Manhattan federal judge known for groundbreaking e-discovery ruling is retiring from the bench
U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin of Manhattan has announced she is retiring from the bench to join a large New York City law firm as of counsel.
Scheindlin, 69, told colleagues on Wednesday that she will join the firm to assist in client and pro bono matters, and to mentor and teach associates, the New York Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. She also hopes to work as an arbitrator and mediator, according to stories by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).
She plans to retire on April 29 after serving 21 years on the bench.
Scheindlin wrote a series of rulings in 2004 that established what kind of electronic evidence is discoverable and how the costs should be apportioned. The pretrial decisions in Zubalake v. UBS Warburg changed the way litigants approach e-discovery.
Scheindlin also presided in a challenge to New York City’s stop-and-frisk policy before she was booted from the case. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Scheindlin created the appearance of partiality and cited two instances. She suggested to lawyers how they could get the case assigned to her courtroom and she gave media interviews in which she described herself as skeptical of law enforcement, the court said. She had previously found liability for constitutional violations; the case later settled.
Scheindlin also presided in mass tort cases and in the trial of mobster John Gotti Jr.
Another federal judge, U.S. District Judge John Gleeson of Brooklyn, also recently retired to join the firm Debevoise & Plimpton.
