Professional Experience Carol Heckman is a former Magistrate Judge with over 33 years of experience as a trial and appellate lawyer. Prior to joining the firm in 2000, she served for eight years as a Magistrate Judge in the Western District of New York, where she was selected to sit on the Federal Judicial Conference's Education Committee for Magistrate Judges and as an Officer in the Federal Magistrate Judges Association. Prior to going on the bench, Carol was a trial partner in two firms in Buffalo, and also has served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, as Assistant U.S. Attorney in Buffalo, and as a law clerk for the Hon. John T. Curtin, then Chief Judge of the Western District of New York. Her practice spanned a broad range of areas, including white collar criminal investigations and trials, constitutional claims, employment law, patent litigation and commercial litigation. More recently, Carol has primarily represented Fortune 500 companies and a sovereign Native American tribe in a variety of commercial and business disputes. She has tried numerous cases both as a lawyer and as a judge. Recent accomplishments include: · Representing a Native American nation in complex cases involving gaming and state taxation. · Obtaining summary judgment in favor of a stock photography house in a multi-million-dollar suit for lost images. · Successfully defending Erie County in protracted and complex litigation involving the county budget. · Obtaining a TRO for a bank against 80 departing bankers who used confidential information to assist a competitor. · Successfully defending manufacturers of dental supplies in patent infringement actions. · Obtaining a $10 million settlement for owners of a gasoline business for a breach of contract by purchasers of the business. · Obtaining dismissal of a major school funding suit against an urban school district. · Obtaining a multi-million-dollar settlement for a demolition contractor who was wrongfully terminated by the state of New York. · Successfully defending several employment discrimination lawsuits in the Western District of New York and on appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of an urban school district. Carol also has significant training and experience as a mediator and has trained federal judges in mediation techniques. She is admitted to both the Panel of Mediators and the Panel of Arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association. Successful mediations include environmental claims, product liability claims, and employment discrimination claims. Clerkship · Hon. John T. Curtin, then the Chief Judge of the Western District of New York Professional and Civic Activities · Board Member, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, Inc. · Board Member, The Burchfield-Penney Art Center · Former Member, Judicial Center's Education Committee for Magistrate Judges. Appointed by former Chief Justice Rehnquist. In that capacity she assisted in the planning and presenting of ongoing judicial education programs for magistrate judges (2001-2006). · Former Member, Executive Committee, Federal and Commercial Litigation Section, New York State Bar Association · Former Officer, Federal Magistrate Judges Association · Former Member, Advisory Group of Magistrate Judges · First Editor-in-Chief, Federal Courts Law Review, an electronic law review affiliated with the Federal Magistrate Judges Association · Editor, Cornell Law Review · Former Board Member, Childrens Hospital of Buffalo, Cradle Beach, American Lung Association, Western New York Chapter Honors and Awards · AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell · Recipient, "Women Who Mean Business" Award, Business First of Buffalo (2005) · Cornell Law Review · Order of the Coif · Fraser Prize · Phi Beta Kappa · Women's Bar Association of Western New York, Achievement Award 1992 · Who's Who in Law, Business First of Buffalo/Buffalo Law Journal - 2011 · Selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers® 2011in the field of Business Litigation Speaking Engagements · Speaker, Oral Argument, New York State Bar Association Spring Meeting of Federal and Commercial Litigation Section, May 2008. · Speaker, Practicing Law in the Digital Age, Cornell Law School Alumni of Buffalo, October 2006. · Speaker, Civil Liability in the Wake of Corporate Identity Theft, HSE Seminar to corporate clients, June 2005 · Presenter, Expert Witness Disclosure, Discovery from Experts, Admissibility of Expert Testimony, United States Magistrate Judge Orientation Program, October 26, 2004 · Panelist, Electronic Discovery, New York State Bar Association, Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, May 22, 2004 · Panelist, Electronic Discovery, U.S. Judicial Conference Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedures, Fordham University, February 20-21, 2004 · Presenter, E-Documents: Retention and Discovery Issues, Presented to HSBC in-house counsel, November 10, 2003 · Presenter, Motion Practice Regarding Electronic Discovery, The Sedona Conference, April 25, 2003 · Presenter, Alternative Dispute Resolution in Federal Practice, Federal Judicial Center, February 2003 · Presenter, Protective Orders and Sealed Documents vs. The Right of Access: A Balancing Act, Federal Judicial Center Workshop for U.S. Magistrate Judges, February 19-21, 2003 · Presenter, Common Discovery Issues in Patent Cases, U.S. Magistrate Judges Workshop, February 19-21, 2003 · Presenter, The Rarely Discussed Issues of Ethics in Mediation, HSE in-house seminar, January 18, 2003 · Presenter, Cross-Examination: Overview, Law and Tactics, Lorman Education Services, January 8, 2003 · Presenter, Direct Examination, HSE in-house seminar, May 20, 2002 · Presenter, Making Discovery Useful to Resolving Your Case, Women's Bar Association of the State of New York, May 4, 2002 · Presenter, Ethical Issues in Mediation, New York State Bar Association, May 4, 2001 · Presenter, Using, Losing and Abusing Client Confidences & Secrets, HSE Seminar, November 6, 2000 Publications Judge Heckman has published more than 350 judicial opinions and authored the following publications: · Author, "Soup Can or Can of Worms? Legal Issues Arising from the Warhol Estate," Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal, New York State Bar Association, Summer 2009. · Author, "A Safe Harbor: Amendment Towards Data Preservation Efforts," New York Law Journal, November 30, 2004 · Author, "Time for Change Panels Explore Amending Federal Civic Rules on E-Discovery," New York Law Journal, March 2, 2004. · Author, "Prevailing in the Court: How to Win E-Discovery Motions in Federal Proceedings," New York Law Journal, September 16, 2003. · Author, "Winning Electronic Discovery Motions," New York Law Journal, April 8, 2003. · Author, series of articles in the New York Law Journal, The Sedona Conference Journal and the New York Litigator on topics including electronic discovery, mediation, access to the courts, removal jurisdiction and evidence. · Author, "1975 Developments in Welfare Law," 61 Cornell L. Rev. 777 (1976). |