Members of NYLS’s Faculty Named to Distinguished Chairs and Other Leadership Positions
New York, NY (June 30, 2020) – New York Law School (NYLS) Dean Anthony W. Crowell and Associate Dean William P. LaPiana today announced new faculty appointments, effective July 1, 2020.
“These appointments recognize the accomplishments of several long-time, distinguished faculty members,” said Dean Crowell. “Our faculty has always been one of the School’s greatest assets, and I know that my colleagues will excel in their expanded leadership roles.”
Tamara Belinfanti Appointed Lester Martin Professor of Law
Tamara Belinfanti, an expert on corporate governance, has been named the Lester Martin Professor of Law. She has more than 20 years of experience in corporate law practice and academia. In 2013, she was named an Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar for her work on the roles and rights of corporations in the broader societal sphere. Professor Belinfanti also co-authored Citizen Capitalism: How a Universal Fund Can Provide Influence and Income to All (Berrett-Koehler, 2019) and co-founded the Ethical Shareholder Initiative, a nonprofit that is building a platform for shareholders to make voting decisions with ethical, social, and environmental considerations in mind. The Martin Professorship was established with the support of the Martin Foundation Inc., in memory of Lester Martin (1907–1959), an industrialist, financier, and noted philanthropist. Past scholars to hold the chair include the late Professor Stephen J. Ellmann (who held the chair 2015–2019) and Martin Professor Emeritus Jethro K. Lieberman (who held the chair 2013–2015).
Professor Anna G. Cominsky ’05 Named Managing Attorney of NYLS Legal Services Inc.
Anna G. Cominsky ’05, Visiting Associate Professor of Law and Supervising Attorney of the Criminal Defense Clinic, has been named Managing Attorney of NYLS Legal Services Inc. In the role, she will manage the day-to-day functions of NYLS Legal Services, the School’s law firm, in coordination with Professor Kim Hawkins, the incoming Stephen J. Ellmann Dean of Clinical and Experiential Learning. NYLS Legal Services provides free high-quality legal services to New Yorkers who would otherwise be unable to afford legal representation and is housed in The Joe Plumeri Center for Social Justice and Economic Opportunity. Professor Cominsky is a skilled and experienced clinician with a deep commitment to the rights of underserved communities. She teaches four experiential learning courses at NYLS: the Criminal Defense Clinic, Advocacy of Criminal Cases, Deposition Skills, and Intensive Trial and Advocacy Skills. She has also presented at numerous CLE courses on trial skills, ethics, and professional responsibility.
Professor Howard Meyers Named Director of the Center for Business and Financial Law and Director of the Institute for Financial Services Law
Howard Meyers, Professor of Law and an experienced business law instructor and clinician, will lead NYLS’s Center for Business and Financial Law. The Center is one of the School’s six academic centers and a key engine behind NYLS’s long record of launching graduates into careers at leading businesses, financial institutions, law firms, and regulatory agencies. Professor Meyers will also lead NYLS’s Institute for Financial Services Law, housed within the Center. The Institute prepares students to lead in the rapidly growing financial services field. (NYLS graduates are exceptionally well-represented in this area of law.) Professor Meyers currently directs the School’s Securities Arbitration Clinic and teaches a range of corporate and business law courses. This summer, he is overseeing the Corporate Law track of NYLS and Venable LLP’s new Summer Associate Simulation Program. He is also Dean of Adjunct Faculty Engagement; in that role, he cultivates strong relationships with the leading practitioners who serve as members of NYLS’s adjunct faculty. He previously served as the Center for Business and Financial Law’s Associate Director.
Frank Munger Appointed John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law
Frank Munger, a scholar of public law and a specialist in social science research, has been named the John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law. He teaches Constitutional Law; Administrative Law; Land Use Planning; and seminars on race, bias, and law and on the role of public interest lawyers in social change. He has conducted research in Asia, the United States, and Europe. His co-authored book, Rights of Inclusion: Law and Identity in the Lives of Americans with Disabilities (2003), won the Gustavus Meyers Human Rights Award. Professor Munger has been General Editor of the Law & Society Review and President of the Law and Society Association, in addition to other leadership roles. He also co-organizes NYLS’s Law, Society, and History Colloquium. The Professorship honors John Marshall Harlan II (Class of 1924), an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971 and one of the most influential 20th century justices. Professor Emerita Nadine Strossen served as the inaugural John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law (holding the chair 2014–2019).
Rebecca Roiphe Appointed Trustee Professor of Law
Rebecca Roiphe, an expert in legal and prosecutorial ethics, has been named the Trustee Professor of Law. Professor Roiphe, a former Manhattan prosecutor with a Ph.D. in History, researches and writes about the important, mediating role prosecutors play in American democracy and examines the country’s tradition of prosecutorial independence, particularly with regard to the President’s power to control the Department of Justice. She is often quoted on these topics in the national media, including The New York Times and The Washington Post. She is a contributing legal analyst for CBS National News. Professor Roiphe also serves as Co-Dean for Faculty Scholarship. In January 2020, she received the Sanford D. Levy Memorial Award from the New York State Bar Association for her outstanding contributions to the field of professional ethics. The Trustee Professorship was previously held by Professor Emeritus David Schoenbrod 2006–2019.
Professor Houman Shadab Named Director of the Innovation Center for Law and Technology
Houman Shadab is Professor of Law; a software developer; and an expert in enterprise technology, fintech and financial regulation, and commercial transactions. He will lead NYLS’s Innovation Center for Law and Technology, which focuses on the intersection of law and technology and related fields including digital transformation; intellectual property; cybersecurity; data and applied sciences; and fashion, sports, media, and entertainment. Professor Shadab, a leader in legaltech and the “software-as-scholarship” movement, previously led the Center for Business and Financial Law and brings a business and app-developer approach to his new role. He is passionate about software transforming the nature of legal practice and lawyers being prime movers in the innovation economy by developing automation, artificial intelligence, voice recognition, and other digital tools to serve their clients and the public interest. In addition to his NYLS teaching, Professor Shadab is a Fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Coin Center and co-founded the smart legal contracts startup, Clause.
The appointments support NYLS’s commitment to scholarly life and developing a robust intellectual community on campus, as outlined in 2020 Strategic Plan: Ever Upward.