A bit about what PAULA ENGEL will bring to our Community as our Family Court Judge

Paula is ready to bring her compassion, dedication, long legal experience in litigation and civil rights to focus on the families who come to Family Court.  Paula has the ability to make sure that every family member has a full and fair opportunity to be heard and served.

·       ·         Paula brings the right legal experience for Family Court: Paula was admitted to the bar 25 years ago (after working as a paralegal for Sotheby’s and CBS in NYC), and has served the public in government for 15 years, at the District Attorney’s Office and as the Assistant, now Chief, Welfare Attorney for Onondaga County. 

As an Assistant District Attorney, Paula has a 100% criminal trial conviction rate.  As the County’s welfare attorney for the past 12 years, Paula has worked diligently on all aspects of the child welfare system (CPS, mental health and family support services providers, homeless shelters, school districts, attorneys for the child, indigent legal services, to name a few) to bring just and timely legal resolutions, so our County’s children can thrive. 

Her long legal career also involved personal injury and commercial litigation, collection and enforcement of money judgments, foreclosures, bankruptcy, government contracting, civil rights compliance, employment law, trusts and estates, and real estate matters.  Paula was appointed by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Fourth Department to serve on the Attorney Grievance Committee for this district.

Paula has authored several white papers on the law, and trained attorneys throughout New York State on legal issues impacting the delivery of social services to our most vulnerable residents.  Paula has been humbled and honored that her colleagues in the law, in business and in civic organizations have vouched that Paula is a hard-working, fair and ethical attorney who brings the needed experience and temperament to the honored position of Justice of the NYS Family Court.

·         Paula has been fighting for equal access to government services and justice.   As Chief Welfare Attorney, one of her proudest achievements was working with our former County Executive and the County’s Human Rights Commissioner to draft, enact and train hundreds of county employees and contractors on how to ensure that every individual has an even playing field when they interact with government, and to remove all barriers which may be faced by people who are not proficient in English, or may have a disabling condition or impairment that makes it tough for the person to navigate required steps when seeking help. Her work involves addressing complaints and resolving them as quickly as possible to make sure that everyone gets the information and services they deserve.

·         Paula is committed to our community:  In November, Paula was honored to be recognized as the top board leader for the Eastern Regional YMCA branches, for the work Paula did as the Chair of the Board of Managers for the Hal Welsh East Area Family YMCA branch (which includes Camp Iroquois).  Paula is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the YMCA of CNY.  Paula is also a long-time eucharistic minister and lector for Immaculate Conception Church and was the first President of the Immaculate Conception School Advisory Committee.  Paula is the President-Elect of the Onondaga County Bar Association.  This year, Paula worked to develop a collaborative wellness initiative for lawyers with the CNY Women’s Bar Association which resulted in a 100% increase in State funding for the Bar Association’s lawyer assistance programs in the CNY region.