Family Law Section

Hon. Judith J. Gische

Associate Justice, Appellate Division, First Department

New York, New York

Justice Judith J. Gische currently serves as an Associate Justice in the New York State Appellate Division, First Judicial Department. She was appointed in October 2012.

Justice Gische began her judicial career in 1990, when she was appointed to serve as a Housing Court Judge in Kings County. She was then elected to the Civil Court in the City of New York in 1994 and reelected in 2004. She was appointed an acting Supreme Court Justice in 1997. She was elected to the Supreme Court for a term beginning 2009. Among other assignments, Justice Gische presided over dedicated matrimonial parts in both the Bronx and New York County for seven years and subsequently presided over an IAS Civil Part in New York County for eight years.

In 1977 Justice Gische received her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from the State University of New York at Buffalo and was Phi Beta Kappa. She went on to receive her law degree from SUNY Buffalo in 1980.

Justice Gische is a member of Chief Judge Janet DiFiore’s Advisory Committee on Evidence, which produced the recently published online Guide to New York Evidence (https://www.nycourts.gov/judges/evidence/index.shtml). She is also a member of the Appellate Division, First Department’s newly formed Committee on Bias. She is a member of the Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions, Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Justice Gische also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Committee of her alma mater, SUNY at Buffalo Law School. She was an Adjunct Professor at New York Law School where she taught an advanced seminar on Matrimonial Law for ten years and has also been a featured lecturer on numerous occasions for varied professional associations. She has published a number of articles on housing, custody and guardianship issues. She is a co-author of chapter 6 (Witnesses), of the Bench Book for trial judges. Justice Gische is also a member of various bar associations.

Susan L. Bender, Esq.

Bender & Rosenthal, LLP

New York, New York

Susan L. Bender was admitted to practice law in the State of New York in 1980. Susan has an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. In the more than forty years that she has been in practice, matrimonial practice has occupied approximately ninety (90%) percent of her time.

Ms. Bender is a Fellow of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and a former Vice President of the New York Chapter.

Chief Administrative Judges Ann Pfau and A. Gail Prudenti appointed Susan to serve on the Matrimonial Practice Advisory and Rules Committee of the New York State Office of Court Administration, and the Honorable Justice Peter Tom appointed Susan to the Board of Governors of the New York State Attorney-Client Fee Dispute Resolution Program.

Ms. Bender was appointed by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye to the New York Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts, and is a former member of the Advisory Committee on Civil Practice having been appointed by former Chief Administrator of OCA, Matthew T. Crossen. She was appointed by Judge Betty W. Ellerin to the First Department Judicial Committee to Certify Law Guardians. She was appointed by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye to the Matrimonial Commission chaired by the Honorable Sondra Miller. She was appointed by Justice John T. Buckley to the Law Guardian Advisory Committee of the Appellate Division, First Department. Ms. Bender was appointed to the Matrimonial Practice Advisory and Rules Committee of the Office of Court Administration, which is currently chaired by the Honorable Jeffrey S. Sunshine.

Ms. Bender is a past President of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY), remains a member of WBASNY and is a member of the WBASNY Advisory Committee. She is a former Chair of the New York City Bar Matrimonial Committee. Ms. Bender is a member of the Interdisciplinary Forum and formerly a member of its Executive Committee. She is a founding member, former Vice President, Secretary and current board member of Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert (JALBCA); a member of the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association Family Law Committee; a member of LeGal (Lesbian and Gay Lawyers Association); and a member of the American Bar Association Family Law Section.

Susan is a frequent lecturer, an arbitrator and advocate in arbitration proceedings, a mediator in family law matters, and she has served as a Special Referee by Court appointment. She has recently been certified as an arbitrator by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Ms. Bender is routinely chosen to be included in “The Best Lawyers in America” published by Woodward/White, Inc. and is routinely named a “Super Lawyer.”

Hon. Mark C. Dillon

Associate Justice, Appellate Division, Second Department

Brooklyn, New York

Stephen Gassman, Esq.

