 1992. In 2014, Pacheco & Lugo, PLLC received one of the Top 2014 New York Verdicts and was ranked among Top Worker/Workplace Negligence Cases in New York State Ms. Lugo leads the firm’s litigation practice in the areas of general and commercial liability, construction, labor law, and real estate. She has conducted trials, hearings, arbitrations and appeals in complex matters in both State and Federal Courts. She has counseled and represented clients on matters involving real estate and corporate issues.

Lugo received her Juris Doctor degree in 1984 from Albany Law School of Union University and her Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in 1981 from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. She is admitted to practice in New York, as well as before the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. She began her legal career as the first Hispanic woman to work as an Assistant District Attorney in the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office from 1984 to 1987.

Within the State Bar, Lugo is a member of the NYSBA House of Delegates and Committees on the New York State Constitution; on Federal Priorities, . She served as co-chair of the NYSBA Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (2010-2013) and the Task Force on the Future of the Legal Profession. She served as president of the Puerto Rican Bar Association in New York (PRBA) during its 59th year from 2015-2017. She currently serves as chair of the PRBA Judiciary Committee. She served as a member of the State of New York Grievance Committee for the Second Judicial District. She served as a member of the American Bar Association Unaccompanied Minors Working Group Committee. She has served on the Judicial Screening committees for the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Kings County Democratic Judicial Screening Committee and New York Democratic Screening Committee. She is a fellow of the New York Bar Foundation. She is a member of the American Bar Association, Brooklyn Bar Association, Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association, Catholic Lawyers Guild, Nathan R. Sobel Kings County Inns of Court, Hispanic National Bar Association, Puerto Rican Bar Association and Queens County Bar Association.

Hon. Jim Murphy

New York  Supreme Court, Fifth Judicial District

The Honorable James P. Murphy was elected as a Justice of the New York Supreme Court in 2004, and reelected in 2018, to serve the Fifth Judicial District which includes Onondaga, Oswego, Oneida, Jefferson, Lewis, and Herkimer Counties.  Justice Murphy was previously elected three times to the Onondaga County Legislature where he served with distinction and rose to the leadership position of Chair of the Ways and Means Committee.

In 2019, Judge Murphy was appointed by Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks as Administrative Judge in the Fifth Judicial District.  For the preceding 14 years, Justice Murphy had been assigned to the General Civil Trial Part where he presided over all types of civil cases.  In addition to his Supreme Court duties, Justice Murphy was appointed in 2007 by then Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman to serve as District Coordinating Judge for the Town and Village Courts in the Fifth Judicial District where he oversaw approximately 240 local judges until 2019.  He also serves on the New York Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics.

Judge Murphy was an Adjunct Professor in Business Law at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York from 2008 – 2012 and regularly provides continuing education and training to his colleagues, Town and Village Judges, lawyers, and law students. In 2017, he was the first judge ever elected President of the Onondaga County Bar Association and has served on its Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and Finance Committee.  He is an elected Fellow of the New York State Bar Association and a Member of its House of Delegates.  Justice Murphy also recently served as the Presiding Member of the Judicial Section of the New York State Bar Association, having previously held the offices of Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

Justice Murphy is a graduate of Bishop Ludden High School in Syracuse, New York, Saint Lawrence University, and Syracuse University College of Law.  He was in private practice for 20 years with an emphasis on civil litigation and municipal law.  For over 10 years, he served as a full-time and part-time Assistant District Attorney for Onondaga County.

A Syracuse native, Justice Murphy is the third of eight children born to the Honorable Thomas J. Murphy, J.S.C. and Mary Jane Murphy.  He met his wife of 37 years, Alice Moncada Murphy, while at Bishop Ludden. They have two daughters, Jessica and Emily.

William Pagan, Esq.

The Pagan Law Firm, PC

New York, NY

William Pagan is a 1987 graduate of the St. John’s University School of Law. He obtained in undergraduate degree from Fordham University in 1984. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1988.

