NYCLA Statement on Richard Lee Price

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

Dec 2, 2019

New York County Lawyers Association Statement on

the Passing of Judge Richard Lee Price

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Judge Richard Lee Price, a NYCLA Member since 1965 and the inspiration and driver of the Justice Center’s youth law education programs and activities. In 1983, Judge Price saw a need among young persons for education about our laws as well as an understanding of the legal process and the court system. He also saw a great resource in the courts and the lawyers who appeared before him to help provide this knowledge and to share their insight and experiences with students of all ages. Working together with the New York County Lawyers Association, Judge Price formed the Committee on Law-Related Education. Over the years the Committee has evolved to include many different sub-committees, all created to further the mission to educate the public about the law, the government, and the legal system.

Working with the City’s students was an important part of Judge Price’s legacy and is his gift to New York City.

Son of the late Saul Price, a Civil Court judge in New York, the law ran through Judge Price’s veins. Judge Price was a justice of the Bronx County Supreme Court, Criminal Term in the 12th Judicial District of New York. He began his judicial career in 1980 when he was elected to the New York City Civil Court of New York County, where he served until 2002. He was also an Acting Supreme Court Justice in the 1st and 12th Judicial Districts from 1981 to 2002. In 2003, Judge Price was elected Supreme Court Justice of Bronx County where he served until his retirement from the bench in 2016.

Judge Price joined NYCLA upon graduating law school in 1965 and he served as Chair of the Law- Related Education Committee since 1983. He also was Co-Chair of the Women in the Law Committee from 2001 to 2005, a Member of the Supreme Court Committee since 1988 and the Judicial Section since 1993 and served on the NYCLA Board of Directors from 1988 through 2001. His contributions to NYCLA and the law will not be forgotten.

We have lost a true champion of the law with the passing of this distinguished jurist. Judge Price is survived by his wife, attorney Laura Shapiro, and his children Howard Price, Lisa Price and Alex Price.

About the New York County Lawyers Association

The New York County Lawyers Association (www.nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as one of the first major bar associations in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion or gender. Since its inception, it has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence and has continuously played an active role in legal developments and public policy.

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