Two Bronx Judges Tapped For First Department Bench
Governor David A. Paterson last night named Bronx Supreme Court Justices Nelson S. Roman and Sallie Manzanet-Daniels to the Appellate Division, First Department.
Justice Roman (See Profile) was elected to the Supreme Court in 2003. He sat on the Civil Court bench in the Bronx for the previous two years and was also a Housing Court judge for five years. He was a city police officer when he graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 1989 and spent several years as a city prosecutor.
Justice Manzanet-Daniels (See Profile) was elected to the Supreme Court in 2002, having served the previous year on the Civil Court bench. After graduating from Hofstra University School of Law in 1988, she began her career as a lawyer at the Legal Aid Society.
Mr. Paterson made the surprise announcements last evening during a gathering at Manhattan Supreme Court to honor U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The appointments do not need state Senate confirmation.
Court of Appeals to Hear Judicial Pay Cases in January
The Court of Appeals has set Jan. 12, 2010, to hear oral arguments in two judicial pay suits. Parties in the cases, Maron v. Silver and Larabee v. Governor, were also notified by the Court this week of this fall's briefing schedule, said spokesman Gary Spencer. Though the Court did not indicate whether the two cases would be argued at the same time, it is the Court's custom to do so when like issues of law are involved in separate litigations.
It is also still possible that arguments in a third case seeking the first salary increase for state judges since 1999, Chief Judge v. Governor, will be argued before the Court of Appeals on Jan. 12. But the Court has yet to rule on whether to accept a direct appeal of Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Edward Lehner's decision in Chief Judge that accepted in part and rejected in part the chief judge's argument that a raise has been improperly denied by the governor and Legislature (NYLJ, June 16).
The Appellate Division has split on the raise question. The First Department found that judges were unfairly subject to the "whims and caprices" of politics in being denied an increase in Larabee (NYLJ, June 3), while the Third Department dismissed similar arguments by the judges who brought Maron (NYLJ, Nov. 14, 2008). — Joel Stashenko
Winston & Strawn Add Two Partners From Dewey
Winston & Strawn has added two telecommunications partners from Dewey & LeBouef, including the chair of Dewey's telecommunications industry sector group. Eric Cowan will become the global chair of Winston's media and telecommunications practice and will split time between New York and London. Also joining Winston is New York partner Glynna Christian, who will chair a sourcing practice. "I think those practices are hugely integral to the firm's short-term and long-term strategic plan around where they want to be generally," Mr. Cowan said. "For me that's a very different kind of challenge and an exciting one."
Mr. Cowan and Ms. Christian joined Dewey's predecessor LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae in 2005 from Thelen Reid & Priest along with three other partners. Mr. Cowan said he was in part attracted to Winston because several former Thelen partners now practice there. Winston's New York managing partner, Michael Elkin, joined from Thelen in 2007. Winston was also one of the firms that hired a large number of Thelen lawyers after that firm dissolved last year. — Nate Raymond
Referee Clears Way for Trial In $40 Million Fee Case
A report by a Manhattan Surrogate's Court referee has paved the way for trial over whether law firm Graubard Miller should receive a $40 million contingency fee from the estate of a real estate tycoon. Referee Howard A. Levine has recommended denying motions for summary judgment by both Graubard Miller and the estate of Alice Lawrence, the window of a deceased real estate tycoon.
Surrogate Troy Webber still needs to adopt the recommendations of Mr. Levine, a former Court of Appeals judge. But as the report did not recommend granting any summary judgement motions, lawyers are now preparing for trial to begin on Oct. 5 in Lawrence v. Graubard Miller, 175/82.
At issue is a 40 percent contingency fee Graubard entered into with Ms. Lawrence in 2005, just months before it secured a $105 million settlement for her husband's estate. Ms. Lawrence refused to pay the $40 million Graubard would have been owed under the arrangement. Graubard in 2005 began proceedings in the Surrogate's Court for breach of contract. Ms. Lawrence's lawyers have argued the contract is unenforceable as it was unconscionable when she entered into it. The case has already made it once to the Court of Appeals, which ruled in December the circumstances surrounding the agreement had not been developed enough to rule if it was unconscionable when it was made (NYLJ, Dec. 3, 2008).
In his report, Mr. Levine recommended denying a motion for summary judgment by Graubard on its breach of contract claim. He also recommended denying a motion for summary judgment by the estate for Ms. Lawrence that the contingency arrangement was unenforceable.
"We welcome the opportunity to prove what we have said all along, that Mrs. Lawrence was a sophisticated person who asked for this contingency arrangement and simply refused to pay when she achieved the spectacular result that yielded a large fee," said Mark Zauderer, a partner at Flemming Zulack Williamson Zauderer who represents Graubard Miller. "The case was extremely difficult and fought with great skill by the Graubard lawyers, who only seek to be compensated in accordance with Mrs. Lawrence's agreement."
A lawyer for Mrs. Lawrence's estate, Daniel Kornstein at Kornstein Veisz Wexler & Pollard, did not return a call for comment. — Nate Raymond
Defender Found Guilty Of Misconduct in Sex Case
A former part-time public defender has been convicted of a misdemeanor official misconduct count for having sex with a client in exchange for promising to prioritize his representation of her in a drug case. A six-member Albany City Court jury acquitted Matthew Swedick, 39, of two other official misconduct charges.
The jury reached its verdict Tuesday after hearing audio tapes that the client, Latoya Gorton, made surreptitiously of encounters she had with Mr. Swedick in 2007 in his Albany office. Mr. Swedick was representing Ms. Gorton on a charge that she was caught in her Albany home with 39 grams of crack cocaine and more than $10,000 in cash. Ms. Gorton, of Newburgh, testified that when Mr. Swedick was assigned her case, he told her he would work harder and treat her as a private-paying client if she would have sex with him. Mr. Swedick denied the allegations, saying his relationship with Ms. Gorton was consensual. Albany attorney Michael Koenig served as a special prosecutor in Mr. Swedick's case.
Mr. Swedick's attorney, James Long, said he would appeal the verdict on several grounds, including whether Ms. Gorton's tapes were admissible. Ms. Gorton ultimately pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge and was given five years' probation. — Joel Stashenko
Personal Notes on Lawyers
• Jason Lief has joined Gersten Savage as a partner and will co-chair the intellectual property practice with partner James Fornari. Mr. Lief was a partner at McDermott, Will & Emery.
• Robert A. Rubenfeld has joined Eaton & Van Winkle as a partner and chair of its real estate department. He was a partner at Todtman Nachamie Spizz & Johns.
• Kathy A. Ahearn, the former counsel and deputy commissioner for legal affairs for the New York State Education Department, has joined Guercio & Guercio as a partner and will establish the firm's Capital District office in Latham.
