NEW YORK – LAWFUEL – Legal News Network – December 12, 2006 — George Bundy Smith, a renowned judge who served for 14 years on New York’s highest court, joined Chadbourne & Parke LLP today as a partner in the firm’s litigation practice.
“George Bundy Smith has had a storied career, and we are honored to have such a distinguished jurist join Chadbourne,” said Managing Partner Charles K. O’Neill. “He brings to the Firm a rich and varied career, and we are fortunate to welcome an individual so well-known for his commitment, courage, and tremendous work ethic.”
“Judge Smith’s life history is the stuff of legend,” added Thomas E. Riley, head of Chadbourne’s litigation department. “We’re thrilled to have him join the Firm.”
Judge Smith served as a judge for over 30 years. His judicial service began in May 1975 when he was named to the Civil Court of New York City. He was a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York from 1980 to 1986, and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, from 1987 to 1992. He was appointed to the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, in 1992 by Governor Mario Cuomo, and served as an Associate Judge until his retirement in September 2006.
First as a student and then a young lawyer, Judge Smith labored to advance the cause of civil rights. In 1961, he joined other students in the Freedom Rides to Montgomery, Alabama, where the National Guard was needed to protect them from hostile mobs. After graduating from Yale Law School, Judge Smith served as an attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. He later became a judicial law secretary in the New York state courts, and from 1974 to 1975 was the administrator of New York City’s Model Cities Program.
Judge Smith will be based in Chadbourne’s New York office. “I plan to develop a practice serving as a mediator and arbitrator, and will also focus on appellate and other litigation matters,” Judge Smith said. “I eagerly look forward to joining Chadbourne and beginning this new chapter, but will also continue to pursue my other long-time interests such as teaching and writing.”
Judge Smith has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Fordham University Law School since 1981. He has also been involved in a variety of community and professional activities, including as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Grace Congregational Church and a member of the Board of Directors of the Harlem-Dowling Westside Center for Children and Family Services. He is the co-chair of one of the transition committees working on behalf of New York Attorney General-Elect Andrew Cuomo.
Judge Smith holds a B.A. from Yale University, an LL.B. from Yale Law School, an M.A. and Ph.D. from New York University, and an LL.M. in the Judicial Process from the University of Virginia School of Law. His publications include a textbook for high school students about the Bill of Rights, as well as scholarly articles on subjects ranging from the Voting Rights Act to the admission of DNA evidence to New York appellate practice.
About Chadbourne & Parke LLP
Chadbourne & Parke LLP, an international law firm headquartered in New York City, provides a full range of legal services, including mergers and acquisitions, securities, project finance, private funds, corporate finance, energy, communications and technology, commercial and products liability litigation, securities litigation and regulatory enforcement, special investigations and litigation, intellectual property, antitrust, domestic and international tax, insurance and reinsurance, environmental, real estate, bankruptcy and financial restructuring, employment law and ERISA, trusts and estates and government contract matters. Major geographical areas of concentration include Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the CIS, and Latin America. The Firm has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Houston, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Almaty, Warsaw (through a Polish partnership), Tashkent, Beijing, and a multinational partnership, Chadbourne & Parke, in London. For additional information, visit www.chadbourne.com.
