Top Nassau County judge moved aside

Daily Point

Unexplained shake-up hits Nassau Surrogate Court

A surprising shake-up has been underway this week in the powerful Nassau County court that handles the probating of wills and adoptions. As is often the case with the politics inside the state’s judicial branch, the drama plays out behind chamber doors. On Tuesday,  Al Baker, spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration, told The Point by email: “The UCS [Unified Court System] has no comment.”

But court insiders say Judge Margaret C. Reilly, who was elected to a 10-year term as surrogate judge in 2016, has been moved out of that office after an OCA review of complaints of what may have been a hostile work environment for some staff. It’s unclear who was purportedly blamed in complaints that led to the review, or so far, exactly what it concluded. Reilly is now sitting as an acting state Supreme Court justice in Mineola.

Among the puzzling questions that arise: Reilly’s surrogate term expires at the end of the year. Why was it so urgent she had to leave the post now?

She’s on the November ballot for a Supreme Court seat in the 10th Judicial District, along with seven other cross-endorsed candidates.

In the interim, Judge Rhonda E. Fischer is acting in the surrogate post. In January, Republican Nassau Supreme Court acting Justice David Sullivan is expected to take over. He’s cross-endorsed by the major parties for the surrogate’s position.

Surrogate judges around the state have specialized duties, which is why they are elected separately. They oversee the handling of the estates of the deceased involving wills. They appoint executors and administrators, as well as supervise how assets are to be apportioned. Certain adoptions and guardianships are also in their purview, and the court can assign these cases to private lawyers who will bill the estate or take court fees. It’s a lucrative area of work.

Reilly’s move jibes with other parts of the shake-up. Virginia Clavin-Higgins, a law clerk to Reilly, is reportedly moving to a position in the chambers of Jeffrey A. Goodstein, who is the supervising judge for matrimonial cases.

Higgins’ brother Don Clavin, the former Town of Hempstead supervisor, is another unopposed candidate on the November ballot for a seat on the County Court bench, following a recent flap over his $179,000-a-year post-supervisor sinecure.

One court veteran told The Point on Tuesday that Norman St. George, from Nassau County — who's now first deputy chief administrative judge for the state court system and who directly supervises the 10th Judicial District — would have had to approve the shake-up now generating backroom intrigue.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Smell the inflation

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Final Point

Former NUMC chief Meg Ryan a late scratch at top law gathering

Next month, the annual Women, Influence & Power in Law conference will take place in Washington, D.C., bringing together attorneys who work as in-house counsel for a variety of institutions, as well as those who have leadership roles in law firms. As many as 1,000 people are expected to attend — 99% of whom will be women.

Among the conference’s listed speakers: Megan Ryan, CEO & president, general counsel, chief compliance, privacy & ethics officer — Nassau Health Care Corp.

Ryan’s biography is featured on the WIPL conference website, which puts her roles at Nassau University Medical Center and its public benefit corporation in the present tense.

But after The Point inquired about Ryan’s attendance with the conference as well as Ryan's spokesman, plans changed. The conference organizer, who initially confirmed Ryan’s role earlier Tuesday, just hours later said Ryan would not be attending after all.

In an initial email on Tuesday, Jennifer Turney, vice president and global event director for ALM — the conference’s organizer previously known as American Lawyer Media — confirmed for The Point that Ryan was slated to speak on Oct. 8 at a panel titled “Leveling up from GC: Equipping Yourself to Secure the Next Level of Leadership,” a session focused on those looking to move up the ladder from the general counsel role.

Turney told The Point in the email that Ryan had been a conference speaker in the past and had agreed to participate in the 2025 conference earlier this year.

“Her experience and insights about going from the top legal job to the top executive job are of great interest to the members of our experienced and well-qualified audience who might be considering a similar career trajectory,” Turney wrote.

Ryan was terminated for cause in June after the hospital accused her of allegedly authorizing at least $1 million in wrongful payments to herself and 12 former hospital employees. Ryan, through an attorney, has denied the allegations.

When The Point asked whether Ryan’s recent change in position would impact her role on the panel, Turney wrote “Not at this time.”

Last month, the hospital filed a $10 million lawsuit against Ryan, accusing her of making illegal payments, along with wiping hard drives and destroying documents. Referrals seeking criminal investigations were also sent to county, state and federal officials.

Less than two hours after her initial confirmation, Turney responded to The Point’s further queries regarding the lawsuit, saying that Ryan had “informed us that she is no longer able to join us for the conference this year.”

A Ryan spokesman, meanwhile, told The Point that “while Ms. Ryan has been a panelist several times for this conference she will not be participating this year.”

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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