Meet Michaela Rossettie Azemi
Attorney Michaela Azemi is running for Steuben County and Family Court Judge
Rossettie Azemi is a Corning native, and a skilled and respected attorney with twelve years of experience litigating in courtrooms across our region. The entirety of her legal career has been in public service, in government and nonprofits. Her first job out of law school was assisting the Steuben County District Attorney’s Office in prosecuting offenders as a legal fellow. She collaborated in monthly meetings with the District Attorney, Probation, the Sheriff’s Department, CASA, and legal aid on a Domestic Abuse Review Team (DART). At this time she received her New York State Department of Health certification to assist survivors of sexual assault, in crisis situations. Rossettie Azemi also served on the Board of Arbor Housing and Development (aka Steuben Church People Against Poverty) for four years, working to support The NET, Steuben County’s domestic violence shelter.
Rossettie Azemi has routinely handled the types of cases she would hear if elected to the Steuben County & Family Court Judge position. After her time in the District Attorney’s office, she continued to handle custody and divorce cases at the local law firm of Welch & Zink and went on to accept assigned family court cases from Steuben County, including abuse and neglect matters. As a legal aid attorney for four years at LawNY, Rossettie Azemi handled numerous custody, child support, divorce cases. She has handled multiple trials and argued before the New York State Appellate Division, Fourth Department.
While it may be difficult to imagine your child being escorted in a private room to talk with a judge about what is happening at home, this is a common occurrence in family court. It is critically important that those of us in the legal system not re-traumatize young people, but instead offer support in ensuring stability and healthy home lives.
As a mother of three children, I understand the unique aspects of childhood development that are at play in these situations and will bring care and compassion to the bench. It is of the utmost importance to me that all people who encounter the judicial system are treated with dignity, fairness, and integrity.
I’m running for Steuben County Family Court on my record of experience advocating for the best interest of children in our community – the community where I grew up and where I have chosen to raise my children.
Giving back to the Steuben County community has always been a top priority for Rossettie Azemi. While practicing law, she also taught business law, criminal procedure, and penal law courses at Corning Community College for seven years. As a young violinist growing up in Corning, she also played in the Youth Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes in high school and joined the Board of the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes upon moving back to Corning immediately following her education.
When Rossettie Azemi had her first child, Adrian, in 2015 she and her husband made the decision to send him to the Corning Children’s Center and she joined this nonprofit as their Director of Development. In this role she raised funds for the children in the Center, including funding to support child care assistance for local families who could not afford daycare costs. After this position, Rossettie Azemi accepted a role at Cornell Law School as the Associate Director of Judicial Engagement where she connected students to judges around the country for clerkships.
Rossettie Azemi’s mission in her legal career has been about ensuring access to justice for all people, which is why she spearheaded several pro bono legal clinics over the years and continues to regularly accept pro bono cases for families in Steuben County. She served as the Director of Pro Bono Services at Cornell Law School and was previously the Director of Pro Bono Affairs for Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc.
Rossettie Azemi is currently the Director of Public Interest at Cornell Law School and teaches classes about ethical issues including confidentiality, conflicts, competence, trauma-informed lawyering, family law, and the cycle of poverty. At Cornell Law School, Michaela spearheaded a new course to create free legal assistance for Veterans, including writing two federal grants, that have funded the hiring of three attorneys to be able to support local Veterans in Steuben and surrounding counties with free help accomplishing discharge upgrades and access to disability benefits.
Rossettie Azemi has been recognized as a leader in the legal community in Steuben County and across New York State. In the summer of 2013, she volunteered as a Pro Bono Attorney for LawNY where she developed a model for LawNY’s pro se divorce clinic and was honored to receive the NYSBA Empire State Counsel Award in the Fall of 2013. In 2018 she was honored with the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York’s prestigious Doris S. Hoffman Outstanding Lawyer Award, for lawyers who have made outstanding achievements within the profession and community. She was previously elected to serve as the Steuben County Bar Association President and twice elected to serve as the President of the Finger Lakes Women’s Bar Association, a chapter of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York. Rossettie Azemi has served on the New York State House of Delegates, representing Steuben County. She also sits on the New York State Bar Association’s President’s Committee on Access to Justice and spearheads a committee on Public Interest Loan Forgiveness. She is a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Pro Bono Cooridnator’s Network and is dedicated to ensuring access to legal representation for all people. She works closely with the New York State Permanent Commission on Access to Justice and has been appointed to the Rural Justice Taskforce. On May 1, 2024, Rossettie Azemi accepted the President’s Pro Bono Service Award for her innovative project connecting law students to pro bono attorneys in teams to serve local people who couldn’t afford an attorney.
Rossettie Azemi, 37, earned her Juris Doctorate from Case Western Reserve University and her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Delaware. She lives in Painted Post with her husband, Bulezim, and their three boys Adrian (9), Anton (5) and Andre (2).
There is one open seat up for election in Steuben County Court – The Steuben County and Family Court position due to the pending retirement of Hon. Philip Roche. The General Election will be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Early Voting will be available from October 26 to November 3. Absentee Ballots are also available for those who qualify.