Area lawyer nominated for judgeship

Albany lawyer Mae D’Agostino could be one for the history books.

U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-NY, announced Wednesday that he is recommending D’Agostino to President Barack Obama to serve as a judge for the federal court for the Northern District of New York.

If confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first Albany woman to serve as a federal judge in the district. She also would be the only woman serving on the federal bench in upstate New York, Schumer said.

D’Agostino, who lives in Latham, has worked in the private sector and started her own law firm. She’s also done pro bono work for the disabled and has also taught at Albany Law School.

D’Agostino is a graduate of Siena College and Syracuse University College of Law, after which she began working for the firm of Maynard O’Connor and Smith, where she spent 20 years handling civil litigation and a great deal of the firm’s appellate work. She then began her own firm, D’Agostino, Krackeler, Baynes and Maguire and has been listed in “Best Lawyers in America” since 1999.

“I am honored to be able to recommend Mae D’Agostino to President Obama. One of my goals was to bring a female to the federal bench in upstate new York, and Mae would not only do that, but she is simply one of the finest judicial candidates I have ever met,” Schumer said in a statement. “She has built a distinguished legal career and a very successful practice, but her sense of public service and love of the law has motivated her to bring her talents to the bench.”