Sitting Down With Judges at the Brooklyn Bar Association

On March 23, members of the Brooklyn Bar Association will log into Zoom at 1 p.m. to hear from Hon. Elizabeth Stong, a judge in the Eastern District of New York’s Bankruptcy Court.

It will be the latest in our regular “Virtual Sitdowns” that the BBA has been doing over the past year, and one that has proved popular among members.

The events don’t qualify for continuing legal education credit. Instead it’s all about the judges being able to provide the most recent updates about what is happening in their respective courts, while also giving members an opportunity to ask questions or bring up issues they have experienced.

The meetings generally end in a very positive manner. Even if a member who showed up with a question got an answer they didn’t like, they appreciated the access to judges and the advice they got from fellow members.

The judges often like it as well, because it gives them an opportunity to speak with local attorneys and establish expectations.

The first Virtual Sitdown the Brooklyn Bar Association hosted was last June with Hon. Reginald Boddie. Justice Boddie is the supervising judge of the Kings County Supreme Court, Commercial Division. Not only is he relatively new to that court, but so much has changed due to COVID that the judge was glad to do it.

“Even though we hold (hearings) on Zoom, please dress like you are coming to court,” Justice Boddie said to the BBA members last June, as he offered a bit of practical advice.

That proved so popular that in the upcoming month, Hon. Cheryl Gonzales, supervising judge of the Kings County Housing Court; Hon. Lawrence Knipel, administrative judge of the Kings County Supreme Court, Civil Term; Hon. Ellen Spodek; and Hon. Jeffrey Sunshine, the statewide coordinating judge for matrimonial cases, were invited to sit with members over Zoom. Hon. Nancy Sunshine, the county clerk and commissioner of jurors; and Hon. Charles Small, the chief clerk of the Kings County Supreme Court, Civil Term, were also asked to speak.

Justice Stong is next, but Brooklyn Bar Association Membership Committee co-chairs Anthony Vaughn, Jr., and Pamela Walker, are hard at work scheduling future “Sitdowns.”

Justice Deborah Kaplan, the deputy chief administrative judge of the New York City Courts, has confirmed that she will join the BBA for a Virtual Sitdown sometime this spring. There is not an official date yet, but any members who have questions for Justice Kaplan can submit them now to Robert Abruzzese, Director of Member Services by emailing him at [email protected].

The Power of Women’s Voices

Before Justice Kaplan sits down with members of the Brooklyn Bar, she will take part in a continuing legal education event organized by the National Association of Women Judges NAWJ-New York chapter called, “The Power of Women’s Voices.”

The event will take place on Microsoft Teams on Thursday, March 24 at 6 p.m. It will be moderated by Hon. Joanne Quinones and Hon. Llinet Rosado and will feature a panel that includes Hon. Sylvia Hinds-Radix, who was nominated by Mayor Eric Adams to be the next NYC corporation counsel; Veronica Guerrero, Gehad Abdelrehim, and Sharmin Yousuf.

The event is free for members of the BWBA, the Bronx Women’s Bar Association, the National Association of Women Judges’ New York Chapter, and the Franklin H. Williams Commission.

Bay Ridge Lawyers Running Strong

The Bay Ridge Lawyers Association met in person on Wednesday night for its monthly continuing legal education meeting at Mama Rao’s in Dyker Heights. The meeting featured attorney Paul Bugoni from Stewart Title, who discussed upcoming changes to the remote notarization laws.

Afterward, President Will Gillen expressed how grateful he is to members who have continued to show up to their monthly meetings, even as the COVID-19 pandemic goes into its third year.

“Just wanted to reach out to express my gratitude to all who have attended our meetings this year, to those who could not, but have continued to reach out and support our organization and of course the hard work of our board, committees and sponsors to make our events successful,” Gillen said. “It means a lot to see the enthusiasm of so many to keep the Bay Ridge Lawyers Association running strong, and especially the way all have worked with us, as we have had to adjust dates and event schedules this year.”

The Bay Ridge Lawyers Association will hold its next in-person meeting at Mama Rao’s on Wednesday, March 30 at 6 p.m. The group will host its Winter Seminar in Atlantic City on April 28 and 29.

Robert Abruzzese is the former Legal Editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and the current Director of Member Services at the Brooklyn Bar Association. Now as a legal columnist for the Eagle, Abruzzese writes about the BBA and the local legal community. For information about joining the Brooklyn Bar Association, you can reach him via email at [email protected].