Ann Pfau is an American jurist and former Chief Administrative Judge of the State of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

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Early life and education

She graduated from Wells College

Wells College

Wells College is a private coeducational liberal arts college located in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake. Initially an all-women's institution, Wells became a co-ed college in Fall 2005....

 in 1970. She later received an MA from Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 in 1973 and a JD from the Brooklyn Law School

Brooklyn Law School

Brooklyn Law School is a law school located in Brooklyn Heights, in Downtown Brooklyn, New York.-History:Founded in 1901 by William Payson Richardson and Norman P. Heffley, Brooklyn Law School was the first law school on Long Island. Using space provided by Heffley’s business school, the law...

 in 1984.

Legal career

Pfau began her legal career in Counsel’s Office of the Office of Court Administration. She was appointed in 1997 as an Interim Judge of the New York City Civil Court

New York City Civil Court

The New York City Civil Court is a court hearing civil cases within New York City. By volume, it is the largest civil jurisdiction court in the United States, and handles about 25% of the total filings of the entire New York state court system.-Jurisdiction:...

 and in 1998 as a Judge of the New York City Criminal Court

New York City Criminal Court

The New York City Criminal Court is the general term describing the entry-level court for criminal cases in the five boroughs of New York City....

. She currently is an Acting Supreme Court Justice in the Second Judicial District

New York Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in thestate court system of New York, United States. There is a supreme court in each of New York State's 62 counties, although some smaller counties share judges with neighboring counties...

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Judge Pfau served as First Deputy Chief Administrative Judge of New York until her appointment as Chief Administrative Judge and prior to that was the Administrative Judge of the Supreme Court, Second Judicial District.

Tenure as Chief Administrative Judge

She was appointed Chief Administrative Judge of all New York State courts in 2007 following and appointment by former Chief Judge

Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals

Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals refers to the position of chief judge on the New York Court of Appeals.The chief judge supervises the seven-judge Court of Appeals...

 Judith S. Kaye. As the Chief Administrative Judge, Pfau oversaw the administration and operation of the Statewide court system with a $2.53 billion budget, 3,600 State and locally paid Judges and over 15,200 nonjudicial employees in over 300 locations around the State.

She will step down on Dec. 1, 2011 to take over a new medical malpractice program and try cases in her home borough of Brooklyn.