Contact: Andrew Rush
Director, Media Services & Public Affairs
arush@nysba.org
518/487-5530

January 29, 2008

STATE BAR HONORS TWO ETHICS EXPERTS FOR EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC SERVICE

Two noted members of the legal profession have been selected to receive the 2008 Attorneys in Public Service Award from the New York State Bar Association. Mark L. Davies, Executive Director and Counsel to the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board and Barbara F. Smith, Executive Director of the New York Lawyer Assistance Trust, are winners of the award, which is given annually.

The awards, sponsored by the Association’s Committee on Attorneys in Public Service, will be given at the Association’s annual meeting at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattanon Tuesday, January 29, 2008. The award recognizes individuals who demonstrate a commitment to service, honor and integrity. To be considered for the recognition, individuals must epitomize a dedication to a “higher calling” by not only working in the public sector, but in demonstrating a commitment to service, honor and integrity.

Chair of the Committee on Attorneys in Public Service, Patricia Salkin, Associate Dean and Director, Government Law Center , Albany Law School, said, “This year the Committee was faced with an embarrassment of riches – so many nominations for outstanding public sector lawyers, all of whom deserve recognition.  However, the 2008 honorees, Mark Davies and Barbara Smith, exemplify the true meaning of public service. It is no surprise that both of these individuals have a background in the field of government ethics – they have both personal and professional integrity and are quite simply, the government lawyer’s lawyer.”

Mark Davies has served as the Executive Director and Counsel of the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board since January 1994. He previously served as Executive Director of the New York State Temporary State Commission on Local Government Ethics, where he drafted the Commission's bill to completely revamp New York State's ethics law for local government officials, and as a Deputy Counsel to the New York State Commission on Government Integrity.

A graduate of Columbia College and Columbia Law School , he is currently an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham Law School, where he teaches New York Practice.  Davies has lectured extensively on civil practice and on government ethics throughout the United Statesand abroad, and has authored two dozen publications, including several articles on governmental ethics laws.

Barbara F. Smith has served as the Executive Director of the New York State Lawyer Assistance Trust since its inception in 2001.  The Trust arose out of a 1999 initiative spearheaded by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye and now brings statewide awareness and resources to the prevention and treatment of alcohol and substance abuse and mental health problems among members of the legal profession.  Prior to her service in her current position, she served as counsel to the New York State Ethics Commission for 13 years, twice having served as its Acting Director.  She has been a frequent author and lecturer on ethics topics.

A graduate of Marywood College and Albany Law School, Smith has authored numerous publications on ethics, attorney professionalism, and hope, health and healing, her efforts at the Lawyer Assistance Trust have been recognized nationally.

The 74,000-member New York State Bar Association is the official statewide organization of lawyers in New Yorkand the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation.

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