Honorable Karen M.C. Cortes was appointed to the bench by Mayor Bill de Blasio as a New York City Family Court Judge in January of 2019. Judge Cortes is the first Filipino American Judge appointed to the New York City Family Court. Judge Cortes currently presides over child abuse and neglect, custody, visitation, guardianship, and family offense proceedings in Bronx County Family Court.

Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Cortes served in the New York City Family Court as a Court Attorney Referee for four years presiding over custody, visitation, guardianship, and family offense proceedings and a Court Attorney for six years where she conducted compliance and settlement conferences on child abuse and neglect, custody, guardianship, visitation, family offense, juvenile delinquency, and PINS cases. Judge Cortes also served for five years as a trial attorney in the Family Court Legal Services Division at the Administration for Children’s Services, where she tried and supervised hundreds of abuse and neglect trials and was a recipient of the Administration for Children’s Services Division of Family Court Legal Services Permanency Advocate Award.

Judge Cortes serves as a member of the Unified Court System of the State of New York Statewide Permanent Commission on Justice for Families, Vice President for the New York City Family Court Judges Association, Board of Directors - First Department for the New York State Family Court Judges Association, Board Member for the Asian American Judges Association of New York State, Committee Co-Chair for the Bronx County Family Court Early Engagement Group, Committee Co-Chair for the Bronx County Family Court Gender Fairness Committee, member of the Bronx County Family Court Equal Justice Committee, member of the Appellate Division Second Judicial Department Mental Health Professionals Certification Committee, and a member of the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission Judicial Mentor Program. In addition, Judge Cortes serves as the Assistant Presiding Member of the New York State Bar Association Judicial Section.

Judge Cortes is currently a member of the Asian American Judges Association of New York, New York City Family Court Judges Association, New York State Family Court Judges Association, and the New York State Women’s Bar Association - Bronx Chapter. Judge Cortes has been honored by the Bronx County Family Court Bar Association and the Asian American Bar Association of New York.

Judge Cortes previously served as a member of the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission Advisory Group to the Twelfth Judicial District, New York City Family Court Custody, Visitation, and Family Offense Operations Advisory Committee to the Administrative Judge, Bronx County Family Court Strategic Plan Implementation Team for Custody, Visitation, and Family Offense, New York City Bar Association Family Court and Family Law Committee, and Kings County Family Court Disproportionate Minority Representation Committee.

Judge Cortes earned her undergraduate degree from New York University and her law degree from Brooklyn Law School, where she was a recipient of the Judge Doris A. Thompson and Judge Edward Thompson Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy.