Justice Joseph Covello of the Appellate Division, 2nd Department, who resigned earlier this month, expressed disappointment last week that the pay raise approved by a special commission last month “isn’t a ton of money,” especially since New York’s 1,300 judges have only received one raise in the last 20 years.
Covello called his decision to leave the bench to join an eight-lawyer litigation firm in Mineola, N.Y., “incredibly bittersweet,” but “clearly an economic one.” With his arrival, the firm has been changed to Lynn, Gartner, Dunne & Covello.
