Allen Hurkin-Torres

Biography

Hon. Allen Hurkin-Torres (Ret.) has served in the Second Judicial District of the Supreme Court in Kings County, New York since 2002, where -- after initially sitting as both a criminal and civil trial judge -- he was placed in charge of the court's trial-ready inventory of civil cases. In that capacity, he was responsible for managing one of the largest and diverse caseloads in the United States. One of his primary responsibilities involved resolving cases through mediation, and he is credited with more than 15,000 settlements involving all genres of civil cases. Counsel have widely commented that he is a well-prepared, knowledgeable, even-handed jurist who knows how to move a case toward a meaningful settlement. Justice Hurkin-Torres is available for mediation and arbitration of every genre of civil litigation.
ADR Experience and Qualifications  With more than a half-billion dollars of successful settlements involving all branches of civil litigation, Justice Hurkin-Torres has mediated and settled more cases than any other sitting judge in New York State. While his skills as a mediator are widely recognized by the Bar, they have also been recognized by the New York State Office of Court Administration, which runs New York State’s court system. In this regard, he has been a frequent lecturer, teaching courses to both new and experienced judges in the art and science of mediation and settlement skills. His experience on the bench and as the former principal law clerk for the New York State Appellate Division, First Department has led him to be in demand as a frequent lecturer on all aspects of civil practice and litigation for organizations including the New York State Bar Association, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the New York Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the Defense Association of New York, among others. Commissioner, "Feerick Commission": In 2003, Judge Hurkin-Torres' skills as a problem solver were recognized by the Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals who appointed him as a commissioner to help formulate a blueprint for reforming the laws governing the election of judges in the State of New York, with the goal of restoring public confidence in the judiciary. In that role, he became one of 29 distinguished Commissioners to the well known “Feerick Commission,” which included, among others, the vice-president and general counsel of the Hearst Corporation, senior counsel to the Eastman-Kodak Corporation, the former New York Secretary of State and deputy mayor of the City of New York, the former counsel to Governor Cuomo, the former counsel to Governor Pataki, as well as a former Court of Appeals Judge. In addition to his extensive judicial experience, Justice Hurkin-Torres brings a wealth of practical experience in the context of commercial litigation. Besides mediating and settling countless commercial disputes, Justice Hurkin-Torres worked in a family-owned real estate business buying, selling, and developing both residential and commercial properties in New York City. His business acumen was later recognized when he was tapped to be the chairman of a government-sponsored nonprofit organization that provided services to the indigent. He also became a member of the board of directors of an organization that provided management and financial advice to both new and distressed businesses operating in the nonprofit sector. His practical experience also extends into the music industry. During the late 1970's and early 1980's, he wrote and produced several songs and records which endure to this day. In this regard, in the last few years he has negotiated contracts with Hewlett Packard, NBC, and iTunes for the rights to his music, which has been used by, among others, the Jay Leno Show and international marketing campaigns.  Representative Matters During his judicial tenure, Justice Hurkin-Torres managed one of the largest caseloads in the United States. In this capacity, he was in charge of all actions against the City of New York, the New York City Transit Authority, all medical malpractice actions against the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, as well as the entire general civil inventory of trial-ready actions commenced in Kings County. Many of these cases involved high profile matters, including one of the largest settlements of a police shooting case in New York City history. Product Liability: mediated hundreds of cases involving defective products and negotiated one of the single largest settlements in a products liability case ($19 million). He is also the author of the leading case involving the liability of vaccine manufacturers for injuries caused to infants (Militrano v. Lederle Labs, 3 Misc 3d 523) Complex multi-party litigation involving construction defects, property damage, subrogation, first-party claims, and insurance coverage disputes, including actual on site inspections of premises to determine construction defect and property damage claims Commercial actions of every genre from breach of contract claims to accountings. These claims have involved high profile matters such as entertainment law claims involving the rights to royalties from the famed music producer Phil Spector to other commercial matters involving high profile clients subject to confidentiality agreements   Labor Law/Personal Injury: mediated thousands of Labor Law cases involving catastrophic injuries to plaintiffs involving New York Labor Law statutes 240(1), 241(6), and 200, many of which involved complicated insurance coverage issues among multiple defendants   Employment Law: cases involving age discrimination, gender bias, and sexual harassment in the workplace Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities  Recognized by multiple bar organizations for judicial excellence: Award for Judicial Excellence, Brooklyn Bar Association, 2009 Golda Meir Award, Jewish Lawyers Guild, 2009 Charles C. Pinkney Award, Defense Association of New York, 2008 Harlan Fiske Stone Memorial Award for excellence in judicial service, New York City Trial Lawyers Association, 2006 Distinguished Jurist Award, Catholic Lawyers Guild, 2005  Former Member, Tort Litigation Committee, Association of the Bar of the City of New York Articles Editor, The Brooklyn Barrister, published by the Brooklyn Bar Association Frequent lecturer on all aspects of civil practice and litigation for the New York State Bar Association, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the New York Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the Brooklyn Bar Association, among others Regularly teaches settlement and mediation skills at the New York State Judicial Institute Background and Education  Justice, Second Judicial District, Supreme Court, Kings County, NY, 2002-2010 Principal Law Clerk, Appellate Division First Department, New York State Unified Court System, 1999-2001 Law Clerk, Supreme Court, Kings County, NY, 1993-1999 Law Clerk, Civil Court (civil, criminal, and medical malpractice parts), Kings County, NY, 1992-1993 J.D., cum laude, Brooklyn Law School, NY, 1991 B.A., St. Francis College, Brooklyn, NY, 1987

Education

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Admissions/Licenses

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