Law Day (May 1) has a special significance for me because it celebrates the rule of law of and the triumph of right over might. This year, however, the festivity is a bit dimmed by the loss of a cherished friend who I viewed as the very embodiment of all that we celebrate on Law Day: Court of Appeals Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam.
Sheila and I were friends, contemporaries and confidantes. When she was a judge of the Appellate Division, First Department, I was presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department. When I was chief administrative judge, she was a judge of the Court of Appeals. We shared our thoughts on various legal issues as judges are wont to do, and we shared personal confidences as friends.
