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Lippman selects Brooklyn judges for commercial division

March 29, 2013 By Charisma L. Miller, Esq. Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman announced the names of the members of the new Commercial Division Advisory Council. Two Brooklyn judges, Ann Pfau and Thomas Dickerson, were named to the council.

Pfau, former chief administrative judge for the Office of Court Administration, is presently the statewide coordinating judge for medical malpractice matters. A graduate of Brooklyn Law School, Pfau has sat on the bench, in varying capacities, for 16 years.

Dickerson sits on the Appellate Division bench in the Brooklyn Heights courthouse on Monroe Place.  Beginning his judicial career in Yonkers, Dickerson, a graduate of Cornell Law School, was appointed to serve as an Appellate Division Associate Justice in 2006.

The Advisory Council will examine and execute a number of recommendations proposed by Lippman’s Task Force on Commercial Litigation in the 21st Century. “It is now time to take the next step,” Lippman said in a press release. “The Advisory Council has been charged with implementing the Task Force’s recommendations, keeping me apprised of developments in the business world that may affect the court system, and working to help our Commercial Division better understand and respond to the needs of the business community.”

Some of the recommendations include looking into large docket loads, procedural hurdles, and levels of judicial support.

Chief Administrative Judge A. Gail Prudenti said, “The distinguished members of the Advisory Council represent a uniquely qualified group of individuals from around the state who bring with them a variety of experiences and ideas that will play a critical role in helping the Commercial Division more effectively serve the needs of the business community in today’s challenging, constantly evolving litigation environment.

“I look forward to working them and the chief judge to ensure the continued high standing of New York’s Commercial Division,” she said.

Lippman assigned 37 persons to the Advisory Council, including private attorneys and current and former judges. In addition to Pfau and Dickerson, the other judges assigned to the Advisory Council include Manhattan Supreme Court Justices Eileen Bransten, Charles Ramos and O. Peter Sherwood; Nassau Supreme Court Justice Timothy Driscoll; and Westchester Supreme Court Justice Alan Scheinkman.

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