Gassman Baiamonte Gruner, P.C.

Garden City, New York

Stephen Gassman is the senior partner in the firm of Gassman Baiamonte Gruner, P.C., Garden City, N.Y. which limits its practice to matrimonial and family law. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and New York Law School.

Mr. Gassman is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers; has served as President of the Bar Association of Nassau County, New York, and Chair of the Family Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. He is a member of the statewide Matrimonial Practice and Rules Committee of the Unified Court System of the State of New York. He has also served as Chair of the Matrimonial & Family Law Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association, as President of the Nassau County Bar Association, and as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Touro Law School, teaching Advanced Family Law. Mr. Gassman has also served as a member of the Judicial Hearing Officer Screening Committee for the Second Judicial Department, a member of the Advisory Board of the Safe Center, and a member of the Law Guardian Advisory Committee for the Tenth Judicial District.

Mr. Gassman has co-authored with Evidence for Matrimonial Lawyers and Matrimonial Valuation and has authored a book entitled Cross Examination: A Primer for the Family Lawyer published. Published by the American Bar Association. He has also co-authored with Rosalia Baiamonte the “Library of New York Matrimonial Law Forms”, published by the New York Law Journal Press.

He has been a lecturer at matrimonial law seminars and symposiums conducted under the aegis of the New York State Bar Association; Family Law Section ABA; American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers; “New York Law Journal”, NYS Bar Association, American Bar Association, Nassau County Bar Association, Suffolk County Bar Association, Kings County Bar Association, Office of Court Administration – Judicial Seminars, Westchester County Bar Association, Appellate Division Second Department, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, New York County Lawyers Association, Matlaw Systems, New York State Trial Lawyers Association, Family Court Law Guardian Seminars – Tenth Judicial District; and numerous other bar groups.

Stephen Gassman has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for over 30 years and has been listed in New York Super Lawyers since its inception in 2007. He has been a guest and moderated television shows dealing with matrimonial law on Court TV and Lawline.

Additionally, Mr. Gassman has had bestowed upon him the award of “Distinguished Past President” by the Nassau County Bar Association, and the award as an “Education Partner” by Nassau Boces.

Mr. Gassman is the founder of the We Care Fund, the charitable arm of the Nassau County Bar Association, and was the first recipient of the award honoring extraordinary service to this charity, the award known as the Stephen Gassman Award.

Mr. Gassman is married and has three children and four grandchildren.

Mr. Gassman maintains the AV Preeminent Rating, Martindale-Hubbell’s highest possible rating for both ethical standards and legal ability, even after first achieving this rating in 1981. This rating represents the pinnacle of professional excellence. It is achieved only after an attorney has been reviewed and recommended by their peers – members of the bar and the judiciary.

Stephen continues to be one of the Ten Leaders in Matrimonial Law on Long Island.

On May 11, 2019, Stephen Gassman was honored as the recipient of the Nassau County Bar Association’s Distinguished Service Medallion, the Association’s highest honor which is awarded to an individual for service that has enhanced the reputation and dignity of the legal profession.

Hon. Stan L. Pritzker

Associate Justice, Appellate Division, Third Department

Albany, New York

• Appointed to Third Department on May 29,
• Graduated from State University of New York Buffalo with bachelor’s degree and Masters in Social Work (1980).
• Graduated from John’s Law School evening program (1986).
• Engaged in private practice for nearly 20 years.
• Elected to Washington County Court in 2004 and presided in County, Family, Surrogate’s and Drug
• Designated as Acting Supreme Court Justice in
• Elected Supreme Court Justice, 4th Judicial District in 2013.
• Member of the Family Court Rules Advisory Committee from 2007-2014.
• Received certification from Advanced Science & Technology Adjudication Resource Center (ASTAR) in
• Chaired Washington County Bar Association Public Defender Committee.
• Appointed as a member to the Unified Court System’s Second Special Commission on Fiduciary
• Recognized in 2011-2020 by Southern Adirondack BOCES for providing internships for local high school
• President: Washington County Bar Association 2015-2017.
• Co-Chaired NYS Bar Association Task Force on Rural Justice and co-authored report (2019-2020).
• Current Third Department representative for Attorney for Child Advisory Committee (2020).
• Participant: National Courts and Sciences Institute Covid 19 project.

