As we settle in to the New Year, we find that Manhattan has several new Commercial Division justices to replace those that have retired, while retaining the benefit of two of its most respected recently retired Commercial Division justices who have agreed to stay on as Judicial Hearing Officers, Charles Ramos and Eileen Bransten. All this, of course, is for the good, as the Division, buttressed by a host of new rules over the past several years from the Chief Judge’s Task Force and the Commercial Division Advisory Council—many modeled after the federal rules—have given each Commercial Division judge a “menu” from which to choose for their own individual practices as each justice sees fit.
A Little Background
And yet, as the adage goes, “success breeds success” and we find that the Manhattan Commercial Division continues to see even more complex cases, with higher amounts at stake. This has led to occasional rumblings from some members of the commercial bar that motions appear to be taking longer to decide. Some in the bar have suggested there may be too many new rules on each judge’s plate, and that in choosing to employ them, judges have placed too great a burden on their clerks to administer them. Now don’t get me wrong. The work of the Commercial Division is not only booming, but the court continues to enjoy an enthusiastic constituency of commercial counsel that firmly states they would rather litigate in the Commercial Division than anywhere else.
