K

• Author: Elizabeth Smith/Mark Thompson
• Pages: 475-508

KAHN, LAWRENCE E.

Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern

District of New York

Appointment/Election: Joined the Court

in 1996 after being nominated by President

Bill Clinton. He is serving on senior status.

Previous Experience: Justice, New York

Supreme Court, 1980-1996; Surrogate

Judge, Surrogate’s Court, Albany County,

1973-1979; Assistant Corporation Counsel,

City of Albany, 1963-1968; Attorney, private

practice, 1963-1973.

Education: J.D., Harvard Law School

(1962); B.A., Union (1959).

Address: James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse

445 Broadway

Albany, NY 12207

Phone: (518) 257-1830

Judicial Assistant: Scott J. Barnes

ATTORNEYS’COMMENTS

TEMPERAMENT/DEMEANOR

Interviewees seem to truly appreciate

Judge Kahn’s positive demeanor. They said,

“Judge Kahn is congenial,” “His demeanor is

good,” “It’s very professional,” “Judge Kahn is

thoughtful and doesn’t do anything casually”

and “His [mien] is outstanding.”

ON THE BENCH

Interviewees seem impressed with Judge

Kahn’s legal acumen. The majority of them

said, “It’s excellent.” One of them added,

“He’s very experienced.” Others opined, “He’s

very smart” and “He’s as smart as a whip.”

Members of the bar seem to like Judge

Kahn’s courtroom management style. They

said, “[His style lets you know] he’s a gentle-

man,” “It’s appropriate,” “His style is relaxed

and efficient,” “He lets you try your case. He

doesn’t run his courtroom in an authoritari-

an manner” and “Judge Kahn is firm.”

Almost all of the respondents said Judge

Kahn moves matters at an “appropriate”

pace. One of them added, “He gives people

time to breathe.” Only one interviewee dis-

agreed with the majority and opined, “Judge

Kahn moves cases slower than the other

judges.” Every lawyer interviewed said this

jurist is courteous to all who appear in his

courtroom. As two of them put it, “He’s very

respectful of attorneys” and “Judge Kahn is

very polite.” All of the interviewees said

Judge Kahn usually takes the bench on time.

ONTRIAL

Respondents seem to like the way Judge

Kahn listens closely to their arguments and

keeps an open mind. One of them noted,

“You can [even] change his mind.” Litigators

seem to like trying cases in front of Judge

Kahn. They described his courtroom atmos-

phere as “very professional,” “comfortable

and attorney friendly,” “professional. It’s a

good place to try a case,” “appropriate and

not intimidating” and “pleasant.” All of the

interviewees familiar with Judge Kahn’s han-

dling of jury trials said he interacts very well

with jurors. In fact, one lawyer opined, “No

one interacts better with jurors than he

does.” All of the attorneys said Judge Kahn

stays reasonably open to requests for special

jury instructions. Every lawyer interviewed

said this jurist is fully capable of handling

complex civil cases. Those familiar with the

quality and timeliness of Judge Kahn’s longer

written decisions in civil cases said, “They’re

good and he gets them out on time” and

“Judge Kahn’s opinions are well regarded

and they’re issued on time.”

SETTLEMENTS

Some of the lawyers interviewed said

Judge Kahn is proactive when it comes to

helping attorneys settle their cases. All of the

interviewees ranked this jurist’s skills as

either “good,” “strong” or “very good.”

ADJOURNMENTS/CONTINUANCES

Most of the attorneys interviewed said

Judge Kahn is “reasonable” or “about aver-

age” when it comes to granting adjournments

based upon good cause. One lawyer added,

“He’s as sensitive to attorneys’ needs as any

other fair judge.” One final litigator opined,

“Judge Kahn is more likely to grant an

adjournment” than his peers.

PROCLIVITIES

Lawyer seem to be very impressed with

Judge Kahn’s neutrality. Two of them even

said, “He’s very impartial.” Others opined,

“Judge Kahn is absolutely fair,” “He’s impar-

tial,” and “Judge Kahn is very fair.”

