DYKER HEIGHTS — The Bay Ridge Lawyers Association held its monthly meeting on Jan. 25 at Mama Rao’s in Dyker Heights where Cynthia Hammond, a court-attorney referee from the Kings County Surrogate’s Court gave a continuing legal education lecture.
Hammond, a 14-year veteran of the Surrogate’s Court, is the supervising court attorney-referee for Hon. Rosemarie Montalbano’s law department.
Prior to landing her job with the courts, Hammon attended the College of William and Mary, and of the University of South Carolina Law School, where she was Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review. After school, she worked as an associate at LeBouef, Lamb, Leiby & MacRae, which focused on corporate finance matters. She also served as a volunteer appellate attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, taking death penalty cases in Georgia and Louisiana.
From left: Yolanda Guadagnoli, Adam Kalish, Michael Benjamin, Santorini Rivera, and President Dominic Famulari.
Hammond’s speech was entitled, “Anatomy of Kings County Surrogate’s Court in 2023”. During the one-hour lecture, she discussed what happened to the Surrogate’s Court during the pandemic, how it adjusted to the next 1,019 days, and the ongoing changes that have taken place.
“We were very fortunate to have Cynthia Hammond as our CLE presenter,” said Dominic Famulari, president of the BRLA. “Ms. Hammond has been a great friend to the Surrogate’s Court practitioners over the years and her talents as the Chair of Surrogate Montalbano’s law department are a tremendous asset to the Court, the public and the Bar.”
Specifically, she helped lawyers understand some of the new technology and website developments, how initial conferences are handled today, plus follow up conferences, motion protocols and pre-trial conferences.
President Dominic Famulari presents Cynthia Hammond with a certificate for presenting a continuing legal education seminar entitled, “Anatomy of Kings County Surrogate’s Court in 2023” at this month’s Bay Ridge Lawyers Association meeting. Eagle photos by Mario Belluomo
Of course, the Bay Ridge Lawyers meetings always attract a fairly large contingent of judges at its monthly meetings so Hon. Rosemarie Montalbano and acting Surrogate Judge Bernard Graham were both in attendance and were available to answer questions during and after the lecture.
“It was an added benefit to have both Surrogate Montalbano as well as Acting Surrogate Graham in attendance,” Famulari said. “Their contributions to the program and discussion were insightful and of great help to the association. It was encouraging to observe their collegiality and camaraderie. It was a stellar event.”
From left: Hon. Bernard Graham, Ray Ferrier, and Tommy Tafuri.From left: Hon. Rosemarie Montalbano, Diane Matero, Cynthia Hammond, Stephen Spinelli, Frank Oswald, and Mary Granfort.From left: Diane Matero, Helen Galette, Hon. Rosemarie Montalbano, Cynthia Hammond, and Sarah Moore.Hon. Lawrence Knipel, administrative judge of the Kings County Supreme Court, Civil Term, and Michael Benjamin (right).Anthony Cetta, vice president of the Guild for Exceptional Children, Brian Chin, Peter Ferraiuolo, and Joseph Riley, CEO of the Guild.From left: Antonietta Monaco, Mario Romano, and Yolanda Guadagnoli.Susanne Gennusa and Ray Ferrier.Hon. John Ingram, Hon. Rosemarie Montalbano, and Diane Matero.
SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.
ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.
