Mark L. Davies

Adjunct Professor of Law

[email protected]

Mark Davies served for 22 years as Executive Director and Counsel of the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board, the ethics board for the City of New York, until his retirement in January 2016 and continues to serve as a government ethics consultant. He previously served as Executive Director of the New York State Temporary State Commission on Local Government Ethics, where he drafted the Commission's bill to completely revamp New York State's ethics law for local government officials, and as a Deputy Counsel to the New York State Commission on Government Integrity. During 15 years in private practice (first with a major New York City law firm and then with a small suburban firm), he specialized in litigation and municipal law.

He has also served in local political party positions and was a major party candidate for the New York State Supreme Court, 9th Judicial District. A graduate of Columbia College and Columbia Law School, he has been an Associate Professor at St. John’s University School of Law, a Visiting Associate Professor at Fordham University School of Law, and an Adjunct Professor at New York Law School and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham Law School, where he teaches New York Practice. He is a member of the executive committee of the New York State Bar Association's Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, whose newsletter he edits, former chair of the Association’s Municipal Law Section, former chair of the Municipal Ethics Subcommittee of President’s Task Force on Ethics, and current co-chair of the Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee of the State Bar’s Local and State Government Law Section and a member of that Section's Executive Committee.

He served on the board of directors of Global Integrity for eight years (President, 2015-2016) and is a former member of the editorial board of Public Integrity and a former member of the Steering Committee of the international Council on Governmental Ethics Laws and currently serves as an Adviser to the American Law Institute’s Project on Public Integrity. From 2008-2016 he served on the Board of Ordained Ministry of the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, the last four years as secretary of the Board.

He has lectured extensively on civil practice and on government ethics throughout the United States and abroad, including at the United Nations, at the IV Global Forum on Fighting Corruption in Brasilia at the request of the Brazilian Government, and to officials in Jamaica at the request of The Carter Center, and has authored over four dozen publications, including numerous articles on governmental ethics laws, the municipal ethics chapter for ETHICAL STANDARDS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR (ABA 1999), the governmental ethics chapter for an international work on ETHICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT: TOWARD GLOBAL GUIDELINES (Praeger 2000), and four chapters for the 2016 New York State Bar Association book MUNICPAL ETHICS IN NEW YORK, which he co-edited. From 1990-2006.

He was the directing editor and revision author of WEST'S MCKINNEY'S FORMS FOR THE CPLR and is the directing editor and lead author of annually updated NEW YORK CIVIL APPELLATE PRACTICE (West 2008). He has received the New York County Lawyers' Association Award for Outstanding Public Service (2000), the New York State Bar Association Excellence in Public Service Award (2008), the Conflicts of Interest Board’s Powell Pierpoint Award (2009), and the Council on Government Ethics COGEL Award (2015).

Education

Columbia University School of Law, JD 1975
German Academic Exchange Service Fellow (Marburg, Germany), 1971-1972
Columbia College, AB 1971

  • New York and Federal Practice

    1. NEW YORK CIVIL APPELLATE PRACTICE (Directing Editor and primary author) (West Publishing Company 2008) (wrote chapters 1, 3, 4, 11-14) (covers all aspects of taking and perfecting appeals)

     

    2. WEST'S MCKINNEY'S FORMS FOR THE CPLR (8 volumes) (Directing Editor with name on spine, 1990-2006). Annual pocket part updates, revisions, and recompilations, including rewriting of all textual material on process, pleadings, motions, and appeals

     

    3. Civil Motion Practice, in INTRODUCTION TO NEW YORK CIVIL PRACTICE 1994, at 125 (Practising Law Institute 1994) (course outline; forms)

     

    4. NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, COMMERCIAL AND FEDERAL LITIGATION SECTION (Editor) (September 1993 - Present)

     

    5. The Stages of a Civil Lawsuit in New York State Supreme and County Courts, 20 WESTCHESTER BAR JOURNAL 205-224 (1993)

     

    6. Civil Motion Practice, in NEW YORK CIVIL PRACTICE 1991, at 61 (Practising Law Institute 1991) (course outline; forms)

     

    7. New York's New Fax Law: An Invitation to Litigation, 53 ALBANY LAW REVIEW 143 (1990) (see also interview in N.Y.L.J., July 21, 1989, at 1, col. 2)

     

    8. Federal Bar Council, SECOND CIRCUIT DIGEST (Editor) (May 1986 - June 1990)

     

    9. Service of Papers by Fax in New York State Court Proceedings, NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL, Feb. 23, 1989, at 32 (for the Section on Commercial and Federal Litigation of the New York State Bar Association) (accompanied by above-the-fold page one article) (reported in a dozen bar association publications).

     

    10. Service of Process Abroad: A Nuts and Bolts Guide, 122 FEDERAL RULES DECISIONS 63-81 (1988) (with David S. Weinstock, Esq., for the Committee on Federal Courts of the New York State Bar Association) (earlier versions of the article were circulated widely to the bench and bar by the NYSBA and included as course material for an ALI-ABA seminar; the NYSBA has received over 600 requests for reprints of this article).

