Leadership

Mary Kay Vyskocil, United States District Judge, Southern District of New York

Mary Kay Vyskocil was sworn in as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York on January 6, 2020. She previously served for almost four years as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Vyskocil practiced general commercial litigation for almost thirty-three years at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, from which she retired as a Senior Litigation Partner in March 2016 to join the bankruptcy bench.

At the time of her judicial appointment, Judge Vyskocil had a diverse practice handling complex commercial cases, including major insurance and reinsurance disputes, contract and tort issues, bankruptcy-related issues, securities and antitrust law, both as a trial attorney and an appellate advocate. During her career, she tried dozens of cases, argued scores of appeals and handled numerous arbitrations in state and federal courts throughout the United States and in the United Kingdom.

Judge Vyskocil was ranked as one of the “Top Ten Women Litigators in the United States” by Benchmark Litigation and, in 2016, received a “Top Women in Law Award” from the NYLJ. She was consistently recognized as a litigation leader by numerous publications, including first-tier rankings in Chambers, Legal 500, Who’s Who Legal and America’s Leading Business Lawyers. She was selected by Law360 as a top 15 female litigator and recognized at the Law360 2012 MVP Awards. Judge Vyskocil is the co-author of the leading treatise, Modern Reinsurance Law & Practice, 3d ed. (Thompson Reuters 2015).

Judge Vyskocil has a long history of public service, including service on the SDNY Merits Selection Panel for Magistrate Judges, the Second Circuit Task Force on Racial, Ethnic and Gender Fairness, the NYS Commercial Division Advisory Council, as a hearing referee for the Disciplinary Committee (First Dep’t), and as a trustee of the Historical Society of the New York Courts. She is active in professional associations, including the Federal Bar Council (former president). Judge Vyskocil previously served as president of the Alumni Association of St. John’s Law School and until her appointment to the bench, served on the boards of the NY Community Trust, St Joseph’s Seminary, Dominican College and Sanctuary for Families.  She serves on the board of the Judges & Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert (“JALBCA”). 

Judge Vyskocil was honored with the Judge Cecelia H. Goetz Women in Achievement Award from the Women’s Division of the New York Institute of Credit in February 2022. In January 2020, the Alumni Association of St. John’s Law School conferred on Judge Vyskocil the Dean John Murphy Award, presented in recognition of distinguished service to the public, the profession, and the Rule of Law. She previously was awarded the Sprizzo Award for commitment to the Rule of Law by St. John’s Law School in 2017, the Pietas Medal by St. John’s University in 2008, the St. Edmund’s Medal of Honor by St. Edmund’s Retreat in 2005, and the President’s Medal from Dominican College in 2002.