Hon. David B. Saxe (Ret.)

The Honorable David B. Saxe served as an Associate Justice, New York State Appellate Division, First Department for almost 20 years and is one of the most honored and respected members of New York’s legal community. After his many years on the bench, Justice Saxe brings unparalleled judicial insight, wisdom and experience as a neutral to NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation).

His illustrious career includes sitting on the most prestigious intermediate state appellate court in the United States. During his tenure on the appellate court, Justice Saxe presided over a wide range of appellate matters that included business torts, contract issues, corporate finance, construction, employment, environmental law, insurance and reinsurance matters, intellectual property, land use and zoning, matrimonial, medical malpractice, product liability, real property, family law matters and probate issues.

Additionally, Judge Saxe sat on numerous medical malpractice cases, both as a trial judge in the New York State Supreme Court, where he tried cases to verdict and on the Appellate Division, where he sat on appeals. Further, while on the Appellate bench, he was involved in numerous appeals involving employment discrimination on alleged grounds of race, age, gender, etc.

Prior to his bench position, Judge Saxe had a distinguished career as an attorney. He served as an associate at the law firm, Berman & Frost (now dissolved) whose successor firms were Lester Schwab, etc. and Sullivan Papain, etc. and are still well known today. He then served as the Consumer Advocate & Director of Law Enforcement for the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs for four years, responsible for the enforcement of the City’s consumer protection law. He also served concurrently, as Special Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of New York. For the years immediately preceding his election to the bench, Judge Saxe was a partner at the real estate boutique law firm, Brett Apfelberg, Epstein & Saxe, where he specialized in cooperatives and condominium law.

Judge Saxe’s judicial career began when he was elected to the Civil Court of the City of New York. Thereafter, he served as Acting Justice of the Supreme Court, New York County for four years. In 1990, Governor Mario M. Cuomo appointed Justice Saxe to an interim vacancy on the Supreme Court and later that year, he was elected to a fourteen-year term as a Justice of the Supreme Court, First Judicial District, and assigned to a Matrimonial Part. Subsequent to that, Governor George Pataki designated Judge Saxe as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department, where he served with distinction until stepping down after nearly two decades on that bench.

Judge Saxe has been involved in all manner of negotiations, disputes and legal proceedings. As an arbitrator and mediator, the depth and breadth of his experience as a distinguished jurist and as a seasoned attorney, allows him to provide deep, impartial and meaningful solutions. He is known for his ability to clearly identify the problem at hand and move cases toward resolution. His area of particular focus is on complex commercial, insurance and real estate controversies, as well as significant experience in resolving high-end matrimonial-related disputes.

Judge Saxe, one of the most prolific and frequently citied Judges in the State Judiciary, has authored more than 900 decisions in his career, many of which received front page coverage in the New York Law Journal and the Official State Reporter, where he was a member of the Committee on Opinions representing the Appellate Division, First Department. His articles and essays were frequently published in The New York Law Journal, New York State Bar Association Journal, the American Bar Association Journal, Trial Lawyers Quarterly, The National law Journal and the New York Times.

Judge Saxe was an Adjunct Professor of Law at the City University of New York for more than 30 years. He received a Certificate of Appreciation and Recognition awarded by the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College of the City University of New York for his long and distinguished service.

Throughout his judicial career, Justice Saxe received many awards including the Meritorious Service Award from the New York County Lawyers’ Association and the Harland Fiske Stone Memorial Award from the New York City Trial Lawyers for “Outstanding Contribution for American Jurisprudence.” He was also admitted to membership in The Society of Benchers in recognition of his “outstanding contributions to the profession of law and to the welfare of the School of Law of Case Western Reserve University” and he was awarded the Benjamin N. Cardozo Award by the Jewish Lawyers Guild.

Justice David B. Saxe is available to arbitrate and mediate cases throughout the United States.