New LGBTQ+ Law Section Chair Eric Wursthorn Looks To Expand the Section’s Reach
5.29.2026
As the incoming chair of the LGBTQ+ Law Section, Judge Eric Wursthorn is ready to see the section fully incorporate its new members, including expanding its reach outside of New York City.
“There’s a bunch of different organizations in this field – this area of LGBTQ+ law professionals,” said Wursthorn. “What’s unique about NYSBA is it’s the only one that covers New York State… I’d like to see the section engage lawyers across the state better, whether that’s getting a group of lawyers that are in Albany, Rochester or somewhere else in the state to put together a networking event, and help support them to do that.”
Wursthorn said as the section has grown under the new membership model, he is planning to engage the members more – especially since the section established a committee for law students and emerging lawyers last year.
“I’d like to see that committee developed further, because we just created it,” said Wursthorn. “There was somebody that reached out recently that is looking to get involved in that committee. So things like that, just to develop those areas of the section.”
Wursthorn is a judge in New York City Civil Court, assigned to Bronx County. He presides over civil litigation, including consumer credit, personal injury, and breach of contract actions, alongside unlimited jurisdiction commercial landlord-tenant matters. He was elected to his seat in 2025. Earlier in his career, he served as a court attorney and referee in the New York State Court System.
Wursthorn has a B.A. in chemistry from Cornell University and a J.D. from New York Law School’s Evening Division. “I actually went to law school at night and was working in the court system during the day for Judge Judith Gische, who went on to the appellate division,” he said.
Wursthorn will be the third chair of the LGBTQ + Law Section since it was established in 2020. He is also the president of the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York.
