A recent article by retired Court of Appeals Judge Joseph Bellacosa, a mentor and dear friend, recounting the Court of Appeals’ decision in Flushing National Bank prompted my recollection of a most memorable experience in my professional life.
In August 1975, having recently graduated from St. John’s University School of Law, I reported to work in the Buffalo chambers of Matthew J. Jasen, the senior associate Judge of the Court of Appeals. One late September day, the judge called me into his office and said that the court was going to hear argument on Friday, Sept. 26, 1975, on a single case at the New York City Bar Association on 44th Street in Manhattan. Although the junior clerk, as I was from the New York City area, the Judge offered me the opportunity to assist him and, as a side benefit, have a weekend at home. I eagerly accepted.
