Fink & Katz, PLLC Law Offices

10/06/2026

Fink & Katz partner Philip Katz has an article in today's New York Law Journal Online, "Prosecution by Press Conference."

The piece takes no position on any pending matter. It addresses a question the legal community has long asked: what standard should bind an executive who stands above the prosecutor? Drawing on New York's constitutional structure and the Court of Appeals' decisions on gubernatorial superseder orders, Philip argues that New York got the structure right, that the Governor's recent order was lawful, and that the concern lies in what gets said after an order is signed.

He concludes that a prosecution that looks political carries a cost at trial, and that the complainant bears most of it. The remedy is not a new statute but a norm of executive restraint: let the order speak, choose the prosecutor for distance, and step away from the podium.

Read the full article here:

With the backdrop of recent events at Cornell University, Philip Katz argues that political involvement and public commentary can undermine trust in the fairness and independence of the criminal justice process.

09/26/2026

New York's e-filing system turned 27 this year. I've been a fan of it — and of the court system's push toward digital innovation — since the beginning. But NYSCEF still can't do things that any modern document system does: download a whole case file at once, or tell you before you hit submit that your PDF won't be accepted. And in Family Court, it still isn't available in most counties or for most case types.

The New York Law Journal ran my Outside Counsel piece on why that is, and what a modest, achievable fix would look like: https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2026/09/16/nyscef-the-court-systems-unfinished-upgrade/

09/26/2026

New York attorneys: the Family Court Assigned Counsel panels need you.

Panel membership is shrinking while the number of families in Family Court keeps growing. If you have family law or trial experience, you're likely closer to qualifying than you think.

In a new New York Law Journal Perspective, Fink & Katz partner Philip Katz writes about why he's still on the panel after all these years — and why the work is its own reward. Inspired by a line from Jordan Davis's "Buy Dirt": do what you love and call it work.

Read it here: https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2026/09/11/do-what-you-love-and-call-it-work-why-i-am-still-on-the-assigned-counsel-panel/

04/07/2026

Attorney Katz will be co-chairing a Practising Law Institute CLE next month. Registration is open now

01/28/2026

Attorney Katz recently penned an article for the NY Law Journal on Parents’ Rights. ,

Despite Supreme Court rulings affirming parents' rights, New York’s laws often weaken those rights in private custody cases. Article 10 emphasizes family preservation and quick hearings, while Article 6 gives courts broad discretion to issue temporary orders without timely reviews. This leads to l...

03/26/2025

Attorney Katz will be co-chairing an upcoming PLI Family Law course on April 3, 2025

10/19/2024

A recent publication co-authored by Attorney Katz.

10/19/2024

https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2024/10/18/bad-things-happen-in-the-dark-attorneys-must-speak-up-when-misleading-news-reports-target-our-judiciary/

Three family law attorneys speak out against a recent report broadcast by NBC 4 New York that they say undermines the public's trust in the judiciary.

10/19/2024

09/27/2024

https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2024/09/27/the-family-court-assigned-counsel-panel-if-not-you-who/

"Our statewide Family Court panels, are in crisis. They are in need of new, experienced practitioners to replace the many who have been retiring in recent years as the numbers of litigants in need of Assigned Counsel services have increased."