Peter M. Lieb, chief counsel for litigation with International Paper Company, testified Oct. 14 on behalf of The Business Council in favor of a proposed expansion of the Commercial Division of the state Supreme Court to Westchester County.
The Commercial Division was created on an experimental basis in New York City and Monroe County on the recommendation of a 1995 task force appointed by New York State Chief Judge Judith Kaye.
The goal of the court is to streamline commercial litigation and to make legal outcomes more predictable and reliable for business.
In his testimony, Lieb said, "We have gone in about three years' time from a court system which often evoked despair, anger, and frustration among businesses to a business court that is the envy of businesses in other states."
"[The Commercial Division] shows what can be done when business works with lawyers and judges to accomplish something which benefits everyone."