Hon. Sondra M. Miller
(in Memoriam)

Photo of Hon. Sondra M. Miller

Phone:

Fax:

914-681-8728

Bar Admissions

  • Florida, 1980
  • New York, 1955

Education

  • Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
    • LL.B. - 1953
  • Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts
    • B.A. - 1950

Judge Miller was Chief Counsel to the firm and lead our Appellate Practice and Mediation & Arbitration groups. Judge Miller was appointed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, Second Department by Governor Mario Cuomo in January 1990 (retired 1/1/06). She had served as a New York State Supreme Court Judge in the Ninth Judicial District, having been elected in 1986, and had served as a Family Court Judge in Westchester County from 1983-1986. Among Justice Miller's "firsts" are her law degree from Harvard Law School (she was in its first class to admit women); her election to the Supreme Court, Ninth Judicial District in November 1986 (the first Democrat to win a contested election in the 9th Judicial District in nearly 100 years); and her appointment as Associate Justice, Appellate Division, Second Department, in January 1990 (the first woman in the 9th Judicial District to be so recognized).

 

Honors And Awards

  • Westchester Woman of the Year
  • Pace University Annual Award for Distinguished Service to the Criminal Justice System
  • Sybil Har Kooper Award, Brooklyn Women's Bar Association
  • Founders Award, Women's Bar Association of the State of New York
  • Kings County District Attorney's Office, Women's History Month, Jurist of the Year
  • Horace Mann School Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Achievement
  • New York State Bar Association, Ruth G. Schapiro Award
  • New York State Bar Association, Family Law Section, Award
  • The Women's Medical Association of New York City, "Women of Conscience Award"
  • New York State Bar Association, Howard A. Levine Award for Outstanding Work in the Area of Children of the Law
  • Diane White "Advocate for Women's Justice" Award, Pace School of Law, Pace Women's Justice Center
  • Rockland County Women’s Bar Association Belle Mayer Zeck Award
  • Pace University School of Law Leadership Award, Oct.
  • Honoree, Westchester County Bar Association, Annual Dinner
  • Westchester Women's Bar Association Foundation established its annual scholarship award, "Justice Sondra M. Miller Scholarship"
  • Above the Bar Award ("Pace Setter"), April

Professional Associations And Memberships

  • Association of Women Judges, Director, New York State
  • New York State Council on Divorce Mediation, Inc., Director
  • New York State Bar Association, Member, Committee on Mediation and Arbitration
  • Yonkers Family Court Task Force, Founder and Member
  • Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Former Member, Matrimonial Law Committee
  • Cancer Support Team, Former Director
  • Contact Advisory Committee, Former Director
  • Legal Awareness for Women, Former Vice President
  • Women's Bar Association of the State of New York, Former Vice President
  • Westchester Women's Bar Association, Former President, Vice President and Treasurer
  • The Westchester Lighthouse, Former Director
  • American Bar Association, Member
  • Association of Judges of the Family Court of New York State, Member
  • Florida Bar Association, Member
  • National Association of Women Judges, Member
  • New York State Bar Association, Member
  • Westchester Women's Bar Association, Member,Founder and President
  • Office of Family Services, New York State Office of Court Administration, Director
  • Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, Director
  • New York State Task Force on Family Violence, Chair
  • Board of Visitors, Pace University School of Law, Member
  • Justice In Residence, Pace University School of Law
  • Benjamin N. Cardozo Society, Director
  • Westchester County Bar Association
  • New York County Lawyers' Association
  • White Plains Bar Association
  • Matrimonial Commission, Chair
  • Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert (JALBCA), Founder, Co-President, and Vice President
  • Ninth Judicial District Committee, Chair
  • Governor's Task Force on Youth Crime and Violence, Member
  • Chief Judge's Committee,Examine Lawyers' Conduct
  • New York State Committee on Child Support, Member
  • Parent Education Commission, Member
  • New York State Association of Women Judges, Director
  • Blacks and Jews in Conversation, Member
  • Harvard Law School Association, Vice President
  • Cancer Support Team, Director
  • League of Women Voters of New York State, Member
  • Hadassah
  • Westchester Jewish Center
  • Planned Parenthood
  • Harvard Club

Past Employment Positions

  • Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, Second Department by Governor Mario Cuomo, Associate Justice, 1990 to 01/2006
  • Ninth Judicial District, New York State Supreme Court Judge, 1986
  • Westchester County, Family Court Judge, 1983 to 1986