NYCLA says its most successful centennial year celebration in 2007 was its 93rd Annual Dinner on December 11, recognizing the 160th Anniversary of the New York Court of Appeals. More than 1,400 lawyers and judges attended the gala, which took place at the Waldorf Astoria.
The Hon. Richard C. Wesley, United States Circuit judge for the Second Circuit and former member of the New York Court of Appeals, the Hon. Judith S. Kaye, chief judge of the State of New York, and Albert Rosenblatt, former member of the New York Court of Appeals accepted the honor in song - they sang a parody in the tune of My Favorite Things from the musical The Sound of Music.
Two awards were presented. The Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin, United States District Judge, Southern District of New York, received the William Nelson Cromwell Award, and the Hon. Harold Baer Jr., United States District Judge, Southern District of New York, received the Boris Kostelanetz President's Medal.
The William Nelson Cromwell Award is given each year to recognize a member of the New York bar for "unselfish service to the profession and the community." Judge Scheindlin worked as a prosecutor and commercial litigator prior to becoming a judge. Judge Scheindlin, who served on NYCLA's Board of Directors and as a chair of the Tort Law Section, is currently a member of the NYCLA Task Force on Judicial Independence and the Judicial Section. In addition, she is a former Chair of the New York State Bar Association's Commercial and Federal Litigation Section and member of its House of Delegates.
The Boris Kostelanetz President's Medal is conferred upon a member whose record of dedication and service to the Association and legal profession comports with the highest standards. Judge Baer served as a New York State Supreme Court Justice from 1982 to 1992. Judge Baer is a former president of NYCLA (1979-1981) and co-founder, with his wife, Dr. Suzanne Baer, of the Association's Summer Minority Judicial Internship Program, which has provided law students of color with paid internships with state and federal judges since 1989.
The Annual Dinner is among the myriad NYCLA events taking place during the association's centennial year celebration, which began last April 2007 and ended in December.