In this Issue

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Commission Members

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore appointed two new members to The Failla Commission on December 4, 2018.

Andrea Conjerti

Andrea is an associate at Brown Chiari LLP in Buffalo.

Grace Hanlon

Grace is the principal law clerk to Chautauqua County Court Judge David Foley in Mayville.

Departure from the Failla Commission

Justice Rosalyn Richter

The Failla Commission also sincerely thanks Justice Rosalyn Richter of the Appellate Division, First Department for two years of outstanding service, in addition to her long career filled with many significant contributions to the LGBTQ community and the courts.

Amendments to Antidiscrimination Rules

In 2017, The Failla Commission proposed amendments to the various court system antidiscrimination rules and policies (specifically, the Attorney Rules of Professional Conduct, the Rules of Judicial Conduct, the Unified Court System Code of Ethics for Nonjudicial Employees, and the Rules of the Chief Judge for Career Service) to explicitly protect transgender and gender nonconforming (“TGNC”) individuals in the courts. The proposal to add “gender identity” and “gender expression” to these policies went through the rulemaking process and was approved by the Administrative Board and the Court of Appeals last year. “Gender identity” is a person's deeply held internal sense of gender (i.e., being male, female, or somewhere else on the gender spectrum) and “gender expression” is how a person chooses to outwardly communicate their gender identity to others. The Failla Commission plans to continue efforts to train judges and court system staff regarding appropriate and respectful treatment of the TGNC community in 2019.

Looking Back at 2018

Staten Island Women’s Bar Association Diversity CLE (January 18, 2018)

Annual Dinner of the New York Association of Lesbian and Gay Judges and The Failla Commission (January 24, 2018)

Millennials Panel at the Legalweek New York 2018 Conference (January 31, 2018)

#Feinmania: A Conversation with Judge Paul Feinman, Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. Moderated by Failla Commission Member Meredith R. Miller (February 22, 2018)

NYSBA Implicit Bias CLE (March 1, 2018)

WBASNY Renee Richards CLE at Brooklyn Bar Association (March 5, 2018)

Judge Feinman Receives a Community Vision Award at the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York (LeGaL)’s Annual Dinner (March 15, 2018)

Failla Commission Co-Chair Justice Joanne M. Winslow Receives a Kate Stoneman Award from Albany Law School (March 27, 2018)

Failla Commission Member Meredith R. Miller Addresses Audience at Launch of Union College LGBTQ Art Exhibit in Schenectady (May 2, 2018)

Failla Commission Spring Meeting (May 9, 2018)

New York City Bar Association Changing Definition of Family CLE (June 5, 2018)

Representing LGBTQ Clients from the Judicial Perspective CLE in Albany, co-sponsored by Capital District Women’s Bar Association’s LGBT Committee and LeGaL (June 7, 2018)

Ninth Judicial District’s 2018 LGBTQ Pride Month Celebration (June 8, 2018)

Failla Commission Member Judge Karen Lupuloff speaks at the New York City Family Court Pride event in Brooklyn (June 12, 2018)

The Faces of LGBTQ Pride in Suffolk County (June 13, 2018)

Latest Developments in LGBT Employment Discrimination Law CLE at the Monroe County Hall of Justice in Rochester (June 14, 2018)

The Onondaga County Bar Association honored The Failla Commission with its 2018 Diversity and Inclusion Award at the Syracuse University College of Law (June 14, 2018)

Eighth Judicial District 2018 Pride Program Lunch and Learn in Buffalo (June 15, 2018)

Sixth Judicial District Pride Event at the Delaware County Courthouse in Delhi (June 18, 2018)

"July 3, 1973: The Day the Court of Appeals Made Pride Possible in New York” event, honoring William Thom, the founder of Lambda Legal and the first openly gay judge in New York (June 19, 2018). Video of the event can be watched at https://youtu.be/reYYDuToJIo

LeGaL’s Annual Judicial Reception (June 20, 2018)

Latest Developments in LGBT Employment Discrimination Law CLE at the Ulster County Courthouse in Kingston (June 27, 2018)

Twelfth Judicial District’s LGBTQ Pride Month Event in the Bronx (June 27, 2018)

Latest Developments in LGBT Employment Discrimination Law CLE at Queens Supreme Court in Jamaica (June 28, 2018)

New York City Bar Association’s 2018 LGBT Pride Reception (June 28, 2018)

Failla Commission Member Justice Rosalyn Richter Accepts The National LGBT Bar Association’s Dan Bradley Award (August 8, 2018)

Moving On Up Panel at Lavender Law Conference (August 9, 2018)

Fifth Judicial District Judicial Seminar in Clayton (September 5, 2018)

Failla Commission Member Milo Primeaux Addresses Association of Clerks of Family Court Conference (September 27, 2018)

NYSBA Committee on LGBT People and the Law Fall Luncheon Meeting (October 18, 2018)

Cervantes Society's 23rd Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Program honoring Chief Judge DiFiore and Judge Javier Vargas (October 23, 2018)

Frankfurt Kurnit Litigation Ethics Summit (October 25, 2018)

Panel Discussion at Albany Law School (November 1, 2018)

Queens County Women’s Bar Association Judiciary Night (November 27, 2018)

National Trans Bar Association New York Launch (December 6, 2018)

Failla Commission Member Judge Feinman Swears In Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul on Ellis Island (January 1, 2019)

Of Note

The Commission congratulates the following persons on their achievements.

Hon. Chris Ann Kelley

In June, Hon. Chris Ann Kelley was nominated by Governor Andrew Cuomo and confirmed by the State Senate to the New York State Court of Claims. She is the first member of the LGBTQ community nominated and confirmed to the Court of Claims.

Hon. Lynn Kotler

Hon. Lynn Kotler was elected as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the First Judicial District on November 6. She was sworn in on January 3 by Eastern District of New York Judge Pamela Chen.

Hon. Margaret Walsh

Hon. Margaret Walsh, a member of The Failla Commission, was elected as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the Third Judicial District on November 6. She was sworn in on December 26 in Albany by Appellate Division, Third Department Presiding Justice Elizabeth Garry, also a member of The Failla Commission. She is the first member of the LGBTQ community elected to the Supreme Court in the Third Judicial District.

Hon. Matthew Titone

Former Assemblyman Matthew Titone was elected the next Surrogate of Richmond County on November 6. He is the first member of the LGBTQ community to be elected a Surrogate in New York State.

Hon. Ariel ChesLer

Hon. Ariel Chesler was elected to the Civil Court of the City of New York from New York County on November 6. He is the first judge in New York State raised by same-sex parents.

Ronald Pawelczak

On November 1, the Office for Justice Initiatives awarded a Circle of Excellence Award to Failla Commission Member and Seventh Judicial District Executive Ronald Pawelczak in recognition of his invaluable leadership and commitment to providing meaningful access to justice.

Sen. Brad Hoylman

New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has named State Senator Brad Hoylman as the next chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He will be the first member of the LGBTQ community to lead this committee.

The Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Commission
25 Beaver Street, Room 919, New York, New York 10004
(212) 428-2769
nycourts.gov/ip/LGBTQ

@NYCourtsLGBTQ