The Judicial Friends Association (JFA) celebrated its 43rd anniversary with the Toney, Rivers & Watson Dinner, a gala and fundraising event, at Tribeca Rooftop in Lower Manhattan on Dec. 10. The event honored the achievements of the judiciary and legal community while supporting JFA’s mission of advancing diversity in the legal profession.

Founded in 1976 by a group of Black judges, JFA advocates for the fair treatment and advancement of African-American judges, judicial staff, and attorneys. The organization also provides community legal education and mentorship for emerging Black and Brown legal professionals.

The evening’s emcee was NY1 political anchor Errol Louis, who guided the program, which opened with performances of the National Anthem and the Negro National Anthem by Nicholas Ryan Gant, followed by a prayer led by Hon. Priscilla Hall.

Named for trailblazing Black judges Francis E. Rivers, Charles E. Toney and James S. Watson, the Toney, Rivers & Watson Dinner is one of JFA’s signature events. In 1930, Toney and Watson became the first African-American judges elected to the Harlem 10th Municipal Court, breaking barriers in an era of systemic racial segregation. Rivers, elected to the New York State Assembly the same year, was instrumental in creating the Harlem Municipal Court and later became the highest-ranking Black judge in the nation when elected to the New York City Court in 1943.

This year’s gala drew 300 guests to honor distinguished legal professionals and award scholarships to law students dedicated to social and racial justice.

The honorees included Hon. Milton Tingling, county clerk of New York County; Hon. La Tia Martin, recently retired Justice of the Supreme Court, 12th Judicial District; and Hon. Cheryl Chambers, Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department.

Justice Tingling’s career has been marked by historic achievements. In 1996, he became the first African-American elected to the judiciary from the 7th Municipal Court District, and in 2000, he became the first North Carolina Central University School of Law graduate elected to the New York State Supreme Court. In 2014, he was appointed as the first Black County Clerk of New York County. 

Tingling’s family is also the first African-American family with three generations of judges, including his late father, Hon. Milton Tingling Sr., and his daughter, Aija Tingling, a Bronx County Family Court judge. Justice Tingling also garnered attention in 2013 when he struck down Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed “soda ban.”

“I didn’t come here tonight to be honored,” Tingling told the crowd. “I came here tonight to thank all of you… because we don’t get there alone. We get there with the support, hope, and love of everyone across the board.”

Justice La Tia Martin began her legal career as a Bronx County Assistant District Attorney after graduating from Rutgers University School of Law. She went on to serve as inspector general for multiple New York City agencies and as general counsel to the New York City Sheriff’s Office before being appointed a criminal court judge in 1995. Martin founded the Scales of Justice Academy in 2009 to inspire young women from underserved communities to pursue careers in law. Reflecting on her 45-year career and recent retirement, Martin called the recognition by JFA “heartwarming” and praised the organization’s dedication to promoting diversity in the legal profession.

Justice Cheryl Chambers, who has served as a judge for nearly three decades, has broken numerous barriers in her career. The recipient of the inaugural Ruth Bader Ginsburg Beacon Award, Chambers was the first African American bureau chief of the Domestic Violence Bureau in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. She served on the New York City Civil Court and the State Supreme Court before her 2008 appointment to the Appellate Division, where she became the second woman of color to hold such a position. Chambers expressed gratitude for receiving the Judge Myles Paige Award, noting Paige’s influence as a “beacon of inspiration” who paved the way for Black and Brown legal professionals.

“I grew up during a time when the fight for civil rights and equality was at the forefront of everyone’s mind,” Justice Chambers said. “I was inspired by the pivotal roles that lawyers played in the civil rights movement — like Charles Hamilton Houston, Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley — who proved that the law could be a powerful tool for justice. Becoming a lawyer and eventually a judge gave me the opportunity to uphold these ideals and to make a difference in my community.”

The gala also highlighted the 2024 Commitment to Justice Program scholarship recipients, who were recognized for their dedication to social justice and diversity. Columbia Law School students Nathnael Alazar, Alondra Vazquez Lopez, Tashayla Borden and Jayden Rush received scholarships, along with Elkana Alexandre, a student at Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law, who was awarded the Hon. Sheila Abdus-Salaam scholarship.

Hugh Campbell, president of the Foundation for Judicial Friends, Inc., and Hon. Verna L. Saunders, president of the Association of Supreme Court Justices NY, announced the recipients.

“These scholarship recipients represent the future of the legal profession,” Saunders said. “Their commitment to social justice and the impact of diversity demonstrates that they are on the right path.”