Hon. Laura E. Drager

Judge Laura Drager was appointed to the New York City Criminal Court bench in 1987, and designated an Acting Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Criminal Term, New York County in 1995. Since 1999 she has presided over matrimonial actions in Supreme Court, New York County.

Prior to her judicial appointment, she was the Chief of the Rackets Bureau in the Kings County District Attorney's office. She also served as an Assistant District Attorney in the trial division and sex crimes unit of the New York County District Attorney's office. After graduating from Columbia Law School she worked as an associate for the law firm Proskauer Rose LLP.

Judge Drager chaired the New York City Criminal Court Committee on Domestic Violence created by the New York State Unified Court System from its inception in 1992 to 2002. Among its many accomplishments, the Committee developed the brochure, Domestic Violence -- You Don't Have To Face It Alone. This brochure, intended for victims of domestic violence, explains in simple language how a victim may get assistance from the courts. Over 100,000 copies of the brochure have been distributed throughout the city.

Judge Drager was the principal author of the article, The Paper Shield: Orders of Protection in the New York City Criminal Court published at 48 The Record 891 (1993). She has lectured on domestic violence issues to judges and doctors and at bar association programs and has testified before a State Senate Committee.

Judge Drager is a member of the Matrimonial Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association and a Director of the New York Women’s Bar Association. She is a member of the Mental Health Professional Screening Committee for the First and Second Departments and serves as the Manhattan and Bronx Liaison to the New York State Parent Education Advisory Board. Judge Drager is an adjunct professor at New York Law School where she teaches a course on Matrimonial Law.

Selected prior programs:

Speaker, CLE Course, Representing Survivors of Domestic Violence in Matrimonial Cases, Sanctuary for Families and Association of the Bar of the City of New York, May 11, 2002

Panelist, Effective Cross-Examination of the Mental Health Expert in Custody Cases: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, April 8, 2003

Speaker, Forum, Unreported Cash in Matrimonial Cases: Confronting Tax, Criminal and Ethical Ramifications, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, March 12, 2002

Speaker, Forum, Law Guardians in Matrimonial Cases, New York County Lawyers’ Association, April 11, 2001

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Last updated January 12, 2006