Betty Lugo is a Judge of the Civil Court Judge in New York City. She is currently assigned to the Kings County Civil Court.
Betty Lugo received her Juris Doctor degree in 1984 from Albany Law School of Union University and her Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in 1981 from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. She is admitted to practice in New York, as well as before the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the U.S. Supreme Court. She began her legal career as the first Hispanic woman to work as an Assistant District Attorney in the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office from 1984 to 1987. She is a graduate of Norman Thomas High School (formerly Central Commercial High School) where she graduated 3rd in a class of 805 students. She is a United Federation of Teachers Scholar.
Prior to her election, she was a partner and founding member of Pacheco & Lugo, PLLC, the first Hispanic women owned law firm in New York established at One World Trade Center in 1992. Ms. Lugo led the firm’s litigation practice in the areas of general and commercial liability, construction, labor law, and real estate. In 2014, Pacheco & Lugo, PLLC received one of the Top 2014 New York Verdicts and was ranked among Top Worker/Workplace Negligence Cases in New York State. Ms. Lugo served on the NYS Appellate Division, Grievance committee for the Second, Eleventh and Thirteenth Judicial Districts from 2015-2019.
Ms. Lugo is an active member of several bar associations and has worked tirelessly to increase diversity in the legal profession and in the judiciary. She served as Chair of the New York State Bar Association Trial Lawyers Section (2020); Member of: NYSBA House of Delegates and Committee on the New York State Constitution; Committee on Federal Priorities and Initiatives Committee; Women’s Law Section and Section Caucus delegate. She is the recipient of the NYSBA Ruth G. Schapiro Memorial Award (2020) for her work in support of women. She served as Co-Chair of the NYSBA Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (2010-2013) and the Task Force on the Future of the Legal Profession. Ms. Lugo served as the President of the Puerto Rican Bar Association in New York (PRBA) during its 59th year from 2015-2017. She served as Chair of the PRBA Judiciary Committee from 2015-2021. She is the current vice president of the National Puerto Rican Bar Association. She served as a member of the American Bar Association Unaccompanied Minors Working Group Committee. She has served on the Judicial Screening committees for the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Kings County Democratic Judicial Screening Committee and New York Democratic Screening Committee. She is a fellow of the New York Bar Foundation. She is a member of the American Bar Association, Brooklyn Bar Association, New York Women’s Bar Association, Catholic Lawyers Guild, Nathan R. Sobel Kings County Inns of Court, Hispanic National Bar Association, Puerto Rican Bar Association, Dominican Bar Association and the Jewish Lawyers Guild. In 2017, she started the BAR LEADERS FOR PUERTO RICO where numerous bar associations assisted the Puerto Rico Bar Association (Colegio de Abogados y Abogadas de Puerto Rico 178 years old) after Hurricane Maria to obtain a large generator for its building. She served as an advisor for the NYS Court Families Assistance fund after Hurricane Maria (2017). She served as Regional President of the Hispanic National Bar Association in 1993, where she represented Region I consisting of the States of: New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and Puerto Rico. She was instrumental in the founding of the Latino bar associations in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Ms. Lugo is a Trustee of St. Brigids-St. Emerics Church, in New York City’s East Village/Loisaida. She is a World Trade Center Survivor (2 times) and represented and assisted victims and businesses that survived. Ms. Lugo is a Chaplain with the New York State Chaplain’s Task Force. She served as General Counsel to the Association for Puerto Rican Education and Empowerment (APREE); General Counsel to the Latino Court Officers Society. She served as an advisor to numerous not for profit organizations. She is a founding member of 100 Hispanic Women, Inc. Ms. Lugo has served as an instructor with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Ms. Lugo has lectured on diversity and inclusion, ethics and matters encouraging interest in the legal profession throughout New York State at Law schools, colleges, universities, high schools, elementary schools and nonprofit organizations. Ms. Lugo has served as a mentor to many high school, college and law students, young lawyers and others.
Ms. Lugo is the recipient of many awards and has been recognized for her commitment to diversity in the legal profession and the judiciary and for preserving and promoting the positive image of Women and Latinos.
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