Hon. A. Gail Prudenti
Former Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts of New York State and founding member of Mediation Solutions NY, LLC, is bringing her judicial and practical experience to our panel of neutrals.
Judge Prudenti is the former Dean of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. She joined the Law School on September 1, 2015, as Executive Director of the Center for Children, Families and the Law. On May 1, 2017, she was named Dean of Hofstra Law. Following a tenure of six years, she stepped down as Dean on June 30, 2023.
Prior to joining Hofstra Law, Judge Prudenti distinguished herself as a well-respected jurist and hands-on administrator throughout a judicial career that lasted more than two decades. Most recently, she served as the Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts of New York State, having been appointed by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman on December 1, 2011. As Chief Administrative Judge, she supervised the administration and operation of the statewide court system, with a budget of over $2.7 billion, 3,600 state and locally paid judges and 15,000 non-judicial employees in over 350 court facilities.
Before being appointed as Chief Administrative Judge, she served as the Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department in New York State, the first woman to hold that position. She was appointed in February 2002, by then-Governor George E. Pataki. Before that, she was the first woman from Suffolk County to serve as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department. She also served as the Surrogate in Suffolk County for five years.
In her various leadership roles, Judge Prudenti has developed innovative programs and instituted many initiatives to enhance the administration of justice and promote the public’s trust and confidence in the courts. In April 2020, Judge Prudenti was appointed to a newly established COVID-19 Recovery Task Force to oversee the pro bono network of lawyers who would assist New Yorkers suffering from the pandemic. The Task Force is a joint effort of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) and the state court system.
Judge Prudenti earned her law degree from the University of Aberdeen, in Scotland, which also awarded her an honorary Doctorate of Laws in 2004 and an honorary appointment as Professor in the School of Law. She was also awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws in 2016 from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law. She graduated from Marymount College of Fordham University with honors.
She lives with her husband and fellow lawyer and former Suffolk County Attorney, Robert J. Cimino, in Great River, Long Island, New York.
Judge Prudenti is available for mediations or arbitrations virtually or at any of our office locations.
Mediating/Arbitrating Cases In:
- Estates and Trusts/Surrogate’s Court matters
- Guardianships
- Elder Law
- Real estate transactions
- Contract disputes
- Municipal law
- Personal injury and negligence
- Matrimonial and family law
Recent Honors and Awards
Honoree, Most Dynamic Women Leaders, Long Island Business News, 2023
Honoree, Long Island Business Influencers in Law, Long Island Business News, 2023
Recipient of Suffolk County Bar Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, 2022
Selected as a Long Island Business News (“LIBN”) Top 50 Most Powerful Women, 2022
Selected as a LIBN Power 25 in Law, 2022
Memberships and Professional Activities
Member, New York State COVID-19 Recovery Task Force established in partnership with the York State Bar Association and New York State Unified Court System, to oversee the pro bono network of lawyers who will be assisting New Yorkers suffering from the pandemic, 2020 - present
Member, Executive Board of the Long Island Real Estate Group (LIREG), 2020 - present
Member, Task Force on New York State Bar Exam/Uniform Bar Exam, New York State Bar Association, 2019 - present
Member, Board of Directors of BankUnited, Inc., 2015 - present
Member, Advisory Board for the Paralegal Program, Hofstra University, 2019 - present
Member, Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP), Diocese of Rockville Centre, 2017 - present
Member, Long Island Advisory Committee of ProBono Partnership, 2017
Honorary Chair, Joint Task Force of Nassau and Suffolk County Bar Associations, to explore the feasibility of creating a fifth judicial department to hear and decide appeals from courts of Long Island, 2017 - present
Member, Nassau County Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts, 2017 - present
Member, Advisory Council, Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation, 2017
Chair, NYS Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, 2016 - present
Member, Judicial Restoration of Parent Education in New York State (JUROPE), 2017 - present
Member, New York State Permanent Commission on Access to Justice, 2015 - present
Chair, Commission on Statewide Attorney Discipline, 2015
Member, Advisory Committee on the Uniform Bar Examination, November, 2014 - 2015
Professional Experience
Maurice A. Deane School of Law
- Dean (May 2017 – June 2023)
- Interim Dean, (Jan. 2017 – April 2017)
- Executive Director, Center for Children, Families and the Law (Sept. 2015 – June 2023)
- Senior Associate Dean of Operations (2016)
- Special Advisor to the Dean (2015 – 2016)
Chief Administrative Judge, New York State Unified Court System, Office of Court Administration (December 2011 to July 2015)
Presiding Justice, Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department (2002 – 2011)
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department (2001 – 2002)
Justice, Supreme Court of the State of New York, Tenth Judicial District (ran concurrent with Chief Administrative Judge and Presiding Justice appointments) (2001 - 2015)
Acting Justice, Supreme Court of the State of New York, Guardianship Part, Supreme Court, Suffolk County (1999 -2000)
Surrogate, Surrogate's Court, Suffolk County (1995 - 2000)
Acting Justice, Supreme Court of the State of New York, Tenth Judicial District (1996 - 2000)
Justice, Supreme Court of the State of New York, Tenth Judicial District (1992 to 1994)
Dedicated Matrimonial Part, Supreme Court, Suffolk County (1992 - 1994)
General Practitioner, Emphasis upon Trusts and Estates (982 – 1991)
Assistant District Attorney, Suffolk County District Attorney's Office (1980 - 1982)
Law Clerk, Suffolk County Surrogate’s Court (1978 - 1980)
Education
University of Aberdeen, Bachelor of Laws, July 1978
Marymount College of Fordham University, B.A., 1974