Judiciary
Skadden, Not Retirement, Is Next Career Path for Judith Kaye
Posted Feb 17, 2009, 10:47 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
New York’s former chief judge, Judith Kaye, will join Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
The New York Times City Room blog calls Kaye’s decision to join the firm in an of counsel role “a coup” for Skadden. She will work on public interest matters at the law firm, including projects on the needs of children in courts and diversity in the legal profession.
Kaye was forced to retire in December when she reached age 70 under mandatory retirement rules. She served as chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals for 15 years and as a judge on the court for 25 years, the New York Law Journal reports. Before that, she worked at Sullivan & Cromwell then became the first woman partner at Olwine, Connelly, Chase, O’Donnell & Weyher, according to the Times.
Kaye told the New York Law Journal that she chose Skadden because she knows lots of people who work there. "I have good friends there,” she said. She acknowledged she has “so much to learn about the world of law firms" but said she wasn’t ready to give up working. “Retirement is not something that I contemplated, ever."
Kaye made a similar statement to the Times. “I just have so much left to do. I’ve never thought of stopping, and I’ve never thought of writing a book.”