Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Sullivan was recognized Tuesday with an award in the name of former U.S. Southern District Judge Edward Weinfeld, something he told the crowd of attorneys and roughly four dozen federal judges gathered at the New York County Lawyers Association’s annual autumn luncheon was one of the highest honors he could imagine receiving. 

“I have no pretensions of being a judge of the quality of Edward Weinfeld, but I certainly can say that I’m a better judge because of him and because of his example,” Sullivan said. “Ultimately, the health of this country and the health of our institutions of justice are going to turn on lawyers and people like you in this room, so together, we should work to get closer to the ideals set by Judge Weinfeld.”

Weinfeld’s 38-year stint on the bench of Manhattan’s federal court from 1950 until his death in 1988 earned him a reputation as a “legendary” judge and had an outsized impact on New York’s judiciary today, judges speaking at Tuesday’s event said. Weinfeld’s care and commitment to mentorship and supporting court attorneys, law clerks and attorneys appearing before him resulted in many of today’s federal judges and attorneys holding, espousing and carrying on his closely held values of extremely hard work and extreme devotion to justice and fairness.

That impact is one Sullivan said he’s felt personally, even though he never met Weinfeld himself.

“Weinfled’s legacy made an impression [on me] when I became a lawyer and I worked with his former clerks,” Sullivan said. “I was at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and I worked with Martin Lipton, and I worked particularly with Paul Vizcarrondo. They were former clerks of Judge Weinfeld, and I learned from them, and I realized later they learned from him that perfection was the standard, even at 3 a.m. in the morning, and that impressed me. I hadn’t learned that in law school, but I learned that from Weinfeld clerks.”

“Then I became an assistant U.S. attorney, and I met Mark Pomerantz, another Judge Weinfeld clerk, who taught me the same things, but also the importance of fairness and our system of justice,” Sullivan continued, adding that when he was an attorney appearing before judges who’d been mentored by Weinfeld, he’d also learn lessons from the way they interacted with him and ran their courtroom.

Sullivan stands with Amy Schulman, Weinfeld’s granddaughter, a former attorney.Photo by Romy Mahmoud

Sullivan has been a Second Circuit Court of Appeals judge since 2018, when the U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination to the bench by President Donald Trump 79-16. Prior to serving on the federal appeals court, he was a U.S. District Judge in the Southern District of New York for 11 years, a position which then-President George W. Bush nominated him. 

Before taking to the bench, Sullivan was the general counsel and managing director of one of the leading risk management and insurance brokerage firms, Marsh Inc., and an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he headed the International Narcotics Trafficking Unit and the New York/New Jersey Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. 

Attorney Scott Klugman stands with Sullivan, Gonzalez and New Yor County Lawyers Association President Ronald Minkoff.Photo by Romy Mahmoud

U.S. Eastern District Judge Hector Gonzalez, who introduced Sullivan, said the appeals court judge embodied Weinfeld’s extreme commitment to justice and dedication to working at all hours of the day and night to ensure the right decision is made. More than that, though, Gonzalez said Sullivan also carries on Weinfeld’s legacy of mentorship, making him a worthy recipient of his namesake award.

“Something that perhaps doesn’t get enough attention is [Sullivan’s] generosity of spirit and the role that he has played in shaping the careers of so many young lawyers who have clerked or interned for him, or who have had the good fortune of taking one of his law school classes,” Gonzalez said. “We often overlook the tremendous role that judges can play in encouraging and inspiring future generations of lawyers. Rich understands that this is not only the right thing to do as a judge, but it is part of the solemn responsibility that judges have to the profession.”

Sullivan’s mentees – who Gonzalez reached out to in preparation for his Tuesday speech – described Sullivan as someone who would arrive at his chambers early in the morning and work until midnight, yet always made him feel like they were the only person who mattered, the Southern District judge said.

“He makes everyone around him feel valued,” Gonzalez said. “All the responses I received had one consistent theme: Rich does what he does not because he must, but because it’s who he is. One of his former externs said it so well when he said, ‘Young lawyers are lucky to learn from the judge’s legal acumen, but I think even luckier to learn from his character.’”

Sullivan with his wife, Annie Sullivan, and his son, Raymond Sullivan, at Tuesday’s event.Photo by Romy Mahmoud

The New York County Lawyers Association has been presenting this award for over 25 years. The organization’s president, Ronald Minkoff, said it’s important to the association to hold the event because it supports and illustrates the group’s important connection with its local federal courts, of which multiple of its past presidents and current members sit on the benches of.

Minkoff speaks at the start of Tuesday’s event. Photo by Romy Mahmoud

Sullivan said he believed the annual award presentation was important to the continued work of New York City’s lawyers and judges, particularly in a time of heightened attacks on the rule of law and judiciary.  

“I think events like this, in [Weinfeld’s] memory, in his honor, invite all of us to try to be a little more like him and to recognize the important role we have as judges and lawyers and citizens of this great country,” Sullivan said.

“Every lawyer in this room has taken an oath-an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” Sullivan continued. “Think about that. Not every profession has an oath attached to it, and whether you’re a private lawyer or a government lawyer, whether you’re a judge or just a regular lawyer in-house, the fact is you have an obligation to leave these institutions stronger and better than you found them.”