Bruce J. Wagner, Esq.

Support Magistrate in Schenectady and Montgomery

County Family Courts

Bruce J. Wagner is a Support Magistrate in Schenectady and Montgomery County Family Courts as of September 30, 2021. Prior to that appointment, he was Chair of the Matrimonial & Family Law Practice Group at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP, Albany, NY, from July 1, 2020 to September 29, 2021 and held the same position at McNamee Lochner P.C., Albany, NY from November 2002 through June 30, 2020, where his primary areas of practice were matrimonial law and appeals beginning in 1987. He is a 1982 graduate of Cornell University and a 1985 graduate of Albany Law School of Union University. He was an associate at Maynard O’Connor & Smith, Albany, NY from August 1985 through December 1986. In September 2002, he was appointed as a Town Justice in the Town of Schodack (pronounced sko’-dak), Rensselaer County, was thereafter elected to four 4-year terms, and chose not to run for a 5th term in November 2018, serving more than 16 years through December 31, 2018, and having also been designated on a regular basis as an Acting City Court Judge (Criminal, Civil and Traffic Parts) in the Third Judicial District. Mr. Wagner is a Past President of the Rensselaer County Magistrates’ Association, having served two-year terms in 2010-2011 and 2014-2015, and is a member of the New York State Magistrates’ Association. In October 2016, he was selected by his peers as a Diplomate of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers, a select group of 100 of the top family law trial lawyers from across the United States. He is listed in all editions 1999 through 2022 of The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward-White) and has a 2021 peer rating of AV® Preeminent™ in Martindale-Hubbell. Based on peer voting, Mr. Wagner has been named to all editions 2007 through 2021 of Super Lawyers – Upstate New York and was included in the 2019 “Top 50” list and 2018 “Top 10” list for Upstate New York.

He has also placed in Super Lawyers “Top 25” in the Hudson Valley for 14 of the last 15 years, including 2021. Mr. Wagner has twice been selected by peer voting as the Albany Best Lawyers in America Family Law Lawyer of the Year for years 2020 and 2012. He was the subject of a profile entitled “From Constitutional Law to the Court of

Appeals” in the 2011 New York-Upstate edition of Super Lawyers. From January 2005 to January 2007, Mr. Wagner served as President of the 167-member American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, New York Chapter, which is part of a national organization of about 1,600 Certified Fellows. He is also a Certified Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers. Mr. Wagner is a Past Chair (2010-2012) of the 2,700-member NYSBA Family Law Section, having previously served the section for 2 years each as Financial Officer, Secretary and Vice Chair. He has served as a co-chair of the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the NYSBA Family Law Section since June 2000. Since 1998, Mr. Wagner has been a representative from the 3rd Judicial District to what is now the Chief Administrative Judge’s Matrimonial Practice Advisory and Rules Committee. In April 2015, he was appointed by the Chief Administrative Judge to the 3rd Department Judicial Hearing Officer Selection Advisory Committee. Mr. Wagner is a member of the Rensselaer County, Albany County, New York State and American Bar Associations. He is a frequent lecturer and author for continuing legal and judicial education programs which have been sponsored by the Albany, Broome, Columbia, Nassau, New York City, Onondaga & Oswego, Queens, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Westchester County Bar Associations, the NYS Bar Association, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the Appellate Division (First and Third Departments), the NYS Judicial Institute (Judicial and Court Attorney Seminars), the Association of NYS Supreme Court Justices, the Rensselaer and Columbia County Magistrates’ Associations, the Capital District Women’s Bar Association Legal Project, and other organizations. During his years of judicial service, he was a faculty member at the Advanced Judicial Education Program for Town & Village Justices and at the Basic Certification Course for newly elected Town & Village Justices. Mr. Wagner and his wife, Janet, reside in Schodack and have two children, one who is a licensed master social worker at a NYC hospital and in private practice, and one who is a registered nurse at a NYC hospital. He has served as: an Assistant Scoutmaster or Committee Member of Boy Scout Troop 53, Castleton and as a Merit Badge Counselor for Twin Rivers Council, Boy Scouts of America, since 2002; a Sunday School Teacher for the First United Methodist Church, East Greenbush; an assistant coach for the East Greenbush Girls’ Softball League; Conductor of the former Hendrick Hudson Male Chorus, East Greenbush (1989-2003 and 2011-2016); a co-Conductor of the former Yankee Male Chorus (1994-2013); President of the Mohawk-Hudson Male Chorus Association (2008-2016); and Choir Director for the First United Methodist (2010-2017) and Holy Spirit Roman Catholic (1984-1987) Churches, East Greenbush.

