Tanya R. Kennedy

Hon. Tanya R. Kennedy is an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department, appointed to the court in July 2020. Her eighteen-year career as a jurist commenced in January 2006, serving in the Criminal Court, Civil Court (including service as Supervising Judge), Family Court, and Supreme Court. Justice Kennedy's commitment to legal education is evident in her tenure as a former Adjunct Professor at Fordham University School of Law, where she taught a Juvenile Justice seminar for ten years and participated in various continuing legal education panels, which is ongoing. Justice Kennedy's service extends beyond the courtroom, including membership in the Board of Directors of the New York City Bar Association and as past chair of the organization’s Special Committee to Encourage Judicial Service. She is also Co-Chair of the Wellness Committee at the Appellate Division, First Department; an Executive Committee member of the Women in Law Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA); Assistant Presiding Member of NYSBA’s Judicial Section; member of the Board of Overseers of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she received her law degree; a life member of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association (MBBA) and former MBBA board member; and a past Advisory Board Member of Penn State Law. Justice Kennedy is also a past President of the National Association of Women Judges and a former member of the Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions of the Association of Supreme Court Justices of the State of New York. She is a sought-after speaker at various conferences and the recipient of various professional achievement awards, including the 2024 Professor William Hamilton Leadership Award from the University of Florida 11th Annual E-Discovery Conference, the 2023 MBBA Jurist of the Year Award, the 2022 Award of Recognition from the New York Women’s Bar Association, the 2022 Champion for Justice Award from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Justice; the 2021 Distinguished Alumna Award from Penn State University; and the 2021 NYSBA John E. Higgins, Esq. Diversity Trailblazer Award.