The policy-setting body of the New York State Bar Association endorsed a plan on Jan. 25 to help relieve Family Courts caseloads by creating a new category of Court of Claims judges who would be assigned to high-volume Family Court benches.

The chair of a taskforce that has been working for two years to find ways to alleviate stresses on Family Court said that while the numbers of judges must increase, the courts could ease the burden by administratively assigning more judicial hearing officers, court attorneys, and referees and support magistrates.

The New York State Bar’s House of Delegates meets on Jan. 25 at the Hilton New York.   NYLJ/Rick Kopstein