In Celebration of Justice Emily Pines

Please join us in celebrating the legacy and career of New York State Supreme Court Justice Emily Pines, a lifelong member of the Hofstra community. Emily retired from a lifetime of public service at the end of 2020, and in her honor, we are raising funds for the Future Generations for Justice Scholarship to inspire young Hofstra scholars to follow in her footsteps.

Since her mother, Sylvia Pines, became a Math instructor at Hofstra College in 1954, Emily has been a passionate member of the university community. She received her Bachelor of Arts in 1972, majoring in French, and then returned to Hofstra for law school, receiving her JD in 1976. Since that time she has remained active in the Hofstra community, taking part in yearly scholarship events to celebrate Sylvia’s long career as a math professor and leader of the faculty union through giving the Sylvia Pines Memorial Scholarship.

During her own long and distinguished career, Emily has dedicated herself to public service at the state and local levels. Beginning as Staff Counsel for the New York Public Service Commission, she went on to work at the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York and clerked for New York Supreme Court Justice Helen Freedman, before moving back home to Long Island where she served as Deputy County Attorney for Suffolk County, Town Attorney for Brookhaven, and the Chief of Staff to the Supervisor of the Town of Brookhaven. She also served as a District Court Judge and was elected to a 14-year term as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court. As a member of the judiciary, Emily was invited to join the prestigious Pattern Jury Instructions Committee of the New York State Supreme Court Justices Association, where she continues to serve in retirement.  

In addition to her numerous professional accomplishments, Emily is widely admired for her good humor, generous nature and empathetic personality. Among the many lives she has changed is the stranger to whom she donated a kidney after consoling his grieving father. Underlying it all is a deep and abiding love for her fellow living beings, an optimistic vision of a better future for all, and a belief in the shared responsibility to help one another. We hope you’ll realize Emily’s vision by helping us to help future generations of students.

The Future Generations for Justice Scholarship will be given annually to one or more qualified students, studying in the Hofstra College for Liberal Arts and Sciences, with an intent to pursue a career in law and a demonstrated commitment to advancing the causes of justice, equality, and social progress.