     

    11. Service of Papers by Fax in Federal Court Proceedings, NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL, Dec. 16, 1988, at 7 (for the Committee on Federal Courts of the New York State Bar Association) (accompanied by above-the-fold page one article) (see also interview in ST. LOUIS DAILY RECORD, Jan. 20, 1989, at 5, col. 1)

     

    12. The Service of Process Overseas, NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL, Oct. 3, 1988, at 15 (with David S. Weinstock, Esq.) (included in course book for NYSBA Federal Civil Practice Forum (Oct. and Nov. 1988)).

     

    13. Report of the Committee on Federal Courts of the New York State Bar Association on Service of Process by Mail Pursuant to Rule 4(c)(2)(C)(ii) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 116 FEDERAL RULES DECISION 169-181 (1987) (excerpted in J. Cound, J. Friedenthal, A. Miller, & J. Sexton, CIVIL PROCEDURE 186-188 (5th ed. 1989))

    14. The Proposed Rule 4(i) on Service of Process: A Trap for the Wary?, NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL, Feb. 4, 1985, at 28

     

    Government Ethics

    1.  MUNICIPAL ETHICS IN NEW YORK: A PRIMER FOR ATTORNEYS AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS (co-editor), co-author of Article 18: New York’s Conflicts of Interest Law for Municipal Officials (ch. 1) and author of Non-Article 18 Conflicts of Interest Restrictions Governing Counties, Cities, Towns, and Villages under New York State Law (ch. 2), How to Adopt a Municipal Conflicts of Interest Law: Contents (ch. 11), and How to Adopt a Municipal Conflicts of Interest Law: Process (ch. 12) (2016)

     

    2.  Considering Ethics at the Local Government Level, Chapter 7 in Patricia E. Salkin (ed.), ETHICAL STANDARDS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR (American Bar Association, 2nd ed., 2008)

     

    3.  Ethics in Government and the Issue of Conflicts of Interest, Chapter 7 in Yassin El-Ayouty, Kevin J. Ford, Mark Davies (ed.), GOVERNMENT ETHICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT: TOWARD GLOBAL GUIDELINES (Praeger 2000)

     

    4.  A Practical Approach to Establishing and Maintaining a Values-Based Conflicts of Interest Compliance System (2005) (presented to IV Global Forum on Fighting Corruption, Brasilia (June 2005))http://www.nyc.gov/html/conflicts/downloads/pdf2/international/DaviesArticle_final.pdf

     

    5.  Administering an Effective Ethics Law: The Nuts and Bolts (2005) (presented to 6th Seminar of the Brazilian Commission of Public Ethics, Brasilia (by video hookup) (Nov. 2005)) http://www.nyc.gov/html/conflicts/downloads/pdf2/international/nuts_and_bolts_speech_delivered_final.pdf

     

    6.  Addressing Municipal Ethics: Adopting Local Ethics Laws, Chapter 5 in ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT - THE PUBLIC TRUST: A TWO-WAY STREET (NYSBA 2002)

     

    7.  New York State Whiffs on Ethics Reform, 5 ALBANY GOV’T L. REV. 710-732 (2012)

     

    8.  State Legislature Trips Up Local Government (Again) on Ethics, NYSBA MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 29, No. 1, at 7 (Winter 2015)

     

    9.  Local Government Ethics: A Summary and Hypotheticals for Training Municipal Officials, NYSBA MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 28, No. 3, at 22 (Summer 2014) (with Steven G. Leventhal)

     

    10.  An Abbreviated History of Government Ethics Laws – Part I & II, NYSBA MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 27, No. 2, at 33 (Summer 2013) and Vol. 27, No. 3, at 49 (Winter 2013) (with Steven G. Leventhal & Thomas J. Mullaney)

     

    11.  Message from the Chair, NYSBA MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 27, No. 1, at 1 (Winter/Spring 2013) to Vol. 29, No. 2 (Spring/Summer 2015), at 1

     

    12.  The Story of Dharma: The Three-Legged Ethics Dog, NYSBA MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 26, No. 3, at 22 (Summer 2012) (based on remarks delivered by the author at the United Nations Experts Group Meeting and Capacity-Development Workshop, Preventing Corruption in Public Administration, June 2012)

     

    13.  SCOTUS Delivers Victory for Municipal Ethics, NYSBA MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 25, No. 3 at 5 (Summer 2011)

     

    14.  How Not to Draft an Ethics Law, NYSBA/MLRC MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 24, No. 4, at 13 (Fall 2010)

     

    15.  The Legislative History of New York State’s Conflicts of Interest Law for Municipal Officials, NYSBA/MLRC MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 24, No. 3, at 17 (Summer 2010) (with Ivy Chiu)

     

