HON. FORREST STRAUSS

WPBA Secretary, FORREST STRAUSS, previously served as a Director on the Board of the White Plains Bar Association for over eight years.

A graduate of the University of Rochester and the SUNY Buffalo Faculty of Law and Jurisprudence, Mr. Strauss began his legal career in the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, where he spent nearly five years prosecuting criminal offenders in a high volume litigation environment. In August 1993, Mr. Strauss left the District Attorney's office to accept an appointment to the staff of the Grievance Committee for the 9th Judicial District - a position he continues to hold today. Since then, he has handled the investigation and trial of numerous professional misconduct matters arising from virtually every area of legal practice.

In addition to his work as an attorney, Mr. Strauss currently presides over the Village of Monroe Justice Court - one of the first new local courts to be created in this state in over a decade. In March, 2008, after an initial nine-month appointment period, during which Judge Strauss supervised and directed the initial staffing, supplying, and implementation of the Court, he was elected to a full four-year term as Village Justice. Prior to taking the bench in Monroe, Judge Strauss also served two one-year terms (from 2006-2008) as the Acting Justice for the Village of Harriman, New York.

An experienced trial lawyer and jurist, Mr. Strauss is a frequently sought faculty panelist and presenter in the area of attorney ethics at CLE courses and other public forums throughout New York's 9th Judicial District and has also been the featured speaker at a variety of events throughout the metropolitan area. Mr. Strauss is also an active member of the NY State Bar Association, where he currently represents the 9th Judicial District as an elected member of the Association's House of Delegates. He is a past-member of the NY State Bar Association's Committee on Attorneys in Public Service (and, more recently, twice been nominated for that Committee's “Excellence in Public Service Award”) as well as a past-Chair of the NYS Conference of Bar Leaders (“NYSCOBL”), a statewide council of bar association officers, directors, and executives, that networks existing bar leaders and teaches other lawyers the skills necessary to become leaders within their own legal communities.

In May, 2009, Mr. Strauss began a term of office as President of the Orange County Bar Association. He is also the current President of the NYS Association of Disciplinary Counsel. In addition, Mr. Strauss previously served as the President of Congregation Eitz Chaim, where he oversaw the conception, financing, and construction of a brand new 16,000 sq. ft. home for the congregation; and also as a Director for both the American Lung Association Of The Hudson Valley and The Renaissance Project.

When he's not hard at work serving the bench, the bar, or the community, Mr. Strauss most enjoys spending time at home with his wife and two children. An avid automotive enthusiast and a self-taught musician, he composes and records his own songs, and can be seen periodically at public performances throughout the metropolitan area.
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