The purpose of the Local and State Government Law Section shall be to serve, educate and provide a common meeting ground and impartial forum for those attorneys, whether in the public or private sector engaged in dealing in any capacity with issues in local or state government law. The Section shall carry forward the work of the New York State Bar Association by:
(a) Providing a common meeting ground and impartial forum for those members of the Bar who are engaged in dealing with problems in local and state government law in any capacity;
(b) Furthering a better understanding of local and state government law through the holding of meetings and seminars, the making of studies, surveys and analysis and the dissemination of current information concerning judicial decisions, legislation and other matters of interest to attorneys practicing local and state government law;
(c) Formulating and submitting to the members of the Section and the Association, such reports and recommendations as may be deemed useful to the profession and advisable in the public interest;
(d) Reviewing pending legislation and promoting or opposing the same in the name of the Section (or one of its committees) and, whenever in its judgment necessary or appropriate, initiating legislation;
(e) Furthering the public interest through the practice of local and state government law; and
(f) Furthering access to justice through the promotion of voluntary participation in regional and local pro bono programs.
Contact the Local and State Government Law Section Liaison
To learn more about this Section, please contact Cathy Teeter
[email protected]
(518) 487-5573
Sharon Berlin
Ms. Berlin is a partner in Lamb & Barnosky. She represents management in public and private sector labor and employment law matters, including investigations, discrimination and harassment, disciplinary proceedings, arbitrations, collective bargaining, wage and hour, and federal and state court litigation. She also serves as general counsel to school districts.
Within the State Bar, Ms. Berlin most recently was the Local and State Government Law Section’s first chair. She previously chaired the section’s Employment Relations Committee. She also is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Section. She is a past chair of the Nassau County Bar Association’s Education Law and Labor and Employment Law Committees and of the Suffolk County Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Committee.
Ms. Berlin has been named a Best Lawyer in America© for Labor Law – Management, Best Lawyers Women in the Law – Labor and Employment Law, a Super Lawyer in the New York-Metro Area in Labor and Employment Law, a Super Lawyer Top Woman Attorney in the New York-Metro Area and one of the 10 leaders in Employment Law on Long Island. She has been listed in Long Island Business News’ Who’s Who in Employment Law, Who’s Who in Labor Law, and Who’s Who in Women in Professional Services. Ms. Berlin has received numerous accolades including 2016 Outstanding Women in the Law, Business Leader of the Year, the ASIS Public Private Partnership Award, the Nassau County Bar Association’s Directors’ Award and the Long Island Business News’ 40 Under 40 Award. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Long Island Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, co-chaired the Honorary Board for the Suffolk County Coalition Against Domestic Violence and currently serves on the Advisory Board to the Nassau Academy of Law.
Ms. Berlin was a co-editor-in-chief of the Third Edition of the Public Sector Labor and Employment Law treatise. She has written articles for the New York Law Journal, the New York State Bar Association’s Municipal Lawyer, the New York State Bar Journal, and the New York State Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section Newsletter. Ms. Berlin was a chapter editor for the American Bar Association treatise “Discipline & Discharge in Arbitration.” She has lectured at programs sponsored by the New York State Bar Association, the Nassau/Suffolk Academies of Law, the National Association of Women Business Owners, the Society for Human Resource Management and others.
Ms. Berlin is an honors graduate of Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the George Washington University National Law Center.
Online Community

Municipal Lawyer
The Municipal Lawyer features peer-written, substantive articles relating to the practice of municipal law on various topics including land use, zoning, ethics, and environmental issues. Edited by Prof. Mike Lewyn, the Municipal Lawyer is a publication of the Local and State Government Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and is distributed to Section members free of charge.
The Municipal Lawyer is published as a benefit for members of the Local and State Government Law Section and is copyrighted by the New York State Bar Association. The copying, reselling, duplication, transferring, reproducing, reusing, retaining or reprinting of this publication is strictly prohibited without permission.
