Business Address:
Amistad Long Island Black Bar Association
The Law Offices of J. Stewart Moore, P.C.
320 Carleton Ave, Suite 3300,
Central Islip, NY 11722
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AMISTAD Board Members with NBA Officers and the NYS Attorney General, Hon. Leticia James (2021)
AMISTAD is one of only two metro NY Affiliate members of the National Bar Association (The "NBA"), the oldest and largest Bar Association in the United States serving Black Attorneys. We encourage all of our members to join the NBA.
AMISTAD boasts members from the eastern most forks to the border and into NYC. Our members are a mixture of private practitioners and public servants - including members of the bench - in all stages of their careers.
Whether you are looking for mentorship or camaraderie, please join us for an event and inquire.
PRESIDENT
Hon. Geoffrey Prime serves as Nassau County District Court Judge.
Prior to being elected, Hon. Prime was the principal at The Prime Law Group, PLLC, a boutique law firm focusing on all aspects of criminal defense and was the elected Mayor of the Incorporated Village of South Floral Park from 2010 to 2023.
He is currently a member of the Nassau County Bar Assn, where he previously sat as co-chair of their judicial screening committee, and is also a member of the Nassau County Criminal Courts Bar Assn. He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Nassau Community College from 2011 to 2013 .
A proud Nassau County resident, Geoffrey loves to read and devote himself to the betterment of the legal profession.
Diane Clarke is a criminal defense attorney who has practiced in Suffolk and Nassau Counties. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and her Juris Doctorate from Touro Law School in Central Islip, New York. She began her career in Contract Litigation and Compliance. Her current practice has included misdemeanor and felony litigation, human trafficking intervention, youth diversion and treatment courts.
Most recently, she has pivoted to Juvenile matters. Diane subscribes to the theory of "holistic lawyering" in which the most successful outcomes result in addressing underlying problems and avoiding the collateral consequences which often lead to future contacts with the criminal justice system.
Diane currently serves on the Board of Directors for Nassau County Bar Association and Suffolk County Criminal Bar Association. She has assisted with several projects on Long Island including creating trafficking victim screening questions for hospitals, collaborating with NYSDA and Touro Law Center in establishing a downstate office for the Veterans Defense Fund. Diane has also been a member of various stakeholder meetings for the Courts involving human trafficking, diversity, equal justice, youth and mental illness. She has volunteered in Know York Rights Campaigns, Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, Breaking Barriers and Northport Veteran Affairs “Stand Down”. Most recently she served on the New York State Task Force on Human Trafficking.
Diane has taken particular interest in cases involving juvenile, human trafficking victims, veterans and homeless clients, particularly where there are mitigating circumstances. She has given presentations and advice to law students, attorneys, and judges on how to address these vulnerable populations.
Diane has three sons who are active in sports, theatre and volunteering in the community. She is a member of the Parent Teacher Association and the Church of St. Jude.
VP Programming
Current Recording Secretary, M. Andre Oge, is an Associate in Rivkin Radler’s Insurance Fraud Practice Group. He focuses his practice on insurance defense and no-fault insurance fraud matters, investigating fraud claims and representing insurers in fighting said claims in state litigation, as well as in arbitration. His work has allowed him to reach several favorable resolutions for his clients. In addition to his practice, Andre also assists in the planning of Rivkin’s diversity initiatives, helping to plan Rivkin’s Black History Month panel in February of 2024, and the Hispanic Heritage Month CLE in October of 2024. Prior to joining Rivkin Radler, Andre worked as an Assistant District Attorney at the King’s County District Attorney’s office for two years in the Trial Bureau. As an Assistant District Attorney, Andre maintained a full case load of misdemeanor and felony cases from their inception to sentencing, handling all intermediate stages including investigation, grand jury, and hearings for a variety of criminal cases including attempted murders, shootings, gun possession, assaults, and narcotic sales. Andre graduated from St. John’s School of Law in 2020 and from St. John’s University in 2017.