SUGGESTIONS/SUMMARY

Additional comments include: “Judge

Kahn’s staff is great.” Interviewees seem

Profiles Kahn 457

very respectful of Judge Kahn’s legal knowl-

edge, overall fairness and courtroom man-

agement style.

KAHN, MARCY L.

Justice, First Judicial District Supreme

Court, New York County

Appointment/Election: Elected in

January 1995; current term expires in

December 2022.

Previous Experience: Judge, Criminal

Court, City of New York. Partner, Anderson Kill

& Olick, New York, NY; Associate, Skadden,

Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, New York, NY;

Special Assistant Attorney General, Office of

the New York State Special Prosecutor.

Admission: Admitted to New York Bar in

1976; State Bar of Arizona, 1975.

Education: J.D., New York University

School of Law, New York, NY (1975); B.A.,

Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA.

Biographical Data: Born June 1950.

Recent Noteworthy Decisions: People v.

Manuel Chuyn, 33 Misc.3d 1233(A) 2011 WL

6187150 (Sup.Ct.NY County December 13,

2011); People v. Gleni De Jesus, ___ N.Y.S.2d

___, 2011 WL 5902077 (Sup.Ct.NY County

November 21, 2011); People v. Joseph

Stevens & Co., Inc., 31 Misc.3d 1223(A), 929

N.Y.S.2d 202 (Sup.Ct.N.Y. County May 2,

2011); People v. Claude Danton, 27 Misc.3d

638, 895 N.Y.S.2d 669 (Sup.Ct. N.Y. County

February 2, 2010); People v. Phillips, 14

Misc.3d 1221(A) (Sup.Ct.N.Y. County 2007);

People v. Michael Garcia, 3 Misc.3d 699

(Sup.Ct.N.Y. County 2004).

Address: 100 Centre Street

New York, NY 10013

Phone: (646) 386-3986

Law Clerk: Christopher H. Benbow, Esq.

ATTORNEYS’COMMENTS

TEMPERAMENT/DEMEANOR

Attorneys seem to like Judge Kahn’s

courtroom temperament. They said, “It’s

great,” “It’s good,” “It’s excellent,” “It’s very

good. She’s thoughtful” and “It’s professional

and relatively businesslike.”

ON THE BENCH

Interviewees praised Judge Kahn’s legal

knowledge. They said, “It’s above average,”

“It’s very good,” “It’s excellent,” “Judge Kahn

is one of the most knowledgeable judges we

have” and “She’s one of the best and bright-

est. Her legal knowledge is very good.” The

majority of litigators described Judge Kahn’s

courtroom management style as either

“somewhat formal” or “very formal.” One final

interviewee just said, “It’s formal.” Most

members of the bar interviewed said Judge

Kahn moves matters at an “appropriate”

pace. The one lawyer who appeared to dis-

agree still praised her by saying, “Judge

Kahn moves cases slower than the other

jurists, but it’s at a deliberate pace that I

appreciate.” Every attorney interviewed said

this jurist is polite to all who appear in front

of her courtroom. In fact, one of them opined,

“Judge Kahn is very polite.” Attorneys also

seem to appreciate this judge’s habit of usu-

ally taking the bench on time.

ONTRIAL

Each interviewee said this Judge Kahn lis-

tens closely to attorney arguments and keeps

an open mind. As two of them put it, “Judge

Kahn is pretty good about this” and “She lis-

tens very closely and keeps an open mind.”

When asked to describe this judge’s court-

room atmosphere, several attorneys said, “It’s

professional,” “It’s very professional” and “It’s

extremely professional.” Others opined, “It’s

relatively comfortable” and “[Her courtroom

atmosphere is] good. It [creates] a positive

experience for an attorney.” Each interviewee

said Judge Kahn interacts well with jurors. As

one of them put it, “She does a good job with

them.” Lawyers also said Judge Kahn is rea-

sonable about granting requests for special

jury instructions. When it comes to sentencing

defendants, litigators said this jurist is “fair.”

