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Mission Statement

The Business Court Representative Program is designed to provide educational opportunities for judges on cutting edge business law developments. The program is also designed to provide the Section members with exposure to judicial leaders as well as an opportunity to provide their input on those same developments and gain their insights and perspectives on business and commercial litigation. One focus of the Business Court Representatives Program is to provide younger lawyers with exposure to judicial leaders in non-adversarial settings. A separate focus is the creation of better communications between the ABA Judicial Division and the Business Law Section

Business Court Representatives are individuals who are current members of the judiciary who preside over courts or dockets consisting primarily of complex business and commercial litigation. Business Court Representatives need not have been active in the Section previously. One of the purposes of the Business Court Representative Program is to make the Business Court Representatives, and through them other members of the judiciary, aware of the activities of the Section.

Obligations of BCRs

A critical feature of the Program is a commitment by selected Business Court Representatives to share wisdom and experience with members of the Section by:

  • Attending the Section Fall Meeting (usually held in early September) and the Section Spring Meeting (usually held in March or early April).

  • Attending meetings of the Business and Corporate Litigation committee and other committees to which they may be assigned.
  • Attending meetings of other committees in which they have an interest.
  • Providing input, if requested, to the Section's Programs committee and the Publications committee.

The Selection Process

Each year, two to three Business Court Representatives will be chosen by the Judges Initiative committee, with the approval of the Section Chair. Each Representative will serve a two-year term.

Representatives

Current Business Court Representatives:

2023-2025

Hon. Richard Platkin
Albany Court Claims
Albany, NY

Hon. Patricia A. Winston
Superior Court of Delaware
Wilmington, DE

Former Business Court Representatives:

Hon. Julianna Theall Earp
North Carolina Business Court
Greensboro, NC

Hon. Anne C. Martin
Chancery Court of Davidson County
Nashville, TN

Hon. Elizabeth Hazlitt Emerson
Supreme Court of the State of New York Commercial Division
New York, NY

Hon. John E. Jordan
Juvenile Justice Center
Orlando, FL

Hon. Peter H. Kirwan
Santa Clara County Superior Court
San Jose, CA

Hon. Meghan A. Adams
Superior Court of Delaware
Georgetown, DE

Hon. Lita M. Popke
Michigan Business Court
Detroit, MI

Hon. Saliann Scarpula
New York Commercial Division
New York, NY

Hon. Louis A Bledsoe, III
North Carolina Business Court
Charlotte, NC

Hon. Randa M. Trapp
Superior Court of California, San Diego
San Diego, CA

Hon. Heather A. Welch
Indiana Commercial Court
Indianapolis, IN

Hon. Jerome Abrams
First Judicial District of Minnesota
Dakota County, MN

Hon. Nancy L. Allf
8th Judicial District Court
Las Vegas, NV

Hon. Gail A. Andler
State of California Superior Court, Orange County
Santa Ana, CA

Hon. Janet Ellen Barton
Maricopa County Superior Court
Phoenix, AZ

Hon. Elihu M. Berle
Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

Hon. Mark I. Bernstein
Court of Common Pleas Commerce Program
Philadelphia, PA

Hon. Audrey J. Carrion
Baltimore City Circuit Court
Baltimore, MD

Hon. Mark Denton
Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County
Las Vegas, NV

Hon. Albert Diaz
North Carolina Business Court
Charlotte, NC

Hon. Timothy Driscoll
New York State Supreme Court
Nassau County

Hon. James L. Gale
North Carolina Business Court
Greensboro, NC

Hon. Allen S. Goldberg
Law Division, Commercial Court
Chicago, IL

Hon. Betsy Gonzalez
Eighth Judicial District Court
Las Vegas, NV

Hon. William F. Highberger
Superior Court of CA for County of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

Hon. Joseph C. Iannozzone
State Court of Gwinnett County
Lawrenceville, GA

Hon. Mary Miller Johnston
Superior Court of Delaware
Wilmington, DE

Hon. C. Darnell Jones
US District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

Hon. Richard Anthony Licht
Rhode Island Superior Court
Providence, RI

Albert J. Matricciani, Jr.
Circuit Court of Baltimore City
Baltimore, MD

Hon. Patricia McInerney
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas
Philadelphia, PA

Hon. Clifton Newman
South Carolina Circuit Court
Kingstree, SC

Hon. Denise Owens
5th Chancery District Court
Jackson, MS

Hon. Donald F. Parsons
Court of Chancery
Wilmington, DE

Hon. Renee Roche
Orange County Civil Business Court
Orlando, FL

Hon. Maureen Durkin Roy
State of Illinois
Chicago, IL

Hon. James Stephen Schuster
Cobb County Superior Court
Marietta, GA

Hon. Brian Van Camp
State of California Superior Court, Sacramento County
Sacramento, CA

Hon. Sean D. Wallace
Prince George's County Circuit Court
Upper Marlboro, MD

Hon. Christine A. Ward
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas
Pittsburgh, PA

Hon. Ira B. Warshawsky
Mineola, NY

Hon. Christopher Comas Wilkes
23rd Judicial Circuit-WV Business Court Division
Martinsburg, WV

Hon. Christopher P. Yates
17th Circuit Court, Kent County
Grand Rapids, MI