Event Overview
Friday, January 19, 2024
12:30 PM – 1:00 PM —Reception
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM —Luncheon
Welcome Remarks
Hon. Gregory R. Gilbert
Swearing-In of 2024-24 Judicial Section Officers
Hon. Rowan D. Wilson
Opening Remarks
Richard C. Lewis
Awards Presentations
Distinguished Jurist Award
Hon. James P. Murphy
Advancement of Judicial Diversity Award
Hon. Deborah H. Karalunas
Keynote Speaker
Hon. Rolando T. Acosta
Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Former Presiding Justice, Appellate Division, First Department
“Judicial Independence”
Closing Remarks
Hon. Gregory R. Gilbert
The Annual Meeting General Registration Fee is not required for this event
Select ‘Non-MCLE Meal Function Only’
Section Members: $110
Non-Section Members: $150
JUDICIAL SECTION RECEPTION & LUNCHEON
Friday, January 19, 2024
12:30 PM – 1:00 PM —Reception
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM —Luncheon
Welcome Remarks
Hon. Gregory R. Gilbert
Judicial Section Presiding Member
Swearing-In
Hon. Rowan D. Wilson
Chief Judge of the State of New York and the Court of Appeals
Opening Remarks
Richard C. Lewis
NYSBA President
Distinguished Jurist Award
Hon. James P. Murphy
Deputy Chief Administrative Judge, Courts Outside New York City
Advancement of Judicial Diversity Award
Hon. Deborah H. Karalunas
Administrative Judge, Fifth Judicial District
Keynote Speaker
Hon. Rolando T. Acosta
Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Former Presiding Justice, Appellate Division, First Department
“Judicial Independence”
Closing Remarks
Hon. Gregory R. Gilbert
Judicial Section Presiding Member
Hon. Rolando T. Acosta
Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP; Former Presiding Justice, Appellate Division, First Department
The Honorable Rolando T. Acosta is a Partner in the litigation practice of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, a full-service global law firm. He has decades of experience as a trial and appellate judge, most notably as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department for 15 years, including as its Presiding Justice for more than six years. During his tenure as Presiding Justice the Court modernized its systems—making the administration of justice more efficient and accessible to the public—and enjoyed its highest level of productivity in the Court’s history. Justice Acosta serves on the Commission to Reimagine the Future of New York’s Courts and the Board of the New York County Lawyers Association.
A proud graduate of Columbia College and Columbia Law School, Justice Acosta is the recipient of Columbia University’s Medal for Excellence and Columbia Law School’s Wien Prize for Social Responsibility. In 2008, he was inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame. He currently serves as a Trustee of Columbia University and as a member of the Dean’s Council of Columbia Law School.
Justice Acosta’s judicial career began when he was elected to a countywide Civil Court judgeship in New York County in 1997. He was thereafter designated as an Acting Supreme Court Justice to preside over and spearhead the creation of the Harlem Community Justice Center, a multijurisdictional, “problem-solving” court. In 2002, he was elected as a New York State Supreme Court Justice in New York County. In 2008, he was appointed by the Governor to the Appellate Division, First Department, and served as an Associate Justice until his appointment as Presiding Justice.
Justice Acosta served as President of the Latino Judges Association and was awarded the Association’s John Carro Award for Judicial Excellence “in recognition of his leadership and scholarly work as a New York State jurist and his work as a mentor and teacher with the Latino Community.” He was named Judge of the Year by the National Hispanic Bar Association in 2004 and received the Jewish Lawyers Guild’s Golda Meir Memorial Award in 2013. Prior to his judicial service, he held various posts with the Legal Aid Society, including Attorney-in-Charge of the largest civil trial office and Director of Government and Community Affairs. He also served as First Deputy Commissioner and as Deputy Commissioner for Law Enforcement at the New York City Commission on Human Rights.
Justice Acosta was raised in the South Bronx and Washington Heights, having immigrated from the Dominican Republic at the age of 14, and has long been active in the development of the Washington Heights/Inwood social service infrastructure. For example, he helped found the Latino Commission on AIDS and served as legal adviser to the founding board of Alianza Dominicana. He also served as treasurer and chair of the Policy Committee of the Hispanic Federation. He was a founding board member of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone in 1995 and has served on that organization’s Executive Committee and chaired its Human Capital Development Committee. Justice Acosta remains committed to community service and frequently speaks to new attorneys on the importance of giving back.
Hon. James P. Murphy
Distinguished Jurist Award
To honor a jurist who embodies the highest ideals of the Judicial Section and recognize judicial excellence and extraordinary commitment to the rule of law.
Hon. James P. Murphy was appointed as Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Outside the City of New York, effective June 5, 2023. The appointment was made by Chief Administrative Judge Joseph A. Zayas, with the consultation and approval of Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson and in consultation with the Presiding Justices of the respective Appellate Divisions.
Justice 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. He 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, Justice 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 210 local judges until 2019. He also serves on the New York Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics and the Court Modernization Action Committee, having previously been a member of the Pandemic Practices Working Group.
Justice 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 previously served as 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. In 2021, Justice Murphy was elected to the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association representing the Fifth Judicial District.
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.
Hon. Deborah H. Karalunas
Advancement of Judicial Diversity
The NYSBA Advancement of Judicial Diversity Award serves to recognize individuals for their efforts to promote diversity on the bench throughout New York State. Recipients will embody the New York State Bar Association’s commitment to diversity and inclusion at all levels of the judiciary.
In July 2023, Hon. Deborah H. Karalunas was appointed Administrative Judge of the Fifth Judicial District. As Administrative Judge, Karalunas is working to advance four key objectives: (1) reduce delay and backlog; (2) expand access to justice; (3) achieve greater diversity in the courts; and (4) increase communication between the courts and the people we serve.
Justice Karalunas obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in 1978 and graduated cum laude from Syracuse University College of Law in 1982. Following law school, Justice Karalunas clerked for United States District Court Judge Howard G. Munson in the Northern District of New York. In 1983, Justice Karalunas joined the law firm of Bond, Schoeneck & King. In 2002, Karalunas began her judicial career when she was elected to serve as a Supreme Court Justice in the Fifth Judicial District.
Justice Karalunas also has taught New York Civil Practice at Syracuse University College of Law since 2013 and has been a member of the New York State Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions since 2017. She was Editor of the NYSBA Judicial Dispatch and author of a chapter in the treatise Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts. Karalunas is a longstanding faculty member of the NYSBA Young Lawyers Trial Academy, and lectures frequently on many substantive law and trial practice topics.
Justice Karalunas was honored to be the 2009 recipient of the Syracuse University College of Law Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, the 2017 recipient of the Central New York Women’s Bar Association’s inaugural Karen DeCrow Award, a 2018 Public Service Honoree of the Armenian Bar Association, and the 2022 Recipient of the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York’s Justice Martin J. Evans Award for Judicial Excellence and Leadership in the Judiciary.
Justice Karalunas is active in many bar and judicial associations. She is a member of the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, the National Women Judge’s Association, the Central New York Women’s Bar Association, the Onondaga County Bar Association, the Armenian Bar Association, the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the New York State Bar Association. Among her leadership roles in these associations, Karalunas was President of the Central New York Women’s Bar Association, President of the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Presiding Member of the Judicial Section of the New York State Bar Association, a member of the Board of Directors of the Onondaga County Bar Association, and a Trustee of the Onondaga County Bar Foundation.
Justice Karalunas lives in Jamesville, New York with her husband, George. They have three children, Sarah (Nick), Evan (Samantha) and Brian (Lauren), and three grandchildren, Julian, Alina, and Elliot.