New York State Bar Association Confers Howard A. Levine Award on Judge, Lawyer for Efforts To Reform Family Court
11.12.2024
The New York State Bar Association is honoring Judge Anne-Marie Jolly and attorney Judith Gerber for their work to reform the Family Court and juvenile justice system.
Judge Jolly, the administrative judge of the New York City Family Courts, and Gerber, the Buffalo chief legal aid attorney, will receive the Howard A. Levine Award for Excellence in Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare at a Nov. 19 ceremony. The event will be held at 5 p.m. at the Bar Center in Albany.
Judge Anne-Marie Jolly
For over 20 years, Judge Jolly has supported children, starting out as a Family Court trial attorney and referee and later serving as a Family Court judge before being appointed the administrative judge.
She established the annual case management conference, which employs data to increase efficiency in Family Court. She launched a new scheduling method that reduced delays in child protective and juvenile delinquency cases.
“Judge Jolly’s court reforms — such as providing mediation appointments on nights and weekends for working parents and offering mediators with knowledge of 12 languages — is producing real results for New York City families,” said New York State Bar Association President Domenick Napoletano. “The use of mediation in Family Court last year rose 14% due to Judge Jolly’s reforms.”
Judith Gerber
Gerber is the chief attorney in the Attorneys for Children Unit for Buffalo’s Legal Aid Bureau. She has dedicated her career to advocating for children with a focus on their educational needs. She created specialized programs within the court system to connect youth with the educational resources they need. Her commitment to justice in family court includes training lawyers, judges, teachers and school administrators in new and better ways to help children and youth navigate their court experience.
“Judith Gerber’s reforms have brought tremendous systemic changes to Erie County Family Court,” Napoletano said. “The court’s greater reliance on trauma-informed practices, while taking into account cultural factors in each case, is leading to better outcomes for families in Western New York.”
Linda Kostin, co-chair of NYSBA’s Committee on Children and the Law, will present the awards at the association’s Bar Center, 1 Elk St., Albany, on Nov. 19. Judge Richard Rivera, statewide coordinating judge for Family Court matters, will deliver remarks, and Napoletano will welcome everyone to the ceremony.
The Levine award is named for retired Court of Appeals Judge Howard A. Levine, the first chair of what was then called the Special Committee on Juvenile Justice. It recognizes the vital work of lawyers and non-lawyers to improve New York’s child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Judge Levine served in a variety of public service positions for over 40 years, including as an associate judge on the Court of Appeals from 1993 to 2002.