Hon. Tracey A. Bannister

Associate Justice, Appellate Division, Fourth Department

Buffalo, New York

Hon. Tracey A. Bannister is a judge on the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department. Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed her on November 1, 2019.

Prior to her appointment, Judge Bannister was a justice of the Erie County Supreme Court in the 8th Judicial District of New York. She was elected to this position in 2008.

Judge Bannister received her B.A. degree from Rutgers University in 1981 and her J.D. degree from DePaul University / UB Law in 1984.

Judge Bannister began her career in 1984 as a trial attorney. She then became a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Jerome Gorski in 1989. She worked under this judge in the Supreme Court and Appellate Division (4th Dept.) until 2008. She was also appointed an acting village justice on the Kenmore Village Court in 2006. She was elected to the Supreme Court in 2008.

Joan Casilio Adams, Esq.

J. Adams & Associates, PLLC

Buffalo, New York

Hon. Jeffrey S. Sunshine

Supreme Court Justice, Kings County; Statewide Coordinating Judge for Matrimonial Cases

Brooklyn, New York

Hon. Cheryl A. Joseph

Acting Supreme Court Justice and Supervising Judge of the Matrimonial Parts, Suffolk County

Central Islip, New York

Judge Joseph was appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo to the NYS Court of Claims on May 5, 2015. She currently presides over matrimonial cases in the Supreme Court, Suffolk County. In August, 2020 Judge Joseph was named Supervising Judge of the Matrimonial Parts in Suffolk County, becoming the first African-American judge in Suffolk’s history to be elevated to a managerial administrative position. Her professional experience includes the positions of Adjunct Professor of Law at Touro Law Center in Central Islip, New York; Support Magistrate in Family Court (NYC and Suffolk County); Supervising Court Attorney in Queens Family Court; Domestic Violence Court Coordinator for the Center for Court Innovation, and Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan.

Judge Joseph is a frequent lecturer and presenter on family and matrimonial law for various organizations including the New York State Judicial Institute, the New York State Bar Association and the Suffolk County Bar Association. In April 2021 Judge Joseph was appointed Chairperson of the Committee on Equal Justice in the Courts in Suffolk County. Additionally, she serves as a member of the New York State Unified Court System’s Access to Justice Committee, the Matrimonial Practice Advisory and Rules Committee, the Matrimonial Curriculum Committee for the New York State Judicial Institute, the Advisory Committee on Attorneys for Children for the 10th Judicial District and Suffolk County Court’s Women in the Courts Committee.

Judge Joseph received her Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from New York University’s College of Arts and Science in 1993. She received her Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law in 1996 wherein she also received the Myron L. Greene Award for Oral Advocacy.

Judge Joseph was born in Brooklyn, New York to Edward and Ruby Joseph who both immigrated to the United States from the West Indies. She was raised in Nassau County and currently resides in Suffolk County with her two sons, Bryce age 17 and Ethan age 14.