SETTLEMENTS

Only one interviewee felt qualified to eval-

uate Judge Kahn’s settlement and negotiat-

ing skills. He said, “She’s very proactive and

has exceptional negotiating skills.”

ADJOURNMENTS/CONTINUANCES

Every interviewee said Judge Kahn is

“reasonable” about granting adjournments

once good cause has been demonstrated.

458 Kahn New York Judge Reviews

PROCLIVITIES

All of the interviewees praised Judge Kahn

for her neutrality. Most of them simply said,

“She’s fair” or “She’s very fair.” Others agreed

and opined, “She’s impartial.”

SUGGESTIONS/SUMMARY

Interviewees strongly praised Judge

Kahn for her legal knowledge and pleasant

courtroom demeanor. They also said she lis-

tens closely to their arguments and keeps

an open mind.

KAPLAN, MICHAEL J.

Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western

District of New York

Appointment/Election: Appointed in

1991; U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Second

Circuit.

Admission: Admitted to New York State

Bar in 1974.

Education: J.D., Boston University

School of Law (1971); B.A., Columbia

University (1968).

Biographical Data: Born in 1947.

Married; two children.

Address: Part One, Suite 350

300 Pearl Street

Buffalo, NY 14202

Phone: (716) 551-4130

Law Clerk: Christopher K. Reed

Secretary: Christine Klimko

KAPNICK, BARBARA R.

Justice, First Judicial District Supreme

Court, New York County

Appointment/Election: Elected to Civil

Court of the City of New York in November

1991; appointed Acting Justice, Supreme

Court in April 1994; elected to Supreme Court,

New York County in November 2001.

Previous Experience: Law Assistant to

Hon. Ethel B. Danzig; Principal Law Clerk to

Hon. Michael J. Dontzin.

Honors and Memberships: Received:

Benjamin N. Cardozo Award, presented by the

Jewish Lawyers Guild, 2003; William

Goodstein Memorial Award for Dedicated

Service and Leadership, received from the

Association of Law Secretaries to the Justices

of the Supreme and Surrogate’s Courts, 1998;

Distinguished Service Award, presented by the

Metropolitan Women’s Bar Association, 1996;

Outstanding Service and Dedication Award,

presented by the International Association of

Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, 1996; Devoted

Service Award, presented by the Jewish

Lawyers Guild, 1993. Member: New York State

Bar Association; Association of the Bar of the

City of New York; New York County Lawyers

Association; Jewish Lawyers Guild (past presi-

dent); Metropolitan Women’s Bar Association;

New York Women’s Bar Association; National

Association of Women Judges; Judges and

Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert; New York State

Association of Women Judges; Network of Bar

Leaders; American Association of Jewish

Lawyers and Jurists; New York Road Runners

Club; New York City Ballet Guild.

Admission: Admitted to New York State

Bar in 1981.

Education: J.D., Boston University Law

School, Boston, MA (1980); B.A., Barnard

College, New York, NY (1975, cum laude).

Biographical Data: Born November 1953

in New York, NY.

Recent Noteworthy Decisions: Sidney

Zion v. NYP Holdings, New York Law Journal,

January 6, 2005, p.18, col.3 (accepted for on-

line publication in the New York Slip Opinion

Service) (I dismissed a defamation claim

brought by a former columnist of the New York

Post against the paper and one of its editors,

finding that the editor’s statement in a letter to

him and others at the Post regarding a particu-

lar column was a non-actionable statement of

opinion and was protected by a qualified privi-

lege); Commissioners of State Insurance Fund v.

Eugene Iovine, Inc., 5 Misc. 3d 487, August 26,

2004 (I directed the State Insurance Fund to

recalculate premiums for workers’ compensa-

tion insurance coverage due from a contractor

on a public works project, finding that certain

supplemental benefits payments which are not

considered to be ‘wages’ under the Labor Law

could not be considered in computing the

amount of premiums due); Doris Chauvancy v.

Dresdner Bank AG, 5 Misc. 3d 1006 (A), June

23, 2004 (I dismissed this action for alleged

gender discrimination and retaliatory termina-

tion, finding that the circumstances of the

Profiles Kapnick 459