Matrimonial court supervisor appointed in Manhattan

Manhattan matrimonial court has a new leader.

Acting Supreme Court Justice Michael L. Katz will take over as supervising judge of the New York County Supreme Court’s Matrimonial Division, top administrative court officials announced Tuesday.

Katz will oversee the court that handles divorce, custody and support matters.

He became an acting Supreme Court justice in 2015, presiding over civil matters, and has been with the Matrimonial Division since March 2016. He has also co-chaired the First Judicial District’s Matrimonial Advisory Committee since 2022.

Chief Administrative Judge Joseph A. Zayas and First Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Norman St. George announced the appointment.

The Matrimonial Division deals with some of the court system’s most complex matters, according to Zayas.

“Judge Katz’s judicial expertise, fairness, and deep understanding of family law will ensure the division continues to provide timely, compassionate justice to Manhattan families in highly sensitive matters affecting their stability and well-being,” Zayas said in a statement Tuesday.

St. George added that Katz’s 30 years in the court system — beginning as a court attorney in New York City Civil Court — and decade handling matrimonial cases will prepare him for the supervisory role.

“His extensive legal knowledge, collaborative leadership style, and commitment to justice will serve him well in balancing the many demands of this pivotal supervisory assignment,” St. George said.

Katz graduated from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. After getting his start in civil court, he served as principal law clerk to then-New York County Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kapnick. In 2011, Katz was elected to the New York City Civil Court, and served as an acting family court judge in Brooklyn from 2011 to 2015, where he oversaw custody, visitation and family offense cases.

Katz has lectured and served as a panelist on legal topics including international family law; the economic implications of divorce; and the effect of long-term supervision on relationships between parents and children.

“I am grateful to the judicial leadership team for the trust that they have placed in me and am committed to ensuring that the families who appear in our court are treated with compassion and dignity,” Katz said in a statement.

“I look forward to working collaboratively with the leadership, my hardworking colleagues in the Matrimonial Division and the exemplary matrimonial bar to provide for the fair and expeditious resolution of all cases.”