The Judicial Conference Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction recommended that states form local Federal-State Judicial Councils to serve as the conduit for communication on matters of mutual concern between the federal judiciary and state courts and their support organizations such as the National Center of State Courts, the Conference of Chief Justices, and the State Justice Institute.

The Council is a group of state and federal judges appointed by the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals and the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

The mission of the Council is to promote communication between the state and federal courts in New York and to address issues that may arise at the intersection of the two judicial systems. The Council has sponsored numerous projects and programs for CLE credit on topics of interest to practitioners and members of the judiciary.

The Advisory Group to the Council is a group of approximately thirty practitioners and judges appointed by the Council from around New York State to assist the Council in accomplishing its mission. The Advisory Group works closely with the Council to undertake and implement projects under its direction.

The projects have included preparation of the Practice Handbook on Certification of State Law Questions by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to the New York State Court of Appeals and Reports on Discrepancies between Federal and New York State Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege Rules, Discrepancies Between Federal and New York State Expert Witness Rules in Commercial Litigations, Coordination of Discovery Between New York Federal and State Courts, Court Continuity of Operations (COOP) Plans, Interpreters, Pro Bono Activities, and Deference to the State Court Decisions on Ethical Issues, among others.

Advisory Group members worked with the Council to develop the Council's numerous successful CLE programs such as "Which Court? State or Federal and Why?/Selecting Your Jurisdiction"and State and Federal Sentencing Issues.