Admitted

• New York State Bar Second Department, 1992

Experience

Practitioner

• Geanine Towers, P.C., Brooklyn, N.Y.

Appellate Advocate

• Perfect and argue Civil, Criminal and Family Court Appeals, based on seven years’ experience as a Court Attorney at the Appellate Division, Second Dept.
• 18 (b) Panels: Attorneys for Children, Second Department Assigned Counsel Plan, Appellate Division, First and Second Departments.

Family Law & Matrimonial Practitioner:

• Family Proceedings including: Custody, Visitation and Child Support and Interstate Child Support Cases in Kings, New York, Richmond, Bronx and Queens County Family Court.
• Matrimonial Work including: Separation Agreements, Contested, and Uncontested Divorces in Kings, Queens, Bronx, Richmond, Westchester and New York County Supreme Court.

Plain Language Conversion Expert

• Convert documents for private practices, websites and administrative agencies into plain language.
• Seminars in Plain Language for Lawyers, materials available upon request.

Administrative Law Judge

• New York City Taxi and Limousine Tribunal A division of the New York City Office of Hearings and Tribunals (OATH) (2003-2011)
• Conducted hearings for Consumer, License Fitness, and Enforcement.
• Ruled in over 400 appeals.
• Created an appellate peer review system, style manual, and digest of appeal cases, for drivers, owners, and other ALJs.
• Reviewed and supervised other ALJ’s appeals.
• Taught Decision Writing, Plain Language for ALJs, and Rules Training classes for new judges.
• Trained members of the appeals staff.

New York City Environmental Control Board

• A division of New York City Office of Hearings and Tribunals (OATH), formerly under Department of Environmental Protection. (2003-2011)
• Adjudicated and decided hearings by mail in Sanitation, Vending, and Department of Transportation and Parks.
• Converted website text and text of binding legal documents into plain language for Legal Director, Helaine Balsam.
• Taught compulsory 3-hour CLE accredited “Plain Language for ALJs” course.

New York State Transit Adjudications Bureau (2002-2003)

• Adjudicated Transit violations.
• Sat in rotating ad hoc appeals panels.

Principal Appellate Court Attorney

• Appellate Division, Second Department (1995-2001)
• Researched and authored over 500 confidential reports on civil, criminal and Family Court, and Article 78 proceedings with proposed decisions attached, for Appellate Bench.

Senior Court Attorney

• Family Court, Kings County, for the Hon. Philip C. Segal and the Hon. Alma J. Cordova (1992-1995)
• Conferenced cases, researched, authored, drafted proposed decisions, and reviewed adoptions. Reviewed objections to Hearing Examiner’s Child Support Determinations.

Attorney Intern (1991-1992)

• Family Court, Kings County, for several Child Support Hearing Examiners (Magistrates).
• Conferenced cases, researched, authored, and drafted proposed decisions on child support.

Education

J.D. Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn, New York, 1991

• Richardson Scholar, Sparer Fellowship Recipient 1991 (declined for Judicial clerkship); Dean’s List, 1989-1991; American Jurisprudence Award, Advanced Constitutional Litigation, 1991 (brief writing and oral argument); Research assistant to Professor Minna J. Kotkin, 1989-91, Judicial Clerkship Clinic, 1988, 89, and 91, summer intern to the Hon. Phoebe K. Greenbaum, and then Hearing Examiners Amy Rood and Hon. Rachel Adams; Child Support Litigation Clinic; Law Library Reference Desk Clerk (10-20 hours a week) 1988-1991; The Justinian Newspaper, contributor; Latin American Law Student Association, member.

B.A. Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York, 1988, magna cum laude

• English Literature, Political Science. Editor, Stillwater, Literary Arts Magazine; Phi Kappa Phi, 1988; Emerson Scholar 1984-1988, Ithaca College Scholar 1984-1988; Shared First Prize, Ithaca College Writing Competition (poetry) 1988; Honorable Mention Northeastern States Poetry Contest, 1987; Honor Society of Oracle, 1984; Dean’s List all semesters attended1984-1988; Teaching Assistant: Ithaca College Writing Center; Hispanic-American Student Association, member.

Publications & Presentations

Adjudicating Hearings at TLT: Developed and taught a CLE-accredited segment retraining TLT (Formerly TLC) Judges on the elements of a prima facie case, and retaining neutrality in decisions, 2010, 2011.

Plain Language Course for TLC and ECB Judges. Developed and delivered the presentation with then ECB Legal Director, Helaine Balsam. The course consisted of a three-hour Power Point and oral discussion, with a written handbook on how to write administrative hearing decisions in plain language. This course, which was made mandatory by OATH after TLC and ECB were incorporated, was administered to over 120 New York City Judges, and legal staff, on eight dates, in 2010. The course was given at branches of TLC and ECB in Brooklyn, Jamaica Queens, Long Island City Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx, and Manhattan. Written materials available on request.

Decision Writing at TLC: Developed a two hour segment on decision writing with initial training for TLC Judges, 2008

Created a TLC Appeals “Yellow Book:” A style manual for TLC Appeals, 2008

TLC Appeals Digest: TLC Appeals holdings indexed and assimilated and digested for TLC ALJ’s, Drivers, Owners and Professionals, 2004, 2008.

*Note: Outside publications and presentations were prohibited for Court Attorneys at the Appellate Division where I served between 1995 and October 2001.

Outside Counsel, New York Law Journal: Foster Parents’ Rights in Custody Proceedings, with Hon. Alma J. Cordova, 1994

A Practical Guide to Child Support Litigation in Family Court, for Brooklyn Bar Association Family Law Committee, (co-authored), 1992.

Affiliations & Memberships

• Brooklyn Bar Association
• Brooklyn Law School Alumni Association
• Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association
• Puerto Rican Bar Association
• Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association
• Divorce without Dishonor
• Appellate Lawyers Network, Linked In
• Family Law Professionals, Linked In
• Mat Law Professionals Subscriber, Timothy M. Tippins, Esq.

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING: Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.