Tech Tools for Office Ethics

The NYS Academy of Trial Lawyers is the largest statewide trial bar in the US with 5,700+ lawyer and judge members. We are committed to protecting, preserving and enhancing the civil justice system. Our highly acclaimed CLE programming features extraordinary presenters covering the most timely and important topics.

Michael S. Ross is the principal of the Law Offices of Michael S. Ross, where he concentrates his practice in attorney ethics. He is a former Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the Southern District of New York and also served as an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County. Mr. Ross has been an Adjunct Professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law since 1980 (where he teaches Fall and Spring Semester courses in Litigation Ethics). Mr. Ross has also simultaneously served as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Brooklyn Law School since 2005 (where he teaches year-round Fall, Spring, and Summer courses in Professional Responsibility). In addition, in his four decades of teaching at Cardozo School of Law, he has taught a variety of ethics, trial practice, and judicial administration courses. Mr. Ross is a frequent lecturer and author on topics involving ethics for such organizations as the Appellate Divisions, First, Second, and Third Judicial Departments, the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers. Mr. Ross has been a longstanding member of the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Discipline and the New York County Lawyers’ Association's Committee on Professional Discipline. He previously served for a number of terms on the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s Committee on Professional Discipline, the New York State Bar Association's Special Committee on Procedures for Judicial Discipline, and the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Lawyer Advertising.

Clifford S. Robert is the principal of Robert & Robert, PLLC, where he concentrates in the area of trials and litigation in both state and federal court involving a variety of commercial disputes, business dissolutions, shareholder disputes, business torts, insurance coverage, civil litigation, corporate governance, derivative actions and matters involving serious and catastrophic injury. Mr. Robert is regularly sought out by New York’s top lawyers and law firms to represent and advise them on a wide range of complex and sensitive issues. Mr. Robert’s efforts have not gone unnoticed by his peers. The National Trial Lawyers Association named Mr. Robert one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in New York. Membership in the Top 100 is by invitation only and offered to trial attorneys with exceptional legal qualities. Additionally, he has achieved an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell®, one of the most respected honors in the legal community, reflecting high marks from judges and lawyers.

Claude has been with SmartAdvocate since 2013 and is currently the Head of Training. Prior to joining the team, Claude worked for the New York Court System and practiced law for over 20 years.