    16.  Enacting a Local Ethics Law – Part I: Code of Ethics, NYSBA/MLRC MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 21, No. 3, at 4 (Summer 2007)

     

    17.  Enacting a Local Ethics Law – Part II: Disclosure, NYSBA/MLRC MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 21, No. 4, at 8 (Fall 2007)

     

    18.  Enacting a Local Ethics Law – Part III: Administration, NYSBA/MLRC MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 22, No. 1, at 11 (Winter 2008)

     

    19.  Local Ethics Laws: Model Administrative Provisions, NYSBA/MLRC MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 22, No. 3, at 14 (Summer 2008)

     

    20.  Non-Article 18 Conflicts of Interest Restrictions Governing Counties, Cities, Towns, and Villages under New York State Law, NYSBA/MLRC MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 20, No. 1, at 5 (Winter 2006)

     

    21.  The Public Administrative Law Context of Ethics Requirements for West German and American Public Officials:  A Comparative Analysis, 18 GA. J. INT'L & COMP. L. 319-390 (1989)

     

    22.  Article 18 of New York's General Municipal Law: The State Conflicts of Interest Law for Municipal Officials, 59 ALBANY LAW REVIEW 1321-1351 (1996)

     

    23.  Governmental Ethics Laws: Myths and Mythos, 40 NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL LAW REVIEW 177-188 (1995) (also reported in FEDERAL ETHICS REPORTS 15 (Dec. 1996) (CCH))

     

    24.  Keeping the Faith: A Model Local Ethics Law - Content and Commentary, 21 FORDHAM URBAN LAW JOURNAL 61-126 (1993)

     

    25.  Final Report of the Temporary State Commission on Local Government Ethics, 21 FORDHAM URBAN LAW JOURNAL 1-60 (1993)

     

    26.  The 1987 Ethics in Government Act:  Financial Disclosure Provisions for Municipal Officials and Proposals for Change, 11 PACE LAW REVIEW 243-279 (1991)

     

    27.  Ethics Laws for Municipal Officials Outside New York City, in 1 NYSBA GOVERNMENT, LAW AND POLICY JOURNAL 44 (Fall 1999)

     

    28.  Article 18: A Conflicts of Interest Checklist for Municipal Officers and Employees, NYSBA/MLRC MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 19, No. 3, at 10 (Summer 2005)

     

    29.  New Financial Disclosure Law Becomes Effective January First, CITYLAW 1 (January/February 2004)

     

    30.  Empowering County Ethics Boards, FOOTNOTES 11, County Lawyers’ Association of the State of New York (Spring 1999)

     

    31.  Why We Need a New State Ethics Law for Municipal Officials, FOOTNOTES 5, County Attorneys' Association of the State of New York (Winter 1996) (with Henry G. Miller)

     

    32.  Working Rules on Ethics for Zoning Boards of Appeals, TALK OF THE TOWNS & TOPICS 28-32 (March/April 1996) and An Ethics Checklist for Zoning Board Members, TALK OF THE TOWNS & TOPICS 23-24 (May/June 1996), Association of Towns of the State of New York

     

    33.  The Myth of Municipal Ethics Laws, STATE AND LOCAL LAW NEWS 5, Section of the State and Local Government Law, American Bar Association (Spring 1995), reprinted in __ CURRENT MUNICIPAL PROBLEMS __ (1995) (Clark Boardman) (based on The Myth of the Ethics Law, THE CHIEF-LEADER, April 8, 1994, reprinted as The Myths of Municipal Ethics Laws, THE GUARDIAN 1 (Dec. 1994), Council on Governmental Ethics Laws)

     

    34.  New Municipal Ethics Law Proposed, 5 MUNICIPAL LAWYER, March/April 1991, at 1

     

    Other Publications

    1. Message from the Chair, NYSBA MUNICIPAL LAWYER, Vol. 27, No. 1 - Vol. 29, No. 2 (2013-2015)

     

    2.  Developments in the Open Meetings Law, 17 WESTCHESTER BAR JOURNAL 189-205 (1990)

     

    3. New York State Bar Association, 1987 ANTITRUST LAW SYMPOSIUM (1988) (Editor)

     

    4. The Effect of the Supreme Court's Decision in First Lutheran Church Upon Land-Use Regulation, 14 WESTCHESTER BAR JOURNAL 355 (1987)

     

    5. Developers Should Welcome the Court's Decision, WESTCHESTER BUSINESS JOURNAL, July 13, 1987, at 9 [First Lutheran Church]

     

    6. Law Firm Contributions to N.Y. Political Campaigns: Staying Within the Law, 11 WESTCHESTER BAR JOURNAL 275 (1984)

     

    7. Arrest and Pre-Trial Detention under the New Criminal Procedure Code of the German Democratic Republic, 13 COLUMBIA JOURNAL OF TRANSNATIONAL LAW 269-315 (1974)

Mailing Address

Fordham University School of Law
Legal Writing Program
150 West 62nd Street, Room 7-175
New York, NY 10023