Margaret J. Finerty

Cornell Law School, Ithaca, New York, 1978 | J.D. | University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 1975 | B.A. | Honors: with General Honors

In May of 2023, I was elected as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and in June of 2023, I was named a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation., 2023 | In 2021 I was appointed by the Governor of New York State to be the representative of the New York State Bar Association to the New York Interagency Task Force on Human Trafficking pursuant to Section 483-ee of the New York Social Services Law. The task force collects and organizes data on the nature and extent of trafficking in persons in the state; identifies available federal, state and local programs that provide services to victims of trafficking, consults with governmental and non-governmental organizations in developing recommendations to strengthen state and local efforts to prevent trafficking, protect and assist victims of trafficking and prosecute traffickers; establishes interagency protocols and collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement, state and governmental agencies, child welfare agencies, and non-governmental organizations; evaluates approaches to increase public awareness about trafficking and makes recommendations on such approaches; evaluates the effectiveness of training programs on human trafficking that have been designed for law enforcement personnel, criminal defense attorneys, social service providers and non-governmental organizations, and makes recommendations for improving the quality and effectiveness of such programs; measures and evaluates the progress of the state in preventing trafficking, protecting and providing assistance to victims of trafficking, and prosecuting persons engaged in trafficking; among other responsibilities. I have attended all meetings of the Task Force to date, during which there are regular presentations by experts knowledgeable in identifying victims of human trafficking, and laws and resources available to assist them. I have organized several educational Continuing Legal Education programs through the New York State Bar Association to raise awareness on how to identify a victim of Human Trafficking and the laws that exist to assist them. See: https://otda.ny.gov/itf/#:~:text=The%20New%20York%20State%20Interagency,%2C%20data%20collection%2C%20and%20recommendations., 2021 | Twice named a finalist with her firm for the Public Justice Foundation’s Trial Lawyer of the Year Award: 2004 for a False Claims Act Qui Tam case against Bayer Corporation and 2011 for a False Claims Act qui tam case against GlaxoSmithKline. | Martindale-Hubbell® highest AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating

Judiciary Committee (Member) | Committee on Minorities in the Courts of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Member) | Judiciary Committee (Chair) | Judiciary Committee (Board of Directors) | New York County Lawyers' Association | American Bar Association (Member) | New York State Bar Association (Member) | International Association of Independent Private Sector Inspectors General ("IAIPSIG") (Member)