New York – JAMS, the largest private provider of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services worldwide, is pleased to announce that the New York State Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts has been renamed the Betty Weinberg Ellerin Committee on Women in the Courts. The official renaming took place at a Committee meeting in April and honored Hon. Betty Weinberg Ellerin (Ret.) for her lifelong work fighting for women’s rights and serving as a leader in the New York state legal community.
The Committee was launched in 1986 to promote equal opportunity and treatment for women and address gender bias in the New York State Unified Court System. Working within the New York court system, the Committee addresses a variety of concerns of women litigants, attorneys and court employees. In recent years, it has acted on behalf of constituencies that range from domestic violence victims to immigrant women to sexually harassed employees to self-represented matrimonial litigants.
Throughout her career, Justice Ellerin has served as a fierce advocate for the equal treatment of and access to justice for women in the courts—including lawyers, employees and others using the court’s services. Justice Ellerin is an advocate, mentor and trailblazer who believes in elevating the voices of the women around her. Her work has made a lasting impact on the legal industry, and her ongoing contributions continue to pave the way for a more equitable and fair justice system.
- Chris Poole, JAMS CEO
Justice Ellerin’s career on the bench included a multitude of prestigious roles. She was the first woman to serve as the presiding justice of the Appellate Division, First Department, and the first woman to serve as the deputy chief administrative judge for the New York City courts. She also was designated an acting Supreme Court justice and elected to the State Supreme Court in New York County.
Justice Ellerin currently serves as co-chair of the Committee on Women in the Courts; co-chair of the Committee on Character and Fitness of the Appellate Division, First Department; and vice chair of the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics. She is a founding member and director of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, past president of the New York Women’s Bar Association, past president of the National Association of Women Judges and past chair of its National Task Force on Gender Bias in the Courts.
In her current role at JAMS, Justice Ellerin serves as a mediator, arbitrator and neutral evaluator, and handles cases that span a wide variety of practice areas. She is also senior counsel at Alston & Bird LLP.
About JAMS – Local Solutions. Global Reach.
Founded in 1979, JAMS is the largest private provider of alternative dispute resolution services worldwide. JAMS successfully resolves and manages business and legal disputes by providing efficient, cost-effective and impartial ways to overcome barriers at any stage of conflict. JAMS offers customized in-person, virtual and hybrid resolution services locally and globally through a combination of industry-specific experience, first-class client service, the latest technology and highly trained mediators and arbitrators.
With a roster of over 450 neutrals and 29 locations, JAMS resolves thousands of the world’s important cases every year. JAMS neutrals are adept at managing the resolution process whether they are conducting in-person, virtual or hybrid hearings.
More information is available at www.jamsadr.com, and you can connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and our JAMS ADR blog. To learn about diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at JAMS, visit www.jamsadr.com/diversity/.
