2024 April

Dear Members:

The Richmond County Bar Association joins the Staten Island Legal Community in mourning the loss of the Hon. Philip G. Minardo.

Judge Minardo was a fixture in Staten Island legal circles for decades. His distinguished career began as an Assistant District Attorney in the Richmond County District Attorney's Office where he prosecuted a number of high profile cases. Following a successful career in private practice, he was elected as a Supreme Court Justice in 1995. Judge Minardo was eventually elevated to the position of Staten Island's first Administrative Law Judge.

Judge Minardo was well known for his flair, sense of humor and charismatic personality. His motion days demonstrated a level of showmanship as well as an understanding of the legal issues that were brought before him. Judge Minardo had a “hot bench” where he held lawyers feet to the fire and expected the attorneys to be as prepared as he was for oral argument . With that said, Judge Minardo was known to “never hurt” a lawyer. He understood the difficulties of private practice and was able to achieve great resuits with his practical sensibilities.

On trial Judge Minardo demonstrated an aptitude for evidentiary issues and provided all attorneys and litigants with a fair and professional trial. As an administrator, Judge Minardo was effective and hardworking and oversaw the opening of our new courthouse.

Judge Minardo was a proud Past President of the Richmond County Bar Association and always advocated for the interests and well being of Staten Island attorneys. We were honored with his presence at our Past President's Dinner this past January.

We thank the late Judge Minardo for all his contributions.

We send our condolences to his family and all those who loved him.

May he rest in peace.

Timothy M. O'Donovan

President

RICHMOND COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION

Dedicated to advancing its members’ professional development, promoting the highest standards of excellence in the practice of law and facilitating access to legal services for the Richmond County community.