George Bundy Smith

Partner

Practice Description

George Bundy Smith served as an Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, for 14 years, from 1992 until his retirement in September 2006. From 1987 until 1992, he was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, and, from 1980 to 1986, was a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. His judicial service began in May 1975 when he was named to the Civil Court of New York City.

Judge Smith has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Fordham University Law School since 1981 and also at New York Law School in 2001. 

Earlier in his career, Judge Smith worked as an attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. 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.

He has also been involved in a variety of community and professional activities, including service as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Grace Congregational Church and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Harlem Dowling – Westside Center for Children and Family Services.

Honors

Activities and Affiliations

• Member: Chartered Institute of Arbitrators; American Arbitration Association; Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Vice President, 1988-1989); Metropolitan Black Bar Association (member of the Board of Directors; former Chairman of the Board, 1984-1988); Judicial Friends; National Bar Association and Judicial Council
• Former President: Harlem Lawyers Association
• Commissioner: New York State Ethics Commission for the Unified Court System, 1989-2001
• Trustee: Horace Mann-Barnard School, 1977-1999; Phillips Academy, 1986-1990

Publications

Judge Smith has published extensively and his most recent publications include:

Speeches and Events