WBASNY Virtual Convention 2021 Journal

Judith S. Kaye Access to Justice Award

Hon. Bernice D. Siegal Justice Bernice Daun Siegal was elected Justice of the Supreme Court in 2008, and served as Associate Justice of the Appellate Term, 2nd, 11th, 13th JDs from 2018 to 2020. First elected Judge of the Civil Court of New York for Queens County in 2001, she was appointed Supervising Judge of the Civil Court, Queens County from 2007 to 2008. Justice Siegal serves on the Appellate Division Second Department Guardianship Task Force, is a member of the Pattern Jury Instructions Committee of the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York and served on the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board.

With dozens of published opinions, she has lectured at continuing legal education courses for the New York State Bar, Queens County Bar, Queens Women’s Bar Associations and the Jag Officers of the New York Guard, as well as training programs for judges. She has also authored an article, "Non Military Affidavits: Providing Civil Relief at Home" exploring legal precedent to protect litigants who are in the military. Active in various professional associations, she is a vice president of the Supreme Court Justices Association of the City of New York. She is past president of the Network of Bar Leaders, and former Chairwoman and President of the Brandeis Association. She is former board member for National Association of Women Judges Region 2, member of the Queens County Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. Justice Siegal received the 2019 Hon. Harold J. Baer Diversity Award by the Network of Bar Leaders and has been recognized by the South Asian Indo Caribbean Bar Association of Queens (2019) for her support and the Columbian Lawyers (2008) for her contributions to the bench and bar. In 2019, she received recognition from the Feerick Center for Social Justice of Fordham Law School. Justice Siegal holds a Juris Doctorate from New York Law School, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and was a proud member of the Law Review, National Barristers and the National Lawyers Guild. Previously, in the public sector, Justice Siegal was Counsel to a member of New York City Council. Justice Siegal earned her Bachelor’s with honors from Queens College, City University of New York. She has worked professionally as an administrator at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and as Assistant Director at Lincoln Medical Center. Complementing her service to the legal community, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Workers Circle, and the Board of Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert.