Jonathan Lippman

Jonathan Lippman (born May 19, 1945) is an American jurist who served as Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 2009 through 2015. As of 2026, Lippman is of counsel in the Litigation & Trial Department of Latham & Watkins’ New York office.

Early life and education Lippman is a Manhattan native. He attended New York City public schools, including Stuyvesant High School, graduated from New York University (NYU) in 1965, and received his J.D. degree from the New York University School of Law in 1968. He served in that capacity for 11 years until 2007, the longest anyone has spent in that position.

On January 13, 2009, Governor David Paterson appointed Lippman to the position of Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. He succeeded Judith Kaye, who served as the state's first female Chief Judge from 1993 to 2008. His resume as an appellate judge has been described as "thin," but in the 20 months that he was Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department he presided over more than 2,000 cases and wrote 14 opinions.

Tenure as Chief Judge Under Chief Judge Lippman, the number of non-unanimous rulings made by the Court of Appeals has been on the rise. According to the court, unanimous rulings declined from about 82 percent during 2008, Judge Kaye’s final year, to 69 percent in Judge Lippman’s first year.

When wearing his hat as Chief Judge of the State of New York, Lippman has been a consistent advocate for increased attention to civil legal services. In addition to creating the Task Force to Expand Access to Civil Legal Services in New York, he has increased funding to civil legal services, enacted mandatory pro bono requirements for law students, and proposed making attorney pro bono reporting requirements public to encourage greater participation. These proposals have been somewhat controversial and the plan to make pro bono hours public has not been enacted.

Lippman stepped down as Chief Judge on December 31, 2015, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Private practice Lippman joined Latham & Watkins’ New York office as of counsel in the Litigation & Trial Department on January 7, 2016 upon retirement from the bench.