Professional Profile
Judge Miller is Chief Counsel to the firm and leads our Appellate Practice group and Mediation & Arbitration Practice Group. 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).
Judge Miller has also been recognized as a New York Super Lawyer in the areas of Family Law/Appellate.
Click at speaking engagements for a recent partial list of some of Judge Miller’s speaking engagements before various professional groups. Click at news for items of news for Judge Miller published on our web site.
Areas of Experience
Judge Miller leads the firm's Appellate Practice group and Mediation & Arbitration Practice Group. She is also a member of the firm's Collaborative Law, Business Litigation and Matrimonial & Family Law groups. Judge Miller brings her experience and know-how in her work on many thousands of cases and opinions for which she has been a participant. As a former judge who understands the stakes in letting a dispute be decided by the courts, she brings her dispute resolution skills to lead our Mediation & Arbitration Practice Group. In our Matrimonial & Family Law and Collaborative Law groups, she has been involved in every aspect of the firm's work, including, but not limited to the following:
- Advice on and preparation of Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements;
- Preparation of documents incident to an action for divorce, child custody (including child relocation disputes) and related matters;
- Advice and negotiations regarding prospective settlements of contested matters;
- Separation Agreements, Stipulations of Settlement and Uncontested Default Divorces for clients at all income and asset levels;
- Property distributions, maintenance and child support;
- Litigating all aspects of Family Court Proceedings and Divorce Actions, including Orders of Protection, Paternity Disputes, Temporary Support Awards, Restraining Orders, Domestic Violence issues, Exclusive Occupancy of the Marital Residence, Maintenance, Child Support, Equitable Distribution of Marital Property and Establishing Separate Property Claims.
Professional & Community Involvement
Current Officer, Director, Chair, Member
Bar Association Memberships
- American Bar Association
- New York State Bar Association
- Westchester Women's Bar Association
- Westchester County Bar Association
- Women's Bar Association of the State of New York
- New York County Lawyers' Association
- Association of the Bar of the City of New York
- The Florida Bar
- National Association of Women Judges
- White Plains Bar Association
- Former Officer, Director, Chair, Member
- Chair, Matrimonial Commission (Appointed by Chief Judge of New York State Court of Appeals)
- Founder, Co-President, and Vice President, Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert (JALBCA)
- Chair, Ninth Judicial District Committee to Promote Gender Fairness in the Courts
- Member, Governor's Task Force on Youth Crime and Violence
- Chief Judge's Committee to Examine Lawyers' Conduct
- Founder and President, Westchester Women's Bar Association
- Vice President, Women's Bar Association of the State of New York
- Member, New York State Committee on Child Support
- Member, Parent Education Commission
- Director, New York State Association of Women Judges
- Member, Blacks and Jews in Conversation
- Vice President, Harvard Law School Association
- Director, Cancer Support Team
- Member, League of Women Voters of New York State
- Hadassah
- Westchester Jewish Center
- Planned Parenthood
- Harvard Club
Honors & Awards
- Westchester Woman of the Year Award, 1982
- Pace University Annual Award for Distinguished Service to the Criminal Justice System, 1985
- Sybil Hart Kooper Award, Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association, 1993
- Founder’s Award, Women's Bar Association of the State of New York, 1993
- Kings County District Attorney’s Office Women’s History Month 1994 Jurist of the Year Award
- Horace Mann School Alumni Council Award for Distinguished Achievement, 1994
- New York State Bar Association Ruth G. Shapiro Award, 1995
- New York State Bar Association Family Law Section Award, 1995
- The Women’s Medical Association of New York City, “1996 Woman of Conscience Award”
- Rockland County Women’s Bar Association Belle Mayer Zeck Award, 2001
- Pace University School of Law Leadership Award, Oct. 2002
- Honoree, Westchester County Bar Association, Annual Dinner, 2004
- Westchester Women's Bar Association Foundation established its annual scholarship award, “Justice Sondra M. Miller Scholarship”
- Above the Bar Award ("Pace Setter"), April, 2011
Education
Admitted to Practice
Contact Me
If you think you may require the assistance of Judge Miller in any matter, email (smiller@mccarthyfingar.com) or phone her (914-385-1015) with any question you may have.
smiller@mccarthyfingar.com
914-385-1015
914-946-0134
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