© New York State Bar Association. All rights reserved. ISSN 1530-3969 (print) ISSN 1933-8473 (online)
Government, Law and Policy Journal
Each Government, Law and Policy Journal features peer-written substantive articles with a theme on a current issue of interest to government attorneys. Past themes have included NY Innovative Public Policy; Aging and Longevity; Renewable Energy; Civil Rights and Disabilities Law; Firearms, Public Safety and the Law; The Oversight Function: Guarding the Public Interest; New York State’s Budget; Beverage Alcohol Law: Regulation and Policy; Public Authority Reform; Freedom of Information Law; and Climate Change. Edited by Rose Mary K. Bailly, the Government, Law and Policy Journal is published twice per year and is available to Local, State and Government Law Section members free of charge.
The Journal is published as a benefit for members of the Local, State and Government Law Section and is copyrighted by the New York State Bar Association. The copying, reselling, duplication, transferring, reproducing, reusing, retaining or reprinting of this publication is strictly prohibited without permission.
© New York State Bar Association. All rights reserved. ISSN 1521-7183 (print) ISSN 1933-8562 (online)
Government, Law and Policy Journal - 2018
A Publication of the New York State Bar Association Produced in cooperation with the Government Law Center at Albany Law School. Can’t see this edition?…
Ethics Litigation Papers
SCEC Felice Reply Affiramtion with Exhibit (PDF File)
SCEC Felice Afrirmation and Exhibits Filed 8-31-10 (PDF File)
SCEC Felice Affirmation in Opposition to Petition and In Support of Motion to Quash with Exhibits(PDF File)
SCEC Felice Affirmation (PDF File)
SCEC Felice Order 10-9-10 (PDF File)
SCEC Felice OTSC and Verified Petition Filed 8-31-10 (PDF File)
PERB Decision in Connection with Town of Islips Financial Disclosure Form (PDF File)
Lexjac, LLC v. Beckerman Appellate Division Brief (PDF File)
Lexjac, LLC v. Beckerman Memorandum and Order (PDF File)
Incorporated Village of PM Board of Trustees Report of Investigation (PDF File)
Putnam Valley Response (PDF File)
Putnam Valley Reply Memo (PDF File)
Putnam Valley MTD Memo (PDF File)
Putnam Valley Reply Affidavit (PDF File)
Putnam Valley Ethics Decision (PDF File)
Ives Hill Country Club (PDF File)
Local And State Government Law Section Committee
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Administrative Law Judges Committee
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Awards Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Budget Surplus Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Bylaws Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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CVS Fund Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Employment Relations Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Ethics And Professionalism Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Executive Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Fall Meeting Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Finance And Sponsorship Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Finance Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Land Use, Green Development, And Environment Committee
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Law Student Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Legislation Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Liability And Insurance Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Long-Term Planning Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Membership And Diversity Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Municipal Counsel Committee
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Public Contracts Committee
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Public Service Attorney Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Publications Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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Spring Forum Planning Committee (Local And State Government Law)
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State And Federal Constitutional Law Committee
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State Counsel Committee
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Taxation, Finance, And Economic Development Committee
Carol Van Scoyoc Scholarship
Application Deadline Extended! Due: November 30, 2020
The New York Bar Foundation is pleased to announce the Local and State Government Law Section Carol Van Scoyoc Scholarship. The scholarship has been established by the Foundation through a gift from the Local and State Government Law Section of the New York State Bar Association to honor the memory of Carol Van Scoyoc, Esq., a former chair of the Section and recipient of the Association’s Award for Excellence in Public Service, recognizing her extraordinary contributions to the legal profession and the public good.
Each year, a $5,000 scholarship will be awarded to a law student who best exemplifies the core values important to Carol: academic excellence, a demonstrated interest in public service and an interest in local government law.
Donations to the Scholarship Fund may be made through the NY Bar Foundation Donation page by choosing under the available Funds/Select Funds, the “Restricted Funds: Local & State Gov. Van Scoyoc Fund” option from the drop down menu.
Carol Van Scoyoc was an extraordinarily gifted lawyer who dedicated her career to public service. An icon of the profession, Ms. Van Scoyoc represented the highest standards for excellence in the practice of law, ethical conduct and dedication to the public good that all lawyers aspire to. Ms. Van Scoyoc passed away in 2017 at the age of 56 after a long, courageous battle with cancer.
