3 Albany Law Professors Participate in Prestigious Appellate Division Seminar

Albany Law School was well represented earlier this month when justices from all four Departments of the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court convened for a joint seminar in Brooklyn.

Professors Vincent Bonventre, Patrick Connors and Michael Hutter were invited to present on their areas of expertise:

— Professor Bonventre discussed the impact of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death on the decision-making of the U.S. Supreme Court.

— Professor Connors addressed recent developments in New York civil practice, including new legislation.

— Professor Hutter spoke about how to address divides among the departments on significant issues.

Appellate Division justices from the First, Second, Third and Fourth Judicial Departments — some Albany Law School graduates among them — gathered May 11 at the Second Department Courthouse to gain perspective on current legal developments and emerging issues that they may confront moving forward.

“I must say that although I give quite a few talks — and Professors Hutter and Connors even more than me — this was an extraordinary audience,” Professor Bonventre said. He added that justices from the Third Department, which is seated in Albany, were clearly proud of the representation from Albany Law School.

Professor Hutter said the participation at such a prestigious event speaks to “the respect among the judiciary” attained by Albany Law School and its faculty.

Professor Bonventre is the newly appointed Justice Robert H. Jackson Distinguished Professor of Law at Albany Law School. He is the founder and director of the Center for Judicial Process. His blog, New York Court Watcher, is devoted to commentary on developments at the Supreme Court, the New York Court of Appeals, and other state supreme courts nationwide.

Professor Connors, the newly appointed Albert and Angela Farone Distinguished Professor in New York Civil Practice, is a leading authority on New York civil practice and a frequent lecturer at continuing legal education seminars across the state. In June, the Summer 2016 update to the well-known and heavily cited treatise Siegel’s New York Practice will be available and he is currently working on the sixth edition to the publication.

Professor Hutter was appointed to Commission on Judicial Nomination — the entity that selects a list of nominees for appointments to the Court of Appeals — in 2015. A regular columnist for the New York Law Journal, Professor Hutter has authored a book and numerous articles on antitrust and unfair competition and served as editor of Model Jury Charges in Business Torts Cases. He was one of seven nominees for the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, in 1998.