The Commercial and Federal Litigation Section is proud to present its Stanley H. Fuld Award to U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin at its annual luncheon on January 29. The award is presented to a member of the legal profession who has significantly contributed to the practice and development of commercial law and litigation in New York. Judge Scheindlin’s contributions to the law of e-discovery include her groundbreaking Zubulake,1 subsequent Pension Committee,2 and recent Sekisui3 decisions; service on the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules of the Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Judicial Conference of the United States leading to the promulgation of the 2006 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure bringing e-discovery explicitly and constructively within their purview for the first time; and coauthoring the casebook, “Electronic Discovery and Digital Evidence.” This record makes her a deserving recipient of the Fuld Award.
Bestowing the Fuld Award on Judge Scheindlin this year also reaffirms a core value of our profession—the independence of the judiciary. In the last six months, she has been attacked by the media and, more seriously, by public officials for her decisions in the stop-and-frisk cases. Moreover, it is very difficult and perhaps improper for a judge to respond in the court of public opinion. That is where the organized bar must step in.
