[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15805]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




IN HONOR OF THE HONORABLE MARIE M. LAMBERT, LATE SURROGATE OF NEW YORK 
                                 COUNTY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Saturday, October 12, 2013

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay 
tribute to my good friend, the late Marie Lambert, who was elected as 
Surrogate Court Judge of New York County in 1977 and served until 1990 
when she turned 70 years old. A passionate Surrogate, Lambert was an 
inspiration to me and to so many women who have chosen to pursue 
careers in public service. She ran for Surrogate at a time when few 
women held elected office and her success helped open doors for other 
women to follow. On Friday, October 4, 2013, a portrait honoring Marie 
M. Lambert, the first woman Surrogate of New York County, was dedicated 
in the Surrogate's Court in lower Manhattan where she served.
  Surrogate Lambert was an outspoken fighter throughout her life. Her 
family immigrated to Brooklyn from Italy when she was an infant and she 
did not speak English until she started school. I am told that when she 
was about to graduate from elementary school, she wanted to speak at 
the commencement ceremony, but was told that the rules of selection for 
graduation speakers were changed and she would not be permitted to 
speak. Disappointed by this decision, Ms. Lambert appealed personally 
to Mayor LaGuardia and the decision was overturned. In her speech, she 
addressed the consequences of unfairness. Spurred on by her early 
success in advocacy, she became a student leader in Brooklyn College 
and graduated at the top of her class at New York University Law 
School.
  Surrogate Lambert's distinguished career was marked by her signature 
audacity and passion for combating injustice. She was involved in a 
case early in her career in which she fought to permit the offloading 
and resettlement of Jewish survivors of German concentration camps. 
Surrogate Lambert spent the next 30 years of her career as a lawyer 
fighting for tenants and those injured due to the negligence of others. 
She felt justice was satisfied when the negligent driver, product 
producer or doctor took financial responsibility for his or her 
negligence. Recognized by her peers for her effective advocacy, 
Surrogate Lambert served as an officer and director of the New York 
State Trial Lawyers Association, eventually being elected as the 
President, making her the first woman to serve in that role and the 
first woman to head any statewide bar association. A single mother 
following the untimely death of her husband, Surrogate Lambert raised 
her son, Greg, to honor public service and to embrace community 
involvement.
  In 1977, Ms. Lambert was elected the Surrogate's Court of New York 
County, which hears estate matters, becoming one of two Surrogate 
Judges in the county. During her term as Surrogate, New York County 
became the epicenter of the AIDS crisis, a disease that for many years 
was not well understood and led to the deaths of numerous members of 
the LGBT community. Many cases came before Surrogate Lambert involving 
disputes between family members and significant others of the deceased, 
and she handled them with sensitivity and understanding. Surrogate 
Lambert also presided over many adoption cases. She firmly believed 
that, unlike marriages which can be dissolved, an adoption is forever. 
In all of her cases, she took very seriously her role as an arbiter of 
justice. Throughout her service, Surrogate Lambert met every challenge 
with a spirit of dauntless optimism and valor.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 
outstanding contributions Marie Lambert made to the court system of New 
York on behalf of the most vulnerable among us and celebrating the 
unveiling of her portrait. An ardent voice for social and legal 
justice, Marie M. Lambert left a legacy of determination, fairness and 
indomitability.