JUDITH M. GERBER, ESQ.

Director, NYS Family Court Practice Institute

Former Chief Attorney, Attorneys for Children Unit
Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Inc.

Judith M. Gerber recently joined the Center for Justice Innovation, where she is the inaugural Director of the NYS Family Court Practice Institute, leading its work to develop and launch training, resources and supports for family court lawyers, social workers and advocates across New York State.  A long-time attorney and educator in the child welfare, juvenile justice and education law arena, Ms. Gerber previously served as the Chief Attorney of the Attorneys for Children Unit at the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo.  She launched the Bureau’s Education Advocacy Program, oversaw the expansion of the social work practice, and initiated an innovative Juvenile Justice Youth Reentry Project.  Among her professional highlights, Ms. Gerber served as a consultant to the NYS Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, where she launched a statewide initiative to address the educational needs of children in foster care.  Ms. Gerber is the 2024 recipient of the New York State Bar Association’s Honorable Howard A. Levine Award for excellence in contributions to child welfare and juvenile justice. She is the 2025 recipient of the Hon. M. Dolores Denman Lady Justice Award conferred by the Western NY chapter of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York.  She is a member of the Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Families,  the AFC Advisory Committee of the Appellate Division Fourth Department and the NYSBA Children and the Law Committee. She co-chaired the Erie County Court Improvement Project’s Planning for Older Youth Committee and served on the Greater Buffalo Community Foundation’s Racial Equity Roundtable’s juvenile justice initiative. She is a graduate of Princeton University and the University at Buffalo Law School.