Appellate Division Justice Margaret Anne Pui Yee Chan presided over a session of the New York Court of Appeals on October 20, becoming the first Asian American woman to sit on the bench of the state's highest court. Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson designated her for the role during an October hearing, placing Chan at the center of a court session held at Court of Appeals Hall in Albany.
The designation itself follows a specific constitutional mechanism: the New York State Constitution allows the chief judge to name an appellate court justice to preside over a session when needed to meet quorum, according to amNewYork. A Court of Appeals session requires at least five of the court's seven seats to be filled to hear a case, the outlet reports. Separately, New York law states that five members constitute a quorum and four concurring votes are necessary for a decision, with no more than seven judges permitted to sit on a case, according to NYS Open Legislation records maintained by the New York State Senate.
The WE Blog at the Asian American Bar Association of New York described the October 20 session as the first time an Asian American woman has sat on the bench of New York's highest court. The group also characterized Chan's presence as reflecting a judiciary increasingly committed to representing the diversity of the communities it serves — a framing echoed by the New York State Unified Court System, per amNewYork.
A Path From Hong Kong to the Bench
Chan was born in Hong Kong and emigrated to New York with her family at age 14, eventually settling in Brooklyn, per amNewYork. She graduated from Brooklyn College in 1979 and went on to earn her law degree from Touro Law Center, where she served as a senior court attorney and managing editor of the school's law review, according to the Unified Court System's account relayed by amNewYork.
Before taking the bench, Chan practiced immigration and appellate law in Manhattan's Chinatown. Her judicial career began in 2006 with her election to the New York City Civil Court, a milestone the blog's report notes made her the first Asian American woman elected to the bench that year. She began serving as an Acting Supreme Court Justice in 2012, the same source states.
Rising Through the Courts
Chan was elected to the state Supreme Court in 2021, where she oversaw mass tort, constitutional litigation, and complex commercial disputes, according to the AABANY account. She currently serves on the Committee on AI and the Courts and the Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions – Civil, per amNewYork's reporting.
Her appointment to the Appellate Division, First Department, is described differently across available accounts. amNewYork reports that Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Chan to that post earlier in 2026, making her the first Asian-born judge appointed to an appellate court in New York State. The AABANY blog, however, reports that Hochul named Chan to the Appellate Division, First Department, in 2025, describing her as the first Asian-born woman judge appointed to any New York appellate court. The two accounts do not agree on the year.
A Family Moment in Albany
Chan was joined at the historic Albany session by her husband, Gerald Lebovits, a New York County Supreme Court Justice, amNewYork reports. The outlet's account frames the October 20 appearance as the culmination of a judicial career that began with her 2006 election and progressed through the Civil Court, the Supreme Court, and ultimately the Appellate Division.
Broader representation of Asian American judges in New York courts remains limited, according to a Brooklyn Eagle report citing a Judicial Demographics Report, which found that around 5 percent of respondents statewide identified as Asian in 2024, compared with just under 11 percent in New York City. The same outlet has also reported on another milestone elsewhere in the court system: the appointment of the first Asian American woman as an associate justice of the Appellate Term, Second Department.