Born in 1960, Ms. Van Scoyoc was a summa cum laude graduate of Manhattan College, where she served as the first woman president of the St. Thomas More Law Society, and received a JD from Pace University Law School. She began her legal career in the Westchester County Attorney’s Office, rising to the position of Assistant Chief Deputy County Attorney. During her ten year tenure, she served as counsel in over 150 reported cases, including In the Matter of Westchester County Medical Center (Mary O’Connor) 72 N.Y. 2d 517 (1988), a landmark Court of Appeals decision that resulted in major changes to New York’s health care proxy forms in order to protect the mentally incapacitated. In another highly significant matter, U.S. v. O’Rourke, 943 F.2d 180 (2d. Cir. 1991), Ms. Van Scoyoc saved Westchester County taxpayers $5,000,000 when she successfully argued that the County had complied with its agreement to close the Croton Landfill because of pollution to the Hudson River. Beginning in 1995, for 22 years until her death, Ms. Van Scoyoc served as the Chief Deputy Corporation Counsel for the City of White Plains where her consummate research, drafting and litigation skills helped mold and shape the landscape of the City during a construction boom.
A leader and role model to the bar, in 2011 Ms. Van Scoyoc was elected as only the third woman President of the Westchester County Bar Association in its 115 year history. She also served as Chair of the Municipal Law Section of the Westchester County Bar Association and was the Editor in Chief of the Westchester County Bar Journal. At the time of her passing, Ms. Van Scoyoc was serving as Chair of the Local and State Government Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, having previously served for many years on the Section’s Executive Committee. In 2012, Ms. Van Scoyoc received the Award for Excellence in Public Service presented by the New York State Bar Association Committee on Attorneys in Public Service.
Committed to training the next generation of public officials, for 15 years Ms. Van Scoyoc served as an Adjunct Professor at the Pace Graduate School of Public Administration. Hundreds of graduate students benefitted from Ms. Van Scoyoc’s knowledge, passion, and unwavering commitment to public service.
Ms. Van Scoyoc’s passion for the law was matched only by her love of family. Her professional acumen and excellence were only surpassed by her dedication to loved ones and friends and her kindness to all people. A devoted daughter, sister, sister-in-law and aunt, she lovingly cared for her parents and delighted in spending time with her extended family.
Blessed with a brilliant mind and beautiful spirit, Ms. Van Scoyoc touched, inspired, and enriched the lives of all who knew her. Her wisdom, integrity and perspective left an indelible mark on the governments and the people she served.
Ethics for Municipal Lawyers
The Local and State Government Law Section of the New York State Bar Association is proud to offer its members and members of the general public this complete resource center on Municipal Ethics. Below please find links to PDF versions of articles, statutes, and NYS Attorney General’s Opinion letters.
- Attorney General Opinions
- Ethics For Municipal Lawyers
- Municipal Lawyer Ethics Columns
- Sample Financial Disclosure Forms
Legal Resources for Municipal Lawyers
Welcome to the Local and State Government Law Section’s Legal Resource Center!
To assist you with resources the Section has prepared accessible lists of resources available in New York State. Click below on the links to help guide you to our resources:
- General Municipal Law Legal Links (for a variety of legal resources)
- Municipal Laws
- New York Municipal Guide
Sample Ethics Laws
While each of the following ethics laws may contain some deficiencies, such as lack of enforcement authority for the ethics board or an unnecessarily vague gifts provision, on the whole they offer a substantial improvement over Article 18 of the General Municipal Law and illustrate the types of effective local ethics laws municipalities have adopted. The Municipal Lawyers Ethics Columns link contains four columns from the Municipal Lawyer that discuss such laws and provide model provisions:
Enacting a Local Ethics Law-Part I: Code of Ethics (Adobe PDF File)
Enacting a Local Ethics Law-Part II: Disclosure (Adobe PDF File)
Enacting a Local Ethics Law-Part III: Administration (Adobe PDF File)
Local Ethics Laws: Model Administrative Provisions (Adobe PDF File).
FD_Form_for_PAAA_Filers(PDF File)
Model Annual Disclosure Form(PDF File)
Town of Brookhaven(PDF File)
Clifton Park LL 10 of 2008(PDF File)
Town of Colonie(PDF File)
Town of East Hampton(PDF File)
Town of Hyde Park(PDF File)
Town of Orangetown(PDF File)
Town of Queensbury(PDF File)
Town of Southampton(PDF File)
Town of Milton(PDF File)
Albany County-Enacted Law(PDF File)
Albany County-Summary Memo(PDF File)
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