STATE BAR HONORS ROY D. SIMON WITH 2015 SANFORD LEVY AWARD

ALBANY, NY (01/29/2015)(readMedia)-- Author and Distinguished Professor Roy D. Simon has been honored with the 2015 Sanford Levy Award by the New York State Bar Association's Committee on Professional Ethics.

The award was presented at the Bar Association's Annual Meeting in New York City January 28. It is presented to an individual or institution that, in the opinion of the committee, has contributed most to understanding and advancement in the field of professional ethics.

"No one in New York state has contributed more significantly to an understanding of professional ethics than Roy Simon," said Marjorie E. Gross of New York City (Law Office of Marjorie E. Gross), chair of the Committee on Professional Ethics.

Simon, a distinguished professor of legal ethics emeritus, taught at Hofstra University School of Law from 1992 until 2011. He has written and updated "Simon's New York Rules of Professional Conduct Annotated" (previously entitled, "Simon's New York Code of Professional Responsibility Annotated") since 1995.

"'Simon's New York Rules Annotated' is a remarkable book," Gross added. "Its descriptions of the history of various rules provides useful context, and its lists of relevant ethics opinions and court cases are a treasure trove of materials to help ordinary practitioners."

Simon also is a co-author of 24 annual editions of "Regulation of Lawyers: Statutes and Standards," an annotated compilation of rules governing lawyers, and the principal co-author of two editions of "Lawyers and the Legal Profession: Cases and Materials."

Simon is of the Bar Association's Committee on Standards of Attorney Conduct and former chair of the Ethics Committee. He regularly consults with lawyers and law firms regarding professional conduct, and has served as an expert witness in cases alleging legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duties. He also consults on disciplinary proceedings, fee arbitrations, motions to disqualify and other matters raising professional responsibility issues.

Previous recipients of the Levy Award include former New York State Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye; Professor Stephen Gillers (New York University School of Law); Professor Thomas D. Morgan (George Washington School of Law); Roger C. Cramton of Ithaca (Cornell University Law School); and the New York Professional Responsibility Report.

The New York State Bar Association, with 74,000 members, is the largest voluntary state bar association in the country. It was founded in 1876.

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