New York, NY, Friday, October 25, 2024 – The Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (“WBASNY”) acknowledges and thanks WBASNY Past President and Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association Past President, a Chapter of WBASNY, Justice Deborah A. Kaplan for her service as the Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for the New York City Courts. WBASNY also congratulates Justice Kaplan on her new appointment presiding over the Alternative Dispute Resolution Part for New York City.

Justice Kaplan has served for decades in some of the busiest courts in the State of New York, including as the Administrative Judge of New York County Supreme Court’s Civil Term, interim Administrative Judge for Civil and Criminal matters in Richmond County, and as the Statewide Coordinating Judge for Family Violence Cases. Throughout her career, Justice Kaplan has regularly collaborated with court personnel, court users, and community members to refine court practices and ensure timely resolution of matters for litigants.

Justice Kaplan’s work to improve the litigant’s experience within the court system has extended to service on various boards and task forces. Justice Kaplan currently Chairs the New York State Judicial Committee on Elder Justice, and Co-Chairs the New York State Justice Task Force, and the New York County Supreme Court Civil Branch Gender Fairness Committee. She is also an active member of the New York State Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts and the New York State Courts Advisory Committee on Court Access for People with Disabilities. Justice Kaplan previously served as a Co-Chair of the New York Hague Convention, the Domestic Violence Bench Guide Consulting Committee, and the New York City Task Force on Domestic Violence.

When discussing ADR efforts, Justice Kaplan has explained that she views “ADR” as “Appropriate Dispute Resolution” because it is “very likely to be more in line with delivering on needs as goals than trial.” She noted the benefits of ADR to include that it is “less expensive,” can assist in “preserv[ing] relationships,” and offers “more creative” outcomes with “more certainty and finality” because litigants must agree to the resolutions. Justice Kaplan’s many years of experience and expertise will serve the public well in her new role. She will conference cases with litigants throughout the five counties of New York City and assist with settlement discussions in various matters, including personal injury, property damage, matrimonial and contract disputes. WBASNY is confident that Justice Kaplan’s experience will help to improve the New York City court system by resolving cases equitably and swiftly.

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The Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY) is the professional membership organization of choice for nearly 4,000 attorneys throughout New York State and the largest statewide women’s bar association in the country. For more than four decades, WBASNY has been a singularly important resource for women lawyers, providing professional networking, continuing legal education programming, leadership training, and advocacy for the rights of women, children, and families. Through involvement with WBASNY’s 20 regional chapters and its 40-plus substantive law committees, WBASNY’s members collaborate with one another on a variety of issues and perform public and community service, in furtherance of its mission to promote the advancement of the status of women in society and women in the legal profession; to promote the fair and equal administration of justice; and to act as a unified voice for its members with respect to issues of statewide, national and international significance to women generally and women attorneys in particular. WBASNY holds United Nations NGO status with the U.N.’s Department of Public Information, and Special Consultative status in association with the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). WBASNY is also a founding member of the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations.