John M. Czygier, Jr. was admitted to practice law in New York
State in 1975. After serving as a prosecutor in the Suffolk County
District Attorney's office, he entered private practice and, for
twenty-five years, concentrated in estate administration and estate
litigation in the New York metropolitan area. He was awarded an "AV"
rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating for practicing
attorneys. He is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association, where
he served as Director, Chair of the Surrogate's Court Committee and CoChair
of the Bench Bar Committee. He is also a member and former
Director of the Suffolk County Women's Bar Association. While in
private practice, Surrogate Czygier served as a Mental Hygiene Law
Article 81 Court Examiner for New York and Suffolk Counties, and was
counsel to the Public Administrator of Suffolk County.
Judge Czygier was appointed Judge of the Surrogate's Court of
Suffolk County by Governor George Pataki on April 26, 2001 and
confirmed by the New York State Senate on May 8, 2001. In November,
2001 he was elected to a ten-year term, and was re-elected in November
2011.
Judge Czygier is currently only one of two sitting judges in New
York State who is a Judicial Fellow of the prestigious American College
of Trust and Estate Counsel. The College is a national organization
of approximately 2600 lawyers elected to membership by demonstrating
the highest level of integrity, commitment to the profession,
competence and experience as trust and estate counselors.
Judge Czygier was elected to the Fellows of the New York Bar
Foundation in October, 2000. He is a member of the Surrogate's
Association of the State of New York, where he is the current
President; he previously served as Secretary/Treasurer and Vice
President. He is a member of the Trusts and Estates Law Section of the
New York State Bar Association where he serves on the Estate and Trust
Administration Committee, and was formerly a vice-chairman of the
Estate Litigation Sub-Committee. He is also a member of the Committee
on Trusts, Estates & Surrogate's Courts of the Association of the Bar
of the City of New York.
Judge Czygier has served as a member of the Surrogate's Court
Advisory Committee to the Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts of
the State of New York since his appointment in 1999 by the Hon.
Jonathan Lippman. He has also been a member of the EPTL-SCPA
Legislative Advisory Committee since 2007. The mission of both
committees is to review existing statutes and to draft legislation.
In 2009, he was appointed to The Administrative Board for the Offices
of the Public Administrator where he now serves as Chair. He is a
member of the Continuing Legal Education Faculty of the Suffolk Academy
of Law, and lectures on the topic of Wills and Estates to professional
and civic organizations. He has lectured on various aspects of Trust
and Estate Law at numerous law schools and state and local bar
associations.
Judge Czygier is a contributing author to Warren's Heaton on
Surrogates' Courts (Matthew Bender) and to Weinstein, Korn & Miller New
York Civil Practice (Matthew Bender), and has written for the New York
State Bar Association Trusts and Estates Newsletter, the New York Law
Journal, and the New York State Bar Association Journal.