Hon. Shirley Werner Kornreich (Ret.) joins JAMS after serving as a judge in New York State for nearly 24 years, including nine years in the Commercial Division of Supreme Court, New York County. Judge Kornreich presided over both bench and jury trials, and oversaw complex litigation, including the Bextra/Celebrex New York State cases (coordinated with the federal MDL/Judge Charles Breyer) and the New York State Bausch & Lomb ReNu cases (coordinated with the federal MDL /Judge David Norton). She also handled asbestos cases, numerous class actions, securities, real estate and employment litigation and corporate and contract actions.

Prior to her service on the bench, Judge Kornreich worked as an appellate attorney for The Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division, in both Nassau County and New York County, arguing cases in the Appellate Divisions, First and Second Departments, and the New York Court of Appeals. From October 1986 to November 1987, she was a trial lawyer with The Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division, New York County, and subsequently worked as principal law assistant to Justice Ira R. Globerman in Bronx Supreme Court, Criminal Division.

ADR Experience

Over the nearly 24 years of Judge Kornreich’s time on the bench, she has settled thousands of cases involving the following areas:

• Business/Commercial
• Class Action/Mass Torts
• Construction
• Employment/Unfair Competition
• Non-Competes
• Financial Markets
• Insurance
• Professional Liability
• Real Property

Representative Matters

During her tenure on the bench, Judge Kornreich presided over the most complex of commercial cases. Select examples include:

• Schindler v. Niche Media Holdings, LLC, 1 Misc 3d 713 [Sup Ct, NY County 2003]
  First court in New York to analyze the meaning of the LLC dissolution statute, Section 702 of the LLC Law. Judge Kornreich’s “failing financially” standard was adopted by the Appellate Division – Second Department in the Matter of 1545 Ocean Avenue, LLC, 72 A.D.3d 121 (2d Dept. 2010).

• JG Club Holdings, LLC v. Jacaranda Holdings, LLC, [35 Misc 3d 1217 (A)] [Sup Ct, NY County 2012]
  Presided over business dissolution of whether a member of an LLC had standing to sue to dissolve the entity 

• Zelouf v. Zelouf, 2013 NY Slip Op 32073 (U) [Sup Ct, NY County 2013]
  Presided over matter involving a freeze-out merger of a corporation cashing out a minority’s shareholder’s interest in the business

• Slayton v. Highline Stages, LLC [46 Misc 3d 450] [Sup Ct, NY County 2014]
  Presided over matter involving Section 407 of the LLC law

• Shawe v. Elting, 2017 NY Slip Op 31406 (U) [Sup Ct, NY County 2017]
  Presided over TransPerfect global litigation emanating from Delaware Court of Chancery

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS
• Academy of Court Appointed Masters, Civil Justice Award
• New York County Lawyers Association, Hon. Louis J. Capozzoli Award
• Member and Lecturer, New York City Bar Association
• Member, Women’s Bar Association
• Member, American Law Institute
• Member, Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions of the Association of Supreme Court Justices of the State of New York
• Co-Contributor, West Publications’ Third Edition of Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts and the report on “Faster-Cheaper-Smarter Litigation” of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the State Bar
• Member and Board of Directors, Past Co-President, Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert (JALBCA)
• Member and Lecturer, New York State Bar Association
• Lecturer, American Bar Association
• Lecturer, New York Country Lawyers Association
• Lecturer, New York State Judicial Institute
• Lecturer, Practising Law Institute
• Lifetime Achievement Award, JALBCA
• Participant, moot court programs, New York University School of Law, Columbia Law School, Brooklyn Law School and Cardozo School of Law
• Speaker, State Bar’s Commercial Litigation Academy Labor and Employment Annual Meeting
• Speaker, State Bar’s Business Court Panel (focusing on the Delaware Chancery Court)

Background and Education

• Justice, New York Supreme Court, Commercial Division, 1st Judicial District of New York, 2009–2018
• Acting Justice, New York Supreme Court, Civil Term, 1st Judicial District of New York, 2002–2009
• Judge, New York City Civil Court, 1995–2007
• Principal Law Assistant, Hon. Ira R. Globerman, Bronx Supreme Court, Criminal Division Trial Lawyer, Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division, 1988–1995
• Appellate Attorney, Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division, Nassau County and New York County, 1985–1988
• J.D., New York University School of Law, 1975
• B.A., New York University, Phi Beta Kapa, cum laude, 1972