A highly distinguished jurist on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for the last twenty-two years, Amalya Kearse began her professional career at Hughes Hubbard as a New York litigation associate in 1962. Invited to become a partner in 1969, the University of Michigan School of Law graduate holds the distinction of being both the first female and the first African-American in the partnership. A 1970 New York Times article profiling female partners in Wall Street firms quoted Orville Schell, then the Firm's managing partner, as follows: "She became a partner here not because she is a woman, not because she is black, but because she is so damned good-no question about it." In 1979, President Jimmy Carter agreed and appointed Kearse to a position on the Second Circuit. Judge Kearse became the first woman and the second African-American to occupy a seat on the federal appeals court in Manhattan. (The first was Thurgood Marshall.)

In addition to her countless awards, published works, committee appointments and other accomplishments within the legal world, Judge Kearse is a championship bridge player who has won national and world titles and authored books on the subject.