Bond Attorney, George Lowe, Named To NYS Bar Advisory Committee To Develop Pro Bono Requirements For New Attorneys

May 31, 2012

Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman announced on May 22 the creation of an advisory committee to make recommendations for implementing a pro bono service requirement starting in 2013 whereby prospective lawyers must perform at least 50 hours of pro bono service before being admitted to the New York Bar. George H. Lowe, currently Of Counsel to Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC, was named to the Committee.
The Honorable George H. Lowe recently retired as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of New York. Before taking the bench Judge Lowe was a partner at Bond, concentrating his practice in white collar criminal defense and federal court civil litigation, for twenty-one years. Prior to joining the firm, Judge Lowe served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York and had a lengthy career as a federal prosecutor.

In addition, in 2010, Chief Judge Lippman appointed Judge Lowe to the Task Force to Expand Access to Civil Legal Services in New York. The Task Force's charge is to conduct public hearings to assess the extent and nature of the current unmet civil legal needs of low-income New Yorkers and to identify the level of public resources necessary to meet that need. The Task Force issued reports in both 2010 and 2011 setting forth its findings and recommendations which, in 2010, resulted in $27.5 million of funding for legal services providers, and in 2011 that amount was increased to $40 million. The Task Force remains at work on the project in 2012.

Judge Lowe is a past President of the Onondaga County Bar Association, and a former Chair of the Fifth Judicial District's Committee on Character and Fitness. He has served on the boards of Legal Services of Central New York and the Onondaga County Bar Foundation. While in practice, Judge Lowe received numerous honors for his service in pro bono cases and is currently co-chair of the New York State Bar Association's Committee on Access to Justice. In 2007, he received the Onondaga County Bar Association's Distinguished Lawyer Award. He is admitted to practice in New York.

Judge Lowe is a graduate of Williams College (B.A.) and Columbia University School of Law (LL.B.).