Judge Adam Silvera, the administrative trial court judge for Manhattan’s civil term, is being promoted to take over the role of Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for New York City Courts. The role oversees the daily operations of the city’s trial courts, which are some of the largest and high-volume in the nation.
The state court system’s Chief Administrative Judge Joseph A. Zayas announced Silvera will take over the role as his predecessor steps down to head a task force on other complex legal issues.
Silvera has served as the administrative trial court judge for Manhattan’s civil term since December 2021 — one of the busiest courts in the U.S. Prior to that appointment, he garnered years of experience serving in Civil Court positions across the state system.
“Judge Silvera is a talented jurist and forward-thinking leader with strong administrative
skills and intimate knowledge of court system operations,” said Zayas. “An exemplary member of New York’s judiciary who is widely admired for his fairness, hard work, and collegiality, he has deftly navigated the many operational and other challenges he faced over the past three years as the Administrative Judge of New York County’s Supreme Court-Civil Term in Manhattan.”
The decision was made with the approval of Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals Rowan D. Wilson. In a written statement, Silvera thanked the judicial leaders for their confidence in him.
“I want them to know that my steadfast commitment to administering fair and effective justice for all New Yorkers will endure as I embark upon my new position,” he said. “I promise to work tirelessly to get it right, to collaborate with my judicial and non-judicial colleagues, and with our many stakeholder partners so that together we can continue moving forward in building an invigorated court system that reflects our shared civic values.”
When he officially takes over the role Sept. 9, Silvera will succeed Supreme Court Justice Deborah A. Kaplan, who will now lead a citywide Alternative Dispute Resolution initiative within the court system.
Silvera’s career as a judge began in 2014, when he was elected to the New York City Civil Court. He served first in Brooklyn Family Court Brooklyn, handling cases involving custody, visitation, paternity, guardianship, special immigrant juvenile status, adoption and family offenses. He went on to civil court roles handling consumer credit and self-represented issues in Brooklyn and Manhattan. In 2017, he became a Supreme Court Justice assigned to New York City Family Court, and was elected in 2018 to the State’s Supreme Court-Civil Term in New York County, where he initially presided over a motor vehicle part and later served as the New York City Asbestos Litigation Coordinating Judge.
He served a brief stint on the state appellate division before taking his current role as a Manhattan trial court administrator. Before becoming a judge, he worked as an attorney at a firm specializing in personal injury, negligence, medical malpractice, labor law and civil rights matters.
Zayas also expressed his gratitude to the outgoing Judge Kaplan, who said she was looking forward to her new role and “anxious to be back in the courtroom daily, striving to provide relief to those who come to our courts seeking resolution of weighty matters.”
