Lecturer Bios
Steven Eric Liebman
Steven E. Liebman is a Special Referee in New York County with the New York
State Supreme Court, First Judicial District - Civil Branch. He has been in the New York
State court system for over thirty-four years. Prior to being a Special Referee, he was a
Court Attorney with the New York County Supreme Court’s Law Department, with a
particular assignment to the various IAS matrimonial parts in the court. Referee Liebman
started in the court system in the NYC Criminal Court, Kings County, first as a Law
Assistant Trial Part, and then as the Supervising Law Assistant.
Referee Liebman currently presides over non-jury trials and framed issue hearings
on both a hear and report and a hear and determine basis. While he is referred all manner
of general civil cases, a large portion of his regular calendar consists of divorce cases and
related matrimonial issues. He is routinely assigned uncontested matrimonial matters and
had been previously assigned to the uncontested matrimonial inquest calendar.
Referee Liebman is a current member and past Chair of the Matrimonial Law
Section of The New York County Lawyers’ Association. He is also a member of the
Family Law Sections of the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar
Association and has been a member of the Matrimonial Law Committee of the
Association of the Bar of The City of New York. He has participated in various
programs as a lecturer on family law topics and matrimonial and civil practice for bar
associations and in judicial programs through the Office of Court Administration.
Referee Liebman is admitted to the Bars of New York, Florida, Pennsylvania and
the District of Columbia. He received his J.D. from Albany Law School, M.A. from
New York University and B.A. from Hofstra University.
Myra L. Freed, Esq.
Myra L. Freed has been practicing in Manhattan, specializing in matrimonial law for over 30 years. She has been a solo practitioner since 2002. She also serves as a private pay Attorney For The Child, by court appointment, representing children in custody and and parenting time litigation.
Myra serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Women's Bar Association, where she has been an officer and director for more than 10 years. She has served as Chair and Co-Chair of the NYWBA's Matrimonial Law Committee and remains active in that committee. She also served on and Co-Chaired the Matrimonial Law Committee of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York. She has also been an active member of the NYCLA Matrimonial Law Section for the past 25 years. Myra is also a Collaborative Lawyer and member of the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals.
Myra has been invited to give numerous CLE lectures in the area of matrimonial law, and has also lectured to the lay public on family law topics.
Myra is a recipient of the NYWBA's Doris S. Hoffman Service Award for her commitment to serving the Association and enhancing the status of women in society and the law. She is proud to have served as a pro bono attorney mentor for inMotion, Inc. and as a pro bono attorney for the Hon. Jacqueline W. Sibermann Pro Bono Matrimonial Program of the NYWBA in New York County.
Briana Denney, Esq.
Prior to entering private practice, Briana Denney was a court attorney for a matrimonial judge in New York County. She served as co-chair of the Matrimonial Law Section of the New York County Lawyers Association from 2011 to 2014 and was co-chair of the New York Women's Bar Association Matrimonial and Family Law Committee from 2009 to 2011.
Paul E. Rudder, Esq.
Paul E. Rudder, Esq. is a Family and Divorce Lawyer committed to providing the highest quality of legal services in the most cost-effective and straight forward manner. He is one of the most highly regarded Matrimonial Attorneys in New York City. He has been selected as “Top Lawyer” in Divorce Law field from 2007 to present by New York Times Super Lawyers Section. He was also appointed to New York City Bar Association Matrimonial Committee as of August 2015. He is also a top rated lawyer on Avvo.com in the divorce category. Having handled thousands of divorces, Mr. Rudder has devoted his career to guiding his clients through a difficult and confusing process of dissolution of their marriages.
Rated among the best divorce lawyers in NYC for his outstanding credentials and track record, Mr. Rudder is recognized for his unique ability to guide and navigate his clients toward a realistic view of the process, its potential outcomes and effects on the family while directing the client through the complexities of the judicial system. Because of the diversity of cases he has been involved in, he was selected as a frequent Analyst and Commentator on Court TV ("10 years" as a Matrimonial and Divorce expert). On the show he discussed and commented on a number of legally controversial as well as high profile celebrity divorces.