Immediate Past President
Currently, Ms. Bass serves as Assistant General Counsel to the Suffolk County Water Authority. Previous professional experience includes principal attorney at Bass & Associates of NY, PLLC, a boutique law firm focusing on estate planning and Surrogate’s Court Practice, Part 146 Court-Appointed Mediator in Suffolk County Surrogate’s Court, Special Master in NY County Supreme Court.
Prior to her current appointment at SCWA, Ms. Bass was appointed as a Principal Assistant County Attorney at the Suffolk County Attorney's Office where she represented the County's Law Enforcement agencies in the Municipal Law Department.
In addition, Ms. Bass is a community leader with current posts as Brookhaven Town Democratic Committee Law Chair, Ward 3 District Leader and BTDC Woman's Caucus Community Liason.
Ms. Bass served on the Amistad Board as President for 2024, President-Elect for 2023 & 2022 and Recording Secretary for 2021.
Director, Past President {2023, 2022, 2013}
Tamika is a Past President of the Amistad Long Island Black Bar Association in 2021 and served as President-Elect in 2020 and was the Vice President of Membership in2011-2013.
Tamika N. Hardy is a partner at Rivkin Radler, LLP. She is a member of the Firm’s Labor and Employment, Commercial Litigation and Cannabis practice groups. She concentrates her practice on litigating employment and commercial disputes in federal and state courts as well as before various state and federal administrative agencies. She also advises clients on compliance with federal, state and local employment laws. She prepares and reviews employment policies, handbooks and employment agreements.
Tamika is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey. She also participates on Rivkin’s pro bono team, where she represents the tenants, who cannot afford counsel, in landlord-tenant disputes.
Tamika graduated from Fordham University School of Law in 2001 and from Franklin and Marshall College in 1996.
Director, Past-President
Hon. Maxine S. Broderick currently sits in Nassau County District Court and presides over misdemeanor and felony matters. Prior to joining District Court in
2018, Judge Broderick served as Hempstead Village Justice.
As a leader in the legal community, Judge Broderick is an Officer of the Nassau
County Bar Association, has served on the Board of the Nassau County Womens
Bar Association and is a past president of the
Amistad Long Island Black Bar Association.
Judge Broderick is a member of The Links, Incorporated (Eastern Shore NY Chapter) and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women
(Long Island Chapter).
Judge Broderick is a graduate of Sacred Heart Academy, Fordham University and Brooklyn Law School. She was admitted to practice in 2004.
Director, Past-President
Co-Executive Directors
The History of AMISTAD
The AMISTAD Long Island Black Bar Association was founded in 1996 and was created to foster community, professional development, and growth among attorneys of color in the Long Island area. As J. Stewart Moore, one of Amistad’s founding members has said, “Amistad is all about history.” This is demonstrated even in the organization’s name
"Le Amistad" was the name of the 1839 Spanish ship whose passengers were so famously memorialized in Steven Spielberg’s movie of the same name. In 1841, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Africans aboard the Amistad had been illegally transported and held as slaves, and thus the Court ordered them freed. The Amistad survivors victoriously returned to Africa in 1842.
While many are familiar with this United States Supreme Court case involving the African passengers, some do not know that the Amistad ship itself first docked in Sag Harbor, Long Island before being transferred to Connecticut, becoming a part of local history.
AMISTAD seeks to continue the tradition of providing opportunities for networking, leadership, and professional growth to attorneys in the practice of law who work and/or live on Long Island.
AMISTAD actively provides supportive environments for law students, judges, and attorneys of color in all walks of the profession.
AMISTAD was formerly known as the AMISTAD Suffolk Black Bar Association before the organization expanded to both the Nassau and Suffolk regions. AMISTAD includes among its members judges, prosecutors, lawyers in private practice and in the public service, as well as students of the local law schools. We are proud of AMISTAD's history, and we look forward to many more years of continued growth and leadership.
If you are not already a member, click below to join us today.