Henry M. Greenberg

Hank Greenberg serves as president of the New York State Bar Association, the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. A former Counsel to the New York State Attorney General, General Counsel to a major New York State agency and federal prosecutor, Hank has handled numerous high-profile matters. He concentrates his practice on civil litigation, criminal and civil investigations, and regulatory and administrative law.

From 2007 to 2010, Hank served as Counsel to then New York State Attorney General (now Governor), Andrew M. Cuomo. In that capacity, he worked on some of the agency's most significant litigation and public policy initiatives. He also served as General Counsel for the New York State Department of Health (1995 to 2000), where he was the chief legal advisor to the Commissioner of Health and administered an office of more than 100 attorneys engaged in virtually all aspects of administrative law.

Amongst the other government posts he has held, Hank served as Counsel to the Lieutenant Governor of New York State (1995), an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the Northern District of New York (1990 to 1995), and law clerk to then Associate Judge (later Chief Judge) Judith S. Kaye of the New York Court of Appeals (1988-1990). As an AUSA, he prosecuted numerous federal criminal cases, including white collar crime and public corruption.

In 2014, on the recommendation of Governor Cuomo, the State Commissioner of Education appointed Hank to serve as Fiscal Monitor for the troubled East Ramapo School District in Rockland County. Two years earlier, the Commissioner appointed Hank special investigator to conduct a complete review of the Education Department’s processes for receiving, reviewing and investigating reports of alleged improprieties involving student assessments. In both investigations, Hank delivered reports with recommendations to the State’s Board of Regents that resulted in regulatory reforms.

In addition to his current role as president of the New York State Bar Association, Hank is the immediate past chair of its Committee on the New York State Constitution, vice-president of the 3rd Judicial District, and a member of the House of Delegates (which he now chairs). He also was chair of the Committee on Court Structure and Operations, Legislative Policy Committee, Special Committee on Law School Loan Assistance for the Public Interest, and Committee on Attorneys in Public Service.

Hank serves on a number of professional committees and other bodies. He is counsel to the New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination, which nominates New York’s Court of Appeals Judges; chairs the Third Department Judicial Screening Committee and the New York State Fair Advisory Board; and is a member of the State Judicial Screening Committee, Judicial Task Force on the New York State Constitution and the State Commission on the Restoration of the Capitol. He is vice chair of Statewide Programming for The Historical Society of the New York Courts, a Life fellow of the New York Bar Foundation, and a member of the New York State Judicial Institute on Professionalism in the Law and the Advisory Group of the New York State and Federal Judicial Council.

Hank is a frequent lecturer and has been published numerous times on a wide range of legal subjects, including constitutional law, administrative law, criminal procedure, trial and appellate practice, health law, legal history and judicial philosophy.

Concentrations

•Civil litigation
•Criminal and civil investigations
•Health care
•Regulatory and administrative law
•White collar criminal litigation
•Appellate practice

Clerkships

•Hon. Judith S. Kaye, New York Court of Appeals, 1988-1990
•Staff Attorney, New York Court of Appeals, 1987-1988
•Hon. Irving Ben Cooper, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1987-1988

Recognition & Leadership

Awards & Accolades

•Listed, The Best Lawyers in America , Health Care Law, 2015-2020
•Listed, City & State, New York Law Power 100, 2020
•Team Member, Best Lawyers in America, Top Listed - Government Relations, 2018
•Team Member, a U.S. News - Best Lawyers Government Relations Law Firm of the Year, 2014
•Listed, The Legal 500 United States, 2013
•Recipient, Circle of Humanity Award, Temple Israel, 2012
•Selected, Samuel Booth Youth Leadership Award, United Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York, 2003
•Recipient, Resolution of Appreciation, New York State Public Health Council, 2000
•Selected, Inspector General’s Integrity Award, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 1995
•Received, Certificate of Appreciation, U.S. Secret Service, 1995
•Rated, AV Preeminent 5.0 out of 5