The Honorable Elizabeth A. Garry ’90, Presiding Justice, State of New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department to Deliver 2024 Commencement Speech
Albany Law School is excited to announce the Honorable Elizabeth A. Garry ’90, Presiding Justice, State of New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, as the Commencement keynote speaker for the law school’s 173rd Commencement on Friday, May 17 at 10 a.m.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have someone as inspiring as Justice Garry address our graduates,” said President and Dean Cinnamon Carlarne. “She is a true pioneer, respected leader, and someone who gives generously of her time and talent to mentor others.”
Garry is currently the 16th Presiding Justice for New York State’s Supreme Court Appellate Division Third Judicial Department. She was appointed to that position on January 1, 2018, after she was appointed to join the Third Department in March 2009. Beyond her current duties on the bench, she has decades of experience and service throughout the state’s judicial system.
She is also the current Commissioner and past Co-Chair of the Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Commission of the New York Courts and has served on various boards and professional associations, including:
• International Association of LGBTQ Judges, Director, 2015-present
• New York State Bar Association Committee on LGBT People and the Law, 2011-present
• Albany Law School, National Alumni Association Board, 2011-2019
• Del-Chen-O Chapter of Women's Bar Association of the State of New York, Founding Member
Justice Garry has been recognized with many honors and awards throughout her career including: President's Award (International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges, 2022), Ruth Bader Ginsburg Vanguard Award Program Recognition (New York State Bar Association Trial Lawyers Section, 2020), Capital District Women's Bar Association LGBT Committee Award (2019), Marilyn R. Menge Award (Women's Bar Association of the State of New York, 2018), and the Felix J. Aulisi Award (NYS Trial Lawyers Association, 2015).
An active member of the Albany Law School alumni community, Garry was a member of the National Alumni Association, and received the Kate Stoneman award, one of Albany Law’s highest honors, in 2012. She received the law school’s Humanitarian Achievement Award in 2019.
She regularly participates in law school events, notably the inaugural LGBT Law Day in March 2015. In 2017, she was a panelist for “The State of LGBT Rights” and “Running with Pride,” a discussion on running for elected office and identifying as LGBTQ+, and has served as a judge for the Domenick L. Gabrielli National Family Law Moot Court Competition for many years.
Justice Garry was elected to the Albany Law School Board of Trustees in 2022.
Garry graduated Cum Laude from Albany Law School after she received her undergraduate degree from Alfred University. Following graduation, Justice Garry served as Confidential Law Clerk to the Hon. Irad S. Ingraham, Justice of the Supreme Court from 1990-1994, before joining the Joyce Law Firm in Central New York, where she practiced from 1995 – 2006.
