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Friedberg, Reardon Named To Discipline Unit Positions

BY DANIEL WISE
New York Law Journal - Thursday, December 13, 2007 - Page 1, col. 4

PRESIDING Justice Jonathan Lippman yesterday announced the appointments of a new chairman and a chief counsel for the Appellate Division, First Department's disciplinary committee.

The new chairman of the 58-member committee is Roy L. Reardon, a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett who has served in different capacities on the committee for more than a decade.

Alan W. Friedberg, the deputy administrator of the Commission on Judicial Conduct, will succeed Thomas J. Cahill, who had been committee's chief counsel in charge of its 23-lawyer staff since 1998. "Roy Reardon brings a distinguished career and widespread respect and credibility throughout the bar to the leadership of the committee," Justice Lippman said.

Mr. Friedberg, a prosecutor at the conduct commission for 29 years, brings "a proven record in the field of professional discipline and will make a first-rate chief counsel," Justice Lippman added.

Mr. Reardon was appointed to a three-year term as chairman, an unpaid position. He succeeds Paul J. Currari, a partner at Kaye Scholer and a former Southern District US. attorney who is required to step down at the end of the year after serving a maximum of six years, five of them as chairman.

The disciplinary committee has jurisdiction over 78,000 lawyers practicing in Manhattan and the Bronx, and receives about 3,500 complaints a year charging lawyers with misconduct.

The New York City office of the judicial conduct commission, which Mr. Friedberg heads as deputy administrator, receives about 750 complaints a year against judges sitting in the metropolitan area.

Mr. Friedberg will receive a slight increase in annual salary when he assumes his new duties in early January, to $126,764 from $125,000.

Lawyers in the professional, field yesterday praised the new appointments, saying they would bring new energy to the office. Several lawyers said the prior chief counsel, Mr. Cahill, had not had experience in lawyer misconduct work before his appointment and had left the operation of his office to subordinates.

Mr. Cahill's resignation as chief counsel was announced over the summer (NYLJ, July 23). Mr. Cahill, 76, however, had agreed to stay on until a successor was chosen and left his post two weeks ago.

One lawyer said that under Mr. Cahill there was "no real oversight and, with no one pushing, morale dropped and bickering among staff developed."

Another lawyer with a professional discipline practice said that Mr. Cahill "brought a lot of integrity and candor to the job but maybe not a lot of energy."

Two lawyers pointedly said that two highly respected lawyers - Sherry K. Cohen, the committee's first deputy counsel, and Andral Bratton - had run the office's day-to-day operations. The fact that Justice Lippman bypassed the two reflected that he "wanted fresh blood," said one.

Mr. Cahill said in an interview yesterday that the office during his tenure "performed better than it ever had."

"I believe the court and the bar as a whole have been very pleased with our accomplishments," he said.

Mr. Curran, the outgoing committee chairman, said that Mr. Cahill had done a terrific job and had "brought the case load down."

Both Mr. Cahill and Ms. Cohen were named in a lawsuit brought by a former committee staff attorney charging that complaints against some attorneys were whitewashed (NYLJ, Oct. 30). Justice Lippman said the lawsuit had nothing to do with the personnel moves at the disciplinary committee.

Michael S. Ross, who specializes in professional discipline work, called Mr. Reardon "a giant in the profession who has handled many sensitive matters for attorneys and law firms."

Mr. Ross added that over the years he had many dealings with Mr. Friedberg, who "brought honesty and integrity to every issue and both the committee and its staff will benefit from that."

Other lawyers described Mr. Friedberg as "apolitical" and able to bring "excellent judgment" to the chief counsel post.

Mr. Friedberg, 59, worked at the New York City Board of Education before joining the commission staff in 1978.

He rose through the conduct commission ranks to the number two position. Among the high-profile judicial misconduct cases he handled was the removal of former Brooklyn Surrogate Michael Feinberg for awarding excessive attorney's fees to his personal and political friend, Louis R. Rosenthal, whom he had appointed counsel to the Brooklyn public administrator.

Mr. Friedberg also handled the case that resulted in the removal of Queens Supreme Court Justice Laura Blackburne, for allowing a prisoner to use the stairway at the rear of her courtroom to avoid arrest by a police officer who had come to her courtroom with a warrant.