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Hon. Melanie L. Cyganowski (Fmr.)
Arbitrator & Mediator
Judge Melanie Cyganowski served as a Bankruptcy Judge in the Eastern District of New York for a full 14-year term, and between November 29, 2005 through the end of her term, she was the Chief Judge of the Court.
Following her graduation magna cum laude from the School of Law at the State University of New York at Buffalo, she served as a law clerk to the late Hon. Charles L. Brieant, former Chief Judge in the Southern District of New York.
Judge Melanie Cyganowski has authored numerous articles and is active in the Commercial & Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association as a member of the Executive Committee, and Chair of the Section’s Nominating Committee since 1993. She was appointed as co-chair of the NYSBA Special Task Force on Courts (2008-2009), and a member of the Committee of Legal Specialization (2007-2008). Judge Cyganowski is also a Fellow of the American and New York State Bar Foundations, and a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the American Bar Association, the Bar Association of the City of New York and the Federal Bar Council.
A frequent speaker at CLE events, Judge Cyganowski has spoken at numerous programs sponsored by the American Bankruptcy Institute, the New York State Bar Association, the Judicial Institute of the State of New York, the Georgetown University School of Law, the Women’s Bar Association for the State of New York, and the Bar Association of the City of New York.
Judge Melanie Cyganowski has testified as an expert witness in the Cayman Islands in connection with transnational bankruptcy proceedings. She is also an adjunct professor of law at St. John’s University, School of Law, in the LL.M. Program in Bankruptcy, where she teaches bankruptcy-related courses, and a commentator on Fox Business News where she appears from time to time on current bankruptcy issues.
Judge Melanie Cyganowski Awards:
- United States Marshal Special Recognition Award (2007)
- New York Institute of Credit, Trustee’s Award (2007)
- New York State Bar Association, Commercial & Federal Litigation Section, “Hail to the Chiefs” Award (2006)
- Turnaround Management Association Award (2006)
- Alumni Wall of Fame (1998)
- Citizen of the Year Award in Law (1994)