The first 10 days of 2016 presented a stark reminder that things change quickly. We lost a giant of the Judiciary, the former Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye. Her career was a remarkable one, as she started as a journalist, became a litigator, and then went on to serve as an associate judge on the New York Court of Appeals. When she ultimately became chief judge of our great state, all of the talents she honed in her prior endeavors were on display, and were employed to enrich New York's jurisprudence and dramatically change and improve our court system. Judge Kaye truly loved the law, and was a self-professed CPLR junkie who contributed so much to the development of New York practice and procedure.

Just three days later, we lost one of the great musical artists of the last century when David Bowie died. He too brought so many talents to the table with his singing, unique writing, captivating performance style, and sense of fashion—a talent also possessed by our former chief judge. Bowie famously declared that we need to “turn and face the strange changes,” and he led by example. During his unprecedented career, he never stayed in one place and always opened our minds to new genres of music.

Change is always afoot in the matter at hand, New York civil practice, and that may explain why the subject is so fascinating. There was a flurry of legislative activity in the latter part of 2015, with the governor signing four significant bills pertaining to procedure in New York state courts. This article will address the amendments in the order they appear in the CPLR. While these changes will have differing degrees of importance based upon a lawyer's areas of concentration, they will all have impact on a litigation practice.