This article has been excerpted and adapted from remarks the author gave upon receiving the Lifetime Achievement award at the NYLJ Professional Excellence Awards on Oct. 23, 2019.

I am of course honored to win this award, and very much appreciate the gracious remarks by Judge Rolando Acosta in his introduction. Luckily for me, the Yankees were eliminated from World Series contention. Otherwise, Judge Acosta would no doubt be at the game, not here with us. For those of you who don’t know, he is an avid fan and had a storied baseball career before he went to law school.