A changing of the guard is scheduled to take place at the NDNY Clerk’s Office this summer. On August 3, 2018, current Clerk of Court Larry Baerman will retire; current Chief Deputy Clerk John Domurad will take Larry’s place as Clerk of Court; and current Chief Deputy Clerk for Court Operations Dan McAllister will take John’s place as Chief Deputy Clerk (while retaining his prior duties).
Larry Baerman
A native of Inlet, New York, Larry began his 38-year career with the NDNY Clerk’s Office in 1980 as an office generalist, hand-typing docket entries and making copies on a mimeograph machine. In 1981 he became the Courtroom Deputy to District Judge Howard G. Munson and the Syracuse Division Office Manager. In 1986 he became the Courtroom Deputy to District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy and the Binghamton Division Office Manager. In 1992 he became the Chief Deputy Clerk, and in 1997 he became the Clerk of Court.
During his 21 years as Clerk of Court, Larry’s contributions to the NDNY have been numerous. He has envisioned and facilitated innovations that improve service, increase workforce productivity and conserve resources in the NDNY. He helped the NDNY become the first District Court in the United States to automate the entire jury process through a system that was subsequently adopted in the other 93 District Courts; and he helped the NDNY organize one of the first District Court-sponsored alternative dispute resolution programs in the United States, which became part of the foundation for today’s successful mandatory paid mediation program. He helped the NDNY become among the first District Courts in the United States to adopt national programs such as the Next Generation of the Case Management/Electronic Case Files System (“NextGen CM/ECF”), the Judiciary Electronic Travel System (“JETS”), the Judiciary Integrated Financial Management System (“JIFMS”), and the Human Resources Management Information System (“HRMIS”).
He has promoted public access to, and awareness of, the federal judiciary by helping form the FCBA in 2003 and subsequently helping develop the Pro Se Assistance Program, providing technical assistance for CLE programs, coordinating programs for newly admitted attorneys, and coordinating the creation and work of committees to resolve issues related to pro se litigation, pro bono assignments and the need for any amendments to the NDNY’s Local Rules. Finally, he has led national endeavors to improve the federal judiciary by serving on almost every operational committee and working group in the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Most notably he served as the Clerk representative to the U.S. Judicial Conference Committee on Case Administration and Case Management for 12 years.
As a result of his service, Larry received the Second Circuit Merit Award in 1990, 1996 and 1997, the Director’s Award for Outstanding Leadership in 2004, the Onondaga County Bar Association Liberty Bell Award in 2005, and an Administrative Office Department of Program Services Proclamation in 2015.
John Domurad
A graduate of Hamilton College and the Dickinson School of Law, John began his career in the NDNY as the confidential law clerk to then-Chief District Judge McAvoy in 1993. After subsequently practicing environmental and commercial litigation for four years at a law firm in Binghamton, John joined the NDNY Clerk’s Office in 1998 as Chief Deputy Clerk.
During his 20 years as Chief Deputy Clerk, John has overseen the NDNY’s budgeting, finance, information technology, operations, and space-and-facilities projects. While doing so, in 2005, he identified anomalies within the federal judiciary’s rent bill from the General Services Administration (GSA), resulting in both the federal judiciary’s receipt of a rent credit of more than $30 million and the federal judiciary’s establishment of a Rent Review Program Project of which he became the leader. In 2006, he was selected as a Supreme Court Fellow, in which capacity he focused on implementing a nationwide rent and space validation strategy that resulted in the federal judiciary receiving rent credits in excess of $24 million. In 2013, he became the co-leader of the Service Validation Initiative Group (a partnership between the federal judiciary and the GSA), resulting in policy changes that will generate rent savings to the federal judiciary in excess of $55 million annually.
As a result of his service, John received the Director’s Award for Outstanding Leadership in 2006 and the Director’s Award for Excellence in Court Operations in 2016.
Dan McAllister
A graduate of Le Moyne College, Dan began his career with the NDNY Clerk’s Office in 1996, and has since served in the positions of Docket Clerk, Courtroom Deputy to then-Magistrate Judge Gary L. Sharpe, Courtroom Deputy to District Judge Norman A. Mordue, and Operations Manager, becoming Chief Deputy for Operations in 2008. He graduated from the Federal Court Leadership Program in 2002, and received his Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Marist College in 2004.
During his 10 years as Chief Deputy for Operations, Dan has worked on various national programs, including the NextGen CM/ECF Project Steering Group, the Best Practices Working Group, and the Work Measurement Working Group. As a result of his service, Dan received the Second Circuit Merit Award in 1999 and the U.S. District Court Employee of the Year Award in 1997.
Congratulations to all!