We are pleased to announce that Hon. Laura E. Drager (Ret.) has joined our firm as counsel, effective February 1, 2020.
Judge Drager is a member of the firm’s matrimonial and family-law practice group, where she will specialize in mediation, arbitration, and settlement negotiations, and serve as a special master in matrimonial and civil litigation matters.
Judge Drager served in a dedicated matrimonial part in Manhattan Supreme Court for 20 years. She presided over 5,000 contested matrimonial cases involving issues of equitable distribution, maintenance, child support, and custody.
Judge Drager is a member of the Statewide Office of the Court of Administration’s Matrimonial Practice Advisory and Rules Committee, a member of the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association’s Family Law Section, a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association’s Matrimonial Law Section, and a director of the New York Women’s Bar Association. She was an adjunct professor at New York Law School for 15 years, and has lectured extensively on matrimonial and family-law issues.
Prior to serving in a matrimonial part, Judge Drager served in the criminal term parts of the Manhattan Supreme Court and Manhattan Criminal Court. Before being appointed to the bench by the late Mayor Ed Koch, she was Chief of the Rackets Bureau in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, an Assistant District Attorney in the Sex Crimes Unit and the Trial Division of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, and an associate at Proskauer Rose.
Judge Drager is a graduate of the University of Rochester (B.A.) and Columbia University School of Law (J.D.).
