NEW YORK, June 18, 2002—Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye and Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman announced the appointment of Robert G.M. Keating as head of the New York State Judicial Institute—the first judicial training and research facility in the nation built by and for a state court system. The Institute is a cooperative effort of the Judiciary, the Governor, the Legislature and Pace University and will be housed on the Pace Law School campus when construction is complete.

Chief Judge Kaye stated, "The Judicial Institute is New York’s centerpiece for judicial education, and will provide a venue for research and development regarding justice issues, as well as serve as a hub for judicial scholarship. To head this exciting new venture, no one is more qualified than former Judge Robert Keating. He has the vision, dedication and experience in the legal system that is critical to such a post. We are very fortunate to have the dynamic leadership of Judge Keating during a time when the vital groundwork for this nascent institute will be laid. Under his direction, the Judicial Institute promises to be an institution that will raise high the bar of excellence for the state’s judiciary and one that will serve as a model for court systems around the country."

Mr. Keating is presently a distinguished scholar in residence and Adjunct Professor for the Judicial Honors Extern Program at Pace Law School. After receiving his law degree from Duke University, he entered the legal field as a trial attorney for the Legal Aid Society, and later began working at the District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, eventually rising to the position of Chief Assistant District Attorney. Mr. Keating was the Coordinator of Criminal Justice for Mayor Edward Koch from 1980 to 1982, later being appointed to the Criminal Court bench in New York City and serving as Supervising Judge for Brooklyn and Staten Island. After being named the Administrative Judge for the New York City Criminal Court in 1984, he supervised and developed the Midtown Community Court, which has been recognized by several national organizations for its innovative solutions in justice, as well as inaugurating the first drug alternative to prison program with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. He was designated a Court of Claims judge in 1987 and later became the Administrative Judge for the Supreme Court for Brooklyn and Staten Island. Mr. Keating also has worked in the private sector, as a partner in a law firm, as senior executive vice president of a physician practice management company, and as chairman and CEO of a firm that provided consulting and alternative dispute resolution services. He is the current vice chair of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary and serves on the board of directors for the Fund for the City of New York and the Citizens Union of the City of New York.

Judge Lippman said, "As the Administrative Judge for the New York City Criminal Court, Bob Keating spearheaded  the creation of the Midtown Community Court—an award-winning court that was the first of its kind in the nation and one that has been a model for similar courts around the country. Later as Administrative Judge for the State Supreme Court, he helped engineer several new court initiatives, including the Domestic Violence Part in Brooklyn, and reduced by two-thirds the number of cases previously docketed in the Criminal Term. It is clear that Judge Keating has a track record  for ‘thinking outside of the box’ and the ability to transform good ideas into reality. These qualities will be critical to his new role as Dean of the New York State Judicial Institute, where he will be instrumental in shaping the framework of the Institute and will be undertaking the critical work of developing its curriculum. I thank Judge Keating for accepting this new challenge and look forward to working with him once again."

         The Judicial Institute will provide a forum for:

• Identification of new and emerging legal, technological, social, criminal and administrative trends affecting the courts
  
• Continuing education through courses, seminars and conferences
  
• Advanced study of how interdisciplinary influences, such as technology, medicine, ethics and the social sciences, affect the law and the judicial process
  
• Participation in cooperative education programs involving other branches of government, as well as other state and federal judicial systems

Mr. Keating will begin in his new position this coming August to prepare the Institute for its scheduled January 2003 opening.

Founded in 1976, Pace Law School is located in White Plains, New York, 20 miles north of New York City. The School offers the J.D. program for full-time and part-time day and evening, students. Its post-graduate program includes the LL.M. and S.J.D. degrees in environmental Law and the LL.M. in Comparative Legal Studies. Pace has one of the nation's top-rated environmental law programs and its Clinical Education Program also is nationally ranked, offering clinics in domestic violence prosecution, poverty law, environmental litigation, securities arbitration, and disability law. Pace Law School is part of Pace University, a comprehensive, independent and diversified University with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, and a Hudson Valley Center located at Stewart Airport in New Windsor.