Albany Law School to Honor Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam at Annual Kate Stoneman Day Celebration

Albany Law School will honor the late Hon. Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the first African American woman to serve as a judge on New York's highest court, at the law school’s 31st annual Kate Stoneman Day celebration. Albany Law School’s Kate Stoneman Honorary Committee has selected Judge Abdus-Salaam as this year’s recipient of the prestigious Miriam M. Netter '72 Kate Stoneman Award.

The event will take place on Wednesday, March 26 at 5:30 p.m. and will feature a keynote speech by the Hon. Rolando T. Acosta, Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department, who will speak on behalf of Judge Abdus-Salaam’s legacy.

Judge Abdus-Salaam continues to be celebrated for her pioneering work and steadfast commitment to justice. Throughout her distinguished career, she became an icon for women and people of color pursuing careers in law. Judge Abdus-Salaam’s appointment to the New York Court of Appeals in 2013 made history. She was the first African American woman to serve on the state’s highest court. 

First awarded in 1994, Albany Law School's Kate Stoneman Awards are presented to individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to seeking change and expanding opportunities for women within the legal profession. Awardees have influenced other women to pursue legal careers and have opened doors that historically have been closed to women lawyers. The awards are named in honor of Kate Stoneman, the first woman admitted to practice law in New York State and the first female graduate of Albany Law School, Class of 1898.

"We are deeply honored to recognize the extraordinary achievements of Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam," said Albany Law School President and Dean Cinnamon P. Carlarne. "Her pathbreaking career and unwavering commitment to equity and justice make her an inspiration to all of us, and we are thrilled that Justice Acosta will be speaking on her behalf during this time-honored institutional event.” 

Judge Abdus-Salaam graduated from Barnard College in 1974 and received her J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1977.

She began her legal career as a staff attorney at East Brooklyn Legal Services, Corporation A (1977-1980); served as an Assistant Attorney General in the New York State Department of Law, Civil Rights and Real Estate Financing Bureaus (1980-1988); and served as General Counsel for the New York City Office of Labor Services (1988-1991). She began her judicial career in 1992, after winning a 1991 election to the Civil Court of the City of New York. In 1993, she was elected to the Supreme Court, New York County, and was re-elected in 2007. She was appointed an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department in March 2009 by Governor David A. Paterson. She died in April 2017.

Judge Acosta, a longtime friend of Judge Abdus-Salaam and fellow Columbia Law School graduate, will deliver a keynote speech on her behalf. Judge Acosta, a litigation partner with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, served for a quarter century as an innovative and community-minded New York trial and appellate judge, presiding over hundreds of bench and jury trials and thousands of appeals in civil and criminal cases. Most notably, he served on the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department for 15 years, including for six years as Presiding Justice. 

Past Stoneman Award honorees include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, New York State Solicitor General Barbara Underwood, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Honorable Constance Baker Motley, former New York Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye—who delivered the inaugural keynote in 1994—and other leaders in the private sector, public service, and academia. Read more here.

The event is open to the public, and details regarding registration and additional honorees will be available soon.