Judicial Section

Hon. Hector D. LaSalle

Distinguished Jurist Award 2023

Hon. Hector D. LaSalle is the Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department, appointed to by Governor Cuomo on May 25, 2021.

Prior to his appointment as Presiding Justice, Justice LaSalle served as an Associate Justice of the Court from 2014 to 2021. Justice LaSalle served as an Associate Justice in the 9th and 10th Judicial Districts of the New York State Appellate Term from 2012 to 2014. From 2009 to 2014, Justice LaSalle also served as a Justice in the 10th Judicial District, Supreme Court. From 2001 to 2008 and 1993 to 1998, Justice

Justice LaSalle worked in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office as Deputy Bureau Chief of the Special Investigations Bureau, Head of Anti-Gang Unit, and an Assistant District Attorney. He served as Assistant Attorney General in the New York State Attorney General’s Office from 1999 to 2001. Justice LaSalle was an Associate at Ruskin, Moscou, Faltischeck, P.C. from 1998 to1999. Justice LaSalle received his B.A. in Political Science from the Pennsylvania State University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

Hon. Erika M. Edwards

Advancement of Judicial Diversity Award 2023

Hon. Erica M. Edwards was elected to the Civil Court of the City of New York, in New York County in 2011. In 2016 she was elected to the Supreme Court of the State of New York. She is currently serving in the New York County Civil Term where she primarily handles medical malpractice cases. She previously served as a judge in the New York County Criminal Term and New York City Criminal and Civil Courts. She graduated from Penn State University and Howard University School of Law.

Justice Edwards has devoted her career to advancing social and racial justice and to creating greater access to justice for underrepresented communities. Prior to becoming a judge, she was an attorney with extensive litigation experience handling both civil and criminal matters. Justice Edwards specialized in criminal defense, personal injury, wills, estate planning, false arrests by excessive force and civil rights violations. Justice Edwards was a founding partner of a law firm in Harlem where she served as the firm’s managing partner and a senior trial counsel. The firm was recognized as one of the leading minority-owned law firms in New York City and it was known for its community outreach, mentorships, internships, scholarships and annual networking events which connected minority attorneys and other professionals with community leaders.

As evidence of her deep commitment to public service, Justice Edwards began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office and then represented indigent criminal defendants in state and federal courts. She also worked at a midtown law firm handling insurance defense and Plaintiff’s personal injury and medical malpractice cases.

Justice Edwards currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Judicial Friends Association and she is the organization’s immediate past president. Judicial Friends was founded in 1976 by Black judges within the State of New York seeking the fair and just treatment of minority judges, judicial staff and attorneys. The organization is committed to achieving social and racial justice through the law and service to the community. Through its mentoring, internship, scholarship and educational programs, The Judicial Friends Association creates and promotes educational opportunities to improve the implementation of justice and the public’s understanding of the law and confidence in our court system.

Justice Edwards served as President of Judicial Friends during the tumultuous periods of the Covid-19 shutdown and killings of George Floyd and other unarmed men and women of color by law enforcement officers. Under her leadership, Judicial Friends hosted regular virtual programs to support its members professionally, by providing guest speakers who shared their successful journeys, and personally, by providing a safe space to discuss the increased pressures caused by the pandemic, including isolation, increased caseloads, illness and grief.

She also formed a committee which prepared a comprehensive 161-page report that was submitted to the New York State Court’s Commission on Equal Justice in the Courts and Former Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, for implementation into the Commission’s final report. The Judicial Friends committee was co-chaired by the New York City Corporation Counsel and then First Vice President of the Judicial Friends, Hon. Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix, and retired Judge and former President of the Judicial Friends, Hon. Ruth Shillingford. The Judicial Friends’ report discussed systemic racism and unconscious bias in the New York State Court system and included proposed tangible solutions for lasting, maximum impact to eradicate it. The report highlighted racial disparities in judicial and non-judicial leadership, the appointment of judges and hiring of court officers and non-judicial staff, the impediments to equal justice for Black and Latino criminal defendants and litigants in Family and Housing courts, and ways to improve the court’s treatment of minority litigants and attorneys. The report received national attention and widespread acclaim. Following the release of the report Justice Edwards served as a panelist on several programs addressing many of the issues raised in the report.