He is admitted to practice in the Federal Southern and Eastern District Courts of New York and has been admitted pro hac vice to the United States District Court for the Districts of Puerto Rico and Hawaii, as well as New Jersey Superior Court.

His professional memberships include the Puerto Rican Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, American Association for Justice, New York State Trial Lawyers Association, New York County Lawyers Association, New York City Bar Association, and the Bronx, Kings, Queens and New York County Bar Associations as well as the Dominican Bar Association.

He’s a member of The Pagan Law Firm, P.C. and has accumulated over twenty-five years’ experience in trying highly complex medical malpractice cases, serious injuries from construction, lead paint poisoning, municipal premise and general accident cases in State and Federal court in all boroughs of the City of New York, statewide in New York and pro hac vice nationwide.

He was selected a “Super lawyer” and is a member of The National Trial Lawyers, “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” and the Medical Malpractice Top 25 Trial Lawyers.

Presently, Mr. Pagan’s caseload comprises primarily of medical malpractice cases, including birth injury cases, with some construction accident cases, police brutality cases and premises negligence cases as well.

Alyssa Jordan Pantzer

Alyssa Jordan Pantzer focuses her practice on product liability defense litigation primarily for major motor vehicle manufacturers.  She is also a commercial litigator and has worked in the realm of general liability defense, defending businesses and individuals accused of negligence.  During law school at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law, Ms. Pantzer was a Note and Comment Editor for the Buffalo Law Review, participated in trial team and appellate court competitions, and served as a student clerk for Honorable Hugh B. Scott in the Western District of New York.  Currently, she serves as a chair for the Automobile Liability Committee within the Torts Insurance Compensation Law Section of the New York State Bar Association.

Lori E. Petrone

Lori has over 25 years of practicing law and has litigated several hundreds of insurance defense and environmental cases. With her extensive experience and unyielding commitment, professionally, she strives to obtain the best possible outcome for her clients. She prides herself on being thorough, passionate, and an excellent communicator.

Lori specializes in civil litigation, encompassing commercial litigation, insurance defense including auto, general liability, malpractice, Labor Law, municipal law, property damage, environmental litigation/toxic torts (asbestos, lead and mold), professional liability litigation, managed care facilities, officers’ and directors’, and employment litigation.

Lori’s practice is statewide and she regularly appears in courts in the Utica, Albany, Kingston, Goshen, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo areas.

Lori enjoys traveling to the Rockies in Colorado where she enjoys skiing and summer recreation in Vail Valley. There, she and her family enjoy the spirited array of activity and beautiful surroundings. They also enjoy the same activities in the Adirondacks and Central New York.

Hon. Enedina Pilar Sanchez

New York City Civil Housing Court
Bronx, New York

Judge Enedina Pilar Sanchez has served as a Housing Court Judge since June 2014. She has presided in the Bronx County where for multiple years she presided in the NYCHA Part. The NYCHA part included a resolution part, HP actions and trials. Currently, she is presiding in Queens County in a hybrid HP and trial part. During the global pandemic she has held multiple trials and hearings regarding illegal lockouts and for emergency repairs. Prior to her judicial appointment, she practiced housing law in a rural setting serving migrant farm workers at the Legal Services Offices in South Jersey. She continued practicing housing law in the private sector with a small boutique law firm and later as a solo practitioner to incorporate a flexible parenting schedule. She has also worked with CUNY Law School, Community Legal Network Resources where she mentored and provided services to housing clinics in underserved communities. She is the first Cuban born Housing Court Judge in New York City.

