Three Civil Court candidates all bring experience -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 9/6/2006
Last Visited: 9/8/2006
The race for Civil Court judge in Manhattan's District 2 features three Democratic candidates: Margaret Chan, David Cohen and Andrea Masley.
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Masley has been an attorney for 15 years, prior to that working as a consumer advocate at the Better Business Bureau for five years.
Presently, she works as principal court attorney for State Supreme Court Justice Charles Edward Ramos.She manages 350 cases at a time in the judge's commercial division.
"The kinds of cases I've been working on for the last eight years are the cases that come before the Civil Court," Masley said.
"It takes a special skill to work with people who are representing themselves," she went on, noting that many litigants in Civil Court do not retain a lawyer."They're nervous, they're overwhelmed, and you need to be able to draw them out and make them feel comfortable, while not stepping over the line of actually representing them."
Masley became interested in law after a two-month internship at the Better Business Bureau that yielded a five-year job investigating companies and mediating disputes between customers and businesses.
"It was such a great job.I really am blessed to have had such a wonderful job so early in my career," she said."Frankly, it changed my life."
Masley said she decided to attend law school because the B.B.B. taught her lawyers can do good.
"We need judges who are going to take the time to try to find the law" that will yield a fair decision, she said.
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Former Councilmember Margarita Lopez and Assemblymember Sylvia Friedman have endorsed Masley.
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LeGaL, a gay and lesbian law association, rated both Cohen and Masley "highly approved."
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The New York Times has endorsed Cohen, calling Masley a close second.
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"The court system needs judges with Ms. Masley's expertise in commercial litigation," the Aug. 20 editorial read, "but in a close call Mr. Cohen's experience as a housing judge earns our endorsement."