Hon. George Michael Heymann - Mineola, NY

After more than two decades of serving with distinction as a Judge of the New York City Civil Court, Housing Part, Judge Heymann retired from the bench and became of Counsel to Finz & Finz, P.C. Known for his exemplary writing skills, Judge Heymann has more than 85 published legal decisions to his credit, of which more than one third were selected by the New York State Reporter for publication in the Official Miscellaneous Reports. With an outstanding appellate record, his decisions, many of which were novel and precedential, have been cited by the Appellate Divisions, Appellate Terms, and the Supreme, Civil and Housing Courts. In 2007, Judge Heymann was honored with the "Judiciary Award of Merit in Recognition of [His] Efforts To Make Kings County A Better Place To Practice Law" by the Kings County Housing Court Bar Association.

Immediately prior to ascending the bench, Judge Heymann served for 10 years as a Principal Law Clerk to Justices sitting in both the Civil and Criminal terms of the Supreme Court in Queens County.

Judge Heymann began his legal career as Counsel for the New York State Association for Retarded Children where he authored New York's first "Advocates Guide to New York State Education Laws for the Mentally Retarded and Other Developmental Disabilities". He appeared in Federal and State Courts on behalf of those who were in large state institutions such as Willowbrook and Wassaic, and fought for better educational facilities and programs for those who were determined to be "educated". He quickly became a sought after lecturer on the rights of the mentally retarded and developmentally disabled throughout New York State.

Thereafter, Judge Heymann was appointed an Assistant District Attorney by former District Attorney John J. Santucci. Recognizing Judge Heymann's talent for research and writing, he was immediately assigned to the Appeals Bureau where he briefed and argued cases before the Appellate Division, Second Department. While in the D.A.'s office, Judge Heymann was solicited to become a Counsel and Administrative Law Judge for the New York City Department of Transportation. He left that position after a year when he was offered the position of Principal Law Clerk in Queens Supreme Court.

With a love for teaching and mentoring, Judge Heymann became an Instructor in the Queens College Paralegal Studies Program where he taught classes for 16 consecutive years which included Legal Research and Writing, Civil Litigation and Basic Concepts of Law. In 1985, he became the first recipient of the annual award for "Excellence in Teaching".

Judge Heymann has been an active member of his community serving 15 consecutive years on his local Community Boards and has served as Trustee of his synagogue for over 20 years.

He is a well known author of numerous articles that appeared in bar association bulletins and the New York Law Journal and the recipient of numerous awards for his professional and community service.

In addition, Judge Heymann is a member of the Queens County Bar Association, Queens County Women's Bar Association, Brandeis Association (Past President) and New York State Bar Association.

Judge Heymann received his B.A. in Political Science from SUNY at Buffalo, where he was on the Dean's List and served as Vice President and President of the Student Association. He also minored in education and received his permanent certification to teach Social Studies in secondary schools.

As a student at New York Law School, Judge Heymann was elected as Vice President of the Student Bar Association and at graduation was the recipient of the first Dean E. Donald Shapiro Award for Student Leadership, the Student Bar Association Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Law School Community and the West Publishing Company Annual Corpus Juris Secundum Award for the Most Significant Contribution to Legal Scholarship in 1974. After graduating, Judge Heymann served for over a decade as Director of the Alumni Association.