Hon George J. Silver

Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for the New York City Courts

Justice Silver is a native Bronxite attending public schools from elementary school until his graduation from Christopher Columbus High school.  After graduation, Justice Silver attended New York University where he was conferred a M.S. in Accounting and Management.  He attended Hofstra University School of Law where he was conferred a J.D. in 1983.  Justice Silver was also conferred a M.B.A. in Finance from New York University Stern Graduate School of Business in 1992.  At the time he was also working full time as in house counsel for five private bus companies.  Thereafter, he joined Fields & Rosen, a firm specializing in maritime law, commercial and real estate matters and personal injury actions, in addition to handling matters for the bus companies.  After several years, Justice Silver became an equity partner in the firm whose name was changed to Fields, Silver & Santo, L.L.P. and ultimately Silver & Santo, L.L.P.  In 2004, Justice Silver was elected to the Civil Court of the City of New York being initially assigned to Civil Court, Kings County until he was re-assigned in April 2009 to Family Court, Bronx County where he presided over juvenile delinquency matters.  In January 2010, Judge Silver was appointed a Supreme Court Judge by designation and assigned to Supreme Court, New York County where he presided over the approximately two thousand motor vehicle cases pending in New York County.  From April 2011 until October 5, 2015, Justice Silver presided over the Trial Assignment Part in Supreme Court, New York County. In 2012, Justice Silver was also asked to handle potential early settlement of Medical Malpractice Cases as part of a specialized grant program. In 2012, Justice Silver was elected to the Supreme Court of the State of New York.   In October 2015 Justice Silver was asked to preside over a newly created Mediation Part called J-Med. in addition to his other assignments-the Medical Malpractice Early Settlement Part and an IAS Part handling general matters.  In 2016, Justice Silver was assigned a limited Matrimonial caseload.  As of July 2017, Justice Silver was appointed by Chief Judge DiFiore to the new position of Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for New York City Courts. He will be responsible for  the handling of the day-to-day court operations for the Trial Courts in New York City. In addition, Justice Silver served as the interim Administrative Judge for New York County until December 2017.  Thereafter, in addition to his role as the Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for New York City Courts, he served as the interim Administrative Judge for Bronx County from January 2018 until December 2018. Justice Silver also served as interim Administrative Judge for Queens County in 2019 and part of 2020.

Justice Silver is also involved in many community-based and Bar Associations including the NAACP,  the International Association of Gay and Lesbian Judges and the Jewish Lawyers Guild.  He is currently co-chair of the Ethics and Professional Committee of The Torts, Insurance Compensation Law Section of the New York State Bar Association.

2021 National Trial Competition

The National Trial Competition Regional Tournament is run by Fordham University School of Law on behalf of the Texas Young Lawyers Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers. The competition will be held virtually beginning in February 2021.  The Region 2 competition will take place on Thursday, February 18, 2021, through Sunday, February 21, 2021, over the Zoom video conference platform.  Twenty-teams teams, representing thirteen law schools will be participating.

The finals will be held virtually April 7-11, 2021

More information can be found at https://tyla.org/ntc/

Call for Judges for the 2021 National Trial Competition: Region 2

The National Trial Competition 2021 Regional Tournament will take place on Thursday, February 18, 2021, through Sunday, February 21, 2021, via Zoom video conference platform.  Twenty- teams, representing thirteen law schools will be participating.  Judging requires an internet connection, a computer with a working microphone and webcam, and a quiet space free of distractions.  All trials will be conducted by Zoom.  There will be a brief orientation the week before the competition to explain the competition rules, scoring and key Zoom features.

The competition schedule is as follows:

Preliminary Round 1 – approximately 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm EST, February 18h
Preliminary Round 2 – approximately 500 pm to 9:00 pm EST, February 19th
Preliminary Round 3 – approximately 10:00 am to 2:00 pm EST, February 20th
Semifinal Round – approximately 10:00 am to 2:00 pm EST, February 21st
Final Round – approximately 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm EST, February 21st

We are asking experienced practitioners, judges, and academics that are available and willing to judge the competition to please sign up via this link: 2021 TYLA Region 2 Judging Form

For each round you judge, you will receive 3 hours of NY CLE credit.

For additional information, please contact Adam Shlahet at [email protected]

If you would like to view and register for our Section’s additional upcoming events, or access the on-demand library for past events, please visit our Section’s page here: