Justice Anar Rathod Patel was appointed to the New York State Court of Claims by Governor Kathy Hochul in June 2022, and, upon her appointment, was designated as an Acting Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. From June 2022 through February 2024, Justice Patel was assigned to preside over civil cases in the Ninth Judicial District, Westchester County. In March 2024, Justice Patel was assigned to the Commercial Division, New York County.
Prior to her appointment, Justice Patel was Counsel in the Litigation Department of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York, where she practiced in the areas of complex commercial litigation and government and internal investigations. Justice Patel also served as an adjunct law professor at Columbia University Law School, where she taught Legal Writing.
Justice Patel received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Northwestern University School of Law in 2010, and her Bachelor of Science, with honors and distinction, from Cornell University in 2004. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable William F. Kuntz, II of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Prior to entering law school, Justice Patel worked in the investment banking industry at Lehman Brothers and Rothschild, Inc.
Justice Patel is a member of the Federal Bar Council, New York City Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, South Asian Bar Association of New York, and Asian American Judges Association of New York.