Judge Leslie Stein Receives Prestigious State Bar Association Award
1.24.2022
Former Court of Appeals Judge Leslie E. Stein of Albany, director of the Government Law Center at Albany Law School, has been chosen to receive the Ruth G. Schapiro Memorial Award from the New York State Bar Association’s Women in Law Section. She will be honored Jan. 25 at the association’s Annual Meeting.
“Throughout her distinguished career, Judge Leslie Stein set the example for all attorneys through her hard work, legal acumen and extraordinary public service,” said Women in Law Section Chair Sheryl Galler (Law Office of Sheryl B. Galler). “We are delighted to honor her with this prestigious award in recognition of her achievements and accomplishments. She has made the legal profession a better place for lawyers and the public.”
Judge Stein began her judicial career in January 1997 on the Albany City Court while serving simultaneously as an acting Albany County Family Court judge. Four years later, Judge Stein was elected to the New York State Supreme Court, Third Judicial District. In 2014, Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Judge Stein to the Court of Appeals where she remained until her retirement in June of 2021.
While on the bench, Judge Stein served as co-chair of the New York State Unified Court System Family Violence Task Force and chair of the Third Judicial District Gender Fairness Committee, and was a founding member of the New York State Judicial Institute on Professionalism in the Law. She also served on the Executive Committee of the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, as an officer of the New York State Association of City Court Judges, and as a member of the Board of the New York Association of Women Judges.
She is a past president of the Capital District Women’s Bar Association and was a vicepresident of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, where she held important leadership positions. At NYSBA, Judge Stein has been a member of the Task Force on Increasing Diversity in the Judiciary, the Committee on Women in the Law, the Family Law Section Executive Committee, and a frequent lecturer at CLE programs. Judge Stein has also been active in the Albany County Bar Association for many years.
Honoring attorneys who render extraordinary service to the public and the profession is part of NYSBA’s Annual Meeting tradition. The 145th Annual Meeting will focus on more than 65 different topics from Jan. 18 to 28. Subjects include Law and Ethics during the Pandemic: Individual Rights vs the Common Good; New York State’s Surprise Billing Law Against the Backdrop of the Federal NoSurprises Act;New York Energy Leadership: Can NY Become a Hub for the Energy Industry?; and Prosecutors and the Color of Justice: The Role of the Prosecutor in Reforming the Criminal Justice System.
The Presidential Summit on Thursday, Jan. 20, will focus on two of the leading social justice and civil rights matters of the day: a reevaluation of the #MeToo Movement, and the intersection of transgender rights and sports. Attorney General Letitia James will be the keynote speaker.
For more information on NYSBA’s Annual Meeting, click here. Media are invited to most virtual programs but please notify Susan DeSantis at [email protected] or 201-575-5756 and Brandon Vogel at [email protected] or 518-487-5644.
About the New York State Bar Association
The New York State Bar Association is the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. Since 1876, NYSBA has helped shape the development of law, educated and informed the legal profession and the public, and championed the rights of New Yorkers through advocacy and guidance in our communities.
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