Over the years, Justice Edwards has served as a panelist, moderator and coordinator of numerous programs sponsored by local bar associations, governmental organizations, churches and community organizations. As an attorney, she provided free legal clinics for those in need, drafted free healthcare proxies for seniors, and conducted a variety of programs involving health disparities in Black and Latino communities, criminal justice reform, voter registration, estate planning, how to form and operate your own law firm and expanding the pool of qualified minority and women federal court-appointed criminal defense attorneys.

As a judge, she has served as a panelist on several programs for judicial organizations, bar associations, The Judicial Institute and various community organizations. She continues to focus on her commitment to improve the criminal justice system and create opportunities for racial, ethnic and gender equity.

Hon. Sallie Manzanet-Daniels

Advancement of Judicial Diversity Award 2023

Hon. Sallie Manzanet-Daniels was born in New York City, raised in the South Bronx and is a product of the New York City public schools. She is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College where she earned her Bachelor s Degree in Psychology in 1985. Justice Manzanet-Daniels is a graduate from Hofstra University School of Law, Class of 1988, where she attended on a full scholarship.

While at Hofstra Law School, she founded and served as the first President of the Latino Law Students Association in 1987-1988. As an alumna, Judge Manzanet-Daniels co-founded and served as the first chair of the LaLSA Alumni Scholarship Fund, which continues to raise thousands of dollars for aspiring Latino law students.

In 1988, Justice Manzanet-Daniels began her legal career with the Legal Aid Society in the Bronx as a criminal defense trial attorney. Thereafter, Judge Manzanet-Daniels served as Principal Law Clerk for three years respectively to both Justice Frank Torres in Bronx Supreme Court, Criminal Term, and to Justice Luis A. Gonzalez, Administrative Judge for the 12th Judicial District.

In November 1999, Sallie Manzanet-Daniels was elected as Judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Bronx County. In November 2001, Judge Manzanet-Daniels was elected and received a Gubernatorial Citation for becoming, at the age of 37, the youngest Justice of Hispanic Heritage ever elected to the New York State Supreme Court.

In October 2009, Governor David Paterson appointed Justice Manzanet-Daniels to the Appellate Division, First Department, thereby making her the first Latina justice in the history of New York State to serve on this Court. Justice Manzanet-Daniels continues to serve as a Senior Justice on this court and is the first Latina to be designated a Constitutional Appellate Judge in any of the Appellate Divisions within the state.

Since her Supreme Court election, she has been recognized numerous times by the legal profession for her judicial excellence, most notably by the Puerto Rican Bar Association, the Bronx Bar Association and the Latino Judges Association. In 2015, she served as the commencement speaker at her alma mater, Hofstra University School of Law, and was bestowed a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa. And in 2019 she received the prestigious Golda Meir Award from the Jewish Lawyer s Guild. Justice

Manzanet-Daniels has also been recognized countless times by a variety of community-based and academic institutions for her commitment to diversity and the mentorship of our youth.

Her life has been marked by activism and leadership, in her community and during her academic and professional life.  Throughout her career Judge Manzanet-Daniels has mentored students of all ages and walks of life. Community service has always been one of her greatest passions, and includes organizations focusing on the elderly, the arts, and a myriad of community, bar and professional organizations servicing all spheres of public life.  Justice Manzanet-Daniels has served on a multitude of boards, both legal and community based, over the last three decades. Her commitment to supporting our youth and community has carried over into her philanthropy. The most notable of which was the establishment in 2013, of the Dare to Dream Scholarship in her name. Since its creation, it has awarded thousands of dollars to the Puerto Rican Bar Association, the Hispanic Federation and the Latino Judges Association Foundation.

