Judge Eileen Bransten ’79, a justice on the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, was a pathbreaking leader on the bench and mentor who helped shape the Commercial Division during her decades-long career. In a moving tribute held at Fordham Law, she was honored by her former colleagues, teachers, and law clerks.
“Eileen Bransten was a trailblazer,” said Dean Matthew Diller of Bransten, who died in 2022. “She was a woman leading the way in the field of commercial and business law, which was an incredibly male-dominated field.”
Dean Emeritus John Feerick ’61, who taught Bransten while she was a student at Fordham Law, remembered her as “the kind of student a teacher cherishes, applauds, remembers, and hopes will realize all her life’s goals.”
The two kept in touch over the years, and when Bransten was elected to the Civil Court and later the New York State Supreme Court, Feerick spoke at both induction ceremonies. He recalls predicting at each that Bransten “would have a great career as a judge, upholding the highest standards of impartiality and independence.”
Bransten had an illustrious background. Her mother, Ruth McKenney, was a journalist and author of the bestselling book My Sister Eileen, which was later adapted to a play, musical, and film. McKenney’s sister, the titular Eileen, was married to author Nathaniel West, and Eileen Bransten was named for her aunt.
After graduating from Fordham Law, Bransten served in the Queens County District Attorney’s Office and later became the Principal Court Attorney and Law Secretary to Supreme Court Justice Jacqueline W. Silbermann. She was elected to the Civil Court in 1993 and then elected to the New York State Supreme Court in 1999 before eventually being assigned to the Commercial Division in 2008.
In 2014, she helped start the Institute on Complex Commercial Litigation to train Commercial Division judges on issues related to commercial litigation. This year, the Commercial Division Advisory Council through its longtime member Kathy Chin collaborated with the Fordham Corporate Law Center and the Center for Judicial Events & Clerkships to host the Institute at Fordham Law. Held earlier on the same day as the tribute event, it now bears her name as the Eileen Bransten Institute on Complex Commercial Litigation.
Speakers recounted Judge Bransten’s professionalism, her committed friendships, and even her excellent French cooking skills. She was also fondly remembered as a dedicated mentor of her law clerks.
Justice Saliann Scarpulla, who previously served as principal court attorney to Judge Bransten and is now a judge for the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, spoke about Bransten’s generosity towards those that worked with her, especially early in their careers.
“She encouraged us to embrace our personal lives, as well as pushing forward our careers. I think I speak for all of us when I say that she was an incredible gift to us,” said Scarpulla.
“I miss her every day and I try to live up to the example she set. I hope that I pay her grace forward to the people that I work with for the rest of my life.”
Judge Jennifer G. Schecter, now a Supreme Court Justice for the Commercial Division herself, started out as Bransten’s law clerk, and also reflected on the lessons she learned under Bransten’s leadership.
“She emphasized the importance of justice, compassion, efficiency, respect, diversity, listening well, practicality, civility, and most importantly, never losing sight of common sense,” said Schecter. “Having spent eight years as Judge Bransten’s law clerk, this tribute is very personal. She changed my life. I wouldn’t be here without her.”