Most recently, Justice Manzanet-Daniels served as President of the Latino Judges Association from 2019-2021. Early in her tenure Justice Manzanet-Daniels testified before the first public hearing of the joint Senate and Assembly Standing Committee on the Judiciary considering Court Consolidation. Her testimony highlighted, and put on center stage, the issue of the court system’s lack of diversity. Thereafter, in late 2020 the Judge authored her analytical report entitled Overview of Latinos / Hispanics in the New York State Court System. The report was instrumental in again highlighting the severe disparity of representation and helped to secure additional gubernatorial appointments in the years following its publication.

As the Immediate Past-President, Justice Manzanet-Daniels, together with her committee team members, have finalized a 2-year project creating a documentary film entitled “The LJA History Project, which chronicles and preserves our collective journey and debuts in January 2023.  The film was produced in collaboration with the Judicial Institute and will be archived with the LJA, and its partners the Judicial Institute and the Historical Society of the New York Courts.

Last, but certainly not least, Judge Manzanet-Daniels is the proud mother of three beautiful daughters, Taina (born to her), Touré & Asha (her blessings through marriage) and abuela of her grandchildren Greyden & Blythe Since 2006 she has been happily married to New York’s former Secretary of State, Randy A. Daniels.

Hon. Lillian Wan

Advancement of Judicial Diversity Award 2023

Hon. Lillian Wan is the daughter of Chinese immigrants and has lived in Brooklyn for the last 22 years.  On May 25, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Justice Wan to the Appellate Division, Second Department.  Justice Wan is the first Asian American woman to be appointed to the Appellate Division in New York State.  In November 2021, Justice Wan also became the first Asian American to be elected to the Supreme Court in Brooklyn.  Justice Wan was originally appointed to the bench by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in 2012 and served in both Bronx County Family Court and Kings County Family Court hearing cases involving child abuse and neglect, custody, visitation, family offenses and juvenile delinquency.

Justice Wan was appointed to the New York State Court of Claims by Governor Andrew Cuomo on June 20, 2018.  Justice Wan was designated to preside over an Integrated Guardianship and Landlord/Tenant Part in New York County Supreme Court, where she heard cases involving tenants who were the subject of both Article 81 guardianship and eviction proceedings. From January 2020 until her appointment to the Appellate Division, Justice Wan sat in Kings County Supreme Court, where she presided over jury and non-jury trials, Mental Hygiene Law Article 9 hospital proceedings, and handled motions on a wide variety of civil matters.

Prior to taking the bench, Justice Wan was a Court Attorney-Referee in Kings County Surrogate’s Court.  Justice Wan also served for nine years as a trial attorney at the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) in the Family Court Legal Services Division.

Justice Wan served as the President of the Asian American Judges Association of New York (AAJANY) for three years and currently serves on the Board as the Immediate Past President.  As President, Justice Wan met with Secretary Jeh Johnson to discuss the concerns of Asian American judges for his report on Equal Justice in the New York State Courts.  Under Justice Wan’s leadership, AAJANY grew from 39 to 48 members and expanded its membership to communities outside of New York City.  As part of her efforts to encourage attorneys and judges to pursue roles in the judiciary, Justice Wan has mentored numerous diverse candidates.

Justice Wan currently co-chairs the statewide Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics.   Justice Wan previously served as an Adjunct Professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law where she taught Lawyering and Legal Writing to first year law students.  Justice Wan formerly chaired the Family Court and Family Law Committee at the City Bar, served on the City Bar’s Nominating Committee, and served as the chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.  Justice Wan also serves as a board member for the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association and is a member of the Brooklyn Bar Association Diversity Committee.

Justice Wan previously served on the board of the New York State Family Court Judges Association and was the past Vice President and Secretary of the New York City Family Court Judges Association.  Justice Wan also served on the Unified Court System’s Advisory Committee on Court Interpreting and the Appellate Division Second Department Mental Health Professional Certification Committee, a committee charged with assessing the qualifications of potential court appointed mental health experts.  Justice Wan is the former co-chair of the Government and Public Sector Committee for the Asian American Bar Association of New York.  Justice Wan regularly participates in various “Meet the Judges” and mentorship events in the community and has presented on career panels at various NYC schools.  Justice Wan earned her undergraduate degree from Binghamton University and her law degree from Albany Law School, where she served on the Albany Law Review.